April 21, 2012

• Rayne Lodge Fishery. The Top Lake.

  Marsh AC club match.

  

  The Top Lake at Rayne Lodge just outside of Braintree in Essex is yet again the venue for the second Marsh AC club match of the year. However we normally visit the venue in late may once things have started to warm up a bit. The view through the bedroom window today promised a decent start to the day ahead, but the forecast was for heavy showers after midday . I soon had the cats fed, while cereal and coffee fuelled me to load up the car and set off. A good traffic free run saw me arriving in the car park just after 7·30am along with Kevin & Jean. Soon the others started to arrive and with just 14 of us fishing today things were soon underway. Dave asked Keith and I to sort out the pegs to use today so we set off round the lake while others ferried their gear down the hill and Dave collected the monies. Virtually every peg looked good for a few fish and Keith and I made the picks trying to give most anglers a bit of room and our 14 choices went into the hat ready for the draw .
  
  Into the hat and it’s peg 14A for me, the 2nd time in the last 3 visits (the other one was peg 14) I never seem to be able to get out of this corner of the lake when we visit, but it’s normally good for a few fish .

  

  Knowing the area so well it didn’t take long to get set up, just 3 top kits with black hydro. It can tow a bit in this corner if the wind gets into it so I set up a couple of rigs to fish at 6mtrs where there’s around 3 feet of water, the first was an 0·4 NG XT Gimp on 0·14 Ultima power match straight through to a size 16 Kamasan B911X while the second was a, 0·3 NG XT Power Pencil Mk 2 again on 0·14 Ultima power match straight through to a size 16 Kamasan B911X which was a little more delicate and would see use if it wasn’t towing. The third rig was my customary 0.2 NG Edger again on 0·14 Ultima power match straight through to a size 16 Kamasan B911X for the margin lines that had around 2 feet of depth. Bait was simply 6mm coarse pellet for feed and the hook along with some sweetcorn and 6mm GOT Rippers as alternative hookers.
  
  There was still a good 30 minutes to go so I took a stroll to see how others were going to tackle things. Al and Dave were already exchanging banter on the prospects for the day that lay ahead . Kev was settling into peg 1 which I’d fancied for a few fish when Keith and I selected it earlier. Jean kindly provided a freshly cooked sausage and bacon roll and a mug of coffee to wash it down . Chris had set up for a catch anything with fins approach. Most seemed to be going with the pole, though Martin next to me on peg 14 was going for the feeder to the island in front .
  
  10am and the whistle sounded for the All-In. A cup of pellets with a few grains of corn was fed at 6mtrs along with a handful of pellet into the left hand margin before I shipped out with a banded 6mm pellet, Dave over on peg 21 had got off to a flyer with 6 fish in his first 6 put in’s!!!!!!!!! and I had seen Al netting a couple of quick fish as well.
  A few more pellets flicked over my rig and a couple of lift and drops soon saw the float slide away and a spirited fight from a small common followed before I netted it to get myself off the mark . The first hour was nice and steady, keeping a little bit of feed going in and working the rig kept the bites coming and a few small carp and skimmers coming to the net.
  
  Word was filtering down that Dave was already in the pound seats as he’d found the fish in the margins and feeding from the off, while Al had reverted to the method to the point of the island in an attempt to keep up with him as he couldn’t buy a bite from his margin . I could hear the two of them talking and tales of 3-4lbs fish, which meant I was going to need some more and larger fish than I’d already got, especially when my next fish was this mint little common ……

  

  I took an early look down my margins but to no avail so it was back to 6mtrs to keep working it, occasionally adding another section to see if anything had backed off the feed, but they didn’t seem to be there in any numbers. I would take 2 or 3 fish and then have to wait 10-15 minutes for a bite. This seems to be the pattern in this part of the lake since 2009 when all the overhanging trees that provided cover were cut down and it now seems that fish just move through the area and you almost have to ambush them as they pass through as they seem reluctant to settle for any length of time.
  
  Mick over on peg 16 was putting a few together but having to work for them, though this was disturbed when a passing duck snaffled his bait as he was laying his rig in. Thankfully Mick managed to get the duck to the bankside where he finally managed to unhook it after some deft work with a disgorger, the duck swimming off with just a few feathers and its dignity ruffled . Martin was having a hard time of it, latching into various snags round the island and then seeing his reel handle fly off and land in the lake. Undaunted he soon changed reels and was back in action ……

  

  For me it was just a question of plugging away and keeping a few fish going into the net as apart from Dave and Al nobody else seemed to be getting among the fish from what I could see or hear. I kept having the odd look down the margins but they steadfastly refused to produce as much as a bite, and after a blank spell of nearly 20 minutes at 6mtrs I re-fed it pretty heavily and set of for my customary stroll with the camera . John was struggling next door to Martin and it looked like the two travelling companions would be battling to the end of the match for the bragging rights today …….

  

  Clive was settled into peg 11A and having a look down his left hand margin, having struggled to catch from the right hand side of his peg ……

  

  Keith was on peg 10 and working hard to put a few together and beat Mick in another battle of the travelling companions, though I did manage to bring a smile to his face when I related the tale of Mick’s encounter with the duck …..

  

  Simon and Graham had similar tales of struggle, though Graham’s did ring a little hollow as he lifted into a fish as I passed by ……

  

  Ken seemed quite content with his lot tucked away in a corner on peg 5 and was happily putting a few together today ……

  

  Chris on peg 3 was also putting a mixed bag together with his approach, but felt that he could be doing better …….

  

  Kev on peg 1 was having a mare in all honesty, not only was he struggling for bites from his swim, he also had the perfect view of Dave and Al apparently bagging up just across from him ……

  

  Dave had vanished for a stroll by the time I got round there, but I probably shouldn’t have asked Al what the crack was, as it wasn’t a pretty site ……

  

  Back at my peg it was just a question of head down and get on with it, nick a couple of fish then wait a while before getting another couple. At least they were getting a little larger as time wore on with a few 2-3 pounders mixed in among the smaller ones . After yet another blank spell I took another look down the margins with 45 minutes to go and the float buried by a feisty little mirror that was soon in the net and thankfully this continued right up to the whistle sounded the All-Out at 4pm .
  
  Packing away my kit I couldn’t help wondering what the outcome would have been had they turned up earlier in the margins? I was sure that Dave and Al were way out in front but reckoned that my late run of fish should see me with around 70lbs of fish to put on the scales.
  
  The Weigh-In started with Kev on peg 1 who only managed a meagre 12lbs . Chris recorded 38½lbs while Ken was happy to see his fish weigh 53lbs , Graham’s 42¼lbs was followed by Simon’s 36½lbs and Keith chipped in with 39½lbs. Clive had a smile on his face due to his 56½lbs while Martin and John both recorded a level 16lbs to share the bragging rights in the car. My fish came to 77lbs leaving me happy with what I’d got from my peg . Mick’s 36½lbs meant that Keith had the bragging rights for their trip home and Terry could only muster 26½lbs for his days efforts. that just left Al who was admitting to 70lbs (meaning he probably had a Ton+ ) and Dave who was owning up to 80lbs and he’s normally pretty close with his estimates. Al in fact put 106lbs on the scales and Dave 87½lbs .
  
  So back up Heart Attack Hill to the car park where Dave sorted out the days results and the monies. The Winner today was Al with Dave taking 2nd and third place for me . The sections went to Ken, myself and Al .
  
  Next up for Marsh AC is an Inter-club match at Hartleylands Farm against Morefax AC , but before that I’m off on my first trip of the year to Rolf’s Lake next Friday for a 2 day Special Jinx Match.
  

  Position	Peg	Angler	Weight
  1st	Peg 20	Al Loader	106lbs 00ozs
  2nd	Peg 21	Dave Collier	87lbs 08ozs
  3rd	Peg 14A	Peter Morton	77lbs 00ozs
  4th	Peg 11A	Clive Pritchard	56lbs 08ozs
  5th	Peg 5	Ken Walker	53lbs 00ozs
  6th	Peg 7	Graham Manning	42lbs 04ozs
  7th	Peg 10	Keith Ashby	39lbs 08ozs
  8th	Peg 3	Chris Withall	38lbs 08ozs
  9th=	Peg 16	Mick Wright	36lbs 08ozs
  9th=	Peg 9	Simon Watkins	36lbs 08ozs
  11th	Peg 18	Terry Goff	26lbs 08ozs
  12th=	Peg 14	Martin Hucker	16lbs 00ozs
  12th=	Peg 13	John Holdsworth	16lbs 00ozs
  14th	Peg 1	Kevin Loveland	12lbs 00ozs

  

  

   

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