Only 10 of us were present, there was a contingent of the club down at Stafford Moor for a 3 day event that Lee Waller had arranged.
Today I bought along the wife as she hadn't seen the venue and it got her out of the house.
We arrived in loads of time, the trip is only minutes over an hour, so not that bad really. We went up to the café and everyone was present and some were munching on brekkie, the wife ordered a hashbrown and bacon sarnie for her, I just had a cuppa.
Alan Healey was running the show today, the owner sorted the pegs and it was to pay top 4 overall.
In to the draw with only 3 pegs left, I drew 19 which is decent enough, Rich Jones plucked 16 which the owner said would be facing down the lake once you have crossed the far bridge. Alan had the last peg and it was 29, the peg generally seen as an out and out flyer and is the near end of the lake and has the infall to your right and where the landslide has occurred in front. Always worth a good few fish.
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| My Peg, Peg 19 at Harescombe |
4 topkits assembled for the match: All on 6/8 laccy, 0.2 NG Jordans using 0.14>0.12>size 16's.
1st was a rig to fish using the topkit down each edge, meat over 4mm pellets both sides
2nd was a rig to fish maggots through the water, occasionally meat, topkit+1 distance
3rd was a pellet rig for 13.5m across to the left of a bush/tree/grass spot
lastly a shallow pellet rig for fishing across as the fish will come up and slurp against the board.
For bait I had 6mm pellets for across, 3pts of maggots for that line, some 4mm pellets and 6mm meat for the margins mostly.
At the all in I began in front at topkit+1 with maggot and was soon getting a few silvers, also the small roach were swirling at the feed, there didn't look to be any carp or f1s in amongst them so I stayed on the deck hoping they would follow the feed down rather than up.
Half an hour in and Chris Gay was on around 8 or 9 F1s/carp on his method feeder, Rich Jones was getting a few carp by fishing along to the out fall on his left.
I stuck to this line until an hour had gone and only managed 1 small carp plus the silvers, but nobody was catching much. I began to feed my left edge at the 45 minute stage with a view to try down there next.
Into the 2nd hour and I switched to my left edge with meat and did pick up a couple f1s and a barbel, but my meat was getting ragged out by small roach and gudgeon mostly. But I stuck with it hoping that the better fish would come along. Chris was getting a fish a chuck on his feeder at this point and was miles ahead, actually he was on 17 f1s/carp that I had seen and I was on 4 by the end of 90 minutes. Rich Jones was getting a few also.
I switched back to the topkit+1 line but tried meat on the hook, this gave me a run of carp and f1s before fading again, so I started flicking a few pellets across in prep for when I tried there.
The 3rd hour saw me pick up a few fish on both pellet rigs fished across, so I was starting to put some f1s/carp in the net more regularly, plus I was picking up some chub and barbel, perch and skimmers which always help.
The 4th and 5th hours were my most productive, by swapping both edges and the short line in front, feeding heavier, I was getting short bursts of fish from each, but was still suffering with baby roach whittling the meat down off the hook, but the f1s and carp were coming at a sensible rate along with some silver including add 6oz skimmer. The odd foray across also produced a few fish, but was suffering with a duck and foul hookers that trashed a couple rigs. Chris Gay had been catching all the while, even picking up a few fish from his margins when he came of the method feeder and looked to have the match sewn up. Rich Jones was still getting a few and we heard Alan had been doing steady on the method feeder from peg 29. Everyone else were only catching in small bursts and the fight for 4th and last in the money was between the rest of us, more or less.
The last hour was productive for Mark Radford over on peg 14, until this point he hadn't had too many and was suffering with small silvers, but he picked up a run of f1s and carp in this period, while for everyone else it had gone quiet, even Chris only had a handful of fish, I managed 4 f1s from in front as the margins didn't produce as expected.
The all out was called and the rain began!!
I packed up, thinking I had maybe 50lb of carp/f1s plus my few silvers, I guessed Mr Gay had 110lb and Rich Jones must have 70lb.
I loaded the car so me and Adam began the weigh in. Starting on peg 29 with Alan, he had 61lb, which I thought was, by the murmurs, less than he'd been assumed to have.
Adam weighed next, 25lb+. Then we went along the car park bank with only Ryan Radford topping the 40lb barrier. Around to peg 16 and Rich Jones, he popped his 3 weighs on the scales and came out with 75lb 3oz to take the lead.
I was next to weigh, my few silvers actually weighed 11lb and 4oz. Coupled with my f1s and carp I totalled 77lb 10oz, slightly more than my guess.
Chris Gay the took the lead as expected, nearly having my estimated 110lb, he totalled 104lb 10oz, so that 1st 90 minute spell gave him the cushion over me and Rich Jones.
Last to weigh was Matt Powell, he had 26lb+.
Results:
1st, Chris Gay, p21, 104-10
2nd, Lee Williams, p19, 77-10
3rd, Rich Jones, p16, 75-03
4th, Alan Healey, p29, 61-01
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| Scrawled weigh sheet. |
My last 2 visits there have given me a 1st and a 2nd, so I am getting to grips with the place, but busy fishing suits me.
In hindsight, I should have fished corn not meat as I am sure I could have put a few more f1s and carp in the net, maybe I would have missed out on the silvers, which were the countable fish that boosted my weight, I had roach, rudd, perch, skimmers, gudgeon, barbel, chub, f1s and carp in my catch.
I fed 2pts of maggots, 2pts of 4mm pellets and a handful of 6mm's. Plus maybe a tin of meat.
Next weekend I think I have Acorn on Sunday, but no doubt I will get a little fishing in during the week.............I hope.
Until another day. have fun.
Lee
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