It seems like forever since I last put fingers to keyboard as it were so an update is in order ....
My last blog reported on a Club Match situation where I managed a 2nd place spot on Dunham Fisheries with 43lb of Crucians, Skimmers and Carp. Here is what I have been up to since ....
August Action :
It was towards the end of August when I managed to sneak out for another club match. This time on Bradshaw Fisheries in Bolton on the famous Number 4 Lodge.
This lake has a real mixed bag of Roach, Skimmers, Carp, Chub and a few Barbel. It normally tends to be a Pellet Waggler affair and this day was no different.
The big difference was the fish were not responding as they normally do. I kicked off around 30 metres fishing an 8grm Garbolino Pellet Waggler with an 8mm hard banded Pellet. Regular casting and feeding along with twitching the bait gave me 2 Mirror carp early on. But it was a case of chopping and changing between the Waggler and a straight lead with a long tail to account for a couple more carp.
I did have a plan B in place though and this was in the form of hemp and corn over EFG 151 at 4 metres at the bottom of the near shelf in around 5ft of Water. The lake is very silty and if you fish the pole at any distance the fish do their usual frustrating digging in the silt and you sit there bite less. By fishing on the hard slope with double corn I managed to land my biggest mirror of the day along with a number of Skimmers for another hard earned 2nd place with 35lb.
September Action :
Into September and I am lying in 3rd place in the Club Championship race. It is vital that I have a good result this time at HeronBrook Fisheries in Staffordshire. I have a bit of a mixed record at the venue where I have enjoyed some good success but also blew out. This time we was on the Canal lake which I had not fished previously. The weather was a pleasant 20 degrees and it was overcast so conditions looked great. I drew Permanent Peg 28 which was not good. Anywhere between 2-15 are the main areas.
Still I needed a good result. The first couple of hours were very slow and I needed to make a change. I decided to feed hard nugget sized balls of Marukyu EFG 131 across on the far shelf on a flat spot. A quick burst of 8 F1s got my confidence up.
I also had a separate mix of EFG 151 and with a spare peg to my right I fed 6 cups of the over-whetted mix along with Hemp and Corn with 2 hours to go. Not many anglers actually think about the groundbait mixes they use. If we take the Marukyu range as an example the EFG 131 is a great all round feed for any weather. The EFG 151 is for warmer temperatures and full of feed aimed at big fish. I am looking for big fish down the edge so I feed the big mix! It makes sense and as the groundbait only takes a couple of minutes to mix with no riddling needed it really isn't a big deal.
The plan worked and adding to a few more F1 were 5 Carp and a Barbel over the 151 mix with Corn or Worm on the hook. One of the Carp went 9lb 10oz and that has me in the lead for the big fish trophy so fingers crossed I can lift that come the end of the year. 44lb 7oz was a good result in a tough area and gave me a section win.
The latest match on Dunham Fishery was a shadow of the venue where I had a great day in July. Using similar tactics to the last blog I could not find any Carp or Crucians and I ended up fishing for small roach up in the water to weigh 5lb 14oz. The venue really switched off and only 12lb was needed for overall 3rd.
Lovely Luxus :
Although I have not been out as much as I would like, I always try and sneak out for a couple of hours to try new things if I get chance. Last month I decided I needed to practice the method feeder a bit more. I have stated previously any form of lead fishing I don't particularly enjoy, but I have to start putting that right if I want to progress. I recently realised I needed a shorter rod for small chucks and when fishing to overhanging branches or indeed casting underneath branches. So I treated myself to a little wand (albeit second hand) and I wanted to try it out.
You know how it is when you get a new piece of kit you cant wait to get it used. Well I had a spare couple of hours so nipped up to my local club water. The plan was to just practice casting the little rod and also have a try with the new Marukyu Luxus method mix. As I don't fish the method often I haven't given the stuff a go as yet. I wanted to see how it mixed and broke down and what consistency was needed when mixed with pellets.
The water has a number of Skimmers and Small Tench, but if I am honest I didn't really expect to catch anything! It was howling a gale one minute, pouring with rain the next and sometimes blazing sunshine! The water was also very clear with this being a natural water I decided to add some Black plain crumb to the Luxus to take the pinky coloured edge off.
Tackle
Rod : Tri-Cast XRS 2k4 power wand 1oz tip
Reel : Team Daiwa 3000 loaded with 4lb Maxima
15g Preston small method feeder - 4inch 0.12 Silstar Match team - 18B911 with quick stop.
The plan was to chuck the small method to an island around 20-25 metres away and hope I could snare a couple of skimmers. The little rod was a joy to use and the Luxus Mix with 2mm Jpelletz held together perfectly (Although I would recommend riddling this mix, unlike the EFG range) Although the fishing was difficult (and wet!) It was nice to practice my casting and use the new groundbait mix. Surprisingly I caught a nice Ide nearing 2lb and lost an even bigger one at the landing net. A couple of Skimmers, a Roach and a little Crucian made the couple of hours all the worthwhile, all on a JPZ hookbait.
This weekend sees me back to Herefordshire and Docklow Pools for the Autumn Festival. It will be the same format as my "What a difference a month makes" blog from May. With a couple of decent draws and a splash of luck I can do well, We shall also see if my Method practice has helped. No doubt my next write up will be filled with festival tales. Until then .... Tight Lines.
My last blog reported on a Club Match situation where I managed a 2nd place spot on Dunham Fisheries with 43lb of Crucians, Skimmers and Carp. Here is what I have been up to since ....
August Action :
It was towards the end of August when I managed to sneak out for another club match. This time on Bradshaw Fisheries in Bolton on the famous Number 4 Lodge.
This lake has a real mixed bag of Roach, Skimmers, Carp, Chub and a few Barbel. It normally tends to be a Pellet Waggler affair and this day was no different.
The big difference was the fish were not responding as they normally do. I kicked off around 30 metres fishing an 8grm Garbolino Pellet Waggler with an 8mm hard banded Pellet. Regular casting and feeding along with twitching the bait gave me 2 Mirror carp early on. But it was a case of chopping and changing between the Waggler and a straight lead with a long tail to account for a couple more carp.
I did have a plan B in place though and this was in the form of hemp and corn over EFG 151 at 4 metres at the bottom of the near shelf in around 5ft of Water. The lake is very silty and if you fish the pole at any distance the fish do their usual frustrating digging in the silt and you sit there bite less. By fishing on the hard slope with double corn I managed to land my biggest mirror of the day along with a number of Skimmers for another hard earned 2nd place with 35lb.
 |
| Another 2nd place at an out of sorts Bradshaw Fisheries |
Into September and I am lying in 3rd place in the Club Championship race. It is vital that I have a good result this time at HeronBrook Fisheries in Staffordshire. I have a bit of a mixed record at the venue where I have enjoyed some good success but also blew out. This time we was on the Canal lake which I had not fished previously. The weather was a pleasant 20 degrees and it was overcast so conditions looked great. I drew Permanent Peg 28 which was not good. Anywhere between 2-15 are the main areas.
Still I needed a good result. The first couple of hours were very slow and I needed to make a change. I decided to feed hard nugget sized balls of Marukyu EFG 131 across on the far shelf on a flat spot. A quick burst of 8 F1s got my confidence up.
I also had a separate mix of EFG 151 and with a spare peg to my right I fed 6 cups of the over-whetted mix along with Hemp and Corn with 2 hours to go. Not many anglers actually think about the groundbait mixes they use. If we take the Marukyu range as an example the EFG 131 is a great all round feed for any weather. The EFG 151 is for warmer temperatures and full of feed aimed at big fish. I am looking for big fish down the edge so I feed the big mix! It makes sense and as the groundbait only takes a couple of minutes to mix with no riddling needed it really isn't a big deal.
The plan worked and adding to a few more F1 were 5 Carp and a Barbel over the 151 mix with Corn or Worm on the hook. One of the Carp went 9lb 10oz and that has me in the lead for the big fish trophy so fingers crossed I can lift that come the end of the year. 44lb 7oz was a good result in a tough area and gave me a section win.
The latest match on Dunham Fishery was a shadow of the venue where I had a great day in July. Using similar tactics to the last blog I could not find any Carp or Crucians and I ended up fishing for small roach up in the water to weigh 5lb 14oz. The venue really switched off and only 12lb was needed for overall 3rd.
Lovely Luxus :
Although I have not been out as much as I would like, I always try and sneak out for a couple of hours to try new things if I get chance. Last month I decided I needed to practice the method feeder a bit more. I have stated previously any form of lead fishing I don't particularly enjoy, but I have to start putting that right if I want to progress. I recently realised I needed a shorter rod for small chucks and when fishing to overhanging branches or indeed casting underneath branches. So I treated myself to a little wand (albeit second hand) and I wanted to try it out.
You know how it is when you get a new piece of kit you cant wait to get it used. Well I had a spare couple of hours so nipped up to my local club water. The plan was to just practice casting the little rod and also have a try with the new Marukyu Luxus method mix. As I don't fish the method often I haven't given the stuff a go as yet. I wanted to see how it mixed and broke down and what consistency was needed when mixed with pellets.
The water has a number of Skimmers and Small Tench, but if I am honest I didn't really expect to catch anything! It was howling a gale one minute, pouring with rain the next and sometimes blazing sunshine! The water was also very clear with this being a natural water I decided to add some Black plain crumb to the Luxus to take the pinky coloured edge off.
Tackle
Rod : Tri-Cast XRS 2k4 power wand 1oz tip
Reel : Team Daiwa 3000 loaded with 4lb Maxima
15g Preston small method feeder - 4inch 0.12 Silstar Match team - 18B911 with quick stop.
 |
| A simple running set-up |
 |
| 50/50 Luxus/Black Crumb and 2mm Jpelletz |
 |
| Maggot and 6MM jpz for the hook |
The plan was to chuck the small method to an island around 20-25 metres away and hope I could snare a couple of skimmers. The little rod was a joy to use and the Luxus Mix with 2mm Jpelletz held together perfectly (Although I would recommend riddling this mix, unlike the EFG range) Although the fishing was difficult (and wet!) It was nice to practice my casting and use the new groundbait mix. Surprisingly I caught a nice Ide nearing 2lb and lost an even bigger one at the landing net. A couple of Skimmers, a Roach and a little Crucian made the couple of hours all the worthwhile, all on a JPZ hookbait.
 |
| A couple of hours casting practice was worthwhile. |
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