Mixed Messages in May

What a random month May was!

The weather was rubbish and the fishing has been a mixture of ups and downs!

Fish O Mania Qualifier : Tunnel Barn Farm
I kicked off the month at Tunnel Barn Farm for the Fish O Mania qualifier. Having had some success a couple of winters ago I always look forward to "TBF". Stuffed with fish and you can park behind your peg...happy days.

I wasn't too happy when I drew the high pool though! My experience of this water in the past was very small fish around 6oz made up of F1 and little Barbel with the odd bonus fish upto 2lb.

I drew just off the point of the island and had my fingers crossed nobody was on that peg. Alas somebody rocked up and we had a bit of banter and fun with a bit of a fish race. Interestingly the chap next door kicked off tight to the island where as I cracked on with a top kit in the deeper water. The weather was a bit chilly so I thought across might get better as the day went on. We were fish for fish and at some points I was catching 2 to his 1 fish. But it was the last hour when I had to go across and he was definitely quicker than me. His ultra light elastic allowed him to throw his pole back...food for thought in the future.

Still it was a reasonable match with around 100+ fish for 62lb and 3rd on the lake. The lad on the point of the island did me by 8lb and won the section.

High Pool was busy but the fish too small.

 

Eight Bells A.C: Bradshaw Fisheries Lake 3
I kicked off our Club Season at Bradshaw Fisheries in Bolton. We were on Lake 3 which we fished a few times last season. Last years result read...section win, match win and a fourth. So I felt reasonably confident. When I drew peg 4 on the "Chimney" I felt I had drawn well and knew the area would hold a few fish.

Bad decision making at Peg 4 on Bradshaw No3 lake.

You can see the Chimney is around 9 metres to the left. Here there is around 7 feet of water which gradually slopes up left to right to around 5 feet. Here I fed a little Marukyu EFG131 and chopped worm.

I had a rig for next to the chimney where there was slack water as the lake had a real ripple on and a touch of undertow. A rig at 11 metres to the right in 5 feet feeding pellet and a shallow rig in case I could catch up in the water later. I also had a top kit line where I loosefed casters.

I kicked off on a small method feeder in open water in case the fish had backed off with the noise around the lake. No bites were forthcoming so it was over to the chimney, but I was concious I didn't want to abuse what fish were already present. There were plenty of small Barbel, Roach and Tench to be had but very small. My top kit yielded very little, it felt a little too chilly to bring the fish in close. Very odd F1 came to the pellet line. I could see the lads to my left were catching on their feeders in open water. I could sense the better fish were further out in the open water, but for some reason procrastinated switching. When I did with 90 minutes to go the fish were indeed "out there" and I was catching everyone up sharpish.

A 50/50 mix of standard feed pellets and my groundbait mix with a 6mm pellet did the trick, but I was left ruing my late switch, I should have gone with my gut half an hour earlier. 26lb gave me 2nd in section, just 2lb behind 3rd overall. Instead I came in a lowly 7th. Not a great start!

Wipe Your Tears Charity Match: Partridge Fishery Marsh and Spey pools
Next up it was to Partridge Lakes supporting a worthy cause with a charity match on Spey and Marsh pools. My drawing arm did me well with me pulling out Peg 8 on the Spey Canal. Ideally I would have preferred pegs 1-6 with the wind pushing down that way. But I was happy to have a bit of space to my left, I was just hoping the fish back off into the space.

Again howling wind and below average temperatures made presentation difficult across where I felt the fish would be comfortable. But I had two track lines with Caster and Pellet hoping to catch a few during any quiet spells. I was really hoping that I could snare a few on the meat as its getting to the time of year where it can fool a bigger stamp.

Peg 8 on Spey lake is a consistent area.

I plugged away with odd fish for the first couple of hours just trying to put fish in the keepnet, but I wasn't nervous. Over the last couple of seasons I have begun to realise how important the last couple of hours are. Not just margin fishing, but in general. A lot can happen on different lines and it is important to be confident in what your doing. I also believe I have got better at making things happen. In the past I have been guilty of waiting for things to happen, now I force the issue.

This match was a case in point where with 2 hours to go I chose an area on the far bank to the right of the rushes where I thought the fish would gather later in the day. I purposely left this for the final push. Micro pellets (I would have used hemp if I had any) and meat got the better stamp switched on and 60lb 2oz gave me 3rd overall. Around half of this was probably in the last 90 minutes. Proof not to panic and have that "late line" either primed or ready to start a fresh.

Check out a worthy cause: http://www.wipeyourtears.org.uk/

3rd Place behind Chris Weeder Snr and Carl McCormack at Partridge

Next up it was time for the big one.... 

Garbolino Club Angler of the Year at Tunnel Barn Farm

Next up it was time for the match I had been waiting for. Having finished club champion I really wanted to do well on this event and with 168 other anglers on the bank I wasn't too fussed where I drew, in fact I was almost hoping for a tough section as I felt this might give me the best opportunity to qualify. After blowing out last year I was ultra determined to fish a disciplined match and fish to my strengths. Also on the match was John Berry who finished 2nd in our Club Championship race in 2014.

Peg 38 on the New Pool stuck to my mitt. Mixed emotions went through my mind as I had never fished the water, but upon inspection of the peg I definitely fancied it. It was on the corner of an island with a spare peg to my right and an inviting bay to my left. It offered shelter from yet another windy day, but all the scum had blown down into the bay to my left and with only around 9 metres of water across in front of me I wasn't sure how to approach. 

Peg 38 looked inviting but had loads of scum on the surface.

My rough plan was to feed maggots regularly into the open water with a view to catching fish shallow later in the match. I quickly realised the maggots were not getting through the scum, even trying with 4mm dampened pellets I didn't feel comfortable the plan would work. 

I managed a number of Ide close in to my left and some F1 across next to the reedbed on the corner of the island. I could see 3 other anglers and nobody was really emptying it so I plugged away. But again I had left an area directly in front of me and primed it (Just out of the picture) in front of some tree roots, I could see the bank was undercut. After two hours I got stuck into small F1 after F1 on JPZ over fishery micros. Whilst doing this I had my trump card to my right...a nice flat 2 and half foot of water in front of the reeds. Here I fed meat with overwet groundbait. It was here I went for the last 90 minutes and plundered a much better stamp of F1 with the odd carp. 

I weighed in 87lb 10oz and looking at the weights it appeared I had done quite well and looked like I may qualify. Indeed that was the case and I also finished 6th overall. I was a little gutted as 5th and the main prizes was 87lb 12oz and I missed my keepnet with a 6oz F1! However qualifying was the goal and its onto Barston Lakes in July!

The other great thing is that John who drew on the Extension pool also qualified and finished 4th overall with 89lb. This competition has been good for the Eight Bells A.C. as our Club Champ of 2013 Nick Haymes not only qualified last year but finished 2nd Overall at Cob House pools. As I said to the other lads, we are not as daft as we all look. The Eight Bells has talent!

John Berry and I celebrate qualification to the Garbolino CAOY final at Barston. Bring it on!

And finally to finish the month we were back on the bank with the Eight Bells A.C. at Cudmore Fisheries panama canal. Filled with confidence from Tunnel Barn I fancied catching a few wherever I drew. But the match was absolutely dire. One of our new members Matt James won with 29lb but back up weights were pretty poor. I struggled for 13lb and 8th overall!

In conclusion the month has been a mixed bag. In the bigger matches I have done well and performed, yet on my club matches I have struggled to make in-roads. If I am to defend my title and make the CAOY qualifiers again next year I must start picking up better points. Still there are 14 matches to go so no need to panic.

And last but not least, I have to give a massive shout out to the rest of the lads who fished a team competition at Tunnel Barn Farm. The match was sponsored by Argos and run the event annually. The club put out the strongest team possible to see if we can compete with the other teams that included some top open anglers.

The team consisting of Match Secretary Steve Brooks, Warren Kirby, Nick Haymes, John Berry, Eric Bagley and Chris "The Raider" Pickering won the team event overall by a decent margin. Nick Haymes also won the match overall individually from Extension pool with 175lb...Awesome!

L-Warren Kirby. LB- John Berry. LF -Steve Brookes. Nick Haymes. RF -Chris Pickering. RB -Eric Bagley

Well done lads! Eight Bells got talent.

Until next month and Tight Lines
Dave

This months blog is dedicated to Eric Bagley who is recovering in hospital. Get well soon big man!

A Healthy Hiatus!

Crikey its been 6 months since I last penned a blog...how time flies!

After moving house I decided to take the winter off and concentrate on the renovation, then begin working my way back into match fishing in March. That's exactly what I did and I really enjoyed the break!

I think that competitive element in us all means we sometimes feel we are missing out on something by not being on the bank every weekend. Or even worse think we will forget it all by taking time out.

For me I have football and music as a distraction so always try and strike a balance with other interests. Admittedly I did miss my winter fishing but would definitely recommend a hiatus/sabbatical to re-charge the old batteries!

Anyway, going back to my last blog at the end of September 14 I did indeed hold my nerve for 5th place on our final club match at Bradshaw Fisheries to win the Club Championship. Great success and I went into my winter break on a high.

Club Champion for 2014 :)

Back on the bank this year and it was to Partridge fisheries with my old Drawbag mates. Spey canal was to be the first outing for nearly 6 months. A couple of hastily sorted rigs and a standard pellet and maggot approach gave me 18lb. I was actually battered either side but won the section by triple default! Mustn't grumble!

Back to Partridge for my 2nd knock up and this time the ribbon pool. I drew a favoured peg and made the most of it with 52lb of F1's and silvers for 2nd place. This session got me back into the swing of things, getting used to my kit again, tuning into bites etc. Two further visits to Spey and Covey 6 were not as successful but I felt like I was getting back into the groove.

April arrives and its Festival time for me. The Dave Jack invitational festival at Docklow pools beckons, but did I have enough practice after my break under the belt to make an impact?!

The Dave Jack (Jacko & Phil) Invitational Spring Festival - Docklow Pools, Herefordshire

My yearly spring festival to Docklow pools was blessed with Glorious weather

If there is a prettier fishery then I will be damned

Format: 
56 anglers. 4 Lakes: Match pool, Farmer Jack, Stock Pond, Moby Dick.
(All weights included)

Format was the same as last year with each lake having 14 anglers split into two sections of 7. 1 point is awarded for the winner of the section down to 7 for 7th.

Having drawn my group I looked at the rotation of Farmer Jack, Moby Dick, Match Pool and Stock pond as quite reasonable. There were some good anglers in my group who I wanted to avoid in my section but it was inevitable over the 4 days I would be clashing with them.

 Given some reasonable peg draws I was hopeful for a top 10 finish. This is my 5th "Jacko" festival and I have improved with every year. 5th last year and 6th in 2013. But due to my winter break I felt top 10 would be a good effort.

The great thing about this festival is that it is very friendly with great banter. Money isn't the motivation and everybody is free with their information of how they approached their pegs in the bar of an evening. It was great to see the same faces from the last few years and a few new ones too.

Day 1:
Farmer Jack Peg 27

 Day 1 gave a strange draw on peg 27 which is rarely used in matches. There is 16 metres across to the far bank of the channel between the bridge pool and the Jack pool. Ideally I would have preferred more water to go at, but it wasn't a million miles away from peg 45 across the way which is always a good area.

I decided on a pellet and maggot approach to catch everything that swims and hope for a lump or two later on down the edge. I would have liked to have fished hemp and corn tight over but with a 14.5 metre pole limit I had to set a small bomb up for across.

The day kicked off well kinder potting fishery micros and fishing double maggot over the top I managed to put a good run of Ide together with the odd F1. I couldn't really get the F1's going quick enough but it was clear nobody else in the section was pulling up any trees. A lost lump on my light silver fish rig and one lost down the edge, but 38lb 13oz for 3rd in section against a couple of noted pegs wasn't the end of the world.

38lb 13oz for 3 points.

Day 2:
Moby Dick Lake peg 7

I last fished this lake in the October festival 2013 (See Blog 14th October 13) and for some reason the lake struggled with form. I won the section with only 6lb 4oz. However previous days results were promising and it looked like 20-30lb of silvers in my section would score good points and 50-60lb of silvers and carp would be good in the other section.

I fished a scruffy match. I began feeding casters to catch Roach up in the water, I managed a few quick fish but really should have started on the bottom to catch skimmers whilst feeding casters for later in the session and let the Roach build their confidence. I felt I plundered them too early.

No matter as I had an island at 13 metres which would be my trump card. I would feed there later in the day and hopefully catch shallow. In the meantime I got my head down with palm sized skimmers at 4 metres on expander pellets. Gary Ford from Essex was in top form and he was pegged next to me fishing a very tidy match rotating lines and catching skimmers steady. I noticed he was fishing at 8 metres, I was half the distance so knew I could catch him if we were in a fish race. 

My trump card paid off and I went over to the island shallow for the last 90 minutes. Roach, Rudd, Skimmers, Chub and Hybrids made their way into my net. My first section win on day 2 was a welcome relief and a really enjoyable day. Probably around 100+ fish.

39lb 4oz of mixed silvers + 1 F1 for 1 point

Day 3:
Match Pool Peg 14

Day 3 brings the Match Pool which had been producing some great weights in the low and high numbers as the wind had been pushing down that way for over a week. My drawing arm really let me down pulling peg 14 at the opposite end called "the bowl". Day 1 and 2 had both yielded less than 20lb per day so I really didn't fancy it.

I did have some good news, that the chaps on pegs 18 and 20 to the right of the picture were not fishing to the island facing them. That left the end of the island for me....a chuck of around 50 yards. Not good when you haven't cast a rod for 6 months ha. But a few practice chucks and we were fine. 

First two hours flew bye fishing a method feeder where F1 and the odd carp came to the net. One or two fish also fell to the waggler as they cruised around bowl. I also managed a number of Silvers at 5 metres on my corn line. But it was the last couple of hours where some chunky F1 and odd Carp helped build my weight fishing Hemp and Corn down one edge and Pellet and Caster the other.  A lot better than I thought the day would be. But being up against the noted pegs of 2-10 I was unsure how I did.

Around 50lb in the Carp net

40lb of Silvers in F1s gives 89lb 7oz for 3 points

Despite a good day the more favoured peg 2 and Paul Jennings weighed 97lb. Coming up to Peg 12 where Clive Hill was pegged I genuinely thought I had more than him, but he weighed 99lb winning the section and putting me in 3rd. 

Again not the end of the world especially on the un-fancied peg. Going into the final day on 7 points I lie 8th. I have nowhere near enough weight to challenge the top runners so must try and win the section on the stock pond.

Day 4:
Stock pond peg 3

Peg 3 with a mountain of kit set up

Now normally on the stock pond I am always confident about putting a few fish in the net. Especially on pegs 2-6 and 18-21. But for some reason pegs 12 and 15 had been the better area and Peg 3 had averaged 10-15lb which was very unusual. 

The lake is stuffed with small hungry F1's with plentiful Silvers and some great big old lumps. Usually a top kit for a quick burst of fish is the way to go and then find a way of continuing the day. 

But with the uncertainty I set up lots of different options, but I still almost expected to catch short. Gary Ford on peg 4 had two short lines set up too so I felt I could gauge the short response between us. 

But after a biteless 15 minutes I had a line at 11 metres on a bar 12 inches shallower than the rest of the peg, here a quick burst of 5 F1s had me confident. Bites dried up and I had to almost adopt a winter tactic of creating new swims constantly to attract bites. However Gary began catching short so I followed suit, I had still been feeding the swim so expected the area to produce. But I could not buy a bite!

I ended up chasing my tail. The island facing me was 16 metres away with the old lumps loitering about in the shade. But with the 14.5 metre limit I decided to long line it and see if I could snare one. The problem being is these are wise old fish and the sight of the line puts them off. However I did manage to hook 2 big double figure fish around 12 inches deep on meat, but sadly lost them both. My hook inexplicably pulling as I played them into open water. #gutted. 

Gary had fished a blinder and caught steadily short to weigh 54lb and win the section. I just couldn't get anything close in. peg 20 on the other side of the island caught a few for 34lb showing that there were some fish around. And finally peg 2 had very little all day but caught 3 carp down the edge in the last 30 minutes. This relegated my 17lb to 4th in section which was a disaster! I have never weighed lower on the stock pond, I was so disappointed I didn't even take a picture!

So ultimately it was a last day blow out! However there were a few things that I felt impacted on my week. Firstly preparation (or lack of it) as I had been so busy at work I struggled for time to make rigs etc and ended up making them on the day. Secondly my drawing arm wasn't great. Apart from peg 7 on the Moby I wouldn't have fancied any of the others to make an impression within the section.   

Overall I just missed out on the prize money coming in 12th from 56 which in fairness was not a bad result given the prep and pegs. 

But more importantly it was a great week with some great company and amazing weather! And I am being back on the bank getting ready to assault the summer!


A huge well done to Johnny Abbot for winning the festival .... Gruellllllleeerrrrrrrr!

Well done Bud (Here's a pic from a few years ago to make ya smile)

Scores on the doors for 2015

May brings the start of my defence of the Eight Bells A.C. crown, Fish O mania qualifier, Club Angler of the Year and much more. It will not be 6 months for an update that is for sure!

Tight Lines Dave