Tuesday 15/06/2010 - Mawgan Porth Open

Glenn joined us today and started moaning straight away about his match on Lodge Lake at Viaduct. Weighing in two late Carp for 13lb!

Our first visit this year to Mawgan Porth, and what a lovely setting it is too. I took the opportunity to purchase a pair of Biker Sun glasses from Geoff, Janet’s Partner. They grip the back of your head so don’t fall off and are very strong - they better be.

Having had the usual riot act read to us by Janet, into the draw bag and peg 43 stuck to my hand, which meant my first trip over the bridge to the island and not a bad draw for once!! Island pegs 42 and 46 have better form. Opposite me were Glenn and Steve (both pictured right - setting up). I had decided to fish paste as I framed in the two matches I fish here last year with it. I set up two rigs both identical 0.2 gram Corn and Paste – just in case. One rig was set up on a special adapted number two and the other on a normal top set with 22 hollow elastic. On my bait table was 1 pint of 4mm wetted pellet and 2 pints of paste – simple. I started out in front on the long top set over loose fed pellet and had a small Carp straight away – then I was pestered by small Skimmers to 3oz. Even though Janet has removed 10,000 there are still millions left. In to the LH margin with the short top set and another Carp then again pestered by Skimmers. I am now thinking it was going to be one of those days. I also thanked my luck that I hadn’t fed anything in the LH margin. I decided to leave it that way and found I had made the right decision as I didn’t look back, having a good 2 hours bagging Carp to 2lb. I did keep feeding the LH margin in the hope that I would keep the Skimmers here. However, I did have the occasional dob-in only to confirm that it was still full if !Blades”. I find it difficult not to feed a swim and I kept thinking what if I fed the RH margin would my catch rate increase. Anyway come an hour to go I couldn’t help myself and started feeding. The Skimmers soon homed in, leaving me struggling for the last hour. I envisaged 20 or more Skimmers attacking the paste hiding the bait form the Carp. I soon stopped feeding and did manage a few more before the all out. I was last to weigh and needed to beat 87lb I thought I would fall short. My first net weighed exactly 40lb and knowing that the other net had the bigger fish that I would win - totalling 95lb 7oz.

Runner up was Colin Dumphy (pictured right with the winner and Lake Owner Janet) from St Helens. Colin initially drew peg 38 and put his foot through the platform wooden boards, not quite falling in. Some other of the platforms are also in need of repair. Janet moved him to peg 40.

Full Result:

1. Mike Nicholls 95-07-0 peg 43
2. Colin Dumphy 87-09-0 peg 40
3. Dave (Default Dave) Chinn 70-08-0 peg 36
4. Glenn Bailey 58-04-0 peg 36
5. Mark Tanner 56-09-0 peg 41
6. Steve Nicholls 56-0-0 peg 37

Friday 19/06/2009 - Whiteacres - Day Seven - Mawgan Porth

Day Seven was to be our last day and we are back to Mawgan Porth. We were up early to clean the Caravan before we left. Lucky enough Mark Tanner (pictured right – posing for own camera – he seems to do this a lot!) is an expert as he is a long time “Shed Puller”. Bob the caravan was left gleaming and no smell of fish!!

A pre-draw walk round the Lake and it was noticeable that the water had become a lot clearer since the last match.

This is a remarkable venue; I would argue that it the best environment to fish in the UK. I took a short video of Janet (bottom left) giving the pre-match instructions. There are many fishery owners that could learnt a lot from Janet. Strange though, that Janet still needs to read it from a crib sheet after five years, three times a week! The tin rattler in the foreground is Janet's Dad.

To the draw and no sign of Skip (stig) McCabe – has anyone ever seen him? Steve drew peg 6, Mark peg 38, Glenn (pictured right – with a contented smile) drew the flyer peg 47 – this peg has won more times than any other. I drew peg 8. Due to the water clarity I decided to fish Corn over loose fed Hemp in to my left hand margin. It was very slow start – looking round everyone appeared to be struggling. After two hours I decided to try my favour paste in to the left hand margin. My catch rate increased to twenty fish an hour until the last half hour when the fish really had a go. I weighed 90lb 4oz for 5th overall and 3oz out of winning my section! If only I didn’t have a £25 pee!! I must say it was nice going back to five hour matches - much less tiring.

Glenn also had a slow start and after the first hour was well behind the venue expert Andy Partridge, who had drawn peg 16. Over the rest of the match Glenn gradually pulled back, especially in the last hour. Glenn fished hair rigged 10mm hard pellet at 50 cm (Andy reckons that a lot of fish live under the quite large platforms) over loose fed 4mm – lifting and dropping the bait until the fish hooked them selves! Alas, Glenn, like me could only manage second to Andy weighing 111lb 2oz. Glenn picked up £50 from the pools.

Steve weighed 54lb catching most of his fish in the last hour. Mark, like the anglers around him struggled weighing in 40lb. I think the clarity of the water dis effect the weights today.

Full Result:

1. Andy Partridge 126-05-0 peg 16
2. Glenn Bailey 111-02-0 peg 47
3. Dave Chinn 99-10-0 peg 11
4. Howard Stocker 90-07-0!! peg 42
5. Mike Nicholls 90-04-0 peg 8
6. Dave Turbberville 84-14-0 peg 5

Tuesday 16/06/2009 - Whiteacres - Day Four - Mawgan Porth Fishery

Mawgan Porth Fishery was first opened in 2004 and I fished the very first match. I drew peg 7 and found I was opposite Bill Knott. I remember Billy moaning most of the match, plus a reprimand from owner Janet leads to his promise not to fish the venue again. I think has kept hat promise. I fondly remember Billy’s Dad Bill Senior. Bill Snr used to fish the SWWL with his team Marazion where Bill and his wife owned a hotel. Bill loved fishing the Crane at Keynsham and didn’t think twice of the round trip throughout the winter to and from Cornwall. Bill was a very good river float angler. Bill is also well known for his cut price Mitchell reels. Bill probably was the first to buy bulk and sell below rrp pissing off the retail trade. Now they are all cut pricing – Internet etc… I wonder what Bill would make of this, bet he would be deeply involved if he was still with us. I also remember one day Bill Snr brought Bill Jnr to a match (aged about 8 years), Rich Coles made the comment that Bill Jnr looked like a Chimpanzee.


Back to the match. A warm welcome greeted us from Janet, plus a beautiful sunny day. The Fishery is in a beautiful natural valley, surrounded by wild flowers and fauna. But be aware Janet is very, very protective of her fishery and fish which reflects in the quality of the fish - absolutely pristine. Janet provides keepnets, landing nets and cloths. She also sweeps down the platforms before you set up as well as weighing everyone in (mammoth task on this venue)! It is the best environment I have fished in. The picture right shows son Steve setting up, just look at the surroundings. I also included a photograph of a real Duck House (pictured right, this one didn’t cost £2,500, nor is it up for a charity auction).

Janet does the draw in her little open sided shed (pictured right – with Glenn looking on). I need to draw in the shallow part of the lake to have a chance of framing which is the nearest en to the car park. I drew peg 16. Janet keeps contemporary records of all her matches and a quick check on my peg revealed that a mere 25lb came off of it the day before! I have fished the venue some 10 times now and have some experience of fishing it. Glenn drew next to me on peg 18 and Steve 28 both of these are end pegs, but at the wrong end. Mark drew better on peg 8. I started in the right hand margin on small bits of paste (about the same size as an 8mm pellet). I fished this over loose fed wetted 4mm pellet (sparingly). The fish are either Common or Mirror Carp averaging 1lb, with a lot of small 3 oz Skimmers (they can drive you mad if you get them in your swim – ask Glenn). I had a good first two hours catching one a bung. It then slowed and a switch to deeper water out in front on the top set and full sized pieces of paste. Back to one a bung until the last hour until the Skimmers moved in which left me scratching around for the odd Carp. I weighed 136lb 10oz (pictured right waiting for the scales) for second overall and a pickup of £56.

Mark weighed 74lb 3oz; Steve weighed 73lb 12oz and Glenn 74lb 14oz. amazing that there was only one fish separating them all!!

The match was won by the local venue expert Andy Partridge (pictured lower right) with 167lb 10oz from peg 5. Andy started on expander pellet over loose fed pellet then switched to corn over hemp. The Hemp is probably the answer to the Skimmers nuisance.


Full Result:

1. Andy Partridge 167-10-0 peg 5
2. Mike Nicholls 136-10-0 peg 16
3. Andy Thomas 134-10-0 peg 41
4. Chris Whitehead 116-13-0 peg 47
5. Jim Hornsby 103-11-0 peg 42
6. Dave Chinn 96-09-0 peg 36

The record match weight is 343lb 13oz by Skip McCabe in five hours!! The "Stig" of the Angling World - some say he has four arms!!!