Friday the 11th of May
After last Friday's blistering performance at Moorlands Farm, I decided to go again and see what I could catch. The eighty odd mile journey passed without incident and I arrived at the venue in time to choke down a breakfast. After a discussion with the locals I drew peg 56 on the Meadow where Bob Jones informed me that it was 'spot on'! Great I thought, I am going to catch something. The only problem with the peg was that I was going to fish shallow today at 14.5 to 16 meters and the bank behind me was too high for that to be done comfortably. I started at 14.5 but it was hard work so I settled for the 13-meter line. At the start I decided to try softer elastic because I was losing fish the previous week on a number 12 so in went the number 10. I scaled the hook down too and put on a size 16 B611 to .14 line direct on the shallow rig. When the whistle went to start, I put the pole out, fed about ten pellets and the float went under. A 3lb carp first drop, then a chub next drop. The third carp on the third chuck was about 5lb, which took a little longer to net due the softer elastic. When I did eventually scoop it against the side I found that I had scooped a Crucian carp of about 10 ounces at the same time. Which was nice! I managed to catch around fifteen carp in the first hour and then they just vanished when the wind picked up. I was really struggling for odd bites when Dean Barlow got there. He sat behind me for a while, obviously sent on a recognisance mission by Keiron Rich who was down in Whiteacres on one of his free holidays that he won this year. They have a team in the Talkangling League too. I caught some carp while Dean was there but I was still struggling. I potted some bait down the edge and after he went I caught some late on but it wasn't enough. The guy opposite weighed 108lb and I could only manage 78lb odd, which was good enough for second. I think that if I was able to fish longer then I would have probably caught for longer as they seem to feed more confidently further out. Still I had good days fishing and the weather was fairly hot too. I was only trying to sort out a method after all and get some practice in for the forthcoming league. I think the change in the elastics worked too, I never lost a fish all day! Sorted I can't wait to draw on a few!
Wednesday 16th May Moorlands Farm
After the decent weather we have had over the past weekend I knew it wouldn't last and Wednesday was cold to say the least. Oh well, you cannot go fishing just when the weather suits so off I went to sort it out. again. I am fairly confident that once you get those fish feeding shallow in your peg, then nobody around you is going to beat you by fishing on the deck. Its just not where carp feed naturally but by dumping bait in it forces them down. We all run the risk of foul-hooking them when fishing deep too. It sometimes takes a while to get them going but when they turn up it is possible to put a good weight together.
Wednesday was cold but I felt that it was still warm enough to catch shallow but not from the start. I drew peg 16 and someone told me we were fishing Bank pool today. I am not sure where the peg is so I went to have a look. It is down the far end of the pool and the wind was blowing into that corner. I looked at it and thought " this is too good to be true. There are three pegs that are not used to my left so I actually had loads of room because peg 17 seemed miles away. I was just thinking about how many inside rigs I was going to need when someone shouted to me from the café " We are on the Meadow" I knew it was too good to be true but I was on a good peg anyway so I didn't complain.
The wind was not very nice there as it was blowing across and in my face but I thought I would catch some carp when it got warmer. I started on the deck but foul-hooked one straight off. 5lb and in the side, this number 10 elastic is good stuff. Things were just not happening for me and I couldn't get bites at all in that wind. The anglers opposite were catching well with the wind behind them and seemed to be catching bigger fish than the odd one I was getting. I kept feeding about five pellets ever few seconds at 14.5 meters but the fish were not responding at all. I couldn't get any bites on the deck either which confirmed that there were not many fish here. About half way through the match the cloud cleared and the wind dropped which looked promising to say the least. I was getting as few small carp on the waggler shallow so I knew there were a few here now. I put the pole out and after five minutes I caught a common carp of 5lb. I seemed to be getting them regularly too, one a chuck for ten minutes and then the wind picked up again. I just could not present it right which is annoying when you know the fish are there to be caught. Someone on the other side had 85lb and won it but I could only manage third with 56lb.
The guy next to me reckons he would have pushed me had he caught earlier but I think he would have had more chance had he not lost six carp off the hook. I had the best weight on that side of the lake so I am confident about the method. I just need to draw on a few or have the conditions right for longer to win the match. There are so many carp in Moorlands and they are not difficult to catch when they are in you peg but you do have to get them there. The only way to do that is to feed it regularly so they come to the sound of the bait going in. I have spent the winter fishing shallow for roach and chub so this is a relatively similar style of fishing. At Moorlands there are anglers who are really good at this type of shallow fishing and do really well, while other specialise in fishing short and on the bottom. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this league as certain anglers are going to dominate the matches. People like Chris Hill and Clive Munslow are going to be difficult to beat wherever they draw. The same goes for Keiron Rich Craig Evans and Dean Barlow, who incidentally are fishing in the same team. The results and calamities of the league will not go unreported so if anyone does anything notable like falling in it will be mentioned on here. Stay tuned for the latest wind-ups to try on your mates when they are fishing. |
