Monday 20 August 2012

Sunday19/08/2012 - Avon Angling Float Only League - Round Six- Viaduct - Campbell and Carey Lakes

It was back to Viaduct for the last in the Tony Rixon Float Only series. I have missed two matches and so well out of any league coin, so I could take a more relaxed approach to the match. This proved to be convenient as I pull peg 80 on Carey. The Lake everyone (except Bela) wanted to avoid as it is fishing below par at present. I have a bit of history with this peg the last time I fished it I really enjoyed the day so although not a pole peg for Carp I was thinking of an out and out Silvers attack. A way I could get a days fishing – hopefully. I really didn’t expect to pick up coin as there are only two Silvers payouts and pegs 124 and 125 on Campbell have been fishing exceptionally well for Skimmers.

I set up the Ronnie rig, a 4x12 jolly to be fished over to the spit at 11.5 metres, a 4x14 jolly to be fished out in front at 10 metres and finally I set up a paste rig to fish over the out in front line for any Carp or big Skimmers.

On the whistle I fed some CW&C up against the spit and started on the paste over a few micros. I started on paste because it’s a good tester of what’s in the peg. If there were Carp about I would soon know and if not the small fish would be nibbling away at the bait. First put in I hook a carp which fooled me in to thinking it had ran out in to the Lake only to find it was under my pallet -  I eventually lost the fish breaking my float. So on with another paste float to find the nibblers had arrived. So a switch to the soft 6mm pellet with kindered micro which started to produce a few hand size Skimmers, with a smattering of pounders. After an hour the swim started to fade with Ronnie’s arriving to torment me, so the awaited switch to the spit with worm which produced a quick response, but only from 2-3oz Ronnie’s. That it then out with the Ronnie rig for the rest of the match.

With two hours to go a bank walker said that pegs 24 and 25 were catching Skimmers with 20lb estimated as top. Umm, not quite there yet, but within striking distance, so I am now feeling I am in a fishing match, which is what it’s all about for me. I worked hard over the next couple of hours catching Ronnie’s, Hybrids, small Skimmers and Perch. With forty five minutes to go the swim went quite, until I hooked and lost a big Perch which blunted my Middy hook (back to the 808 me thinks). I lost another but smaller one next put in – then I changed my hook! In the last twenty minutes in became difficult because my pint of casters was running low.

I was one of the last to weigh in and I needed to beat 26lb 14oz for coin. I was optimistic, but fell 3oz short weighing 26lb 11oz. Still it was a memorable day, especially as I was third in the section with an all Silvers catch.

The match was won by Tony Rixon (pictured right) with 246lb 13oz from peg 115. Tony caught thrashing around with pellet …see his blog for the intricacies of the method.

The Silvers was won by Steve Evans (pictured lower right) with 30lb 11oz from peg 125. Steve caught Skimmers to 3lb using hair rigged hard pellet fished over hard pellet at 7 metres. I was please for Steve as he is the Gimp (the back room boy) of the league left to work out the points and pounds and ounces - not always fully apprieciated by league anglers, certainly can’t leave anything like that to Tony Rixon. Thanks matey.

Full Result:

1.      Tony Rixon 246-13-0 peg 115
2.      Shaun Townsend 231-06-0 peg 135
3.      Joe McMahon 197-03-0 peg 123
4.      Phil Harding 186-02-0 peg 112
5.      Neil Mercer 175-12-0 peg 111
6.      Tom Thick 136-0-0 peg 76

Top Silvers:

1.      Steve Evans 30-11-0 peg 125
2.      Martin Rich 26-14-0 peg 124
3.      Mike Nicholls 26-11-0 peg 80

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