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

Back to Basics

It's been a busy old time on the club fishing front. September has been virtually a match every week so there is lots to look back on.

I also go back to what I love doing...trying to winkle out a net of small silver fish.

This month we go back to basics using the most rudimentary of tackle. Just like being a youngster I try to put together a small net of fish using simply a pint of maggots and a little groundbait.

Action update August/September:

Following on from my last blog when we spoke about paste fishing for Carp and Skimmers, I just had to get back to this little water in Lancashire for a couple of days.

I chose a different peg but used exactly the same tactics using skrill pellets and paste at 6 metres and lumps of paste down the edge for Carp. It worked a treat again, but this time around I caught a real mixed bag including a Perch over 2lb using Marukyu AFP310 paste! as well as a number of big Roach over the 1lb mark.

A mixed bag using paste

Day 2: different peg and same result with 4 big carp and a couple of smaller samples. Another big perch on paste and numerous stamp Roach and Skimmers.

Possibly my favourite picture of the year with a stunning common. Look at the size of that tail !

Day 2 and another mixed bag of silvers, small carp and lumps which were put back.

Perch on paste!

Following the excitement of camping and fishing with the family, it was back to the club scene. Sitting in 2nd position in the club championship race I really needed to up my game against Chris "the raider" Pickering and John Berry.

I finished 2nd last year with my Eight Bells A.C. and was determined to go one better. With club champ Nick Haymes now concentrating more on open fishing, It has been the perfect opportunity to step up and try and cement my place at the top of the leader board.

Bradshaw fishery no4 lake was first up. This was a venue I used to shy away from a few years ago, big carp, pellet waggler, method feeder, heavy feeding...all unfamiliar ways of fishing until the last couple of seasons for me. Now I really get stuck in and with my recent success on rod and line at the Wrightington Fishery I felt confident.

Permanent peg 15 at Bradshaw no4

I drew down in the bottom corner of the lake and did not feel massively confident, but with an aerator a nice comfortable chuck I felt I would be in for a couple. I knew it would be hard to win the match with the more favoured "wall side" pegs facing. The target was to win my section and finish as high up the field as possible.

8mm pellets on a small 5g waggler fished to the right of the aerator brought me 3 carp around 5lb each, I also lost two as they found their way around the aerator ropes.

I used 3 types of pellets including Marukyu Skirll, Jpelletz and standard feed pellets. This gave me an opportunity to try different coloured hookbaits on the day. I also had a method feeder set up with a 50/50 mix of EFG151 and 2mm skrill pellets. This accounted for 3 more carp of a similar size once indications tailed off on the waggler. Finally 2 more carp and some silvers were caught short on the paste at the bottom of the near shelf.

73lb 9oz gave me a section win and more importantly 4th place overall. Warren Kirby on the fancied wall pegs smashed the ton to win the match with 112lb. John Berry made some ground up on me with 2nd place and 97lb and my travelling partner Bobby came 3rd with 87lb.

My mate Bobby sneaked this 12lb 13oz Mirror and I heard all about it in the car home!

Hampton Springs Long Island pool was our next visit. I had not been to this venue since my first season back fishing around 3 years ago. I remembered catching a couple of carp on a small crystal waggler shallow against an island but that was all I knew.

I drew a peg which used to have a bridge across to one of the islands which gave the lake its name. With the bridge not there I had the point of the island at 16 metres but with potential snags under the surface. I also could not chuck long against the island due to a wire leading to an aerator in front of the next peg along. I also had peg 2 wanting to cast to my point of the island. In short I felt a bit boxed in.

This was how my peg used to look!

Undeterred I set up a small method feeder to cast towards the island, a traditional waggler for the open water towards the rope and a short pole line.

I spent the first 90 minutes searching the open water line. Fishing a drake waggler with a single grain of corn in 6ft of water. Only a small size 20 swivel was used as shot down the line allowing me to search the depths and offering something that nobody else would be doing in my congested part of the lake. Skimmers, Roach and small F1 Carp came to the net keeping me busy.

But it was the last hour when I began dropping a method into the deeper water at the bottom of the shelf off the island when I put a quick burst of small carp together. One of the lads suggested Meat was the bait of the day and so it proved.

Rod and line tactics gave me 26lb 4oz for another section win and 5th overall. Warren Kirby smashed the match for his 2nd win on the spin banking 85lb 4oz. The bad news was The Raider Pickering and John Berry finished in 2nd and 4th respectively above me.

Mid September and back to lake 4 on Bradshaw Fisheries. This time I drew the favoured wall side and I fancied my chances to do well. As a bit of added spice I drew next to Chris "the Raider" Pickering, here I had the chance to put some pressure on him. Chris was still leading in the points race so it is upto me to force the issue. With match secretary Steve Brookes on the other side I was looking forward to a good battle.

I needed to put pressure on the Raider. He "Wants some"

Same tactics as previous visit, with pellet waggler and method set up. I didn't really expect the pole to feature, but set it up anyway. I also set up a bomb rod with a long tail in
case the fish were following my pellets down. The wall side is a little deeper than my previous draw in the corner of the lake so it was an option.

I found with the 3 of us pegged quite close together I needed to mix my feeding up a little and did'nt want to fish on a dustbin. I used the whole of the peg and fished in an "Arc" beginning casting to the left at the 11 o'clock position and ending at the 1 o'clock spot. Trying to pull fish from far and wide.

83b 12oz gave me another section win and 3rd overall was a good return beating the Raider in the process. Nick Haymes came back to the club and claimed another win with 110lb and John Berry again made ground finishing 2nd with 100lb 1oz. It was a good day with over 820lb caught between the 20 of us.

Last up for September it was to Langley Lakes in Lancashire. Having framed with the rod and line the previous 4 matches it felt strange setting the pole up as my main line of attack. This lake does not yield big weights and I always felt if I could hit 20-30lb I would be doing well. I drew exactly the same peg as last year where I finished 8th overall. This time the dynamics were different.... I was hungover big time! A few drinks the previous day and a late night to bed was not the best preparation but it happens now and then.

Same peg as last year at Langley Lakes

 I knew there would be small but powerful carp tight across and I needed to beef up. I also knew there would be skimmers down the track over groundbait, but with bright, still and warm conditions I knew these would not be a viable option. So it was a case of sticking across and catching silvers close in.

7 carp lost in the reeds across, even using a tight grey hydro left me pulling what little hair I have left out. The hangover was not really helping and I found the fishing really frustrating. With 2 hours to go I made the decision to get my head down close in using a top kit.

Maggots over EFG170 groundbait and catch whatever came along was the mantra. Small Roach, Tench, Crucians and Skimmers came to the net until a number of carp came and bullied their way in. One around 4lb was a real bonus and 20lb 9oz was enough for a section win and 2nd overall.

Nick Haymes did the biz making it 2 wins on the spin with 38lb.  John Berry and The Raider suffered on the day and with one match to go at Bradshaw Fishery no3 lake at the end of October the championship is in my own hands.

Back to Basics:
Earlier in the blog I eluded to carp and specifically big carp being a species I used to find quite daunting. After a 10 year sabbatical from match fishing, upon my return in 2011 fishing had changed massively and so had the size of fish. It has taken me a couple of years to get my head around it all and it is starting to come together.

One of the ways I like to get some perspective and get my feeding correct is by going back to basics. When I get a couple of hours spare I go upto my local club water and put my mind through a grilling. I have used these waters for many a blog and with a couple of hours spare this month I wanted to go back to my roots with the most simple of tactics. And as I have previously stated, if you can catch on these waters then carp are pretty fair game.

A pond full of lillies, small pin prick size bubbles breaking the surface, ducks having a good old quack and small silvers breaking the surface, my mind was wondering if I brought the right kit!

My plan was simple:
2 hours... small pond.
1 whip
1 rig
1 pint of maggot
1 pint of groundbait .... What could I catch?

The pond

The Rig

The bait

The whip and line

With so many features and so little tackle options the first question was where to fish? I decided to find a flat spot in 3 feet of water upto some weed, but not tight to the lillies. I sensed there might be the odd lump or big Tench that might drag me into the pads so I wanted to give myself half a chance.

My float a bazzerla 4x10 with a strung out shotting pattern was on 0.10 line and a size 20 drennan carp maggot hook completed the rig. My plan was to feed 3 golf ball sized balls of groundbait and loosefeed 3 or 4 maggots regularly over the top and play it by ear.

First up came a classic silver fish in this type of water...the Rudd. Thinking about some of the club matches this year, I have caught a lot of rudd especially on the top kit line or shallow. Useful when all is quiet.

The classic Rudd

With regular feeding some of the maggots would begin to start drifting down to the bottom over my groundbait. Next species sat below the Rudd are Perch to intercept the loose maggots. Already I am learning lessons. I should have put some dead maggots in my groundbait, this would have added some substance to the groundbait and maybe attracted some skimmers. Once a few Perch realised their mates were disappearing then it was the Roach turn.

Net Roach started feeding over the groundbait

Time for a change of feeding. Now Roach were grazing over the crumb, feed less maggot frequently but more volume. This will keep the fish down, it also signals time to bulk my shot together. I noticed I caught a couple of Rudd on the bottom, so for a surface feeder to go down to the deck told me I had it right, I wanted them competing on the bottom.

One or two small Skimmers then came to the net, which signalled top up time, small marbles of crumb were flicked over the area hoping to encourage some bigger skimmers. Before I knew it time had beaten me and I was packed up and gone within 10 minutes. The beauty of fishing light for a little bit of fun.

Every now and then a change is as good as a rest a couple of hours on a little water like this can be just what the doctor ordered. Try leaving the mountains of kit we all carry at home and have a little dabble on your water with a pint of maggs.

Good fun with a pint of maggot.

As we head into October it is time to start thinking about rigs etc for the cooler weather. Autumn is a lovely time of the year and can yield some fantastic fishing. With one more club match to go I am hoping to finish on a high. I might even have a dabble at a winter league too.

Tight Lines
Dave

Are You taking the paste!?

As I write it looks as if Summer is over already! Storms have dropped the monthly average rainfall already! And the winds are feeling very autumnal!

Still not to be deterred, July had some lovely temperatures and it only takes a high pressure spell to push things back to where they should be. Summer time means big fish...Big fish equals paste! This month I visit a Lancashire water where the fish run big....very big!

As always, firstly let me cover off some recent success and milestones.

Action update July/August:

Towards the end of July I was back out with my Eight Bells A.C. club mates to a place called High Heys Farm in Lancashire. I didn't know much about the place except that shallow can be the way to go with one regular winning all the recent opens "slapping".

High Heys with 3 lakes is a nice complex.

I instantly liked the look of the wide lake we had booked. A 35 yard chuck over to the empty pegs across and lots of open water in front. The margin had plenty of features to go at too. The day was pleasant but there was a stiff wind blowing into the car park end of the lake. If the fish followed the wind down that way I was in trouble.

As it transpired I had quite a pleasant day. Small barbel on the method across tight to the far bank, F1 carp shallow on the pole. 6mm skrill pellets "slapping" or using the "jigger" rig helped me put 35lb 13oz onto the scales.  Although enjoyable, the day was slightly frustrating as I pulled out of a number of F1 carp at the net, I couldn't seem to get my hook right. I was switching between a size 16 and 18 but neither seemed to make a difference.

Eric Bagley was pegged down wind at the car park and smashed the match with a lovely net of barbel for a winning net weighing 65lb 10oz. My weight was actually good enough for second overall, but as Eric was in my section I did not pick up any prize money. Still 2nd keeps me consistent and in the running in the club championship points.


Part of the joy of fishing is being outdoors, and with that I decided to join some of my family on a weekend camping trip. Myself, Aunt and Uncle decided on a weekend at a place called Fell View not far from Preston in Lancashire. The camp site had a small pond with half a dozen pegs or so and as all 3 of us fish we had to give this unknown water a try.

Lancashire countryside at Fell View was lovely.

This lake was a bit of an unknown quantity so I stuck to a pellet approach close in to see what I could muster. And the answer was Roach, Roach and more Roach. Good stamp too with them averaging 6oz. The problem was that Keepnets were not allowed, so when pleasure fishing without a net I would rather catch something that pulled back a little.

The weather decided to change and rapidly blow across the fells. A change of tactic to Meat in 6 ft of water at 7 metres would hopefully single out the better fish. The trick worked and 5 good size Tench along with a number of Roach around the 1lb mark made things a little more interesting. My Uncle Mike caught a couple of Tench as well but nothing else apart from Roach. It was food for thought in terms of targeting an unknown water. We both agreed that there must have been very few Carp in the pond as none of us hooked anything substantial. Uncle Mike promised to take me to a much better venue next time...

Summer Tench from a virgin water. 

Next up I was back to the Glebe in Leicestershire. This was an invitational match which I have fished for a couple of years. My mate Harry Warren organises the day as a corporate event for his best suppliers and customers and I luckily get involved.

16 pairs contested the match with 3 lakes to go at on a points/section basis. As a starting point no matter where you draw, each pair will need a minimum 100lb per angler before even thinking about prizes.  I drew peg 109 on lake 7 and decided to give my partner lake 1 for the experience as he had not fished it.

109 Glebe 7

I was on an end peg and knew I would do OK, but I really wanted a breeze into my bank, however the day remained still and very humid. 

My practising of casting the feeder is really paying off this year and I think I made only two poor chucks across to the far bank in the first two hours. A number of carp began to make their way into my net on the tip. Corn at 5 metres accounted for a few fish, but it was paste against the bank for the last couple of hours that made a big difference. 107lb 8oz gave me third on the lake and a couple of quid back. My partner on lake 1 struggled and our combined 10 points were miles off the pacesetters. The winning pair posted only 3 points and combined weight of 355lb

Back with the Eight Bells and our next stop was Wrightington Fishery. Last time we fished the canal, but this time we were on a lake called Rivington view. 

Weather turned for the worse making a static bait presentation key.

Another water I had not fished before and when I drew facing an island I quite liked the look of it. My main nervousness was a number of anglers had spare pegs around them, where as I was boxed in with someone either side. For an added bit of pressure my peg was also the bonus peg for the day.

I set up a small method feeder to fish across to the island and a couple of pole lines with Corn and Pellet hookbaits. The feeder mix was 50/50 Marukyu EFG150 and 2mm Skirll pellets. 

I felt that with the water being very coloured then the high attraction skrill and high protein crumb would be the best bet. My tip kept busy with small barbel and carp, plus one bonus around 9lb. With the action steady, if not amazing I decided to stay on the tip. I just felt that the fish wanted a still bait and rather than struggle with the pole, keep fish going in the net with the rod and line. One change I made was to put a heavier method on to sit on the slope better. 60lb 8oz of Carp and Barbel was enough to sneak ahead of Chris "the raider" Pickering and secure me a section win and overall/bonus peg win. 

I was particularly happy with this little victory as I have always dismissed "ledger" tactics. But this year I have made a conscious effort to get my casting right and increase the tools in my locker. It is working.

They're taking the paste!

After the fell view visit, my uncle promised me a visit to a water where I would get plenty of action off carp averaging around 8-10lb. Now these venues are few and far between in the North West. It was no surprise to find out the venue is a members only water, so when I was invited on I jumped at the chance.

This small members lake had some big surprises!

Two days were to be spent on this very quaint half acre or so lake tucked away in Lancashire. Day 1 was very cold and bitter with temperatures struggling to get above 14 degrees with a chilly wind.

Uncle Mike had warned me it maybe a tough day but one or two carp could show and a few bites off silvers should keep things busy. Pellet should catch everything and the now very faithful Marukyu Skrill pellets came out of the bag. Paste would be used when I felt bigger fish had arrived.

There are 3 types of paste I like to use: 

The Marukyu AFP range of 300 (pink: small fish), 310 (White: medium/mixed stamp) and 320 (Green: big fish). These are very simple and  anybody can use them with a simple 1-1 ratio explained on the reverse of the packaging (Bottom right image). The Paste contains gluten and sticks together really well on the hook. 

Paste is hugely popular as bait in the far east where they are experts are rearing and catching Carp. I tend to use paste July-September and these bags will easily last the 3 months.

Secondly, I sometimes use ground down pellets, nice and simple. Here you can add your own flavours depending on the venue when mixing it with water. 

Thirdly, groundbait. I have used the same mix for the past 3 summers and it is called EFG150. Add as much water as you like to get the right consistency for the day (Bottom left image)

With the wind difficult I decided to feel my way into the first day and see what popped along. I also wanted to give my margin pole a real good going over as it had not really been tested yet.

Keepnets were allowed for fish under 3lb so when I started catching one or two skimmers I thought I would pop them to one side. When bites from the silvers subsided then a piece of paste found 3 good stamp carp all towards or above double figures. Muscular fish that looked like they had never been caught before. 2 from down the edge and 1 from 5 metres where I had been catching the odd skimmer to tide me over. All on EFG 310 paste. Uncle Mike showed me the way with half a dozen carp and lots of Roach.

The margin pole was soon tested.

Paste Tackle:
With only around 3 feet of water in this part of the lake, the float doesn't want to be to big as the wind will pull the float across the surface skim and in turn pull the hook out of the paste. something around 0.2grm would suffice.
Line: 0.17 Guru N gauge
Hook: 14 Kamasan B911
Pole: Shimano Beastmaster
Elastic: Drennan Bungee 16-18 (Open water. 18-20 (Margin)
A paste pot is useful when fishing longer than a few metres out, as is a little pot of water to wet fingers and manipulate each paste portion when shipping out, plus it can be a messy business.

With the lake full of Lilly pads, The trick is to hit the bite then push the fish out to 8 metres and play them in open water. The puller kit also seemed to make these fish crazy, so I found that an almost old school way of "pole high" was the best way to subdue them.

Proof of the paste pudding. "Average" 10lb fish.

Around 8lb of Skimmers to go with my 3 carp.

Mike with a Mid-double common

Day 2 and despite overnight downpours the sun was out and very very warm. Hopefully this would get more fish on the move. Despite around 40lb the previous day it was quite difficult, but I felt a little more in tune with the venue and recognised a few errors.

First error I felt I was wasting time in the margins when the fish were not there. I decided to have a line at 5 metres for skimmers and only fish the margins when I saw signs of fish there. I.e. Tail patterns, lilies being brushed etc.  So 6mm Skrill pellets were prepared. These would be the only particles I would feed. I also had some maggots for the hook.

The plan worked a treat, regular pots of pellets at 5 metres and a piece of groundbait paste or 5 maggots got me into steady skimmer action. All the while I fed close in at around 2ft depth. As soon as I see signs then a large lump of groundbait paste over the pellets.

A total of 15 carp succumbed to the paste. The biggest fish was a stunning common where I would estimate to be around 18lb. Along with many fish in the 12-15lb bracket. In addition around 35lb of Skimmers made the paste action all the worthwhile. Guesstimate would be in the region of 170lb of fish.

Margin dwelling mirrors

Scale Perfect commons

30lb+ of Skimmer Bream.

Uncle Mike uses similar tactics to me but stays fishing close in to the edge. He had a real mixed bag with lots of Roach, Skimmers, Tench and half a dozen carp. We both agreed that although location was the easy part, it was all about the feeding. It is not a case of piling in a load of pellets and plopping a dollop of paste over the top. It takes some fine tuning the feeding and reacting to what is going on, at the same time going through lots of bait...just not all at once.

The water should be a reasonable temperature for a few more weeks. Have a go on the paste, but think about how you feed and attract to the margins, and what to do when it goes a little quiet. Why not open up a silver line like I did.

Here is to a successful September and remainder of August.

Tight Lines
Dave

It isn't the size that matters, its what you do with it!

After a couple of weeks away and a hectic workload, I couldn't wait to get back out on the bank!

This month I explore the idea of fishing short and keeping busy. I have had a bit of success recently fishing very close in and putting everything that came my way in the net. All too often I see people wielding 16 metres of pole when sometimes the fish are under your feet.

A scene replicated on every commercial across the country, but is this chap ignoring the short line?

First off lets look at where we have been:

Action Update June/July:

After my last blog at the Glebe I managed to fit one more match in with my Eight Bells Club at Hampton Springs Fishery Rock pool in Cheshire before going on holiday.

I drew a nice peg with a Lilly bed 12 metres down to my left margin and an island across at 14.5 metres. Using fishery pellets and swapping between a worm and Jpz I managed 30lb 14oz of small carp, tench and barbel for 2nd place (As usual) I foul hooked a couple of larger carp but didn't manage to get them in which was a bit of a gutter.

Hampton Springs is a popular Cheshire water

After my jollies I had a serious case of holiday blues! But I was straight into it with 2 matches at Heronbrook fisheries. 

First off my local tackle shop runs an annual event and attracts 150+ of the regulars and a few local stars. I drew peg 15 on the Bridge pool. Although it looked the part nothing of any substance seemed to show. I was 3rd in section with 21lb of small barbel and little f1s. 30lb won my section and I wish I would have stuck at the small stuff. This got me thinking....

Next up it was Maver Match this at the same venue. Again I drew the bridge pool and peg 11 around from where I was the previous week. I knew immediately I had no chance, but still persevered and attacked the peg very aggressively. There is no point fishing for the section on these matches with such high calibre of anglers. My aggression did not work and I left learning pretty much nothing. The only thing I would say about both of these matches is that I could have prepared a little better in terms of my tackle, I just was not really feeling it, so I had to buck my ideas up!

Back with the lads from the Eight Bells A.C. to a place I have not visited before. Wrightington in Lancashire. We were on the match canal with another club filling the end pegs, so the lake was virtually full.

Wrightington Match Canal. Lovely but end peg draw needed.

Typical of many commercial venues it was a uniform 14.5 metres across with a central track and margins. Everybody wanted an end peg and as it transpired Match Secretary Steve Brooks smashed the match off one of the ends with 54lb of small barbel and carp. I beat either side of me weighing 19lb but made little impression coming around 8th overall.


Next up with the Eight Bells it was to Bradshaw Fisheries in Bolton. I guess I would class this as my "local" commercial now. We were back on lake 3 which I really enjoyed back in April time. Small fish with plenty of bites. The difference was it was cold and windy back then, now it was a lovely day and I could present properly.

The great thing about club fishing is it is always a good laugh. I always travel to the club matches with a guy called Bob Price and I guess you could call him a character! Bobby complains that I never mention him in the blog, the thing is he rarely frames on the matches, so what is there to write? (Only joking Bobby, we all know you won a few in the 80s)

Me and Eight Bells travelling partner Bobby Price sporting our new Guru "Jaffa" waterproofs.

Thinking back to Heronbrook and the small fish, Lake 3 does have one or two larger stamp carp. I could go for them fishing long into the open water. But I decided to fish short, literally a top kit feeding casters and catching everything. I also had an open water swim, but I found it was the same depth right up to 14 metres, so I settled at 9 metres. Nice and comfortable and if the fish did back off I had lots of scope to go at.

I started catching Rudd up in the water feeding casters heavily knowing a few would get to the bottom. Then I changed to my bottom rig. Caster accounted for a couple of little barbel and tench, but it was the switch to 6mm Marukyu Jpz over the casters that brought a better stamp. I had to wait a little longer for the bites, but they were better fish.

To rest the short line I simply went on my 9 metre line. Originally I fed micro pellets, but it didn't feel right as the peg was fizzing like mad. A change to 4mm Marukyu skrill feed pellets with one on a band as hookbait, snaffled some skimmers and small carp. In all I had 8 different species of fish and in the region of 100 fish for 37lb 10oz with nothing over 1lb in size. A lovely days sport fishing short.

The day was good fun because I had a real head to head battle with Chris "the raider" Pickering in my section. I pipped him by 2lb or so and I am convinced that those early Rudd and silvers probably did it for me.

Carp, F1, Tench, Rudd, Roach, Gudgeon, Crucian, Barbel and Skimmer Bream for 37lb 10oz.

Short and Sweet:

When I was a kid I spent every minute I could on my local Rochdale canal. 20 years ago all I used to fish was the waggler and 9 times of out 10 I would fish at my rod end with a Drennan Canal Grey float. There was no flow back then as the locks were closed so not a particularly defined marginal shelf. It was a case of finding a nice level area with no rubbish or shopping trolleys and flicking maggots or casters steady until some fish arrived. Then you could tailor your feeding to what was happening. That's how I have been approaching the short line.

My local canal helped me fall in love with the sport and learn some valuable fish feeding lessons.

Things had been crazy busy the last couple of weeks so to get away from it all I decided on a last minute visit to Docklow pools in Herefordshire. Flicking through my blogs you will see it is a regular haunt of mine and one of my favourite venues. Good tackle shop, good pub and more importantly some great people and friends.

First I had a crack on the match pool open. I decided on the short approach but this time down the margins. I drew peg 21 which is OK, but the margin was over 3ft which I wasn't comfortable with. Still I tried a pellet and fish for anything approach, but could not get through the small roach (and I mean small!). Method across to the island was better and 41lb was a nice day, but didn't trouble the frame. Simon "Shed" Bradford is the main man in form at the match lake and won with 98lb.

Next up was the stock pond open which gave me the perfect opportunity to again fish short and put anything that comes along to the net. Target are the ample shoals of F1s which are putting on weight, but I never dismiss the many roach, perch, ide and skimmers. Peg 20 was my home for the day.

Peg 20 can be hit or miss.

Peg 20 can be great or can be a real challenge as the picture shows there is only 9 metres of water to the overgrown island across. It is pointless fishing over as it is too snaggy.

Fishery micro/4mm pellets were dampened down with Marukyu SFA450 liquid krill to give something a bit different from everybody else. I also pumped my expander pellets with the krill additive to compliment my feed.

Expanders pumped in SFA450 give that extra confidence and something different.

Preston Dura 10H elastic, 0.12 silstar line with a 4x12 Jim Standish Slimzee and a size 16 Drennan Carp maggot hook was the rig for the top kit. Here I had 3 pints of red and white maggots.

The plan was to feed micros at 9 metres to the left of the island as my "plan B". But the main line of attack would be the top kit feeding maggots heavily to keep the fish down. If small silvers became a pest I would fish an expander over the maggots and trickle in a few loose pellets as well.

Top 2 with my float dotted to a pimple.

The plan worked a treat and heavily feeding maggots kept the fish confident towards the bottom. A little trick I did use was to lay my double maggot or expander in first, then feed the maggot over the top. I found this drew the really small fish into the upper layers to intercept the initial feed, but inevitably bait was still getting down to where I needed it as I was feeding good handfuls of bait. When bites did tail off I went long and nicked the odd fish whilst the short line settled.

A very similar match to the Bradshaw fisheries, although with a bigger stamp of fish. F1, Roach, Perch and Skimmers came in abundance. My Mate Jez Bown was doing well on peg 5 and when he weighed in 123lb I didn't think I had a chance. I knew I stopped counting at 100 F1s but my last hour was pretty slow. In fact I had put in some corn down the edge as peg 20 sometimes attracts the odd lump, and I ended up nicking half a dozen small fish doing this in the last 30 minutes.

The day was very hot and sticky, and despite those odd quieter spells the short line did the damage with me winning with 131lb 11oz. Again did those odd silvers make a difference over Jez? Probably.

Despite an eyeful of sweat, I still managed to pose with part of my 131lb short caught haul.

A recurrent theme throughout my blogs has been to improve, keep busy and enjoy it. For me I still have the odd pants match, but overall I am definitely improving in terms of putting a weight together (3 x 100lb + weights in 2014).
I intend on keeping busy, whether it is fishing short, long, waggler or lead.
And as for enjoying it, well as long as I feel prepared and confident in what I am doing I always do!

Remember a bad days fishing is still better than a good days work!

Tight Lines
Dave