Sunday 13/10/2013 - Avon Angling Open - Platation Fishery - Horseshoe Lake

With Bela away down on the Stafford Moor Autumn festival, I was on my own today so I had breakfast at home.

 

In to the draw box and out comes peg 19, which was on the inside on the first leg. The peg was under a tree which because it rained all day decided to throw a bucket equivalent of water over me every time the wind blew. Luckily the Gortex did its job as I didn’t bring my umbrella.

 

I had an island opposite at 11.5 metres making it a narrow swim. I also had an assessable (because the sedges had be cut back a bit) margin swim to my left. I plumbed up with a 4x12 Jolly down the middle and found 3 ½ foot of water. This depth was more or less the same where ever I plumbed including over and the margin. I set up a corn rig for the margin.

 

I decided to keep my options open with regards Silvers and Carp because the first time I fished this Lake I won the Silvers from this peg. So I decided to focus down the middle with two swims one out in front with 3mm expanders over micro and another with the identical rig at 10 o clock to fish allsorts over GB. Having fed both lines and loose fed a few hard 4’s in the margin I started on the pellet and caught a common straight away. I had a good start putting six Carp in the net the biggest being 8lb. The swim slowed so I tried the GB line with single red maggot and had a 2 oz Skimmer followed by a few “drop-off” Ronnie’s. I then tried the soft pellet over the GB and had a small Common Carp. I re-fed the GB line and had another couple of Carp. This is when things got difficult, I hit a wall. All I could do was add of carp from the margin on corn and one on triple maggot over the GB line which I had converted to maggot.

 

My Silvers weighed 2oz and my ten Carp 35lb 1oz for a total of 35lb 3oz! This left me coinless in 6^th place.

 

On Hindsight: I shouldn’t have fed the GB but had a maggot line instead. Secondly I should have had another line over to the island and pulled up the slope. The reason I didn’t bother over was because I thought the wind was going to pick up, but it didn’t.

 

He match was won By Tony Rixon (pictured right with some of his catch) with 80lb 2oz from peg 6. Tony caught up the bar at 13 metres with bronze maggot…see his blog for all the details…Including when Tony first shouting "all out" instantly followed by “fish on” – organisers perk I suppose!

 

Eighteen fished today with four having an early bath probably due the incessant rain.

 

Full Result:

 

1. Tony Rixon 80-02-0 peg 6
2. Mark Walsh 55-03-0 peg 20
3. Paul Elms 51-12-0 peg 1
4. Craig Edmonds 50-12-0 peg 16
5. Phil Harding 40-01-0 peg 9
6. Mike Nicholls 35-03-0 peg 19

 Top Silvers:

 

1. Clive Federey 8-01-0 peg 14
2. Steve Segar 6-13-0 peg 3

Weigh Sheet:

 

 

 

Sunday 21/04/2013 - Avon Angling Open - Plantation - Horseshoe Lake

When it comes to Bela versus Adam Richman there is only one winner – Bela. However, when it comes to Bela versus Stella, again there is only one winner, which left me driving Bela’s van to the match!

 

After a late breakfast at Shipham we were still an hour early for the 10 o clock draw – why so late?

 

In to the draw landing net and out comes peg 8, which is the first peg over the bridge on the right. The next peg being peg 20 on my left – Duh! Jason Radford arrived on this peg. Hence the need to describe the pegs rather than allocated peg numbers – the weigh sheet shown below is not in peg order, the plan of the pre modified Lake shown right helps in this respect.

 

Talking to both locals Paul Faiers and Glen Calvert it looked as if it was carp or nothing – how right they were.

 

Why is it that even though the walks to the pegs are ridiculously short Anglers still have to park as close to their pegs as possible even though they are potentially disturbing other anglers pegs? I thought Shane Casswell was going to try and get his car over the narrow bridge. I was pestered all day with cars and walkers coming along my end bank, which irritated me, probably more than the fish. I suggest next match (if there is one) a car is parked over the Lake entrance - Whinge over.

 

I decide on two rigs a 4x16 Jolly for Silvers with maggot over GB at 10 metres where I had eight foot of water and a 4x12 Jolly for both the inside RH margin and to the end bank at the same depth. On the “all in” I fed a ball of GB laced with a few dead reds at 11 o clock, followed by a few hard 4’s down to the RH margin at 5 metres, finally a mix of wetted micros and dead reds in to the end margin between to stick-ups.

 

Starting on the GB line I could not buy a bite. So I re-fed another dose of GB and tried the end margin with three dead reds. This resulted in three quick biggish Carp all foul hooked losing all of them! Too early for the margin I’m thinking, so it was back over the GB and first put in I had a bite which was a 2lb Skimmer foul hooked which resulted in nothing in the keep net. I fed again and went back to the end margin but this time with single corn and had three good Carp in three put in’s. That was the end of it for the next two hours with the GB line now abandoned in disgust it was time to try the short RH margin again with corn this resulted a missed bite followed by another foul hooked Carp. I spent the rest of the match to the end bank between the two stick ups landing another decent Carp and losing another foul hooked making it Mike 4 Carp 5!

 

My four Carp weighed in at exactly 25lb for 7^th overall in what was a tight match. I wish I could have landed a couple of those foul hooked fish as it may have produced some coin today.

 

The match was won by Trigger (pictured right sporting his new trend setting Polaroid’s) from the RH Island end point with 69lb of Carp.

 

The Silvers was won by Paul Faiers (pictured lower right with his catch) with 8lb of Skimmers. 

 

Full Result:

 

1.      Craig (Trigger) Edmonds 69-0-0 - Top end right Island

2.      Tony Rixon 50-01-0 – Top end outside shoe

3.      Shane Caswell 44-04-0 – Top end inside shoe left Island

4.      Clayton Hudson 37-06-0 – Middle outside shoe

5.      Steve Seager 35-03-0 – Middle far side Island

6.      Mike West 29-08-0 – Middle Island opposite Clayton

7.      Mike Nicholls 25-0-0 – End peg Far side Island

 

Top Silvers:

 

1.      Paul Faiers 8-0-0 - Next to Clayton

2.      Glen Calvert 4-08-0 – Far side outside shoe top end

 

Weigh Board: