Wednesday 24/07/2013 - Amalgamation Summer Open League - Pawlett Ponds

The last and first time I fished Pawlett Ponds was a pleasure session with Dad when I was a teenager. It’s strange because I have never forgotten that day. I remember dad hooking a big Eel and losing it then again a big Tench which he did land. As for me I sat there catching small Rudd and Ronnie’s all day which I thoroughly enjoyed. This pleasure session influenced my match fishing immensely throughout the years. For me it is about getting bites and more the merrier irrespective of size (Motherless Minnows excluded), rather than catch a big weight or big fish. This probably explains my demeanour regarding Ronnie fishing.

 

After a breakfast in Hill Top with Mike Jones it was off to find the fishery which we didn’t on first attempt. I was sure I could identify the swims dad and I fished. However, it looked totally different with high sedges around all the four ponds. Mike and I walked the ponds twice. Mike was salivating about all the Rudd we could see in the majority of pegs. Mike was going to set up just three whips to focus on them all match. I could also see millions of Motherless Minnows (thank god that they haven’t yet migrated further north than the Huntspill)!  I wasn’t sure as in my experience after the first few minutes they do a disappearing act.

 

In to the draw hessian bag and out comes peg 4 (see pond layout and pegging right) at least I would be in the shade for most of day because I had a Willow tree on my left. Because Andy Smith had pegged it for 20 and 16 were in attendance it meant that there would be some pegs not drawn. Lucky for me the two pegs to my right weren’t drawn (5 & 6) which left me with half a pond. However, I wasn’t as lucky as Pete Greenslade who had Pond 4 to himself!

 

After checking the platform would take my weight I set up two paste rigs one to be fished at 6 metres where I had five foot of water and the other under the Willow into a very deep 3 foot margin. Under the influence of Mike Jones I set up two whips one at 3 metres and the other at 2 metres. Finally a 4x16 Jolly to be fished at 5 metres to the end of the tree with CW&C (I didn’t know what to expect hence so many differing rigs).

 

On the whistle I fed a pot of micro in at 6 metres, a put of CW&C at 5 metres, started to lose feed 4’s in the margin. After thrashing around with caster/maggot for half hour catching 10 small Rudd and an abundance of tapping by the Motherless, I switched to the worm line and once again I was getting tapping from Motherless. I switched to maggot and foul hooked a 3oz Eel, followed by two tiny Perch which both fell off. This rig was then dumped along with the whips. So it was out on the familiar pasted and I was soon fighting an over zealous 3lb Wild Carp. Out again on the paste and I had a 2 ½ lb Skimmer followed by a 8oz Hybrid, that was it for the Silvers for the rest of the match. I then had a run of three Wild and one Mirror Carp. I then had a blank two hours during which I had a disaster when my catch was reduced from five to four! One of the Wild carp decided to jump put of the keep net landing at my feet and scaring the living daylights out of me. I did have it trapped between my feet foe a few seconds whilst I tried to ship my pole back to b ring my hands into action, but alas not back it went – bugger. With half hour to go I hooked another Carp which did me in the sedges – fair play to the Carp it really fooled me. I then hooked and landed two more. Just before the whistle I hooked another Carp which I got too confident with and once again I ended up losing it in the Sedges – bugger again.

 

My Silvers weighed 3lb 13oz and my Carp 28lb 4oz for a total of 32lb 1oz for third in the Silvers and second overall.

 

The match was won by Colin Dyer (pictured right with the Silvers winner) with 34lb 4oz (ouch) from peg 16. Colin caught all his Carp on double sweet corn over pellet fished in his margin. Colin also had a disaster with one Wild Caro taking his top three!

 

The Silvers was won by Pete Greenslade from lonely peg 7 with about 100 Rudd caught dapping maggot.

 

As for Mike Jones who drew peg 11 he DNW'ed and Dave Bacon Blanked!

 

Full Result:

 

1. Colin Dyer 34-04-0 peg 16
2. Mike Nicholls 32-01-0 peg 4
3. Barry Fitchew 18-11-0 peg 21
4. Pete Greenslade 14-10-0 peg 7
5. Bob Black 14-08-0 peg 2
6. John Osborne 13-03-0 peg 18

 Top Silvers:

 

1. Pete Greenslade 4-10-0 peg 7
2. Andy Smith 3-15-0 peg 14
3. Mike Nicholls 3-13-0 peg 4

 

Weigh Sheets follow: