WEEKEND MATCHES

BY PETE

This week-end’s matches were one of contrasting fortunes to say the least Saturday saw me visiting a venue near Chichester for an open match. I had only fished it once before, in the winter, but had been impressed by the potential fishing available. Decent sized bream and carp were the target species, with weights in excess of 100lb probably going to be needed to make the frame. Fishing times were nice and relaxed being from 11 – 5, to hopefully get the benefit of normal afternoon peak time. After coming away on the previous occasion thinking I had probably been too negative with my feeding, I was determined not to make the same mistake this time!
My plan of attack for the day  would be a 20g Preston Innovations ICS Dura Banjo feeder loaded with Sonubaits 2mm F1 Stikki Pellets and a Sonubaits 8mm Band ‘Um Wafter hook bait cast to about 30-35m, a long pole set to fish in about 8ft of water at 13m over a pot of mixed 2mm and 4mm Sonubaits F1 feed pellets with Sonubaits F1 Corn, all mixed together with the delicious smelling Sonubaits Banoffee Bait Booster, and with the generous pegging, a rig for fishing about 8m down the left hand margin in 3ft of water for the later stages.

Having seen several carp swim past just below the surface as I tackled up, I also set up a rod with a 3g pellet waggler for exploring up in the water and felt sure that with the glorious weather (I sat in a tee shirt nearly all day!) this could prove to be a productive line. After feeding my 13m pole line at the starting whistle, like most of the other competitors, I spent the first hour fishing the tip while pinging 3-4 8mm Sonubaits Fin Perfect pellets over the top every 45 seconds, hopefully priming my pellet waggler line for when it would be needed. Apart from the odd small knock,probably from the small skimmers and roach present, the first hour was totally uneventful, with nothing going in the net. Slightly worrying but I’d only seen the odd fish coming out here and there so there was still plenty of time. Feeling sure the carp would be enjoying the warm sun too, I picked up the pellet waggler next, set at about 2ft and cast out fully expecting it to disappear first cast. It didn’t! In fact after giving it a good half an hour, I was starting to think perhaps it wasn’t going to be as good as it had promised to be before the start. On the umpteenth cast, and with catapult in hand (as usual!), the line finally snaked across the surface as my first carp came to the net. Persevering with it for the next half an hour, and changing depths up and down, I was disappointed to not get another bite and finally gave it up to try the long pole line, which I’d been occasionally topping up since the start.

After seeing a few pegs starting to catch regularly, I needed the pole line to produce. It would surely be solid with ‘slabs’ by now wouldn’t it? Wrong again!! After striking at sail away bites for quarter an hour with a single piece of corn on the hook, but hooking nothing, I suspected it was the small silvers again and unless the margins produced, it was beginning to look like the writing was on the wall for today. Suffice to say, they didn’t and to cut a long story short, it proved to be a very difficult day.

By alternating between methods for the rest of the day, I ended up with six carp for 30lb, mainly on the pellet waggler, and nowhere in the match. The match was won with 157lb on the opposite bank and end of the lake with 144lb second, two pegs away from that. 105lb was third.

Looking for a reason (excuse!) as to why I had struggled, I was slightly comforted to hear that the four or five pegs to my right had also struggled, including the venue expert who had won four of the last five matches there, so it looked like the fish just hadn’t been on our bank in numbers. Never mind, onwards and upwards, there was always Sunday to come!
Sunday saw me much closer to home for a club match at the excellent FLE
fishery at Ampfield. 10 minutes from home and ‘rammed’ with fish! Surely
a better day was to follow? With another club booked on the usual Blue and Red match lakes, we were fishing the ‘Top Lake’ and ‘Horseshoe’ lakes. Match times today were 10-4. A lot colder than the previous day, and overcast with a freezing breeze blowing, there would be no tee shirts only being worn today! Happy with my draw behind the island on the ‘Top Lake’, I decided I would keep it quite simple today and just set up three pole rigs and a 20g Preston Innovations ICS Pellet Feeder to cast down the island, but only if absolutely necessary.

Two of the pole rigs would be set to fish one deep and one shallow to the island at 14.5m in front of me, and another margin rig against the scum that had collected against the left hand bank in about 2 1/2ft of water, as a ‘back up’ line for late on.With the lake being full of carp from 2ozs to 12lb, I decided I would try to be selective and sort out the larger fish by using banded 8mm fishery pellets, and as on the Saturday, just ping a few pellets regularly over the top of my float. The match started and I started straight across on the deeper rig, lifting and dropping through the loose fed pellets.
With so many fish in the lake it wasn’t long before I started catching, and even though the small fish were still wolfing down the 8mm pellets, I started to get into a nice rythmn. This lasted for probably half the match, with the average size of fish steadily increasing and more importantly regular bites. It was hard to tell how well I was doing as everybody seemed to be getting a few fish so I just ploughed on.I then went through a spell of lost fish, probably foulhooked, which unsettled the peg and it went decidely quiet for an hour. Time to start priming the margin peg, as it looked like it would be needed after all! A handful of 6mm and 8mm fishery pellets, again coated with the Sonubaits Banoffee Bait Booster, were deposited in the margin swim, and I had a quick look on the pellet feeder cast down and alongside the island while letting the margin settle. One missed bite, probably a liner, and a 12oz carp after 15 minutes and it was time to have my first try in the margin swim.After ten minutes without a touch, the float suddenly shot under and I was attached to an angry 6lber. Throwing a few more pellets in while playing the hooked fish would hopefully encourage a few more into the swim. Fish landed and straight back in, another bite, another hooked fish. They were there!! Alternating the margin line with the long island line for the last 90 minutes, I managed to keep odd fish going in the net, although slower than the first half of the match. The final whistle blew and I was glad to hear everybody saying I was in with a chance of the lake win. The scales proved otherwise though and my 131lb was just beaten into second by a 135lb weight by the angler the other side of the island. The lost fish in the middle of the match had, not for the first time, cost me!Nevertheless, a bit of coin and an excellent days fishing, in good company but chilly conditions. Mustn’t grumble!

Tight lines, Pete.