Hi all and a happy August! A quick fire overview of our club fishing campaign with my Eight Bells club these past few weeks....
Round 5 took us to Lindholme Lakes on Loco. Large and deep with some real munters, I was hoping for a good day. It was hot and blustery and I really struggled to make anything work...especially shallow which I was hoping would be my banker! 40lb 6oz (Mainly on a straight lead with bright single hookbaits) was not what I hoped for, especially as 68lb won my section. A disappointing day.
 |
| Loco wasn't as crazy as hoped. |
Round 6 we were back to Hampton Springs on the Long island pool. I drew straight facing one of the islands which was within reach at 16 metres. Strangely the pole was a struggle with presentation not quite as positive as hoped. Instead a small (but weighty on the slope) pellet feeder was much more responsive. 37lb didn't capture the section but it put me 4th overall which wasn't a disaster in the hunt for good points. The problem being is that my mucker Dave Darlington keeps winning them all!
 |
| Long island yielded decent points but no overall spoils |
Round 7 and it was a re-visit to Hall Lane Fisheries in Lancashire. Merlin's was the pool for the day which had been yielding some big weights in the fisheries summer league. As always expectations were quite low for the club as we have every peg being used so fishing was much tighter.
Dave Darlington smashed us all up again, this time with 115lb. I sneaked 2nd spot and a section win, with 57lb which was a decent result. I actually had to work really hard to put a weight together as there seemed to be a lack of carp in my peg. I probably had around 25lb of Silvers including Barbel, Tench, Ide and a fair few Chub kept things ticking over.
 |
| I am a big fan of Hall Lane, although the big weights have eluded me so far. |
Round 8 and we were back to Lindholme at Laurels. I drew sock on one of the points and really thought I would be in for a days shallow fishing into the open water. Things didn't quite work out that way. The open anglers on the opposite bank were a good indicator of how the match would pan out. It seemed the margins were the way to go and it all happened a little too late for me as I was pipped to the section by 1lb. Not all was lost as 69lb 6oz gave me decent points. Dave Darlington made it 6 wins from 8 rounds and in the process set a new club match record with 151lb 5oz. Good on ya lass!
 |
| I rued not fishing the margins earlier on Laurels pool. |
Round 9 was a water I had not fished before in the form of the Copper Beech pool at Dunham Fishery in Cheshire. A comfortable 13 metres across to the far side with lots of features makes this pool an attractive proposition. I decided on a "catch all" approach so fished chopped worm. A steady day taking around 25 F1s and various silver fish gave me a comfortable win with 55lb. Worm across, Corn over micro pellets down the edge, and maggot shallow down the middle of the lake all accounted for fish.
 |
| Copper Beech is an attractive comfortable water |
 |
| An enjoyable win at Dunham. |
Highs and Lows on the club scene so far this season, currently I sit in 2nd place in the club championship points which looks to be the best i can finish for this year as Dave Darlington has plenty in the tank even when he has dropped his worst results.
Still lots to play for, especially with my favourite season approaching...Autumn.
Other goings on:
Evening Series: Rochdale and District Angling Society
I managed to sneak onto my local club water for a couple of evening matches during July. I travel light to these matches with just a rudimentary set up. Anything between 10-30lb can win these matches so I just tend to fish for bites and put anything in the net. First match I managed 3rd place with a mixed bag of 17lb. The second match fished a lot harder and I managed 2nd place with 9lb made up of mainly silver fish. The bonus being that by default I qualified for the series final to be held at the end of September at Wrightington Fishery (I will be taking my proper kit to that!)
 |
| Evening Series yielded some success |
Fir Tree Fishery knock up:
A little invite match to a venue I hadn't been to for a few years with just the 8 of us along one side of the Firs water pool. This is a great venue with loads of different species and they all pull back! This was one to forget really as I didn't make anything work properly. 43lb and a thanks for coming. It was one of those matches I would love to fish again!
 |
| Fir Tree Fishery... well worth a visit |
Burt Baits: Another good news story from July came in the form of me linking up with Burt Baits. Anybody who has read my blogs since my ramblings began in 2012 will know I have always been a fan of using groundbait, paste, additives etc. As part of the deal I will be using their wide range of baits and hopefully joining up with their other fellow North West Anglers to enter some team events.
So far since ordering my first consignment of bait I have had the chance to use the Silverfish groundbait during the evening series yielding success. My most recent win on Dunham also saw me using
P-Redator liquid on my chopped worms.
The Expander pellets have a great consistency and I have also had a dabble with the Glow groundbait and looking forward to using that in the near future. Loads to get stuck into and I will review the products as I go along and give tips and tricks on how to use them.
Check out the range and order online: www.burtbaits.co.uk
And Finally....
I touched upon the evening series at Rochdale. With some help from the wife I put together a short video on how to approach these mixed fisheries. If you haven't seen it then check it out on YouTube. Any ideas for future videos then give me a shout.
Click here to view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmo_8H0WLBY&t=61s
Next up is my annual 4 day trip to Lindholme lakes. Ten of us will be heading over for 4 matches and a mini festival format. I will keep my facebook page @EastwoodAngling updated and write a more thorough blog next month.
Tight Lines
Dave
