Wow what a month July was! Temperatures into the 30s and tons of fish being caught everywhere!
Unfortunately for me due to work commitments and a little holiday to Spain I did not get out anywhere near as much as I would have liked. However when I did it was rewarding.
July Action :
I kicked off July with a weekend at Docklow Pools in Herefordshire. Simon (Shed Shed Shed) Bradford has been running a short series over the Summer and although I could not fish the league enough to qualify, I decided to fish the Saturday match as a one off.
Peg 2 on the Match pool was exactly where I drew in the Festival in April and it looked completely different with everything in bloom. Weather was hot and a short meat line and margin provided me with 40lb 4oz which left me halfway in the section. Around 95lb won at the opposite end of the lake known as "the bowl".
It was the Sunday Open on the Stock Pond I was really looking forward too. Peg 5 was my home for the day and again with temperatures around 27 degrees I was hoping for a weight of F1 carp up in the water along with some Ide. My first and second hours went well fishing maggot short. However I then lost touch with the fish until the last hour which cost me. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I should have had a line around 6 metres to chase the fish out. However 84lb 8oz gave me a welcome 3rd place especially against noted pegs 18,19 and 20.
Gawsworth Hall was a place I had not visited before and was my next port of call with my Eight Bells A.C. 25 degrees and sunny conditions greeted us all and I was faced with 17 metres across the serpentine canal and a deep 6ft of water across. Fishing Over a mix of Marukyu EFG 131 and 151 with a piece of meat I soon found out that the resident carp were crazy, knowing exactly where to take you.
Whilst leaving my margins and far lines to settle I plundered Roach, Skimmers and Rudd shallow. A heavy rig was needed across to get through the silvers and down to the carp. Dump potting did the trick. 21lb gave me 2nd spot at a very pleasant venue.
After my holiday at the end of July it was back to the Glebe for a pairs match in the first week of August. I drew Lake 1 which I really fancied after my lessons learnt in June. However my feeder line never really got going and I relied on a short approach of Hemp and Corn and EFG151 down the edge with dead maggots. 88lb 12oz gave me 4th in section. I only needed 92lb for 2nd in section so it was a close affair. Our end of the lake did not fish particularly well with 109lb being the best weight (And that's a bad day at the Glebe!) As for the pairs result, lets just say my partner had a mare!
And so onto my latest feature for the month. I Wanted to do something a little different and record an actual Match situation so here goes.
The session:
Venue : Dunham Fishery, Cheshire
Weather : 18 degrees, sunny spells with occasional showers.
Match : Eight Bells Angling Club 18 anglers fishing
Prize : Club Trophy, pocket money, pride and bragging rights
Target Species : Small Carp, Barbel, Chub, Skimmers, Crucian Carp.
Bait : 2mm Jpelletz, 6mm Nori JPZ, Caster/Worm, 6mm Luncheon Meat, Corn, Hemp.
(Groundbait banned)
I had heard the venue had a number of Crucians and Skimmers which responded well to pellet. But I also heard the venue can be tough at times. So I decided on 2 lines down the track, one with 2mm Marukyu Jpelletz with Jpz and expanders over the top. Secondly a worm and caster line to maybe attract some Barbel or if it is tough....anything. Heavier baits in the form of Meat, Corn and Hemp were to be fed across at 16 metres and down the margin respectively.
First let me show you how I prepare plain expander pellets to give them a little twist.
3. Fill the pump with around a quarter of bottled water (I don't like using tap water) and pump as normal until the expanders sink.
Unfortunately for me due to work commitments and a little holiday to Spain I did not get out anywhere near as much as I would have liked. However when I did it was rewarding.
July Action :
I kicked off July with a weekend at Docklow Pools in Herefordshire. Simon (Shed Shed Shed) Bradford has been running a short series over the Summer and although I could not fish the league enough to qualify, I decided to fish the Saturday match as a one off.
Peg 2 on the Match pool was exactly where I drew in the Festival in April and it looked completely different with everything in bloom. Weather was hot and a short meat line and margin provided me with 40lb 4oz which left me halfway in the section. Around 95lb won at the opposite end of the lake known as "the bowl".
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| No Joy on Sheds Summer Series 40lb |
Gawsworth Hall was a place I had not visited before and was my next port of call with my Eight Bells A.C. 25 degrees and sunny conditions greeted us all and I was faced with 17 metres across the serpentine canal and a deep 6ft of water across. Fishing Over a mix of Marukyu EFG 131 and 151 with a piece of meat I soon found out that the resident carp were crazy, knowing exactly where to take you.
Whilst leaving my margins and far lines to settle I plundered Roach, Skimmers and Rudd shallow. A heavy rig was needed across to get through the silvers and down to the carp. Dump potting did the trick. 21lb gave me 2nd spot at a very pleasant venue.
After my holiday at the end of July it was back to the Glebe for a pairs match in the first week of August. I drew Lake 1 which I really fancied after my lessons learnt in June. However my feeder line never really got going and I relied on a short approach of Hemp and Corn and EFG151 down the edge with dead maggots. 88lb 12oz gave me 4th in section. I only needed 92lb for 2nd in section so it was a close affair. Our end of the lake did not fish particularly well with 109lb being the best weight (And that's a bad day at the Glebe!) As for the pairs result, lets just say my partner had a mare!
And so onto my latest feature for the month. I Wanted to do something a little different and record an actual Match situation so here goes.
The session:
Venue : Dunham Fishery, Cheshire
Weather : 18 degrees, sunny spells with occasional showers.
Match : Eight Bells Angling Club 18 anglers fishing
Prize : Club Trophy, pocket money, pride and bragging rights
Target Species : Small Carp, Barbel, Chub, Skimmers, Crucian Carp.
Bait : 2mm Jpelletz, 6mm Nori JPZ, Caster/Worm, 6mm Luncheon Meat, Corn, Hemp.
(Groundbait banned)
I had heard the venue had a number of Crucians and Skimmers which responded well to pellet. But I also heard the venue can be tough at times. So I decided on 2 lines down the track, one with 2mm Marukyu Jpelletz with Jpz and expanders over the top. Secondly a worm and caster line to maybe attract some Barbel or if it is tough....anything. Heavier baits in the form of Meat, Corn and Hemp were to be fed across at 16 metres and down the margin respectively.
First let me show you how I prepare plain expander pellets to give them a little twist.
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- Ingredients : Bait Tech 4mm Xpander pellets. Marukyu SFA 450 Krill liquid. Mainline Tru Color Red dye
2. Pour the dry pellets into the pump and add a glug of SFA 450 and a tiny sprinkling of TruColor.
3. Fill the pump with around a quarter of bottled water (I don't like using tap water) and pump as normal until the expanders sink.  |
4. Once all the pellets have sank, keep the water for mixing groundbait or mixing paste or pour away. The pellets will take on the colour and krill flavour whilst being pumped, but I like to bag the pellets up with some of the remaining water and leave in the fridge overnight for perfect red krill infused expanders.
The bottom of the lake flattened out at around 9 metres and this is where I would fish my track lines at around 5ft deep. A Jim Standish 0.3grm Wire Slimzee was the float of choice. A bulk of no 9 and 2 no 10 droppers on 0.12 Silstar with a 18 Drennan carp maggot hook was the choice for both lines as it was the same depth in both spots. 6-8 Drennan Carp Bungee should subdue anything that comes in the open water.
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| The peg I am faced with at Dunham Fishery |
Although the bait tray looks a little full and maybe too many options, there was some thought process as I do not know the venue. Also if you don't take it... you cant try it!
I have a nice looking margin to my right around 4 metres, its a little deeper than I would like at 3ft but here I will feed Hemp and Corn. Nice and heavy baits to ensure the fish feed hard on the deck and avoid foul hookers. Rig here is a 4x12 Jim Standish Pencil float with 0.15 Guru N Gauge to a 16 Drennan wide gape margin hook. Grey Hydrolastic is the buffer.
At 16 metres across I can see the fish knocking the reed line. Here I will feed meat, again big positive baits aimed at carp. I do not want to be pestered by small fish when I am fishing so long.
Disturbingly it is over 4 foot tight to the sedges, and with it being quite breezy I will need a largish float in the tow and ripple to present correctly. A KC Carpa 4x14 with 0.15 Guru N Gauge to a 16 drennan wide gape margin hook. Again Grey Hydrolastic is the choice.
To kick off the match I started on a worms head over a pot full of caster and chopped worm which contained a glug of Marukyu SFA450 Krill. I expected this to be instant whilst the other lines settled, and it was... with 1oz Roach!
A look over the Jpelletz line with one of my red expanders saw me into small Crucian Carp instantly. Around 6oz a piece they were welcome. Everybody around me had decided to start across, which I knew would be inevitable. I didn't want to plunder this line too soon and preferred to build it up and gain the fishes confidence.
I cracked on catching small crucians with the odd skimmer for the first hour. Small toss pots of Jpelletz with either an expander or a 6mm Nori Jpz brought a fish nearly every chuck. Both anglers either side of me had some joy across catching Small carp, but I wasn't panicking. In fact I was having a lovely time!
Every hour on the hour I would have a look on the Margin line. I managed a carp around 1lb 8oz after hour one. I felt I was keeping up with those around me. Second hour and time to look on the meat across. Instantly I hook a fish as my hookbait drops through the water, the Carp were shallow and intercepting my loose offerings. The problem was the rushes, before I had chance to strike they were already in them making a bid for freedom. Lesson learnt from Gawsworth...dump pot, get them down. This worked and I nicked a couple of stockies.
This then became the theme of the day. The worm and caster never really materialised. So I decided to keep catching Skimmers and Crucians at 9metres on Pellet. And dump the Meat and fish it out nicking one or two fish before the commotion disturbed them. All the while potting in Hemp and Corn down the edge.
With 90 minutes of the match to go I had plenty of fish in the net, but only around 6-7 stocky carp. I had faith in the margin though and I was proved right. Fish after fish came to the net in the last hour down the edge.
Averaging around 2-3lb I have never caught such stamp of fish that fight so hard. Such was the power I actually lost a couple and one broke me with 10 minutes to go at the net. It was weight building stuff simply feeding a pot of feed after every fish and fishing 2 inches over depth.
I had a busy days fishing and really enjoyed the sport on offer. As I have said before we do not have a Docklow or Glebe on our doorstep in the North West, but these pretty little waters around Cheshire may not produce ton weights but lots of busy, thinking sport.
I weighed 43lb 10oz for 2nd in the match. The third time this year I have been the bridesmaid in the Club Season.
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| 43lb 10oz for 2nd place and a lovely days sport |
Conclusion
Although I had a relatively cautious approach to the match, I think this helped me along the way, especially on a water I hardly know. Here are my key learning points from the match :
- Feeding 2mm rather than 4mm jpelletz seemed to hold the Crucians well
- Using my red krill expanders. These were perfect in coloured water
- Doing something different to everybody else and not plundering the far line
- Having faith in my margin approach with heavy baits
- Not being tempted to fish shallow across next to the rushes, this would have been snag central
With another Match next month on the venue I now feel better prepared and can hopefully go one step further.
Now we are in August it looks like the temperatures are back to average and fingers crossed I can keep up the good form. Good luck.
Now we are in August it looks like the temperatures are back to average and fingers crossed I can keep up the good form. Good luck.
