Sunday 16/06/2013 - Summerhay's open - Longs pond

As all the Viaduct Lakes were booked out to club matches there wasn’t an open match, So as I was impressed with the first match I fished at Summerhay’s (Junction 24 - M5) we booked in for their open to be fished on Long’s Pond which is a canal donut type Pond (not quite a snake). My first time on this Pond and I was looking forward to it as I had heard a lot of good comments about it – “20 - 30lb Skimmers on every peg with plenty of small Carp”. With soft pellet over micro the regular approach for the Silvers at 7 metres which would suit me. That said I also think it would suit the Pellet thrashers and rat hole anglers like Tony Rixon with a good few of the swims needing 16 metres to do this – a bit Landsendish. The only draw back of the fishery it is right next to the M5 and it can be a bit noisy, however I do have the ability to switch back ground noise off (except Tom Thick) when I am fishing.

 

It was nice to see Steve Jackson giving up his Sundays fishing to coach the local juniors, a good turn out too which was nice to see. Well done Steve credit where credit is due. We need more of the commercial fisheries to start junior clubs – it’s in their interest.

 

After collecting the fisheries keep nets it was into the draw fanny which does make the draw a bit longer than usual as the hands seem to be in there for an unhealthy long time. Out comes peg 12. Glenn drew peg 29, Mark15 and Martyn 36.

 

Arriving at the peg I found myself next to Glenn Wickham who was on peg 11. However, the pegs are on a corner so we were facing at 90 degrees so wouldn’t effect one another as some of the pegs are 5 metres apart. Glenn said that my peg was good at 16 metres over to the far side. I explained that might be difficult as I only carry 13 metres! I was thinking a peg for Tony. Glenn also said that there was a lot of small fish in the Pond which needed plenty of caster to get the bigger size Silvers catchable. This got me thinking that I might initially target these small fish as I wasn’t sure it was going to fish that well because of the crappy weather we have been having.

 

So I set up the Ronnie rig, a soft pellet rig using a Senses Stainey 4x14 as the depth is only 4 ½ foot, finally a margin paste rig to fish down to the pallet 5 metres away. On the whistle I fed a few dampened micro at 7 metres, starting on the Ronnie rig with caster over caster I had a few small Ronnie’s, tiny Skimmers and a small Tench before the swim went finicky, thinking that the Carp had move in I tried the paste rig only to have the small fish nose it about. Looking around I was right it wasn’t fishing that well. So time for the soft and found similarly I was getting finicky indications. I did have one decent Skimmer and a few tiny Ronnie’s and Skimmers before the swim started to fizz. The way the float was behaving I was worried that the fizz was due to the arrival of a batch of tiny Skimmers which tend to mess around with the soft pellet. I had now been fishing for 3 hours and had very little in the Silvers net and one tiny carp in the other. After trying the paste in the margin a few times I abandoned this as the water did look a bit clear for the fish to feed close in. I decide to spend the rest of the match on the paste over the micro at 7 metres so set up the same rig as yesterday. I just couldn’t believe what happened next. For the next hour it was a Carp a bung with a smattering of Skimmers and Tench. I was suddenly in a fish race and I was just about to change to heavier elastic to speed up the process when the swim started to fade. For the last two hours I caught steady but no where as frantic as the fourth hour when I reckon I caught 75% of my fish.

 

I didn’t count my Carp but I had around 20 at a guess. These weighed in at 51lb 12oz and my Silvers 18lb for a total of 69lb 12oz for an overall win and Silvers second by just 3oz; otherwise it would have been a double first.

 

The Silvers was won by Nigel Wickham (pictured right with the match winner – you do feel surrounded by the Wickham’s on this venue with Dad Roy on peg 9) with 18lb 3oz of mainly Crucian’s from peg 17. Nigel caught down the track on chopped worm over worm.

 

Mark Tanner (pictured right with 4 sections of pole that should be two sections) was next peg to me and had caught his rig in the margin undergrowth and was pulling his full 18 stone to dislodge it, but gave up and walked round and after untangling his rig did the exact same thing this time his Senses pole gave up and when it did everyone on the venue thought there was a crash on the M5 with the 13 metre pole shattering in to three – a new 5 and 7 section on the way from Tony Rixon by the next morning – excellent service. I think mark could become a good customer for Tony.

 

I will be back soon to this fishery as it does appeal to me. One suggestion is for a better set of weigh scales a they are a bit on the small size.

 

Full Result:

 

1.      Mike Nicholls 69-12-0 peg 12

2.      Bill 65-05-0 peg 31

3.      Glenn Bailey 57-08-0 peg 36

4.      Mark Leahy 54-11-0 peg 39

5.      Bruce 44-14-0 peg 7

6.      Martin A 36-12-0 peg 24

 

Top Silvers:

 

1.      Nigel Wickham 18-03-0 peg 17

2.      Mike Nicholls 18-0-0 peg 12

 

Weigh Sheet Follows:

 

 

Saturday - 15/06/2013 - Viaduct Open - Lodge Lake

Day one of our annual fishing holiday and the second year at Viaduct Fishery in their excellent accommodation – comes highly recommended. With the same four as last year – Mark Tanner, Glenn Bailey, Martyn Woodington and I with Tim Ford coming down for the Wednesday and Thursday matches.

 

We were booked in to the Viaduct Open however; Mark couldn’t fish today due to undisclosed reasons! Martyn drew peg 73, Glenn one of my favourite peg 66 and me on 70. Based on recent form all corner pegs have been doing the business, so was expecting both Martyn and Glenn to be buying the beers tonight. For company I had Dave “Jinx” Roper on peg 69 and Pete new comer on peg 71. However, in the bright sunshine we were being blinded by the two keep nets opposite (pictured right). Who on earth buys keep nets this colour, someone that gets them free with a full set of hi-viz clothing me thinks. Or is it Elf and safety gone mad - didn’t do the fishing much good either.

 

For starters I had decided to have a dabble for the Silvers with casters on the Ronnie rig with the main attack being paste at 9 metres. I was soon on the paste even though I did have a 10 lb Common on the caster because all I could catch was the resident small fish – Rudd, Ronnie’s and tiny Skimmers. It was also soon obvious that the Lake wasn’t going to fish that well even though the conditions were favourable – was it because there were 15 of us on the Lake – I don’t think so – it’s just that time of year. I did have five Skimmers on the paste and by feeding heavier than usual with micro I have another six Common Carp to 10lb. My seven Carp weighed 52lb 2oz and my few Silvers 9lb 9oz. You certainly couldn’t have guessed where the winner would come from with none of the corners living up to their reputation allowing me to sneak in third and a section pick up – a good start – I’m not buying the beers though!

 

The match was won by John Derby (pictured right with the Silvers winner) from peg 60 with 94lb 11oz. John caught 50% on the straight lead with hard pellet and 50% on the meat short on the pole.

 

The Silvers was won by Bob Gullick (pictured right with his catch) with 33lb from peg 68, consisting of 50% small fish and 50% decent Skimmers. Bob caught on maggot, caster and worm fished over caster and GB.

 

Full Result:

 

1.      John Derby 94-11-0 peg 60

2.      Dan White 77-09-0 peg 57

3.      Mike Nicholls 61-11-0 peg 70

4.      John Green 49-08-0 peg 59

5.      Lewis Greenwood 46-06-0 peg 53

6.      Glenn Bailey 41-02-0 peg 66

 

Top Silvers:

 

1.      Bob Gullick 33-0-0 peg 68

2.      John Green 10-10-0 peg 5

 

Weight Board follows:

 

 

Thursday 13/06/2013 - Ray's Rip Off - Rood Ashton

I decided to fish another rip off match at Rood with Mark Tanner. This time we all met the café just behind the K&A Canal at Semmington, a lot of fond memories for me fishing this section on the Canal, which I need to write about.

 

We had jus done the draw when Pete Philips arrived. Rip-off initially said he couldn’t fish because he said he “might turn up” - duh! Anyway Pete dropped in after end peg 10 – John Smiths peg.

 

Rip-off had drawn peg 1 – AGAIN, with his personal chauffeur on peg 2 – hence Rip-off match. I had drawn peg 7 which was next to the peg I drew last match. However, the conditions were vastly different with high winds and overcast I expected to catch a few. I set just the two rigs – a paste rig and a maggot rig all to be fished at 10 metres or in the RH margin. Starting on paste I had a 4 lb Carp straight way followed by another two, so things were happening, that was until the wind picked up so bad that the tow was pulling off the paste! I switched to the maggot and had a run of five Ronnie’s, this time of very light elastic which lasted until the next cast where I lost the lot on a foul hooked Carp. A similar pattern was forming similar to the previous match. The wind was getting even worse making it impossible to fish at 10 metres. So it was into the RH margin for the remainder of the match adding another four Carp losing another three – making it 4 to the fish and 7 to me – better – making it a draw over the two matches.

 

My seven Carp (all Commons) weighed 31lb 6oz and when adding my Silvers it took me to 31lb 4oz (enough to beat John Smith again) for 6^th overall.

 

I am now convinced that the destocking of this fishery has seriously affected the venue.

 

The match was won by Rip-off (pictured right with his catch) with 55lb 15oz from yes peg 1.

 

The Silvers was won by the real Pete Philips (pictured right) from end peg 11 with 2lb 12oz. Pete caught on the pole close in with maggot over maggot.

 

Full Result:

 

1.      Ray Bazeley 55-15-0 peg 1

2.      Paul Haines 54-04-0 peg 2

3.      Kevin 37-13-0 peg 9

4.      Mark Tanner 35-12-0 peg 5

5.      Pete Greenslade 33-03-0 peg 8

6.      Mike Nicholls 32-04-0 peg 7

 

Top Silvers:

 

1. Pete Philips 2-12-0 peg 11

 

The Weigh Rag Follows (Charlie Barns was on peg 5):

 

 

Sunday 09/06/2013 - Summerhay's Open - Sellick's and Lily's Ponds

First visit to Summerhay’s Fishery which is located at Junction 24 of the M5 near the Boat and Anchor pub and along side the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal. I remember having a couple of draws for the Drennan Super league in this pub – a few years ago now. After a decent breakfast in the Hill Tops café it was off to fine the venue. If you are driving a van – which we were you have to cross the railway lines which was interesting because when it was our turn to cross the lights changed to red so Bela gave way to the fast travelling steam engine – yes a steam engine!

 

In to the draw and out came peg 23 on Sellicks Pond (pictured upper right) which was the only peg I looked at before the draw, thinking this would do.

 

Seeking knowledge from the locals (not always a wise thing) I was told I couldn’t win from the peg but could expect to win the Silvers. Whilst setting up I had a stalker in the grass opposite – can you identify him – the hat position is a give away.

 

So Silvers it was with a line for the soft pellet over micro at 10 metres at 11 o clock and similarly a line for maggot and GB at 1 o clock. The 4x14 Jolly would do for both lines. I also set up the Ronnie rig and a margin paste rig. After feeding the two Silvers lines I started on the Ronnie rig with caster over caster which produce, not a single bite – Umm. Out on the soft pellet line then and I had two bites which were both liners – pricking one fish – Umm. Over the GB with maggot and I had a run of two small Skimmers – Umm. I switched between these two lines with only the maggot producing bites adding three decent Skimmers. I decided to convert the GB line to CW&C which produced two Perch. With 2 ½ hours gone I decided to throw the towel in for the Silvers and get on the paste in the margins. I opened up one at 10 metres into the end corner and one to the right on the top set, however, I wasn’t sure about the RH as I would be fishing in the sedges. I had a run on small Carp on the 10 metre line losing two because the fish fight so hard for their size that I lost patients and pulled out by applying too much pressure (this would cost me money today). In to the swim of death and first put in I broke on a Carp. Luckily I didn’t lose another from this swim so my worries were minor. By swapping between these two margins I ended the day with 14 Carp, the biggest being 5lb.

 

My Carp weighed 34lb 10oz and my Silvers 5lb 4oz for a total of 39lb 14oz for 7^th overall.

 

 The match was won by Bob Gullick (pictured right with the Silvers winner) from a peg at the far end on Sellicks Lake with 63lb 6oz. Bob Caught on pellet.

 

The Silvers was won by Steve Jackson also on Sellicks Lake with 9lb 12oz. Steve caught Skimmers with maggot hook bait fished over maggot.

 

Full Result:

 

1.      Bob Gullick 63-06-0

2.      Tony Rixon 47-04-0

3.      Joe McMahon 46-0-0

4.      Aaron Brittnel 44-07-0

5.      Kev Moulton 42-10-0

6.      Mark Lucus 41-01-0

7.      Mike Nicholls39-14-0

 

Top Silvers:

 

1.      Steve Jackson 9-12-0

2.      Ray W 9-0-0

3.      Brendon I 8-04-0

 

Weigh Board (peg numbers are either S for Sellick's or L for Lily's Pond)

 

 

Thursday 06/06/2013 - "Rays Rip-Off" - Rood Ashton

With The Coffin Dodgers and Pill Poppers match being cancelled Ray Bazeley organised a match at Rood Ashton with a sell out to mainly CD & PP regulars. I got my name down early as I love this venue and haven’t been there for some time. Luckily for us there was an evening match on the Car Park bank so we were on the far bank (my favourite area) with permission to drive round – good one Ray.

 

Rood Ashton is a venue that is so picturesque that it doesn’t matter if you catch or not – which was to prove lucky for me.

 

As Mark Tanner also likes the venue he managed to get a day away from the office so picked me up. Mark decided to stop at McDonalds for a coffee and bought me a tea, only for Mark to hit a pothole and I ended up wearing it – very painful.

 

In to the draw box and out comes peg 6 which was midway along the top bank opposite the island. Unfortunately it was a very narrow swim (but not quite a Parrott cage), dead calm and bright, with surface rubbish blowing in and out the swim (this went on all day). So I had no margin option so it was going to be just the one swim at 10 metres. I set up one paste, a soft pellet and a maggot rig all to be fished full depth – 18 inches!

 

I started on the soft pellet over kindered hard 4’s and could only get bites  from small Ronnie’s but could not hook one. So I switched to the single maggot again over kindered dead maggot. I started to hook a few Ronnie’s but because of the depth of water they were splashing around on the surface a soon as I struck, losing 50% of the fish I hooked. It wasn’t going to plan. I then hooked and lost a foul hooked Carp breaking the hook length. I had a walk done to Mark Tanner who was on peg 8 and mark was catching on the pole and straight lead. Mark had plenty of wind cover which was helping him. I decided to focus on the Silvers, which might have been the right decision if I caught some, but I didn’t, instead I was a case of hooking a Carp in the mouth and then lose a foul hooker. I tried the paste with no joy. So I stayed on the maggot until the end landing 8 Carp and losing 12 (yes 12) foul hookers. I tried allsorts of feeding but I couldn’t work out how to catch the critters in the mouth – very frustrating.

 

My 8 Carp weighed 24lb 14oz and my bag of Ronnie’s 1lb 3oz from a not so grand total of 26lb 1oz for 8^th overall and third in the Silvers! That said I did enjoy fishing against the fish at one time I had clawed back to 8 Carp in the net and lost 8 foul hookers, but lost the day in the final 30 minutes.

 

The match was won by Mark Tanner (pictured upper right with his catch) with 67lb 8oz from peg 8. Mark caught on hard banded 8mm pellet fished at 12 metres over lose fed hard 4’s. Mark also had a couple on both the pellet waggler and straight lead.

 

The Silvers was won by Andy Shields (pictured lower right with the match winner) with 3lb 4oz of Ronnie’s all caught on maggot from peg 10.

 

Full Result:

 

1.      Mark (I don’t like this peg)Tanner 67-8-0 peg 8

2.      Pete Greenslade 46-10-0 peg 46-10-0 peg 2

3.      Kevin Jefferies 44-04-0 peg 4

4.      Dave Gillard 40-12-0 peg 3

5.      Ray Bazeley 34-04-0 peg 1

6.      Paul Haines 30-0-0 peg 9

 

Top Silvers:!

 

1.      Andy Shields 3-04-0 peg 10

2.      Charlie Barnes 1-08-0 peg 5

 

Weigh Sheet: 

 

 There will be another of Ray's Rip-off next Thursday so book in early.



Tuesday 28/05/2013 - Acorn Cost Cutter Open - Paddocks

With the Granddaughters off to Spain for half term I had Tuesday off from the school run so decided to go to either Woodlands or Acorn – Acorn won the day as it was closer. The weather forecast wasn’t promising either with rain all day. I was hoping they got it wrong – they didn’t! Because of this I wasn’t sure how many would be there and was surprised to find 15 hardy soles in attendance.

 

The fishery was planning to start putting wooden posts down the straight behind the “teen” pegs so these were left out. The organise Mike decided to select five golden pegs so the fund wouldn’t build up too high. Would I draw one – nope.

 

In to the draw bag and out comes ping-pong 37. 37? Never seen that peg in before, but was happy with it as I had plenty of room.

 

It was going to be an out and out paste attack; setting up two paste rigs both the same one yellow topped the other red. On the whistle I started as usual on the paste close in to the edge and I could believe it no indications what’s so ever – blimey. I was struggling, noticing the water was very clear. Luckily I had half a pint of casters left from Sundays match so I set up the Ronnie rig and had a thrash around with caster for a while catching a few Skimmers, bits and bobs and s few small Carp. I did keep trying the paste in close but it just wasn’t working. I was struggling. I decided the fish wouldn’t come in close because of the clarity. So with two hours to go I set up a paste rig to half depth and plumbed around until I found a purchase. I sat on this for the remainder of the match with the catch rate gradually increasing until the end – a bit like the rain! I felt it I needed another hour to really bag up but felt I saved my day with 15 decent Carp for a total of 80lb 7oz when adding my 7lb 7oz of Silvers. This put me third overall and last in the money.

 

The match was won by Dave Wride (Pictured right with the Silvers winner) from peg 2 (not a Golden peg either) with 116lb 4oz. Dave caught close in fishing paste one side and meat the other.

 

The Silvers was won by Andy Gard with 27lb from peg 31. Andy caught on caster over some strange looking yellow Sonubait GB laced with caster down the track.

 

Full Result (weigh sheet got soaking wet):

 

 

Sunday 26/05/2013 - KP Pole Only Series - Final Round - Acorn Fishery - Paddocks and Canal

After a week away in Devon with the Brighton Half of the family it was eagerly back fishing.

 

As it was the last match the pools were paid and it was a free draw. As I could only gain one more point, so it was more a question of not losing ground on the weight score, so I needed to be on any peg on Paddocks rather than the Canal. In to the draw box and out comes peg 6 on Paddocks, which will do. For company I had travelling partner Bela and Nick Harvey and his Jack Russell on peg 40.

 

It was my first time on this peg and with only a paste attack in mind I set up two paste rigs one for over to the corner of the bridge and the other down the RH margin (Bela had claimed my LH margin). Having plumbed around I fancied the peg may not be that conducive to paste as it has deep flat margins – committed now.

 

Starting in the LH margin I had a run of six quick Carp albeit on the small side. The problem with these fish and paste is that the bites are hard to read as the mess around with it – a bit like Skimmers and soft pellet. Bela was also catching well with banded pellet – that was until he switched to paste and foul hooked a dead mouse (pictured right)!! Both our swims died so I went out long with the paste and found that although I was getting plenty of indications I wasn’t adding much to the net, this due to the flat bottom I was fishing on, adding just another six Carp.

 

Half way through the match it looked as if no one was fishing for the Silvers and with the peg having a recent history of Silvers I thought about fishing for them – but I didn’t, something I wish I now did as I may have collected another £40.

 

And that is how my match went catching a few from each swim until the end. I was expecting to catch well in the last hour but it didn’t, weighing 73lb 2oz for a lowly 4 points. However, I did finish up joint second with Tom Thick, but Tom had a bigger weight than me so I finished the league in third place, making it every match a pick up.
 

 

The match was won by Brian Slipper (pictured right with the Silvers winner) with 112lb 15oz from bridge peg 33. Brian caught over shallow with banded pellet.

 

The Silvers was won by Paul Faiers with 39lb 4oz from Canal peg A3. Paul caught on worm or maggot over sloppy GB.

 

For the overall league position see Chris Fox’s blog. However, the picture below shows the top three overall and the top three Silvers overall in the league (with the Silver crew pushing to the front). The overall league was won by Pete Bartlett helped by a second overall on the day, also pictured with today’s catch.

 

Full Result:

 

1.      Brian Slipper 112-15-0 peg 33

2.      Pete Bartlett 112-03-0 peg 9

3.      Lewis Jones 108-14-0 peg 23

4.      Tony Rixon 99-15-0 peg 1

5.      Tom Ford 87-12-0 peg 8

5.      Tom Thick 87-12-0 peg 18

 

Top Silvers:

 

1.      Paul Faiers  39-04-0 peg Canal A3

2.      Glen Calvert 21-04-0 peg 30

2.      Russ Peck 21-04-0 peg Canal A8

 

Weigh Boards: