Sunday 22/07/2012 - Viaduct Fishery Open - Campbell Lake

After a week away to spoil the Special One in the Holcombe Valley (just outside Weymouth) it was back to Viaduct – Campbell. It was breakfast in Woody’s, who tried put my breakfast on top of Bela’s, then tried to put four beans on toast and four eggs on my plate! Two chews Bela would have munched through the lot without breathing.

It looks like the weather has changed for the better fro holiday makers that is – not sure about us anglers though.

Campbell has had a match on it 23 times in the last 25 days. So would it fish well? Of course it would, as it is the best fishery in the country.

Last but three in the draw queue with 132, 115 and 131 left, not me I hope, yes, that went to Mash, peg 132 went to Lee Werrett and luckily I pulled peg 115. Perfect as I was targeting the Silvers to try a qualify for the all winners final which I have fell at the last hurdle five times this year! Last time I fished this peg I had 42 lb of Silvers only to be beaten by Paul Greenwood on peg 127 who had 57lb. This time I had Silvers expert John Green on peg 126 so someone to keep an eye on!

There was a club match on Carey and the old guy (don’t get to say this often) said he fished my peg the day before and weighed in 5lb! Blimey!

It must be fifteen years since I used hard banded pellet in earnest, abandoned due to the advent of soft expander pellet. I was impressed with how Tony Rixon just pipped me for the Silvers last week using this method. So I set up a 4x14 jolly with a size 20 hook, banded with a Mosella micro band hair rigged to 0.14 G Line to be fished at 4 metres. Just in case, I set up a paste rig to fish over the same line. I followed this by a paste/worm rig for the LH margin (even though the light wind was blowing the rig towards me).

I started by feeding a pot of wetted micro into the margin swim, then it was out on the banded hard 6mm at 4 metres and loose feeding hard 4’s over the top. First dob in I had a 5lb Carp followed by six more, losing two, with the last Carp trashing my rig. Not going to plan then. Blimey I have accidentally put together a slayers rig. So it was out on the paste, and after a short wait I had a 2lb Skimmer and that was it for this line as the Carp was swirling around on the surface taking the 4’s. So I put the two 4 metre rigs well away from foot crunching distance and went in to the margin where I had been feeding hard 4’s. With paste on the hook I had a run of Tench before the small fish started to gnaw the paste to oblivion. So a switch to whole Worm well nearly I like to head and tail them to reduce the wriggle factor. This resulted a few more Tench, a couple of Perch to 2lb and a couple of Bream with one of them jumping out the water on to the weeded bank, which necessitated me gently easing it back in to the water. It was easy to land from then onwards. The swim went quite so back on the past and with some further gentle feeding of hard 4’s and a few more Tench resulted. This is how the rest of the match went switching between the two hook baits I kept the Tench coming. I was reminded six times today how very much fishing for Tench in the margins is so similar to the Chub on the river Avon diving for freedom if you fish too tight and no matter how hard you pull they get away - fair play I say. With 30 minutes to go I had a run of six Tench which luckily I put in a separate net (I always put four nets in on this venue – not in anticipation - but to help keep the fish from palletising me).

My five early Carp weighed in 27lb 10oz and my Silvers 58lb 11oz for a total of 83lb 5oz. This put me 8^th overall and more importantly first in the Silvers and qualifying for the all winners final – AT LAST - beating John Green by 10lb.

The match was won by Martin Preston who is a Primary School Teacher. I take my hat off to this profession as you need the patients of “Old Nick”, which is an essential ingredient for being a great Match Angler – which Martin is (pictured right with one of his sunburnt pupils and Silvers winner). Martin landed 211lb 8oz from peg 125. Martin fished popped up bread, fished at about half depth on the lead feeding 8mm pellet over the top. Martin hair rigged various sizes of bread from 2 inch square to thumb size to keep the Carp coming throughout the match. It took three pints of pellet and half a loaf of white bread to amass this great total on a blinding hot sunny day.

Full Result:

1.      Martin Preston 211-08-0 peg 125

2.      Tom Mangnall 185-06-0 peg 127

3.      Glenn Bailey 148-08-0 peg 119 (after the usual they are all at the other end grump)

4.      Dan White 141-11-0 peg 118

5.      Lee Werrett 114-04-0 peg 132

6.      Kevin Crouch 104-03-0 peg 116

Top Silvers:

1.      Mike Nicholls 58-11-0 peg 115

2.      John Green 46-0-0 peg 126

3.      Bela Bakos 16-10-0 peg 129