Summerhayes 50/50 match, Longs Lake, 17-4-17

On the bank holidays Summerhayes have started to do a 50/50 match at a cost of £26 as opposed to the usual £21, well I think I am not so keen on this idea as you pay your dues, which basically puts £9.50 or so into each pot of pay-outs (carp only, silvers only) but you cannot double bubble.

So in reality you have 3 choices, 2 are straight forward in that you fish for carp or silvers for the 6hrs, the 3rd option is a little more of a chancer in that you could set your stall out for the hypothetical perfect match, catch a few quick carp, then some silvers, then plunder the carp and hope you have covered your arse by securing a pick-up place in either or both (no double bubble). This option for the most part, as I see it at Summerhayes, would more than often leave you a little behind the pace in either category, especially at this venue where the carp are averaging 2-3lb or so and the silvers is often won with about 10-13lb. At some venues, Viaduct springs to mind, you catch plenty of silvers on carp lines and vice-versa and people frame in both with 'accidentals' on reasonably regular basis.
I don't know, I need to get my mind around it, or rather the fact you are chucking a tenner in a pot you have no intentions of trying for maybe? If you could double up then it would all make sense.

Maybe we need to start going down the optional silvers route at matches more so? So rather than £20 all in, say make it £15 and £5 optional or even do a 50/50 split, peg fee and two equal optionals? Actually this is something I have been thinking about more recently, on clubbies I can see the default and no double bubble making sense as the spread payouts keeps anglers interested, but on opens, I don't know. It also seems to be a 'South-West' thing too, as I cannot remember seeing the silvers pools having separate pots up north?
I see Windmill, Viaduct and Avalon and some Sedges matches allow double bubble, except sections money (understandable).

Thoughts? I think I have confused myself....also don't the silvers anglers get the short straw by paying a larger chunk of entry to the overall monies or does the fact less people are targeting silvers negate that?......You should all sleep well tonight xx

Anyways I digress, back to my match. Only 9 of us as the Wickhams had ventured to Shiplate where Glynn did well.
I drew peg 8 on Longs, I don't have a clue if it is good or what is the target, silvers or carp?
It looked fine, but only odd plippy roach showing. But apparently the pegs 1-5 had been ok for silvers and 14 to 17 better for carp. Plus the roadside is consistent for the carp.

Peg 8 Longs

My 2 edges were reedy and looked more hazardous than I would like, those little carp are like mad and will dive into them right away (as I found out). The island was between 13m and I had 14m to the point of it.
Jim Jenner was over on peg 3 and to my left I had 2 empty pegs as 11 was next in.

A few rigs, one for silvers off in the direction of Jim (groundbait) and at the same angle to my left (micros).
An edge rig for both sides and tight over using meat.
A shallow pellet rig for across, off the point of the island and at 2+2 in front.
A deep pellet rig for 2+2 and off the point of the island where the depth was the same.

At the all-in I fed the spots in the peg and for some reason I was convinced I would catch on the short pellet lines.....an hour spent on this gave me 2 carp, one shallow, one on the deck. Jim had caught a couple and lost a couple fishing across. It was soon the 2nd hour....
I could see the reeds on my left full of fish, so I tried here but was landing as many as I lost and it was getting tedious, landing maybe 5 or 6 in quick succession including a 6lb bonus.
The fish were soon on edge and bites came less frequently and when I did hook one they'd be a smidgen quicker into the reeds.
A look down my right gave me a couple but it was not so busy with activity.

A few ventures onto the silvers lines only gave me a few roach and a 6oz skimmer, so I semi-binned them as it was 3hrs in and I guessed it would be a struggle to get 10lb from them, carp came from them though....!! But I looked to be well behind Jim, Bill Hopping and a couple of guys over on the road bank had gone for another net....I was and had too many quiet spells all round.
The next couple of hours was just spent picking up odd fish from the edges and off the silvers line, the short-pellet line had a few bubbles, but I tried there without action either on the deck or off. I decided with 90 minutes left to feed meat over my pellet line. So a cup of meat went in and the array of rigs went back on their winders and I was left with a solitary short meat rig.
My clicker showed a shade over 40lb.

The last 80 minutes or so went well as I just sat on my meat line and had fish regularly until the all-out, my clicker in the 1st net showed 70lb and probably had 20-30lb at the most in the second net, but I knew I never had what at least 3 others had so I tipped the fish back. But I had learned a few things during the day for sure.

I helped Pete with the weigh-in, and as expected it was Bill who won the carp pot, and the silvers was won off the golden peg so they had a nice £96 bonus....

Results:
Carp:
1st, Bill Hopping, 145lb 12oz, p17 (1st carp payout)
2nd, Roy Hughes, 140lb 13oz, p34 (2nd carp precedent)
3rd, Martin Addicot, 121lb 14oz, p30
Silvers:
1st, Mark Lehay, 9lb 9oz, peg 19 (golden peg and 1st silvers payout)
2nd, Roy Hughes, 8lb 3oz, p34
3rd, Rob Birch, 7lb 2oz, p37 (2nd silvers payout by default)

weights

So an interesting day, frustrating I suppose, I spent too long faffing and trying to make things work when maybe I would have fared better doing what I finished up on. Hindsight.....!!

Apex next Sunday with the Pawlett crew, I hope it fishes like I know it can, but I think with around 30 on there it will be patchy.

Until then, sleep well....

Lee