20 September 2012, Pollawyn (White Acres)

This was our third trip of the year to White Acres - but we know we are going to have a good time so why not?

After a few nice pleasure sessions on Pollawyn, Jenny's and Bolingey it was soon time for the Thursday rover - I drew number 24 (out of 132) so I was able to get on the high bank of Pollawyn and chose peg 18 as I'd fished there on Saturday and bagged-up (though there were only 4 or 5 of us on the whole lake that day).

Some of the new Preston pellet wagglers

As this match is effectively a 'winner takes all' sort of match (everybody who weighs in gets a prize, but there is no section money) I knew I had to fish positively and risk a blow-out in order to get my name in the Angling Times! As a result I only set-up a pellet waggler and a straight lead rod at the beginning - I was using one of the new Preston pellet wagglers and I have to say those little plastic disks attached above the weights really do stop the float diving as it hits the water!

Pellet waggler rig components

The pellet waggler in question was attached to the line using a Preston pellet waggler attachment kit (which consist of 4 float stops and a snap link swivel) - mainline was 6lb Daiwa Sensor and the hooklength 25cm of 0.19 Reflo Power into a size 16 Guru Pellet Waggler hook with a hair-rigged 3.2mm Gardener latex bait band.

The pegs on the high bank of Pollawyn are fairly deep (8-10') and it is common to catch carp 'deep shallow' so I mainly set my pellet waggler between 3 and 5 feet deep. Unfortunately the fish hadn't read the script and even though I bagged-up with such a set-up on Saturday I only had one carp on it all match!!!

Luckily the straight lead was more effective and I took 4 carp in total on this rod, fished under where I was constantly feeding to try and catch on the waggler.

I seem to spend more and more time fishing bright pop-ups

After it had become apparent I wasn't going to catch enough on the pellet waggler or straight lead I set-up another rod with a 30g small Preston pellet feeder to fish with an 8mm pop-up tight to the island. I really didn't think it would work - but that just goes to show what I know! This proved to be my most productive line and I caught 7 or 8 good carp, some nice skimmers and a barbel on it!!!

This line eventually died and I effectively wasted between 1400 and 1500 fishing like a gnome and putting nothing in the net during what should've been the best part of the match. When I finally came to my senses I decided to set-up a pole rig to bash-out some roach and perch down the edge with a fairly light rig on a top kit plus 1 - after a few nice perch I was soon attached to something that pulled back and I was soon looking at a 10lb ghostie staring back at me from my landing net!!!

Part of my winnings!

The whistle went and Rob was soon along doing the weighing - my fish totalled 71-15-0, enough for a bag of groundbait, a bag of pellets and the final money prize as I'd managed 8th overall. That wasted hour had really cost me as another 12lb or so and I would've been second - but if it was as easy as that we'd all be winning every week!

Congratulations to Tom Bainbridge who won the match with 104-7-0 on the long pole from peg 29 on Pollawyn - he caught 'deep shallow' pinging 8mm pellets and admitted to winning despite having a massive hang-over! Kevin Wingfield (who is also a regular on the festival now sponsored by Old English Cider) did well to finish third with 82-3-0, just 5 ounces behind Mick Longshaw who was second.

Link to official results from White Acres website

02 September 2012, Richardson's Lake (Marsh Farm)

Second match in a row on Richardson's Lake at Marsh Farm, and I found myself just along from where I was last time (peg 33) as I was on peg 29 today.

Lines fished today

Essentially I swapped between 2 feeder lines tight into the far bank trees and 2 top kit plus 4 pole lines (pellet only to the left, groundbait to the right).

Unlike last week only about 20% of my catch was on the pole, and the majority of fish caught on the pole were 2-4 ounce skimmers with just three bigger fish (one tench, one crucian and one better skimmer).



Pellet feeders and white pop-ups

Far and away the best approach today was the pellet feeder with a white 8mm pop-up (pinned down by 2 number 8 stotz an inch from the hook). The morning was sporadic, but a switch to casting to the right (from my initial swim straight in front) saw a golden spell that put numerous tench in the net between 1400 and 1500. (It never ceases to amaze me how casting the same feeder rig into a slightly different spot on a far bank can mean the difference between no bites and a fish a chuck.)

In the end my 29-8-0 was good enough for 4th (out of 30) - 36lb was top, with 2 other 30lb weights filling the frame.

27 August 2012, Richardson's Lake (Marsh Farm)

Today's match was organised by Godalming AS regular Roy Fiander and was a charity event in support of the local air ambulance with a good attendance of 30-40 anglers. (My understanding is that this will be a regular August bank holiday event so if you are in the Surrey/Hampshire/West Sussex area look out for it via the Apollo Marsh Farm tackle shop next year.)



Today's match organiser Roy Fiander

I drew peg 33 on Richardson's Lake at Marsh Farm, which is at the far end of the complex and has the left-hand end of one of the three islands on this lake to cast to at approximately 30m.



Peg 33 on Richardson's Lake

I caught approximately half of my weight today on the pellet feeder cast tight to the far bank trees - as the foliage on these trees hang right over the far margin at this time of year the closest you can get a feeder to the far bank is probably about 3 feet, but that isn't an issue as it is only inches deep tight to the bank and it is more like 2 feet deep where you can cast to.



Chianti pole rig used today

The other half of my catch was caught on a 4x12 Preston Chianti rig fished at top kit plus 4 with a 4mm expander pellet. (This rig was made-up on 0.11 Reflo Power into a hooklength of the same with a size 20 Tubertini 808 hook, shotting was shirt button style with 5 or 6 number 10 stotz.) As I was focusing on the feeder today I only fished this rig over one line straight in front of my peg (I normally use the same rig on two different lines - one at and angle to the left and a second at an angle to the right into the same depth of water).

Things started slowly on the pellet feeder, and my first fish actually came after switching to the pole after 45 minutes - in fact I had a nice run of crucians and the odd bonus tench over softened micro pellets to get me into the match. This line eventually died, but a switch back to the pellet feeder saw another run of fish (mainly tench).

As a last gamble I fed some groundbait on the pole line and this did lead to some more fish, as did a switch to the method feeder with groundbait. In the end my 30-13-0 saw me one out of the prizes, with 36lb winning the section and 42lb top overall.

Keith Arthur - the mystery raffle prize!

There was a presentation and raffle after the match with lots of great prizes - Bagger scooped the mystery envelope which happened to be a day out with Sky Sports' Keith Arthur!!! Well done to Roy for organising such a good event - maybe see you on this match next year?

18 August 2012, Melksham (Bristol Avon)

My first Division 1 National - a bit different to your usual club match as this one included Raison, Shipp, Cox, Edwards, Scotthorne, Kerry and Ashby to name just a few!

5 times world champion, Alan Scotthorne

This match was held on the Bristol Avon and I drew H section which was the Melksham stretch - thankfully this turned-out to be much narrower than the downstream sections we walked the previous evening!!! (Some of these pegs frankly looked dangerously unfishable with the river carrying extra water, and the muddy fields and styles didn't look too suited to the heavily laden barrows the modern match angler likes to push around.)

Due to recent rain the river was up a little and really pushing through with a lot of colour - especially in my peg where I had 2 or 3 different dogs go for a swim along the far bank prior to the all in!

Drennan Team England regular, Alan Scotthorne

I decided to stick with what I know and I focused on the stick float today - fishing the long pole over groundbait on rivers is something I've never done, so even though it seemed to be the fashionable thing to do in this match I steered clear of it.

I don't mind admitting to being a little nervous at the start - and as a result I was amazingly relieved to have my stick float pulled under by a small roach on the first trot through! In the end most of my fish (roach and dace) fell to double maggot on the stick float - some shallow and some on the deck (which was at least 8' directly under my feet). I also managed a perch and and 6 ounce chublet on the straight lead with double worm during the final 30 minutes.

In the end I weighed 860 grams which gave me 17 points from a maximum of 51 - not bad considering that this is the country's premier team event, I hardly ever fish rivers and the concept of practising was never, ever considered! Unfortunately my Godalming AS team could only manage 49th place in the overall team standings.

Daiwa Dorking, victors with 433 points

Congratulations to Daiwa Dorking who dominated and won by 30 odd points - but just look at the line-up in the photo above! Calum Dicks (back row, far left) was 3 pegs upstream of me today - below is a link to this blog if you want a more technical write-up of the day:

Link to Calum Dicks' blog



Alan Scotthorne - beaten on the day by yours truly!



Ostudying the results in the Angling Times on the following Tuesday I discovered I'd drawn in the same section as Alan Scotthorne and beaten him by 10 points - get in!!!!! In all seriousness this is one of the best things about the sport of match fishing - it's very easy for the average angler to fish the same matches that the superstars do and if you have a bit of luck drawing the right peg on the right day you always have a chance to beating them!

Finally a big thank you to Dave Woolgar for organising the Godalming AS team and to Steve from Apollo Marsh Farm for helping out with the bait.

05 August 2012, Harris Lake (Marsh Farm)

After our annual away day to Monk Lakes last week it was back to my home venue of Marsh Farm for another Godalming AS club match, and I found myself on Harris Lake peg 29 - this is one of the widest on the lake and as a result it is a nice feeder peg for chucking to the overhanging foliage that surrounds one of the central islands.

The key to today's match was working out the best approach on the tip (I didn't even set-up the pole today as I don't see it being a match winning tactic on this lake at this time of year) - in the end this turned-out to be the method feeder (not the pellet feeder) with pellets (not groundbait), though I did catch one fish on the pellet feeder and one on the method with groundbait! Best hookbait was a white 8mm pop-up, though at one stage I did have a run of fish on a hard 6mm pellet! (As you can tell I'm trying to be scientific here but unfortunately fishing is not an exact science!)

In the end my 10 tench and 4 crucians weighed 28-3-0, which was well clear of the chasing pack (16lb was the next best weight) and enough for a satisfying victory.

29 July 2012, Lake 1 (Monk Lakes)

Today was the annual Godalming AS match at Monk Lakes in Kent - it's a bit of a trek but it is usually well worth it as the fishing is so prolific. The weather was a real mixed bag - mainly bright sunshine combined with two really heavy downpours that made it feel more like early April than late July!!!

Excerpt from Russ Evans Commercial Barbel DVD on YouTube

(As I don't have any of my own photos from Monk Lakes I've include a link to some footage from a Russ Evans DVD filmed on Lake 2 at Monk Lakes to give an impression of the venue above.)

This time we were on Lake 1, which didn't seem as well stocked as Lake 2 or Lake 3 as the winning weight was only 41lb and I was second with 39-4-0.

Lines fished today

I think it is fair to say that I started on plan A and ended-up on plan Z, but my hard work paid-off and one more fish would've won it! Here is a summary of the methods I worked through today:

1) On the deck at 11.5m with worm over 6mm pellet (1 tiny perch)
2) Heavy rig with an 8mm pellet shallow at 11.5m (nothing)

3) Light rig with a 6mm pellet shallow at 11.5m (nothing)

4) Left margin with meat over meat and hemp (3 carp)

5) Worm over pellet at 5m (nothing)

6) Banded 8mm pellet on the deck at 5m (2 carp)

7) Straight lead with 8mm pellet at 25m (1 carp)

8) Right margin worm or dead maggot over groundbait and dead maggot (nothing)

9) Method feeder with groundbait and a fluro pop-up or 6mm pellet at 25m (8 carp)

Unfortunately I didn't set-up the method until 2 hours to go, and my pre-match intention of fishing it was so low I didn't even bring any 2mm pellets!

With hindsight Lake 1 is much less prolific that the lakes we've fished at Monk Lakes before so I should've adjusted my approach accordingly - the fish certainly didn't respond to big piles of bait and it was certainly far too windy to fish the pole at 11.5m. In addition the fact that others on the far bank weren't catching on the pole should've pushed me onto the tip much earlier - the method being a banker on most commercial venues when the weather is poor and the fishing tough.

However my hard work in swapping approaches turned a potential blow-out into a frame position - the advantage of fishing well stocked venues in the summer is that when you do get things right you are normally rewarded with a bite immediately!!!

Monk Lakes website

22 July 2012, Broadwater (Godalming AS)

Broadwater is a 10 acre lake set in a public park and is home to numerous big carp to in excess of 30lb. Summer matches on this venue always yield big winning weights, but as you are fishing for specimen carp (the average must be 12-15lb) many of the Godalming AS regulars spurn these matches as standard match gear really isn't up to the job.

Link to Broadwater section on Godalming AS website

Much of this lake is very shallow (no more than 3 feet deep) and notoriously silty - in fact as I understand it the central island was constructed from silt dredged from the lake a few years back!

Broadwater schematic



In keeping with many specimen lakes certain pegs at Broadwater have names - I was fortunate enough to draw a peg called The Point today and this is a peg that has won many matches over the years. As you've probably guessed this peg on the inside of a bend in the bank and is on the far side of the lake from the car park near to the out of bounds area.

Thanks to the way the pegs are positioned being on a point means that you normally command a larger area of water than if you are on a straight section of bank and this was true for me today as I had a large expanse of open water to the left of the central island to work in.

Strong gear and big leads

It seems to me that the carp in Broadwater move around a great deal and bites normally come after your bait has been in the water between 60 seconds and 3 minutes, with noise definitely playing a part. As a result I settled on a two pronged attack today - a straight lead line constantly fed with 8mm pellets at 25m and a PVA bag of 6mm pellets cast around the swim with a 10mm boilie. (Given the deep silt the method feeder isn't really viable as it can literally disappear into the bottom, so straight leads with 12" hooklengths are much more effective.)

At the start I could see a number of fish moving over the 25m pellet line so I stuck with this for the first 30 minutes or so - however this proved to be a big mistake as I never had a bite during this time, and as soon as I switched to the longer line dropping my PVA bag around the swim at 50-75m I was straight into fish!

In the end I had 8 or 9 carp for 117-9-0 which was only good enough for fourth place behind 150lb, 130lb and 125lb weights. All of the fish bar one fell to the PVA bag approach - however the one fish that I caught on the 25m line went 20-4-0!!!