Sunday 09/10/2016 - Windmill Fishery Open - Match Lake

I have given my driver a week off to fish the Stafford Moor Autumn Festival – good luck matey. So I had a little longer in bed this morning as I am only 10 minutes from today’s choice of fishery – Windmill. A beautiful autumn’s day – wind in the NW which was a tad nipply.

When I arrived at the fishery Terry the fishery manager had gone into panic mode (heard Huntstrete had KHV) and was dipping anything that resembled a net or stink bag (pictured right). I think Terry’s Jack Russell Bentley also had a dipping. We all found it rather amusing.

Seventeen booked in so the numbers right for everyone to have a decent peg. Before the draw I warned everyone that there was a double headed disc in the draw box – peg 15 on one side and 18 on the other. You be mad to choose peg 15 over 18– wouldn’t you John Osborne. In to the draw box which my arms are just long enough to reach the bottom and out comes peg 6. Very happy with this one, I drew it a couple of weeks ago and had double bubble from it, so had the all important confidence in the peg.

Set up a short Ronnie rig, a 4x16 Jolly to fish top set plus two sections of pole and a 4x12 Jolly to fish down wind in the RH margin side set to 30 inches. The water was a bit clearer than usual hence fishing further out than usual. The Ronnie rig was a failure today due to the wind dragging it around so only had a couple of trial runs.

I fed the margin with a ball of GB laced with dead reds followed with a half pot of micro with a few 4mm expander. I started on the long line with a 4 mm expander on the hook and in the following 45 minutes landed five Carp losing one at the net. After re-feeding with just 4mm expander I had a run of small Skimmers and the occasional Crucian. I then hooked a decent Carp which broke me – well not quite the knot slipped over the spade – bugger. I then had a nightmare foul hooking Carp mainly I think due to towing into them as I managed to pick up some tow against the wind. Another run of small Skimmers and two more Crucian’s and a 12 oz Roach. Another couple of Carp now with seven in the one net so time to put another net in and have a Banana walk. So I fed the margin again with a pot of neat dead reds and more expanders on the long line. Back in the saddle and another Carp and two decent Skimmers. Then I hooked Bill Ferris’s elastic complete with rig he had just lost playing a Carp on peg 24, the Carp was still attached and whilst hand lining it in it got caught in my keep net and broke the line. At least Bill got his rig back – need to size up on the elastic mate it looked like a number 3 solid. We were now into the last 45 minutes and into the margin with triple red on the hook and I had a short wait before I hooked my first margin munter. I followed this up with three more before the all out with the swim getting better the time went on so didn’t want to finish.

My Silvers weighed 13lb 5oz (me with the Silvers pictured right) and my Carp 88lb 9oz for a total of 101lb 14oz for another double bubble beating Martyn Rayet by 11oz and John Barker by 4oz. Love it.

Left my camera home so used the phone camera so pictured not that good today.

Finally Ray Bazeley is running a match on Windmill next Thursday.

Full Result:

1. Mike Nicholls 101-14-0 peg 6
2. Martyn Rayet 101-03-0 peg 27
3. Mark Summerhayes 79-10-0 peg 29
4. Dave Haines 75-13-0 peg 21
5. Gerry Walsh 69-08-0 peg 8
6. Dave Willmott 45-15-0 peg 20

Top Silvers:

1. Mike Nicholls 13-05-0 peg 6
2. John Barker 13-01-0 peg 3
3. Bob Price 8-10-0 peg 26

Weigh Sheets: