Jinx Match 4

Well after a break of 4 weeks I'm getting back on the bank side today with a return to Rolfs Lake for the 4th Jinx Match . Ade (Slim Shady) is in possession of the PINK HAT today, as is Paul D who missed his turn on the third match through illness so there's bound to be plenty of banter flying about. Initial thoughts when I looked out of the window this morning were that it looked like a lovely day to be going fishing. As usual a full English  was the order of the day at my favorite café in Battersea en route to the lake, and a smooth run down saw me pulling into the car park just after 10am.

A few were already in attendance as there had been a Friday night Open match that they'd fished and stopped over. As usual the car park soon filled up as groups discussed the prospects for the day ahead. Hopefully the feed that had gone in overnight would find the fish with their heads down and ready to have a serious munch. With the 3 sections having been rotated on the previous 3 matches, there was going to be a fresh draw today to decide the sections for the final 3 matches. Unfortunately Ade wasn't in attendance for his turn on the PINK HAT so Gem decided to wear it herself, but Paul D was and proudly wearing his . Malc had the kids with him once more, so Crystal was dispatched with Liam to collect the 'Guess the Weight' monies, so that she wouldn't feel to bored , and with that out of the way it was time for the draw.

Plunging my hand into the draw bag I found peg 18 was to be my home for the day. I knew that Gem had fished it on the night match so had a quick chat with her to find out how she'd fished it before loading up my gear for the short stroll round there . For company today I had Steve Wilson on peg 17 while Steve(steak) my pairs partner was out of site on peg 19.

It's a peg that I hadn't fished previously. It's a decent looking peg with the large bush separating it from peg 19 on the left and another bush in the right hand margin, but it hadn't produced a 'Ton+' since May 22nd. My plan of attack for today would be 2 margin swims at around 4mtrs that Gem had fished the night before and a line straight out at around 9mtrs.

  I set up 3 rigs, a Malman Adam on 0·20 with a size 16 Guru QM1 that would cover both margin swims. A MW 0·4 Power Diamond again on 0·20 with a size 16 Guru QM1 for on the deck at 9mtrs where I had around 5 ft of depth and finally a MW Cookie on a similar set up for up in the water over the 9mtr line. Peg 18 is one of the pegs that you can't use a rod on in this series, so they stayed in the holdall.
Bait and feed was taken care of by 6 & 8mm fishery pellets and some sweetcorn, along with various soft hookers.

So at 1·30pm Malc called the All-In. I shipped out 2 large pots of mixed pellets and sweetcorn to 9mtrs, fed 2 good handfuls of pellet into the 2 margin swims and went straight out to 9mtrs with an 8mm banded pellet on the hook. The float settled and 5 seconds later buried!!!! and after a spirited fight a chunky Mirror of around 7lbs was safely in the net to get me off the mark .
Next put in and the float was soon away, this time I could feel straight away that the fish was foul hooked and despite my best efforts to get it in, all I was left to show for it was a large scale on the hook . Now foul hookers can be a bit of a nightmare at Rolfs so I decided to catapult my feed in from that point, hopefully spreading the fish out a bit, rather than group them in too tight an area.

At this point a triumphal scream was heard from Gem who was on Peg 9, it signified that she had her first fish safely in the net and meant that the other 25 anglers were staring down the barrel at a Minxing and a chance of wearing THE PINK HAT, especially as Peg 9 has been consistently been producing big weights, and Eddie TG had arrived with his camera and was bound to give her some coaching during the match .

Next put in for me produced a bit of a surprise in the form of a large skimmer, not quite what I was after, but welcome none the less . Steve was also off the mark but was already starting to suffer with foul hookers that would go on to frustrate him throughout the match . Over on the Car Park bank I'd noticed that Nick on Peg 26 had already been up to the weigh station with a couple of fish.......

.... Now Nick started fishing The Jinx Series back in 2005 and while he would only class himself as a pleasure angler, his one ambition is to catch a 'Ton' and we've all been willing him on to achieve it, but so far in 6 years of Jinx matches he's been thwarted, but he was off to a decent start today on a peg with a bit of form, so fingers crossed for him .

Tony was opposite me on Peg 22 and seemed to be having a bit of a struggle, indeed he'd been unfortunate enough to bust a top kit trying to keep a fish out of the bush to his left earlier on, and things wouldn't improve as he would break another later in the match ........

While Dave Moore next to Tony on Peg 23 had also started quietly and was struggling to make anything happen, though he may have been glad of the slow start having fished last nights match as well  .......

After my quick start it had slowed down a bit and after a couple of hours I had 6 carp, but had lost another 5 that had been foul hooked, so I decided to re-feed with 3 big pot fulls and take a stroll with the camera.

Fred, fresh from joining the Rolfs 200+ club with a win on Wednesday's Open was ticking along on Peg 15 and hopeful of a decent last couple of hours down the margin. Simon was tucked away on Peg 14 and owning up to 8 fish, but you could tell that in the back of his mind lay the spectre of a Minxing ......

 Budgie was the lucky occupier of Peg 13 today and reckoned he only had half a dozen skimmers and a solitary carp to show for his efforts, though he appeared to be playing another carp as I walked away.......

 Jon on Peg 11 had the look on his face that told you just how much he was struggling, while Al had gone walkabout from Peg 10 which said it all as he seldom leaves his peg in the course of the match .......

 I arrived at Peg 9 to find The Minx doing battle with what was obviously a decent fish.........

 Of course Eddie was there as well offering a few hints and tips so things weren't looking good, a feeling that was reinforced when Gem put the culprit on the scales, a cracking Common of 16½lbs ......

 Geoff and Dave the Fish were next door on pegs 8 & 7, but things obviously weren't going to plan as Geoff was fishing the feeder!!!! something I haven't seen him do for a long while......

 Dave was also on the feeder, and if anything was having a worse time of it than Geoff which was strange as there had been a load of fish feeding there prior to the match. However they did seem to be cheered up by watching Dave(Webbo) working his way through his supply of feeders over on Peg 34 as a number of carp took a tour of the lilies in his peg ......

 Malc was on Peg 5, sitting behind him were Crystal & Liam, Crystal looked a little bored so Liam decided she needed his help to smile for the camera .......

 Clive on Peg 4 was just retrieving a rig from a tree when I arrived. He'd had a decent start then lost the fish so had decided to take a look down the margin toward the corner ......

 Nick Williams was over on Peg 38 and it seemed that the peg was producing a few for him today ......

 Dai on Peg 36 however had that fixed expression that only comes from having a grueller, while watching almost everyone else putting fish in their nets ......

 So back to my peg and with a few bubbles coming up at 9mtrs my first put in resulted in................ another foul hooker .
I decided at this point to fish the 6mm hard pellets that I was feeding and that seemed to make the difference. 3 carp and another couple of decent skimmers followed in short order. The one thing puzzling me however is the lack of weigher's I've had fishing at Rolfs this year, in the three previous matches I've only had two weigher's that weighed 10lbs and 13lbs. You really need a few bonus fish to do the decent weights, but I just haven't been able to find them. Still fortunately for me the fish kept coming regularly a mix of Mirrors and Commons that were all around the 7-8lb mark, though I did manage to find one bonus, a Common of 11½lbs before Malc called the All-Out at 6·30pm. Looking down at my clicker I'd estimated that I had around 125lbs, but with rumours of Gem having 100lbs of weigher's on the board the Weigh-In was going to be a nervous affair for many of us .

So with the gear back in the car, the general consensus was that an awful lot were on for a Minxing as we made our way to peg 34 to start the Weigh-In. Webbo kicked of things with a level 81lbs. Nick soon set the pace with 123lbs , but Malc put 176¼lbs on the scales, a mark that wouldn't be beaten, giving him the win on the day . Next was the weight that we'd all been secretly dreading , and you could hear the sighs of resignation when 126¾lbs was called for Gem. Fred on peg 15 ran Malc really close with an excellent 173lbs, giving him 2nd on the day . My carp came up 8ozs short of Gem's weight but my 3 skimmers saved the day giving me a total of 133¾lbs which was good enough for 3rd overall . The largest cheer of the day was reserved for Nick (Monkey) who recorded 109¾lbs to finally get his 'Ton' after 6 years of trying. Nice one Nick .

So while Malc sorted the results Paul Roberts provided the cabaret as he went on to retrieve a keepnet fitting he needed for his next days match. Well it would be rude not to record the event wouldn't it ........

 So with that over and the results announced it just remained for The Minx to decide on the lucky recipient of THE PINK HAT for the next match, and she was spoiled for choice with the line up of The Minxed today, but after a couple of suspected heart attacks among the assembled candidates ......

............. it came to rest on Clive .

 Well that should be that, but someone reminded Nick that he'd once said that if he ever caught his 'Ton' he'd jump in the Lake 'Fisho' style. Well Top Fella, true to his word he went for it and luckily Simon caught it on Video to save it for posterity ......

OVERALL RESULT

Names in PINK are those that were MINXED

SECTION RESULTS

Jinx Match 3

Well it's Saturday once again and that means it's time for the 3rd Jinx Match. It looked like a lovely summers day in prospect when I pulled back the curtains today and the sun streamed through the window . However I soon revised those thoughts as I loaded the car and a distinctly chill wind lowered the temperature somewhat. Definitely an excuse for a Full English  en route to the lake. Anyway, good time was made and I pulled into the car park at Rolf's around 10·15am.
A good few of the lads were already in attendance, and with a fresh mug of coffee the prospects for the day ahead were soon under discussion as we waited for the draw .....

Now of course Paul D was going to be the owner of THE PINK HAT today. Unfortunately his wife had phoned Malc the previous evening to say that he was ill and wouldn't be there!!!!! Well Gem decided to put the names of those previously Minxed on the first 2 matches into THE PINK HAT to find a substitute owner for the day........................... and the lucky winner was Steve Wilson ..............

On to the draw and I'm in Section B today, the home of my nemisis...... PEG13 .
In to the bag I plunged my hand, and thankfully found peg10 was to be mine for the day, Simon being the lucky occupant of PEG13   for today.........

Now I've never fished peg 10 before so a quick chat with John soon gave me some idea of what to expect as he'd fished it on the Wednesday Open .
So round to the peg with my gear and I find that I've got Clive for company on peg 11, but surprisingly neither peg 8 or 9 have been drawn today, unfortunately though the right hand bush stops you being able to fish into 9, but it meant that Jon opposite on peg 32 would have a rake of water to go at unopposed. All the while it was growing noticeably cloudier and cooler while the wind put a good ripple on the water and I was glad I'd brought a hoodie with me .

John had recommended targeting the skimmers at 6mtrs on corn at the start, so rig 1 was a 4X12 Malman Adam on 0·20 power match straight through to a size 16 QM1. Rig 2 was a MW 0·4g XT for the 10mtr line on the deck on 0·20 Power Match with a size 14 QM1, while rig 3 was a MW Trev on 0·20 Power Match with a size 14 Drennan Carp Match for pellet and paste down the margin. Setting up my cupping kit the thread snapped off , so no cup kit today. Never mind, I could feed the 6 mtr line and margins by hand and a catapult would suffice for the 10 mtr line. Bait for the day would be various pellets, corn and paste, with the feed being the usual mix of fishery pellets.

So 1pm and Malc called the All-In. A good handfull of pellet with a few bits of corn followed by a couple of bits of corn on the hook out to the 6mtr line ......

Within a minute the float buried and lifting into it I felt a decent sized Carp power off towards peg 9 . It was also obvious that it was foul hooked in the tail and I was going to have trouble doing anything with it! Well after around 5 minutes it was obvious that the hook wasn't about to lose it's hold, so I decided to show it who was boss.  WRONG DECISION!!!!!!! as I lifted the top kit there was a loud BANG next to my right ear , leaving me as the proud owner of a 6 piece top 2 ......

........ but still attached to the fish. Recovering from the shock I had no option other than to hand-line the fish, and thankfully I managed to land it without further drama, a chunky Mirror that weighed 13lbs.

As I returned the fish I could see Jon doing battle, he also had a foul hooker, but thankfully for him he got it in safely with no damage to his kit, a 12lb'er being the culprit in his case .......

Taking a few minutes to compose myself, a look around the lake revealed that things had got off to a generally slow start for most, though Clive had managed a couple of decent skimmers to get himself off the mark, however it wasn't long before both he and Simon decided to take a look down their margins which resulted in them both fishing into peg 12 ......

My swim had been trashed though by the foul hooked charging around it, and for the next hour or so all I could manage were a few small roach and skimmers, regardless of which line I tried. Budgie over on peg 28 appeared to have made the best start to the match having had 2 or 3 carp, though he'd also lost a couple ......

Gem had been heard to let out her customary scream and asked me to witness the fish as she weighed it at 8½lbs, was it an omen of Minxings to come? Hopefully not to many today, as Gem and Malc would be taking a couple of hours out from the match today to visit Malc's mum who is in hospital.
For the majority though, it was proving hard. The Jinx Effect obviously being back with a vengeance for this years series. With around 2 hours gone I decided to re feed and take a stroll with the camera. Clive had that look of studied concentration that only a veteran of countless visits to Rolfs can carry off .......

While Simon's smile was probably trying to hide a fear of a second Minxing in 7 days having been beaten by The Minx along with 21 others on the Wyrley & Essington Canal the previous Sunday ......

Tucked away on peg 14, young Mitch was quietly getting on with it despite wearing some rather dubious headgear of his own ......

Next door on peg 15 was Keith (guesting today) on his first ever visit to Rolfs  . He'd suffered an early demonstration of the power of Rolfs fish when one had given him the run around for 15 minutes on the pellet waggler, and had obviously decided that the pole would be easier on his arms......

Ant was on peg 17 today, Now there's always a bit of friendly rivalry between him and Simps, but he was hoping to at least pull back a result today ........

Fred (milo) was up on peg 18, it's proved to be one of those infuriating pegs this year, a good weight one match and very little the next, but Fred was sticking at it determined to get a few out of it......

Terry on peg 19 was having a mare with just a few small perch to show for his efforts so he had a bit to do to avoid a third straight Minxing this series   .......

Next door on rarely fished peg 20 was Ade (slim shady). Now Ade is probably Gem's number one target for a Minxing this year having avoided having his name added to The Minx List for the best part of 3 years despite a couple of close shaves, but even he was looking worried today, though he did hook into his first carp of the day as we chatted ......

Geoff on peg 22, who'd once more travelled down from Scotland was contenting himself fishing for anything with fins. Meanwhile Nick(monkey) was sitting it out on peg 25 and hoping things would pick up as the match progressed ......

On peg 26 was Paul, who once again had drawn a car park peg on a day that he had his good lady Jayne to accompany him......

Tim was struggling pegged between Budgie and Steve on peg 31, and although Steve was getting a few bites they weren't all from carp but skimmers......

Round on peg 34 Dai was starting to get a few bites, but was having trouble with fish shedding the hook for no apparent reason ......

Dave Moore was on peg 36 and was once more being given a good going over by the Rolfs residents, as they were happily showing themselves in his swim, but refusing to co-operate by taking any of his offerings regardless of how he presented them .....

Malc and Gem had left for the hospital by now, and Al was down on peg 40 with his son (Little Al) for company today, but he only had 3 small carp to show for his efforts. Tony had managed 3 decent carp from peg 2, but shortly after I took this photo.......

...... he was comprehensively seen off by a proper lump leaving him with a busted top kit . As I arrived at peg 4 Kevin was re-elasticating a top kit having been unfortunate enough to tread on a top kit as he went to weigh a decent carp   .........

...... unfortunately that wasn't the end of it for Kev , as later on another carp pulled the freshly elasticated top kit off his pole and consigned it to the depths of the lake as he was playing it . Meanwhile round on peg 7 on his own, Mat was quietly enjoying himself catching a few decent fish, one of which was caught on camera by Simon .......

So back to my peg once more, and I wish I could say that things improved, but alas they didn't, just another few small roach snaffling the bait. Simon had finally got something with a bit of weight, though not what he was expecting in the shape of a cracking Golden Orfe  .....

Jon was still taking the odd fish, as was Budgie, but the man that started to motor towards the finish of the match was Clive who managed to tempt a decent run of fish from under the bushes to his right ......

Most of which I witnessed as he brought them to me to verify their weight ........

Malc and Gem had returned by now, Malc having a couple of quick fish as soon as he returned to his peg, and Gem also managed to add another couple to her tally and crank up the pressure to avoid a Minxing.

With half an hour to go my swim at 10 mtrs suddenly burst into life, giving me 3 carp in 3 put ins and with about 5 minutes to go I had a 4th which dived under my platform as I tried to net it. Fortunately I managed to extract it from there, much to Simon's amazement , but as I shipped out to try for another Malc called the All-Out.

Now you may remember that I mentioned that Al had his son Little Al with him today, well with the match over Little Al had a go with dad's gear for 10 minutes. Well he's obviously a natural as within a matter of moments he'd caught a carp for himself...................................... an absolute cracker of a Common that weighed 14lbs .......

As we packed up our kit I noticed that Gem had taken all her nets out, so 27lbs would be the target to avoid a Minxing and I was pretty confident I'd avoided that thanks to the final half hour. With the kit back at the car there were a few worrying about their fate as the Weigh-In started.

Dai got off to a good start with 78¾lbs on the scales which would prove to be good enough to win the section , indeed it wasn't even challenged with Tony's 59¼lbs and Matt's 60¾ lbs coming closest. My fish made 40½lbs, but was firmly beaten by Clive's 87¾lbs not only taking the section, but the overall match as well . Poor Simon's meagre 7¾lbs ensured consecutive Minxings for him. The next interest focused on peg 20 and Slim's weight, which came in at 24½lbs meaning that The Minx had got him at last .
Nick recorded 58¼lbs to just pinch C section from Keith's 57lbs 2ozs (a decent result on Keith's first ever visit  ) Finally Budgie's level 79lbs prove good enough for 2nd in B section from Jon's 72½lbs.

So finally with the results out of the way, all that remained was the ritual humiliation where those that had been Minxed were lined up for The Minx to chose the recipient of THE PINK HAT to be worn at the next Match ........

Well in all honesty there was only going to be one person that got it...... The proud owner of THE PINK HAT for Match 4...............

Ade (Slim Shady) Williams

NB: Don't worry Paul D hasn't escaped THE PINK HAT and a suitable forfeit will be in place in time for the next match .

OVERALL RESULT

Names in PINK are those that were MINXED

SECTION RESULTS

Jinx Match 2

Well, another Saturday and another Jinx Match. I awoke to the sun streaming through the curtains and the forcast was for a warm one, so after a quick shower it was time to feed the cats and make a coffee, and get the car loaded before setting off via Battersea for my usual stop at The Jimmy Griddle where Sausages, Bacon, Eggs and a Fried Slice  washed down with a mug of tea took care of breakfast. An uneventful run down saw me pulling into the car park at Rolf's around 10·30am to find the place rapidly filling up. With Pauline providing a mug of coffee the banter commenced as we waited for the others to arrive. The car park soon filled up and just prior to the draw Gem handed over that PINK HAT!!!!!!!!!! ......

So on to the draw, I'm in A section which is the Little Lake today, and hoping that a half decent draw would allow me to have a better day today. So into the draw bag and I find that peg 36 is to be my home for the match......

If I'm honest it's the last peg in the section that I wanted to be on, however someone had a decent result the previous Sunday fishing the feeder from there so that was going to be plan A for me today.
The rod was a Mach 3 11ft feeder paired with a Daiwa 3012 Whisker spooled with 6lb Maxima. Just a simple running ledger rig with a Drennan cage feeder attached via a link swivel, finished off with a size 14 QM1 with a hair to take 3 pieces of sweetcorn. Groundbait was simply a bag of 4mm fishery pellets wetted down with a generous dusting of GOT Green Grub groundbait to bind them together. I also set up a Shakespeare Mach3 XT 11ft Pellet Waggler coupled with the new 035 MACH 3 XT Front Drag Reel spooled up with 4lb Maxima along with a 3AAA waggler to fish a banded pellet as I was planning to catapult pellets over where I was fishing the feeder and if it brought the fish up I may be able to nick a few. I also set up a couple of shallow pole rigs, but wasn't really planning on using them.

So at 1pm Malc called the All-In. Out with the feeder rod and within a couple of minutes a firm wrap on the tip signalled fish on. A spirited fight ensued but the first fish of the day was soon residing in the landing net, a weigher that went 10lbs and a most satisfactory way to kick of the day . Unfortunately a second fish was in no hurry to take the bait leaving me looking at a stationary tip for quite a while.

Dave and Clive over on pegs 7 & 8 appeared to be going along quite steadily though. Indeed Dave had managed a proper lump on his feeder rod, weighing in at 18½lbs, comfortably the largest fish that Dave had caught on a rod and reel ......

Steve to my right on peg 34 was fishing up to the buoys and had got off to a decent start and already looked like he would take all the catching......

In general though things appeared to be slow for most, With the temperature around 27°C the sky had clouded over leaving it feeling oppressively sticky and both the anglers and the fish lethargic.

Over on peg 4 I could see Simon, at first it appeared that he was having a good day with quite a few fish, but the reality was that he was being plagued with foul hookers, which having stretch his elastic to improbable lengths were shedding the hook before he could net them  .......

"Budgie" on peg 40 appeared to be suffering another grueller, and hoping for a better outcome than he'd suffered on the 1st Jinx Match when he'd finished last  ......

Paul on peg 2 had managed a couple, but it looked as if the fish in his peg were on steroids, as they were giving him a right old run around before he could finally get them in the net......

Around half way through the match Malc's dulcet tones were heard, which is always a worry as disaster for others seems to follow him as a constant companion. This time it was Steve's turn to suffer the force of The Jinx with his No 4 section breaking as Malc raised his camera......

Meanwhile Jon to my left on peg 38 was working through plans A-Z but all he could tempt were a few small roach and perch from down by his keepnets.......

Things had picked up for me however with a couple of quick fish falling to the feeder, but when I looked round while playing the second and found The Jinx himself pointing his camera in my direction I have to admit to a few anxious moments before it was safely in the net......

Time marched on and I managed another couple of fish, 1 to the feeder and 1 to the waggler, but reports from round the lake indicated that the fishing was proving to be very hard for most. Dave and Clive appeared to be still ticking along nicely, especially Clive who appeared to be making hay on the feeder......

...... however it transpired that he was losing the majority of them. Steve was still catching on peg 34, even getting a decent Perch on a white boilie!!!!!!

Dave over on peg 6 had managed a couple from his 6mtr line and was no doubt hoping for a strong finish to the match ......

I'd had another quiet spell when Dave strolled round for a chat. He must have brought me a bit of luck, because I managed another couple of carp as we chatted . He soon departed no doubt inspired to redouble his efforts and Kev's partner Jean appeared with a welcome cup of coffee for me .

I managed a final couple of fish as the match drew to an end, one of which was foul hooked in the dorsal fin and gave me a right run around before I managed to bundle it into the net. Malc finally called the All-Out at 6pm, which in typical Jinx fashion was the cue for a short sharp rain shower just to cool us down prior to packing away.

So with the kit packed up and back to the car it was time for the Weigh-In. Steve was first to weigh and his 92½lbs set a mark that wasn't going to be beaten . I thought I had about 50lbs so was pleasantly surprised to find 61½lbs as my final weight . Jon had over 40 fish to record 4lbs 10ozs, Mostly small stuff. Budgie had finally snared a carp to record 15½lbs. Paul's 41¼lbs was edged out by Simon's 45½lbs.
Dave put a level 35lbs on the scales. I was a bit surprised at Dave and Clive's weights as I'd expected them both to be pushing Steve, but Clive's 55¾lbs edged out Dave's weight of 52lbs 2ozs. Rolf's Lake regular Pete Archer had been guesting on peg 13 but had suffered with untold foul hookers  and recorded 48¾lbs. Another team had weighed in the other half of the lake, the highlight of which were 44½lbs from peg 19 for Al, Malc with 47¾lbs from peg 25, while peg 30 produced a fine 76lbs for Ade. Gem had only managed 1¾lbs, but had still handed Minxings to 3 of the lads so at least I would be waving goodbye to THE PINK HAT .

Back for the results and Pete Archer kindly provided some prizes from his sponsor Vespe. So with the results all done and dusted, all that remained was to find out who Gem would choose to be the lucky recipient that gets to wear that PINK HAT for the next match? Well readers, allow me to present Mr Paul Dolby  ................

OVERALL RESULT

Names in PINK are those that were MINXED

SECTION RESULTS

Jinx Match 1

Well here we go again . Today sees that happy band of idiots fools maniacs nutters that comprise The Jinx Squad back on the banks to do it all again for yet another year with all 6 of this years matches at Rolfs Lake .

Peter, Malc, Gem, Tony R, Terry, Steve, Ade.
Simon, Paul D, Paul R, Nick W-P, Nick W, Mitch.
Fred, Matt, Kevin, Jon, Geoff, Dave C, Dave M.
Dai, Clive, Marcus, Ant, Al, Steve, Dave W.

There's loads of questions to be answered over the course of the coming weeks........... 

Can I avoid PEG 13 ?
How many will suffer a Minxing and who'll end up wearing the THE PINK HAT ? 
Will Paul ever draw a sunny peg when he brings Jayne with him?
Will Simps and Gem get hitched?
Will Clive finish somewhere other than 2nd overall?
Will Jon actually land a fish if someone points a camera at him?

 The answers to these questions and many more will all be revealed in the reports that will appear here in the weeks ahead.

So on to the day, the luxury of fishing these matches is the start time, meaning that I don't have to get up at silly O'clock . I could have a lay in till 7·30am, feed the cats and make a coffee, a quick scan of the forums before loading the car and setting off via Battersea for my usual stop at The Jimmy Griddle where one of their 'Full English Breakfasts' made for a good start to the day . A smooth run down saw me pulling into the car park at Rolf's around 10·30am along with Clive and Tony. Geoff along with Paul D and his guest Mick were already in situ, and once Pauline had provided a mug of coffee the banter commenced as we waited for the others to arrive. The car park soon filled up, Gem arrived, you couldn't miss her in her new shirt, along with that PINK HAT!!!!!!!!!!......

...... which was soon passed on to Steve (Steak) for the day as he'd 'won' it at the MD's Lindholme match .

Well it was supposed to be an 11·30 draw, but of course it was late, a nesting Moorhen on peg 34 being blamed this time  ......

 Anyway with the draw underway I found myself with peg 21 (so no peg 13 for me today.) It's one of those pegs that doesn't get fished as often as some, so doesn't get as much bait going in, but can throw up a good weight on its day.

For company I had Marcus(Budgie)Burgess, Gem's Pairs partner on peg 19, while Paul Roberts was to my left on peg 23. There was a bit of scum on the water, but with the wind blowing into the peg I was hopeful of a few. Fish could be seen topping out towards the middle, ideal for the pellet waggler, but for this match I was on one of the pegs where rods aren't allowed.
So I set up a 4 pole rigs. One for straight out at around 8mtrs was a MW 0·6g Diamond for the 8mtr line on the deck on 0·20 Power Match with a size 14 Drennan Carp Match and a MW Trev with similar line and hook for up in the water. and a further couple of MW 0·4g Power Diamonds on 0·20 Power Match with size 16 series 2 hooks to fish to the end of the bush on my right and down the side of the bush on my left. Bait for the day was to be a mix of soft and hard pellets in various sizes with some corn as a back up, while feed was 4 & 6mm fishery pellets.

One worrying aspect of the day however was the fact that John and Pauline were having a day out and were leaving Eddie TG in charge. Now Eddie knows the lake like the back of his hand and has a habit of giving Gem a bit of coaching when he's in attendance, which is a bit of a worry when you're looking to avoid a Minxing .

So at 1·30pm Malc called the All-In, a good handfull of pellet into all 3 swims and out to the 8mtr line with an 8mm banded pellet on the deck rig.. A couple of lift and drops and the float buried . A gentle lift met with a solid resistance, but the fish didn't bolt off just following the pole back, however just as I got back to the top 2 something spooked it and it dived at the keepnet, neatly transferring the hook in the process. Simon appeared to be suffering similarly as his first fish dived under his platform before snapping him off.

Not the best of starts, and in all honesty it went downhill from there . I had to wait nearly an hour for the next bite, which turned out to be one of the smaller Commons weighing around 5lb, but at least it was a fish in the net. The next bite came around 3pm. Malc was having a stroll, camera in hand, so of course I missed it only to foul hook a fish as I lifted the rig, well that led me a bit of a dance before the rig shot back with a scale on the end, much to Malc's amusement  ......

Most of us in that corner seemed to be struggling, though none of us more than Budgie, who halfway through the match had just a solitary Roach to show for his efforts  ......

Needing a break I re fed heavily, then grabbed the camera for a stroll. Clive was fishing long for once and as I looked over it appeared to be paying dividends as he was in the process of landing one .......

Simps was one of the few who appeared to be catching steadily, so Jon had reverted to the pellet waggler in an attempt to get in on the act......

Most however were feeling the full force of The Jinx Effect, but Dave Moore has a bit of a grin on his face  denoting that he was obviously getting a bit of action despite being on peg13 ......

Al was on peg 12, but was feeling a little rough, so much so that he and Dave would pack up early to get him home......

Malc was on peg 9 with Liam in tow, but apart from the one weigher was in the same boat as a lot of us just waiting for things to happen .......

Round on peg 8 was Nick(monkey) no doubt hoping that this would be the peg to finally provide him with that magic first 'Ton', alas it was not to be, in fact it was proving to be a real grueller for him  ......

...... and it didn't make him feel any better to see that Ant on peg 7 was catching regularly without appearing to even have to feed .......

Ade(Slim) was tucked away on peg 2, but as I made my way round he was into a fish having been fishing long down into empty peg 3 to his left......

Over on peg 38 I could see Paul D who was returning to the Jinx Series after a few years break carefully playing what transpired to be his first carp of the day  ......

Geoff was having a decent day on 36 and putting a few together, as was his old sparring partner Dai who was on peg 32 ......

Steak was having an absolute mare, was it down to that PINK HAT, or the fact that he had The Minx for company on the next peg?......

Jon by now was playing a carp on the waggler, and appeared to have broken the hoodoo of the camera as despite a number of shutters clicking he landed it safely  ........

Back to my peg, and I wish I could say it got better, but the truth is it didn't , the final 2 hours yielding just another 2 carp of around 6lbs and a solitary skimmer, and I have to say that it was a bit of a relief when Malc called the All-Out at 6·30pm.

Once I got my kit put away I caught up with the Weigh-In. Geoff had started things off with with 87lbs, but was soon overtaken by Slim's 100¾lbs, however Ant ended up winning A section with a fine 126½lbs from peg 7 . Dave Moore managed the best weight from the motorway bank with 65¼lbs , my 3carp and a skimmer rolling the scales round to just 20lbs. Clive took the win in C section with just 55lbs, while Simps was the man to beat in B section with a level 156lbs to take the win on the day . Gem put 33¼lbs on the scales meaning a dozen of us had been Minxed , while Dai managed 99¼lbs from peg 32 .

So to the results and after that all that remained was for Gem to chose the recipient of  THE PINK HAT for the next match .
Well it was no surprise to find it coming my way, much to everyones obvious delight , so it will be a PINK HAT day for me in 3 weeks time  ......

OVERALL RESULT

Names in PINK are those that were MINXED

SECTION RESULTS

Maggotdrowning.com

 Rolf's Pairs Tournament 2007.

So there i was 6·30am on Saturday with the car all loaded up and ready to get off to Rolf's Lake for the 2nd Annual Maggotdrowning Pairs Tournament.
A quick stop off on route in Battersea for a spot of breakfast followed by a trouble free run down the M40 saw me pulling into the services just after 8am, closely followed by Paul East (NoMoreLongWalks) along with Dai and his good lady Anne and Vince (vg1037).
A short phone call soon revealed that Ady (BigLadWigan) was doing a passable impression of lost & confused driving around Holton trying to remember where the lake was, so he elected to return to the services and follow us down there.

Soon it was a case of back into the cars and down to Rolf's, arriving just after 9am you can imagine my shock to find Malc and his daughter Gemma already there, indeed the car park was almost full as various Maggotdrowners arrived from all corners of the country.
Geoff P had taken the long distance award, having been chauffeured down from Scotland by his son for the weekend. While looking around you could see a mini Maggotville emerging as a number of bivvies went up.

Talk as usual was about just how many "tons" would come out over the weekend but as I took a walk round the lake, nagging away in the back of my head was a little voice telling me that things might prove to be a lot harder than many people thought owing to all the water that had been in and out of the venue during the preceding weeks.

It was good to see that pegs 16-18 had been reinstated opening up the choice of pegs available, indeed standing in the car park it was hard to believe that the lake had been bursting it's banks the previous weekend and it was a tribute to the efforts of John and his helpers even going to the trouble of running a pump round the clock in order to make sure that the venue was eminently fishable, leading many to wonder why another website's match due for the Friday had been canceled by them the previous Monday.

Finally Dave Webster (RedLeader) arrived, having collected Tony Prentice (teepee) on the way he'd obviously had a "Blonde" moment setting the Sat Nav so that the route from Yorkshire to Wheatly was via the M25??????

So finally we're all assembled and the draw takes place for pairs, which finds me paired for the weekend with Tony Roberts (spamwham) a fellow Marsh AC member, and then the draw for pegs. Dave and I were the last to draw and I found myself holding Peg 34, considered by many to be a flyer, so no pressure. However on arriving I found that the rope that marks the far edge of the swim had been moved away from it's usual position???? Tony. my partner had drawn peg 38 so at least we could keep an eye on each other.

Settling into the peg I set the box up on the submerged platform and elected to concentrate on the margins which were about 18" deeper than usual, but also taking advantage of the new ruling that allows the use of rod and reel, set up a feeder rig to cover my options.

Next door on peg 35 I had Dave "Yorkie" Moore for company, a fellow competitor in The Jinx Series of matches, so if nothing else a good bit of banter was assured.

12noon and the all in sounds, and it would be nice to say that we all got off to flyers, but it was Gazmalman who had flown off his platform before the match had even started, Malman Floats? well it would appear he does, even if he is well dotted down due to consuming a few to many pies ..................

.............the crazy bit is that he did it again during the match, this time losing a weigher in the process that probably cost him the section.

For a lot of the anglers it proved to be a hard old day, most had fish in their swims at some point in the day but getting them to show an interest in a bait was another matter. Try as they might it proved to be a struggle, some like Dave grafted away for 5 hours and were only rewarded with a single fish proving once again that there is more to it than just turning up at Rolf's to guarantee a ton-up bag.

I was lashing in the pellet on the margin line while fishing the feeder out by the rope but for no reward, while teepee opposite on peg 6 had landed 1 and lost a couple. However we all had to watch as Ian Ward (Chin) on peg 7 and Gemma on peg 8 caught steadily from the off and with the lake not fishing to it's potential strolled away from the rest of us. Ian winning the day with 108lbs 8ozs, while Gemma was unfortunate enough to lose a good fish in the final minutes that could have pushed Ian all the way, but still finishing in overall 2nd place with 98lbs, a really top performance on the day allowing her to take more than a few £1 coins off of the assembled company.

I had been fortunate enough to nick a  few decent fish at the end with a final 12½lb'er with 5 mins to go, my 73¼lbs pushing up to 9th on the day while Tony had found out about the power of Rolf's fish, putting 45lbs on the scales for 13th overall but losing many more. A lesson learned hopefully.

As most know Rolf's health has not been the best so it was especially good to see him put in an appearance during the afternoon and have a gentle stroll round having a chat with those present.

The weigh-in proved just how hard it had been for most with only the 1 "ton" and more weights under 50lbs than above it, Rolf's had indeed shown us it's hard side, though hopefully with plenty of feed having gone in, things would improve on Sunday.

Soon the Barbecue was lit and the beers cracked open with Rolf stopping on for a bite to eat before returning home.
Around 9pm the rain stared to fall, but with Dave's gazebo and countless brollies available the banter continued for some long into the night.

Sunday dawned dry and sunny and with breakfast cooked once more on the barbecue for most it was just a question of waiting for Pete Archer (Vespe) and Keith Arthur (Fishermans Blues) fresh from his morning radio show to join us for the draw. Both duly arrived and the draw was underway.

I found myself on peg 9 this time while Tony had draw sock on with peg 8, while I had Chin to my left on 10.
with the all in at 12noon, Ady on peg 31 was looking like Raison, Nudd & Wilson rolled into one as his paste attack brought immediate rewards, alas it was not to last, but he looked good while it lasted, unfortunately all to briefly.

I started off with an absolute nightmare , there were fish in front of me but regardless of what I put on the hook or the depth I fished at, all I got were foulhookers that proved to be unlandable. By the time that Ian walked past with his 5th weigher and yet another fish trashed another rig, my pole was thrown up the bank, to stop myself from smashing it in a fit of temper.
Once again I reverted to meat fished in conjunction with a feeder full of fishery pellet, which finally allowed me to put a few fish together.
Ian meanwhile was putting another decent net together but was losing a few under the submerged platform costing him several damaged top kits

Tony however was going along steadily and managed to beat his PB Chub 3 times during the course of the match, culminating in a glorious 5¾lb'er.

Tony (Teepee) had drawn peg 6 for the second day running and although he managed to improve on his day 1 weight, it wasn't by enough to have any effect overall.

Throughout the match even though I couldn't see him I could hear Malc (The Jinx) mostly as he traded banter and insults with young Ian .........

......... however he played a bit of a blinder edging to a win on the day with a level 143lbs, pushing Tony down to 2nd place with a creditable 136lbs. I managed 91lbs for 7th on the day and both days results gave us a total of 52points which proved to be enough for us to take the title of MD's Rolf's Pairs Champions for 2007 and receive our trophies from Fisherman's Blues himself.

Finally I would like to add my thanks to Dave for organising the whole weekend. To John & Pauline Bennett & John Walker whose efforts to get the fishery ready for us were very much appreciated. To Keith Arthur for joining us on Sunday along with Pete Archer & his sponsor Vespe for providing some goodies for the winners. To Rolf, It was good to see you at your fishery once more and Finally to all The Maggotdrowners in attendance, it's you that make the weekend the success it is. Let's do it all again next year.

Maggotdrowning.com

 Rolf's Pairs Tournament 2006.

Well where can I start?

I suppose that the beginning is a good a point as any.
Anticipation had been building up for this weekend for a couple of months, Ian(Chin)Ward counting everyone down to the big day.

9·15 in the services at junction 8a and Adrian(BigladWigan)Wood was the 1st to greet me, closely followed by Vince Gould.
Soon the wafting aroma of chip fat and Chinese takeaway preceded the arrival of Northern Boy himself, Gaz Malman who was already halfway through the umpteenth pie of the day clutched in his right hand as he pulled up. Dave(Red Leader)Webster phoned to announce that both he, Tony Prentice and Geoff Palmer were in the services already so we headed off to join them, along with Ant Haywood, Ian Ward, Tom Little and Chris Ellis.
Dave fancied a Breakfast, but being faced with paying £8 for it brought back his Yorkshire frugality and he settled for a burger.

10am and it was "wagons roll" as a small convoy made it's way the short distance from the services to Rolf's Lake.
Into the car park and it's nearly full already, and there's a buzz about the place as a number of Rolf's "Virgins" got their 1st look at the venue, while others were renewing acquaintances and meeting others for the 1st time in person away from a computer screen.

Bivvies and Tents were soon in place for the evenings accommodation while elsewhere nets were dipped with military efficiency and feed pellets purchased for what lay ahead.

At 11am the pairing for the weekend ahead were announced and with those duly recorded and the pools paid, the individual draw for the day took place.

I had been paired with Dave Collier, almost inevitable really given the number of times we've fished together in the past. Dave getting peg24 on the car park bank, while I ended up with peg 36 on the little lake.

For company on the match I had Geoff Palmer to my right, in the corner on peg 34. While to my left on 37 I found Dave(Red Leader)Webster and Matt Nutt on 38. The sun was already blasting from the sky and we just knew that it was going to be a scorcher, but hopefully with us fishing from 1pm- 6pm hopefully everyone would get at least a couple of good hours towards the end.

1pm and the all in and within 5 minutes Geoff was walking over for me to witness his 1st weigher, all 16½lbs of Common Carp and a new PB for him.

I have to say that I wasn't inspired by my peg, although I knew it was capable of producing there are no real obvious features in comparison to a lot of the other pegs, so it was just a question of getting my head down and concentrating on putting a few together.

Looking across I could see David Ashby (under a bit of pressure as Gemma was fishing for the 1st time in 5 years) and Ian Ward and Nick Williams in front of me on 4 (though I had to look twice as his grey hair had vanished to be replaced by a deep brown dye job )

Plenty of splashing kept coming from Geoff's direction though some were doing a Houdini act .

I was slowly getting in on the act fishing paste on the deck at around 9 mtrs, while Dave struggled to get to grips with his peg, and Matt slowly started to edge ahead in the section.

Being pegged on the small lake we were somewhat removed from what was happening on the rest of the lake, though word filtered down that Keith on peg 25 was having a good un, and we were treated to the site of Brian Bevan in hot pursuit of his pole as a carp headed towards us with it, though Brian was fortunate enough to retrieve it, but not the fish.

Vince Gould, a Rolf's virgin was hidden away on peg13 out of my site but struggled to come to terms with things but still managed 41½lbs, better than some have managed on their 1st visit.

The last hour proved to be the best though a couple of the larger carp saw Matt having to resort to climbing onto his box to net them, while I managed a run of 6 fish right at the end.

So match 1 was completed, and that left the weigh in, a real eye opener for some in terms of the weights recorded and the efficiency with which it takes place.

Keith Ashby on peg 25 soon took the lead, and wasn't going to be caught on the day having put 242¾lb on the scales for a new PB match weight, nearly all caught on a top 3 with meat GOT soft hookers and GOT Paste. A superb result. Kevin Arathoon had pushed him all the way with a fine 230lbs and Brian Bevan had put together a fine 184¼lbs for 3rd individual on the day.

As the weigh in progressed peg after peg produced tales of new PB's both for total weights and individual fish.

Attention was however focused on a little match within a match between Gemma, Malc Doyle's daughter who had decided to fish for the 1st time in nearly 5 years and Keith Ashby's son David. (No pressure then)
With Gemma putting 92lbs on the scales.

David was always struggling to hang onto his £1 side bet,

even breaking his landing net at one stage , and unfortunately came up short on the day with 79½lbs, leading to a ribbing from all assembled that was to last all the way through the rest of the day and well into the next morning .

Ian (Chin) Ward had managed his 1st ever ton with a fine 115½lbs, and was looking a bit shattered as his arms hurt, and would continue to do so for the rest of the weekend,

Matt Nutt, using all his experience of the venue managed a 149½lb section winning bag, while Dave Webster who had struggled for 29lbs was the meat in a "Ton" sandwich as I weighed in 121½ lbs, Geoff Palmer also beating him with an 89lb bag (His PB match weight) that would surely have been his 1st Ton if he had had more than the 1 weigher.

So match day one ended with everyone retreating for a well earned beer in the bivvy village. Dave being Mr Efficient had brought his large gas barbecue down with him for the weekend and soon had it fired up and Tony(teepee)Prentice soon had a great selection of burgers and sausages flowing off the production line for willing mouths to devour.

With copious quantities of beer, Lager augmented by a bottle of rum and another of whiskey , the entertainment revolved around how much stick could be dished out to yound David, and I have to say that he took it all on the chin.
I'm sure you'll have the last laugh sooner or later David.

Things wound down around 1am as bodies retired ready for round 2 on Sunday.

Sunday at 7am and those same bodies in various states of disrepair emerged into the daylight craving nothing stronger than tea or coffee, while once more the Barbecue was fired up to provide breakfast from the mountain of food that was left.

Sundays draw was at 9am with a 10·30 start and joining us for the day were Steve Wilson fresh from his holiday and Gary (Gaza) Thorpe, fresh from a match win at Oakfield the previous day. They paired up with the pair with the worst result from Saturday which meant that Wily Coyote(Terry) was paired with Gaza the venue World Record Holder, so no pressure there then, while Nick Williams paired up with Steve.

I found myself fishing my partners swim from the previous day (peg24) with Matt for company on peg 25 (Keith's winning peg) and Ant Haywood to my right on 23.

Gary Thorpe drew my peg from Saturday, so i would see the pegs potential with a decent angler on it, with Kevin Arathoon on 34 (Geoff's peg) Ian Ward was on peg 7, a bit of a flyer, but would his arms hold out . While David and Gemma drew next to each other on pegs 9 & 10 in full view of their dads, Keith being on 12 with Malc opposite on 30.

At the all in I settled on a paste attack at around 7mtrs, a distance i could feed comfortably feed pellet by hand and fed a margin line by the small bush to my right. while Matt started on a longer line up in the water . Ant appeared to be into action straight away, and all around I could see people already into fish.

Terry Goff had somehow managed to draw the same peg twice in a row, but at least managed to put a few together  this time for a creditable 90¾lbs.

Next up on 17 was Dirk Williams who finished just short of a 2nd ton with 93lbs after suffering with a load of foul hookers.

Tony (teepee) Prentice managed a very creditable 164¼lbs from peg 18 to better his Saturday weight of 119lbs 2ozs (Thanks for showing me your paste pots Tony, I'm sure he'll be sharing the idea soon )

Colin, Keith's partner was on 19 and just missed out on a 2nd ton with 98lbs on the day.

I had a mare with foul hookers and lost a number of big fish that I had trouble controlling with Red Hydro!!! Thankfully a decent spell towards the end enabled me to get a 2nd ton with a level 110lbs.

Matt Nutt came short to the bush in his margin and had a magic last hour with a ton of weighers for a creditable 173lbs.

While Ant Haywood just made his 2nd ton of the weekend despite only having the 1 weigher all day, putting 104lbs on the scales.

Elsewhere David Ashby restored his pride in his peg to peg with Gemma weighing 85½lb to Gemma's 41½lbs and so reclaiming his £1 side bet.

Top weight on the day smashing his previous best match weight out of site with a fine display was young Ian Ward with an excellent 272lbs. Well Done Mate.

2nd on the day was Keith Ashby with a fine 230¾lbs again caught on a top 3 down the edge with meat and GOT Paste for 2 double tons in a row, an awesome display over the weekend.
Third on the day was Kevin Arathoon with 228lbs for another pair of double tons.

In 4th was Malc with 224¼lbs for a new personal best match weight.
5th was Gaz Malman with 219¼lbs, while a 6th and Final Double ton was added by Gary Thorpe with 206½lbs off my peg from the previous day. (it must have been down to my feeding on the Saturday )

One of the happiest on the day however must have been Steve Wilson who finally managed a match ton with a dead level 100lbs. It even made him smile, Well Done Steve.

So Presentation Time, and with two pairs,Keith Ashby & Colin Sharrard and Kevin Arathoon & Clive Pritchard tied on 26 points apiece it was probably appropriate that it was finally decided on weight with the verdict going in Keith and Colin's favour by 706½lbs to 638lbs.

Congratulations to them both.
A Big vote of Thanks to Dave for getting the whole thing up and running, I'm pretty sure that it will be an annual fixture from now on, and another Big Thank You to Rolf, for allowing us to use what is a very special fishery for the weekend.
Finally Thanks to all that attended and made it one of the Best Maggotdrowning Weekends i can remember, We must do it again sometime, now form an.a orderly queue for the next one.

Here's the full results list starting with the Pairs:
Saturday

Total weight caught over the weekend was 6,134lb

You can find Rolf's version of events HERE

The JINX Series 2006

Match 1.

Well I met up with a few of the lads in the services on the M40 beforehand and around 11·30 we made our way down to Rolf's.
Once in the car park it was soon obvious that nothing had changed and that yet again The Jinx Series was going to be a monumental festival of p*ss taking & fun.
Nick had kindly sorted some shirts for the series and here's the proof........

I was a little taken aback at the draw to recieve a presentation from Malc! however the contents of the envelope set the tone for the day! A set of Lime Green pants with no arse in them. (Maria says they'll avoid the skidmarks at least!!!) and No I don't have a photo of them, but I'm sure someone has.

So draw done and off to our respective pegs. A nice short 5 yard walk for me to peg 30. Rolf has just started rebuilding the pegs and this is the 1st one he's completed, Nice new platform and steps down to it, a real armchair job . To my right was Dan who didn't look to happy as he had a few bad memories of being pegged next to me at Rolf's last year, and to my left I was a little concerned to see Pete Thompson (quietman), who has probably spent more time than most at Rolf's over the years and has a pretty good idea of what makes he place tick.

Due to changes to rules and pellets available at Rolf's this year, a few questions have sprung up over the best way to approach things. I had been a couple of times already this season and had frankly struggled coming to terms with it, so for this match I decided to go with what I know, and that was to fish 6mm GOT expanders over loose fed hemp, at a distance I could throw the feed to, hopefully keeping things nice and simple.

As usual with The Jinx matches things were running a bit late and the all in came at 1·30, called by myself as Malc didn't have a watch with him.

Almost straight away David on peg 28 seemed intent on taking the place apart, his 1st fish took a bare hook as he shipped out a pot of pellet and every time i looked around his black hydro seemed to be streaming out.

Things were not quite so hectic for the rest of us, with a few skimmers and the odd carp just keeping things ticking over, though Pete did manage to bag a specimen perch .......

Slowly but surely things started to inprove though, Paul (Mr Buckethead aka Turkish) Finally managed to catch a carp at Rolf's, not just the one either..........

MarkC was putting a few together on peg 32 including some perch in a pretty mixed bag.........

Nick (polepot) came wandering along, hoping for some clues as he was having a bit of a mare, Having drawn peg 34 it seemed that everyone had given him different advise, and if that wasn't bad enough he was trying to get to grips with using a new pole and Hydro for the 1st time. To top it all off he had been further traumatised by watching Malc strip down to his underpants (thankfully a site I missed) and leap in to retrieve a top kit.

By mid afternoon the carp seemed to settle on my feed and I started to put a few together,

David was still in regular action although it was hard to judge the stamp of his fish as he was on Black Hydro.
Matt across on peg 12 was putting together a decent bag having started to sneak a few lumps out from down the edge, you could tell they were decent fish as periodicaly he could be seen climbing onto his box in an attempt to net them .....

Finally the all out came at 6·30 just as I had connected to a final carp that was foulhooked in the tail, a few anxious moments while I tried to get his propeller out of the water to subdue it followed before I managed to net it.

Packing up and taking my gear back prior to the weigh-in, I heard a sound that I couldn't quite place till I realised it was coming from Dai's car!!!!!!!! The engine was running, and had been running for the whole match!!!!!!!! Luckily Dai still had ½ a tank of fuel and at least it was nicely warmed up for a quick get away.

Back for the weigh-in and my 50lbs odd of weighers with what was in my net gave me 125lbs overall which was enough for my section as David had 110lbs (more fish, but a smaller stamp) still allowing both of us to join the exclusive 100lbs+ JINX CLUB.I believe Antwood also joined us on his very 1st Jinx match and Matt took the overall honours on the day with a fine 139lb bag from the little used peg 12.

Finally as this was Churt's Memorial Match, the trophy should have been presented to Matt, but Malc had forgotten it!!!!!!!!
No Surprise there then.

However SteveW and myself did FINALLY get our hands on the Pairs Trophy we won last series.........

.......however as it has to go away for engraving that's probably be the last we'll see of it.

So that's it, 1 down, 5 to go and on to Engine Pool, It should be fun, but with The Jinx you never know.

Individual Results on the day were as follows

You can find Rolf's own report HERE.

Dave the Fish's 

Fur and Feather Fun Match.

22 hardy souls headed down to Harleylands in Kent yesterday to take part in a Xmas match organised by Dave the Fish from Maggotdrowning.com

I met up with a few of the lads at the Knoxbridge Cafe at around 7·30am to find it a tad busy, a party of shooters had obviously beaten us to it, meaning that the service was about as far removed from "Fast Food" as you could imagine.
By the time that Jess & Szabi and The Welsh Contingent (Dai, Neo, Geoff & Malc) arrived it had slowed even more, and as we left for the draw they were still waiting!

With the delays making the draw run late we decided that we would fish from 10·30 to 3·30pm so we all dipped in and made our way to our respective pegs.
I found myself on 22 with The Jinx for company on 23. Not only were our pegs in the shade but we had the wind howling into them and although there was no ice on the lake it was soon obvious that the only people that would be at home on them would be Eskimos. Looking across to the other bank it was bathed in sunlight with barely a ripple on the water!

I set up a pole and a feeder rod with a small maggot feeder, while Malc elected to fish the feeder all day to the island in front of him.

All in and I went out on the pole, and needless to say with both Malc and Dave standing behind me my first bite, a small very delicate affair, (don't believe Malc when he tells you "it speared the bottom" ) resulted in me missing it horribly and wrapping the rig round the tip.

I stuck it out on the pole for an hour for 4 small fish (1 Skimmer, 1 Roach, 1 Perch and a Gudgeon). In the meantime Malc had managed 3 Carp and Neo a few pegs down had managed a few small stockies. I could see Omega Mike (who I regard as something of a venue expert) pegged further round and bathed in sunlight starting to put a few together on the long pole.

Sven on peg8 (The Flyer) and Colin opposite me appeared to be catching regularly,
and with my hands starting to become numb with the cold the pole was replaced with the feeder rod.
Looking round it appeared that a Garden Gnome had turned blue with the cold , but it was only Malc staring at his tip willing it to go round..

Slowly i started to put a few small Carp together by dropping the feeder as close to the island as I dared.

Just after Noon the best part of the day arrived in the shape of Dave & Jean bearing Hot Pies & Pasties along with a bottle of Canadian Club. Truely Inspired and most welcome, even if Malc did complain that they weren't served on Daves usual Silver Tray.

Into the fading light, and a few missgivings were being aired about the wisdom of fishing to 3·30pm, it was getting that cold that I had a couple of feeders crack up where they had become so brittle in the cold.
With 5 mins to go I'm sure that I heard the ominous sound of breaking carbon from further down the bank followed by a softly muttered Welsh curse, though I could be wrong.

Finally the whistle sounded, and it transpired that Malc and I would have to perform Scales Duty. My 27lbs 2ozs started the ball rolling (and secured £1 from Malc ), Omega Mike came up just short with what was still a creditable bag as he'd fished the pole all day. Colin was soon in the box seat however with a 50lb+ bag, a worthy winner on the day. Sven & John on adjacent pegs had obviously had a close match, with Sven just having enough for 2nd on the day pushing John down to 3rd and me to 4th. A very good result for Sven as I'm sure he would admit that matchfishing isn't his thing. Nick Gilbert also managed 27lbs on the day.

Gathering up our kit Malc and I returned to find our nets frozen solid (told you it was cold ) so back to the car park for the prizes and farewells.
I have to say that given the conditions the lake fished well on the day, even though the fish were shoaled up in pockets.

A big thank you to Dave for organising the match and to all those that attended from near and far, making the day the success it was. We'll have to do it again, preferably in warmer conditions though.

The final results were :-

Maggotdrowning.com

 Fish-In.

Well I arrived around lunchtime and Les directed me to Maggotville and provided a welcoming cuppa. I decided to get my bivvie up post haste as the heavens were threatening to open, Dave the Fish providing a handy mallet to help with the pegs .

After a stroll round to meet and greet faces old and new I decided that I had enough time for an afternoon dabble, so getting my gear I eased into a swim on pond B, next to Dai, his good lady Anne and son Daniel .

A hand full of pellets to the pads on my left and an expander on the hook was soon producing a mix of bream, barbel and roach with a few carp thrown in for good measure and much to Dai's delight a GOLDEN TENCH. At least having had a good look at one, Dai shouldn't have any trouble identifying one if and when he eventually catches one of his own . Perhaps Dai and The Hat should have a session at Monk lakes down near me? one of them's bound to catch one there.

Just as I was packing up Anne managed to catch her 1st ever Tench  .......

A quick wash and brush up and off to the pub for a meal and a couple of pints was merely a prelude to the cabaret round at Dai's bivvy as Ady kept us all entertained as only he can .

Saturday morning arrived sometime around 9am and again I found myself on pond B, but this time between Ady and Teepee. Pole across to the island found all of 9" of water and a succession of chub and barbel, all in super condition and thriving in their natural environment............................WATER .

Ady to my left decided to try and choke a few carp with a selection of improbably large hookbaits and appeared to be having some success, despite the attentions of Ghillie Geoff and 'evil' Amy........

Here's one of them that survived the ordeal  ............

While Red Leader was adding to Coshida's profits opposite me to tempt an eventual 10 carp. Dave the Fish and Colin were fishing either side of the bridge dividing pond B from A with them both putting fish regularly in the net.

Big Brian arrived and introduced himself, and it was obvious where he got the name from, but he was showing some class by being attired in a BURGUNDY MD's sweatshirt

I meanwhile elected to fish paste in the margin, to see if I could get a carp. I soon hooked a good common, but after a fair old fight it slipped the hook.At this point I'd like to say that all those that witnessed this commiserated with me over my misfortune,
I'D LIKE TO, but true to form the p**s taking was mercy-less, B******S!!!! 

Stu was fishing my peg from the previous day with a pole that he makes look like a whip and was happily getting amongst a few.....

While Dave assumed the Ghillies duties as Teresa managed to catch her 1st carp ..............

Simon R was managing to catch a few carp from under a bush on pond A when he wasn't foulhooking errant free swimming topkits  .......

Reading this you could be forgiven for thinking that the place was fishing it's head off, but some were struggling and I'm sure I heard snoring coming from Teepee's direction on more than one occasion .
Michelle seemed to be taking great delight, strolling around and announcing that Nick was being battered by her in no uncertain terms .


Superb skill and ability  finally yielded a reward for me though in the shape of a nice 11½lb Mirror, despite certain allegations of 'Mugging' from some quarters that should know better  .....

Just prior to packing up for the day, I decided to feed a margin swim on the other bank that I fancied fishing Sunday AM. Unfortunately Red Leader decided this was a cue for a catapult war, and was only persuaded to desist as a result of a direct hit with a 14mm halibut pellet, though how I managed to hit so small a target at that range is a bit of a mystery .

Back to the pub for a meal and liquid sustenance led to another cabaret session round Dai's bivvy, though Ady did seem a little subdued as he was issued with a charity challenge . Should he choose to accept, both Dave and I have pledged £50 to a charity of Ady's choice, should he furnish proof of completing the challenge.
Will he succeed? Frankly I think that our money is as safe as houses .

Sunday morning and for some strange reason I was up at 6am to be greeted by blue sky and sunshine, the 1st since arrival, so decided to grab a couple of ours before packing up for the journey home.
Popping down to the ponds I found only Colin and Haydn had beaten me to it, with only Haydn putting a couple of carp in the net during the quiet of the early morning .

9am saw Stu and I invited to partake of a cup coffee on the veranda of Red Leader's IKEA bivvy prior to breakfast and after that it was time for me to pack away ready for the 200+ miles down the motorway to home.

All packed away it was time for a last stroll round to say my farewells. Despite the warmth of the day, the fishing remained slow.
Nick was still getting battered by Michelle, this time with his own pole  .........

Ady however was grinning as an 8½lb mirror grabbed a bit of flake to reward his efforts and happily posed for a photo despite doing his best to juggle it back into the water 1st .

Scouse was found hiding in the bushes with only 1 bream having fallen for his paste, and bemoaning a distinct lack of hubcaps, now that most cars have alloys and locknut's .

While the final site was of Red Leader standing back in admiration of the ease with which Teresa handled 11mtrs of his pole  ....................

So that was my Blyton Fish-In, Good laughs, Great company and a few fish as well, not a bad way of spending a weekend . 

Maggotdrowning.com

 Southern Fish-in.

Well I arrived at Sumners Ponds at around 10·30am on Friday to find a few of the participants already ensconced for the weekend ahead .

Already in situ were Geoff and his grandaughter Amy, Dai and Daniel, Ady (BigLadWigan) , Sven C (with Gemma to follow on Saturday), Alex(Fish-Fingers), Dave(Scouse) with Neil(bluenose), Larry, Terry(Wily Coyote) and Jess & Szabi (Jackcatcher & Tincabelle)

I decided to drop into the swim next to Scouse and Neil so that I could keep an eye on my hubcaps, and as I was setting up my bivvy Dave(theFish) and Colin (thePike) arrived, and the usual round of greetings and abuse ensued .

Strange things these bivvies and bedchairs, No drawers for your tackle and only available in a rather drab green or heaven forbid CAMO!!!!!! You could lose them on the bankside.
I set up my 2 carp rods and baitrunners with method feeders and placed them on my pod, not quite a PUPSS but it would have to do .

What! No Burgundy????

So time to start fishing? Well not quite, a quick tour round the pond to meet and great everyone, and try out the new camera consumed another hour before i was settled in, with Sven obliging with a well timed bream as a subject ........

Pineapple & Tutti antbait softee's on both rigs gently lobbed to midway were greeted after a while by a couple of respectable Bream, both around the 4lb mark, so off the mark and cause for a celebratory beer.

Wind and squally showers were doing their best to put a damper on the day, and Jason (NoFinPhish) arrived late on and managed to slide into a swim between Geoff & Dai.
Neil finally managed a carp on his pole between phonecalls and texts as can be seen in the pic below......

Unfortunately, not being fishery members we weren't allowed to nightfish (apart from Sven who's a member) so most adjourned to the local hostelry (The Queens Head) to sample a few pints, before the evening soiree round Geoffs bivvy.

Saturday, weatherwise brought more of the same, with the odd fish for most and Jason probably winning the numbers game with a good run of fish in the morning and Szabi showing up Jess, who in his defence spent a fair bit of time showing Fish-Fingers the ins and outs of various rigs. The morning only provided a single bream for me almost identical to the pair from friday.

With the day moving on Jess, Szabi and Wily departed citing other engagements for the Sunday, while a few of the lads were tempted by the lure of the small pond, which appears to have a higher stocking level than the main lake. Daniel brimming with confidence went for a £1 side bet with Jason on who would have the largest carp of the day .

3pm and I had a screamer on the rod I had cast close to the marginal tree on my right, and I thought I was winning the tug of war till the fish turned 180° and buried intself into the roots.
Having to rerig I could resist no longer and set up a waggler to see if I could mug anything in the margins. Sure enough after a few small skimmers and roach an unsuspecting tench obliged, not big at a couple of pounds, but most welcome none the less..

Once more the pub won the battle of the early evening, but after a curry and a couple of pints I sneaked off to return for a last hour before dusk. No action I'm afraid but we ended with a small gathering at my peg over a coffee before decending on Dai for the evening entertainment. Biglad was in his usual superb form, if a tad restrained by the presence of young Amy while Jason thoughtfully checked out the depth of Dai's Margin and Dan waved farewell to his £1.
June it may be, but Flaming it certainly wasn't and with a cold dew forming the party was curtailed earlier than it could have, though probably much to the relief of those in the mobile homes and campers on the other bank .

We had been warned that a real gail was expected overnight, but thankfully it never materialised. A few of us decided to take a quick trip up to look at the new match lake that's just been opened on the site. It's still very new with construction still in progress, but plenty of planting has taken place, I can't say that it inspired me to make a visit, but who knows, maybe in a couple of years when it's more established .

With it still being grey and overcast and very few fish showing, most were thinking of getting bivvies packed away ready for the trip home.
I was just starting to pull my bivvy pegs when a steady run developed on my rod baited with 4 bits of hair rigged corn and after a short but spirited fight I was rewarded with a plump common weighing in at 14lbs, a lovely end to the weekend .

Having packed all my kit up, it was time for farewells, and is always the case at these sort of meetings that tends to take a couple of hours in itself . Dai had managed to bag a carp as I passed  ......

Dave and Colin were packing away his bivvy, while the final site as I headed to the carpark was of Geoff and BigLad trying for a final fish before departing as Amy looked on......

The end of another MD's weekend away in good company, some great laughs and a few fish caught by everyone. Well done to Dave the Fish for organising it all .

The only Mystery?
Where was Beebs? Comatose under a Duvet somewhere no doubt .

NKHC in the punts at Old Bury Hill.

A most enjoyable day.

I was drafted into HMS Pension Book to bring down the average age of the crew , and by the time we set sail it looked more like a naval review moored up in The Jungle so we settled for mooring just off of a reed bed (somewhere around peg 75 where the Island bank meets the edge of The Jungle, for those of you that are familiar with OBH.)

The weather was warm and there was plenty of cloud cover, but recent rain had added a fair bit of cold water to the lake, which didn't bode well.
Anchored on our port side was HMS Taffy, and Geoffs 1st Perch soon ellicited the familiar refrain of "It's a fish, I haven't blanked".

Dave the Fish managed to winkle out a few Skimmers on his jelly pellets, Colin despite ringing the changes baitwise was getting nowhere fast and I resorted to fishing out into open water to snare a couple of better examples of the resident Bream.
The Highlight of the morning however was the sight of Jason aboard HMS Bag-up doing battle "Stand up & Fight" fashion with a cracking Carp, A super fish of 26lbs 8ozs at any time, but from a punt, it has to be something special .

With nothing really having it, we upped sticks (in fact the mud weights) and moved across to the island, Dave and Colin fishing towards it and me fishing out into open water again. Colin hit into what was obviously a Carp, and despite doing the hard bit and keeping it out of the undergrowth surrounding the island was unlucky to have the hook pull once the fish was into open water .
I'd managed another couple of Bream when the swim was wrecked by by HMS Bag-up ploughing through bearing a mooning Beebs (No photo's, this is a family website)

This so traumatised our crew, that we were forced to return to the boathouse for burgers and tea.

Nerves calmed and refreshed we returned to the Island. Sport was slow for myself and Dave, but Colin found a few Perch and silvers while i very briefly connected with a Carp for all of a couple of seconds till the hook pulled .
Almost straight after this Colin connected with another Carp on his double maggot set up and this time despite it putting up a spirited fight, it was in the net. Not up to Jasons standard at 8lbs, but very welcome none the less .

All this commotion having trashed the swim, it was time for one last move round the island, and having settled in my 1st cast resulted in a positive bite. A brief scrap and a nice Tench which when weighed went 4lbs 4ozs proved to be the final fish for HMS Pension book .

On the row back we passed HMS Taffy who had returned Geoff to port suffering from a bit to much sun.
A final cup of tea and a session feeding the tame Carp under the boathouse (Mr Wilson's swim?) ended the day. Not the most prolific session, but still a good day out in good company.

 

First a word of warning Dear Reader,

If you fancy a quiet days fishing in pursuit of Perch DON'T post the idea on Maggotdrowning.com.
Hijacked?.........Well at least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask.

Last week realising that i'd be off today (friday) I posted on the going fishing section,

"I fancy a day at Hartleylands on Friday the 2nd to kick off the New Year.
Anyone else up for it?"
Thinking that someone may be mad enough to fancy a trip out after the excess of Christmas & New Year.
Dave the Fish mentioned that he fancied a crack at the large Perch that inhabit Samson pond, and before you could say "STRIKE" they were all lining up to join in.

Welshmen (Dai & son Dan) were planning round trips from the valleys, while a grumpy ex-pat old Englishman, moved a doctors appointment to stow away to his homeland.
Colin joined in because he had to supply a kettle for Dave the Fish, While Mick (Weyback) tagged along on the flimsy pretence of aquiring a ring for an old rod.
Terry aka Wily Coyote decided that as he'd found his "Winter Woolies" he'd better use them, and on the day from out of the blue "The Hat" aka Andy appeared.

Vince, the bailiff on hearing of this mini invasion, suddenly found a visit to his
Mother-in-law to be preferable,in case he had to get the excavator out to extend the pond, though he did appear briefly to part us from some ££££'s for BDAA raffle tickets.

Malc? Who knows with his inherent sense of direction, he may still be wandering the surrounding lanes seeking a sign.

So to the fishing.
Well it was soon apparent that 9 into a tiny pond that may at a squeeze take 7 wasn't going to happen so some split to other parts of the fishery.
The Hat & Wily to the reservoir, with The Hat armed with his new margin pole to try for his target of a "Twenty" on the pole, while Wily just wanted to be alone to recover from the shock that grumpy ex-pat old Englishman (Geoff),was in fact the very same Master G Palmer that he had been at school with some 40 years before.
Mick to the relative seclusion of Finches, while Colin elected to try Hennicker, though he later shifted to Nick's Lake.
The rest of us?
Being Lazy Buggers piled onto Samson, despite it being at least a 2 yard walk from the car park.

Oh yes , the fishing.............. Well not exactly stunning.
The Hat got his Carp, just a shame that it had been on a diet and lost 15lbs, but did get a specimen Perch

Colin managed to save his day with some small Carp from Nicks lake.

Dave wondered if his float tip would ever get wet, but did manage a couple of silvers at the death on some month old pinkies. Mind you he did have the handicap of seeing a beardless Geoff in the swim next door all day.

Geoff managed a couple of Gudgeon and a few silvers, but was left cursing after losing a Common Carp of about 5lbs, that smashed him having swum through some brambles, and promptly retreated under his hood and baseball cap to hide his shame.

Dai, despite the provocation of Geoffs phone playing "Sweet Chariot" at various times got a few silvers and a start in "The Fishing race 2004", but poor Dan despite trying with Dads pole in his swim only succeeded in bumping the 3 Roach he hooked.

Me?
3 small Carp and another Common lost when the hook came out, and about 20 assorted small Skimmers, Roach and Hybrids.

And 12 points for The Fishing Race 2004 ...........

The best bite of the day? Without doubt the hot pasties and pies that Dave the Fish kindly supplied half way through the day from the farm bakery. Nice one Dave.

So that was it a nice quiet day out that became a mini fish-in.
Friendships made and renewed, and faces put to names. A laugh and a joke with the fishing becoming incidental.
All in All......A Grand Day Out.

Maggotdrowning.com

 Northern Fish-in.

Well arriving on the Friday at about Noon, it was soon obvious that this was in danger of turning into a 3 day event, as numerous attendees had managed to find an extra day from somewhere.
Ray & Scouse had made it despite the suspension on Rays car going AWOL on the trip down. (Must have been the weight of kit )

After a couple of years of pounding the keyboard it was great to finally catch up with Norm, TeePee, Haydn, Mookie and others which up to that point had only been names on the Forums.

Dave & Stu had departed to get some important provisions (The Beer ) so I decided to while away a bit of time, so out came the fishing gear,and I soon had a few small Roach and Skimmers, before Stan (Elvingtons Owner) had parted me from the day ticket money and informed me that Carp and Poles weren't really on his approved list.

Dave & Stu soon returned and camp for the weekend was set up with bivvies put in place. Trogg had already set up with the flag of St George, strangely topped with a small Lizard flag proudly flying next to his bivvy, and Sil the Rotty standing guard.

Les arrived to take up his post of chief Bar Steward,and around about 7pm a group of us set off for the local pub for a meal and a couple of pints, and very nice it was too.

With no nightfishing being allowed normally at Elvington, the only thing to do on our return was to go and support the cause in the beer tent, which with the beer being only a £1 a pint wasn't to onerous a task , with some sausage baps being dished up as well, we disappeared to our bivvies to await the proper start of the Fish-in in the morning.

6.30 Saturday morning and people were rising ready for breakfast and getting ready for the off at 8am. Breakfast consumed, the Fish-in got underway as an already warm sun continued to rise in the sky.
Whether it was the hot weather or the sheer pressure of all the swims being occupied, but sport was slow to say the least with just the odd fish coming out.

Thankfully Red Leader had his rods out and these were producing fish, Just not for Dave.
It would appear that someone had drunk the beer tent dry overnight, so Dave had to jump into his car and go and get another barrel
Stu was soon of the mark with a 3lb Eel on Daves rod, and later I managed to get off the mark with a nice 9½lb Common Carp again on Daves rod.

Just as well really as during the course of the weekend I managed to lose all 4 of the Carp that I hooked on my own rods.
I did manage a Ruffe though,for 3 points in the Fishing Race.

Dai managed to liven up proceedings by having his rod dragged in by a rather determined Carp, while Trogg showing a rather nimble turn of foot rushed to the rescue, but in trying to avoid a landing net handle, stumbled crashing down on a sleeper on the bank and ending with his head under water . Still the rod was retrieved with the Carp still attached, an 8lb Common, but at some cost as it became obvious that Trogg had cracked a rib for his trouble.

Dinner time and it was fish & chips for some and back to the pub for a few of us, prior to fishing through the night (a concession from Stan for the Fish-in)

Dave & Stu on their return tackled up for an attempt on the Cats, while myself, Simon R, Tiny and Geoff settled down to spectate.
Well the banter was good to say the least, and the hysteria was probably heard round the whole lake well into the night, until we retired and left them to it  .

At this point I should probably apologise to Dave,as it appears that i managed to keep him awake the whole night,as evidently my snoring resembled a Diesel Generator working overtime.  Me? I never heard a thing.

Sunday morning and at breakfast a rather bleary eyed Mookie appeared, blaming Uncle Geoff for leading him astray in the beer tent the previous evening and wondering why his legs were still having trouble obeying his brain.

Dave actually managed to catch a fish on his own rod...........

.......... and Jack Thresh managed to get the biggest Carp of the weekend with just a ½ hour to go, a lovely Mirror of 19½lbs.

All to soon it was over and time for Troggs ceremonial beheading shaving.  Amazingly this was accomplished without a drop of blood being spilt.

The raffle was drawn and the auction was held, and for those of you that weren't there i can only say that you missed a treat in the shape of Rose the Auctioneer, as Stu said "what a gal"

All to soon it was all over for another year, Hands were shaken, farewells said as we all disappeared in our different directions.
Thanks to everyone that made it possible, those that attended, and all the sponsors, but most of all Thanks to Dave & Stu for all their hard work in making it a Fish-in to remember .

Maggotdrowning.com

 Day Out.

This all started out with Geoff asking me a couple of months ago to suggest a venue that he could visit on a free weekend.
As with all harmless requests it soon turned into a mini Fish-in, as when I suggested Elphicks, Geoff realised that he could tie it in with a visit to Mum in Hastings.
Wey Back (Mick) had just joined MD's and Geoff had established that they had fished in similar areas in the past,and Beebs (Steve) was soon roped in to join the party .
So a thread was posted on the "Fishing Talk" forum (For Wey Back or Beebs) and as these things are prone to do, it developed a life of it's own .
Soon NoFinPhish (Jason) had decided to accompany Beebs and Martin found himself available to have a crack at a new water. Alan P (Eastangler) then decided that it would be a nice day out for himself and his son Loz P. Newbie Dave the Fish liked the look of it as well and joined in, so we all decided to meet at 7am in the Car Park.

Geoff stayed at my place overnight, and we set off at 6am towards Elphicks.  6.30am and we have come to a grinding halt on the A21, and there we sat for the next 3 hours caught in a 5 mile tailback.

During all this chaos Dave the Fish managed to save a young lady's blushes by hastily erecting his brolly to shield her as nature called, and as she told us after "It was the most impressive 50 inches" she had ever seen . Meanwhile mobiles were ringing to find out where everyone was, or more correctly wasn't .

Well the Traffic finally moved and Geoff, Dave and I finally arrived, just in time to see Beebs landing a nice Carp of 13lbs weighed by Martin. Introductions were made and swims were picked and finally we were ready for the off. Due to the recent dry spell the lake was a good foot below it's normal level and all those that had chosen the far side platforms could find was about 18 inches of water. I took advantage of peg 11 being free and had about 3 feet on the pole line.

Sport it has to be said was far from hectic, but everyone was getting the odd 1 or 2 examples of the various species that inhabit the lake.
I had got off the mark with a Tench of about 3lbs and a few Rudd caught on an expander pellet. About noon Joe32 put in an appearance as agreed to collect some tackle that various members of the site have donated to help him get a youth project off the ground. This was taken as an excuse to adjourn to Sally's Reel Food Bar in the car park for another round of chat, tea's & burgers.

As with all these sort of days, fishing seems to take a back seat, but during the afternoon I managed to bring my total upto 12 Tench (6 green & 6 golden) with a few skimmers thrown in for good measure.

Meanwhile Geoff had got himself a nice Golden Orfe and was adding to his species count..........

Martin was coming to terms with a peg considerably shallower than he is used to on the drains,as was a pal of his (Reg) who had come down with Martin for the day.

Wey Back and Dave the Fish were engaged in various states of relaxation as this whole get-together thing with the Maggotdrowners was a first (but hopefully not the last) for them .........

Alan P and his son Loz were suffering with a definite lack of water in their swims and so moved onto the next Lake (Kettles) in the afternoon and things picked up a bit for them with Alan finally being able to christen his new pole. though young Loz took things easy as he was suffering a headache.

Beebs having had his generous gift for Uncle Geoff refused (A Welsh Baseball Cap ) split his time between the 2 lakes while Jason soldiered on.

All too soon it was time for me to leave so I made my way around and bid my farewells. As usual the fishing seemed to have come 2nd and in truth the lake didn't fish as well as it can, but it seemed as if everyone had enjoyed themselves, and Uncle Geoff even managed to add a Crucian to his tally as i bid him farewell.

Me? I had a blast, Thanks to all the lads that came down, Hope you all enjoyed yourselves, we must do it again sometime.

Maggotdrowning.com

 Welsh Fish-In.

I arrived at Hazel Court ponds at about 6.30am, after a nice leisurely trip down from London, to be greeted by various stumbling figures emerging from the collection of bivvies and tents that was base camp for this latest M/D's Fish-in over the course of the weekend .
The fishery is comprised of 4 ponds that are fishable and a stock pond and various hatchery pools that are dotted around the complex.
After greeting and introductions were completed, 7am signaled the start of fishing for the day and everyone elected to fish the bottom pond.

The weather was absolutely glorious , though a steadily freshening breeze was to make presentation awkward for some as the day wore on.

Now as is the style at these gatherings, the social side of things tends to get in the way of the fishing, as everybody catches up with the gossip, and more walking gets done as everyone circulates and stops for various chats.
Having set up a waggler and a feeder I soon established that there were more than a few small Rudd present . A slight understatement as every pool on the complex appears to be heaving with them. Very soon though I was into a decent fish, fishing the waggler tight to a bed of lilies.............

........... and after a spirited scrap I had this nice Mirror Carp to show for my efforts .......

Geoff arrived for a chat and we walked up to the "Match Lake", stopping off at the stock pond to admire several large Koi that were in residence.(2 of which were 10lbs+ with another not far behind )
On arrival at the Match Lake we were confronted by the site of a tent with a flag of a little red lizard flying over it!!!!!
Sitting there on the bankside on a small scale model of a North Sea oilrig, surrounded by enough kit to open a tackle shop was Ray Owen.
Now Ray after 30 years of fishing matches, has this year decided to give it a rest and try "Pleasure" fishing, but is still having a little difficulty adjusting to the pace of this form of the noble art, but after this weekend i'm sure he'll get there.
After a short chat Ray decided to move down and join the rest of us, and with the help of a small team of sherpas (Me & Dave) duly moved.
Throughout the day, some nice Carp, mostly Ghosts and Mirrors were caught.
Around about midday Dave caught a Ghostie with a deformed face that Stu christened "The Parrot". A couple of hours later i was into a Carp myself and Stu wandered round and did the honours with the landing net,and there in the folds was "The Parrot"!!!!!!! Don't they feed these fish??????????

As the day wore on Stu decided to break out his "Noddy" kit (his words,not mine) and get into a serious bit of Rudd bashing with his lad Daniel.

  

Now some might be tempted to say that Stu using a pole resembles a Garden Gnome (Trogg), but as he is considerably larger than me, I wouldn't dream of it .

As the afternoon wore on, more and more anglers arrived and to be honest the fishery is probably too small to handle the amount of pressure placed on it by these numbers.
All day long Dai and his son Daniel (Yes,same name as Stu's son) had been fishing to a lily bed as had Geoff. Now Dai's lad has definitely got "The Bug" following his recent exploits with Carp, and as the afternoon wore on he was into a Carp that was intent on getting back into the pads .........

I think the smile says it all,and he did it again later on,with another larger fish!!!!!!!!!! 2 PB's in an afternoon. Well done Daniel. At least I think that's what Dai said, but my Welsh is a little shaky.
Geoff meanwhile soldiered stoically on, despite having one of those days, where more fish performed Houdini impressions than he would have liked .

As the day ran towards it's end, I had moved over to the next pool to escape the constant wind in my face, and after casting a small feeder towards the central island, the tip wrapped around and I was rewarded with a nice Tench of about 3lb (but not one of the golden one's I'm afraid, sorry Trev. )

As everyone packed away for the night (No nightfishing allowed I'm afraid,) I decided to try out one of the Hotcan ready meals that i had won in the Elvington raffle. What can I say, following the instructions and piercing 3 holes as instructed, a mini nuclear reaction appears to take place, resulting in one very hot can with steam pouring out of the top. 12 minutes later and a piping hot meal is ready. This one was a vegetable curry and very nice it was too .
After dinner some of us visited the local hostelry, and were treated to a couple of pints by Dave , courtesy of a Lottery Win.
A brief chat ensued on our return, by the moonlit ponds, as the bats flew above our heads, before retiring to our bivvies ready for the next day ahead.

6.30am, and Cliff (the owner) has appeared for a chat with the gang as we assembled for the 7am start. It promised to be another breezy day, although it was coming from the opposite direction!
Dai was on his own as his lad has gone on a rock climbing course, and he was joined in the next swim by Ray who was determined to get to grips with his first foray into the world of Knotless Knots and hair rigs , but still seemed a little shocked by the size of gaff (size 16 actually Ray)that made up his rig!

Dave had set up on the opposite bank to launch his customary 2 method rods towards the central island. Stu and Daniel were in Dai's swim from the previous day. I had returned to the swim that I had finished in yesterday. Geoff meanwhile has settled into a swim on the next pond along. It had a large patch of lilies to fish to and the far bank appeared to be solid rushes. Supposedly it held a large head of Ghost Carp and almost certainly an even larger number of Rudd!

I started on the waggler with a single grain of corn and slowly but surely the swim came to life, but it was only the Rudd worrying the bait, however by keeping the corn going in a number of better examples around the 8oz mark came to hand.

In general though,things are slow. Poor Ray had a close encounter with a Coot that managed to get tangled in his line, and put up a spirited resistance before I managed to net it for him. In the net it managed to disentangle itself, and to swim off with nothing more than it's feathers ruffled .
I struck into another Rudd bite only to find that it wasn't, and after a brief but spirited fight, i was rewarded with an immaculate Mirror Carp of about 6lbs.

Geoff meanwhile has been wading through the small Rudd in pursuit of the Ghosties that inhabit the pond he was fishing. Dave had a couple of Carp while Stu and Daniel were having great fun with the pole in pursuit of the Rudd.
All of a sudden Dai's margin rod was away,and after a brief struggle I did the honours with the net and Dai was rewarded with this nice chunky Mirror Carp .........

My swim seemed to die as more anglers arrived in the swims that were previously vacant,and with 180 miles of the M4 to negotiate before i got home, it was time to pack the kit away .
Soon it was time for farewells and thanks. Walking round to Dave I arrived just as he hooked into another Ghostie..................

..........................the fish managed to run through Dave's other line and the resultant tangle acted as Dave's cue to finish up and get ready to head home.
Stu And Daniel were still slaying the Rudd on his "noddy" tackle.
(Bet you're glad you didn't sell it now Stu )
Dai was still soldiering on while waiting for the family to arrive, and Geoff had come over for a chat and a break from the Rudd, and Ray was loading his mountain of kit away, while trying to get his head round this whole new approach to fishing that is so foreign to him.

Thanks a lot lads it was really enjoyable and a great weekend, We must do it again soon .