Sunday 23/09/2018 - Ivy House Open - Kingfisher and Moorhen Canals

My neck is still playing up and was glad to get up at 5 am and exercise it. With this and the pouring rain and temperatures plummeting I wasn't that enthusiastic to go fishing. I was hoping Bela would be keener, but having just got back from sunny Italy he also was lethargic. We left 15 minutes early to get Bela's breakfast first. And later after the match we had afternoon tea featuring Karen's home baked cakes. Karen right slicing the Coffee and Walnut. Good enough for the GBBO.

I had a quick chat with Allan Oram who had fished the Canals the day before. I asked him what he had learnt, he reply draw well.

So into the draw tub and out came white ball 44 which is in the middle of Kingfisher Canal. As it happened I was next to Bela who had drawn better with peg 42. Luckily there wasn't much wind so I erected the umbrella. We were promised it would stop at 1 pm which it did, but the NW wind was still a tad cold for me. How am I going to get through the coming winter?

As per usual I planned to fish for Silvers then later Carp. So set up two paste rigs and the usual Silvers rigs I use here. So I started at top-set plus two with 4 mm expander over micro whilst I loose fed the maggot line for the Ronnie rig, this resulted in three small skimmers. It wasn't going well so picked the Ronnie rig and with single maggot caught a Stockie Carp first try. In again and I hook what I thought was another and whilst bullying it it came off only to find Tench slime up the line. In my defence the Stockies do fit similarly. I then started to catch small Perch with the odd Ronnie. It wasn't going well. I went back out on the expander and was getting these tiny pulls. I wasn't sure what it was so stuck with it until I managed to hook one of them - another small Perch! I got another barrell out and opened another line by feeding some GB with some reds and went over it with single maggot and got the same indications which finally resulted in another tiny Perch. I had a walk and everyone to my left was struggling with Allan next door having caught one Skimmer. Different story to my right with Bela catching and Ryan Shipp also catching well including Skimmers. I went back and set up a 4x10 winter set to three foot and fished double maggot over kinder live maggot and sat for the rest of the match sulking about my draw and how right Allan Oram was. I did have three better Carp losing three foulers and five more Stockies, but interestingly not one more Silver.

I weighed 4 lb of Silvers which unbelievably was second best on the canal!! My total weight was 26 lb 10 oz so nearly a days fishing. Bela's 44 lb 6 oz got him last in the money so a celebratory drink in bar-gar-age.

The Silvers and the match was won by Ryan Shipp (pictured right with his catch of Skimmers) from peg 41 with a Silvers weight of 39 lb 10 oz and  match winning weight of 77 lb 2 oz. So a double bubble. Ryan caught most of his Silvers on maggot over GB and his Carp he caught long on worm over worm. Well done to him. I rather fish for Silvers against his uncle Des than Ryan!

You can tell when it's rained for most of the day when the "Rock and Pole Rollers" are at it - pictured right. Nothing was broken during this dance. A dance apparently called the Slosh.

A great fishery run my some very amicable people.

Result:

1. Ryan Shipp 77-02-0 peg 41 K
2. Matt Vater 73-04-0 peg 22 M
3. Bela Bakos 44-06-0 peg 42 K

Silvers:

1. Ryan Shipp 39-10-0 peg 41 K
2. Phil Godding 13-14-0 peg 28 M

Weigh Sheet: