Acorn - Paddock Lake, Clevedon Open match 11-01-14

Today saw me attend the open match, run by Clevedon FWAC, at Acorn fishery, Paddock lake.
These weekly matches are now £12 + £1 optional golden peg. Everyone is welcome, just be there before the 8:45 draw.

Alas, I arrived at around 8:40 due to the worlds slowest tractor leading a long procession of grumpy drivers.
I paid my dues, there were 11 anglers today, and Nick Harvey drew the golden peg, which the money carries over until won. He pulled out peg 26. He then drew himself peg 28 and Adie peg 11..!!
I picked my ping pong ball about 5th, pulled out peg 26. Nice.

Now I have never fished the lake, but have read a few blogs on the place, so I had no idea if it was good or not. A few of the lads told me it was ok, but maybe not so much at this time of the year if the wind isn't blowing. Peg 11 was the peg most seemed to want, that or a bridge peg.
My peg had the point of the island/far bank at 13m in the 11 o'clock direction, so that was 1 line sorted. I had a long margin to my left, so 1 line was fished at 13m along this, towards some grasses.
I also had a line, fed with a few maggots/pinkies at topkit length, plus a line on the 7th section around 1.5m from the far side, at the base of the far shelf.
Rigs were the same ones I used at Summerhayes last week, so 2 rigs were used.
Baits were simple, bread and corn for the margin/far side. Micro, maggot and expander for down the middle.

Peg 26, Acorn Paddock Lake



We were fishing 10 to 3:30 and really expected 5lb to do well in the silvers and maybe 30lb-40lb for overall top 2 places.
On the whistle I went straight over and began lifting and dropping my bread hookbait, I missed a bite after 20 seconds, then another knock a minute later. No fish though.
I then dropped the same rig down the margin and missed a bite. Back out down the margin with corn and the float went under, I missed again, probably small fish. But alas a couple minutes later I landed a chunky carp of around 1lb and then bumped another.

Not much happened over the next 90 minutes, landing just one roach on the longer silvers line and a 10oz skimmer on the topkit. But everyone else was struggling. The guys next to the bridge pegs had a handful of carp between them, plus I had seen Adie have 1 or 2 fish, but he was the other end of the lake, so I couldn't keep tabs.
Nick over on 28 hadn't had a fish, and the angler on p24 also was fishless I think.
Things wee hard.
Between 12 and 2 I never had a bite on the two carp lines, infact from around 12:20 I could not fish the left margin as the sun had risen above the trees and the reflection on the water was blinding, so I never even bothered again, even sunnies never really helped.
At 2-ish I made a conscious decision to fish for the silvers, I didn't have a clue what others had landed in the way of silvers, but by that point Nick was on 3 carp, the guys on the bridge pegs all had 3 or 4 each at least and Adie was getting plenty and from what I could see had won by a mile unless someone went like a windmill for the last 90 minutes.

My last 90 minutes produced 2 skimmers and a few little roach, I also bumped a 6oz skimmer at the net and hooked a fish on the topkit line which took elastic a good few foot before letting go.....I was pouring me a cuppa at the time....typical. I guess I had a couple pounds of silvers to go with my early carp. So probably no pick-up for me as Rich Heatley and Dom Sutherland had a couple better skimmers each from the pegs either side of the far bridge pegs (33 and 34).

The all out sounded and a few anglers tipped back without weighing. But I hung around to see my silvers total 2lb 13oz and my baby carp was 1lb 8oz, so 4lb 5oz for me. Not last of the weighing anglers. And more than some of those who didn't.

As it turned out Adie won from peg 11, almost catching more silvers than everyone else put together
Then his carp weighed more than everyone elses. So a good net for him.

Results:
1st - Adie Baker - 54lb 8oz, of which 14lb 4oz was silvers from peg 11.
2nd - Dom Sutherland - 19lb 8oz, of which was 3lb 8oz was silvers. Peg 34.

Silvers winner was Andy Guard from peg 7. He had 5lb 14oz.

Weigh Sheet (poor pic!!)

 



Anyways, I enjoyed it really, and I will be fishing a few more of these Saturday matches over the year. I learned a little, which I feel is important.

Next up for me is tomorrow's match at Avalon for the 3rd round in the Teams of 3 series.

Have Fun
Lee

Summerhayes Open, Sellicks Lake, 05/01/14

I decided on Wednesday that I was not going to fish today, given the weather forecasts. But I had a change of heart yesterday. I knew The Sedges had a match on Brick lake, but I didn't feel mad keen on that. So after work yesterday I took a trip over to Summerhayes Fishery, a venue I had not stepped foot on in it's current guise, it was maybe 15-17 years ago that I last visited.
I took a wander around the lakes and saw a few fish on most of the lakes. After a chat to Pete I said I may be there for the 8am draw.

Anyways on to today, I arrived at around 7:50 and as I unloaded the car I had a chat with Steve King, whom has been fishing the Avalon Teams of 3. It was then time for the draw, I did fancy a peg down the far end in the sheltered area, otherwise peg 2 or 23 would be nice....alas I drew peg 8, which means bum all to me, but it looked ok, but they all did.

Peg 8, Sellicks Lake, Summerhayes



I set up 3 rigs, 1 on a no. 12/14 middy elastic for dobbing bread across to the far bank and down to the empty peg 9 pallet. It was a 0.4g NG HD Margin float with 0.16>0.14>16 b911.
Secondly I had a NG Caner, 0.4g on 0.14>0.10>18 b611, elastic was middy solid 8/10.
Lastly I had a NG power pencil in 0.6g with the same line/hooks/laccy as on the Caner rig.

Bait wise I had wetted micros, 4 and 6mm expander, 1pt of mixed groundbait and a few maggots and a couple slices of bread.
On the whistle I cupped a golf ball sized lump of groundbait at 8m at the 2pm direction. A small helping of micros with a few expanders were potted at the same distance at the 11am position.
Lastly I cupped some micros and maggots down toward the pallet to my left.

Sadly that was as exciting as it got, after 2 hours I had missed one bite on the bread rig across and bumped a small foul hooked carp when shipping back. That was it. The angler to my left had not had a bite and the angler to my right had landed a single carp. I could see Steve Kedge catching a few carp on peg 2 and the guy on p4 was also getting the odd carp across to the far bank.
At around 12pm I hooked a carp, or rather foul hooked, which went miles to my left then came back, rolled and gave me a scale as a thank-you gift.
Ten minutes later I lost another fouled carp on the pallet rig before hooking one promptly in the mouth only for it to find refuged under the pallet, so a new hooklength was put on and I stepped up a grade of elastic.

By now it had been raining a while and the wind had got up, making fishing across pretty much impossible, even at 8m it was tricky.
Between 12:30 and 1pm I had 2 carp in a few minutes and a roach from next to the pallet of peg 9.
Kedgey was still catching on and off, the angler on p6 had a few skimmers and odd carp and p4 had a good few carp. Elsewhere, rumour had it p23 was bagging and had around 50lb by 2pm, which coincided in me deciding to pack up, the wind was a pain and I was bite-less, cold and didn't see the point in staying.
I wasn't the 1st to pack up though, at least 3 or 4 guys had already had enough.

Back in the hut Steve 'Jacko' Jackson was telling tales of old to us, it was also nice to see Dave Bull, a guy who I fished with as a junior angler. I didn't stay long and left at 3:15, so I never got the results, but I would imagine it would have been peg 23 that won, that was the general opinion to those no longer fishing.

I will be back there again though, I did sort of enjoy it, but the wind was an arse and knocked all silvers sport on my side of the lake at least, on the head, I think only a handful silvers were caught between the 5 of us.
Pete also seemed a sound guy and the way he chatted and from what I have been told, he puts 100% of effort and pretty much every penny he gets goes back into the fishery.

Next up for me is the 3rd round of the Avalon Teams of 3, where I hope to do considerably better.

Until next time, take care.

Lee