Sunday 16th October 2016 - Sedges Brick Lake

My Sunday morning started at 5:00 am when the our dog announced he wanted to go outside. But when he poked his nose out the door at the pouring rain, he decided to cross his legs for a while longer. It continued pouring until 7 and then I loaded the car and headed off to the Sedges fishery. When I arrived the usual early birds were supping on their teas and debating what the lake had instore for us. A southerly wind was rippling the lake and pushing from peg 20 down to the favourite peg 10.

I had come with all baits but would be happy to get a good silvers peg. However, I drew out peg 11 and was shouted at for drawing another corner peg, especially a good carp peg. So, out came the pellets and meat. So, did a pellet waggler rod, tip rod and two pole rigs for to corner margin and 2+3 in front of me.

Peg 11

There was lots of fish topping and at the all in I went straight for the pellet waggler. 30 mins later and not a sniff. The wind wasn't very good and so I changed to the tip and an 8mm pellet. The others had opted for either pole or tip and at this point not a carp had been landed. As time went on and still no bites I had an bit of inspiration, I wrapped the pellet in a 'conker' of soft micros and around went the tip on my first cast. Two more followed in the next half hour and I thought I'd cracked it!! Next to me, Dick Hurford had a battle with something large which turned out to be a 14lb common; nearly as much as the 3 I had in my net. Pete Cooke on peg 14 had started building a weight too. In fact he seemed to be leading the pack.
I had been loose feeding the corner margin and so I gave it a try with an 8mm hard pellet. First put in and a small common was in the net. I tried that line for 20 mins but no more. So, back out on the tip and three more carp took the 'conker'. Dick had another battle but it was only a 11lb 9oz. He had another 3 large carp and I reckon he was ahead of me. I tried the margin again and hook a good fish but I never saw it as my hook length gave way. That was my last action and the last hour and a half was biteless which is strange for Brick Lake as the carp tend to turn up towards the end of the afternoon.

Pete Cooke had been steadily catching and would likely take top spot. From the corner I couldn't see or hear much but I could see pegs 1 to 5 getting up and walking about as they were having a barren day. Come the end and seeing the results it was clear that the lake had been quiet and most felt it had been the large amount of cold rain that had fallen in the night.

First on the day was Pete followed by Dick and myself in 3rd. Baz came out top in the silvers followed by Steve and Tivi Dave. Interesting to note that all the top weights came from one half of the lake.

Wednesday 12th October - Shiplate Hawthorns

Eleven of Dad's Army mustered for an assault on Hawthorns.  I could tell by the way they rushed around that they were very keen!!   I had another senior moment, leaving all the paperwork at home, but Steve supplied all that was necessary.

The pegs were selected, the golden peg came out of the hat; it was 12 which George got at the draw.   The monetary business was completed and Steve paid.   The weather was good, so off to the bank to set up. 

I drew peg 3 with Robot Duck to my left and Tungsen to my right, both competitive, so it helped me to concentrate.   It was" keep it simple" for me, with just two rigs both the same depth, fishing two thirds across, just off the ledge down the side, with maggots caster and pinkies the bait

I shouted all in feeding very little, and it was not long before I was playing a carp which climbed into my landing net, it was the best part of 5lbs.   This started Tungsten off asking questions, and telling porkies for the rest of the match.   I don't know where he gets all this chatter from, he is normally so quiet?

Anyway for myself it was a very pleasant match, catching most of the day with 15lbs of silvers, and four small carp weighing 14lbs 5ozs.   This was enough to win the silvers.  "Bend It" won overall with 44lbs 12ozs,  on what turned out to be a tough day's fishing.  The full results below.

                Sunday we are at Sedges Brick and on Wednesday next a trip to Emeralds

                                         Bottoms up  (HORNY)

                                                       Chair Bob

Sunday 9th October 2016 - Landsend Fisheries

16 Hopefuls turned up at Mike Duckett's little oasis on a gorgeous Sunday morning with the prospect of sunshine for the whole day. When I turned up the Chub Cafe was fueling up a number of the HLS gang. I had had my Weetabix at home and so was ready to conquer the the fishes of Landsend. When Badger Bob consulted the main man, it was decided to peg 6 on each bank of the match lake and 4 on the south bank of speci lake.

I had a wander around the match lake and noted that the end with peg 1 was covered with a lot of debris so that would be entertaining. The sun was climbing and starting to shine on pegs 1 to 12 while the opposite bank was looking cold and dark. Draw time and one of the golden pegs was 17, a good performer in the past...... who would get their sticky fingers on it? It turned out that Tony Newell had that luck. I drew 11 which pleased me as it gave me the options of silvers or carp and when I found out there was no one on 12 then I immediately decided to go for the carp. I did feel alone in the corner with the next man on peg 8, Paul Bowyer, but my tranquility was shattered when Bob turned up on 13 and Horny Beards on 15.

Peg 11

Getting to the peg, I decided on 2 carp lines; first at 13m on the end of the island and second on my right by the empty peg 12. After I had set up those rigs I also put up a couple of silver rigs in case the main plan failed. Meat was my main bait and on the all in I cupped some in on both lines and then had 5 minutes of silvers. First put in with meat by peg 12 and I had a liner. Second and I had a common of about 5lb. I then went out in front and was frustrated with liners and then then the inevitable foul hook, in the tail, what fun!!!! I got it in the net and continued to alternate the two carp lines. I continued to hook fish within the first hour but also found trouble with underwater snags. Whether this scared the fish or not but the action died off as the sun got to it's highest and brightest.

The only other person I could see was chairman Bob on 13 and he was catching a few small roach. I could hear reports that Tony was catching well on the golden peg and Horny was hooking (and losing ) too.

I continued to plug away at my two lines and a couple others to increase my haul but when it got to three o'clock, I decided I'd had enough for the day and tipped back about 20lbs. I went on before the weigh in but the results showed that the golden peg money survived for another match with Steve King taking the top spot. Martin Western obviously managed to get through the surface cover of leaves and find enough silvers to take that prize for the day. There were no big weights for the day but it was a pleasant day to be on the bank.

It's Shiplate on Wednesday and Sedges next Sunday. Book with Bob if you're interested.

Wednesday 5th October 2016 - Viaduct Match Lake

Young Badger Matt looked after the eleven of Dad's Army who were attacking the lake today.   Matt selected the pegs and the Golden Peg.   I handed over the lads loot, so business was completed.

The draw was made, and the last peg out of the hat was number 44 the Golden Peg, which was mine, it was the first time I had drawn this.   I made quick phone call to the wife, who is also our club secretary, as she likes to know all is well, and the numbers fishing; then it was off to the bank to set up.

It was a bright sunny morning with a blustery wind, not the best conditions, but I was sure we would all catch fish.   I plumbed the depth, and had just 18 inches of water, so I decided just top two, long line, to hand, I did not want my pole over their heads SPOOKY.  It was maggots and caster over groundbait, an 18 hook and hopefully a busy day.

At 10 o'clock I shouted all in and fed a little groundbait and caster, then in with the rig, 6-8 elastic, I did not want to bump to many, but hoped for bigger fish   After just a few minutes in I was catching roach and perch.   Shawn on my left was catching too;  I did tell him if he stopped skinny dipping and concentrated on fishng, he would do beter as the match progressed.

I got the occasional 2lb fish, Tonto on my right got busy, and the noisy varmint disrupted my karma, but I couldn't complain, I was having a reasonable day, which passed all too quickly.

It was all out, and Matt and Colin came around with the scales.  Tonto weighed in with 53lbs 14ozs, which was good enough for overall.  I was next to weigh, with 18lbs 6ozs, enough to win the silvers and the Golden Peg also. 

The full results are below.

                      On Sunday we are at Landsend and next Wednsday its Shiplate Hawthorns.

                                         Keep at it!!!!

                                                          Chair Bob

Sunday 2nd October 2016 - Trinity Woodlands

An autumnal morning with temperatures dipping to single figures greeted the 23 HLS fishermen at Woodlands. The forecast did suggest a day of sunshine and little breeze, which is good for sunbathing but not for fishing. Horny Beards had returned from holiday sporting shorts to show of his Moroccan tan and disturb the peace and quiet that we had for the past 2 weeks.

Treasure Tony was on his way to Lanzarote and so Bob took charge of financial operations and the book keeping. Golden pegs 22 and 30 were selected and with 22 being a favoured peg, there was expectations of a golden payout. Well, guess who plucked out 22? Yep, the second time in my life I have had that pleasure. I had the Bolton Boy Fletcher next to me on 23 and directly across was Brian Chivers on 15, a peg he has performed well on in the past.

I had come to Woodlands without any plan and so packed my bags with a great variety of baits. After picking 22 I knew that it was to be a carp day. Upon reaching the peg, I decided on 3 lines. One, across to the right hand pallet with a method feeder. Two, 8 metres in front. And, third, my right hand margin at about 5 metres. All the rigs had banded hooks because I was going to fish pellet, meat and corn.
I started by feeding the 8 metre line and the margin and then concentrating on the feeder. What I found after the loss of two feeders was a snag to the left of the pallet. So, third feeder and I cast further left. I continued with this for an hour changing between pellet, meat and corn to no result.
In this first hour it became clear that no one was off to a flying start. George was already stating he'd never known a day like it!!
In a moment of inspiration, I put a corn/meat combo on the hook and a small common of 4lb graced the net. However, that was the one and only action from that line. I tried the 8 metre line because I thought there was some 'blowing' over the feed I'd put in. Although I had some bites, they never materialized into fish.
It was about 2hrs into the match by now and I had been feeding the margin line all along. I decided on meat and was rewarded with a nice common of about 10lbs. I continued this line for most of the remaining 4 hrs and hooked a further 7 carp and unfortunately I only managed to land 4. To my dismay, 2 of the fish managed to snap my elastic at the dacron connector. A lesson to us all to check this area of the elastic.
In among the carp, a nice bream and equally nice perch fancied the meat. So, at the end, I had 4lb 13oz of silvers and 47lb 4oz of carp.

Peg 22

From my position in the corner, I wasn't able to see much of the action on the lake, although I could hear Horny and Bob up in the opposite and furthest corner!!! I could see that Brian was performing to his usual standard and depositing carp into his net regularly. George was hooking carp after carp, so he said, but only landed 3. The overall impression I got was that everyone was struggling but I reckon they would do well to beat Brian. At the weigh in I was quickly corrected by the fact that Neil Woolaston had posted 75lb 13oz on peg 33. Brian was a close 2nd with 71lb 10oz and I came third with 52lb 1oz.
It turned out that George had managed better than his whinging suggested but he was thwarted into second place by Paul Bowyer who had 13lb 12oz for first. Badger Bob took the third spot.
Overall, it was a very pleasant day in the Autumn sunshine but Woodlands wasn't kind to us on this occasion.

Next, it's Viaduct Match lake on Wednesday and Landsend on Sunday. Book in with Bob!!!

Wednesday 28th September - Avalon Fisheries

Fourteen of Dad's Army trooped out to attack this great venue,  which is full of all the species we like catching.   Ian and his wife looked after our needs, I had already commented about the grass being cut, and how good it all looked on this very natural looking water.

There was lots of chat mainly about George giving Bend It some waterproofs, which alas were his good ones, not those intended!!!   Tungsten said he should have gone to Spec Savers.

I selected the pegs to be fished, the golden peg was 3, and we made the draw.  I got peg 16, with Kev to my left, and Simon Garbutt a couple of empty pegs away to my right (Good to have you back Simon).

It was the five metre line for me today, fishing caster corn and worm over the top, there was a nice ripple on the water, and it all looked good.

I shouted the all in, and started on the plan, feeding little but often, after an hour trying all the baits without success, I was scratching the old wooden block; I was getting plenty of indications, so in desperation I put a single red maggot!! and the fish started to come, if only slowly.  What do I know about fishing??

I was happy, and when Ian walked up behind me asking how I was doing, I told him okay.   I was bumping fish, but then I latched on to a nice lump, and into the net went a bream at 4lbs plus, sadly it was the only one.

16-00 hours, all out, pack up, and weigh in.   I was pleasantly surprised with 19lbs 2ozs, enough for second silvers.   Tungsten was on a roll with 21lbs 6ozs.   Tonto took overall with 12lbs 13ozs. It was a very good match.   Full results below.

             Sunday its Trinity and next Wednesday Viaducts Match Lake.

                                    Keep soldiering on

                                                         Chair Bob (PFC)

Sunday 25th September 2016 - Viaduct Cary Lake

It had been about 2 months since I'd had an outing with the HLS crowd and so I was keen to find out how they all are. 20 of them turned up on a sunny morning with a light SW wind with a forecast of showers later.

On arrival I found that Chairman Bob had grow some fungus on his face and now known as Bob the Badger. He had brought George's younger and slim 'brother', but he still moans a lot.
I had come with the definite intention of fishing for silvers and so left all my rods at home. The draw happened at some random time when everyone had turned up and I pulled out 94, a nice peg for silvers. For immediate company, I had Mike Davies on peg 96 and across there was Steve King, Mike Bendell, Paul Bowyer, Eric Searle. I couldn't quite see Roge Coombes on 85 but knew it was him from the casting!!

I knew well that the margin to the right held lots of small skimmers and so did the lily pads to my left. I also chose a 5m line in front of me. All lines were about 3 feet deep and I only needed 2 rigs. Bait for the day was 4mm expanders with a little strawberry flavour, caster, corn, worm and maggot. The whole 6 hours was a constant flow of 3oz skimmers, a few roach and 3 larger skimmers. 3 carp did muscle in on the action with 2 being landed although one of the lumps broke my landing net head. That's today's repair job!! Although I didn't amass a big weight (34lb 10oz) it was a non stop day of fishing.
From my position, I could only tell what was happening on the opposite bank and it seemed that whenever I looked up, there was a bend in the rods of Bowyer and Searle. Roge Coombs was making a lot of slashing so I knew he was doing well too. Steve King was grumpy that although he caught 100lb 1oz, he only had 10 bites. Steve did give me commentary of how George was doing on peg 105 and that he was pulling out a whitebait every 10 secs. No wonder he's lost weight fishing that fast.
At the end, it was the trio of Coombes, Searle and Bowyer who took top honours with Eric taking top spot of 131lb 14oz. And, of course, George 'the robot' Fletcher took top silvers with 25lb 11oz. He said to me after that he had been counting the fish but lost count when he got to 400! I was surprised he could count that far.

Until next time, tight lines. Also, a message from the Chairman that he wants your money, £10, for the Xmas match, 18th Dec on Emerald ponds.