Dave the Fish's

Invitation Match.

Well today sees the start of what has become an annual 3 day trip to Rolfs, starting today with Dave the Fish's Invitation match that precedes the Maggotdrowning.com Rolfs Pairs Tournament over the Saturday and Sunday . This has become a match not to be missed as it's fished by a few less people and it normally sees the best fishing of the 3 days, and being a member of Dave's club (Marsh AC) ensures that I'm fortunate enough to receive an invitation every year .
Being a weekday Maria was already up and had fed the cats and I'd promised to take her to work, so with that done I loaded the car up. It's surprising how much extra stuff there was, bivvie, bed chair sleeping bag etc, but it all slotted in without problem before I set off . It was a bit overcast, but warm enough and the forecast for the next 3 days was good with plenty of sun for the weekend. As usual I stopped off in Battersea for Breakfast , Al was hoping to join me, but got delayed and missed out on the delights of a "Full English" before I was back in the car and on my way to Rolfs.

A steady run down saw me pulling into the car park around 10·15am to find a good few already in situ. Malc had taken Dai and Ann along with Beau up with their caravan on Wednesday and then come back up from Wales early today so we were due to face the might of the whole 'Doyle Clan' over the course of the weekend . Others had also arrived early to ensure a good pitch in Maggotville, so it was out with the bivvie to secure a spot. My little 1 man bivvie has seen a fair bit of use over the years, and today one of the poles decided it had enough and snapped . However with some gaffer tape from Scott and a hacksaw from Dai it was soon repaired and in place .

A stroll round soon came to an abrupt halt however as i came face to face with John's new guard dog !!!!!!!, Black and Tan, was it a Doberman, Rottweiler???

No, Ollie is a Dachshund, and at around 8 weeks old the cutest bundle of fun you could imagine on 4 legs, and already proving a huge hit with everyone .

Well with 19 of us assembled. and only a single Rolfs Virgin in fellow club member Simon Watkins present, Midday signalled draw time. The general opinion seemed to be that the Big Lake was the place to draw today as the wind had been blowing up into it for the past 3 days, so you can imagine my delight to find Peg 38 in my hand , I couldn't be further away if I'd tried.

As I made my way down to my peg I saw that Mitch had drawn Peg 34, while Dai was on Peg 40 with Kevin on Peg 2, so I was OK for a mid match coffee .
Opposite me on Peg 4 was Jon, with Scott for company on Peg 5. Alex had drawn Peg 7 while Simon was on Peg 8, a great draw for a 1st timer .

Setting up was a matter of 3 rigs, A 0·2g NG XT Power Pencil on 0·20 Ultima Power Match finished off with size 16 Guru MWG would be for straight out at 7mtrs where I had an even 3 feet of water in all directions, a NG 0·3 XT Sampson margin on 0·20 Ultima Power Match finished off with size 14 Guru QM1 would be used to fish by the bush/grass to my left, and a 0.2 NG Edger on 0·20 Ultima Power Match finished off with size 14 Guru QM1 would be used on top of the ledge tight to the grass next to Peg 37, while the waggler rod was on standby to have a search around if it got really tough. Bait was 6,8 and 11mm fishery pellets and a selection of various soft hookers, along with sweetcorn and some paste should the lumps turn up in the margin.

Clive popped round as we waited for the All-In with news that he'd ended up on Peg 13 , I didn't laugh much though as I'd have happily swapped with him today.

2pm saw John ring the fishery bell for the All-In and 2 pots of pellet were deposited onto the 7mtr line along with a good handful into each margin. A banded 8mm pellet was shipped out to 7mtrs but unfortunately didn't provoke the desired response, in fact the Little Lake was proving hard for nearly everyone, with only Mitch appearing to take an early fish .......

 A switch to 6mm pellet finally brought some action for me, but it was only in the shape of a couple of hand sized skimmers, that were welcome none the less to get me off the mark, and looking across it was obvious that Jon was resigned to a hard session as he was already out with a maggot rig in a bid to hunt down some silvers ......

 After a couple of hours I looked across to see that Dai was at last into something substantially larger with plenty of elastic streaming from his pole, but after a good scrap he had it safely in the net, an absolutely superb Common that rolled the scales round to 21¾lbs, a new PB that I was happy to photograph for Dai ......

I'd hoped that it would be the signal for some fish to get their heads down, but it was not to be , so I re fed all my lines and gathered up the camera for a stroll round to see how others were doing. Scott over on Peg 5 was suffering as well, but he was feeding plenty into the margin next to empty Peg 6 and praying that the fish would turn up over the feed before the match finished ......

 Alex had been more than happy to find Peg 7 was his, but had been brought back down to earth a bit as despite producing a couple of early fish they weren't coming at the rate he'd been hoping for .....

Simon had a double to show for his first ever visit to Rolfs , but had been left a little shocked by the power of the fish, having also been seen off by a couple ......

Terry was over on Peg 32 and was getting a bit of action, but unfortunately he'd had the misfortune to have a top kit reduced to more than it's standard two parts by an angry foul hooker that smashed it and vanished with the rig and elastic ......

Clive was indeed on Peg 13 and at this point in time was suffering with foul hooked fish, but he was confident that sooner or later he'd sort it out and start putting a few in the net ......

Malc was tucked away in Peg 14 and seemed happy enough with his lot , while a chat with Dave Moore revealed a swim that resembled a jacuzzi, but although there were obviously plenty of fish there, they were reluctant to take a bait . Looking across we could see Al on Peg 24 playing a fish on the pellet waggler, but as I raised the camera having warned him to be careful, it shed the hook, of course we were full of sympathy as " Nobody likes to see that " but Al seemed less than pleased ......

Dave was on Peg 18, obviously the draw bag had been kind to the organiser , and as we chatted Dave dropped a ball of paste into the left of the peg and the float buried straight away, the fish steamed off and looked like it was foul hooked, and it had the last laugh when it did Dave under the right hand bush ......

Round to Peg 22 where I found Paul happily playing a fish, he was having what appeared to be a decent day, ticking along nicely and regularly putting fish in the net ......

Mr Maggotdrowning himself Dave aka 'Webbo' was on Peg 26, but today didn't seem to be quite right for his Feederless Feeder and he'd reverted to the pole in order to keep a few coming his way ......

Nick was on Peg 29, and it was a case of steady away for him putting one or two fish together, but he'd also sacrificed a top kit to the cause today ......

Back at my peg things didn't really improve for the rest of the match, in fact the only one to really do anything was Dai who managed another 4 fish during the course of the afternoon . I even spent a while on the waggler, but that was no more successful than my pole lines, However with an hour to go a look on my 7mtr line produced a foul hooker that headed of toward the Big Lake at a rate of knots leaving me with just a scale for a souvenir . Kev finally managed to snare a carp over on peg 2 and with 45 minutes to go I finally managed to hook and land a carp that weighed 13lbs, however it was to little to late and just another couple of small skimmers came my way before John rang the fishery bell for the All-Out at 7pm.

Packing away didn't take long as I took my kit back to the bivvie that was only about 40 yards away, and so onto the Weigh-In. Mitch kicked off with a hard earned 49lbs while my silvers added to the solitary carp came to 16lbs. Dai's 5 fish weighed a fine 70¾lbs . Kev had 5½lbs to show for his efforts while Jon had all silvers for just over 13lbs. Scott had a couple turn up late for a level 26lbs. Alex recorded 61¾lbs with Simon managing 25¼lbs for his first effort .
Tricky(Richard) managed 54lbs from peg 9 on his Birthday , while Steve had struggled with just a single carp for 7½lbs on peg 10 . Clive had indeed managed to sort it out recording 83½lbs but it was Malc on peg 14 who would take the win on the day when he put 103½lbs on the scales . For Dave Moore it was a case of what might have been with his fish weighing 36lbs, but he'd fished on for a bit after the whistle and caught 6 fish in 6 put ins . Dave had 95¼lbs from peg 18 to take third in his own match . Paul was the only other angler to record a 'Ton' with 100¼lbs to take 2nd . Al with 65½lbs and Nick with 67lbs were edged out by Webbo's 74lbs while Terry was last to weigh with 81¼lbs .

So once Dave had sorted out the results and payed out the monies from the day people dispersed to chat over the days events and sort out their food etc.
Al, Webbo, Paul and I elected to visit The Harvester for Dinner along with Richard and Scott and washed it all down with a couple of pints before returning to the lake where the banter flowed along with a few more beers into the night as Simps, Gem and Budgie joined us ahead of the weekend .

By around 11·30pm I turned in to get some sleep ahead of the Main Event. How would it go? We would soon find out.

Marsh AC club match.

Well it's off to Essex for me today and a club match at Colemans Cottage on Wood Lake.
The view out of the window this morning promised a nice sunny day ahead and after a couple of cups of coffee and having fed the cats and loaded the car I was off and heading for Whitam in Essex, and a trouble free run down saw me pulling into the car park around 7·30am, where Kevin and Jean, along with Simon were already in attendance . Into the fishery lodge for a Large Breakfast , and we were soon joined by Terry Keith and Pete along with Lee, Dave and a couple of other Morefax lads who were joining us today along with a couple of guests, so it should be a good turn out . Soon the rest of the gang arrived and with breakfast taken care of I went outside to discuss the prospects for the day ahead.
The club normally fishes Pathfield Lake when we visit Colemans, so this is something new, at least for me as I've never fished Wood Lake before, but luckily for me Paul Law (justin case) has furnished me with a detailed peg by peg rundown on the lake so I wasn't not going into it totally blind . Dave soon had the monies collected and the draw up and running and after dipping into the bag I found myself with peg 14 for the day, which according to Paul's run down was just an average peg.

So collecting my tackle I made my way down to my peg. Terry was on peg 1, with peg 2 drawn for Paul who was running late due to a blow out on the way down . Keith was on peg 6 (one Paul had reckoned was worth running to ) with Pete Thompson on peg 8. Tony Roberts was on 10, Clive on 11 and Simon on 12 with 13 not drawn. To my left was Martin on peg 15 while I could see Dave in the corner on peg 18.

Settling into the peg it was time to decide how to tackle it. I had a gap between 2 islands out in front I elected to cover that with a waggler and got out a Shakespeare Micro that was already set up with a 2AA peacock insert waggler. I opted for 3 pole lines. Straight out at 6mtrs where I had 5ft of water with a Sackup CX 4x12 pencil on 0·16 Ultima Power Match finishing with size 16 Guru MWG, and 2 margin rigs, both NG 0·3 XT Sampson margin's on 0·16 Ultima Power Match finishing with size 16 Guru MWG's plus a paste rig of an NG 0·2 Margin paste float on 0·20 Ultima Power Match finished off with size 12 Fox series 2. Bait was my usual combination of 6mm hard pellet for feed with 6 and 8mm pellets for the hook along with some corn, a selection of GOT Baits soft hookers and GOT Atomic Paste (green halibut).

Kevin had arrived while I was setting up with a cup of coffee and with a bit of time prior to the off I strolled back to the car to collect a bottle of water, only to find Paul arriving by Taxi (having changed his blown out tyre only to find the spare knackered as well !!!!!!!!!!! ) so helped him to his peg with his gear, then made my way back to mine. At 10am Dave signalled the All-In and we were off . 2 big pots of pellet at 6mtrs followed by a handful in each margin were then followed by a banded 8mm shipped out to the 6mm line. A couple of tentative digs then the float buried resulting in a Carp tearing off and the rig flying back with a scale on the hook , not quite the start I'd hoped for, but at least there were some fish about. Next put in the float buries and it's fish on again, a good solid surge and it didn't want to get it's head up, a bit more pressure and up it popped, not he expected Carp but a Barbel and at around 3lbs a nice way to get off the mark . A couple of Carp quickly followed this, not big fish, but really solid, giving a good account of themselves which I estimated at around 4lbs each.

Looking around I could see that Martin had a fish on the feeder that he was playing and most were starting to find a bit of sport, so it was looking like it should be a good day for most, in fact I looked down toward Dave and saw that he was engaged in what looked like a tug of war with plenty of red hydro streaming from his top kit ......

For the next couple of hours it was just a question of things ticking over, a couple of Carp, then a Barbel or two, still putting some weight in the net, but I couldn't seem to up my catch rate . I'd been using my clicker as there's a net limit at Colemans which I didn't want to fall foul of, and reckoned I had about 35lbs of carp by 12·30pm. I'd had a look down both margins, the right hand had produced hardly anything though despite the next peg being empty, so decided to concentrate on the left hand one. With this in mind I re fed it quite heavily and took a stroll with the camera to allow it to settle and take my coffee mug back to Jean .

Looking down from my vantage point I saw that Clive was busy unhooking a fish that he'd just netted ......

While on the next peg along Tony was doing his best to get the landing net under a fish of his own ......

 Pete had left his peg, but I could see him sitting next to Keith and having a chat with him as he netted a small carp .......

 Terry was being a bit cagey as to what he had exactly, but didn't reckon he was setting the place on fire. Paul was having a frustrating time trying to tempt some action from his margins, but Rod seemed to be enjoying a bit of sport ......

 Kev was owning up to 3 fish and hoping things would pick up for him later in the day, and looking across I could see Lee and Judy on adjacent pegs ......

 Strolling back Keith reckoned he had around 35lbs but was adamant that Pete was doing better , and I couldn't help notice that he was fishing short just in front of his nets, and made me realise that last year I'd caught tight to my nets on Pathfield, perhaps that was the way to go today ......

 Pete was back on his peg and of course though that Keith was just edging him as he struck into a carp just as I moved on ......

 Indeed it was starting to become obvious that the fish were starting to get their heads down, and I could see Ken on the far bank getting ready to slide a small Carp over the net ......

 Tony was attached to yet another fish, that seemed to be giving a good account of itself with plenty of orange vespe coming out of his top kit .......

 and there was Clive just slipping the landing net under yet another fish that he'd taken on the method feeder ......

 Simon however wasn't feeling so positive, complaining that he'd never lost as many fish as he'd done today and considering that he'd lost a fair few on the last match at Mill Barn, you could safely say that he wasn't best pleased ......

 Back at my peg I dropped my 6mtr rig in on a top 3 at the end of my nets and found just a couple of inches less on the depth, so fed a handful of pellet there and stuck a 6mm pellet on the band. This soon produced a Barbel of around 3lbs and was swiftly followed by a couple more , then a small Carp as Dave arrived with another Mug of coffee from Jean . The next fish made me jump as an acrobatic skimmer did a passable impression of a Trout leaping clear of the water as I struck . Another couple of Barbel followed and I'd noticed Al on peg 22 collecting a second carp net so he was obviously going well and from what I could see was fishing the method. Dave was still catching well and he was next to go for a second net. Another small carp followed for me before a couple of foul hookers ran me ragged and seemed to kill the swim .

Time for a look in the margin with the paste rig, a couple of knocks and the float buried , the strike meeting with firm resistance as a good fish powered of into open water. The fish stayed deep not wanting to get its head up, but steady pressure finally told as a double figure Mirror slid into the waiting landing net . With that fish I reckoned I had about 55lbs in the net so went and got a second carp net for myself .
Back in with the paste and it was obvious that the fish were there as the float buried straight away, a barbel this time with a taste for paste, and I took another 7 carp before Paul came up to see how I was doing with 15 minutes to go. Unfortunately this coincided with a spate of iffy bites and I only managed one more Carp before Dave called the All-Out at 4pm while he played a final fish.

Packing my kit up and chatting to Martin I was convinced that I had around 80-90lbs, but I wasn't really sure as I'd got it somewhat wrong last year when we fished Pathfield but with the kit packed away in the car all would be revealed as I set off for the weigh-in. Terry kicked off with 63¼lbs from peg 1 , which Keith topped from Peg 6 with 86¾lbs just edging out Pete's level 86lbs to take the bragging rights on their trip home to Milton Keynes .

Tony on peg 10 put 70lbs+ on the scales with his first net, but thankfully Graham (The Owner) decreed that as long as it wasn't over 80lbs there would be no penalty. His final tally was 143¼lbs, a total that wouldn't be beaten ensuring he took the honours on the day . Clive managed 69½lbs and Simon just 40lbs.
Round to my peg and as soon as I lifted my 1st net I knew that I'd underestimated as well , thankfully it came in under 80lbs and my total of 141½lbs that would be good enough for 2nd today . Dave had a good day as well on peg 18 with 122¼lbs and Nick Bondeau recorded a new PB match weight of 71lbs .

Al was left regretting a slow last half hour when his weight came out at 131lbs but still ended up 3rd overall . Lee Rose on peg 34 took the best weight among the Morefax lads with a level 98lbs while Roger, Ken and Graham managed 50lb weights . So back to the fishery lodge for coffee and results.
Dave soon had the results and the sections sorted and payed out, 1700lbs + had been weighed in for an average of 62lbs+ per angler so it was fair to say a decent day had been had by most . Next up for Marsh AC is Blasford Hill on August 13th.

For me however the next stop is 3 days at Rolfs Lake next weekend for Dave's Friday Invitation match and the MD's Pairs weekend .

Jinx Match 4

 Well today's the day for the fourth Jinx Match in this years series of six , and a quick peek through the curtains this morning confirmed that we were in for a wet start to the day as all that could be seen was a heavy grey sky and a stiff breeze, and by the time I loaded up the car the first spots of rain were already falling . As usual the first stop was Battersea to fuel up for the day ahead with a 'Full English' and with that polished off it was next stop Rolfs.

Unfortunately the closer I got to Rolfs the worse the rain came down, and with about 5 miles to go it was so torrential that the wipers couldn't clear the screen, even on high speed . It had eased a bit as I pulled into the car park. Some of the Jinx Squad had fished the Open Night Match the evening before and had stayed over and were huddled under a brolly and the gazebo by the hut. Malc appeared looking as if he'd been for a swim in the lake, but was just walking proof that his MAP waterproofs weren't anymore . Gem had decided that she wouldn't be fishing today as it was raining, so Simon decided that as they've just moved into a flat together he wouldn't fish either, and instead they would visit IKEA to get some stuff for their flat. Amazing what love can do isn't it IKEA on a Saturday !!!!!!! instead of fishing!!!!!!!!! He'll learn , but at least it meant that nobody would get Minxed today .

Well the rain continued to fall, and with this being the 4th match todays draw was all in as we redraw sections for the final 3 matches. 11·30am and it's draw time, into the bag and it's peg 5 for me, a peg I've not fished before so I'm quite happy to give it a go . John Bennett had fished it last night and had around 90lbs, so I picked his brains as to how he'd approached it so I would have some idea of the areas to target .

Marsh AC club match.

An early start for me today as it's a return to The Reservoir at Mill Barn Coarse Fishery for the 3rd Marsh AC match of the year. A glance out of the window confirmed that it looked like a pretty changeable day would lie ahead, so with the cats fed and a couple of coffees drunk the car was loaded up and the waterproofs included along with the rest of the kit . I met up with Chris at Dave's house just after 6am, the reason for the early start being that the first stop today would be a stop at the Castle pub in Little Wakering for breakfast . A steady trip down saw us pulling into the pub car park just after 7·15am to find Kev, Jean and Keith already waiting. I have to say the Full English was Top Quality and well worth the £6 , and having satisfied the inner angler we made our way down to the fishery about 5 minutes down the road.

On arrival we found a number of carpers bivvied up on the car park bank , despite notices posted on the fishery gate reserving this and the left hand bank for our match, but rather than have confrontation we decided to just use 17 pegs down the left hand bank. Waiting for the draw the banter flowed, though I'm not sure that Tony was impressed when he enquired " Where's the sunken island" and I helpfully informed him that "It's under the water".

Time for the draw and when I went up for mine there were no pegs left in the hat!!!! Somehow only 16 numbers had gone in the hat. I agreed to take number 17 to avoid the aggro of a redraw, but John quite fancied fishing next to Martin who was on peg 16, so it was agreed that I would take John's draw (peg 9).

I made my way round to my peg and got down to settling in, the water was well down, well below the swims and with steeply sloping clay there was no way I could get my box down to water level . I elected to stake my nets and fish sitting on the sleeper, a little awkward, but better than being perched high above the water.

Jinx Match 1

Marsh AC v  Morefax AC

Well I'm down at Hartleylands today for a small Knock Up on Nick's Lake. A couple of weeks ago Dave Collier posted the following on my club forum...... " Some of my son-in-laws mates have invited me and a few Marsh members for a little knock up on 23rd April. They normally fish as a small club with usually 8 or 10 of them. Between their organiser and myself we have booked the whole of Nicks lake for Saturday 23rd of April. So how many of you want to risk the wrath of SWMBO and come fishing on Easter Saturday"   Well after an invitation like that, it would be rude not to wouldn't it .

We had been hoping to have a Marsh club match around this time, but a combination of Easter, Royal Wedding and a lack of available bookings on suitable venues meant that the invitation from the Morefax lads offered a welcome opportunity for about a dozen of us to get out on the bank .

With plenty of time to set up before the All-In at 10am the pellet wag and feeder rod were taken out of their ready sleeves, though in all honesty I was only expecting to fish the pole. 3 rigs took care of my options, once again all Sackup CX 4x12 pencils on 0·16 Ultima Power Match finishing with size 16 Guru MWG's. pretty much the same rigs I'd used at Monks on the previous Marsh match ......

The first to fish at around 10mtrs where there was around 4ft of water and the other two to cover two margin lines. Bait for the day being a combination hard pellets and soft hookers.

 while second and third had come from adjacent pegs with Dave Collier's 90lbs from peg 21 giving him 2nd place ahead of Lee Rose (peg 20) whose 79lbs gave him 3rd overall .
Kevin on peg 24 had 64lbs to give him the section on the day while Nick Bondeau on peg 27 managed 59½lbs to take the final section and his first ever pick up in a match . All in all a good day, with everyone having some fish and I'm sure it won't be the last time that the Marsh and Morefax clubs get together for a friendly Knock Up .

Marsh AC club match.

It's off down to Hartleylands fishery at Cranbrook in Kent for another club match today. We've booked the whole of Nick's Lake and invited a few guests so hopefully all will have a decent day . A dark damp picture greeted me as I looked out of the window this morning and as I loaded the car there was a definite chill in the air , Autumn had well and truly arrived .
By 7·15am I was sitting down in the Knox-Bridge Café for a 'Full English' and I was soon joined by Mick the Chippy who was my guest for the day while John, Martin & Zack were soon followed by Graham, Al, Keith and Pete Thompson, all in search of some pre-match sustenance . So with breakfast taken care of it was back to the cars and off to the fishery for the draw.

Most of the usual suspects were present and with the sun beaming down hopes were high for a decent days fishing, though a cool north easterly wind made sure that everyone was glad that they were well wrapped up . Into the draw bag and peg 4 revealed itself as my home for the day at head, a nice short walk once I'd moved my car and I would have the sun on me all day to take the edge off the chill . I had Martin for company on my right on peg 2, while to my left I had Dave Collier along with daughter Chrissy and her partner Nick on pegs 7, 8 & 9.

Set up for the day would be nice and simple. Feeder rod with a small method feeder to fish to the island and 3 pole rigs. the 3 pole rigs were all Malman 4x12 Adam's on 0·16 Power Match with size 18 QM1 hooks set at various depths to cover from the margins where I had around 2ft out to 5mtrs were there was around 4ft. I wasn't planning to fish any further out on the pole as the wind would make it awkward. Bait today was my usual selection of GOT Baits soft hookers, expanders and 6mm hard pellets while feed would just be a mix of 4 & 6mm hard pellets and some groundbait for the method.

While I waited for the All-In I had a few misgivings in that I hadn't seen many fish showing on what is normally a very prolific venue and the water had what I can only describe as a cloudy look to it as the algae was starting to break down with the onset of the cooler weather. Anyway at 10am Dave blew the whistle for the All-In and I cupped 2 pots of pellets in on the 5mtr line and fed both margins before going out to the island with the method feeder. Ken seemed to be straight into a few fish on the waggler ......

....... while Dave, Chrissy and Nick all seemed to be into fish as well . Twenty minutes in and I hadn't had as much as a knock on the method which was very unusual , however I noticed a couple of bubbles on the 5mtr line and soon swapped over to the pole line.

A couple of lift and drops and the float slid away, the culprit being a mint little Common of around a pound to get me underway .
Now I wish I could say that this was the start of a major bagging session but if I did I would be telling porkies . I did start to put a few fish together but it was far from fast and furious despite Jean arriving with a welcome mug of coffee . Two hours in and I'd only managed 10 small Carp from the 5mtr line and despite another couple of looks across on the method, had still not had as much as a tap on it .

Going nowhere fast I re-fed both pole lines and went for a stroll with the camera to try and suss out how others were catching, if indeed they were. Dave was dropping a bait by the young willow in his left margin and was soon into a fish as I watched ......

Chris was a picture of concentration and while he was getting quite a few small silvers had only had 2 small carp to go with them and boost his catch .......

Keith was having a bit of a struggle, but being comfortably ahead in the points table was using the day to experiment fishing paste which was producing some very positive bites but little in the way of fish .......

....... while Clive wasn't fairing much better, and I'm sure I heard him telling his drawing hand that he'd be teaching it another sharp lesson after today .......

Carrying on round I came to Colin who I knew had been down a couple of times practising during the week along with Tony, Terry and Dave. He'd caught well on paste (no surprise there ) but the drop in temperature looked to have scuppered his plans as he was having a struggle today .......

...... on the next peg Kevin had been struggling too, but he was just in the process of landing a small Carp, so hopefully things would start to pick up for him ......

 Al was ticking along and owning up to around 15 Carp in the net and Pete was a little frustrated that his plans for a days skimmer bashing was being thwarted by the fact that the skimmers were to small and Carp kept muscling in on the act .......

Mick seemed happy enough with his lot and was getting a few fishing the method but felt that he was waiting just a little to long between bites to do any real damage .......

Terry was another of those anglers who was finding that the fishing today bore no resemblance to that which he'd experienced earlier on in the week ......

Ken's bright start had slowed somewhat though he was still picking up the odd fish on the waggler and Graham was another of those who was finding to many small silvers and not enough Carp in the mix ......

Back at my peg it was just a case of getting my head down and getting the most from my peg for the rest of the match ......

It was far from fast and furious but by working away at it, constantly lifting, dropping and dragging the rig I kept picking up the odd Carp nothing bigger than 2 pounds and mostly smaller. My feeder line just refused to produce a fish despite another couple of looks and neither margin line produced a bite either . Dave's fish had slowed right up on him as well, but he'd got off to such a good start that I knew he was out of my reach. John and Zack came round to collect Martin as they were leaving early and John took the honours in the 3 way car sweep with his 18½lbs . I managed a bit of a spurt with 10 Carp in the last hour and when Dave blew the whistle for the All-Out at 4pm I'd managed 36 Carp.

So to the Weigh-In and my fish gave me a weight of 45¾lbs which would be good enough for a section win on the day . Chrissy's 35½lbs had beaten Nick's 27lbs, but Dave had won the family battle with a very decent 72¼lbs for 2nd overall . Keith had suffered his worst result of the series with just 12¾lbs to show for his efforts , while Clive's 45¾lbs tied my weight . Tony's 55½lbs secured 3rd on the day , but todays winner was Al with a fine 84½lbs . Pete ended with a creditable 53½lbs for 4th on his first ever visit to the fishery , while Mick managed 41¾lbs and Ken took the honours from the car park bank with 32½lbs .

So that's it for this years Marsh AC matches. Thanks to Dave for organising yet another enjoyable series of matches .
Well Done to Keith, Mr Consistent topping the points table . Thanks to all the members and guests who have fished, you're the ones who make it such an enjoyable day out each and every time .

Finally a special Thank You to Jean for those mugs of coffee during the matches, they were much appreciated .

The club doesn't operate a Championship as such but this year Dave's collated a table of the seasons results using a 30 point system. Guests results were not included in the table. As you can see Keith has been Mr Consistent over the course of the season coming out on top with 212 points  while Tony was Runner-Up with 204 points and Colin finished 3rd on 194 points .

(d.n.f. = Did not Fish.   30 pts = Match Winner.)

Kev the Catch's

 50th Birthday Bash

I'm off to Colemans Cottage Fishery in Essex today at the invitation of Kevin Loveland for a days fishing on Cottage Lake to celebrate his 50th Birthday . It will take the form of a small knock-up match, but the emphasis will be very firmly on enjoying the day and will no doubt finish off with tea and cakes in the clubhouse .

The alarm going off and a nudge in the ribs from Maria saw me rising just after 5·30am, our cats think an alarm clock ringing is a dinner bell, so having washed and dressed they were fed, while a large cup of coffee took care of my needs before loading up the car and setting off. A nice smooth trip down saw me pulling into the car park around 7·45am . First things first so it was straight into the clubhouse where I bumped into fellow Maggotdrowner Ron B who was here for a match with his club. One of Colemans excellent breakfasts was soon dispatched and the banter started to flow as todays participants assembled for the day ahead .

Keith, Terry and Pete set off to peg the lake while Dave collected the pools for the day, our only outlay as Kevin had kindly paid for the lake today . With the lads back from pegging out it was time for the draw. Peg7 proved to be mine for today so it was off to the car park to collect our kit and make our way over to the lake. As I made my way round to the riverside bank it was soon obvious that we were in for some fun today as some joker had placed my peg number on a culvert with half a forest in front of it, realising this was obviously a mistake I settled for the perfectly fishable peg a couple of paces further on . For company today I had Terry to my left on peg 6 and Colin to my right on peg 8.

Settling into the peg I recognised it as the one that Colin had won from when we fished the lake last October, while I could see Pete Thompson settling into the peg that I'd fished. Thankfully although the platform resembled a ski slope the adjustable legs on my box and footplate soon sorted that out. I had trees overhanging the water to the left and right which were the two obvious lines to fish so set up a couple of Malman 4x12 Adam's on 0·20 Power Match with size 14 QM1 hooks to fish at 5mtrs to the trees on the deck and a MW HC margin again on 0·20 with size 14 Guru QM1 for the left hand margin, though it seemed to be a bit of a snag pit and might prove awkward to get a fish out of it. Bait for today was simply a selection of GOT Baits soft hookers and 6mm hard pellets while feed would just be a mix of 4 & 6mm hard pellets. Keith put in an appearance prior to the off snapping a few photos for his blog and caught me setting up a top kit ........

So 10am and Dave blew the whistle for the All-In and I fed a couple of pots of mixed pellets into both swims and shipped a soft hooker out to the left hand swim. I was going to concentrate on this line as I had it to myself, and Colin would be fishing to the other side of the right hand one. A couple of lightning fast bites followed, both of which I missed, putting them down to silvers.
Rather than keep shipping back and forth I changed to a banded 6mm hard pellet, but before I could ship back out I could see Pete playing his first fish of the day ........

..... obviously a Carp it was giving a good account of itself, but Pete soon had it under control and safely in the net . So out with my rig with a pouch of pellet over the top and after lifting and dropping the rig a few times the float buried and a quick lift resulted in the elastic coming out, not a big fish but a small Mirror of around 2lbs that was soon in the net to getting me off the mark . Jean put in an appearance with a welcome cup of coffee and all was right with the world .

 A further 6 carp followed in the first hour which as far as I could make out was as good as anyone else. I'd seen plenty of elastic coming out on Keith and Dave's pegs, and the grapevine reckoned that Clive had a couple of lumps early doors, but sport seemed generally slow around the Lake. In fact Clive came for a stroll round to see how others were doing, a sure sign that it wasn't going well for him . handily though he was just in time to get an action shot of me landing what would prove to be my biggest fish of the day ......

Colin was struggling for a bite, and I'd not had any indications on the couple of occasions that I'd dropped into my right hand line, but I'd heard a bit of splashing coming from my left, so obviously Terry was getting a bit of action . I was getting little spurts of action, 1 or 2 fish then a gap before a bit more action, the vast majority of my fish were Carp with just the occasional silver, while Pete who seemed to be catching at a similar rate appeared to be getting a much larger percentage of silvers .

I've been having a bit of trouble with my right knee for a while and today it was really giving me grief so around half way through I decided to have a stroll as my knee felt like it was starting to seize up. Looking across I could see that Keith already had 3 nets in!!! was he bagging or just being prepared?........

Colin had at last got a couple in the net, but Martin was confessing to being behind his young son Harry in the catching stakes . Judy had moved to her inside line as the wind made things awkward on her longer line. I then arrived at the Birthday Boy himself, and I have to say that the mood was far from celebratory, probably due to the fact that he hadn't had as much as a bite at that point ......

Clive was wearing that well worn expression of his once more, he'd had a few early fish, but hadn't had a bite for a couple of hours and was beginning to wonder where the next one was coming from ........

A bit further round and Dave was admitting to having a few in his usual cagey way , while Keith was making light of the fact that he had those 3 nets in . I thought I'd better take a spare for myself while I was round there though just in case. Tony was having a bit of a mare with fish obviously in his peg but refusing to get their heads down and have a feed.......

 Pete was having a short stroll by then having been seen off by a rather sizable lump down his margin . Terry had the reasonably contented look of a man who was steadily putting a bag together from under the tree to his left .......

Back out to the edge of the tree at 5mtrs once more and it was just a question of steady away, Jean had provided another cup of coffee and slowly and surely I managed to keep the Carp coming in ones and twos for the remainder of the match.......

 By the time that Dave blew the whistle for the All-Out I had 30 Carp to show for my efforts and half a dozen silvers which hopefully would give me somewhere around 65lbs . We soon had our kit packed away and the weigh-in reached us quite quickly so obviously there hadn't been to many big weights. Pete's 36½lbs leading by the time they got to Terry. Terry had indeed been quietly been doing the business and put a fine 50½lbs on the scales that would be good enough for third place on the day . I was next up and my fish weighed in at an even 74lbs which as it transpired was enough for the win . Harry beat his dad by 4ozs - 0 while poor Kevin suffered a blank as well .

Clive's 38¼lbs was edged out by Dave's 38¾lbs while Keith was left to rue a biteless last hour when his fish weighed in at 64¾lbs to take 2nd place overall .

So with the weigh-in concluded it was back to the club house for the results where Kev and Jean had arranged for a buffet to be laid on.

Pride of place went to Kev's Birthday Cake ...........

..........and once the big fella had blown his candle out..............

................ and we'd sung a rousing chorus of   everyone tucked in .

I'd like to say A BIG THANK YOU to Kev and Jean for treating us all to the day out in celebration of his 50th , certainly a different way to celebrate a Birthday. Cheers Kev, and may you have many more to come .

Marsh AC club match.

 I'm off to Rockells Farm today for what is probably the most eagerly anticipated club match of the year. Last year Martin Hucker set a new club match record at 383lbs 4ozs  and a new club record total of 2911lbs 14ozs was put on the scales by the 19 anglers that fished the match. A lot can depend on the draw, but an awsome weight is on the cards if the draw bag is kind to you . 

As usual when visiting this venue in the depths of Essex I'd arranged to meet Dave at his place just after 6·30am and follow him and Colin down to the fishery . The weather looked good and a smooth run down saw us pulling up at the lake at around 8am to find Keith and his guest Troy along with Jean and Kev, Martin and John already in attendance. A quick look confirmed that the lake looked in good nick although the water level was a little down.

 Keith, Terry and I set off to peg out while the others arrived and I have to say that every peg looked like it was good for a few fish . Keith expressed a preference for a late peg in the high teens and the general consensus was that either the first 3 or the last 3 would be decent draws . So at 8·30am Dave called the draw, people seemed a little reluctant so I dived in early and found peg 19 to be my home for the day . Keith drew peg 3 and with Clive drawing peg 2 with Terry for company on peg 1 they would definitely be contesting the honours , I had Graham for company on 18 while peg 17 was Dave's for the day and was the one I felt we all had to beat. I had the peg last year and the willow that had been cut back then had re-grown and now offered some cover and would be tailor made for Dave's floater approach today .

So off to the pegs, and I have to say that I couldn't have any complaints with my own peg, with the boards to fish to on my left and some cover to my right, both of which had a depth of no more than 18 inches.

 My approach is pretty single minded in that I tend to ignore any long lines when I fish Rockells as shipping back and forth wastes to much time and look to catch on a top 2 from the off if at all possible. Rigs are Middy in-line paste floats made up on 0·20 power match with a size 12 owner barbless relying on the bait to cock the float. Bait is simply GOT Atomic paste with 4mm pellets (and plenty of them) for feed.

So with such a simple set up I had a bit of time before the All-in and had a stroll down to see Dave who was looking as happy as Larry despite not feeling quite 100%......

Dave had never recorded 300lbs in a match, but today he was definitely sitting on a peg that was more than capable of doing it if he could get off to a good start in the first 3 hour session . We fish two three hour sessions here with a mid point weigh-in as with the prospect of big weights it means that fish aren't retained in nets for to long and it gives the anglers a chance to have a breather as well .

So 10am and Dave blew the whistle for the All-in, a handful of pellet down both margins and in with my first piece of paste next to the boards, a couple of dinks and the float slid away resulting in a perfect little Common of around 8 ozs to get me off the mark and from then on in the bites kept coming regularly , unfortunately not all were connected with, I'd get 4 or 5 on the trot then miss a few or foul hook a couple, but I had 20 fish in the first hour. Peg 19 is pretty tucked away in a corner and you cant really see anyone else to judge how you're doing against them, though I could hear plenty of splashing coming from Graham and Dave's pegs so it was just a question off concentrating on my own peg. By the end of the second hour I had 39 fish, but they were mostly small. In the 3rd hour I upped the size of paste that I was fishing and although the bites slowed a bit I started to pick up a better stamp of fish. Judy popped round to see how I was doing, but it coincided with one of those frustrating periods of lots of missed bites and by the time that Dave blew the whistle to signal the end of the morning session I had 55 fish on the clicker and was hoping for somewhere around the ton.

The weigh-in started from my peg and I recorded exactly 100lbs . Graham had 84½lbs while Dave had a much better stamp of fish for 150½lbs and top weigh of the morning . Martin on peg 13 had also fished floaters for 101½lbs. Colin had also had a good morning on peg 8, making the most of the cover afforded from the overhanging willow on his peg and again fishing floaters for a fine 144¼lbs . The point pegs hadn't really produced as expected, lots of small fish, but not enough of the better stamp, with Keith's 89¾lbs being the best weight of the group . I'd fished Keith's peg 2 years ago though and expected it to fish much better in the second session. However 1095½lbs had been weighed in by the 18 anglers including four 'Tons', an average of just over 60lbs per angler so not too shabby .

By the time we all returned to our pegs and sorted ourselves out it was 2·15pm before Dave signalled the All-in for the second session. I'd fed a couple of pints of pellet into both of the margins prior to the end of the first session and was hopeful that it was enough to hold the fish during the break, and it seemed that it had been a success as I had a fish first put in .

Well the second session pretty much followed the pattern of the first, though I did manage to pick up a few more better fish, but nothing over 4lbs. Dave however was definitely getting a better stamp of fish and was looking good I felt for an overall win . Anyway after a further 3 hours Dave called the All-out for the second and final time today. I had 78 fish on the clicker this time and hoped they would be enough to take me to around 200lbs for the session if I had enough better sized fish, but I would have to wait and see as the weigh in would run in the opposite direction this time, starting from peg 1.

So with the gear back at the car park it was time to start the weigh in. Terry and Clive had both improved on their morning sessions with 128¼lbs and 123¼lbs respectively . Keith had had a standout session though, his 2 nets finally registering 219¼lbs for an overall weight of 309lbs which would prove to be good enough for 3rd on the day .

 John on peg five managed 101½lbs in the afternoon . Colin however had gone from strength to strength with 225lbs and a total of 369¼lbs to take the win on the day . Martin had another busy session putting 158¼lbs onto the scales . Dave had 3 nets in which gave him 193¾lbs, comfortably taking him past his own 300lb target for a total weight of 344¼lbs , a new PB match weigh giving him 2nd on the day . My own weight of 169¼ proved as I feared that I had to many small fish, but the total of 269¼lbs still gave me 4th on the day .

So back to the car park for the results. A total of 2878¾lbs had been weighed in on the day, just short of our record, still an incredible average of 159lbs per angler !!!!!!! with 3 'Triple Tons', 2 'Double Tons' and a further  6 'Tons' overall a phenomenal days fishing by any standards . Roll on next years match, looks like I may have to brush up on my floater fishing .

Maggotdrowning.com

Badpegpicker's Southern Pairs 2010.

 It was off down to a Private Lake in East Sussex today for me to fish the Southern Pairs Match organised by Steve Oswick aka badpegpicker through the Maggotdrowning.com forum. The weather looked pretty promising as I loaded up the car and after a stop in Bromley for a spot of breakfast I made good time and pulled into the fishery car park around 8·10am .

 There was a good turn out come draw time, but unfortunately we had one no show, not a problem normally, but with this being a Pairs match a bit of a problem . The solution decided on was that after the draw the angler short of a partner would be allowed to count his weight twice, and that angler turned out to be Keith(shallowman)Haynes .

 I had found myself with peg 3 on the dam wall. Keith(gandhi) had drawn peg 1, and I had Steve on peg 2...........

   and Keith(keith74)Powell on peg 4 in the corner for immediate company today..........

My Pairs partner for the day was Paul(nomorelongwalks)East who had drawn peg 13. Mark(moleman)Hathaway was tucked away behind the island on peg 11 which was effectively an end peg meaning that he and Keith would have to be in with a chance as they are both more than capable of making the most of decent draws .

Now I don't fish the lake that much, but I tend to treat it in a similar way to Rolfs as there's a decent head of Carp present that run into double figures though the average is probably around the 6lbs mark, and with only Carp and Tench counting in todays match I just set up 3 rigs. A Malman 4x12 Adam on 0·20 Power Match with a size 14 QM1 hook for the 5mtr line on the deck, an a similarly rigged Malman Paste float but with a size 12 Ashima hook for paste while a 0·2 MW HC margin again on 0·20 with a size 14 Guru QM1 was set up to fish the margins and double up as an up in the water rig if needed. Bait for today was a mix of hard pellets, corn and GOT Baits soft hookers and Atomic paste with 4mm pellets for feed.

With a bit of time to go before the All-In I took a quick stroll to see where others were drawn. Clive was ready for action on peg 16 and guaranteed at least one bite today .....

 Sven was trying to pick a few bits of local knowledge from Bill's brain, but unfortunately the strain appeared to be getting to Bill (it's not easy trying to hold a stomach that size in ).......

 I managed to get back just before Steve called the All-In. I shipped out a couple of pots of pellet and corn to 5mtrs and fed a couple of handfuls of pellet down the margins before shipping a grain of corn out to 5mtrs.............

Steve was into a fish first put in, but only briefly as it shed the hook however he was in again straight after, and soon had that one safely in the net . A couple of people had taken quick fish and it looked as if Jeff on peg 6 was in for a good match as he was soon into fish fishing the method out toward the island.

Fifteen minutes in and a change to banded 6mm pellet saw me into my first fish, a fighting fit Mirror of around 6lbs that was more than welcome to get me off the mark . However it was soon obvious that nobody was really taking it apart. It took me another twenty minutes before I got another bite, A Common this time, slightly smaller than the first fish but very welcome none the less. Jean strolled down with a very welcome cup of coffee and reported that things were slow all round. After around 1½hours I'd managed another couple of Carp when fellow Jinx Squad member Jon Hatch appeared, He was visiting relatives locally and had snuck down to the lake to see how we were all doing, it was a shame he couldn't fish, but family has to come first at times .

By 1·30pm I couldn't buy a bite so re-fed the 5mtr line quite heavily and took a stroll with the camera. Keith on peg 1 was having a frustrating time trying to work out just where in his swim his next bite would come from ......

 Dave on peg 18 was attached to what appeared to be a decent fish that was giving him a bit of a run around, but he was slowly gaining the upper hand .......

 Clive was plugging away but only had a couple of fish to show for his efforts at this stage and had that look that I've seen before (normally when he's on peg 32 at Rolfs ).........

 Bill was into a decent fish on the feeder and enjoying every minute of it, giving Clive a running commentary alluding to the final destination of the 'Golden Nugget' involved in their side bet ........

 Then I got to my Pairs partner Paul. I have to say that his news didn't inspire me when it came to our chances of framing in the match as he hadn't had a single fish apart from Perch which didn't count today . Kevin was admitting to 3 fish on peg 12 but was being handicapped by an aching shoulder meaning that he couldn't fish right across to the island........

 Fellow Chelsea supporter Hathers was into a fish as I arrived and certainly seemed to be going well for at least a section win, though he was a tad put out at having to return 5 chub weighing around a pound a piece as they didn't count today ........

 Richie(BME) seemed happy enough, this really isn't his normal type of fishing being more of a river man, but he had a Carp in the net that he was sure was a new PB so was well chuffed . Terry was sitting it out on the feeder at peg 7 and owning up to 4 in the net.......

 Jeff who I felt was well away for the section had been alternating between the method and the pellet waggler had it seemed had a bit of trouble keeping the fish on the hook and while he appeared to have been catching well, had lost a few to many for his liking before he could get them to the net ......

 Nick on peg 5 was having a bit of a grueller, he's just getting back into his match fishing having had a bit of a lay off and only had a single carp to show for his efforts . Keith on peg 4 as just slipping the net under a Carp as I arrived , so despite him being a Spurs supporter I did the decent thing and took a picture of it for him ......

 Back to my peg and there were a few bubbles showing at 5mtrs, and first put in produced a fifth Carp for me almost straight away, a better fish of around 8lbs , but try as I might I couldn't tempt another bite after a further 30 minutes. Time for a look in the margins. Lowering a grain of corn into the right hand margin the float cocked and disappeared. The fish gave a good account of itself.............

 .......... before finally slipping over the net, a really chunky Mirror of around 10lbs . Time to take a look down the left hand margin and once again an instant response saw another fish power off .......

 ...... unfortunately it totally trashed the margin swim in it's efforts to make good its escape, but thankfully it was unsuccessful and was soon safely in the net, another decent Mirror . That however was all the action from the margins as yet again the bites dried up.

Steve was trying everything and after going shallow finally managed his 3rd fish of the day, not before it had given him a bit of a run around though . I'd managed another couple of small carp from my 5mtr line, but with half an hour to go I was quite looking forward to the All-Out to put an end to a frustrating day. However at that point it all started to go right for me and in the final 30 minutes I managed to catch another 5 Carp before Steve called the All-Out. It just goes to show that you never can tell, it was just a pity that they didn't turn up a bit earlier .

So as we packed away the inquest started. Keith strolled round from peg 4 to hand me a 'Golden Nugget' that had been our side bet, all the sweeter coming from a Spurs fan , and though I feared that I would have to hand it onto Hathers I knew he would appreciate its origin . As we waited to start the weigh-in at peg 1 Paul strolled past with the news that he had nothing to weigh, so that was us out of the running before the weigh-in had begun .

Keith started the ball rolling with a hard earned 53¼lbs. My fish came in at a level 73lbs which surprisingly gave me the section win as Jeff put 68¾lbs on the scales. Richie had his big Carp weighed separately, and indeed it was a new PB for him at 15¾lbs and his smile said it all ........

 Hathers had topped the weight today with 95¼lbs and Kev had managed 42lbs despite his shoulder. Greg on peg 14 had obviously nicked all Paul's fish to record 57¼lbs . Bill had pipped Clive in the Battle of the Nuggets, While Keith was looking to double up having recorded 53¾lbs .

So back to the car park where Steve announced the results. and in first place on the day and the MD's Southern Pairs Winners 2010 were Keith Ashby & Mark Hathaway with 5 points . 2nd was Keith Haynes & Keith Haynes with 6 points , while Jeff Driscoll & Clive Pritchard took 3rd with 9 points .

All in all a hard days fishing, but fished in the right attitude by the anglers who made it a good day .
A Big Thank You to Steve for organising the match and Congratulations to all the Winners.
Same again next year?

Pairs Result

Individual Result

Jinx Match 6

Well it's the Final Jinx Match of the year today, and it's still all to play for with Malc, Clive and myself all still in with a chance of individual glory . It's been a fantastic Series this year , really enjoyable and we're finishing off with a BBQ at the end of the match . The cats decided they wanted feeding and got me up early this morning so the car was soon loaded up and found it's way straight to The Jimmy Griddle in Battersea for my customary 'Full English' before transporting me to Rolfs .

Pulling into the car park just after 9am there were a good few people present already as they had fished the Friday Night Open and were just starting to surface from their slumbers, In fact the first friendly face to great me was Dai's German Shepherd 'Gina'......

 Time for a coffee and a chat and it seemed that the night match hadn't fished that well, which most put down to low oxygen levels, and with that being the case John soon had the aerators and the pump up and running, then I set off to help Malc,Liam and John pack away the lights that had been set up from the previous night.

Just as we were finishing Malc's wife Julie put in an appearance, somehow Malc had persuaded her to come down and camp in a tent over the weekend, although she's not keen on either fishing or camping . It's taken me 9 years to meet this Saint, although I've spoken to her over the phone on numerous occasions, though it was a bit of a worry as it meant for the first time ever the whole Jinx Clan  would be in attendance at a Jinx Match !!!!!!!!!!!

So with the car park filling up Nick's wife Lisa arrived with a batch of homemade Eccles cakes, and while we sampled them (and very nice they were too ) talk turned to what lay ahead, and the general consensus was that it would probably be hard.
Draw time approached at 12ish and with B section being my home for the day and the honour of drawing first having won my section on the last match it meant that Peg13 was lurking in the bag for me, much to everyones amusement. Plunging my hand into the bag I was rewarded with....................................... peg 29 , Mat being the lucky angler on Peg13 today.

Well at least it meant a nice short walk, but with Simon on peg 32 and Dave Moore on peg 9 I was going to have my work cut out today.

I had Nick Jones, making a welcome return as a guest to my left on peg 30 and Steve(steak) my pairs partner to my right on peg 28 for company today. With a cloudy grey sky which the sun was trying to break through and a strong south westerly wind blowing down into the little lake today I couldn't help feeling that we could be in for a bit of a grueller .

The rigs were simple and freshly tied as we had plenty of time before the 1·30 pm start, consisting of a couple of Malman 4x12 Adam's on 0·20 Power Match with a size 14 QM1 hooks for the 5mtr line on the deck while a 0·2 MW HC margin again on 0·20 with a size 14 Guru QM1 was set up to fish to the bushes in the margins. I also set up my feeder rod as a back up, but was hoping I wouldn't need it. Bait for today would be the usual variety of hard fishery pellets, corn and GOT Baits soft hookers.

So at 1·30pm John rang the fishery bell to signal the All-In. A couple of pots of pellet and corn and a handful of pellet to each bush took care of the feed before a banded 8mm was shipped out to the 5mtr line.

A few people were quickly into fish, so perhaps a good day was in the offing after all, indeed after 5 minutes my float buried and I lifted into what was obviously a Carp and within a couple of minutes a Common of around 8lbs was safely in the keepnet . However within 20 minutes the vast majority of the big lake appeared to switch off, in fact for the next 2 hours all I managed to add was a Bream of around 2½lbs and a few Roach. Steve was using worm but all he could find were small Perch no matter where he tried in his peg, though he was briefly attached to a Carp that was obviously foul hooked before it trashed his rig .

Indeed it was turning into the predicted grueller, though Simon was picking of the odd fish fishing to the bush on peg 32....

 ...... and along with a couple of weigher's he also managed a Chub of 4lbs which was a new PB for him  ......

 Jean arrived with a very welcome cup of coffee  while I had a look on the feeder and managed to nick another Carp of around 6lbs, but with Dave on peg 9.........

 ........... and Steve on peg 11 .......

 ....... still taking the odd fish it wasn't enough, so after re-feeding the peg it was time to let it settle and take a walk with the camera.

Paul's wife Jayne had pulled peg 8 out of the bag for him today and I caught him in the middle of a spirited fight with one of the pegs residents  .......

 Nick(monkey) and Jon were the Pink Hat wearers for this match  and Nick was having a bit of a mare on peg 5  and staring another Minxing firmly in the face despite support from Lisa and son Josh today......

 I could see Gem down on peg 38, tucked up in her fleece against the wind and with weigher's on the board leaving more than a few of us worried  ......

 A chat with Tony on peg 26 revealed that silvers were all he could muster and he was just hoping the Carp would turn up for him before the end of the match.......

Paul was next up on peg 25 and was positively 'bagging', the trouble was that they were all small silvers instead of the hoped for Carp, but fishing maggot was probably asking for it ......

Next up was Dave Collier on peg 23 admitting to a couple of carp and apparently sharing the bush between their pegs with Malc in an attempt to extract a few more from his peg......

 Malc for his part was fishing his usual match as close into the bank as he could get while keeping an eye out for how Clive was doing on peg 20.......

 Now Clive it has to be said isn't exactly enamoured with peg 20 , but with the fishing being hard for everyone was giving it his best shot and owning up to 3 Carp at that point......

 Geoff on peg 19 was happy enough with his lot and asked me to pop along with my camera at the weigh in as he had a couple of Perch that he wanted a picture of  .......

 So back top my peg, Steve was still working his way through what had to be one of the largest shoals of small Perch going, while the tip of my pole float was as dry as a bone, stubbornly refusing to go under and get wet . However it was Mat over on Peg13 who was taking a proper beating from the peg as all he had to show for his efforts was a couple of Roach  .......

 Well with around an hour to go, wonder of wonders, my float slid away , I almost missed it as it caught me by surprise, it gave a really good account of itself and although it didn't feel like a really heavy fish it took a surprisingly large amount of elastic out of the top kit, so much so that I was forced to land it on a top3......

 but a fish is a fish when you're struggling and I was happy just to see the Carp nestling safely in the net . I actually managed to catch another 4 after that, but in all honesty I could have done with another hour before the All-Out was called at 6·30pm, because the fish were bubbling in my swim as we packed away .

It transpired that a few of the lads that were stopping over and travelling back on Sunday started the Weigh-in almost immediately and by the time I'd packed away they were a good half way round the lake. Ade had kicked things off with a level 65lbs from peg 34 while Gem had set The Minx Mark at 34¼lbs from peg 38 . Budgie had managed a very creditable 84lbs from peg 40 but it would only be good enough for 2nd in section and 2nd overall on the day  as Terry on peg 2 had taken 98lbs 6ozs for the section win and his first ever Match win . Steve's 62¼lbs gave him 2nd in B section, while Kevin Loveland weighed 49¾lbs to win C section. Geoff's 44½lbs took 2nd in section and I caught up in time to photograph his 2 Perch......

 ........ my fish came to 41¼lbs but Simon won B section with a fine 68¾lbs and 3rd overall on the day .

So with the Weigh-in complete Malc retired to work out the final positions while we tucked into the BBQ prepared by John and the ladies  ..........

 Nick had brought some home brew for us to try and very palatable it was as well , while Burgers , sausages, chicken etc all found a willing home as the days events were discussed .......

Then Malc stepped up to Thank John and Pauline on behalf of the whole Jinx Squad for allowing us to run the series at the lake  before finally announcing the series result with the rider that it was all subject to verification as it was so close, but the winner of the Series was Clive  at long last having been runner up for the 2 previous years. 3 points back in 2nd place was Malc (The Jinx) , who tied with me on points, but beat me on aggregate weight to leave me in 3rd place .

However Malc  and Simon  had triumphed in the Pairs, while Clive took 2nd place   with his partner Ade  and 3rd place went to Gem (The Minx)  and her partner Budgie .

So with yet another Jinx Series coming to a close farewells were said and plans laid for next year, but as I made my way back to the car park in the gathering gloom I spotted Liam sitting on peg 32 having a go with Simons tackle and he appeared to be playing a Carp.......

..... which was soon landed with Simon acting as Liam's ghillie and proudly displayed for the camera  .......

  Scary really as it looks like we'll have yet another Jinx  to contend with in the future .

OVERALL RESULT