Silverfox Match Angling: Sunday 08/10/2017 - Todber Manor Autumn Pairs

Monday, 9 October 2017

Sunday 08/10/2017 - Todber Manor Autumn Pairs - Hill View, Ash And Home Ground Lakes

With my partner away at the Stafford Moor Festival we roped in Martyn Rayett to stand in. We met up with Tony Rixon and Ken Rayner at Canards Well for breakfast and for them to navigate to the fishery.

I put Martyn on Hillview Lake putting me on either Ash on Home Ground. In to the landing draw net and out comes peg 85 on HG. Arriving at the peg I found myself sandwiched between two great guys, Scott Russell and Nick Ewers. The Lake was more or less flat calm with any wind blowing into the near end bank peg 90. The sun also came out and was to stay with us all day and in our eyes. Poor Scott was suffering with man flu coughing and spluttering most of the day. I didn’t know that you can buy Lemsip in pull cans!!

Whilst setting up Scott was swishing his light waggler, I was pumping pellet, Nick was chopping worms and Freddy Roberts on the wrong end bank peg was adding a noise that sounded like pumping pellet but wasn’t.

I was told we were at the wrong end and wrong side of the Lake, add the weather conditions I expected a struggle and thought that the Silvers may play their part. I set up thee rigs a 4x14 that would serve anywhere from top-set plus 2 to top-set plus 4. This rig was for anything that would eat 4 or 6mm expanders. Next was the Ronnie rig for the caster and finally a 4x10 to fish over the Ronnie rig later, again with caster at top-set plus 1, this line was also to be my margin line. The margins here are so shallow no self respecting carp would come in to 12 inches of water considering the prevailing conditions, choosing instead of fish up the shelf in 3 foot of water.

Plenty of Method feeders set up and to be soon to be abandoned. I didn’t see a fish our side caught on it.

I started on the long line, top-set plus three where I fed some 2mm expander pellet which I would keep topping up through the Kinder cup and with 4mm on the hook I started to catch small Skimmers 2 to 4oz. I then had a pair of small Carp. Our pegs were fishing really hard. So tried the Ronnie rig where I had been losing feeding casters from the off and caught well for a while so during these quite periods I would go long on the expander adding some more small Skimmers and a pair of small Carp. Then it would be back on the Ronnie’s. At least I was adding to the net. With two hours to go I fed the long line with two big pots of micro whilst that settled brought the 4x10 in play this time upping the caster feed through the Kinder and soon lost a foul hooked Carp but did land two better ones. Unfortunately I did lose two big Bream the first I think was fouled the other the hook pulled – bugger. Same format out long and another pair of Carp.

Both Scott and Nick were also struggling however; Nick had four “Moan-ons”. The most productive moan being “I hate fishing, I can’t get a bite” I don’t think he even needed to strike!

I finished with 19lb 9oz of Ronnie’s and my eight Carp taking the tally up to 48lb 1oz for 6 section points. Martyn weighed 47lb 7oz from peg 34 for 9 points. Two indifferent draws I think. However, with 10 point sections all is not lost – yet!

The match was won by Gabe (pictured above) with 175lb 8oz from end corner peg 53. Gabe caught out in front and down to his end margin in 3 foot of water using corn and meat. Gabe got through three tins of each throughout the match. Well done matey.

Full Result: