Good to be back, on Horseshoe, at Float Fish Farm

 Peg With Decoy still largely iced over or JV match was cancelled, but Lee Kendall organised a knock-up on Float Fish Farm, on Horseshoe and Two-Island, and 13 of us fished. Before the draw some of us amused ourselves feeding the scores of carp which were hanging around the food van - the odd one of which looked to be into double-figures.

                                                            Hope the video works

All the lakes I saw were free of ice, probably because they are deeper than those at Decoy, and there's a bit more shelter. I had fished Float Fish Farm only once before, so was not surprised by the drive down - it would make an excellent set for a film crew wanting to film typical World War 1 action of soldiers marching along muddy, potholed tracks. But that was my only moan, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that Horseshoe Lake, where I was Peg 5, had a line of evergreens behind us, giving protection from the wind, and enabling us to fish in absolute comfort. There were six of us on this lake.

Nice flat bank, and plenty of grass, although it looks muddy in this picture.

Chris Saunders was on my left, peg 4, and he has already written, in Facebook, that he could have swiped me round the head with an 8-metre length of pole. Thankfully I gave him no reason to do that, but I did remark that since were were likely to be casting bombs to the far bank, which was  about 50 metres away there was every chance that a hooked carp could kite straight through our swims.

Chris Saunders, on Peg 4, had his first fish after about an hour.

Our first fish
Like Chris, I started on a bomb and bread. About an hour in he hooked, and landed, a carp about 4 lb, and then added another. I hadn't had a bite so eventually changed to hair-rigged double corn, which I had frozen so it became light and mushy. Five minutes later I hooked a carp which immediately threatened to charge through Chris' swim. I held it a bit hard and the hook pulled out. But just a few minutes later another carp took the bait and after a very spirited fight it ended in my net - a beautiful golden mirror about 5 lb.

These golden fish bare typically called ghosties, but I remember that when the term first came into our vocabulary it meant that the fish had a sort of skull-shaped mark on its skull. Whatever you call them these light-coloured carp always fight harder than the brown ones. Chris then told me that on his left Ernie Lowbridge had already caught a few carp, on the bomb. To our right, round the corner, Peter Harrison had had two or three early carp on the bomb, while to his right it looked as if Andy Gausden had caught on both bomb and pole.

Into the net goes another one...

Around this time Chris added another two or three carp, and to my right Gus Gausden,who was fishing only a pole, added an ide of 2 lb-plus to his net of perchlets and roachlets. There followed about 90 minutes during which my only excitement was watching a buzzard hovering over the trees in front of us, mobbed half-heartedly by a lone seagull. The tail was rounded at the end, distinguishing it from the many red kites we see, which have a forked tail.

A couple more carp came to Chris, and then another to me on corn, but this one did a proper job fouling Chris' line, and he sportingly wound in and walked up to me to release his hook from my line, enabling me to land the four-pounder. Not long after that Chris hooked a fish which he said was probably in my swim. By this time I had gone onto the pole, so needed only to lift the rig out, and Chris soon had the carp under control. Pellets at eight metres on my pole saw not a bite, and when I changed to maggot I had just one bite, which I missed. Corn at 13 metres did no better, so I reverted to bread on the bomb.

A cracking net of Winter carp for Ernie Lowbridge.

With 45 minutes to go I landed another mirror carp about 4 lb, with Chris taking one about the same time. Then, with eight minutes left. he cast out his bomb and bread, to about eight metres short of the far bank...and within 30 seconds another carp was hooked. I said that at that rate he'd time to catch two or three more! But he didn't. So ended my second match on Float Fish Farm.

The weigh in
Ernie was first to weigh - a magnificent 108 lb 8 oz of carp, all taken on a straight bomb with popped-up bread on a four-inch hooklength cast towards the reeds on the end bank, but only about halfway across the lake.

Chris' eight fish weighed 31 lb 13 oz, all taken on hair-rigged bread and the bomb, and my three went 14 lb 1 oz. 

Gus put his fish back after showing them to me - probably 5 lb of 'bits', but pointed out that had the match been run under the old World Championship rules, when each fish was worth points, he would probably have won, as he probably had 50 or 60. Us old men like to dream a little!!

A real mixed bag for runner-up Andy Gausden.

Andy must have worked hard

Round the corner Pete Harrison pipped Chis, with his 32 lb 5 oz of carp on bomb and bread, which I assumed would be second on the lake. But No! On his right Andy Gausden had fished a great match, taking four carp on the bomb and bread and managing to add, between them, good roach, big perch, and some ide, all on maggot at 13 metres. So he was runner-up with 37 lb 15 oz. He told me that first few  pegs were often best, particularly the lowest numbers, so I didn't feel too bad after that.

The other lake fished patchily. I was told before the match that the better weights would come from the anglers able to cast to the island, but I don't know whether that was the case.

It was good to be back after a fortnight away, and my next match was due to be Wednesday at the Pidley Pensioners, but yet another opticians appointment has clobbered that on the head, So it may be Friday at the Old Codgers on Decoy, or if not, then Sunday on Oak at Decoy with JV.

THE RESULTS

Nice fishing in a cold wind on Cedar, Decoy

Peg 6, Sunday, Jan 15
Years ago Bryan Lakey and I were discussing why the anglers from Nottingham seemed to do so well fishing for roach on the static Fen drains, when most of their fishing, at that time, was on the flowing River Trent. We decided that it was because, on the Trent, they knew that there would be roach somewhere nearby which they could attract up into their swim. So they got into the habit of fishing hard all day, knowing that eventually they would get a bite or two. That knowledge meant that they became used to catching fish every time they went out, and learned so much while they did it.

But on the Fen drains we locals would inevitably become despondent if we hadn't had a bite after three or four hours, especially if no-one near us had had a bite, either. I once fished 13 matches in a row on the Great Ouse Relief Channel without a single fish (Percy Anderson told me his record was 17); and I remember a match on the Middle Level when five sections of 12 in a row were all fishless, and we drew for the pools money. We wondered whether there had been a single fish in that 1,200-yard stretch. Certainly we never learned anything on that day...

Contrast that to fishing on the commercials, where we at least KNOW that there are fish in every swim, even in the depths of Winter. That keeps us fishing hard. all day. I now never give up, mentally. How lucky we are now. 

Lee Kendall's first fish - he estimated it at 17 lb. 

Two lakes in the draw

Sunday's JV match meant the 15 of us were spread between Elm and Cedar lakes - and they both hold plenty of fish, and have been fishing quite well, even in the cold. It didn't bring me many fish, but boy, I enjoyed it. Even forgot to take a picture of my swim (it was mainly water anyway). I had Lee Kendall on my right on 5 - I love having someone next to me as I can talk, and watch; and I learned stuff on Sunday.

I was happy with Peg 6 - it's towards the better end of Cedar. I started on the pole at 10 metres in the fierce, cold backish wind, with expander, while Lee started on the feeder cast across to the other side. First drop I had a bite which must have been a liner; then after a while Lee had a big fish on his feeder. It was way into double-figures. He said that Michael Dawson, to his right on 3, had also had fish. 

It was difficult to keep the rig over the baited spot because the wind was blowing it away from me, and from side to side. After 45 minutes I changed to feeder and eventually had a 2 lb bream on maggot. No bites on bread or pellet so I turned back to the pole.

Michael Dawson had a great start on Peg 3 on Cedar,
ending with 98 lb 9 oz, all on Method feeder and pellet.

Fish in the margin
I went to the left margin, under a bush, where I had been flicking maggots, which brought a quick bite which I hit. The fish seemed to be sluggish for a few seconds and the 10/11 elastic came out only a couple of feet. Then the fish turned on the turbo chargers and I realised it was foulhooked. Soon the elastic went slack - the hooklength was broken. Twenty minutes later the same thing happened - the 6 lb hooklength went again.

Next a 4 lb barbel took four maggots, and this came in without a lot of trouble. Then Lee suddenly had a real blitz, taking four good carp in about 30 minutes - he told me he was fishing bread, on a banjo feeder. Michael Dawson, meanwhile had had several more, on a Method feeder and pellet.

A carp at last

Then my luck turned and a 10 lb carp came in, but I admit that the elastic was a bit weak, and I had some hairy moments, so I put the rig on a 17 hollo, which was better. Soon afterwards another carp came in, about 9 lb, then one about 8 lb  but then things slowed up.

Over an hour without another touch saw me try the feeder again, with bread on a bomb or feeder, then back into the margin swim where I had a couple of liners, so I knew the fish were still there. Meanwhile Lee had another purple patch with carp, and in the last hour I managed a 2 lb barbel in the margins.

A fish on bread!
With ten minutes left, after a long slack spell, I went out on the feeder again with bread and micros in the feeder, and a 5 lb carp obliged just two minutes before the match finished. At the end I went up to Lee, who kindly showed me exactly how he was fishing the bread - pretty much the same as I was, though I think his micros were fluffier. That led me to experiment doing it Tom Pickering's way, overnight, and I think I've now cracked that!

Here's a link to his short video: https://www.maggotdrowning.com/forums/threads/tommy-pickering-how-to-prepare-micro-pellets-in-winter.246677/

Lee Kendall shows that cracking first fish, his best of the day on Peg 5.

The weigh in
Peter Harrison had 61 lb 8 in the corner, while Michael's 20 fish went 98 lb 9 oz. Lee had only 12 carp and a barbel, having missed the keepnet with a big carp, which jumped out of his landing net (!) but they went 107 lb 14 oz, for the lake win. They were the top three on Cedar.

My four carp, two barbel and one bream weighed 40 lb 1 oz. I ended seventh out of the eight on Cedar, but it was a nice day's fishing for me, and I was only one good fish away from coming fourth.

Barbel on bread
Lee had his barbel on bread, and Eddie McIlroy on 8, to my left, also had a barbel on bread. He had several fish, including barbel and bream, for his 47 lb. Interesting to see barbel taking bread. On Elm the weights were lower, won by Andy Bull in the corner on 12, fishing next to the end bank, using bread fished eight inches off bottom.

My next match is Sunday with JV on Horseshoe.

"Peg 11, Steve Tilsley, 21 lb exactly." Hello, what's this? These youngsters will get up to all sorts of tricks at the weigh-in. You have to keep your eye on them!

The result:

ELM

1 Gus Gausden            22 lb 4 oz

4 Peter Burn                    DNW

5 Roy Whincup            31 lb 1 oz\

7 Ernie Lowbridge       37 lb 10 oz

8 John Savage              38 lb 10 oz        2nd

10 Chris Saunders        36 lb 12 oz

12 Andy Bull                63 lb 10 oz         1st

CEDAR

1 Peter Harrison          61 lb 8 oz

3 Mike Dawson           98 lb 9 oz        2nd

5 Lee Kendall            107 lb 14 oz      1st

6 Mac Campbell          40 lb 1 oz

8 Eddie McIlroy          47 lb

9 John Bourn               44 lb 9 oz

11 Steve Tilsley           21 lb

12 Steve Pell                48 lb 15 oz

A real beast from Beastie, Decoy (but not for me).

 Peg 5, Sunday, Jan 8
There were ten on Beastie and ten on Six-Islands for this JVAC re-arranged Fur and Feather. Three of us were on the East bank of Beastie, though the best weights the previous Sunday had been taken from opposite on the West bank in the 20s. But peg 5 is a good 'un all year round, so I was happy. Sean, the owner, had obligingly pumped almost a foot of water out, so all the platforms were now dry (the previous week a lot had been underwater).

I had Roy Whincup on 3 on my left and Ian Frith on 6, to my right, the same peg he had fished the previous week when he'd had about 30 lb of carp and 20 lb of silvers. The wind was a cold Southerly coming mainly from the left. I started on bread on a straight bomb, cast at various distances to the island, but after almost an hour my only moment of excitement were cause by two liners. Ian had already given up on his bomb, and was out at around 12 metres on the pole.

Bright for most of the day, but cold in the Southerly wind, which picked up.

Roach to start with
I followed suit, with maggot at 11.5 metres, with the 13-metre section added in case I needed to move out. First drop the elastic came out but the fish came off immediately - probably a roach. An occasional roach followed, but with sport so slow and the wind increasing I started another line to the right at ten metres and put in a few expanders and grains of corn. That swim brought nothing, although I made a few visits, and with the wind picking up and swinging my pole round a few times I had a look at five metres where I had been throwing maggot.

That swim brought a roach or two, but they were now being blown off by the wind as I shipped back, so I tried fishing just a top two in front and to my left towards the tree, where the depth was about four feet. and I didn't have to unship. The result was as I had expected - hardly any fish came off and for the last half of the match I stayed on the top two and started putting a steady stream of small roach, mainly around 1 oz each, into the net. A single maggot seemed best for the roach, but I kept putting on three, hoping the extra size would tempt a bream of F1, or a carp.

Lucky Us...this is what we all  had waiting for us back in the cafe. A Prize Every Time!

A few bream turn up
I tried corn, but never had a response, so kept with maggot and suddenly I hit something much bigger. I sort of held its position in front of me, moving away only slowly, and then the hook pulled out. The single maggot was untouched, so I am sure it was foulhooked. Ten minutes later another better fish turned out to be a 2 lb bream, and ten minutes after that another. I had seen Ian net a !couple of what looked like bream, but when he had another look on the rod I guessed he was struggling.

The last hour saw three more 2 lb bream come in among the roach, a 10 oz perch, and a 1 lb-plus F1. Most of those came when I slid the bulk down to within eight inches of the hook, but I couldn't get two in a row, so kept moving the bulk up, which brought bites from roach. 

Eddie McIlroy on the Spit, peg 13, found some
decent carp and won our section with 35 lb 2 oz.

That F1 seemed to be a loner, until literally five seconds before the whistle went I hooked another bigger fish, and played it gingerly for a couple of minutes after the match finished as I was using a size 18 Kaizan hook - light in weight, and ideal for roach on maggot, but I suspected that it could spring open if I put on too much pressure. The fish was a 3lb F1 and ended in my net. I had a horrible feeling they had just started to feed.

Elastics
At this time of year my go-to elastic is a 12. For the roach it is a bit strong, but since carp will almost always win you can't go down too much. I looked in my holdall halfway through the match and put the rig on to a solid 8. But when I came to use it I found that somehow I had put it so tight it was worse than the 12, so I reverted, and although a few roach came adrift it dealt with the bream and F1s OK. Still, I found it a bit too hefty. 

Peter Harrison won Beastie and the overall match
with 83 lb 11 oz, taken on bread, which is now 
allowed at Decoy from November to March. Groundbait is
also allowed Nov-Mar, max 1kg, potted in only.

Today I found that I had a 6/8 in the holdall which I had forgotten about; and I've just made up a Preston Slip 8, which should be able to handle the F1s. However, if I contact a fish like Jim's (see below) I will be in trouble. Everything is a compromise, isn't it?

The weigh-in

Ian asked what I had and I said around 15 lb to a probable 20 lb, and he said he hadn't got much more, and he hadn't had a carp. Then it was along on the scales with Roy, Ian and Peter Harrison who had walked over from the 20s. Roy weighed 16 lb 7 oz, with no carp; I had 24 lb 14 oz, and Ian pipped me with 27 lb 12 oz. Most of the other pegs on Beastie fished better, with one real highlight being the 19 lb 14 oz carp landed by Jim Regan on the spit on 17. He ended with 69 lb 9 oz, taken towards the end of the match in deep water just off the margin to his right, on maggot.

The winner!
Our lake was won by Peter Harrison on 22, with 82 lb 11 oz of big carp all taken on bread and bomb cast over to the island.  On 26, a great Summer peg, Gus Gausden never had a carp - they seem to avoid this area  in Winter, so I wasn't surprised.

Jim Regan's cracking 19 lb 14 oz carp taken from Peg 17 on maggot. Ian Frith and Berry Webb look on.

On Six-Island the weights came from the Eastern end, with the Northern bowl fishing badly.

I was actually happy with my 24 lb from an area where not a carp was caught. Interesting fishing and I never felt really cold. Next match on Cedar and possibly Elm on Sunday. The commercial side of the AT Winter League takes place in February, with the first Open this Sunday, Jan 15, booked on Beastie and Yew, when the whole place will be humming again.

THE RESULTS

BEASTIE

SIX-ISLAND

First match of the year, on Beastie, Decoy

 Peg 30, Monday, Jan 2
Fifteen of us fished the first JV club match of the year with a gentle, but cold, breeze from the West. Now in Summer Peg 30 on Beastie is the sort fo draw that see anglers running down to the swim. But ib Winter it can be a different proposition, and the previous week Lee Kendall had had 34 lb from it - a nice weight but they were nearly all roach and small bream, while carp from other pegs had dominated the results.

The water level was high, and a lot of the platforms saw the wooden planks floating. I put my box down, and of course, that took the planks down to the platform and everything was stable (except that the planks beside the box were still just floating. But it was strange that when I sat down, although nothing moved, I still felt vulnerable, especially as the margin here is quite deep. Later Roy Whincup on 18 said he felt the same - very uncomfortable even though the platform was stable. By the end of the match, though, I had got used to it and was happy enough, though I took extra care. Pegs on the spit (9 to 17) were all left out for the same reason. Jim Regan had to go home ill before the match started.

Peg 30 - a cool breeze which became stronger, but still fishable at 13 metres.

 

The bomb fizzles out
My first gambit was bread on a bomb - the tactic that had won last week's match from nearby  Peg 3 for Ivy (sorry, Steve) Tilsley. To my left Barry Webb also started out, on a feeder, although the wind allowed everybody to to fish long poles. I guess nearly everybody started on a bomb or feeder, but I could see that it wasn't long before the poles came out.

I stayed on the bomb and bread for an hour with just one 6 oz bream and a couple of big liners to show for it. So it was on to maggot at 13 metres (where Lee told me he had caught). I had been flicking maggots out with a catapult, and very soon started catching small roach. But it wasn't very fast, and when a 3 oz bream came in I put four maggots on the hook, hoping to find bigger ones. But it didn't make any difference. An occasional foray back to 11.5 metres saw only roach - all the tiny bream were at 13 metres.

Roach stop me dozing off
Sport remained slow, and after 90 minutes, with only 4 lb or 5 lb in my net I had a look in the margins, after seeing Barry get a couple of better fish there. I wasted an hour, taking a gudgeon on maggot and a roach on expander, before going back out. Barry told me later he had had three small carp on the feeder, another three or so in the margin and had, in fact, hooked a much bigger fish in his margin, which had snagged him in a tree lying in the water.

Barry Webb, next to me, had only small carp.

The last hour at 13 metres saw bites quicken a little, all roach and bream, and with 12 minutes left I hooked the best fish of the day, a 1 lb 8 oz bream. But I never saw an F1 or a carp. Still, I had caught a fair number of fish.

The weigh in
I was on scales with Barry, but only for our section, which went up to Peg 7. Barry was disappointed with his 19 lb 2 oz, and I was also despondent with my 9 lb 5 oz (although that turned out not to be last). 

Round the corner on the East bank they nearly all had carp, with John Savage taking the best, which we weighed at 15 lb 4 oz. Next door on 6, Ian Frith fished maggot for about 40 lb of carp and 20 lb of silvers to win the section with 59 lb 10 oz. Gus Gausden on 7 weighed 16 lb 10 oz with not a carp in his net.

On the other section, mainly on the West bank, Rob Goodson started on 14 metres with maggot but found only roach and bream. A switch to pellet still brought only small stuff, so he came back to six metres, fishing with maggot, and stayed there for the rest of the match, catching 89 lb 7 oz from peg 23. Next door on 24 Andy Gausden had started on a bomb or feeder, but soon came back on a pole. He had to stay at 14 metres, though, for his runner-up catch of 78 lb 1 oz. Not sure how many were paid, but there would have been two section winners.

This 15 lb 4 oz beauty brightened up John Savage's day!

Great to see bream - Ian Frith included 20 lb of them in his 
 59 lb 10 oz total, the silver fish being
placed into a different keepnet to the carp.

Conclusion
First match after a month lay-off and I never felt quite "in the zone", especially since I must now be looking at maggot as my main attack, after being used to fishing expanders, hard pellet, cat meat and corn. But I will no doubt settle into some sort of new routine. With the water so cold we must look for the carp, rather than hoping they will come to feed.

Next match is Sunday, with JV - Beastie is booked for this postponed Fur and Feather, but with the water level so high and so many platforms turning out to be dodgy I suspect the match will be moved, probably to the strips where the platforms tend to be higher off the water.

No fishing-related presents for Christmas, but I have just taken possession of a counter-top freezer. I always freeze unused corn, hemp, cat meat and expanders, (and old maggots in the summer) so it will get some use and free up the bottom draw of the household freezer. 

As a by-product that will definitely make the wife happy - and hopefully let her place in the back of her mind the fact that I forgot our 52nd wedding anniversary on Tuesday.  😢😢😢

THE RESULT

3 John Hudson          31 lb 10 oz

4 Chris Saunders       29 lb 11 oz

5 John Savage           43 lb 10 oz            SECTION A

6 Ian Frith                 59 lb 10 oz  4th

7 Gus Gausden          16 lb 10 oz

8 Peter Harrison         36 lb 10 oz

18 Roy Whincup          9 lb 3 oz

20 Ernie Lowbridge     DNW

21 Lee Kendall          43 lb 14 oz           SECTION B

23 Rob Goodson          89 lb 7 oz 1st

24 Andy Gausden        78 lb 1 oz  2nd

25 Paul Faulkner          63 lb 5 oz  3rd

26 S Pell                       47 lb 2 oz

29 Barry Webb             19 lb 2 oz             SECTION  C

30 Mac Campbell           9 lb 5 oz