White Acres Winners' Week. 13-10-16. Day Three of 3 --- Twin Oaks

A day to look forward to was my dream leading into the final match of this mini festival, a couple poor/average draws in the last 2 matches had seen me languishing nearer the bottom of the pile as opposed to the top, but with a good few venue regulars fishing the event I know I mustn't be downbeat.

Today saw my rotation falling to fish Twin Oaks, but the weights have been patchy in the previous matches, but peg 35 won the open there yesterday and the wind has been blowing in to that end of both lakes for a couple of days, so a draw in the first couple pegs on either lake would be ok as would the usual 15 and 17 on the lower lake and 21 or 23 on the top lake. The middle areas of both have been patchy but the peg to avoid looked to be peg 27, it had finished plum last in the previous matches.

In to the bag, after peg 27 had gone, I plucked peg 31, neither here nor there were my thoughts, but when I mentioned to Tony Oatley on Facebook I wanted peg 5, he showed me that's what he had. I mention also that I would catch a carp, to which he replied just one?...........
Anyways by the time our section had drawn we had around an hour to get to the lakes and set up before the all-in.

Once at my peg I could see fish in the pegs 35 and 33, F1s mostly but the odd carp were putting on a display. My peg and peg 29 didn't look at all inviting but we continued.

Peg 31, Twin Oaks.

I set up a waggler, which went unused in anger due to the wind.
A small method feeder was rigged up for fishing tight across.
A few rigs remained fishless on the pole, namely the deep and shallow pellet rigs (except losing 1 fouler on the depth rig). A meat rig for 8m went biteless also.
I set up 2 rigs, one for each edge, the right side feeding groundbait and the left just loose fed meat.

Now is the interesting bit.........It was 3.5hrs before my 1st fish, a 2lb F1 from my left edge, shortly followed by a bite and a number 4 section broken....got the fish in though, a similar sized F1 to the 1st.
A barren spell, missing the odd quick bite down the left edge, lost a foul hooked carp before a small F1 fell to the method feeder.

Elsewhere peg 29 was getting the odd F1 but had taken nearly 2hrs before his 1st fish, he said the couple of guys to his right weren't catching either. Pegs 33 and 35 had been getting plenty of action since the start and looked well set.

With maybe an hour to go I began to put a few more small F1s in the net, none of the 3lb fish that are quite common, but most between 1 and 2lb.
I fed the right edge, which was shallower than my left, with a few cups of groundbait and hoped that some of the lumpier carp move in for the remainder of the match.....
I stayed left and picked up a few F1s and with 20 minutes to go I was doing okay, too late, but I was busy. Noticing the odd swirl and colouring up of the right edge saw me drop my rig in and connect with a few more F1s.....no carp!!! Could I go the 3 matches without a proper carp? All I have had this week in the matches is 4 scales from carp....none in the net.

Into the last 5 minutes and I was on around a dozen F1s, maybe 13lb I thought. I was getting loads of indications and all so late....I did have one last fish.......a carp....yay!! I was pleased with that, sadly it was one of the smallest in the lake and probably wasn't even 2lb.
The all-out was called. Peg 27 had chucked 3 small fish back and left and one of his neighbours had struggled.
The scales had soon done the lower lake and by the time they had got to peg 29 it was Chris Kitchen winning our section with 114lb or so I think. The was a dnw (p27) and a 12lb weight, a 50lb net and then peg 29 popped 34lb 8oz on the scales.
My turn, well as I lifted my net and I had more than I thought as my guess of 15lb or so was well short of the 33lb 8oz that I actually had.
Peg 33 had mid-50lb mostly caught on a method across I believe and then peg 35 had 85lb+ of shallow caster fish, lots of nice sized F1s. I ended up 6th in section, never mind, it was the 2 end pegs at each end of the lake that took the top 4 spots in the section, the middle 4 pegs were less productive.

So I enjoyed the last 2hrs or so of the match, and I suppose in hindsight I may have had more by fishing casters or worms perhaps, I was missing loads of bites and maybe natural baits would have been better for connecting with bites, but as we don't get much in the way of F1 fishing in Somerset I have learnt a few things.
God knows where I finished, probably 40th or lower, but everyone gets a place, haha.
Not sure who won either, but will try and update that tomorrow or Saturday if I get the chance, will put the results in my next blog.

Tomorrow I venture to Bolingey, that venue can be peggy and I haven't fished more than twice (drew shite again) but I hope to get amongst some carp.....pretty please!! Oh and no meat or groundbait.....Help!!

Until then, have fun.
Lee

White Acres Winners' Week. Day Two of Three. 11-10-16. --- Pollawyn

Right, with a non-existent chance of framing in this mini festival I was hoping for a really good draw on Pollawyn, a peg on the high bank (22 to 29) or perhaps 13 which had won the lake yesterday with 36lb.
The lakes have switched off and looking at the weights for the lake from yesterday we had a 8oz from peg 45, there was a 7oz total from peg 14 along with another 5 weights under 10lb.

Pollawyn Peg Layout

At the draw we gathered, Clint dished out the winnings from yesterday and all the relevant draws were made. I managed to squeeze into my queue around halfway along and my had entered the bag.....bugger peg 45. Not impressed to be fair, it can be a nice peg though but knew it wouldn't compete against the rest of the section. None the less I loaded the barrow and set off on my way. A quick chat with Jason Fay who fished peg 28 yesterday informed me he had 2 carp including one of 12lb or so, and a couple small silvers for 18lb. The wind was gusty and could prove awkward at times as it was blowing sort of down the arm peg 45 is set in. The reeds opposite were being buffeted all over the place.

Arriving at my peg and found I had Chris Kitchen next to me on peg 19. I surveyed the peg and went about sorting my bait and rigs.
A pellet feeder for across at 18m or so, but the reeds are tall and some are hanging over, it also resembled a tackle graveyard with several floats and feeders visible.
A few pole rigs were made up, all on pretty light set-ups with the mindset taking into account yesterday's weights.
A topkit rig for casters as per the norm.
An edge rig for down to my left, carp were the target there, but this rig remained fishless.
A rig for 9m just off centre in front of me using meat over a pinch of micros.
A rig for 9m off to my left to fish chopped worm and caster, no groundbait today as I didn't think it'd be much good.
Lastly a pellet rig for 16m in front, but the wind put paid to fishing this.  
Bait was simple worms and caster, damp micros, some 6mm pellets and some meat.

Pollawyn p45 lhs, worm line was in the middle tree reflection

Peg 45, Pollawyn. White Acres.

The all-in was called and I actually made a nice cast, missing a stray reed and landed around 12 inches off the main reed structure. I turned to grab my flask and pour me a cuppa when I felt my rod wrench round.....then I saw the reeds shake, then the line went slack.....I reeled in the feeder minus a hook....bugger. A few more casts saw me not avoid the stray reed and I gave that up as a bad job, the reed left a gap of around 12" and with the gusty wind the feeder was lobbed up the bank.

Onto the topkit rig and a few roach and a couple perch came to my nets over the next half hour or so, but it was very very slow.
After an hour I decided to pot in a small helping of meat on the relevant spot and a half pot of well chopped worm and caster on that spot.
I spent 10 minutes on the topkit but no fish were forthcoming.
Onto the worm and as the rig was lowered in the elastic was pulled from my pole, sadly the carp didn't hang around but left me with a souvenir scale, but it was a positive sign.......... I thought.

Chris on peg 19 had landed a carp and some skimmers from his 16m line and along with peg 27 and 28 (I think) had landed some fish.
Over the next hour or so I managed to put some roach and small skimmers in the net, nothing big but it was bits and bobs each drop in, though a 6oz perch was my largest fish. So at the halfway stage I had perhaps 2.5lb of bits, so at least I had managed more than the day previous' weight.
A look on the meat line, which I had kept topping up with 4 or 5 pieces of meat every 10 minutes, saw me connect with something that pulled back, after a short scrap a 1lb barbel was landed, this was followed up by a nice 6oz roach and a skimmer of 12oz. But I was getting loads of missed bites, shallowing up didn't see any improvement, well not even a bite, it was like the fish were mulling around about a foot off bottom.
Another look on the worm saw me net a 2lb F1 and then the micro perch arrived knocking back my heightened hopes!!
At this point I looked like being last in section as the chap on peg 20 had landed a couple nice skimmers and a 12lb+ carp on the lead while he was faffing around on the internet. Chris was doing well and putting a few carp and F1s in the net. Along with the pegs on the high bank catching carp it was looking pants for me, other than the foul hooked one earlier, I hadn't seen a carp in my area.

So on to the last hour and I was getting more bites, but my connection ratio wasn't great and various attempts to remedy this never worked, but a few more barbel and 3 more F1s around 2lb graced my keepnet. With 20 minutes to go the lad on peg 20 had another carp, this time while he was packing up his kit, he was behind his box when I saw the rod bouncing and being pulled round.

The all out was signalled and I slowly began to pack away, I even managed to lose a keepnet arm into the lake.....bugger!!
Chris asked what I had, maybe 12lb or just over, he reckoned on 25lb and the lad on peg 20 had 20lb or so was his guess. Elsewhere I could see Tony Oatley on peg 13 catching a few in the second half of the match plus most of the pegs on the high bank had at least 25lb each and they were in my section.
The scales arrived and I saw that my section had a 3lb weight, I wouldn't be last in section, yay!! But the rest of the section over there all had 22lb+.
I tipped my assorted fish onto the scales and it settled at 22lb 1oz. I didn't see exactly what Chris had, but I think it was around 30lb and a section 3rd. Peg 20 had 18lb and ounces, so I had managed a lowly 6th in section. But it was a close contest.

In hindsight I think I should have maybe converted my meat line to a pellet line and set up a shallow pellet rig, but I am not completely convinced that the bites I was missing were the F1s or just roach. I should have moved or at least set up a couple of pellet rigs for the same distance in a new spot. But I could see the reeds opposite moving around and was hoping the wind would drop.
But it was another match that I was pretty happy with how I fished and that fishing for anything was enjoyable, not sure if I could have had carp but I figure I should have had a few more F1s.

Next up for me is Twin Oaks on Thursday. Not sure which area I fancy, I will look at their scores.

Until then, have fun.
Lee.

White Acres Winners' Week. 10-10-16. Day One of Three --- Jennys

So a 3 day festival thingy for those who have won at the venue in the year preceding the event.
The fishing is set across 3 of the venue's lakes, Jennys, Pollawyn and Twin Oaks and you have 1 day on each, sections of 8 (I think we have 48 fishing) and you really need 2 section wins and a 2nd in section to stand a chance of a top 3 finish, no droppers and a grand to fish for.

I arrived on Saturday just as the Parkdean Masters had finished in which Jon Whincup took away 25 grand from peg 11, an unfancied peg. He has won £100,000 in the last few weeks.....who needs work?
Anyways I had a practice/pleasure session on Jennys on Sunday, peg 6, and managed to struggle to around 30lb of fish, this was more than others on the lake, this weight would be a good weight for the section points if the temps drop and the fishing remains hard like the lakes at the complex have been for the last few weeks.

On to today and I wanted the rotation of Pollawyn, Twin Oaks then Jennys, but an open 1st day draw and with the weather to turn windier from Tuesday afternoon I figured that I could handle scratching on Jennys as opposed to doing the same on the other lakes.
I managed to squeeze my way into the queue around 12th and plucked Jennys peg 14, 1st peg in my 8 peg section, sadly I looked at the peg's result from Saturday's match and Bradley Gibbons had 6lb or so, hmmmm. With favoured pegs 15 to 19 in the section I hoped that last nights really cold night had pushed the fish into the narrower pegs where I would be fishing.

Jenny's Lake, Peg 14. White Acres. (island point is peg 15's)

At the peg I sorted my kit out, 8 pints of bait is the limit plus 2kg of groundbait and 1kg of worms allowed. I had 2 pints of micros, 6mm pellets, 6mm meat and 2 pints of caster. I mixed my groundbait and wetted my micros.
A pellet feeder was assembled for the 22m chuck to the island. A few pole rigs made up to cover all eventualities.
A margin rig for worm or meat over groundbait, in hope of a few late carp.....I did say Hope.!!
A topkit rig for casters with mostly roach in mind, but you never know what you may hook here.
A couple of pellet rigs, one deep and one shallow for at 14m in front.
A worm/caster/groundbait rig for at 11m in front.
A meat rig for 7m slightly to my right.

Peg 14 Jenny's, White Acres, looking left towards peg 11 and the other half of the lake.

At the all-in I started on the pellet feeder, but 25 minutes of nothing occurred while I fed the casters on the topkit line.
Before I tried the topkit I fed a small helping of meat on that particular line, a small ball of groundbait with a bit of cw&c added went in at 11m. I refrained from feeding the long pellet line for now.
On the topkit I started to get some roach and odd small perch, not manic but it kept me happy for now, then after 20 minutes I had a 6oz skimmer which was welcome. A few more roach came and before I knew it we were 80 minutes into the match, I probably had 4lb.
The guy on peg 15 had lost a foul hooked carp and had 1 small skimmer. Hot peg 16 had landed a couple carp but they were the only people I could see.
Out on the meat line and a couple skimmers came before they vanished.
On to the worm line and again a couple small skimmers along with a couple roach were put into the keepnet.

So we were now at the halfway stage and I had started to ping pellets on to the 14m line but I had a couple friendly ducks and a couple of more friendly moorhens, they wouldn't flinch even with the pole tip under their beaks.
Peg 15 managed to land a lumpy mid-double carp, which he got lucky with, it jumped from his landing net, rolled along his feeder arm then fell into his keepnet....oh so lucky, we had a giggle.
I needed carp for sure, but hadn't even seen one in my peg or to my left. Somebody walking by said a couple guys were doing well and had maybe 35lb each at this stage and were well ahead in the section.....then peg 16 had a couple more carp. Things were looking pants for me.

A few fish come to the worm line, but although it was fizzing like mad I didn't feel that many fish were present. A few bumped fish and it was back to the meat line, but only 1 skimmer and a nice 6oz roach happened to join their mates in my net.
So out to the pellets, which I had been pinging for around an hour, this had worked, well nearly worked as I managed a run of 4 carassio on the depth rig and one shallow, all in the space of 40 minutes maybe.

It was now around 2pm so 90 minutes left, I had maybe 10lb of skimmers/roach/crucians/perch and my 5 carassio, so perhaps 16lb and probably not very high up in the section. Defo behind the two guys I could see and further behind those 2 mentioned earlier.
I fed my left edge at 9m where I found a slightly deeper spot by a tree stump. 4 cups of groundbait went in.
A few more skimmers from the meat and pellet lines went into the keepnet, but no better stamp fish, no carp, carassio or F1s. No tench either, yet on Sunday I had maybe 5 of them.
The chap on 15 had a couple skimmers but was definitely struggling. Peg 16 was doing ok and another chap said the 2 guys further down were admitting to 45lb with half an hour to go.

The final 30 minutes was mostly spent down the edge, hoping for a couple carp, only trying the meat line when I re-fed the edge. I managed zero on the carp front but a couple nice roach and a couple skimmers found the keepnet in the last minutes. I reckoned I had around 19 or 20lb.
The all-out was called and as quick as lightening the scales were up to peg 16. So I moved my kit and went to see what peg 15 weighed. 18lb and a few ounces was his total. A look at the sheet saw a couple 50lb+ nets and a 37lb. 24lb 4oz was 4th in section. 6lb was last.
I tipped my fish into the sling and watched as the needle settle at a couple ounces under 24lb. So a section 5th and festival over......

I packed up and made my way to the car, Tony Oatley had come 3rd in the other section on the lake with 32lb and he'd lost a decent carp late on at the landing net, costing him second, maybe 1st in section. He also informed me that Pollawyn had been won with 39lb......Great!! A few 5lb or less nets were recorded.... I am so looking forward to that tomorrow...!!
No match on Wednesday, I don't fancy the open match, but I am fishing Bolingey on Friday, no meat or groundbait allowed so I best buy some corn and/or maggots.

Until tomorrow.
Have Fun.
Lee