Silverfox Match Angling: Sunday 26/08/2013 - Avon Angling Open - Windmill Fishery

Monday, 26 August 2013

Sunday 26/08/2013 - Avon Angling Open - Windmill Fishery - Match Lake

I have intended to fish Windmill Fishery for some time and when Tony Rixon said he was going to organising an open there this Sunday Bela and I jumped in. Being a new local venue close to the Ring road it has attracted a lot of attention. Unfortunately, the feed back has so far been derogative, especially with regard to design, with one end being three foot deep and the other twelve foot. That said I believe in assessing a fishery for myself. So today was that opportunity. I do like the challenge of fishing new venues and new pegs. However, that does mean taking sufficient types of bait for both Silvers and Carp.

Also today Bela and I found ourselves in a new breakfast café, in the small precinct at the end of the Kingsway. We were told we could get a good breakfast there. However, the day got off to a bad start as we were served with the worse breakfast that I can remember. The sausages were white inside, which some how ended up on Bela plate, which he didn’t even notice. The fried egg tasted of old cooking fat. And during the match I had terrible acid indigestion.

After walking around the venue (pictured right see website https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8#fp=2332ad6da73a67be&q=windmill+fishery) it was time to pick up a swim card from the floor. Peg 10. Nice to not know if the pegs are any good or not, but apparently it had some Silvers form.

So the plan was to feed softened micro at 9 metres for Skimmers (and perhaps Carp) using a 4x16 Jolly probably a bit too heavy a float for 3 ½ foot of water but the was a bit of a blow on up towards the other end of the Lake. This float picked up the flow in the opposite direction to the wind giving great presentation. I set up the Ronnie rig to fish at 4 metres with maggot over lose fed GB. Finally I set up two paste rigs to fish over both Silver lines in case the Carp arrived.

So with the plan in place and the all in shouted I fed the 9 metre line, but started on the Ronnie rig loose feeding small balls of GB. All I could catch on this was tiny Rudd, Ronnie’s, Perch and Skimmers – 4 to the ounce!! This wasn’t going to win any coin. So after feeding a big ball of GB this time laced with dead maggot I had a look over the Skimmer line with soft 3mm pellet. All I could get is indications from tint fish – fry size.

So it was time to have a walk round and see what was happening. I looked as if the Silvers wasn’t really feeding plus I had drawn at the wrong end as some Carp were being caught from the middle to the opposite end pegs.

Back to the peg and I caught a Carp on the Ronnie rig and later another on the soft pellet line and that was it except for these tiny fish pecking away at the hook bait. My two Carp weighed 9lb 12oz and my net of fry 1lb 10oz for a total of 11lb 6oz.

The match was won by Gordon Cannings (pictured right with some of his catch) from peg 8 with 77lb 15oz. Gordon fished at 10 metres initially using soft pellet over micro and later switching to 6mm meat hook bait feeding meat with the micro. Gordon fished a focussed match catching steady all through. Well done matey.

The Silvers was won by Adrian Jeffery (pictured lower right with his catch) with 7lb from peg 4. Adrian caught short using meat feed and hook bait all through.

The match stats are that 18 anglers fished with only 11 weighing in. I think the fishery design is probably beneficial for the fish stocks, but not conducive for match fishing because of the variable depths and the fish shoaling up depending on natural phenomenal, such as wind, temperature and air pressures. I also think is could do with some further stocking. I must say that Terry the fishery manager is so enthusiastic that I can only see it improving. I would suggest that some bankside/margin vegetation might help with splitting the fish up a bit particularly in the corners.