Maggotdrowning.com

 Fish-in.

Dave the Fish and I arrived at about 3pm having endured the road to hell that is the A1. (roadworks & roundabouts)
A few of the lads were already fishing, so we decided to set up camp in Maggotville. The 1st challenge was to set up my Defender bivvy that had never been out of its bag, and of course doesn't come with any instructions!!!!!! Luckily Alan P has a 2 man Defender and was able to supply a few clues as to where everything went .

So all set up and settled in, it was time for a stroll around to see what was on offer. It's quite strange to find a fishery like this which is essentially set on an Industrial estate, but with the heavily wooded surroundings you would never know it. Paths through the woods lead to lots of small ponds and lakes dotted all over the complex, and sitting on the Tench pond I came across Norm and his young son Chris who were busy getting amongst the small Carp & Tench which inhabit it.....................

Carrying on round the complex it was becoming apparent that all the ponds and lakes contained not a lot of colour, in fact the water was amazingly clear, also the lilies had been allowed to run riot and could do with some serious attention. Marginal shelves appeared to be almost non existent, and most of the anglers fishing appeared to have at least 5ft of water just a rod length out.

The Match Lake.

Looking across the Match Lake which is the largest lake on the complex, lots of Carp could be seen cruising around and topping everywhere, although they didn't seem to be all that interested in feeding. On the way back, I bumped into Dave (Red Leader) who was trying to tempt one of the Carp on a mixer. To say that these Carp were wise to the method would be a bit of an understatement, as they proved to be well practiced at mopping up the freebies and ignoring the one with a hook in it. Finally dapping a bait in the lilies resulted in a take, but the action proved to be short lived as the hook parted from the line, due it appeared to a poorly tied knot.

The frustrated Stalker.

At this point Beebs finally arrived having also endured the road to hell, and a few of us decided to retire to the local pub (The Mallard) and partake of the carvery and a couple of pints.  Returning fully refreshed I couldn't resist having an hours dabble on the match lake, but with not a single bite and the light fading fast, it was back to base camp to christen the barrel of beer and a bit of banter before turning in for the night.

7am saw myself and Red Leader setting up for a feederfan match on the match lake.To say that sport was fast and furious would be a total lie. A heavy mist that covered the lake at first soon burnt off and we were obviously in for another scorching day.
My 1st bite resulted in an obvious foulhooker that set off for the other side of the lake before the hook pulled. It would be nice to say that everyone bagged up, but a combination of gin clear water, scorching sun and mostly flat calm conditions meant that most struggled on the day. Dave and I ended our session with honours even with 3 Carp each!

My Catch.

Dave the Fish who had spent the day in the swim to my right finished with 6 Carp, all taken on dapped pellet for a total bag that must have approached 30lb.

Graham further up the lake had managed 4 with the best being a nice Common, estimated at around the 15lb mark, while bigladwigan managed to get amongst a few late on fishing casters.
A wander around the lakes during the day found Jeff and Dave Scouse fishing the Scummy pond next to the Tench pond, and merrily baggin up on the stockies,but getting sorted out by some of the larger samples that weren't meant to be in there!

Saturday night was Barbecue night with hot dogs and burgers all round and another attempt at emptying the beer barrel.
"Deckchair Pants" made sure that the raffle ran smoothly, Well done Haydn.
Then once more it was banter time with discussions ranging from leg length, to gratitude, female attendance at fish-ins, Hovis and various other subjects till midnight.

Sunday morning, and a chance of a final couple of hours before packing up and heading home saw me and Dave the Fish on the scummy pond.

A few small Carp and Tench, with a few better examples to Dave and his dapped pellets made for a pleasant morning.
A chat with me, no I wasn't talking to myself but me (Simon) and another with bigladwigan as he got himself amongst a few of the small Carp was interrupted when Chris decided to plunge into the pond head first, while Norm to his credit got his priorities right by saving the pole before helping Chris out.

bigladwigan and a small stockie.

Strolling back past the match lake to pack up and Craig (Bashy) was into one on the corner peg and despite a few nervous moments soon had it in the net.

Dave, a couple of swims along was also putting a few into the net, but for us it was time to pack up and get going, Via the M1 this time rather than face the A1.

So there it is for another year, impressions of Yaddlethorpe? Hard to truly judge given the heatwave conditions, but i would say that it needs some serious management to get to grips with the lilies that appear to have run riot and make life very difficult in most swims on all the lakes . A lovely looking venue though that really brings a touch of the countryside to an urban area .
To Dave and Stu, thanks for all your efforts once again , and to all those that attended, Thanks for your support. It was great as usual to meet some new faces and catch up with others met at previous Fish-ins once again.
The fishing itself may not have been up to much, but the company and banter was superb as usual.

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

 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 .