Thursday 20/10/2022 - Ray's Rip Off - Windmill Fishery - Match Lake

A little rain,this morning, but need lots more. Day started well with a Hungry Horace breakfast joined by Geoff Francis. Bit of a wait for it as it's a very popular cafe, we still arrived in plenty of time for the draw.

Waited for almost last into the draw bag to try and avoid peg 20 and out comes peg 4. This peg and peg 20 seem to be sticking to my hand over the last few years. Next door on 5 was Jeff Grant who had fallen over on holiday breaking his wrist - that would be all inclusive then!

Got to the peg and not a good start, stepped on to the steep and now wet bank and slipped,. Luckily had my net bag in hand and fell on to it breaking my fall. Lucky.

Had a plan to fish light and negative for the silvers only needing 3 lb or so to win. Surely I could manage that? So set up a 4 x13 MR with 0.1 hook length to a Preston 5 elastic to fish 2 barrels which I intended to fish hard for an hour and see what I could muster. I would later convert it to my carp line using a 0.4 gram RJ Lifter, which I use for lifting and dropping at dead depth rather than their true design of laying line on bottom. And finally the waggler to keep me occupied until the carp decided to feed, which will probably produce nothing other than foulers.

Potted a small ball of GB with a few Pinkies and with single Pinkie on the hook and in the first hour produced three small Perch a even smaller Skimmer and one Ronnie! Time to give it up so fed the lone heavy with micro.

Went on the waggler which was set at a hook length depth and the next three hours went like this: Numbers 1 to 7  foulers lost only losing one hook. No 8 fouler landed in the fin. No 9 fouler also landed, again in the fin.

Two hours left so picked up the carp rig and waited and waited continually feeding pots of allsorts until 1 hour to go hooked a carp in the mouth - yes. It wasn't until the last twenty minutes before I hooked a big Common and with time against me now in a fish race bullied it too much and pulled the hook - bugger. Had one more carp before the all out.

My silvers weighed 3 oz - again!! waste of time and my four carp 20 lb 6 oz for a 5th overall total. Match lake in desperate need of a restocking of carp and silvers.

The match was won by Leyton "Any Peg" Palmer (pictured above) with 80 lb 5 oz from peg 23. Leyton caught on worm over micro at 13. Well done matey.

The silvers was won by Andy Gard (pictured) with 3 lb 10 oz from peg 14. As expected it took just two Skimmers, both caught consecutively on the waggler and maggot over no feed. Well done matey.

Back to the Ringer with the usual suspects for a pint and a cheese roll. A great working mans after work boozer.

Thankfully down Plantation next Thursday the best silvers venue around these parts.

Result:

1. Leyton Palmer 80-05-0 peg 23

2. Paul Barnfield 71-13-0 peg 11

3. John Smith 39-03-0 peg 10

4. Kev Bamford 35-11-0 peg 2

5. Mike Nicholls 20-09-0 peg 4

6. Paul Haines 20-05-0 peg 7

Silvers:

1. Andy Gard 3-10-0 peg 14

2. John Smith 3-08-0peg 10

Weigh Sheets: