Silverfox Match Angling: Sunday 03/01/2021 - Westerleigh Winter league - Round Two

Monday, 4 January 2021

Sunday 03/01/2021 - Westerleigh Winter league - Round Two - Taylor's Pool and Shipp's Canal

With the weather turning rather cold the local Lakes have frozen over. I promised myself a few years back that I would not fish if a venue was frozen over, which was the main reason for stopping fishing leagues - I will never learn. However, although I packed the ice breaker only to arrive and find Mark Taylor and Ron Hardiman braking the ice for everyone. Mark did it using his newly refurbished boat - Christened HMS Bela after the Ships Architect. Didn't take them long once Mark worked out the best way to use the boat - video below weigh sheet. And yes well overseen by me!! Thanks to both.

I picked counter peg 16. Two thoughts - I will have my back to the very cold NE wind - The peg has not been productive in recent matches. That said, the fish on both Canal and Pool tend to move around in pockets. Ever optimistic me. For company I had Tony on end peg 17 and Alan on 15. Paddington on peg 18.

I took the ice breaker to the peg to give it a couple of chucks for some QA on Marks work, and stir up the bottom a bit 😁.

Set up the one rig - 4x13 MR - Silverfox wire winter to fish 10 metres to the edge of the ice to my right - simple. I noticed some small Ronnie's topping in pegs 17 and opposite on peg 20, so hopefully won't blank. I decided to fish pinkie and GB all day. I started by feeding a very small nub of GB laced with a few Pinkies and with double Pinkie on the hook expected to catch a small Ronnie early. That didn't happen. I was biteless for 2 1/2 hours, whilst Tony next door was catch small Carp at 13 metres using 10 mm punch over liquidised with gravel. Most anglers I could see were catching except for me Alan and Ron on peg 14. Finally had a bite and missed it dropped back in and the float seemed to hold up a bit, so a speculative strike welcomed a 3 oz Crucian to the net. Soon after I hooked a Skimmer of about 2 1/2 lb which shed the hook and tantalisingly hung up in the water for a while but was out of scooping distance, and painfully slowly disappeared into the depths along with a potential £40 Silvers pickup. On inspection the Pinkie had gone round the hook - bugger. I did have another one of 1 lb 12oz and a few Ronnie's before the fish stopped feeding as quickly as they appeared, making the last hour unproductive for most.

My Silvers weighed 2 lb 2 oz and as expected with the lost Skimmers costing me - can I play the Skimmer again please I will take it much easier - promise! My total weight of 2 lb 5 oz gave me a lowly 8 points. Luckily my partner Martyn did the business again on the Canal.

The Pool was won by Tony with 12 Carp for 13 lb 8 oz - Punch over Liquidised.

Shaun won the Silver with two Skimmers and a few bits for 3 lb 2 oz - Maggot over GB.