Things are looking up!

Magpie Lake, Pidley, peg 32

This was a 12-entry Over 60s match, with showers and very strong Westerlies forecast, getting up to 33 kmph. But they didn’t happen – it was reasonably warm for January as I unloaded the car; I then walked 20 yards and hail came down. Before I had dumped the first lot of gear and walked back to the car the hail had stopped. As I got back to my peg with the second lot of gear the rain started – so up went the umbrella, at which point I realised the wind was from the North! Then the rain stopped and I might as well not have put the umbrella up...and within an hour the wind had abated a little. Then the sun came out; then it rained a little – and it was changeable all day long.

Peg 32 has an island at about 20 metres – I put up 14.5 metres of pole and was way short. So the first 30 minutes saw me on a groundbait feeder with maggot, with just one little nibble. Then it was out to 14.5 metres with dobbed bread punch, and it felt fine, but no bites. So out to 8 metres with the punch over some micros, Still not a bite, and I couldn’t see anyone else with a fish. The wind by now was strong but not too bad, especially as I was behind my umbrella – the anglers who had it in their face must have been very cold, though.

Some net roach

One went a couple of pinkies over the micros, and in came 4 oz net roach. The next 30 minutes saw two more, and I started feeding pinkies. Odd roach came, and I upped the feed to hook maggots. By moving the depth constantly from the bottom, to a foot off and two feet off, I nicked half-a-dozen more nice roach, but the same number came off as I was playing them in. The elastic was 6-8, so I felt it would handle a carp if needed.And  I decided to keep putting something in my net rather than changing to pellet or bread and targetting the carp exclusively and The four or five anglers I could see seemed to be really struggling.

I managed to get the odd roach on top two, where the water was the same depth as at 8 metres. But the water was clear and it appeared the flashing of hooked fish upset the rest of the shoals. But I kept on, hoping a carp would muscle in. Eventually, 75 minutes before the end, a 4 lb common took the bait a full section short of where I had been feeding, and I played it very, very carefully!  But no more. One more fish and two missed bites and the wind suddenly increased...and the last hour saw me biteless! Adrian, on my right, said the same thing happened to him. I tried the 14.5 metres swim again, potting in some micros and fishing maggot and bread, but by now it was dead.

 

A difficult match was had by all!

Surprisingly I totalled 11 lb for third, with 12 lb second. Adrian, to my right had 5 lb of roach, and Ken on my left was a DNW. So a satisfactory match, which always gives one a bit of confidence. Perhaps I’m not completely rubbish after all.

I really am rubbish!

Cedar Lake, Decoy, peg 14

After my good session two days earlier on Cedar 3 I was well happy with this draw, in the fifth Tony Evans/Drennan invidiual Winter League. But things didn’t go to plan.

There was a strong wind into my corner peg, into my face and from the left, but I found I could still fish 11.5 metres plus a half-butt. I could have fished longer, but assumed the wind would pick up, as forecasted. In fact it did a little, but I doubt whether that extra section would have made any difference. I used the same rig I had used on the Friday and was amazed to see the water was at least a foot deeper here than in peg 3 at the other end of the strip.

The angler opposite me soom began to pick up very small roach, so I assumed he was using maggot; but he also had two or three netters in the first hour. I had my first 2 lb F1 on pellet after an hour, but nothing for the next 90 minutes.  Magggot with a small groundbait feeder didn’t produce anything, and maggot dropped down the side saw a few strange bites, but no fish; I assumed they were liners.

Halfway though I decided I had to try maggot in the long swim, and soon foulhooked another 2 lb-plus F1. An hour later I got one hooked in the mouth. But then nothing. Suddenly I hit a couple of tiny roach, which dropped off. So I came into the side with maggot and hooked a couple in the mouth and foulhooked about ten more. It was bite after bite, but they LITERALLY  weighed about one-tenth of an ounce each! There must have been thousands of them all round the side – I couldn’t drop a float it without it diving under, but any that had the maggot in their mouths dropped off in the wind.

So another session on the feeder, and more on the long swim, but I never had a bite out there.  I found it almost impossible to fish deep closer to the end bank on my right, because pointing the pole that way meant I had a dead-on side wind, which was so strong it almost took the pole out of my hands at times. Fishing long out in front of me was almost into the wind, and was actually not difficult.

The angler opposite weighed 33 lb and the one on my left had 45 lb, including some in the deep water in the side. My three F1s weighed 8 lb, and I was last on the lake...again!  I really am rubbish.

 

Lou's saw the overall winner.

Add caption

Willows - consistent

Horseshoe (blurred) see below

Beastie

My section - Cedar

                                                                                                  Jon Whincup, two anglers to my left on 21 won our lake with 63 lb, most caught laying on a couple of inches with pellet; maggot brought him only roach. The match, fished on 6 lakes, was won with 104  lb by Chis Barley on Lou’s 6 – a known flier provided you fish right into the far corner. In fact Chris had never fished this peg before, and spent the first 90 minutes without a bite. Then they started coming to his hair-rigged pellet to a feeder. Knowing you have what most regard as the real ‘flier’ puts pressure on anyone; but Chris is a fantastic angler, and is the sort of bloke who would handle that pressure with no problem at all. It’s his second win in this Winter’s series.

PS. Horseshoe weights: Peg 1 - 25 lb; 3 - 23 lb; 5 - 34 lb; 7 - 40 lb; 9 - 43 lb; 11 - 43 lb - 13 - 26 lb; - 15 28 lb; 17 - 17 lb; - 19 - 41 lb.

A good practise session

I’ve not been fishing for 12 days, partially because we had a few days watching the World Indoor Bowls Championship at Potters in Suffolk (or it might have been Norfolk), and partially because the weather has been so atrocious. High wind and rain were forecast for the days when I thought about fishing...and for once the forecasters were right.

But with the fifth Tony Evans/Drennan  Winter League due to be fished at Decoy on Sunday, today (Friday) seemed a good day to have a final practice. There was an Over-55s match on, but I snatched an extra 90 minutes in bed rather than get to their draw, and I was the only other angler on the complex when I arrived at 10.30 am, with the temperature gauge in my car showing just 3.5 Centigrade, and a cool Northerly breeze dropping the wind chill to not much above freezing.

In the last match I was last on the lake on Cedar 3, and with Cedar in again on Sunday I put my box down on the same peg. The theory is that if I failed to catch much I could convince myself it is not producing at the moment, so the last result was not all down to me, but if I had a good catch it would give me confidence that I had sorted it. Clever, eh?

Around 50 lb

In the event I had a good catch – around 50 lb in 4 hours, mainly fishing pellet over small pots of about four expanders, ten hard 4mm pellets and some soaked micros, which produced mirror carp to 4 lb.

Two things were pleasing – I watched a Mark Pollard video the other day, filmed at Westwood, and I noticed he was pushing the 13 metres pole out using his spray bar, and then resting the pole on it while fishing, but still holding the pole. Normally I use the spray bar only when fishing shallow, but my Octbox spray bar is very good, so I tried using it the Mark Pollard way...and it worked a treat! Pushing the pole out was a doddle compared with  not using any help, and it helped steady the pole in the wind. I do believe I could have used it easily at the full 16 metres.

 

The Octbox Spray bar - brilliant for supporting the pole as it is pushed out; then I rested my pole on it to fish.

The second good point was that I fed a close-in swim with maggot by hand (which most matchmen would do anyway) and I managed to catch on that as well. The first four fish were all foulhooked – a barbel (landed on a size 20 hook on roach gear), two F1s and something else which I never saw. But then, using the considerable inside tow, odd fish came in hooked in the mouth, and they included a 2 lb bream and a tench as well as several F1s to over 3 lb, all on top two.

The best results here came from tripping the bottom with two maggots. On the 13-metre line there was no discernible tow and I had to fish dead depth. Bringing the bait up to eight inches above bottom saw three bites, which were probably liners; fishing with a couple of inches of line on the bottom brought nothing. A 4mm expander brought all the fish except when a 6mm expander resulted in a foulhooked barbel, which gives me confidence on Sunday to use a bunch of maggots over the pellet as a change bait for barbel without putting loose maggots in.

On the Maggot Drowners forums there have been lots of anglers saying that fishing dead depth is not possible because a lake bottom is not flat like a billiard table. Clearly they have never tried it. You need only a patch six inches square with a flat bottom to get a perfect dead depth presentation. That’s why we use poles – to get the bait in EXACTLY the right spot, not approximately. And in both swims virtually all the bites came in just one spot. In the maggot swim most fish came from a good three yards upwind (down stream because of the tow) from where the maggots went in.

There are six different lakes in Sunday’s match, but the fishing at Decoy is pretty much the same on all lakes – probably the fairest commercial in the UK, so I have no preferences, though 26 on Cedar would be an expected banker.

Disappointing

Cedar Lake, Decoy, peg 3

This was the fourth match in the five-match Drennan Individual Winter League, and before the draw Steve Freeman and I were talking about the pegs we fancied – I went for 1 or 26 on cedar. These are opposite each other at the car park enf o this strip lake. But I was happy with peg 3 as Cedar often  tends to fish better towards this end. The water was flat calm with a light south-easterly wind from my right.

Unfortunately when I got to my peg Jon Whincup was on my right on 1 and Martyn Freeman was on 26. Both were in my section of 5, and both are crack anglers, so I realised I was effectively fishing for third place. And I started well. After half an hourwith none of the other three of us having a fish - though the other two both lost two or three fish, probably foulhooked -  I took three carp in three put-ins on expander pellet at 11.5 metres. Then I waited for almost three hours for another one, apart from a few tiny roach on maggot at 13 metres. Another 3 lb carp came from my second swim to my right at 10 metres on maggot. And ten minutes before the end a 2 lb tench took my maggot at 14.5 metres. All day I veered from fishing  just touching bottom to a few inches off, putting in small expanders and micros to begin with, and changing to micros and maggots later.

Meanwhile the angler on my left had started to get occasional fish about halfway through the match on pellet, and the angler opposite had about four, and two four-pounders in the last half-hour, on maggot. I cannot work out why I couldn’t catch at this time.

 

My section, won with 80 lb 14 oz.

The match was won on Six-Island peg 11.

Martyn Freeman won the lake with 80 lb 14 oz fishing maggot to the end bank on his left, and never put a single piece of bait in that area, fishing various depths from the bottom to a foot or two off bottom. Jon, also, did not feed his swim next to the end bank, taking his 51 lb 13 oz about 8 inches off bottom on maggot. He told me afterwards he didn’t get a single fish from open water, where he had fed.

Beastie was the hardest of the lakes.

As always Damson fished consistently.

My 15 lb 5 oz was last on the lake, and obviously last in my section. I see that there was an 18 lb farther down the lake, and the angler opposite me was next lowest with 23 lb 6 oz, so perhaps it wasn’t just bad fishing on my part. I need a miracle in my last two matches so I can drop these five points and perhaps end up with a reasonable total. My first three brought me a respectable six points.

Willows was clear but still produced good weights.

Hammered both sides!

Beastie Lake, Decoy, peg 24

This was a 15-peg Open, and I drew the same peg I had had ten days earlier. It's got form...but I can't find it! I had Nigel Baxter on my left on 23 and Alan West on my right on 25. The wind was light, but had turned round to the South-East and it was in out faces, and cold!

My swim. The wind was light but very cold.

First 45 minutes was spent on a maggot feeder but all I had was a few liners; next 45 minutes I spent looking for roach where I had caught some previously - at four section - without a bite. So I went out to 11 metres with maggot and halfway through the match caught the first fish any of the three of us had caught - a 3 lb F1. But no more.

With about two hours to go Nigel and Alan suddenly started to catch odd fish, perhaps once every 15 minutes. Then their rate of catching went slowly up, until the last half-hour when they were getting a fish every few minutes. Meanwhile I had gone out to 13 metres but still sat biteless until 90 seconds before the end of the match, when a 2 lb F1 came in. At the same time Alan netted a 13 lb 1 oz mirror - his last fish.

Alan with 13 lb 1 oz mirror.

The winner, Chris Barley.

My meagre catch was 5 lb 3 oz - the only two bites I had -  while Nigel had 34 lb 15 oz and Alan 47 lb 7 oz. Chris Barley, on 30, took three fish on a waggler, and the rest on maggot feeder fished in the open water, and won with 74 lb.

The fish were obviously down towards the Southern end of the lake as those towards the North fared badly. But I have no idea what I did wrong - presentation was OK and I was feeding similarly to Nigel and Alan.

The result - at least I wasn't last...

A good day at the office

Six-Island Lake, Decoy, peg 20.

This was the third Drennan individual Winter League, fished by 61  on five different lakes at Decoy. The day was sunny, but the temperature had dropped below freezing overnight, and the forecast was for a maximum of about 3 or 4 degrees, falling to Minus 2 in the stiff North-Easterly wind.

My swim. Simon, with red on his jacket, was opposite, working out how to fish with his back to the water!

In all the times I have fished this lake I had never drawn peg 20, which is opposite the end of an island – a nice-looking swim, but not rated as one of the better swims on here. Opposite, on the other side of the island, was Simon Dow, a cracking local matchman, who, together with the three anglers between us, was in my section. As always my sole ambition was not to come last in my section – anything better than that would be a bonus for me. The wind was coming from my left, and into me at about 45 degrees, making presentation difficult at times, but not exceptionally difficult.

Slow start

Simon hit an F1 first drop-in next to the reeds on the end of the island, which looked to be around 14.5 metres away, which made me think I was probably on a hiding to nothing.  I could reach the island with 11.5 metres and, using maggots, took a roach after about half an hour fishing just off bottom. After almost another hour I hooked the bottom...but after a few seconds it moved! Ten minutes later I netted a 6 lb-plus mirror hooked in the dorsal fin. Simon had had a few fish, but I couldn't see how big they were.

I fancied I saw the float twitch a couple of times in the next hour hour, and in fact lost a fish which felt big, so persevered on the end of the island, and in the next couple of hours netted three F1s, a perch of well over 1 lb, and two or three roach, all taken a few inches off the bottom.  Then I had a good look a little closer to me, on my side of the island, and after missing a bite I hit a fish which surfaced well out, and looked to be about 2 lb...then it came off.

Sod’s Law

Out to the the original swim and it happened again – the 13 Hollo Preston elastic was a bit strong for these fish at the point where I tried to take out the top two and net them. There’s a high bank behind which makes breaking the pole down a bit awkward. So I put the rig onto a size 8 elastic...and the next fish I hooked was even bigger than the mirror I already had. It surfaced once, and after about ten minutes it was gone. Sod’s Law. I felt that with the stronger elastic I could have got it into netting range earlier. So I changed back.

Another three or four F1s and a couple more roach came until, with half-an-hour left and the wind making presentation difficult at times  I decided to put in a bait-dropper of maggots on the two-plus-two line I had plumbed up at the start. I had thought about putting out a feeder, but Simon tried  it several times and I didn’t see him catch much on it.

In went the bait dropper and I left the line for ten minutes as, strangely, most of my fish had come several minutes after I had put in maggots. The last couple in fact had come when I hadn’t baited the far swim for half an hour.

Ten minutes later I dropped in the near swim, and had an F1 immediately, followed by another next cast. But no more, and a final drop-in near the reeds was fruitless.

Fish were wary

Four of the F1s were hooked on the outside of the mouth, obviously not taking the bait properly, but having a really close look and actually knocking it. But they all count!

Anyway Simon weighed 20 lb, taking some fish in open water towards the end. My fish weighed 30 lb 6 oz and I was chuffed to think I had beaten him and not come last in the section. But the other three, on pegs 22, 24 and 25 (the last two on the end bank with a backish wind)  didn’t beat me either – so I ended with a section win. Afterwards Simon said he thought I was fishing really shallow, but I wasn’t – my side of the island appeared to be almost 18 inches shallower than on Simon’s side. So a win, a second and a third so far - better than I could have hoped for. And if I had 

Josh won the whole match with 120 lb 13 oz on peg 12.

landed the four fish I lost I could possibly have won the lake, won with 48 lb.

Tony Evans won on 30  with 93 lb 6 oz on a maggot feeder.

My lake, won with 48 lb 10 oz on 6 (I think!) I was on 20.

Horseshoe, won by Ben Townsend on 15.

Damson was consistent, but not as good as expected.

Pop-up experiment was an eye-opener

On a recent match on Magpie I started with a banded Dynamite Super Fishmeal Pup-Up Nugget - it's white, and soft, like a firm marshmallow. I checked, in the side, that it popped up, cast out, and retrieved ten minutes later without having had a knock. I re-cast, still without a take, and retrieved to cast again.

Before the third cast I checked that it popped up...and it didn't; it sank slowly. I took hold of it and it was soft, had got smaller, and virtually fell apart in my hand.

The Dynamite soft pop-ups.

Even in my white container the trail can be clearly seen.

Intrigued, I tried an experiment at home the other day - and the photograph shows the reason it got smaller - after a minute or so it started leaching a trail of white into the water, which I suspect would be extremely inviting to any fish nearby. At home the trail sank straight down, but on a fishery I expect it would move sideways with any tow.

I also tried hooking this particular pop-up with a straight hook, rather than banding it, and I think that will be better than using a band. I also realised that retrieving it almost certainly speeded up the leaching, causing it to get smaller more quickly than if it had been left. At home it was still popping up after ten minutes.

The Drennan pop-ups are harder

In contrast the Drennan Bandit Dumbell Pop Up retained its size and texture after ten minutes in a band. From memory these are similar to the original Crazy Bait coloured Pop-ups.

So in future I will hook the Dynamite straight onto a hook and use for one cast only. That scent trail is a bit of a bonus, I feel.