Landgate Lodge - Sunday 30/01/11 Rover

After missing a week of fishing (which luckily wasn't a match week) for a lovely weekend away with friends, I was itching to get out and fish our 2nd Winter League match at Coppull Mill on Sunday. I was really looking forward to get back on the bank, and also to try out the prototype floats that Nick Gilbert (http://www.float-store.co.uk/) had sent me free of charge as I know he is waiting for the review - apologies Nick! Imagine how gutted I am when Breamcatcher posted the news that the lake was frozen and the match was off - I'm becoming convinced our Winter League organiser is allergic to the cold! My disappointment lasted only a few minutes though as I decided to go to my local club water at Garswood Hall AC to fish the Sunday Rover. All wasn’t lost...or was it?

Saturday was a busy day getting things done, but managed to get out to the Tackle Shop for bait and then thought I'd go check out the lake (maybe this should have been the other way round but I was going to fish regardless!!!).  When I parked up on the car park I noticed how lovely and still the water looked - however it is very hard to get a ripple when there's over an inch of ice covering the entire lake!!! Even the margins were frozen and as I am was lacking an ice breaker - I needed to make one and quick! That 100m of rope I bought for £1 7 years ago and an old 5lb dumbbell weight from the back of my dad's garage were soon made into what turned out to be a decent icebreaker!

I collected my tackle from the parents (I really need some storage place at my gaff!!!) and spent the remainder of the night tying rigs and hooklengths in preparation...oh and thawing out my worms! Sunday started to a nice sausage barm listening Fisherman's Blues on TalkSport (I don’t think there are quite enough adverts on there!!!) as I made my butties and flask of tea and set off for the draw hoping to match (no pun intended) the draw I had a few weeks ago - Number 1 on the rover. This wasn't to be as I came out 17 - then came the call "REDRAW" much to the displeasure of the guy who had already drawn peg 1 - oops. I moved up 3 places and drew 13. Now it is 2 years since I was last a member of Garswood and not far off 10 since I fished any of the Landgate lakes so needless to say my knowledge of the pegs has gone completely - as was shown by me picking peg 19 a peg that was 4' deep when the 6 to my left all had over 6'.

So I set out to my peg, listening to the usual statements of "I bagged up on there last week", "good peg that one", etc, etc. I was greeted with reeds/rushes running out 6 or 7 metres and open water everywhere else. I decided to clear a channel to the side of the reeds where I was hoping snare a perch or two and some open water to 13m (I aimed for 14 but came up short) that would give me a 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock swim. After 35 minutes of throwing in my breaker and scooping out sheets of ice I was ready to start setting up my peg. I decided to feed chop and caster to the rushes, groundbait and pinkie to the 10 o'clock and a loose feed approach of maggot and pinkie to 2 o'clock. Groundbait was 25% Green SwimStim and 75% Bream-X, and the chosen rigs were a 4x10 pencil float dotted down to nothing for the 13m swims (both had the same depth) and a short 4x8 float dotted down for the reeds swim. The match was delayed for 15 minutes to 10:15 while everyone finished breaking which managed to leave me 2 minutes spare for a quick brew before the all-in.

I began by potting a small ball of groundbait and 12 pinkies to 10 o'clock, around a dozen maggots and pinkies to 2 o'clock and a small pot of chop and caster down the reeds. I was envious of the guys to my left who had over 2' more water than me but was still hopeful. The first 30 minutes on the 10 o'clock line went without a touch so I gave 2 o'clock a spell of 20 minutes - nothing. I had already decided to rest the reeds line for at least 2 hours due to the disruption close in so went back to 10 o'clock. Immediately I hooked a nice skimmer around 6oz which managed to shed the hook at the surface which I was gutted about! The swim now went dead for an hour. Meanwhile, a small skimmer was landed next door but one, and the guy immediately to my left was catching small roach steadily to around 2oz. A small top up of groundbait and pinkie kick started the swim just as Jeremy Bates was telling me how Andy Murray had lost another Grand Slam final without winning a set, and the cricketers were getting a good arse kicking down under - so far the sporting scene for me wasn't looking good. Time for a quick sarnie (Cheese and Chilli Jam for anyone interested) and back out at 5 past 12 and immediately got a small roach of 1oz or so from a single pinkie. The next 5 put ins heralded 5 more fish before the swim went dead. I switched to double pinkie - nothing. Tried maggot - nothing. Switched to 2 o'clock - nothing. I decided to pot in a small amount more of groundbait and pinkie and decided to have a go at the reeds. I started on a small piece of chop, then switched to caster but after 20 minutes I hadn't had a touch so went back out long. Again I immediately began catching on single flouro pinkie. I switched to a maggot and got 2 better roach of around 3oz before the swim died again. Time was marching on and to my left and straight opposite fish were coming out quite regularly and looked more like the 3oz kind than the 1oz kind. Again nothing from 2 o'clock or the reeds but after a 15 minute rest the swim picked up again.

At 3 o'clock with only 15 minutes to go, I got snagged on the ice bringing in a small roach that got off and left me in a right tangle so I decided to warp up as I knew I wasn't in the frame. I decided to weigh and my 20 or so roach weighed in for 1lb 4oz - enough for joint 10th on the day although a there were a few DNW's out of the 21 who fished. 5lb 3oz won followed by 4lb 15oz followed by a 3lb weight for third. Speaking to some of the guys after the match it appeared everyone struggled to string bites together, so either the fish were backing off under the ice shelf, or the frequent temperature changes (when the sun went in it was bleedin' freezing!!!) switched the fish off. All in all a decent day out and I'm now looking forward to Sunday's Winter League match where breakfast is available!!! An extra 20 minutes in bed for me!!! I may yet manage to worm Thursday afternoon off work and will make a trip to Coppull Mill to test out the floats if anyone fancies it!

Charity Farm Lake 4 - Winter League Round 1

 

Welcome to my first blog entry and thank you for visiting. I hope you find it a decent read!

Sunday finally saw us begin the NW Maggotdrowners Winter League after 3 postponements due to the lovely weather we've had since before Christmas! We did attempt to begin the league before Christmas at Bannister House farm however after 2 bite less hours for all but 3 anglers and the ice freezing up the lake faster than we could break it - the match as a league match was abandoned!

I did worry, that having fished my last 4 outings through ice, I may have forgotten how to fish without it - alas this was not the case. The day though didn't begin too well! As I have no storage space at home, all my gear is stored at my parents and I load up my car the day before. So after getting everything ready on Saturday night and a nice 6:30am alarm I left the house at 7:30 to arrive at the lake for 8am and have a good 30 minutes before the draw to wander round and check out the lake. This was abandoned however when only 2 miles from the fishery, I suddenly remembered my side tray was in the garage at my parents and not in my boot. Cue turn around and arrive 5 minutes before the draw so the day could really only go one way from here!

I had never fished at Charity Farm Lake 4 but have walked around so knew the layout of the lake and the fact that we'd be fishing for skimmers but not much else so didn't mind where I drew to be honest. So when I drew out peg 19 (see red circle above), it didn't mean anything to me other than I would be battling a right to left gale for the foreseeable future! 

Upon arriving at the peg, I decided on a 3 pronged attack beginning with a small groundbait feeder toward the island in front, a long pole line at 13m and a short 2+2 line around 5m out. So after mixing up my groundbait (50:50 split between green Swimstim and BreamX with a few casters, pinkies and choppie) I set out setting up my feeder and pole lines. I fished a small running feeder within a loop above a further 2 loops on 0.16 mainline and a 10" hooklength to 0.12 and a PR29 18's hook. For my pole lines, I found around 7' of water at 13m which I chose a 4x14 Diamond bodies float for stability in the waves on 0.16 to a 0.12 hooklength with a PR29 18's hook to a doubled up number 5 latex. I found around 5' at 5m so fished a 4.14 round bodied float hoping the extra weight in the shallower water would assist with stability. This was on 0.16 mainline to a 0.12 hooklength with a PR29 18's hook to doubled number 5 latex.

I managed to get all my gear sorted with 10 minutes to spare so had a hot cup of tea and waited for Breamcatcher to blow his whistle. After cupping in half a pole cup of caster and chop on the 13m line and a quarter cup of flouro pinkie on the 5m line, I sat on the tip for 45 minutes which proved to be fruitless. A few liners but no real takes. So I decided to swap to the pole. After cupping in the same again and a small walnut of groundbait on the long line I baited up with a small piece of chop and had my first put in. 10 minutes later I was into my fish, a lovely pair of eyes on a hook, followed swiftly by another. I decided to feed positively as I was getting bites so put in a cad pot of 6 casters and a few pieces of chop every put in. Bites were steady and pairs of eyes were coming to the next regularly before a couple of nice skimmers approaching 1lb. A period a calm ensued before an 8oz perch and a welcome 12oz tench followed. More small roach came to the next and another skimmer before the swim went a little quiet at midday. A switch to the short line brought nothing on pinkie (strangely as the rest of the lake seemed to catch on pinkie and not a touch on chop!). I cupped in a marble sized ball of groundbait on the long line and a few casters and chop before giving the tip 20 minutes. The liners had gone and I didn't get a sniff so went back to my productive long line. DEAD! Nothing there. I had waited maximum of 5 minutes between 10 and 12 for a bite now nothing. Looking round the lake, not much was coming out - I knew someone had a tench around 3lb and a nice perch of 2lb had been banked and no doubt "I've only got 4 roach" wokkie would really have a netfull on the other side of the island but knew I needed more fish to be in with a shout. As much as this is a social thing for me and to enjoy the craic, I have never met a bloke who secretly competes in everything to win - be it the Christmas quiz at work, a 5 a side match or a winter league match in the middle of January and I am the same! I sat for the next 2 hours swapping between worm, caster, maggot and pinkie but couldn't buy a bite. Then with half an hour to go, 2 bites in 2 put ins brought me a roach of 1oz and another skimmer close to 1lb.

With the all out at 2:30 I thought I had a good chance of getting in the frame! Word came round that 5lb 15oz was winning (must have been 4 bloody big roach by Ray!!!) followed by 4lb something but the question was did I have enough??? As it turns out, I weighed in 5lb 10oz just 5oz short of 1st but as Breamcatcher says, may as well have been a million miles away! Match 2 of the year, first fish of the year and a second place to round off match 1 of the winter league and get me off to a flyer. 

Off to Coppull Mill Lodge next on 30th Jan where I expect a strong performance from Breamy, Cyril, Wokkie et al seeing as its their home water!!!