Commercial Matchman: Two days at Grange Park, Scunthorpe

JV club's outing Oop North. Day One.
Seventeen of us journeyed up to Grange Park Fishery, just South of Scunthorpe. I went up on the Friday, which is certainly the worst day of the week to try to travel, and in my case the problems started 400 yards from my house, with traffic built up past our village up to the roundbaout a mile and a half down the road. So a diversion was necessary just to get on to the A1.

Less than half an hour later, more problems. There was a six-mile queue going South into Peterborough, and just as I was thanking my Lucky Stars that I wasn't in that snarl-up, my side slowed to a crawl. Twenty minutes later, having gone perhaps two miles, it came to a standstill, but again my lucky stars came to the rescue, as I had come to a halt right beside a turn-off for Stamford.

I could see miles ahead that there were still problems, so came off through Stamford (slowly), Bourne (also slowly), Sleaford (slowly), Lincoln and so to my destination hotel nearly four hours after leaving. For the record, my Lucky Stars went AWOL at that moment!

In the usual manner, we had made no particular plans, but somehow we all found ourselves in the same Wetherspoons that evening, and the weekend began in earnest.

Peg 2, New Lake
The New Lake here was originally two, but is now one, with an island in the middle. A local at the bait shop told me all I would need was a top two, and I should expect to find the fish in the shallow margins, which was already the impression I had gained. So a top two it was, with banded pellet at the start. That brough a load of 2 oz carp, until a change to corn saw the odd two-pounder. On my right was Richard Linnel, son of the Peterborough legend Mick Linnell, who I had not met before.

Peg 2 - hot and flat calm. Best spot was against the long rushes to the left, but the
fish kept moving back into them! Green algae was swirling around all day.

Richard changed to a feeder cast to the island to pick up a few fish during a slow spell, and gradually the better fish showed in the margins for both of us. This lake produced 300 lb in the same event last year, with Lee Kendall coming second with only 280 lb-ish. The margins were the key, with fish being taken in nine inches of water right against the bank.

I had Mick Linnell's son Richard, who I had never
met, on my right. He beat me (like his Dad used to).

Unfortunately my margins had those big, fleshy round green rushes to my left, so I couldn't trap the fish against them - the fish kept going back into the rushes when I'd caught a couple - I could see the stems shaking around. The other side had two large clumps of sedge onerhanging the water, so I couldn't fish right against the bank, and I found only the occasional fish there.

However, fish around 2 lb or a little bigger, in among the tiddlers, kept me occupied for the rest of the six hours, with a couple on mussel. Later Lee suggested I had not fed enough, which I am sure was correct. Fishing the open water proved fruitless, but again it was down to my not having the confidence to do it properly. Afterwards I thought that I should have added two or three sections and fished towards the platform on the left, against the vegetation on the bank. But I still think bare banks would have been better.

Having the umbrella up to shield me from the blazing sun meant I had a pleasant enough day, though I doubt whether the temperature got up to the 33 degrees forecast. Don't get me wrong - there wasn't much wind and it was hot! During the day I lost several of those better 2 lb fish; whether they were foulhooked I can't be sure. But boy, those that weren't fought like blazes! By the end I suspected I should have had a lot more.

Kevin Bell, on my bank, had almost 50 lb of really
small fish in his total of 106 lb 7 oz.

The weigh in
Richard used worm towards the end to pick up some late fish and weighed 96 lb 3 oz, while I was behind, with 69 lb 8 oz. There were several other 100 lb-plus catches, but the highlight was Lee Kendall's catch, made on the opposite bank - 311 lb 14 oz, taken mainly on worm, within inches of the bank in only a few inches of water. I have a wormery at home, but didn't take any because I though the really extreme heat forecast would kill them. Last time I take notice of those pesky forecasters, even if they are pretty!!

Pete Molesworth on the next peg had 159 lb 8 oz, - a very good angler, showing that Lee really is in a different class to most, when there are fish to be had. Lee fed 11 pints of micros, and six pints of dead maggots. Round the corner Tevor Dew fished 2+3 in open water with 8mm banded pellet for 130 lb 15 oz for third spot, pipping Dave Parson by three ounces.

Sorry, Alex, but I'm dumping you!

Kevin Bell took a better picture of me and my fish than I did of him!

Marks out of ten

I give myself 5, partly because I'd not fished there before, while most of the others had done so. But I know I wasn't aggressive enough. I should have had at least 120 lb! I was prepared to feed more heavily the next day...

Here are a few pictures, after which we were all happy to go back to the hotel and get something to eat.