Whitehall League Match - Whitehall Pool 22nd May 2011

Weather: 12C - 16C cloudy with showers, very strong wind 20mph+ gusts.
Water: Rich brown with 16ft breakers (in my peg anyway).
Peg: 27
Baits: 4mm feed pellet, 6mm & 8mm expanders sensas crazy bait red broundait and meat
Weight: 9lb something

Well conditions were far from perfect today. I stood at the car park on my first club match thinking crikey I wish I had a cooked breakfast this morning, oh and of course how the hell am I going to present a bait in this.

I decided to go for a anything that swims and can fit a 6mm pellet in its gob approach and found 8ft of water at 7m to attack as this was the limit of holding my pole in these conditions. Second approach was to pile in groundbait into the edge and fish big chunks of meat over the top to snare some of the bigger carp towards the end of the match.

Rigs I set up:
Pellet on the deck was a 0.8g Maver Invincible series 7 shotted with a spread bulk of no 8s and 2 no 10 back shots. This was on a 0.17 powerline to 0.15 powerline hooklength tied to a B911 size 16. Due to conditions this was  set the float bristle length overdepth and half a tub of bristle grease to stop it sinking into the waves. This was set to soft set black hydro which lands anything with a pulla
I also set up a couple of shallow lines which did not produce so I'm not going to talk about them!!
Margin line was a 0.2g Hillybilly Billybob undershotted so the meat took the bristle to 1cm above the raging weir pool I had in my margins. Line was 0.19 powerline straight through to a Kamasan Animal size 14, and this was fished to Red Hydro.

Started off kinder potting squeezed balls of 4mm feed pellets on my out line and fishing a 8mm over the top to wait for the bigger residents which resulted in 2 gudgeon. Not what was expected, a switch to the 6mm propmted the crucuans and f1s to have ago and in the first hour and half I put 3lb of bits and pieces in my net. To my left maggots were being pinged in and that killed my swim cold. Little interest for the pellets on the deck, shallow, shorter or longer than where I was fishing. A solitary skimmer and a 2oz scale from a foul hooked monster was all I gained for my troubles.

Onto the margin line that I had been feeding with loose groundbait, first put in and the float dibs and before it dob it shoots under and I am met with solid resistance. A beligerant fight insues and a snare the 5lb beasty in no time. Straight back in and the float keeps traveling down, after thinking the meat had pulled it down the slope I lift gently in to a funny shaking fish. It zigged and zagged around leading me to thinking it is a tench however out came a load of fins and not a lot of fish. Getting very excited after seeing everyone else struggle I go back down the edge only to be sitting in hope that my float would then sail away. Both edges didn't produce a touch for best part of an hour and half and my pellet line just produced some other bits and pieces. Overall a little disapointing but not too bad with the other weights coming from the pool and with some anglers failing to catch all day. Winning weight of 16lb was done on the maggot catching the silvers that are so prolific on the venue.

Been a bit occupied...

What was going to be an almost weekly venture into blogging has turned into a sad neglected account of some odd fishing exploits. Must try must harder in future although I have been side tracked by the odd bits and pieces at work (KERCHING).

To sum up from my last post, I have been mostly taking part in club events with a few opens here and there. During the Easter break I went to Ockeridge for 3 mid week opens, I had heard a lot about the place and it was responding well to the pellet. I had some good weights of 69lb 78lb and 79lb all on the pellet and bit of paste down the edge but was always short 25lb-30lb for the frame, usually coming from end pegs which i failed to draw. I also ventured to cob house on a miserable April day, was the only day in April it rained, to fish a Wednesday open on Laurel. I like this pool because of the prolific catches of all the varied species in there. Conditions stopped huge weights coming out and 95lb won with lots of 60s and 50s. I came 4th with 63lb of pellet caught fish with an impressive silvers net weighing 29lb of skimmers, roach, Rudd, crucians and tench.

On the club scene I have had a truly miserable spring league with St.Johns after coming 3rd in the Autumn series I set the bar quite high for myself. The 3 small pool fished miserably with very tight fields and then came tooby's on the windiest day EVER. I drew the car park side right in the corner with the wind battering me all day and tried for the first hour to fish bagging wag and pellet wag. Truly pants! I had mixed a load of groundbait expecting a great day so 2 hours left and a Rudd in my net I filled in a line at 8m and tried to fish my pole. Now if you were pegged to my right 8m away you would now be without head as all I do was get spun around on my box with the wind which was now sending waves over my footplate. Chucked a method feeder out and wallop 1st carp of 4lb in the net, next put in a drop back and a skimmer, next put in tip flies around and drag starts screaming 13lb now in the net with this beasty. I then chucked back in and had a small carp of 2lb after 10mins wait. All the while I was looking into the corner as I saw some tails in the edge so I had a chuck. All of a sudden a back appears out the water and I reliase I must have cast into about 8inches of water and there goes my tip, after a long battle out comes another 7lb-8lb fish so about 22lb in the net and 10mins left. Which swim do I choose, I went for the edge swim and luckily the tip went around and a nice 6lb-7lb fish was the result. 29lb I put on the scales which I thought would be enough not to be embarrassed but everyone else had struggled bar Dobbo out of the wind on the baggin wag and his 2lb test curve rod. So I ended up with 3rd and a 100% record of framing on tooby's.

Onwards now to the Whitehall league campaign, starting at the club pool.....