Christmas Matches - Manor Farm Ash Pool and Whitehall Open

Manor Farm 28th December

Weather: 4C-8C clear and windy.
Water: Unbelievably still quite a lot of colour in the water
Peg: 6
Baits: SDP Nori 1mm feed pellet, 4mm ringers cool water pumped with SFA 430, Marukyu EFG 130 and red maggot.

Weight: 16lb 10oz (Section win)

I got asked to fish a match on one of manor farm's pools, I have seen and heard a lot about this venue. It is solid and the results during winter are consistently high. Unfortunately the pool we fished didn't really have enough room for the anglers fishing which made the fishing tough.

I set up on my peg and first of all found the bottom of the near side slope, I fished half a metre up the slope at just under 6m in 5ft of water. For this line I used a hillbilly billybob in 0.2g to 0.11 powerline and a 0.10 hooklength to a 18 drennan silverfish maggot.

The next pole line I set up to fish was a long line at 11m-14.5m, I found a uniform bottom here so plumped on starting at 11m due to a cross wind making things difficult. I set up a maver invincible series 7 in 0.6g to 0.13 powerline and the same hooklength and hook as above, this was to white hydro on a pulla.

Finally I set up a feeder/bomb line in case the fish were not coming within reaching distance for the pole. It turned out that this was the only thing I could fish due to the cross winds and then the sun reflecting so brightly in my peg I couldn't see anything, let alone a dotted down float even with polarised glasses on. I used my brand new 11ft maver powerlite feeder, with a snap swivel attaching either bomb, cage and 8inch-12inch hooklengths.

I started off the session by potting in around 20 micros and 4-5 expanders on my pole lines and then chucked a small drennan grip-mesh feeder out with a 8inch 0.11 powerline hooklength to a size 18 drennan carp feeder hook for maggot and another with a quickstop on a hair rig for Jpz or fluro boilies. I chucked out every 8mins at the start and had 2 liners but no proper takes.

The lack of action on any ones tip lines prompted me to switch to the pole I noticed people opposite me catching on the long pole. I went out to 11m for 30mins without a bite. The wind was picking up which meant I couldn't hold my pole at 11m at all. The 6m line was not producing but I kept frugally feeding this swim.

I switched back to my feeder line and after 4mins and just over an hour gone the tip wanged around and my first f1 of about a pound found it's way into the net. The next hour produced a couple of skimmers and small F1s. However the bites were finicky and I was getting lots of knocks which made me think they were attacking the groundbait. I switched to the method and managed a carp of 3lb on the first chuck.

The final hour was the most producted for me, I caught 2 carp of around 3lb each and 2 more F1's all back on the groundbait feeder and dead red maggots.


Whitehall Open 30th December

Weather: 4C-6C overcast in morning then pouring down in afternoon.
Water: Colour has dropped completely
Peg: 8
Baits: Micros, 4mm expanders, caster, maggot, Sensas Roach 3000 80% mixed with 20% Sensas Lake Black .

Weight: 10lb 8oz 4th (best non carp weight)

I decided to run an open on the club pool between christmas and new years, it was down to be a match fished by MFS however with lack of numbers I ran it as an open.

I drew peg 8 slap bang in the middle of the pool and towards the deeper water that the larger fish tend to move towards in the winter.

I set up 3 lines, the fist was for catching a number of silvers quickly at 5m with maggot and casters over groundbait. I found just over 7ft here so fished a 0.4g homemade pencil float with stung out shotting, I also set a rig up at half deck here on a 0.07 SconeZone Bitz. Both of these lines were 0.10 to 0.08 and a 20 drennan silverfish maggot hook.

At 13m I wanted to fish pellet and pick up everything that swam here. I set up a 0.06 SconeZone Berweemz in just over 8ft of water here  and at about 8 1/2 ft at 10'oclock line for a back up if the fish move from my feed. This was on 0.13 powerline to a 0.11 hooklength and 19 Drennan Silverfish Maggot hook. This was matched to a solid latex size 8 on a pulla bung.

The session started with me potting in a tangerine sized ball of groundbait on my 5m line along with around 15 caster for fish to graze over. I then went out to 13m with 20 micros and an expander on the hook. First 10mins didnt give me any signs so 20 more micros went in through a cad pot and a maggot was tried on the hook. This time 3 roach came to the net but after a long time between them. I changed the shotting on this rig to have 4 droppers below the bulk instead of my usual 2.

On returning out to the 13m line with more droppers I let the rig settle and the bristle buried and a lovely crucian of 10oz came to the net. Then 3 more brown goldfish followed all around the 8oz mark, I reckon that these were sat above the feed and just followed the feed down and thus the pellet falling slower and took them as they hit the deck.

After this short flurry I lost the fish so moved onto the short line where I had now potted in 3 balls of groundbait. I went over with a caster and 2 small roah followed straight away and then a load of liners. I moved the shotting but againg just hit liners. I put the half depth on the drop rig over with a single maggot and had 2 rudd and a good roach of 6oz-8oz. This line was producing small fish but they were of no size. I had to gamble on the pellet line.

On returning to the pellet line it soon ame clear that it was solid with brown goldfish, I took 10 brown goldfish, 2 goldfish, 5 roach and 2 large fantails in the last 2 hours. I could have taken more however I had issues with my float; I had dotted it down to see the finicky bites which was fine. The water turned white which made things tricky so I coloured my bristle black which made it look like a rain drop so I kept losing sight of it. I had to then take some shot off and look for dinks so I must have missed 8-10 bites.

All in all an enjoyable match and its just good to get some bites this time of year.

Whitehall Fur and Feather - 20th November 2011

Weather: 6C overcast, foggy and cold.
Water: Colour had dropped completely out of first foot or so
Peg: 22
Baits: Casters, worm, mircos and 4mm expanders
Weight: 3lb 0oz

The weather is no where near the harshness experienced last year so the fur and feather should fish O.K. and the fish should respond even though there were a lot of anglers on the pool right... right... wrong.


I pulled peg 22 out of the bag which I thought could have been worth a few fish, I had said prior to the match pegs 12-19 would be my favoured draws today I wasn't too far out of the area I wanted. My approach was to catch anything and everything today as the time of the year means the carp would be reticent to feed and I cannot sit and do nothing in a match, it is not the way I fish. I plumbed a line at 13m and 14.5m to be the same depth at 8 1/2 ft and also a line short at 8m just 2 inches shallower so the same rig was used for the deck. I also set up on the drop rigs at 5ft and 3 ft to search the water for bites if things got hard.


My deck rig was a sconezone berweemz in 0.6g to 0.13 powerline and a 0.10 powerline hooklength with a size 18 drennan silverfish maggot hook. This was shotted with a bulk 2 feet from the hook and 4 no10's stotz spaced 6 inches apart. I matched this to white hydro, which although a little heavy for small silvers would ensure I get any bream, chub or proper carp in using the pulla.


My 'drop' rigs were on hillbilly billybobs the 3ft rig on a 0.1g and the 5 ft rig on a 0.2g both were on 0.10 powerline to 0.08 hooklenghts with a 20 drennan silverfish maggot hook both to a number 5 latex. Shotting was strung out 10's at 6inches apart for both rigs, the reason for the 6 inches is that this is the same size as my hooklength so the rig is falling evenly through the water and at no point is the line sinking faster than the hookbait, this also allows you to read any bites at any point on the rigs fall through the water. If there was a bulk then you cannot read any bites on the drop until the bulk has settled unless the fish hooks its self.


On the all in I potted in a tangerine sized ball of micros, worm, caster and peat that the worms came in on my 13m line and went over the top with the 5ft rig to pick out any fish cruising and intercepting the bait on the drop. I had a tiny nudge on this rig in 5mins so went onto the deck. I was feeding 8-10 casters every 30seconds to draw fish into my peg.


The first hour saw me blank completely on the deck and after 30mins I potted in again which had no result so at 11:00 I potted my 3rd ball in. 5mins later the bristle lifted and then buried, a strike saw white hydro streaming from my pole tip and unfortunately into Keith Holt's peg and his rig. This resulted in the carp becoming unhooked and lost (I still believe Keith purposefully sabotaged me!!!!).


After this I started to get liners on my rig so I slapped the 5ft rig on to the surface, again a couple of liners and then the float stayed sat proud of the water I struck into a lovely 2oz golden rudd... the dreaded blank was avoided. Again I was getting liners so I got the 3ft rig out and first put in the float cocked and then buried aggressively and a strike saw elastic zig zagging across the surface, a lovely 10oz-12oz perch was the victim.


All the time I was pinging in caster 10 at a time. The next couple of drops resulted in small 5 small roach looking things upto 1oz. I was contemplating going a foot deeper with my other rig when I layed the rig on the water and the float scooted across the water and a lift saw my tip get dragged under the water, the result a lovely chub of nearly 1lb. After this I went to the deeper rig after the 3ft rig did not produce.


First 3 put ins saw rudd come to the net all at around 2oz, a few fruitless drops then saw another chub to about 8oz come to the net. Next thing I know I am half an hour from the end of the match, I spend 15mins on the deck for 1 roach at about 4oz, until finally the drop rig produced an ide of about 8oz.


3lb went the scales, i had guestimated a bit more at 3 1/2lb which would have catpulted me up a couple of places but the prize I had my eye on was still at the table when I got there in 6th place. A huge bucket of continental style groundbaits and some pellets and additives will help my already clustered shelves of bait. A well ran match and well enjoyed, well by me anyway, well done Whitehall angling club and all involved for a great year.


In other news I have been to Larford fishing the classic qualifiers on sundays on the speci lake, I have had 1 good draw and 1 average draw and have done equally pants on both, narrowly missing out on a section win beaten by Grant Albutt and a 3rd in section all on the method at distance and some skimmers at 16m on the pole and pellet...