Monday, 6 July 2015

Sunday 05/07/2015 - Tony Rixon's Float Only League - Round Three - Landsend Fishery - Specimen, Match and Walters Lakes

Bela arrived this morning in his recently valeted van apparently he took his new girl friend out in it yesterday. We breakfasted at Shipham. Arriving at the fishery and after net dipping walked around Match and Walters Lake which was the Lake I was hoping to fish for three reasons:

  1. I always do reasonably well on the Lake resulting in a good days fishing.
  2. Nice and open with not too many tree enclosing you (that said there are a few growing a bit too big now.
  3. With no diving board platforms you are close to the water which I like, I don’t like looking down on my float.
Any peg on this Lake will do. So I was pleased when I pulled peg 50. I have drawn pegs 50 and 51 many times (still pegs I'm yet to draw) both of which can produce. I had a bounce in my step as I walked the walk to Walters. I had good company on peg 51 “Quiet Man” Gordon Cannings. I had drawn Paul Elms in the knockout that had drawn well on Walters Lake – end peg 58. Paul’s a good angler so wasn’t confident of beating him or the peg.

The rigs were simple just the two. A 4x12 Jolly to fish at 8 metres out in front. I choose to fish here because the wind was blowing off Tealham Moor over my back giving some wind cover. Each side was flat calm sheltered by the bank. A 0.2 Gram paste rig was set-up which served to fish over the Jolly line and in the RH margin on the Double Two top-set. Using a black marker I marked the two depths on the line – one below the float and the other above – obviously.

Whilst setting up Mike Duckett opened his row boat hiring business Ken Rayner first in the queue who had a paddle (pictured right) then Neil Mercer hired it. Not sure why they felt the need to do this – because they could I suppose.

I started on the Jolly lightly kindering some wetted micro with a dash of hard 4’s and with semi-hard 4 on the hook I started to catch Skimmers, Crucian’s and Carp to 3lb. I had a lovely first couple of hours however; the float tip was hard to see at times especially when the ripple mixed with the bright reflected sunlight. I was tempted to move in to calmer waters when the heavens opened up. Although Carol said the showers would be light I did take a fleece and a shower proof jacket – lesson learnt from last Thursday at Viaduct. The whole place went eerily quiet and the slight wind veered, I could now see the float but the bites dried up. I tried the paste over the swim but I could only interest a few nibbling Silvers.

Far too early for the margin I was thinking which I had been sparingly feeding with soaked 4’s (I would normally feed them hard but the rain thought better of it). I then spotted a Carp tail waving at me in a catch me if you can manner. So after a quick adjustment to the paste float in it went on the double two.

Now Tony Rixon has often commented on how crafty the Carp can be at Landsend, today I witnessed it first hand and close up. Although I was attempting to feed ¾ metre from the bank in 2 foot of water the Carp were swimming along tight to the bank in 4-6 inched of water easily visible then picking off the pellets falling short then nosing down the shelf. Of course the first thing the Carp meets isn’t the hook bait it’s the line resulting in the obvious liner, but no foulers. Because I was so close to the action (Tony only see’s it from 16 metres) I saw a Carp come along the bank I fed a couple of 4’s and it tuned immediately devouring them and swimming off 90 degrees to the bank – to the long sighted it would just look like a Carp rising in the swim – all fascinating to see at close quarters but I needed these decent size fish in the keep net. So I stopped loose feeding and started to accurately cup directly above the two foot deep line and then wait. This worked for five consecutive 6lb Carp.

The heavens open again giving me a right soaking but no where near Jim Jenner opposite me who didn’t have a coat and sat through it in his tee shirt I did feel sorry for him. When it rains this hard I wonder what the fish think, is Two Pots loose feeding pellet and react accordingly because after the rain I struggled for bites. So I left the margin and started to loose feed and watch for the “catch me” tails. I decided to do a “Two Pots” on the 8 metre line feeding about as much as I feed in a week in two big pot full’s. With paste on the hook I had two more Carp - Little and Large. The tails came back and I managed one more Carp (a linear) before the all out.

My Silvers weighed 11lb 5oz and my Carp 84lb for a total of 95lb 5oz for a section, Lake Win and 8th overall, plus I just managed to get through the knockout.

I am really please with the Drennan Acolyte pole especially the “Double Two” kits which was ideal for me today fishing in shallow water. I didn’t have to chase the rig around flapping in the wind.


The match was won by Tony Rixon (pictured below centre with the Silvers winner - I watched the film The Hobbit the other night) with 186lb 4oz from Specimen Peg 38. Tony caught …see is blog for details.


The Silvers was won by Andy Hembrow with 27lb 13oz of Skimmers from Specimen peg 34. Andy caught at 6 metres using 8mm meat fished over meat. Andy feed around three pints throughout the math

Full Result:

  1. Tony Rixon 186-04-0 peg 38
  2. Kevin Moulton 175-11-0 peg 33
  3. Dan White 163-12-0 peg 13
  4. Craig Edmonds 117-14-0 peg 3
  5. Steve Segar 111-05-0 peg 16
  6. Mike Walker 102-12-0 peg 19
Top Silvers:

  1. Andy Hembrow 27-13-0 peg 34
  2. Kevin Moulton 16-15-0 peg 33
Weigh Sheets + Soggy Bit:



























































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