A view from peg 7 up to the top of the lake…..
I was the second of the HLS guys to arrive at the Shiplate
fishery and it was immediately noticeable that there was a chilly NE breeze.
This was a lot stronger than predicted and was swirling all around the main
lake so that most pegs had the ‘pleasure’ of it. The pre-draw discussion was if
the usual flyer pegs, 1 & 15, were still performing. Local knowledge said
that they had been replaced by peg 7 and that the carp had moved down the lake
into the deeper water. Pegs 14, 13, 12 were still considered to be the best for
silvers. Chair Bob got the draw underway 10 mins early to allow those who had
the longest walk to have more time. Well, my fingers connected with Peg 7, the
new flyer peg!! Shaun Larkham drew 1 and Eric Searle drew 15. I had a feeling
that Eric was going to take the honors having looked at the pegs earlier. I
got to my peg and realised I was sandwiched between George Fletcher on peg 8
and Chair Bob on 6A….. ‘The rose between two thorns’!!!
My peg….
I had this peg the last time I visited Shiplate and it was
more ‘crash n burn’ than flyer. Again I had come prepared for silvers and now
was presented with a carp dilemma. I was given some local knowledge from PSV
fisherman, Al Healy. He said to fish for the carp at 13 metres to my left under
the overhanging tree with corn. So, I set up a rig for there. Another rig for
in front at about 8 metres to target mainly silvers. And finally a margin rig
just to the left hand of me. Two lead rods were assembled; one with a method
and the other a straight lead, both to fish over to the island but apart from
putting these out when I had a bite to eat, they were not really used.
Horny Beards blew the horn at 10 and I fed my 3 lines and
put out a lead rod while I had a cuppa and let the lines settle. 15 minutes
later, I started on the left hand line. I spent the best part of 4 hours on
this line and hooked two carp, landing one. Both of these fish responded to a
bunch of maggots. Corn, pellet and paste got no interest. I fed my front line
with plenty of micros and tried it to see if there was any carp there, but no
luck. With an hour to go I got the silvers rig out and had a great time picking
off skimmers and roach for 4lb 8oz. I also had the appearance of a 8lb carp for
entertainment on my light silvers rig. So, on the basis of the silvers I caught
in an hour, should I have targeted them for the whole match????
Being sat for a long time with no action I was entertained
by the activities of George and Bob catching their regular quantities of
silvers. Although Bob had a significant risk of landing one of the many ducks
on the lake. He seemed to be making an effort to chat to his feathered friends
and discuss the merits of orange sauce!! George was catching regularly. At one
point I noticed his No.3 elastic start heading for Weston but he managed to
land the ‘vermin’; a nice 9lber. With the size of the lake I couldn’t hear much
else. Eric did shout out, asking what was the net limit, so we knew he was
catching. Kev Hayes on peg 6 was having an interesting time trying to cast to
the island. I think he had been to the Roger Coombs school of casting. Later on
he and Shane had a domestic because of crossed lines. The only other people I
could clearly see was Andy Rossiter on 9 who was catching a steady amount of
silvers. Over on 9A I saw Tony land one carp but not much else.
So, it was down to the weigh in and the returning guys to
hear their tales of ‘delight’. First to weigh and post the unbeatable figure of
136lb was Eric. Next to him was Paul Berry who had decided to target the
silvers on corn. It was a good decision because he posted 24lb 2oz of silvers
in a total of 31lb 6oz. The rest of the weights showed the usual performance of
the lake with Shaun taking No.2 spot on 1 with 62lb 6oz. Dave Allen also got a
good net of silvers on 14 for 20lb 4oz. In conclusion, the lake performed to
its usual standard and usual pegs. Next time, unless I’m on 1 or 15 I’m going
for silvers!!!
The winning weights were…
Overall
Eric Searle (15) – 136lb
Shaun Larkham (1) – 62lb 6oz
Martin Western (14A) – 37lb 8oz
Silvers
Paul Berry (14B) – 24lb 2oz
Dave Allen (14) – 20lb 4oz
Bob Pascoe (6A) – 18lb 9oz
PS: I just want to let you all know that if you’re
struggling getting to/from your peg, Mr Beards is volunteering to help by
pushing your trolley. Well, after witnessing him help Geoff Rossiter yesterday
I could only guess that he had been instructed to get more exercise. You’ll be
off to help the refugees next, eh Phil?
Score sheet….
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