Partridge Lakes, Open Match, 07.11.15

Weather: Rain, 13C, 15-25mph wind, Air Pressure 1012

Peg: Covey 12

66 Fished

There was some bad weather forecast today, with a heavy wind that was due to keep changing direction coupled with persistent rain.  I sometimes back out of these matches when the weather is bad but with winning my section the week before I was in a positive mood and raring to go.  October had been a great drawing month for me with a couple of flyers and many good end pegs coming my way and I was hoping I could carry this through to November and continue drawing the better pegs.   I was left disappointed at the draw bag after puling out peg 12 on Covey 1, an area I had only ever fished once before about 4 years ago.  I asked a few people about the area and most people grimaced when I told them what peg I had drawn and one guy advised me to go home!  My draw became worse when I arrived at my peg to find out peg 13 was also in and we would have to share the reed beds that were between us. Peg 11 was spare and there was someone on peg 10, although he was in the first section.  I was in a 6 man section of 12,13,15,17,20,21.  I wasn’t aware of these sections until after the match and spent the match trying to compete with peg 10.

45lb was framing in some matches of late so my target weight wouldn’t be high today and with me not being too happy about my draw I reduced my target weight from 40lb to 30lb.

Set up:

Malman Secret 4 X 14, 6ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – track

MW F1 Slim, 8X11, 3ft, B510 18 – far side, peg 11 pallet and left hand reeds

Malman Snake Mk2 4×10, .13 top .11 powerline, Guru LWG 18 – dobbing

Bait:

2 pints maggots

Handful of Sonubaits F1 Dark + Leam

Slice of bread

I wasn’t that optimistic of catching much by dobbing bread today, I don’t know why, it just didn’t seem a good area to do it.  The reeds looked good to my left, but with me only having half of them I would only be able to go up to 7M and with me not wanting to go pole tip to tip with peg 13, I decided to just plumb one 3ft swim at 5M and I wouldn’t dedicate too much time to that.  My 3 main swims would be 3ft across at 2 O’clock, 3ft by peg 11 and my track at 6M.

On the all in I started to dob at 2ft, against the reeds to my left, across and by the pallet of peg 11. I spent half an hour doing this with no success, but I did spend the quiet time watching other anglers to see where they had caught from.  Peg 10 was catching down the track, peg 13 had lost one carp dobbing against the reeds he was sharing with me and besides that little was being caught.  I decided to start fishing my 3ft swims whilst continuing to loose feed over my track line.  After 2 hours of the match had gone by I only had 2 F1’s in the net and although this was bad, most anglers were in the same boat, except for peg 10 who was on about 12 f1’s at this point, still catching from his track line.  It seemed the track would be the best place to catch fish from and although I don’t like going on this line this early in the match I felt I had no choice.  I had been loose feeding over the track from the start and when I went on it I decided to toss pot my maggots in to give a tighter feeding area. This worked a treat and I had a good run of about 12 F1’s in the next half hour until they spooked a little.  I had now put myself back in the section and I had myself ahead of everyone I could see.  With the fish backing off from the track line a little I decided I needed somewhere to go whilst I could give the track line 10 minutes rest spells and I chose to use the pallet of peg 11.  For the rest of the match it was a case of getting 2 or 3 F1’s from the track before resting it for 10 minutes and taking what I could from the pallet of peg 11, although I did only manage one solitary F1 from this pallet.

On the all out I had 28 F1’s on my clicker so I reckoned I had about 35lb. Peg 10 weighed in 34lb before me and it was only then I realised he wasn’t in my section so I didn’t have to worry about beating him.  I weighed in 38lb for the section win with peg 15 32lb, peg 17 26lb, peg 13 21lb and pegs 20 + 21 DNW.

Peg 12 Section Win

On reflection, I thought it was a well-earned section win from not a great peg.  Having said that me and peg 10 had the 2nd and 3rd best weights on the lake, after Kieran Rich taking 55lb from peg 2, so maybe I wasn’t in such a bad area after all.  It just goes to show that these F1’s do move about and you shouldn’t always right off an area before you fish it.  I don’t like going on my track line as early as I did and I much prefer to take fish from elsewhere before hitting the track towards to the end of the match, but I felt I had no choice today.

I have booked on for Saturday 14th Nov, but I’m not sure I will be able to fish as I have had a little operation on my right elbow and it’s pretty sore right now, I will have a late fitness check on Friday.

Tight Lines

Partridge Lakes, Open Match, 31.10.15

Weather: Overcast, 15C, 10mph S wind, Air Pressure 1018

Peg: Covey 100

65 Fished

I have not been up to Partridge Lakes for about a month, but I have been keeping a check on the results and one thing I had noticed was that the pegs on the splits had started to frame a lot more lately; pegs such as 20-22, 72-75 and 97-100, although I haven’t noticed the split on Covey 2 framing that much.  Other pegs that have done well are pegs that are near the splits such 85,86,60.  I was hoping my run of good draws would continue and I wasn’t left disappointed when I pulled out peg 100 on Covey 4 – proper flyer!!  My section for the day was 95,96,97,98,100.

On arriving at my peg I realised I had left my heavier elastic tube of 4 top kits in the garage, so that meant the heaviest elastic I would have today would be white hydro which is heavy enough and can cope with any big bonus carp with the use of the side puller.

Set up:

Malman Secret 4 X 14, 6ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – track

RW Dink 4 X 12, 2ft, .11 to .10 powerline, Guru LWG 18 – across and side of pallet

RW Dink 4 X 12, 3ft, .11 to .10 powerline, Guru LWG 18 – across

Chianti 4 X 10, 2ft. 11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – shallow maggot

Later I set up a Malman Snake to replace my Chainti

Bait:

2 pints maggots

Micros

4ml expander

1/4 pint of Sonubaits Supercrush Dark

On the all in I started in 2ft of water tight against the far bank rushes where I had found a flattish spot at 11 O’clock, on pellet.  I fed about 30 micros and I would immediately get fish moving into the swim, but I was missing the bites an after half an hour of doing this without a fish I decided it was not right. I think a longer lash might have helped me get more positive bites in the clear water as the fished seemed happy to feed in that depth but were spooking from the pole tip.  I decided to concentrate in 3ft of water as I felt the fish would feed more confidently in this depth of water and I immediately got an F1 from my 11 O’clock swim.  That was a solitary fish as it took me about another half hour before I got another which was at 3ft towards the pallet of 99 and that was on maggot.

2 hours in and I was blowing a good peg with only 2 F1’s in the net, whilst peg 98 had about 6 and I could see the guy on peg 85 had about 4.  I decided to have a quick look on my track at 6M where I had been loose feeding about 6 maggots every couple of minutes from the off, but there was nothing there.  I could see that there was a lot of carp starting to top to my right so I decided to have a dob with my shallow rig.  I shortened the depth to about a foot which meant I had a long a lash and was able to swing my float well away from the pole tip and I put some bread punch on the hook..  After a few minutes the float shot under and I had my first carp of about 4lb.  Back out and after about another 10 minutes the float shot under again and I was connected with something much bigger and although it came in quickly it stayed deep under my feet for a long time.  I only had yellow middy shockcore elastic and this was too light to cope with such a large fish as even though I have the benefit of a side puller, the elastic is bottomed right out and this puts a lot of pressure on the hook length.  I did get a look at the fish at one point and it looked to be about 12lb, but just as I thought it was going to give in it shot to my right and broke the hook length.  I quickly set up another rig with a long lash for dobbing and I also change my elastic to white hydro. Back out and after a short wait I was into another which again snapped my hook length – this was my own fault as I just used the rig staright from my rig box and didn’t chang the hook length and it was probably too light maybe a .10 and not the minimum .13 that was needed.

I was really down at this point as I was blowing a good peg and I had lost about 20lb from just 2 fish.  On the positive side I was putting the odd 4lb carp in the net and I was back in contention for the section.  The activity of the topping fish and me catching them dobbing was slowing down and although I would get the odd one I would have to wait a long time for bites.  With about half an hour to go I hooked into another Barney Rubble and after getting this to the net my elastic snapped just as I was about to scoop it.  I was well gutted now!  I decided to have a quick go on my track to see if the F1’s had turned up yet as there was no sign off them on the previous quick looks I had given this line throughout the match.  If they weren’t there I would get another dobbing rig out.  They were there and I went on to put 7 F1’s in the net in the last 20 minutes.

On the all out I had 40lb on my clicker and although I thought this would be enough to win the section I should have been well ahead and looking at the framing spots.  I weighed in 42lb for the section win with peg 98 getting second with 32lb.

On reflection, I should have made top 3 overall and if I had dobbed from the start with the right tackle, who knows what weight I would have had, maybe even a ton!  I lost 30lb from 3 lost fish, 2 down to me fishing too light (elastics and hook lengths) and the other fish was lost from my white hydro snapping.  I’m not blaming myself for the elastic snapping as I do check it before every match and although it had the usual fraying look at the end it seemed okay – it must have wore out more as I was fishing.  Although I love the action of white hydro I have now had enough of it and lost all confidence with it, I will be using an alternative in future which will probably be NG microbore 8-12.  70lb would have given me 3rd overall, so those lost fish cost me big time.

It will probably 2 weeks before I am back out on the bank

Tight Lines

Partridge Lakes, Open Match, 26.09.15

Weather: Sunny Intervals, 15C, 5mph SW wind, Air Pressure 1034

Peg: Covey 25

40 Fished

With Covey 5 not being in today, due to a low turnout, I was hoping to get on a North side of one of the lakes, pegs such as 23-25, 50-54,1-6 and 76-80, so I was well happy when I drew peg 25 on Covey 2.  The only down side was that Steve Openshaw had drawn just before me and pulled out peg 28, which would be in my section of pegs 23,25,28,30,33.  Peg 23 has some recent form so I felt I would have to battle it out with the pegs either side of me and to be honest I had already resigned myself to be fishing for a default section win as Steve Openshaw is ripping this place apart at the moment.  I felt I was in a good area, so even if there was to be no brown envelope today I would hopefully catch a few fish.

Set up:

MW F1 Slim 8 X 11, 5ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – top 2

MW F1 Slim 8 X 11, 6ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – track

Chianti 4 x 10, 3ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – 6m nearside left

Jigga , PR36 18 – banded caster

Malman Elko .2g, 2ft, .11 to .10 powerline, Guru LWG 18 – Margins and across

Bait:

2 pints casters

2 pint maggots

Micros / expanders

1/2 pint of Sonubaits F1 Supercrush Dark

I had a lovely looking reed bed to my left and just before this I had a nice hole in the margins at about 5M which was about 2ft with a slightly sloping bottom and I had also trimmed a nice gap in my right hand margin.  I had decided to start on the margins, before going across, whilst loose feeding my track line with casters and my top 2 with maggots.  I had also plumbed my 3ft Chianti rig tight against the reeds at 6M to my left.

On the all in I fed my right had margin with a nugget of ground-bait and about 20 maggots and I went over my left hand margin with an expander on the hook and about 20 micros in tosspot.  I spent about 20 minutes on the 2 margins with no sign, so I decided to go across with pellet.  A further 10 minutes with no sign and I decided to switch to fishing maggot across and I would feed 6 maggots and a pinch of ground-bait.  This worked and I got 2 F1’s before I foul hooked one and had to rest the swim, so I went on my top 2 and immediately got an F1.  Next put in on my top 2 and I hooked into a lump which shot off to the right and unfortunately I didn’t react quick enough and get the rest of my pole on before it bottomed out the elastic and pulled the hook.  I spent the next hour or so switching between across and my top 2 lines and before I knew it nearly half the match had gone and I only had 3 F1’s.  Steve Openshaw on peg 28 and peg 23 both had about 10 F1’s apiece, so I had some catching up to do.

At the half way point I decided to concentrate my efforts to the left in front of the reeds and I did manage a couple of F1’s at 3ft at  6M before they spooked a little.  I decided I would rotate this line with a shallow attack at 11M in front of the reeds towards the platform of peg 26.    I spent the next hour catching well shallow and I had probably pulled myself back into the section with an hour to go.  The last hour slowed down for me and although I did catch the odd one shallow I felt I hadn’t done enough to get the section as peg 23 had done OK from catching shallow under the bridge.

I weighed in 36lb 7oz for 3rd in the section, peg 23 had 42lb, Steve Opensahw had 39lb from peg 28, peg 33 had packed up and gone home and peg 30 had weighed in less than 20lb.  Peg 23 actually had the best weight on the lake and was only 7lb off from framing overall.

On reflection, I am a little disappointed as I don’t think I made the most of a good draw and it took me too long to target the reeds to my left which obviously held a lot of F1’s, in fact I could see them topping and knocking the reeds.  Steve Openshaw had a quick chat afterwards and told me he had fished the peg recently and found that the reeds held a lot of F1’s and he even told me where he had fished them, which was the same spot where I had plumbed up my 3ft Chianti rig.  At least I have learnt a lot about the swim and where to target should I draw it again.  50lb was needed to frame today and I think that was easily achievable from my swim, never mind, lesson learnt and I’ll know better next time.

I might get back to Partridge next Saturday before the club match at Hall Lane next Sunday.

Tight Lines

Partridge Lakes, Open Match, 19.09.15

Weather: Sunny Intervals, 17C, 5mph SW wind, Air Pressure 1028

Peg: Covey 117

59 Fished

I was reasonably happy with my draw today as I haven’t fished Covey 5 for quite some time, so it would make a nice change.  The slight wind which was forecast today would be blowing towards the North side of the lake, but with it being so light I didn’t think it would have much effect on the fishing.  There was to be 6 in my section, starting with me, then 119, then a gap to  Connor Barlow on 123 and 3 on the track starting with peg 125.  I knew I was probably in for a battering from Connor so I was resigned to fishing for a default section before the start.

Set up:

Malman Thin .4g, 5ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – top 2

MW F1 Slim 10 X 11, 6ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – track

Chianti 4 x 10, 3ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – 5m nearside left

Jigga , PR36 18 – banded caster

Bait:

2 pints casters

2 pint maggots

1/2 pint of Sonubaits F1 Supercrush Dark

I had decided on a maggot and caster attack today, I would feed the track line at 7m slightly to my left, where I would try to catch shallow and later on the bottom.  I set up the Chianti to the left in front of the line of reeds as it looked like a fishy area with it being a corner with the cover of the reeds.  I was late getting to my peg and I didn’t have time to set up a mudline and margin rig, but I would do this if I wanted it as I went along.  The 1ft mudline and margin line has started to fade a little of late, probably down to the cold nights we are now having, so it wasn’t part of plan A,B or C and I would only go on it if I felt there was fish to be had on it.

On the all in I went on my 3ft line to left, where I could loose feed maggots by hand.  I would feed about 10 maggots on this and my top 2 line every minute and I would also feed about a dozen casters, every 30 seconds, over my track line.  I could only really see the anglers on 119 and 115 ( I could just about see Connor in the distance) and I was first to catch, although I wasn’t getting the quality F1’s and my first four fish were all about 8oz’s.  I plodded away for the first 40 minutes alternating between my 3ft line and my top 2 and although I had 12 F1’s in this time I only had about 7lb on the clicker.  Pegs 119 and 115 had about 3 fish each but they were a better stamp than mine and there wasn’t nothing between us at this point.

I went shallow on my track after 40 minutes and I began to put a few better F1’s in the net but I found I would have t come off it after 2 or 3 fish and go on my top 2 where I would get 1 or 2 before returning shallow.  For the next 90 minutes I alternated between the 2 lines and took my clicker weight to about 30lb, which was made up of about 40 F1’s.  Just when I thought I had it sussed and I would go on for a decent weight the fish backed of from all my lines. From this point up until the last hour I alternated between 3 lines; shallow, 3ft near side left and top 2, but it had slowed right down for me and I was going about 10 minutes between each fish and when I did get one it was usually one of the smaller stamp of F1’s.  I did hook one larger sample of about 3lb, but after missing about 5 netting opportunities I lost it at the net…… gutted!  I managed to have a run of small stockies, around the pound mark, in the last hour by feeding casters by hand over the top and then laying my track rig in amongst the loose feed.  I made the mistake of feeding ground-bait on this swim after foul hooking a couple, thinking this would get them back down, but this seemed to kill the swim off.

At the all out I knew I had beaten both pegs either side of me and when the guy on peg 115 told me that the split had fished hard I started to think about the section.  I knew Connor on peg 123 had caught well as although he was well away from me, he was in my eye line and it seemed he was always playing a fish.  Connor weighed in 104lb which not absolutely blitzed the section but he went on to win overall.  With a default section up for grabs I had 44lb to beat from peg 125, which I was confident I could do.  When I emptied my net into the net bag there didn’t seem as much as I had anticipated and it was going to be close.  I weighed 43lb 7oz, just 10oz’s short of the section win.

On reflection, I actually think I fished a good match and I got a lot out of the swim.  The better weights from the lake all came from the North side, with 123, 103,104 and 106 all making the top 5 overall and the guy who pipped me for the section was also up the North end on peg 125.  I had about 65 fish today, but I was catching the smaller stamp of F1’s.  I’m a little gutted I missed out on the section after losing that big F1 at the net and having a few chances to net it.  I lost a few others through foul hooking and hook pulls, but I should have had that one – it was just bad netting and a £40 mistake!

I’m actually starting to feel I can compete at Partridge in the summer as I am usually beating those around me and I have had a few section wins and a few near misses of late.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not at framing standards yet, far from it, but I have lost the “out of my depth” feeling and I am fishing with a lot more confidence.  The fast approaching winter months will be a different kettle of fish and the confidence will probably take a knocking, but hopefully I have learnt enough from last winter to pick up a few more brown envelopes.

Off to the River Weaver tomorrow on a clubby and back at Partridge one day next weekend.

Tight Lines

Partridge Lakes, Open Match, 31.08.15

Weather: Sunny Intervals, 13C, 3mph N wind, Air Pressure 1018

Peg: Covey 31

59 Fished

                              Peg 31, Covey 2

I got there early at 8.10am today so I could hopefully get some casters and luckily enough the on site tackle shop had a few pints left.  I then had along wait until the 9.30am draw so to kill some time I took a couple of walks around the lakes.  One thing that was apparent was the large amount of carp swirling in the margins, particularly on Covey 4 between peg 85 to 88, incidentally peg 85 had won the day before.  There was not a lot of F1’s topping but there was a lot of bubbles coming up from the track.  With the weather forecast to be rainy with no wind I was anticipating the track line would be a good area today and that maybe the shallow line wouldn’t produce that well.  As usual I was one of the last to draw and I was disappointed when I pulled out 31 and a few of the lads behind me advised me to go home!  Even though I was a little downbeat about my peg, I tried to stay positive and in fact I think I have seen matches won from peg 29 and 33 this summer, so maybe I wasn’t in too bad an area after all.  Having said that I did reckon that pegs 23 and 25 would be the pegs to beat.  My section for the day was a 6 man one of 23,25,27,29,31,34.  By the time I had drawn and got to my peg I had 35 minutes to set up before the 10.30am all in – I had no chance of being ready!

Set up:

Malman Thin .4g, 6ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – track

MW F1 Slim 8 X 11, 5ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – top 2 (originally had a PR36 18 for banded pellet)

HB Ratchatcher 1, 2ft, .13 to .10 powerline,, B911 F1 18 – margins and far side

Jigga , PR36 18 – banded caster

Bait:

2 pints casters

1 pint maggots

1/2 pint of Sonubaits F1 Supercrush Dark

Micros + 4mls

Expanders

I decided to use the carbon stemmed Malman Thin for the track instead of a MW F1 slim as I wanted a slow fall with a spread out shotting pattern, and with the water being flat calm I could get away with not using a wire stem.  My plan was the usual one – start on the near side margins and try to nick a few quick fish before switching to 6M where I would feed casters from the off.  If the fish did not respond at 6M I would then venture across.  I had also decided to try a change of bait today and decided to concentrate on pellets a bit more – just fancied a change!

At 10.40am (10 minutes late going in) I fed my right hand margin (top 2) with micros and a few expanders and I went on my left hand margin at 5m, with maggot and I fed 6 maggots and topped it off with a nugget of ground-bait.  10 minutes later and 2 feeds later, I had my first F1 of about a 1lb and this was followed by a 3oz F1, so I fed about 20 maggots and a little ground-bait and went on my right hand margin with pellet.  It was obvious there was no fish in the margins, I wasn’t getting any bites and there was no movement on my float, so I decided to come off it pretty early and go across in the rat-hole at 2ft on pellet.  There was signs of fish there at first but they soon spooked and vanished so I had to move.  About 40 minutes of the match had gone by and I decided to have a look shallow at 6M and immediately I was into F1’s but just as I thought I was on for a god run they backed off after a quick 3 fish.  I had been feeding 4m pellets on my top 2 so I decided to give this a look but one quick bite followed by 15 wasted minutes and I had to move again.

I had noticed a few fish knocking the reeds across at 2 O’clock and I could reach this with 13M so I decided to push my jigga rig right up to it and feed a few casters over the top and I started to put the odd F1 in the net, but I made the mistake of keeping my light elastic on and I lost a couple of fish in the reeds, along with a couple of jiggas.  Even though the fish where still there and knocking the reeds, I stopped catching them and I must have went half an hour without a fish, maybe I had spooked them when losing the 2 fish in the reeds.  I didn’t catch much in the 3rd and 4th hour of the match, just the odd one shallow from 6m and across against the reeds and pegs 29 and 33 had overtaken me and I reckon peg 27 had been ahead of me from the start.

With an hour to go I decided to abandon pellets as I wasn’t catching on them and I decided to feed maggots on my top 2.  This worked well,  as I started to put a good run of F1’s together and I probably put about 20lb in the net in a 40 minute spell until they backed off.  I managed to nick a couple shallow before the all out.

I reckoned I had beaten the pegs either side of me but I wasn’t sure what peg 27 had done – I had seen him catch a few.  When the scales arrived peg 23 and 25 had already weighed and 23 had put 64lb on t he scales which I knew I couldn’t beat.  I weighed 43lb for 3rd in the section. Peg 34 – 39lb, peg 29 32lb, peg 27 50lb+, peg 25 had about 25lb.

On reflection, I should have caught a lot more as there was loads of fish in my swim to my right.  They were topping in the track to my right and there was plenty knocking the reeds across at 2 O’clock.  I caught plenty at 5ft on my top 2, so instead of trying to catch them shallow to my right, I should have realised the fish would be easier to catch in deeper water and come off the reeds a little and fished down the slope in deeper water –  a foot off the reeds at about 3ft. I didn’t feed much today, only 1 pint of casters and half pint of maggots, so maybe I wasn’t aggressive enough with my feeding, particularly on my shallow line at 6M.  I did try the track a couple of times but surprisingly I didn’t get a bite, so maybe the best feeding depths were between 3 to 5ft and not shallow or full depth at 6ft.  I’m kicking myself a little as if I could have worked out how to catch the large amount of fish I had in my swim I could have had a good weight, but I couldn’t figure it out.  I reckon one of the top anglers would have worked out quickly that the fish could be caught between 3 and 5ft to the right of the swim and put a good weight together – I can only work this out afterwards, never mind, lesson learnt!

There were no framing weights from our lake, Covey 2, today and there was only one weight over the ton from the lakes used, Covey 1-5.

Not sure if I can get back at Partridge before November as I have a few clubbies and a week at Whiteacres, but hopefully I’ll squeeze one or two in.

Tight Lines

Partridge Lakes, Open Match, 15.08.15

Weather: Sunny Intervals, 15C, 10-14mph WSW wind, Air Pressure 1014

Peg: Covey 4

52 Fished

After the recent warm weather, a cold front had come in the day before and brought in some rain with it.  I was unsure how the drop in temperature would affect the good weights that were had during the week, but I was confident the conditions would be better than last Saturday’s match when it was hot and muggy.  There had been some warm easterly winds during the week and the fish would have surely followed them to the west side of the lakes, but the wind had changed to a westerly direction on the Friday, so would this mean the fish followed the wind to the east side of the lakes?  I wasn’t sure, maybe they would be well spread.  On the previous 2 weeks I have been here, although I have had good section draws, the pegs have not been good draws overall, so hopefully this week I could draw one of the pegs with recent good form.  Pegs 2,8,25,33,42,52,85,105,131 seem to be the areas that offer most consistency, so one of them would be nice.  I wanted to be on the east side of the lakes as this would be where the wind would hit some pegs.

As usual I was one of the last to draw and I was well happy when I pulled out peg 4 on Covey 1.  I was in a good area but a tough section of 1,2,4,6,8.  Pegs 2 and 6 had both produced big weights recently and peg 1 is also capable of producing a winning weight.  My peg and peg 8 would have the benefit of the wind blowing into our corners, so it was all set up to be an interesting section.  Whilst setting up I was a becoming more and more optimistic of catching a good weight, as there was a lot of fish topping and the breeze had picked up a little to put a nice ripple on the water in front of me, whereas pegs 2 and 6 were sheltered from the breeze.   I was beginning to think a ton weight should be easily achievable if I could get them going shallow from an early point in the match.

Set up:

MW F1 Slim 10 X 11, 5.5ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B911 F1 18 – track

MW F1 Slim 10 X 11, 5ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B911 F1 18 – top 2

HB Ratchatcher 1, .13 to .10 powerline,, B911 F1 18 – margins and far side

Jigga , PR36 18 – banded caster

Bait:

3 pints casters

1/2 pint maggots

1 pint of Sonubaits F1 Supercrush Dark

I had set up a jigga as opposed to a standard dibber as I wanted to fish bungee style and I wanted the option of going 14M to my left near the unused platform and shipping out 14m would be so much easier with a jigga.  I had also got a chianti float rig out, for fishing shallow, but never had time to put it on the top kit before the all in at 10.15am – I would set this up during the match if I needed it.  I had a lovely looking margin to my left at about 5 sections, where it was 2ft deep tight to the bank, this would be my starting point.

On the all in I fed my right hand margin (top 2) with a nugget of ground-bait and some maggots and then I went on my left side margin with 6 maggots in a tosspot topped with a nugget of ground-bait.  With no sign of fish after 5 minutes I re fed, but still there was no signs of fish in the swim so I decided to feed about 100ml of ground-bait and 50 maggots and leave it alone for about 15 minutes, whilst I tried elsewhere. 30 minutes gone and after failing to get a bite on my right hand margin I decided to have an early go shallow at 6M, where I had been feeding casters from the off and after giving it 15 minutes and just catching one small ide I decided it wasn’t right yet and I had to look elsewhere.  A 10 minute spell on my top 2 on maggot only produced a couple of micro perch.  An hour in and I had about 10oz in the net and I was beginning to worry that I may struggle today.  The next 1.5 hours passed by with me not putting anything else in the net and I was beginning to feel a little deflated as peg 6 had been catching the odd one and had about 25lb in his net and he was probably leading the section.  Peg 2 to my right was struggling like me and had no more than 5lb at this point and although pegs 1 and 8 were slightly out of eyeshot, I sensed that these were not doing too well.  So half of the match gone and even though I was well behind peg 6 I wasn’t giving the section up just yet.  I decided to have another look shallow and I began to put ide in the net and although most of them were about 10oz I would get the odd larger specimen and in the next 30 minutes or so I put about 15lb of them in the net before they seemed to back off.  This settled me down a little and gave me some hope of clawing back the section as although peg 6 was on about 30lb, I was starting to catch quicker than him.  I gave the 6 meter shallow line a good 20 minute rest whilst I had a look shallow towards to unused platform at 14M to my left and I also had quick goes on my margin and top 2.  I had my first F1 on my top 2 but just as I was thinking a could put a string of them together the micro perch returned and I decided to come off it and go back shallow, where I had not stopped feeding casters.   Back on the 6M shallow line and I was immediately into an F1 and I began to put F1’s in the net at a fast rate and in the next 45 minutes or so I took my weight up to about 45lb, which I thought was just ahead of peg 6 and I was probably leading the section with half an hour to go.  My peg went quiet at this point and this is when peg 6 began to catch F1’s shallow at a fast rate, whereas I only had 3 F1’s in the last half an hour.  The all out was sounded and I was left feeling a little disappointed as peg 6 had probably put 20lb in the net in the last half hour and was looking good for the section.

Peg 6 weighed in before me and put 62lb on the scales – I knew I couldn’t beat it and I went on to weigh 53lb, giving me second in the section.  Peg 1 weighed 41lb, peg 8 34lb and peg 2 DNW.  Incidentally, peg 10 which I think was the first peg of the next section, packed up and went home early.

On reflection, I staged a good fight back and I must admit I thought I had the section in the bag with half an hour to go, but peg 6 fished a good match and I think he always kept his 6M shallow line fed for the whole match and he was rewarded when the F1’s turned up with half an hour remaining.  The 2 things I thought about doing that I never did was switching to a shallow rig that I could slap away from the pole tip as I think the fish were still there when it went quiet, they had just backed off from the pole tip, and I also considered fishing sweetcorn to the unused pallet at 14M left but I never got the rig out and did it.  I reckon I could have got at least 10lb from that pallet in the first half of the match, which would have been enough to give me the section.  I should have realised I needed to go long when none of my short lines were showing any signs of F1’s or Carp.

Even though I was left feeling a little disappointed I thought the second half of the match was an exciting head to head between me and peg 6, so I got some enjoyment out of it, I’m just kicking myself as I reckon my peg was good for 70lb if I had fished the first half of the match correctly.  There were no weights over the ton today, peg 87 won with 99lb and the other 5 framing pegs came off Covey 5 with 77lb being 6th, so I reckon peg 6 probably had one of the top weights from Covey’s 1-4.

Well that’s the end of my little summer stint at Partridge Lakes and I’m back on the club matches next weekend.  I’ve fished 3 weekends on the bounce and had 2 section wins and a second, which isn’t bad going.  I don’t think I’ll be able to get on more than 2 or 3 opens at Partridge between now and November, I have 6 club matches and a trip to Whiteacres in this time so opportunities will be limited.

Clubby at Sycamore Fisheries Rowlands Lake, next Saturday….. watch this space.

Tight Lines

Partridge Lakes, Open Match, 08.08.15

Weather: Sunny, 23C, 6-10mph WSW wind, Air Pressure 1028

Peg: Covey 70

65 Fished

With it being a warm summers day for a change, I arrived at the fishery early and took a stroll around the lakes and even though it had only just gone 8am, the weather was already hot and I was regretting not wearing shorts.  The wind had been blowing from a westerly direction for the last few days and although the winds were forecast to be light today they would be blowing in the same direction. There was a lot of build up of scum on the east side of the lakes so I was hoping to draw on one of these; pegs such as 85,8,3,26,54 and so on.  The forecast was for the wind to slightly increase early afternoon but the lakes looked stagnant before the draw, with no breeze hitting them and with the high pressure on top of that I was guessing that some pegs would really struggle today, making the draw so important.  I obviously wanted a wind end peg but I also wanted to avoid Covey 2 as it did not have good current form and hasn’t framed much lately, except when Andy Bennett gets on it, but he can frame from most pegs!

We were to fish from 10.15am-3.15am today. I was one of the last to draw and when I did, I pulled out peg 70 on Covey 3 which was next door to the one I fished last week.  Although I had done well from peg 71 the week before I was disappointed with this draw as it was on the west side of the lake which I deemed to be the wrong part of the lake this week and I was also worried that peg 71 might be in and it would be tough to beat.  As it turned out peg 71 wasn’t in and my section for the day was to be only a four man one, being 68,70,73 and either 74 or 75.  They had left 71 and 72 out as peg 51 was included today. Even though 71 was out today I wasn’t able to exploit its waters as the bridge was too far away and even though I could reach it at 16M I felt I would be interfering with peg 51 on the other side of the bridge.  I couldn’t get at the margins of peg 71 as there was a large reed bed which prevented me from going any further than 3 sections to my left. On the plus side the split (72-75) hadn’t much form of late and I preferred my peg to that of 68. I felt the strongest peg in the section would be 75 as this might get some breeze to the right of the peg an it could possibly throw up a good weight.

Set up:

MW F1 Slim 14 X 11, 5.5ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B911 F1 18 – track

Malman thin, 4 X 12, 4ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B911 F1 18 – near side slope at 3 sections

HB Ratchatcher, .13 to .10 powerline,, B911 F1 18 – margins and far side

Small dibber, bungee, PR36 18 – banded caster

Bait:

3 pints casters

1/2 pint maggots

1 pint of Sonubaits F1 Suoercrush Dark

Sweetcorn

I had planned to use a lighter rig for the track as the water was still and calm but, over time, I have shortened my lighter rigs and none of them were deep enough (must sort out rig box!) and besides I didn’t expect the track to come into play much today as I was predicting that fish would be caught in shallower water.  I was ready to go at 10.13am, 2 minutes before the start and my plan was to start in the margins and then go across to the far bank, whilst all the time I would feed casters by hand at 6M.

On the all in, I fed the right hand margin with a nugget of ground-bait (which was only on my top “) and I put 6 maggots in the tosspot and topped it with some sloppy ground-bait and went on my left margin at 3 sections.  I spent 20 minutes on the 2 margins and didn’t get a bite and for some reason I expected this – it just didn’t look right.  I then decided to go over and fed the same (6 maggots topped with some sloppy ground-bait) and after a few minutes I had my first F1.  I spent the rest of the first hour on the far line and I even dobbed my maggot along the reed line, which did bring me a bonus 2lb carp but things were slow and I only had 6lb on the ticker at the end of the first hour.  This wasn’t so bad though, as no one was bagging and I began to think that 30lb could win the section.  Things slowed right down after this point and I couldn’t get a bite from anywhere even though the odd fish was moving over my swims I couldn’t get them to take the bait.  I went the second hour without a bite and at the start of the third hour I decided to try maggot on the deck at 6M, where I had been feeding casters and I managed one Ide and then I lost 2 F1’s on the bounce, which I don’t think were foul hooked and maybe I lost them from using a blunt hook.  This swim died after that and I got to the half way point with still only 6lb on the ticker. Peg 68 had caught the odd one from his margin and was probably on about 12lb at this point so the section was still wide open (if the split wasn’t fishing well!).  I decided to have a break and a good think at this point as like I said the section was up for grabs, I just had to figure out how to get a few fish from my swim.  I must admit, I wasn’t that confident of catching many more fish today, the weather was really muggy and the water looked lifeless at times, but I wasn’t giving in!  I noticed that the right to left crosswind had put a ripple in front of peg 71 and on the odd occasion I would get a ripple in front of me, so I thought that maybe I could get a few fish shallow.  I also noticed that I did have fish feeding on my track line so I just had to figure out how to get them.  I told myself I must try shallow towards peg 71, but before I did I will try an exploit the track and do a bit of dobbing with sweetcorn skin along the far reed line and the margins at 11M to my right.  I managed one F1 from the track and before I knew it we had 1.5 hours to go.  I was a little annoyed with my time management here as I had been telling myself to go shallow in front of peg 71 for a while but I was slow to act on this.  When I did go shallow at 13m down the track, I immediately got an F1 and then another and then a third, and I began to get a little optimistic.  The fish backed of a little after the third but they were still there and I was getting the odd one and was steadily ticking along.  At times I found that by laying of the feed for a minute and tapping the water would bring the odd fish and also if I could accurately group my catapulted casters around the float this would sometimes result in an immediate take.  I started enjoying myself towards the end of the match and my only frustration was getting in the odd tangle from fishing the bungee method at 14M.  I found I had to use my top kit that had 10 inches of elastic hanging out of the end and this would help with shipping out and on most occasions prevent me from getting in tangles from tip bounce.

The all out was sounded and I was pleased with how I had finished as I had beaten peg 68, who I reckoned had about 20lb to my estimated 35lb.  It all depended on how the split had fished, but 2 minutes after the all out the first of the two anglers walked over the bridge and was not weighing closely followed by the other angler who was also not weighing in.  Peg 68 then decided to throw his 20lb back, conceding the section to me – happy days! I went on to weigh 38lb.

On reflection, this was a tough day and many anglers struggled to catch, just as I had predicted before the draw.  The high pressure plus a very light breeze led to the water looking stagnant and catching fish was hard.  I had a good reassessment of my situation at the half way point and did call it right by predicting I may catch shallow to my left in front of peg 71 but I was a little slow to act on this.  I do think I had the best peg in the section and thankfully I didn’t blow it.  Even more so than last week, the lake fished hard and when it does I think the split doesn’t produce and the bridge peg will be the best as the fish will take sanctuary under or around it.   Covey 2 actually fished better than Covey 3 this week, with the top 2 coming from it, but that was from top anglers Andy Bennett and Peter Tickle.  My lake, Covey 3, did have some good anglers on it including Steve Openshaw and Barry Bush and neither of them managed to frame today, so it just proves how tough the lake fished and 38lb wasn’t that bad a weight from it.

I must remember that when wanting to fish the bungee method on the long pole a jigga float would be the best option, as you can ship out much quicker and tangles will be prevented..

Well that’s 2 section wins on the bounce and I’ll be back next Saturday looking for the hat-trick.  I’m starting to think the recent good form is down to the bandana I now wear – it must be bringing me luck.  Since I started wearing it, I’ve had 2 section wins, been on Partridge Lakes Facebook page twice when I haven’t even framed and I also got on the Telly when I went the ashes.  The Bandana is definitely the way forward and I may even change my web name from Dangerous69 to “Bandana Bri”…….I’ll give it some thought.

Tight Lines.

Partridge Lakes, Open Match, 02.08.15

Weather: Sunny intervals, 20C, 12-16 mph SSE Wind, Air Pressure 1010

Peg: Covey 71

85 Fished

Besides the Maver Match This qualifier a couple of weeks ago, it’s been almost 4 months since I fished an open at Partridge.  With me running our club and there being a lot of matches, I don’t usually get a chance to fish the open-circuit between mid-April to November, meaning I miss out on the good fishing during the summer months.  However, this year we have a 4 week gap in our schedule and over the next few weeks I should be able to do 3 or 4 matches at Partridge.

The draw started to take place at about 9.05am and we were to fish 10.30am to 3.30pm.  I was hoping to get a non-roadside/Spey side draw today as the wind was blowing towards this side and when I eventually drew at about 9.15am I wasn’t left disappointed, drawing peg 71.

Peg 71, Covey 3

I was quite positive with my draw at first, as it was wind end and I had the walk over bridge to my left which would surely hold some fish.  On setting up I began to think of all the negatives, being I was up against the split which had a lovely ripple and would be tough to beat and also peg 69, which was in our section also had a ripple whereas my peg was sheltered from the ripple. Peg 72 had come second the previous day with just under 147lb, but that was from venue expert Steven Openshaw.  On the positive side I was wind end and there was a build up of scum in my area and furthermore there was a lot of fish topping in my peg.

Section for the day was 69,71,72,73,75.

Set up:

MW F1 Slim 10X11, 5ft,.11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – track

MW F1 Slim 8X11, 4ft, .11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – top 2 and bridge track

Hill Billy Ratcatcher 1, 18 inches, .13 to .11 powerline, B911 F1 18 – margins

Small dibber PR36 18 with micro band – bungee, banded caster

Bait:

1 pint maggots

3 pints casters

Pint of sonubaits F1 Dark

My plan of attack today was to start on the margins whilst throwing casters over my track line at 6M where hopefully I would catch shallow. If I couldn’t get them shallow there I could move my caster attack closer to the bridge where it was 4 ft and I would also have the option of pushing my tip right under the bridge when fishing shallow.

On the all in I went on my left hand margin, close to the bridge with maggot on the hook and feeding 6 maggots and a nugget of ground-bait, via a tosspot.  I was able to rest and hide my pole tip on a tuft of grass which also helped me keep the pole steady whilst feeding casters on my track line. Within a few minutes I had my first F1 and another one followed as soon as I went back out.  Now at this point I began to think about my feeding and my swim management – should I feed again, should I rotate swims?  I decided to go back on the same swim without feeding and after a 3 minute wait I got another.  After waiting a few minutes for that third fish I decided I needed to feed again and although this produced another F1, I did have to wait a few minutes for this one. The fish were slowly backing off, so I decided to feed a little and leave it alone, whilst I had a look on my right hand margin, hoping that the fish on my bridge line would settle again.  I couldn’t get a bite on my near side right so I was quickly back on the left hand margin, where I managed another 2 quick F1’s before they backed off again.  An hour had quickly passed by and I had about 10 F1’s in the net, so not a bad start.  I decided to have a look on my other lines, firstly a quick look on my top 2, where I couldn’t get a bite and then a 10 minutes spell shallow which didn’t produce either.  I then had a look at full depth and this produced a couple of Ide and then 2 F1’s.  I was feeding my track line immediately after I had hooked a fish as I didn’t want to feed it when I went over it as this can produce foul hookers, but I think I was feeding too much as the next 2 drop-ins produced 2 foul hooked fish which I lost.  I decided to feed a little less and although this eradicated the foul hookers the swim had slowed and I managed one F1 in the next 15 minutes.  The second hour had passed by and my catch rate had slowed with me putting 4 F1’s and a couple of Ide in the net in this time.  I went back on my bridge side margin and took a couple of quick fish before leaving it alone and going back on the track where I got 1 F1 and I stuck with this routine for the next 2 hours and although I was having to wait a little for my fish, I was catching steady and in fact I had myself way ahead of 69 and I hadn’t seen a lot of action from up the split.  I did have a quick look at my 4ft line near the bridge but I didn’t really give it a chance and I did try pushing my pole under the bridge on many occasions but again this produced nothing.  In the last hour I did manage 2 F1’s from my right hand margin by feeding half a cup of ground-bait and then going over it 10 minutes later but that’s all I got from this side.  With 15 minutes left I decided to stick it out on my bridge side margin and I found that by slapping my rig out away from the bank I could tempt the odd F1 into taking the maggot and I managed 3 in this time.

On the all out I had 38 F1’s on my ticker, but surprisingly no bonus carp.  I knew I had beaten peg 69 but I was sure the pegs from the split would have beaten me.  When it came for me to weigh in I was told I had 44lb to beat from the split, which I was confident of doing and I went on to weigh just under 58lb giving me the section win.

The venue had fished a lot harder than expected today with no weights over the ton and I was told that the best weight from Covey 4 was 52lb.  I think the fish being off the feed a little played into my hands as I had the bridge and the fish seemed to take sanctuary under this.  I’m sure if the fish were on the feed, the split would have produced (probably shallow) and I wouldn’t have had a chance.

On reflection,  I did OK and won my section, but I can’t help feeling there was a big weight to have from my peg as there was a lot of fish under that bridge.  I’m sure one of the venue experts would have taken that peg apart.  I’m learning to rotate when needed but I still think this needs improving as I think I’m taking too many fish from one swim before they back right off.  I neglected my right hand margin a little today, mainly because I didn’t get a bite from it early doors, but if I had fed this a little more routinely and included this a bit more in my rotation, not only could I have got more fish from here but I would have got more fish from my other 2 main swims (bridge side margin and track) as I would have let the fish settle and regroup by resting them more.  If I fished it again I would put my track swim near the bridge at 4ft and also fished shallow over this as I think I would have got more from fish venturing out from under the bridge. I also didn’t go across and this would have given me another rotation option.  I think when fishing these matches you need to work out when to come off a swim and you will know this by seeing what other anglers are catching and by how many you take from your swim before you go in and remain bite-less.  For example, today many anglers were struggling and it was obvious the fish were backing off a little, so 2 fish from a swim before rotating between 2 to 3 other swims would have been better, giving swims a good rest.  On other days the place fishes better and you can see anglers catching a lot of fish and you will find that you can keep them coming on your swims for much longer, meaning you can take 5 or 6 fish from a swim before rotating to just one other line.  There will also be red-letter days where you can bag up all day from just one line – I don’t have many of them!

I’m back at Partridge next Saturday, so watch this space!

Tight Lines

Maver Match This Qualifier, Patridge Lakes, 18.07.15

Weather: Sunny intervals, 20C, 20mph NW wind, Air Pressure 1010

Peg: Ribbon 6

83 Fished

I don’t usually fish these matches as they are quite costly at £50 and I find it hard to justify the cost, but with me only getting two Fisho’s this year I decided to treat myself.  I arrived at about 8am and I met up with Gary (Matthews580) in the car park before we both set off to have a stroll around the lakes.  Back at the hut at 8.30am and I went to buy my maggots at the on-site tackle shop and after a quick chat with the always pleasant Barbie I was the advised, by Gary, that I had to register my attendance.  With us fishing from 11-4 today there would be plenty of time to set up after the 9am draw and this meant all anglers were not as rushed pre draw and the queue  didn’t really form until about 8.50am, which is when we chose to join it.

From the lakes that were in; Covey’s 1-6, Ribbon, Marsh and Spey, I was hoping for a peg which had the wind, giving a good ripple and a corner/wind end peg would be preferable, such as Covey 85, 54,8 or 105.  The only lake I didn’t really want was Marsh, as I have never fished this, but even this throws up big weights and has produced the winner in big matches such as this.

Gary went first and drew peg 83 which he was very happy with and then I drew Ribbon 6 which was also a good draw, being the peg Connor Barlow qualified for the Fisho final from.

Set up:

MW F1 Slim 8×11, .11 to .10 powerline, B510 18 – top 2 maggot

MW F1 Slim 8×11, .11 to .10 powerline, PR36 20 – top 2 4ml pellet

MW F1 Slim 10×11, 11 to .10 powerline, B911 F1 18 – track

MW F1 Slim 4×11, 11 to .10 powerline, B911 F1 18 – far bank at 3ft

Small dibber, .11 to .11 powerline, B99 F1 18 – shallow maggot

Bait:

4 pints maggots

4ml pellets

Pint of F1 supercrush

I had wanted to get some casters instead of maggots but this would have meant me leaving work early on the Friday to pick them up and with me being busy in work at the moment I decided I didn’t have time and that maggots would be just as good for catching them shallow.

I was ready to go 20 minutes before the all in and when the signal for the start of the match was sounded I eagerly went across to my far bank swim with about 15 maggots and a pinch of ground-bait in the tosspot. I did this a couple of times and all a got was a small roach whilst peg 8 had already caught a couple of F1’s from his far bank line.  I noticed my ground-bait had dried out a little too much, so I added some water to it to make it a little more sloppy so I would get a good plop out of the tosspot and hopefully draw the F1’s in.  This worked and I went on a little run of 8 F1’s before they spooked a little and I foul hooked one losing it at the net.  Half an hour in and I was doing OK with me being 8-3 up on peg 8 (the only peg I could really see).  With the far bank fading and needing a rest, I took the opportunity to try my top 2 lines where I had been feeding 4mls from the off, by first trying a 4ml pellet.  With no bites from this I went back on my far bank line and decided I would feed maggots on the top 2 as this was what I was catching on across.  I could only manage a quick 2 F1’s from the far bank this time and found myself coming off it a lot quicker to try elsewhere.  Meanwhile peg 8 had began to have some success from fishing with caster shallow at 10M, catching F1’s and a couple of bonus carp, so I grabbed for my shallow rig and began to catapult maggots at 10M.  I managed a couple of F1’s but they would soon back off this line and found myself changing lines again.  I had noticed peg 8 would catch 2 or 3 and then they would back off from his shallow line for 10 minutes or so, but he would stick with it and by doing so he was there when the fish would return and he would also catch the odd bonus carp.  Before I knew it there was only 1.5 hours left (where had the time gone) and I wasn’t doing great with only about 30lb in the net.  Peg 8 had stuck it out shallow and was way ahead of me now, so I made the decision to stick it out shallow and see if I could get to some sort of respectable weight.  I did mange a good run of F1’s in this time but when my elastic snapped at the puller and I lost my rig, by the time I had put another rig on my swim had died and I spent the last half an hour with no fish. I was having most success by catching one a foot off the rushes and then I would push my rig into the rushes (bungee style) and wait for the elastic to rip out of the pole and this would be good for another couple of F1’s before I would start the process again – feeding a foot off the rushes, catch one then 2 from the rushes and so on.  At the all out I had 50lb on the ticker and I reckoned peg 8 was good for 70lb.  Peg 8 was first to weigh and he surprisingly put 98lb on the scales to my 58lb.  I didn’t think there was that much between us, but speaking to him afterwards he told me he had about a dozen 3 to 4lb carp in his catch, he said he did start by fishing with pellet shallow but soon came off them when he went 15 minutes without a bite.  He went on to win the lake with that, with Neil Machin getting second with 93lb.  I finished about half way on the lake with a couple of DNW and a few sub 50lb weights.

On reflection, I wish I had made an effort to get casters as they seemed to make a big difference as although peg 8 caught more fish than me, he didn’t have a great deal more and his weight was boosted by the bonus carp.  We were both fishing shallow the same way, sometimes having a bit of line between float and pole tip to allow us to slap the rig and fish at 10 inches and at times we would push the float right up to the pole tip to give us a bungee style rig at about 18 inches.  The other difference was our swims with peg 8 having a good ripple and my peg having only the occasional ripple, even though there was a strong crosswind at times.  Having said that I don’t think the ripple was the difference, I think it was bait choice and the fact that peg 8 stuck it out shallow after half an hour. It was a good draw today and I am sure a better angler would have caught over the ton by fishing positively with casters and sticking at it shallow.  In hindsight, that’s what I should have done – bought casters and fished then shallow against the rushes and I reckon I would have had around a ton.  I only managed one bonus carp from the far bank and this jumped over the aerator rope to my left, leaving me lost on how I was to land it. Luckily it ended up breaking my light bottom after steaming towards peg 4. Next time I pay so much for a match entry I’ll make sure I don’t compromise with my bait.

Well done to the young lad on peg who fished a steady match and not only gave me a spanking but beat some good anglers on the lake today, including Neil Machin and Adam Richards.

Peg 8 – 98lb (lake win)

                  Me – 58lb

My ego was boosted a little at the end by being one of only a few anglers chosen to get their picture taken and put on Facebook – it must be the new Bandana look!

I had to get straight off after the match and didn’t get a chance to see Gary and find out how he got on.  Hopefully he caught a few and enjoyed the day like I did.

Club match tomorrow at Hall lane, hopefully I can improve on my bad run on matches and at least frame.

Tight Lines

Partridge Lakes, Open Match, 12.04.15

Weather: Rain, 8C, 25-50 mph SW Wind, Air Pressure 1016

Peg: Covey 45

87 Fished

I wasn’t sure whether to turn out today, as there was some pretty miserable weather forecast, with gusts up to 50mph, but as my club season is about to start and I will frequent the open scene much less, I decided to take the opportunity of a free Sunday.  With there being so many fishing today we were informed that Coveys 1-5 and Spey would be in the draw bag.  Considering the poor weather I was hoping for anywhere that was slightly sheltered, although with the winds due to get up to pole breaking conditions, I’m not sure any peg would have any shelter.  I drew peg 45 and my 6 peg section would be 42,44,45,46,48,49.  I didn’t know what to make of the draw as I have never fished this split, but I predicted that peg 42, which has some current form, would be the peg to beat.

Set up:

MW F1 Slim 14×11, 6ft, B510 18 – Track

MW F1 Slim 10X11, 5ft, B510 18 – top 2

MW F1 Pear 8 X 11, 3ft, B911 F1 18 – Expander

Malmans Snake 8 X 10, 1.5ft, B510 18 – Shallow maggot

All rigs on .11 powerline to .10 bottom

Bait: 2 pints maggots

Ringers 4ml expanders

1/2 pint micros

1/2 pint of sonubaits F1 Dark

On arriving at my peg I could see there was a strong right to left wind but I anticipated that this would change as the match went on and would end up off my back.  I also noticed that I was a little boxed in with peg 46 in to my right, peg 23 fishing towards my corner point and peg 44 the other side of the bridge.  I did however have the margins to my left and the wind was blowing in the right direction for me to target them early on.  I decided to leave across for the first part of the match with the wind being so strong, making presentation extremely difficult.

On the all in I started off at 8M to my nearside left in 3ft of water on pellet, where I tapped in about 20 micros and lowered my expander down amongst them.  I immediately got a bite and missed it, but I had to reefed 3 minutes later to instigate another bite which again I missed.  This continued for about 15 minutes until I finally foul hooked something and lost, the fish were responding to the feed but they were taking it at about 2ft and I couldn’t get them down.  I could also see a lot of fish topping, which made me think the fish wanted to be in the upper 2ft of water, so I reached for my rig box and got a 2ft rig out and plumbed a new swim tighter to the bank.  One missed bite here and everything seemed to go quiet and I went searching for F1’s mainly to the left so the wind was off my back, I even tried shallow with maggot but to no avail.  I think I went 2 hours without a bite and with the ever increasing wind followed by persistent rain, I was pretty miserable and considering packing up, as a few anglers had already done. 3.5 hours in and no fish and at this point peg 44 had his holdall and roost, along with 3 or 4 top kits ripped up by an incredibly strong gust of wind (must have been 80mph) and thrown into the middle of the track.  He reacted quickly, running onto the bridge and managed to get them as they emerged on the other side, unfortunately he had at least one snap.  I stood up at this point and decided to take my kits off my roost (mine had tipped once) and I also broke down my pole and secured everything on the floor, just leaving my track rig and 2 sections of pole to play with.  I stood there for a moment considering whether to go, get my rod out or just concentrate on the track.  I decided to give the track a go as peg 46 had spent most of his day on it and was putting the odd fish in the net, I however, hadn’t had a bite on it on the few occasions I had tried it.  I had been feeding it by hand all day, so I hadn’t neglected it and I began to be rewarded with a quick 8 F1’s coming to the net and with 40 minutes of the match remaining I was hoping for a strong finish, but unfortunately they backed off a little.  I didn’t have another swim to go on and give the track a much needed 10 minute rest and with me also feeling cold an miserable I decided I couldn’t be bothered doing anything else and would stick it out on the one swim.  I managed to put another 3 F1’s in the net before the all out.  I hadn’t a clue what anyone else had caught as I had my hood up all day restricting my vision, so I decided to weigh them in for 11lb 4oz.  Peg 42 won the section with over 50lb, peg 46 had 28lb, peg 48 had about 18lb and pegs 44 and 49 DNW.

On reflection, fishing in gale force winds means broken pole! Go Home!  – Enough said!

I may be able to get another open in next Saturday before my first club match Hall Lane on Sunday.

Tight Lines