Silverfox Match Angling: Sunday 22/06/2014 - Viaduct Summer League

Monday, 23 June 2014

Sunday 22/06/2014 - Viaduct Summer League - Campbell, Carey and Lodge Lakes

I think ISIS is bemusing the west. It took the combined forces of NATO and the US to “Liberate” Libya with sophisticated weapons costing billions of dollars. It appears it has taken four students from Cardiff with bandanas and old AK47’s to take it back! Tony Blair has a lot to answer for.

After spending a week down the Viaduct Fishery I was feeling a bit jaded but was up for another visit when asked to reserve for Andy Ford who apparently has Chicken Pox. Glenn Bailey my travelling partner for today was guesting for Tom Mangnall. Travelling down there was plenty of activity preparing for Glastonbury Festival so an area to avoid next week. We had breakfast in Cannards Well.

The really hot weather is still with us a shady peg would not only be a good for the body but also probably good for the fishing.

I choose not to fish the league as there wasn’t a Silvers pool that said it was still a sell out with 55 anglers fishing. With the 120 peg Maver Match This match on the day before it’s hard to determine how it will fish and where you would need to draw. So with the mind blank except the wish for shade it was in to the coffee tin and out comes peg 86, end bank of Carey Lake. A quick look at yesterday’s results and plenty of DNW’s on the end bank with peg 87 weighing 80lb. No shade here all day in the blazing sun it was to be.

I was lucky as I found myself with great company with Steve Skelton on peg 85, Glynn Reynolds peg 87. Dave Roper peg 87 and Kev Moulton on peg 90. The complete end bank was full with proper anglers so there wouldn’t be any thrashing around at 16 metres hoping for a Carp to catch you.

For the first time for some while I didn’t have any casters in the bait bag and felt a bit unprepared so went a bought a pint in the shop passing Tony Rixon on the way who thought it would fish well today – time will tell.

I set up three rigs to paste one for 10 metre and one for the LH margin which I had cleared out and a Ronnie rig which didn’t get wetted. The bait tray consisted of 2 pints of 4’s, paste and a pint casters.

On the whistle I fed a pot of 4’s at 10 metres and started lose feeding casters in the margin. First put in I had a 10 lb Mirror Carp quickly followed by another two. I was winning the Lake after twenty minutes! I fed again and found that the Skimmers moved in catching three for 8lb 2oz. I notice a big swirl over the caster so re-fed the long lone and put the margin paste rig over the caster and within seconds the float went under at a rate of knots only for me to miss it, with the Carp waving goodbye with a large bow wave. I did have another swirl later in the match with a repeat performance - so nothing from the margin.

We then had a welcome visit from the Ice cream girl and had a rest from the fishing joining Steve Skelton to eat our choc ices.

Back out on the long line and the Skimmers had buggered off to Glynn’s peg where he was catching so good-uns. I had a quiet period but at least I wasn’t getting pestered by the Silvers which told me there were Carp around. I then had a twenty pounder which was a bit too big for the landing net breaking the net head lifting it out. Thankfully Glynn came to the rescue with a Freenze Landing net.

I started kindering the feed with the paste and although I got more fish in the swim I had brought them up in the water foul hooking a couple which are too large to land hooked like this and happily pulling out without rig damage. I returned to dump feeding and fishing it out catching big Carp until the end. The tenth and last fish was a large double Common Carp which again broke the landing net head lifting it out. It was the first time I’ve broke a keep net head and today I break two! I think this was down to the very hot weather softening the plastic that secured the screw fixing.

Glynn and I had a good old battle although he had two more Carp than me I thought my Carp were much bigger, but thought he would sneak it with his 40lb of Skimmers.

My ten Carp weighed 124lb 12oz plus my Skimmers taking my total to 132lb 14oz for 11^th overall!! I was amazed that I had beat Glynn by 14oz. I did pick up second in the section by default

Dave Roper on peg 88 had a personal best today a 23lb 14oz Carp (pictured above right)

The match was won by Mash (pictured right) with 250lb 4oz from peg 98. Mash caught all his fish on the straight lead with 11mm banded pellet. He fed 2 pints of 8’s throughout the match.

The series was won by Andy Neale (pictured lower right adding another Carp to his on the day second overall 220lb) caught on the straight lead from peg 81. Andy caught either over to empty peg 82 or out to the end of the spit. He fed two bags of 8 pellet.

Tony Rixon was right the venue fished it's head off with nearly half the 55 fishing breaking the ton!!

Full Result: