Thursday 19/04/2012 - Viaduct Cost Cutter - Campbell and Carey

I had booked in to Tony’s Landsend match; unfortunately I had to cancel due to family matters, expecting to be down Brighton until Saturday. Fortunately there was a change for the better and we didn’t need to go. So I could get my midweek fix I booked in to the Viaduct Skivers Match.

With the weather being forecast to be horrendous it was good to see 26 booked in (18 more than the Wednesday Open). I walked Campbell with Mike Jones and it was clear that if the pole was to be effective you would need a peg with the wind off your back.  In to the draw coffee tin and luckily enough I pulled peg 128, one above the spit. This draw put the wind over my right shoulder. Nick Collier had fished it the day before and had won the Silvers so this was my target. The dilemma for me was which bait? I decided to fish 4mm meat at 11metres, feeding through the kinder and soft pellet at 5 metres fished over loose fed hard 4’s. It was to be the same rig for both lines – 4x14 Jolly with 0.14 hook length. As the wind was very strong and I should have fished a 4x16 because the wind was lifting the back shot. But I stuck with the rig – as we do! I had a really good first three hours on the Silvers and Greens. I reckon I had 30lb ay half way, but I had lost two Tench and one big Skimmer – happy days, I was thinking of a big Silver weight when it all went tits up – well the Carp muscled in. I tried reducing the little feed I was feeding in hope the Silvers would come back but not. In the next three hours I had just one Tench and 13 Carp. Trying the 5 metre line with pellet produced one 4oz Skimmer and plenty of Ronnie bites. The water is very clear which I suspect kept the fish away from the inside.

My Silvers weighed in at 34lb 13oz and my Carp 62lb 5oz for a total of 97lb 2oz. With this being a qualifier match I was hoping that I would win the Silvers. However, it wasn’t to be finishing second and second overall, how unlucky is that just missing out qualifying for both.

The match was won by Gavin Messer (Pictured right with the Silver winner - surname rings a bell from the past) with 119lb 4oz from peg 125. Gavin caught all his fish on the lead using 10mm meat hook bait fished over loose fed 8mm hard pellet.

The Silvers was won by Nick Collier with 35lb 14oz from peg 99.Nick caught on soft pellet fished over micro pellet.

Full Result:

1.      Gavin Messer 119-04-0 peg 125

2.      Mike Nicholls 97-02-0 peg 128

2.   James Guy 97-02-0 peg 110

3.      Pete Fielding 91-02-0 peg 112

4.      Jim Butcher 81-11-0 peg 132

5.      Paul Blake 73-13-0 peg 86

Top Silvers:

1.      Nick Collier 35-14-0 peg 99

2.      Mike Nicholls 34-13-0 peg 128

3.      John Bradford 24-02-0 peg 97