Plus there is an abundance of carp and they don't half pull back.
In the car park pre-draw a few of us were chatting and I reckoned that 60lb may well be enough to win and upper 20lb figures could be the best silvers weight despite those who practiced in the week getting bags to 75lb of skimmers and bream. The favoured areas for the non-carp species are pegs 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (pegs 4 and 5 being the best 2 pegs on the lake), then you have a narrow section where we have to double bank, it is only 25-30m across so sharing water and fish is not too uncommon, it is inevitable pegs 7 and 8 are bang average at best. Then around to pegs 9 and 10, which are okay for carp and silvers, 11 is average and 12 and 13 are poor given they are at 90 degree angles to each other (I was on 13 last year and struggled as did peg 12...early baths. Same this year....) pegs 14 to 17 are good for carp but less decent silvers pegs, I wouldn't have been shocked to see them frame. But lead/feeder fishing to snags is the name of the game here and lost fish and tackle to be expected.
The next used peg is 23, a carp peg but some decent sized skimmers and bream haunt this area along with 24 (not used) and 25 whom all have island chucks, in with a shout for sure. 26 is average and tends to be a decent roach peg, then we have 27 to 31 which are opposite pegs 8, 7 and 6 and are average.
Peg 32 is a very nice peg as it has a few under water features, I would like this peg if I didn't get 4 or 5. Pegs 33, 34 and 35 are ok and can produce at times, maybe more so when the fish are heading up that end of the lake to spawn, pegs 36 to 38 are as often brilliant as they are poor, but great pre and post spawning times.
Well we all paid our dues and the draw commenced, three golden pegs chosen (27, 30 and 33) I drew around 5th in the rabble and found peg 7 in my hand, 2nd time I had this peg in the last 3 years now. I knew I had little chance of picking up with the pegs opposite in and in a tough section with pegs 1 to 10, I would say 7 is the worst peg in the section.
For company I had last years winner in Kev Crouch on peg 8 and Will Puddy on a decent peg, peg 6. Opposite me I had Chris Higgs and Derek Beards. I could also see a few others including Jamie Parkhouse (p25) and Paul Homewood (p26). In my section I had three good silvers anglers in Giffy (Chris Ware p9), Phil Clapp (p5, best peg) and Eric Fouracre (p4, 2nd best peg), tough work for me.
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| Peg 7, Apex Lake, Highbridge |
I mixed up my groundbait and sorted the rest of my bait, maggots, casters and corn. I had 4mm and micro pellets on my tray and expanders for the hook.
Tackle, well, a small cage feeder to lob on the 14m pole line, which I hoped not to use.
A pole rig (0.5g DT RBS) for carp at 14m using corn over a decent helping of 4mm pellets, but I never tried this as there didn't seem to be carp present.
A margin rig (DT Big D in 0.3g) down to my left for carp, again not really used for more that 10 mins during the day.
2 rigs for silvers, A DT Pencil in 0.2g for topkit to hand down to my left with the wind, hopefully to snare a whole load of roach which can be of a great size. The 2nd rig would be my main hope, a 16x11 DT F1/Silvers with wire stem, this would cover 7m and 14m both off to my right in a nice area of shadow.
On the whistle I cupped in 5 proper balls of groundbait on my long line and flicked a few casters down to my left. Some micros went in at 7m plus the baits required down the edge and on the long carp line.
1st look down to my left, a bite right away and a 4oz roach swung in....almost, it fell off, then the 2nd did the same as did the 3rd.....twat, I should have used the net!! Ah well I will stick with that line and keep the fish coming........ that didn't happen, I had a 6oz hybrid and 3 or 4 roach of 2oz each. Then no more bites there for the rest of the day.
Out to 7m, 10 minutes, no bites......No bites for the rest of the match over the micros or any bites on pellets, which is odd for the venue.
So after 45 minutes I was out on the long pole line, a few minutes later a 5oz skimmer was in my keepnet, then a couple 8oz samples followed, but then it would go quiet. Those opposite and either side were struggling so I plodded along picking up the odd skimmer.
Will Puddy did lose a carp early on and I saw John Fuidge down on peg 23 hook what he thought was a zoo creature only for the carp to be a 6lb fish, I asked him if it was the hardest fighting 6lber he had caught, he agreed. A lot fight like demons in there. Paul Homewood also had a carp or 2.
Over the next couple or so hours I kept picking up silvers in 2's or 3's, most 10oz sort of sized skimmers but I did have a 2lber, and a few roach in amongst them. But my skimmer sizes were nothing compared to the one Kev had and 2 Giffy caught.
My best bait was single and double maggot, casters just gave me roach so I refrained from lose feeding that area too often with casters unless bites dried up. Corn and pellets gave me the square root of naff all.
At around 2 o'clock my lines, and it seemed most others', died and bites were less forthcoming, but I did seem to be getting a few more than the others I could see nearby. The wind was really picking up, and in hindsight I could, and should, have got off my box and assembled a bigger float.
I took this spell to re-feed a decent amount and started a new area at 14m where I fed two cups of casters and maggots hoping for a few eels late on, but maybe they had not woken up properly yet from the winter, but worth a go.
I also went for a short walk and all I could prize from people is that 8lb was a good weight, Phil was admitting to low double figures, I believed him. Ziggy on peg 32 had gone home...
Back to my box and I had a couple more quick skimmers including my largest at around 2.5lb before I tried over the new caster/mag line, it was tough in the wind, but a few roach of 3oz each was all I was rewarded with for my efforts.
A couple friends turned up and all I could get while there were there were a few little fish, but I persevered. I was inclined to think I had perhaps 14lb or so at this point.
The wind was now so strong that after a quick look at 7m and on the topkit for no more fish I decided to spend the last hour on the feeder over the pole line, or at least until I ran out of groundbait.
Well I did run out of groundbait, thankfully it was my last cast of the match and luckily the last hour for me seemed better that those around me as I had maybe 6 more skimmers between 6 and 8oz (but Mssrs Fuidge and Homewood were getting big skimmers/bream off the island).
The all out was called and I packed up quickly enough and waited for the scales, which were beginning at the last peg, Jamie Cook and working back around the lake and peg 1 would be the last to weigh in. So I loaded the car and bumped into a guy who I kind of know, he was going to carp fish after the weigh in from peg 9 or 10, we discussed the ins and outs of the club and it's membership and matches etc.
Of the guys I also spoke to a few said they had mid-teens of silvers while Keith Clapp said he lost the carp-wars today 5 landed to 9 lost. But 5 carp should win the day unless he lost his keepnets.....ummm he did as when they got to weigh him in they had fell in, luckily he got them back and only 1 escapee....he weighed 42lb 4oz.
By the time the scales were at my peg Keith was still winning and the best silvers was 21lb to John Fuidge. I lifted my net and it looked 20lb+ which surprised me, and the scales bounced around to 26lb 2oz, nice. Phil Clapp said that would win the silvers, I didn't believe him as he was on the 'boys peg' and so it proved as his 20lb guesstimate actually trickled over 30lb and settled at 31lb exactly, there were some cracking 4lb+ bream in his net, which in comparison to my generally small fish net, really made a difference, so well done him.
Eric on peg 4 and Mike Davis on peg 1 both had caught tench, not many in the lake, so to see 2 on one day is great.
Back to the car park and the prizes were handed out, I managed 6th and won my section money by default, gotta love a default, thanks to Phil's haul which won him the silvers money and he was 3rd overall. The match was won by Keith with his 42lb 2oz catch.
Results:
1st, peg 17, Keith Clapp, 42-02
2nd, peg 25, Paul Homewood, 38-07
3rd, peg 5, Phil Clapp, 31-00 (took the silvers coin)
4th, peg 23, John Fuidge, 27-11 (took 3rd's money)
Silvers:
1st, peg 5, Phil Clapp, 31-00
2nd, peg 7, Lee Williams, 26-02
So a nice match, and to be honest I was chuffed with 26lb from where I was pegged and looking at the weights directly each side and across from me confirms at least I did something right.
If any of you guys who read this want a day pleasure fishing for silvers then you'd not go wrong in trying Apex, tickets from Thyers in Highbridge.
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| Weigh Sheet |
Until then, take care and stay safe.
Lee
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