Sunday 10/02/2019 - Windmill Open

I have started to take the weather forecasting with a large pinch of salt. There is definitely evidence of the forecasters stating a worse case scenario. As was the case today. Lovely day to be out in the country.

Met up with Geoff Francis at the Staple Hill Wetherspoons for breakfast - again warmish, so not too bad.

It was nice to Tim Ford and Glenn Bailey joining us today both quality angles, didn't expect the paste to work. This took as to 12 fishing today, so plenty of room for some!

Into the large wooden draw box to draw the golden peg, which was peg 10 - a chance here for someone. In again and out comes peg 3 mine for the day. Not that good a peg especially for Carp, but you never know.

The water level is right up, in fact the highest i've seen it, and lapping at my feet!

The wind was blowing off my RH shoulder so would be great to fish the waggler over to the island which was about 20 metres. So I started to ring up the rod for the midsection to break in my hand with little to no load on it. This is the second time this rod has broken, noticeably in the exact same place in the midsection which is the section that should take most load. Umm. In 50 years of waggler fishing I have only broke a rod twice - THIS ONE!

Next was a black top 4x14 Winter Titan to fish at top-set plus four for anything that swims. I started with single LR on the hook fished over LR's and wetted micro. I had an indication right away, then a missed bite followed quickly by a foul hooked Carp which came off. That was it for any signs of Carp, but started to get bites from small Ronnies. So I decided to fish for them, so set up the Ronnie rig and with Pinkie in the GB and single Pinkie on the hook I had a run of very small Ronnies. Unfortunately, every time the sun appeard the fish disappeared! So I started another Silver line over the longer line by feeding a big ball of GB. So by switching long in the sun and short in the gloom I kept athe Ronnies and the rare small 4 oz Skimmers coming until half hour to go when all lines died.

My Silvers weighed 7 lb 14 oz for first in the Silvers. Most of the Carp came from the high peg numbers.

The match was won by Keith Bilder (pictured upper right with the Silvers winner) with 77 lb 10 oz from inform peg 22. Keith caught mostly at 11.5 metres using corn hook bait fished over hard fours. Keith fed about one pint of 4's and a smidgen of corn.

Considering recent weather conditions and the poor results from other fisheries the lake fished OK.

Result:

1. Keith Bilder 77-10-0 peg 22

2. Dave Willmott 47-11-0 peg 18

3. Nick Saunders 35-0-0 peg 1

4. Tim Ford 31-07-0 peg 16

Silvers:

1. Mike Nicholls 7-12-0 peg 3

2. Bill Ferries 6-08-0 peg 23

Weigh Sheet:

Thursday 07/02/2019 - Bathampton AA - Club Match - Sections Only - Bridge Pool

Geoff and I had another enjoyable breakfast in the Cafe opposite:

We arrived at the fishery in plenty of time. Everyone commented on how milky the water looked in Bridge pool. It was evident that the Pool had been Siltexed once again. The Siltex appeared to be suspended in the cold water. Another waste of club funds.

Chris Rolfe has stated that he won't be running this years Coffin Dodgers matches which start in March 2019! Shame.

Into the draw bag and out comes peg 16. Happy enough with this peg as it is the narrowest peg on the Pool. However, the wind was howling through the peg which would make presentation very difficult if not impossible at times.

I set up a red top 4x16 Winter Titan to fish top-set plus four. And due to the siltexing  I wasn't sure if the fish would be on bottom so set up a 4x12 WT to fish halfway up the far shelf. Both lines would be with pinkie either with or without GB.

I started on the deep line which was at 2 o'clock by feeding a knub of GB laced with Pinkie and with the same on the hook started to get bites from small Ronnies, unfortunately most of them were falling off. I did change to a lighter elastic which didn't cure it. I'm not sure why this happens, but certain it's not anything to do with me or tackle, my thinking is they are very small and don't take the hook bait properly. I persevered with this line and occasionally got the float to go against the wind. I wanted to try over but the wind and sun prevented this for some while so had to stick catching the odd very small Skimmers and Ronnie. Once the sun moved on and the wind dropped I did go over and caught a few more Ronnies and four F1's. If only I could present I would have had a lot more. Today the environmental conditions conspired to turn a decent peg into a right struggle. A third way in to the match Dave Wride on peg 19 had an early bath for a FOE.


My four F1's weighed 4 lb and my Silvers 4 lb 11 oz for second in section weight of 8 lb 11 oz. My section was won by Chris Ollis (pictured right) with a nice net of quality Perch and Roach weighing 9 lb 4 oz from peg 24. I was envious of him having the wind off his back.

The match and silvers was won by Tony Rixon (pictured right with his Silvers catch) with 15 lb 14 oz from peg 29. See his blog for the details...

Result:

A Section: 
1. John "Cliff" Smith 9-04-0 peg 7
2. Paul Barnfield 8-14-0 peg 4

B Section:
1. Steve Dawson 10-08-0 peg 10
2. Hughie Evans 6-01-0 peg 8

C Section:
1. Chris Ollis 9-04-0 peg 24
2. Mike Nicholls 8-11-0 peg 16

D Section:
1. Tony Rixon 12-12-0 peg 29
2. Ray Bazeley 9-02-0 peg 30

Weigh Sheets:

Sunday 03/02/2019 - Windmill Open

Snow is now ice. After arriving at Wetherspoons the temperature had dropped significantly as shown right.

I met with Geoff for breakfast. Amazingly the food was hot - a new microwaver?

Arrived at the fishery and we were the only two there. Brad arrived and we persuaded him to help break the ice on peg 22 for us. Another angler arrived and decided to go back home. The ice was 30 mm thick and took some breaking. Geoff did  great job, such that I let him fish the one and only swim. However, he did invite me to fish next to him. After two bite less hours it was off to the pub.

Thanks to Brad for clearing the swim "For one bloody Skimmer".

Video of Ice Breakers Geoff and Brad:

Thursday 24/01/2019 - Bathampton AA - Club Match - Sections Only - Bridge Pool

Geoff and I had our usual decent breakfast at Hungry Horace's. iIn arrival I had my usual walk around the Lake. There were some signs of fish on peg 7, otherwise it look a bit dower.

This series got even more complex today with another knockout for the losers from the first knockout, of which I was one. Draw done and I am to fish against Enigma (Steve Dawson).

So into the draw bag hoping to draw 7. Well not far away with peg 5 you think. Alas not as this peg is narrow due to the opposite island. Peg 7 is in open water. What was good I could keep an eye on Enigma who was on peg 4. The other side on peg 6 was mumbler Paul Haines.

I initially set up the usual rig for the typical depth, a 4x16 rig. However, this peg must be the shallowest on the pool so was able to use a yellow tipped 4x14 F1 Winter. I plumbed up in the deepest part which was at 10 metres into dark water. I didn't bother over as the pool is so clear I thought it would be unproductive, so the one rig fished in the same spot all match was the plan - there was not really anywhere else to go. Geoff Francis had drawn peg 24 so I walked around to him and gave him a couple of pointers.

To be honest I wasn't expecting much from the swim and anticipated coming last in section if not last in the match. Last match one Roach was caught from it. So I fed a small ball of GB laced with some Pinkies and with double on the hook sat there for an hour without any indication. Meanwhile Enigma was catch 1 - 2 ounce Roach regularly. Ray Bazeley had also started well on peg 7 catching some decent Skimmers. The writing was on the wall. I then broke the blank with a small Ronnie. Approaching the end of the second hour I had a decent Skimmer followed quickly by another. It then died again. I decided to feed the Pinkie and GB loose which seem to switch the peg on providing a few more bites than I had been getting. Another two Skimmers and some Ronnies before it died again, this time for a very long hour. With 45 minutes to go I had another two Skimmers before the all out.

I was happy with how I fished the peg with it due to my tenacity than anything else. I weighed 8 lb 14 oz for second in section and third overall in the Silvers! More importantly I beat Enigma in the all-so-ran knock out cup. However, Enigma did go home with a smile as he won the Keynsham Angling donated £20 voucher raffle for those that don't pick up on the day.

My section and the match Silvers was won by Ray Bazeley (pictured upper right) with 12 lb 15 oz from my fancied peg 7. Ray caught on maggot over GB fished at mainly 11 metres.

The overall weight was caught by Geoff Francis from peg 24 with 17 lb 13 oz (pictured right - happiness is with a cider in the hand)

Result:

A Section 1st Ray Bazeley 12-15-0 peg 7
A Section 2nd Mike Nicholls 8-14-0 peg 5

B Section 1st Chris Ollis 8-04-0 peg 15
B Section 2nd Alan Oram 9-11-0 peg 8

C Section 1st Tony Rixon 11-06-0 peg 16
C Section 2nd Geoff Francis 17-13-0 peg 24

D Section 1st Paul Barnfield 6-12-0 peg 29
D Section 2nd Dave Gillard 7-7-0 peg 27

Weigh Sheets:

Sunday 20-01-2019 - Windmill Open - Match Lake

Short drive match today at Windmill Fishery. First breakfast at Wetherspoons - Staple Hill with Geoff Francis. A first today a warm breakfast, must have a new microwaver.

Twelve of us today so well spread out except pegs 6,7,and 8. The air temperature wasn't too bad and luckily the NNW wind was very light. Into the large wooden draw box and out comes peg 7. Happy with this one as it has open water so I could use the waggler sensibly. Geoff drew peg 25 and for the umteen time his peg was golden. Must be a few bob in it by now.

For company I had Mark Summerhayes on peg 6 and Dave Willmott on 8. Dave decided to set up the waggler, it was a 30 years old Daiwa Poker and weighed such that it would need a double handed strike. It was obvious he's not used it for  few years.

I also set up the waggler to fish the open water with maggot over loose fed LR's. The only rig was and a 4x14 Winter Titan to fish DR's at 10 metres over micro and DR's. I fed the pole line with  smidgen of micro and DR's but started on the waggler, but found feeding difficult to judge with the light wind changing continuously. I had the waggler dotted right down and was difficult to see, this was to prove essential due to the shy bites. I was soon playing my first small Carp. The wind and I got to grips with the feeding and I had a great couple of hours catching Carp between 2 and 3 lb. During this time I also had two decent Skimmers. The swim died a bit so I tried the pole to only have one tug which was probably a small Perch. I binned this line and stayed with the waggler for the rest of the match catching small Carp, two better ones and another three decent Skimmers. A great days fishing on the waggler. I fed about 1/2 pint of DR's all day.

My Carp weighed 74 lb 6 oz and my five Skimmers 11 lb 10 oz for top Silvers and my overall weight of 86 lb was good enough for the match win. So another double bubble. My Silvers pictured upper right.

Geoff didn't win the golden peg but picked up first Silvers by double default!!

The Lake fish really well in comparison to a lot of venues. Maggot was the most productive bait.

It was back to the pub with Geoff and Dave W for a cup of tea.

Result:

1. Mike Nicholls 86-0-0 peg 7
2. Keith Builder 65-10-0 peg 22
3. Garry Walsh 58-10-0 peg 18
4. Geoff Francis 54-05-0 peg 25

Silvers:

1. Mike Nicholls 11-10-0 peg 7
2. Gerry Walsh 3-03-0 peg 18
3. Geoff Francis 2-11-0 peg 25

Weigh Sheet:

17/01/2019 - Plantation - Rixon/Faiers Silvers Only - Main Lake

Geoff and I stopped in the Bridge Inn for breakfast. Service was good, however, the sausages were interesting, first bite and after chewing it for five minutes spat it out. The texture was akin to what I imagined the cardboard tube in a toilet roll might be. The "Chef" must be an alchemist to achieve this!

Over the years I have caught some strange things. Today must be my strangest - a Toothbrush - pictured right, which was landed shipping back on the whistle and foul hooked. I understand that Chris Ollis has caught a Mobile Phone, which is difficult, but plenty of anglers have lose fed them. But who takes a toothbrush fishing? I took it home for the Special One.

Geoff and I had a walk around the Lake which Tony had re-pegged, to find a cold stiff breeze blowing down the Lake, which later was to drop. Seventeen fishing today. Into the draw tub and out comes peg 3 - happy with that. Halfway to the Lake and a re-draw was shouted - bugger. Into the draw tub again and this time peg 8. Not as good as 3 was my thinking, however, getting to the peg and although there were plenty of stiff competition in my section they were all bunched together whilst I had plenty of room, so best peg in section by a long way was my thinking especially as the bright conditions would make the fishing hard.

I set up a 4x12 Titan and used it to plumb around and found that the depths were acceptably similar. I also found that the inside line was much too shallow to fish the Ronnie rig. So the one rig would fit all. There were signs of plenty of Carp just off the opposite island.

I decided on two lines one at top-set plus four at 10 o'clock for GB and maggot and the same length at 2 o'clock for 4 mm expander over micro. After liberally feeding both lines I started on my banker, the pellet. I quickly had a Ronnie followed by a few more before it died with signs of Carp having moved over the pellet. So an enforced switch to the GB line with triple Pinkie and I had a good two hours catching Ronnies and small Skimmers, it was never furious. I then had a decent Perch and two big Skimmers. I then lost two more close in which I think was caused by the hook pulling out due to the fish dragging the shallow bottom. I couldn't get my head around the feeding as it was a question of feed a nub and catch three quick fish and then feed again. I felt I was feeding far too much. I had, drawing the Carp in, and after losing one the swim completely died. I decided to put a big pot of micro in the pellet line to keep the Carp away. It was soon fizzing. I decided to add another section and start another line at 11.5 metres above the pellet line with the GB mix. My thinking was that the big Skimmers follow the feeding Carp. This worked and had two more decent Skimmers losing one foul hooker on the drop and another on the shallow slope - bugger. I went back over the original GB line and caught a few Ronnie before hooking another Carp which pulled my top 5 out of the pole, with it heading out to the middle of the Lake so was about to jump in when the fish turned and headed back so I was able to reclaimed the pole which had filled with water so was very heavy, the Carp broke me. How lucky was that, all I had was red hands from the freezing water. Then the tooth brush.

I weighed 17 lb for the section and fourth overall. As I predicted those anglers with more room did the best today. I'm sure Tony will rethink the pegging for the next match. That said there was plenty of fish caught with a tight frame.

The match was won by camera shy Dave Wride (pictured right - not caught on CCTV) with 27 lb 8 oz from peg 16. Dave caught in the water on the pole using 4 mm expander over potted micro and loose fed hard 4's.

Plenty of Rats spotted.

Result:

1. Dave Wride 27-08-0 peg 16
2. Dave Willmott 22-08-0 peg 1
3. Paul Barnfield 18-14-0 peg 2
4. Mike Nicholls 17-0-0 peg 8
5. Hughie Evans 16-04-0 peg 5
6. Chris Fox 15-15-0 peg 14

Weigh Sheet: 

Thursday 10/01/2019 Bathampton AA - Club Match - Sections Only - Bridge Pool

Today was the start on the BAA post Christmas matches being run by Dave Gillard (pictured right - someone put a thumb mark on my camera lens hence the poor quality)

The matches are based on 4 sections of 5 with two payouts - First coin goes to the highest Silvers section weight and second to the highest combined weight Defaulted - interestingly different.

First Geoff and I stopped at Hungry Horaces, we both agreed it was a good-un. It appears that it's the time of year when the temporary traffic lights are brought out of storage. Keynsham and surrounding roads are littered with the dam things.

Dave did the draw for the knockout and I drew Steve Tanner. Into the draw bag and out comes peg 24. Not one of my winter favourites. However, there are many worse pegs. My five peg section was 16, 18,19, 21 and 24. Peg 16 would have been my Silvers choice and 21 for Carp.

I set up a 4x16 Titan to fish at top-set and four barrels at 10 o'clock for Skimmers/Ronnies over GB and maggot. A 4x12 to fish over to the Island and down the RH margin in the hope of catching Perch that are sometimes caught on this peg. As I had time I set up the waggler to fish out in the open water, I now regret not giving it a try.

On the all-in I fed just the GB line and with a big live red maggot on the hook tipped with a flouro Pinkie it took a while to catch my first Ronnie. After re-feeding I had a run of small Skimmers, this lead me to think I was going to have a good day. Unfortunately, after a couple of re-feeds the swim completely died. I tried switching the same rig etc...round to 2 o'clock never had any indications from here. So back on the previous line and after a long wait I foul hooked a decent Skimmer which came off - bugger. A few small Ronnies followed, ony for the swim to completely die again. So thought I would try the Perch rig, first over to the island, which is very shallow, add the gin clear water the line was soon abandoned. So now down the right side but this time I fished close to full depth with maggot over kindered maggot. I started to get indications which I thought was Perch. After missing some indications I hooked a 5 lb Carp which I was glad to finally net - it's amazing watching them fight in the clear water. I added two F1's on this line but no Perch. I tried the original line again to no avail. So I spent the last half hour down the right and with 5 minutes to go I was getting indications and struck into fresh air twice. I was sure it was F1's having a play. Missed another indication on the whistle. Very frustrating as another F1 would have got me through the knockout which I lost by 14 oz to Steve - well done to him.

My Silvers weighed 5 lb 12 oz with my Carp taking me to 13 lb for highest section weight and a second section pick up.

The highest Silvers and overall weight went to Dave Wride (pictured upper right with his 31 lb of Skimmers) with 54 lb 4 oz from peg 28. Dave caught in the water using expander hook bait over pellet.

It was back to the pub with the usual suspects including "Cliff" (pictured right - incase anyone wondered)

Result:

A Section - Mike Jones - 10-12-0 peg 7 Silvers
A Section - Chris Rolfe - 1-08-0 peg 6 Combined

B Section - Tony Rixon - 20-04-0 peg 14 - Silvers
B Section - Dave Gillard - 0-02-0 peg 10 - Combined

C Section - Allan Oram - 8-08-0 peg 16 - Silvers
C Section - Mike Nicholls - 13-0-0 peg 14 - Combined

D Section - Dave Wride - 31-0-0 peg 28 - Silvers
D Section - Steve Tanner - 13-12-0 peg 26 - Combined

Top Weight on Day: Dave Wride - 53-04-0 peg 28

Weigh Sheets: