Thursday 21/09/2017 - Shiplate Fishery - Cost Cutter - Main Lake

Thought I would try Shiplate Fishery today as I have heard good reports about the Silver fishing in particular the Roach and Skimmers. I travelled there via Chew Magna and found it relatively easy, so I arrived in plenty of time thinking I would be first there, but not Mike Owens was already sat in the office as was Jim Thomas and Our Mark all sipping tea.

I got Mike Owens to walk around the fishery to refresh my recollections. The wind was blowing into pegs 13-15 so I didn’t fancy them. In to the draw bag and out comes peg 5 happy with this as it was wind free. To be fair you can’t be unhappy with any peg on this great well kept fishery – manicured jumps to mind.

I set up the Ronnie rig where I found 4 foot. I then set up a 4x14, plumbing up I found that the shelf dropped off into 7 foot at top-set plus four sections. Due to the wind blowing down the Lake was towing against at a rate of knots so switched to a 4x16 which presented much better.

I fed the long line with two big balls of GB laced with caster, micro and DR’s. Starting on the Ronnie rig with single caster over loose feed I caught straight away Ronnie’s from 2oz to 4oz – happy days. After a good first hour during which I added a large Perch the bloody wind completely changed and was now blowing in at me at 11-o-clock – bugger. Presentation was severely effected by this but slowing the catch rate but not by much the main problem was loose feeding the peg rather than the keep net! At half way I hooked my first Carp which broke me. So decided to give the Ronnie line a rest and try the longer line with double DR’s. I had a couple of 1lb Skimmers but found it slower weight wise than the Ronnie’s, so switched back. I stayed with this for the rest of the match landing one 6lb Carp losing another five, which caused the catch rate to slow. The wind buggered it up for me a bit today.

My one Carp weighed 6lb 14oz and my Ronnie’s 30lb 9oz. Beaten into third in the Silvers by Dave Wride on end peg 6 by 1oz!! Thinking of all those Ronnie’s I dropped.

The match was won my Mike Owens (pictured upper right with some of his catch) with 98lb 7oz from peg 1. Mike caught most of his fish on the GB method feeder with 8mm banded pellet. Mike later caught a few from his RH margin.

The Silvers was won by one of the three Wickham’s pictured right with 41lb of Skimmers to 3lb. Nigel caught at 13 metres using worm over worm and corn fed in GB.

It was another great day out fishing. I love Ronnie’s.

Full Result:

1. Mike Owens 98-07-0 peg 1
2. Tich Williams 90-08-0 peg 13
3. Mark Jones 87-14-0 peg 11

Top Silvers:

1. Nigel Wickham 41-0-0 peg 14
2. Dave Wride 30-10-0 peg 6
3. Mike Nicholls 30-09-0 peg 5

Weigh Sheet: