Maggotdrowning.com

Rolf's Lake Match.

Another cracking day in good company saw 19 of us assembled in the car park at Rolf's to take part in Matt Nutt's 1st attempt at organising a match.
A lot of us were survivors from The Jinx Series with a couple of new faces from the site attending their 1st MD's event. Even Webbo had come down from Yorkshire to try some proper fishing .

I drew peg 26 and was joined on the car park bank by Paul, Nick (Slimcatcher) and Webbo to my right and Young Dave & Gemma, Royst and Malc to my left.

Paul, Nick(Slimcatcher) with Webbo behind a bush.

Royst(playing a fish) Malc & Jason(JKG)

Sport was never fast and furious (An understatement in Paul's case ) but we all watched a lesson in how it should be done as most of us watched Gary opposite on Peg14 show us how it should be done with a superb display of up in the water fishing,  and I think we realised that we needed snookers when he got a 3rd keepnet out   !!!

Perhaps it was just having Rolf sitting behind "coaching" him that gave him the edge though .

Spare a thought for Mark C as he was pegged between Gary & Pete Thompson who finished 1st & 2nd. Mark stuck at it though and did manage a few .

During the match I managed to smash a top kit trying to get a lump's head up before it buried itself in the bush to my right much to various peoples amusement , I did manage a few though, one of which Gemma captured on camera .

However a thought should be spared for Paul on the next peg to me, who despite trying everything in his bait bag could only manage a 5½lb Orfe as the carp in his peg went on strike, Having escaped being pegged next to his nemesis Dirk, thought he was safe, He should have known better , naturally we were full of sympathy for his plight  .

At the end of the match it was those with the experience of fishing the venue that took the spoils, proving that it's not the easy venue that some seem to think, but I think it's safe to say that everyone has plans to return at a later date to try to get to grips with the challenge that the venue presents .

Here's the results of the day............

NB: On Sunday 25th September, Gary Thorpe smashed the World 5hr match record with a weight of 490lb 8oz from peg 19.

The JINX Series 2005

Match 6.

Well all to soon the final match of The Jinx Series had come around with the Venue being The Boundary Pool at Manor Farm Leisure.

A bit of a change for me was that during the preceding week Dave the Fish had expressed a desire to come and see if all the things that he had read and heard about the series were true (as if you could make them up!!!!) so he volunteered to pick me up and drive me on the day.

As has been my custom for the series we left early, so that I could arrive in good time to get a look at the fishery and try to get a feel for it. A stop off on route in Battersea saw us fortified with Sausage, Egg, Bacon and Bubble + a mug of tea.

A trouble free trip saw us arrive in plenty of time, while an initial look around The Boundary Pool revealed a lake that was at least 2 feet down from what appeared to be it's normal level with a stiff breeze blowing into the opposite bank to the one we were going to fish, very few fish moving, though a pleasure angler was catching a few small carp to feeder tactics.

Back to the café for a tea and a sausage sandwich and the lads were starting to arrive.
Soon we were all assembled, even Matt who had flown in from holiday at 9am.
12·45 and with the draw due at 1PM and no Malc to be seen, I thought I'd better give him a ring!!! Well he was driving down a dirt track somewhere in the surrounding countryside,
LOST AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!, Sorry Gem but I think he needs a Sat Nav system before he fits a stereo into the car.

Draw finally done, the start of the match was put back to 2·30 pm. With only 15 of us present for the last match we were well spread out with just Matt, Dan and myself in "bantering" distance on pegs 1,3 and 4 at our end. The fishing? Not quite what we had been led to expect, finicky and frustrating bites or were they liners being the pattern of the day for me at least. I'd been told that to have any chance of winning the series that I needed Matt to be 3rd and for me to win the section (Steve W, who was also in with a shout being the wild-card as he was in another section) but with a couple of hours gone, young Dan was showing us both a clean pair of heels.

With a couple of hours to go and us all scratching it was time for a bit of refreshment, with tea being served in a most civilised way by "Butler" Dave.

Events show that a good last hour with a couple of better fish gave Matt the section and the series, while a bonus carp hooked up the bum (Mugged???) allowed me to sneak past Dan at the death.

Congratulations must go to Dai, who managed his 1st ever match win on the day with 29lbs 12ozs of feeder caught carp, a great result for a good mate.

Just the raffle remained, which finished in the dark and the final results of The Series to be announced!
But alas no Series Final Results!
Malc had managed to post the result sheet to one of his poor customers somewhere in England, but they've been posted on the site now.

A word of thanks from me to Dave the Fish for acting as my Chauffeur & Butler on the day, Hope you enjoyed your insight into what makes The Jinx Series the matches to be on.

THE RESULTS ON THE DAY

Finally i'd like to say a big THANK YOU to the inimitable Malc for running the most pleasurable match series that I've ever taken part in. Captain Chaos might be a better name, but without his efforts it just wouldn't be the same!!!!

THANK YOU to Trevor Price and all at G.O.T.Baits & Merlin Baits for the series sponsorship and the very generous raffle prizes that have hopefully raised a few bob for DEBRA.

Next an equally big THANK YOU to all of the lads that have fished in the series.
As with all matches, it's the anglers taking part that make or break the events and as a newcomer to the series I couldn't have wished to have fished with a better bunch of lads who made me feel at home straight away.

Finally, Congratulations to Matt, 4 section wins and a new record weight for the series says it all, A very worthy Winner.

I'll definitely be back for next years series.

This is Malc's run down on the series result

SPONSORED BY
G.O.T BAITS
&
MERLIN BAITS

HELPING TO RAISE FUNDS
FOR THE CHARITY
DEBRA

THE FINAL RESULTS

Well thats another Years "JINX" SERIES over and what a series it's been

Plenty of new faces and a new Series match record put on the scales by Matt in round 1 with a cracking weight of 211lb 4oz

We've also seen many personal records being broken including Marks best match weight of 116lb 2oz which was also his first match ton

Young Dan setting his best match weight at 95lb 8oz which also included a new personal best Carp of 15½lb

Dai not to be out done by Dan put in a new best match weight of 69lb 6oz and also recorded his first match win

There has been a total of 5 100lb plus nets and a 200lb plus net and only a total of 12 blanks recorded during the series which is also a new record as normally there are a lot more of those

We've had loads of entertainment from Neo in the way of snapped pole sections, swimming pole sections and general misfortune but he's taken all the stick in the way it's been intended.

Matt has also given everyone a few laughs with his high rise landing tactics.

We've suffered the normal mishaps from yours truley in the form of being late, getting lost, leaving stuff at home, getting dumped on by fisheries and generaly running a series like a total pillock, but thats all part of the fun.

The banter has flowed during every match especially if drawn near Dirk or Paul.

And a nicer bunch of lads could not be found to fish with...

This years winner for the second year running is MATT NUTT with 6 points and a total weight of 404lb 8oz Well done Matt a fine effort.

Second place this year goes to new boy Peter Morton with 8 points and a total weight of 213lb 9oz not a bad result when you think Peter had not seen 5 out of the six venues before.

Third place with 9 points is THE JINX himself by way of a greater weight as Keith Ashby, Steve Wilson & Malc Doyle all scored the same 9 points but Malc comes out on top with a total weight of 299lb 5oz

Worst result is in RED and final total is minus worst result (total weight also included)

Not fished any, 6 points awarded for each match
Jimmy Ledham
Scott Essary

Comeing home in FIRST PLACE are Peter & Steve with a 60 Point total and combined weight of 431lb 1oz well done as up to the last match it was all still to play for.


THE PAIRS RESULTS
Worst result is in RED and the final total is minus worst result (total weight also included)

Thanks to all for a good 2005 series.

Malc Doyle100lb+ JINX CLUB MEMBER 

The JINX Series 2005

Match 5.

Well it looks as if THE JINX is slowly coming home to roost for a few of the participants in the series.

17 of us met up for round 5 and after the usual banter set off down the boards to our alloted pegs.

For most of us it appeared that the fish didn't really want to play with the notable exception of Peg26 where Steve W had a very pleasant day with a succession of carp and a winning bag of 89lbs 6ozs.

Spare a thought for those around him, Keith had to watch him bagging all match while struggling for his 4 fish while Dirk managed to avoid the dreaded DNW with a solitary Perch.

I struggled with just a tench and a carp in the first 3 hours till i strolled down the boards to plant a smacker on Malc's head , finally managing another 5 fish on the baggin wag  for 27lbs 10ozs to bump me up the results.

NickW (Neo-1) managed to get out of jail by snatching some small perch from under the boards, while Nick WP (Monkey) managed a couple of carp in the final hour to lift his spirits with his best result in the series so far ......

Dai on the end peg spent the match finding out just how far a 2¾lb carp rod could bend as he did battle with a succession of lumps under the boards with a final score standing at 15-4 to the carp , putting 20lbs 14 on the scales for 6th.

Neil M managed a couple of proper ones at the death for 18lbs and 8th..........

.......but did have the distraction of having to watch Paul trying everything he could think of all day to no avail and still record a BLANK!!!!!!!!

Malc fished THE MAGGOT for 3rd on the day with a level 28lbs (the lengths he'll sink to to get £1 off me.)

Keith's lad David managed to beat dad 19lbs 14ozs to 10lbs 12 ozs............

Geoff E snuck into 5th with 24lbs 2ozs...........

while Matt fished his usual tidy match on pellet & feeder for 37lbs 2ozs and 2nd on the day.............

So it's onward to Manor Farm for the final match of the series, can we keep THE JINX at bay or will it return with a vengeance? We'll soon find out.

Individual Results.

1st	Steve Wilson	89lb 06oz
2nd	Matt Nutt	37lb 02oz
3rd	Malc Doyle	28lb 00oz
4th	Peter Morton	27lb 10oz
5th	Geoff Eggison	24lb 02oz
6th	Dai Thomas	20lb 14oz
7th	David Ashby	19lb 14oz
8th	Neil McCurran	18lb 00oz
9th	Eric Robothan	13lb 00oz
10th	Nick Watkins-Price	12lb 00oz
11th	Keith Ashby	10lb 12oz
12th	Nick Jones	9lb 12oz
13th	Dan Thomas	2lb 02oz
14th	Nick Williams	1lb 00oz
15th	Derek Robothan	6oz
16th	Dirk Williams	2oz
17th	Paul Roberts	DNW

 

The JINX Series 2005

Match 4.

Well Saturday saw me arrive at Makins for the 4th match in The Jinx summer series.

Owing to a double booking by British Waterways we had been moved from Phase 1 Lake 2, and reports from Phase 3 didn't bode well.

I drew peg 23 and Geoff E on peg 22 soon informed me that we would struggle as he was a regular at Makins.

Plenty of grass growing through the platforms on most pegs rather gave the game away that it doesn't get a lot of fishing pressure and I have to say Geoff was dead right.

After 5 hours 5 fish (all carp) from 6 bites gave me 10lbs 8ozs for 11th on the day.

At least I managed to win my section by default, giving me a brown envelope to cover my costs, my 3rd pick up of the 4 matches so far. 

Next comes Clattercote Reservoir in 2 weeks time.

The JINX Series 2005

Match 3.

Well I arrived at Stockton with plenty of time to spare having left early to try and miss any traffic that was heading to the Grand Prix at Silverstone.

The weather was glorious, a nice contrast to the dull grey of the previous 7 days in London, and as I strolled round the reservoir, I couldn't help thinking that the stories I'd heard of the place being a heartbreaker in matches had to be exagerated.

Looking across at the boards I was shocked to see a fisherman on the pegs reserved for the match..............

However although he was more successfull than Scott, he wasn't doing a lot of harm .

Back at the carpark Nick(monkey) had arrived, and with plenty of time we decided a pre-match pint was in order, so off to The Blue Lias for a drink in the garden, where we were joined by Keith and his lad David .

After a couple of pints it was back for the draw, where amid groans and laughs I found myself fishing peg17. A quick chat with Malc recommended 7mtrs for proper fish or 4 mtrs for silvers, so off i set to see what Stockton had to offer.

I found myself between Nick(polepot) on 18 who was quick to inform me of his love of Stockton............NOT .

and Dai on 16 so a few laughs would be had at least .

The all-in was delayed by 15mins so at 2·15PM we were off.
Out went a method feeder to see if I could find a quick mug fish, but after 10 mins without so much as a knock that was filed away and it was pole time having seen Keith and young Dan nick an early fish each on their poles.

Now paste fishing is not something I do a lot of, but having read plenty of Malc's reports of his exploits with paste at Stockton, I'd come prepared with 3 balls of it already made up (nothing special, just green swimstim with some tuna Felix added) which I was going to fish over loose fed swimstim micro's.

Plenty of knocks followed as rudd attacked the paste, but after 30 mins the float just vanished down the plughole. Loads of what Malc refers to as 'Knicker-elastic' poured out of the end, and there was me thinking that I'd set it to tight! I finally got it down to my top 3 and then the fun began, these carp don't like coming off the bottom, but finally after about 5mins there was a nice mirror in the net of about 6lbs .

Sport for me was never fast and furious, but at regular intervals the float would vanish and another lunatic Carp would put in an appearance. 9 in all while another couple decided they wanted to reach the other side of the Reservoir resulting in hook pulls before I went water sking .

Towards the end we were treated to Malc giving a chub a flying lesson from under the boards, while Matt was seen standing on his Rive trying to get a carp in the net..........................

good job he had those new trays fitted. He's now searching the Rive catalogue for the accessory step ladder  .

Finally Nick (neo-1) having gone out on a light rig to snatch a few rudd to avoid the horrow of a DNW latched onto the carp that had avoided him all match and as the all-out sounded we were treated to the sight of him playing it on what appeared to be a top 8, and having manfully battled it close to his platform (with plenty of sympathetic support from his fellow anglers) it proceeded to smash his top kit and shed the hook! Never mind Nick, it's what they call character building .

Come the weigh-in and the scales worked their way down from peg 24 where Eric's dad Derek had managed a creditable 12lbs 8 ozs (The same peg that Scott had managed 6ozs from on the previous weeks Intersite.) with Eric (ejayar) putting an excellent 30lbs+ of rudd on the scales for a total of 37lbs 2ozs.

I managed 9 carp for 58lbs 10ozs to put me on pole as Geoff could only manage 54lbs 13ozs and Matt on peg 3 53lbs 6ozs. So finally to Dirk on peg 2 who put 9carp and a tench onto the scales for a winning 59lbs 2ozs and the win. I'm sure that Tench had been force fed ½lb of Lard though .

Back to the carpark for the raffle and a bit more banter and that was it untill a fortnights time at Makins. Can't wait . 

Individual Results.

Southern Intersite Match.

What can you say?
Team MD's approached the match in their usual professional manner.

Preparation..... Absolutely None!!
Team Selection..... Last Minute Panic ..... But all members of the team were forum members.
Tactics..... Just catch a bleedin fish.
Objectives..... Enjoy the day.

The scene was set at 8·30am with a phone call from THE JINXinforming me that he had taken a slight detour from Reading and was just turning round at Jct1 of the M3.

8·55am and My phone goes again, Yes you guessed it, it's THE JINX again.
"I'm here at GOLD VALLEY but where is everyone else?"
My reply wasn't really suitable to post here but was along the lines of so I passed the phone to Dave the Fish to guide him in while I went in to draw for the team.

The match itself is probably best glossed over, as for most it was a bit of a struggle though special mention must go to young ashley who along with his dad John stepped into the breach at the last minute and managed a creditable 25lbs 15ozs for 2nd in his section from the Middle Lake.

A vote of thanks also to Jason (NoFinFish) who popped down during the day to support the team, and Beebs who also put in an appearance and invited us back to his house for a pint after. Much appreciated

Here's how the team performed on the day........

My Thanks to all that fished, everyone tried their best and you can't ask for more than that.

And here's a few pics from the day.....

Ashley with Keith "Fishermans Blues" Arthur .

Dai struggling manfully trying to fish his "washing machine" swim...

Dan with a specimen Perch...

And a Bream for me...

and finally Malc & Gemma watch the Weigh-In...

The JINX Series 2005

Match 2.

Drayton! Well what can I say? It was hot, Boy was it HOT The fish were still spawning, and did I mention it was HOT? At the start we were told you would need a peg in the 30's to catch and the further away you were, the more you would struggle. They weren't wrong.  My 1 fish, a 10lb mirror came with 15mins to go. The winner was Malc THE JINX Doyle (peg36) with a great bag weighing 118lbs ...... The runner up was young Daniel Thomas (peg35) with a bag weighing 95½lbs, just 1 fish short of his 1st 'TON' and including a new PB Mirror of 15½lbs ...... Dan's new PB.......   Individual Results.   1st    Malc Doyle          118lb 00oz   2nd  Dan Thomas     95lb 08oz  3rd  Paul Roberts     89lb 00oz  4th  Matt Nutt     45lb 00oz  5th  Mark Causer     19lb 00oz  6th  Steve Wilson     11lb 08oz  7th  Derek Robothan     11lb 00oz  8th  Peter Morton     10lb 00oz  9th  Tim Westmoreland               8lb 08oz  10th  Dai Thomas       6lb 00oz    Nick Jones       DNW      Nick Watkins-Price                      DNW    Keith Ashby       DNW    Roy Ravenhill       DNW    Eric Robothan       DNW    Dave Moore       DNW    Nick Williams       DNW    Geoff Eggison       DNW    Dirk Williams       DNW

The JINX Series 2005

Match 1.

Since finishing with my club, I've entered a small match series run by a certain Malc Doyle. This series is known as THE JINX Bag-up Series, though in other seasons it's been anything but, but then Malc isn't known as THE JINX for nothing. 

This is my account of the 1st match in the series................................

Well I arrived at the services at junction 8 on the M40 in plenty of time to meet up with the rest for the short jaunt to Rolfs.

Malc was early, didn't appear to have forgotten anything and the sun was shining!!!

A quick 10 minute trip from the services following Matt Nutt and there we were, pulling into the car park at Rolf's, Already present were a mix of old and new faces and soon the banter was flowing .

Now I'd read and heard a few reports about Rolf's, but the reality is something else and something that I wasn't prepared for. It's only small, but quite picturesque with just 40 pegs that are all solidly constructed and nice and low to the water.

 The real shock though was the sheer number of Carp cruising the surface basking in the sunshine, all apparently commons, and seemingly unconcerned, well at least till the start of the match.

Back to the car park for the draw and I drew peg 23 with young Dan drawing peg 24 to my left, Matt having voiced a preference for peg 7 promptly drew it and the general concensus was that we were all fishing for 2nd as Matt wandered off with a happy grin on his face .

Setting up didn't take me long as my main pole was in need of a refurb, and probably not up to the stress and strain, so it was margin pole or nothing with 3 rigs, 1 shallow, 1 at depth for the 7mtr line and 1 for paste in the margin as I had a nice bush to my right. All the while the carp were still cruising and I swear a couple even winked as they passed .

Rolf insists on a minimum of 2 nets, 1 for small carp up to 4lbs and 1 for carp weighing between 4 & 8lbs. Anything larger has to be weighed and returned immediately. This is acheived by having tanks containing a salt water solution (to kill any parasites) with a weigh sling in it behind every 4th or 5th peg along with a set of supported scales and a clipboard and pen to record the weights which you get a neighbouring angler to witness. It sounds complicated but works very well .

11am and the all in and having started at 7mtrs, the float buried and I was attached to my 1st Rolfs carp! To say that these fish are fit doesn't do them justice , especially as Rolf insists on anglers using top kits that allow a bit of elastic to be pulled out. Into the net and at probably 7lbs a nice start .

It wasn't fast and furious and I was having problems avoiding the roach and skimmers that don't really count, though I did spot Nick (polepot) weighing a couple to record them, but he was struggling, and had experienced the full power of THE JINX in previous seasons and was taking no chances.

Opposite me TA's Neil McCurran & Eric(ejayar)Robothan were having their own match within a match , I think Neil McCurran won, well he certainly won the stretchiest elastic competion .

Young Dan to my left was having a bit of a grueller, finding bites hard to come by but had managed to get off the mark with one early on, it was just adding a second that was proving elusive.

Halfway through I'd managed 3 weighers and a couple of smaller ones, so had a look at paste down the margin. Plenty of bites but only 1 carp as it seemed to be solid with small skimmers that ripped the paste to bits as soon as it hit the water . With hindsite I spent far to long trying to make it work, and with an hour to go went back to alternating shallow and deep for another 3 weighers and a couple of smaller ones.

At the end I'd had just under 60lbs of weighers with those in the net taking the total to just over 88lbs, which as it turned out was enough for the section money .
The weigh in is well practiced here with lots of weigh slings and with all the fish getting getting a dip in the salt solution before being returned.

 Now for the comedy section, during the match Nick(Neo1)Williams had lost a pole section, so Malc needing no encouragement stripped off to his swimming trunks to retrieve it. He soon found it, but it turned out to be a section lost by another angler earlier in the week, however another paddle soon found Nick's section.  

Back to the car park for the raffle and results, and with 5 tons including Matt's winning double ton, as well as a good number of weights in the 60 - 80lbs range nobody could really believe that it had been a JINX match, mind you I'm sure that we'll all come down to earth with a bang at Drayton next saturday. 

Individual Results.

Maggotdrowning.com

 Fun Match.

Well at 8am I pulled into the car park to be greeted by a sign saying WELCOME MAGGOTDROWNERS that had been posted by the fishery staff, and as I got out of the car I could see Darren strolling towards me across the carpark After a brief chat we decided to go and have a stroll so I could show him a few of the lakes on the complex.
On our return we bumped into Ginger and Sven and adjourned for a spot of Brekkie as the others arrived . Looking out of the window I could see Malc "The Jinx" arrive wearing a polo shirt and sunglasses, a sure sign that the weather would deteriorate in the not to distant future .

With half an hour to go before the draw Vince and I set off to peg the Bank that had been reserved for the match accompanied by Ginger and Big Sedge. It was the bank alongside the river and with a wind that was starting to freshen and blow straight into the bank it promised to be a tad exposed .
As we walked back just to confirm that "The Jinx" had arrived in Kent it started to drizzle.
Onto the draw and with 15 actually in attendance and with Simon (the owner) kindly only charging us a £6 peg fee, a £4 optional pool was added to keep the cost to a round £10 for most.

Vince and I drew last and attracted a few comments when it was realised that we had both end pegs between us. Luckily the fishery staff allowed us to drive down to drop our tackle, which was just as well, as by now the rain was lashing down.

With an 11am all in everyone had time to set up, though I'm sure that it won't have been long enough for Malc  It never is.

All-In, and the wind and rain meant that fishing the pole beyond 8mtrs was out of the question for me, and later as the wind increased that would be reduced to 6mtrs.
With shallow margins the wind was blowing my Carp net out of the water, and my silvers net was only kept in place by putting a spare landing net handle inside it!!!  

The actual fishing was for me at least, pretty simple, feeding a mix of 3mm pellet and red maggot, with a single red on the hook kept a pretty steady flow of small Chub, Skimmers, Barbel, Tench (both Green & Gold) + a couple of small Carp coming throughout the match.

So despite the conditions a nice steady match for me, resulting in a net weighing 41lbs 2ozs and 1st place .

Back to the carpark for a welcome cuppa and plenty of banter and we found out that Simon had kindly donated 3 bottles for prizes in his absence, so a handy £24 and a bottle of Champagne came my way . 

All in all a cracking day despite the weather doing it's best to wreck things, and as usual with these sort of gatherings, plenty of banter before, during and after. Special mention has to be made at this point of young Lee's performance, who handed out a good battering to his Uncle Malc from the next peg . 

Maggotdrowning.com

Southern Championship.

A rather threadbare turn out of only 8 anglers assembled in the car park at Hartleylands, on a bright sunny morning for the Southern round of the M/D's Individual Knockout Championships that was fished on the Reservoir at Hartleylands Farm just outside Cranbrook in Kent .

Little did we know that we were to experience the full range of weather in the course of the day ranging from warm sunshine to torrential rain, wind, Thunder & lightning and hailstones.

Ay the draw I was fortunate enough to pull out peg1, that has a small willow overhanging the water and is normally capable of providing a framing weight in matches .

Having fished the reservoir the previous Saturday, I'd already decided that contrary to normal practice, I was going to try a close in attack at around 3mtrs (the length of a power top2) in an effort to put a net of silvers together, but with a strong enough rig to stand a fighting chance with any Carp that put in an appearance .

The top2 was elasticated with yellow Drennan Bungee (rated 10-12) with a straight through rig made up on 0·17 carptek line, a 4X14 Preston PB13 ending in one of the new Fox series2 carp match hooks in a size 18. Bait was my favorite 6mm expanders coated in VDE pellet oil, sweetcorn and ¼inch cubes of luncheon meat that had been soaked in VDE Predator+ overnight. Feed was taken care of with a mix of Swimstim natural and green 3mm pellets.

At the all in, it was a generous handfull of pellets under the willow and another straight out at 3mm. 1st put in to the front and the float buried resulting in me getting off the mark with a 3oz Roach,and a top up with a pinch of pellet every put in as I alternated between out front and under the willow kept the bites coming all match.

 Periodically I would connect with a Carp and when this happened it was a matter of adding the rest of the pole and letting it play itself out away from the catching area before netting it, thus avoiding wrecking the swim I'd been catching in .

Malc finally managed to sort things out and put a few fish together towards the end of the match ......

but poor Vince's insider knowledge of the venue rather let him down today as he struggled being between Malc and me, though he did manage to put a few in the net, it was a case of to little to late.......

It did get a little lairy in the afternoon when we were treated to a combination of torrential rain accompanied with thunder & lightning (very very fightening ) but even during this i managed to keep a few going in the net.

Thankfully it stopped before 4pm when Paul,one of the fishery bailiffs came to do the weigh in for us.......

 The weights were as follows.......

Vince very kindly donated a trophy for the winning angler,and here he is presenting it

Finally a word of thanks to Malc & Vince for organising a thoroughly entertaining day and a word of thanks too for Paul Ward (the owner) and his staff at Hartleylands. Once again despite the weather throwing the lot at us, the fishery produced the goods, proving what a consistent fishery Hartleylands is .

Hawthorne AC club match.

Well it was off to Lavender Farm today for a Hawthorne AC club match.
For a bit of added interest i was being joined by 3 guests (all Maggotdrowners) in the shape of Dave the Fish, Colin the Pike and last but not least Malc "The Jinx"

After various bits of banter in the car park it was time for the draw. Peg 92 was mine and low and behold Dave drew 93. Fortunately Malc drew on the dam wall which was about as far away from us as it was possible to get , though poor Colin only managed to get 4 pegs away. I was planning to start on the straight lead fishing corn, with a possible switch later on to the end of a dead reed bed on my left, into about 4 feet of water.

At the whistle Paul potted in 2 big cups of maggot at 11mtrs, and in his first 3 put ins had 3 carp for about 10lbs in the net.  My tip meanwhile refused to move.  A hasty change onto the pole and out to about 10mtrs in 9ft of water with corn on the hook, resulted in a couple of tentative bites and my first carp, but I was going backwards as Paul was off to a flyer .

At the start I had fed a couple of handfulls of micro halibut pellets into the reedbed on my left along with a few grains of corn, and after about an hour the stems started waiving as fish moved through them. I'd normally wait till later in the match before going onto that line, but i was getting battered by Paul and had to try something. Bites for the most part were tiny little dips, but slowly I felt that I was pulling back the deficit. Paul having seen me catching close, moved onto his margin and while not getting as many as me, seemed to be catching a better stamp of fish.

Dave had decided to concentrate on the other side of the reeds to me, and was slowly putting a few together. Malc was happily adjusting to a smaller stamp of Carp than he's been used to at Drayton & Stockton, but unfortunately Colin was having a hard time of it in his peg, fish proving hard to come by .
All to soon for me the scales arrived, with Paul weighing 66lbs 06ozs for 1st place, to my level 63lbs which gave me 2nd overall, Pauls better stamp of fish making all the difference. Dave managed 17lbs 12ozs for 8th on the day and Malc managed a creditable 34lbs 14ozs for 5th. Colin tipped his back without weighing.

Also today the club was fishing its Pairs Cup and with my partner on the day Mark Smith weighing in with 48lbs, we were the winners with 111lbs.
So a good day for me,and i hope that my 3 guests enjoyed themselves.