Farmer Jack
Throughout the winter months I have been fishing the silver fish league at Woodland View, which is predominantly bloodworm and joker dominated. I have thoroughly enjoyed the matches there and have learned an awful lot about fishing the bait. At one point it seemed as though I was framing in every match but it can be a little peggy at times when it gets cold and therefore it is down to the draw at the end of the day. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to next year for the new leagues to start.
Now that the weather has been warming up it is evident that the fish are responding to more bait and the weights have increased to respectable levels once more. This means that at venues like Woodlands you will need to sort out a method, which allows you to frame from the majority of pegs. To me, that would be fishing caster shallow and avoiding the 'worm up in the water' approach. The Super league is running on both Moorlands and Woodlands this year so that will mean good attendances for most matches throughout the summer. I am guesting for Midland Match so that should be interesting as I am no great lover of team fishing.
Since the end of the season I have been fishing Woodlands and Docklow and I have been doing well from some pegs which are not brilliant. I have noticed that at Docklow, these pegs instantly become 'fliers' as soon as I draw them but you never get any recognition for winning from them. Who cares as long as the money is right?
The first one of these fliers was peg 12 on the Farmer Jack at Docklow and I spoke to one of the lads who drew it the previous week and he said that it has got a few fish on there but he lost six of them and weighed 30lb. With that in mind I set up with a lighter approach to getting the fish out but you never know what to expect when you draw some of these pegs. The wind was really strong and gusting in my face so the waggler was out of the question which meant I had to rely on presenting the bait in the margins for the carp. I decided to pot in some caster and keep things tight to start off as I didn't know what to expect. After an hour I had three tench for about 7lb and a few roach so this tight approach was certainly not interesting enough for the carp to put in an appearance. I decided to spray some caster at 12 metres down the bank and see if that had any effect but it was clear that the fish were going to be a problem when they were hooked because of the weed growth in the margins. I was using a number 10 Roubasienne elastic through the top three and fishing 0.16 direct which allows for the abrasive qualities of pondweed on the rig. I started feeding some bait and immediately there were a few signs that the carp were there as I missed the first two bites. I say missed but I didn't strike at them and when I lifted the pole there was nothing there so I can only assume that they were liners. I shallowed up and had two in two drops for around 10lb. I caught the fish on corn and fed caster and every bite was positive enough for me to assume that the fish were hungry and looking for bigger baits. If they were not I would have fished single caster hook baits for them.
As soon as I hooked the first carp it became tangled in the weed, which was close to the bank and it seemed as though the fish were lying up against it. The next carp did not give me any problems at all as I lifted into it and let it swim out with very little elastic out of the pole. They seemed to dive into the weed when you applied any pressure at all so I just kept to the same approach throughout the match. I did lose one at the net but to me, that is quite acceptable in any match.
I won the match with 60lb and ended up with some more Kamasan points (like I wanted them) As soon as I weighed in some 'muppet' announced that he knew I would win from there because it is solid. Since when? I am surprised he doesn't win every match he fishes with that much knowledge. There are so many resentful anglers at Docklow but their limited experience allows them to be jealous but not critical. I refuse to accept criticism from people like that, and who wouldn't? Fishing is becoming a 'thinking man's' sport these days because it is all about making the most of wherever you draw. There are too many people who go about each match as they did the last and then get 'shirty' when they win nothing - again.
Docklow Day Ticket Lake
My very next trip to Docklow was a sorry affair as there was a big turnout for the event which meant that the pegging was going to be very tight in places. Everyone was running around 'bleeting about drawing on the Match lake because peg 27 had won the last two matches there and when Des Ship drew peg 27 which turned out to be the bonus peg, everyone was suicidal. Personally I didn't fancy his chances from there because with the tight pegging, the fish usually move to either peg 6, 7, 8 or the pegs opposite 30 &31. They get herded there by the quantities of bait being thrown in - corn usually! Tins of the stuff! The result wasn't far out as peg 7 won the lake with 35 lb 1oz. No disrespect to Des, he is a very capable angler but you cannot catch carp if they are not in front of you at Docklow or anywhere else. However, there are plenty of other species, which are often overlooked by those who fish for nothing but carp - wherever they draw.
Speaking of which, I drew peg 20 on the Day ticket, which sometimes frames when the carp are there but they cannot be relied upon because they shoal up tight when it is cold and that means that certain areas become baron of carp. I fed some chopped worm on the 13 metre line and hooked my only carp of the match which went about 3 lb plus. It was clear that there very few in the area and put it down to being a stray as I failed to catch anything but roach in the first hour. I decided to have a go for them on the pole as nobody near me was catching and it was better than sitting there waiting.
I have done well over the past few seasons at Docklow by targeting these roach which are on most pegs on the Day ticket and match lake but on the day I was just not catching them big enough or quick enough to do a proper weight. The water was a little on the clear side but the fish were in the peg and feeding so it must be the presentation that was the problem. I shortened the rig so that it was around 10 inches from the pole tip to the hook and then I started to put a weight together. The only problem with this approach is that you are fishing around 13 - 16 metres with a very short length of line and that means tangles until you get used to it. It took me a long time to get used to it but it was worth the effort. You just hold the pole across your lap and feed continuously with the catapult. You only feed small quantities but it makes the fish compete and that is the secret. If you feed it right they will drag the elastic out and this is better then trying to hit the bites. I rarely shipped back without a roach on the end when I got it right and I find it is easier to unship to the pole tip and then lift the roach straight out by grabbing the line. Most roach seem to be lost when you try netting them. I caught for the majority of the match but didn't really have enough quality roach to do a big weight but my 35 lb was good enough for third overall on the day. I have won with weights over 50 lb in that past but you do need the conditions to be right for that.
Woodland View.
Due to the fact that I have to work occasionally these days it prevents me from fishing the midweek matches that are being run throughout the midlands so I decided that I was going to have a break from teaching and get some fishing done. I ventured to Woodlands and when I got there it was clear that it was going to be difficult to say the least. The wind was severe and easterly which meant that some of the lakes at the complex were going to have to be left out in favour of more sheltered areas.
Vince Gandley told us that the best option would be to fish front Deans because the wind was a little more comfortable there so we agreed as nobody wanted that cold wind in their faces. I drew peg 22 and thought that I would have the wind blowing straight down the pond and across me, which was fair but not very pleasant.
I assumed that Vince had looked at the lake and assessed the wind direction before he recommended we fish it. Evidently he had not as I had the wind blowing straight over the top of me. This was brilliant for me but not so good for anyone opposite. That wind was absolutely freezing and not very pleasant to be sat in and I did sympathise with everyone who had it in their face. Yeah like ha ha ha, and Vince definitely wasn't popular with those who had drawn there. For me, it was quite pleasant and I set up some rigs geared towards catching whatever was in the peg with a light approach in mind and after an hour or so, I was putting a few skimmers and roach in the net. I could see that Rob Ganley opposite had netted some better fish on the feeder which looked like carp and that meant that I was going to need a few bonus fish at some point. The area to my right was completely sheltered from the wind and I hoped that it might hold a few fish later on so I fed it from the start with caster.
I was catching a few fish at regular intervals with tench and crucians making the bulk of the weight and despite the wind, I was quite enjoying it. As I looked up I could see a familiar face on the horizon that I hadn't seen for a few months- Ian Chadwick. I say familiar face because that was all I could see of him. The wind had caught him in an unfavourable 'light,' which seemed to have lifted his hair off his face to reveal a hairline that started at the crown! I can't resist a pop at his receding hairline at every opportunity. We go back a few years to when White acres was all about drinking rather than fishing.
My first encounter with Ian was at Gwinear when, after getting soaked through, for five hours, I walked over to where Simon Christian was pegged to see if he was ready to load the car with me. Ian was on the next peg to Simon and I noticed that he was not going to be troubling the scales man in this residents match but as he swung his AS1 box onto his shoulder, the middle draw flew out sideways and landed upside down in the mud. This apparently is a common occurrence with AS 1 boxes but Ian had his hooks and floats in this draw. I was in some distress at this point and had to remove my tackle from my back as it was constricting my breathing. I was on my knees laughing at this guy that I had never seen before. However, as Ian was on his knees trying to salvage items from the mud, a guy with his gear on a trolley, seemed to be oblivious to Ian's now hysterical screaming, to stop before he ploughed through Ian's mud drenched miscellaneous items. By now I was laughing so much my sides were splitting and Simon had now joined in the laughing. That night in the bar, I saw Ian and thought that I had better apologise for my behaviour, as I didn't even know his name.
Ian was very understanding and we had a good laugh about it but he said that he had never met anyone as ignorant as the guy who had ploughed his tackle into the mud and was going to have a word with him when he saw him again. To cut a long story short, after slating this guy all week, when Ian did actually catch up with him he found out the chap was absolutely stone deaf.
It was good to see him again and I almost regret not going to White acres this year but I might do some of the later festivals in October. The fishing at this point seemed secondary as we reminisced but I could see that Rob opposite was netting a few better carp so it was time to have a look down the edge. I had fed it with caster from the off and it looked inviting as it was completely sheltered from the wind. First drop in produced a roach, which is not a good sign, as any carp in the area tend to push out the smaller species. Next drop in and I was surprised to see the float moving slightly to the side which suggested that fish were there feeding and creating some disturbance. I took about 10 inches off the depth and put two casters on the hook. For this type of approach I tend to fish .14 straight through to and 18. As the float settled it just kept on going and I lifted into a carp of about 3lb. Even in the colder months, these carp feed off the bottom, which makes them easier to catch with less foul hookers if you keep away from fishing dead depth. I have found it better to loose feed recently as I have been getting foul hookers with potting and potting in large quantities often forces carp to where you do not want them - the bottom! I kept them coming, losing a 6 lb fish which snagged me solid and weighed 28 lb. Not a big weight but enough to win the match on the day and beat the guy on the bonus peg into second place. DOH!!
Woodland View
I ventured to Docklow for a Wednesday open the previous week which turned out to be a waste of time because of the way the Match lake was pegged which left big gaps in the areas that people didn't want to draw. Everyone was running around bleating about drawing the match lake when clearly, the Day ticket represented a better proposition for framing, as the colour was thick with feeding carp. One angler was throwing his teddy out of the pram because he wanted to draw the match lake and found himself on the peg that won the previous open on the day ticket. I offered to swap him but this is not allowed. I asked him why he wanted to draw the match lake and asked where his little fraternity of 'Docklow experts' get their ideas because they have absolutely no watercraft whatsoever!
I love fishing at Docklow because it has plenty of options but I have decided to fish Woodlands for the rest of the season because of the team matches, which need practicing for. It takes me a little over an hour to get to Woodlands and its all motorway but I don't seem to be able to find a MacDonald's on the way. I have driven past plenty of Burger Kings but that is the best thing to do with them anyway because they charge too much. The reason for this, I think is because some of the staff can walk upright and consequently demand higher wages, whereas MacDonald's do not seem recruit such a high standard of employee.
Certainly evident where I live, as some complete looney got two things wrong in my last order, which is an achievement in itself - there are only three things on the menu at that time in the morning. I am all for equal opportunities but not to the lowest possible denominator. I am sick of being asked if I want fries with that? What, with coke? - Idiot! Anyway I got to Woodlands and sat down to a bacon sandwich, which Mike Mason had lovingly prepared to order. Nouveau cuisine it ain't and I had the last peg in the box - 63 on back Deans. The previous match had been won off peg 48 so that was favourite and I was a little disappointed that I was at the opposite end of the pool but you never know with Woodlands which is why it is so popular with match anglers. I got to the peg and it did look promising. Mike 'Ginger' Jones, three pegs away thought that we might be in with a chance of a few and it was very warm for the time of year too.
As I tackled the rigs up, I noticed that there were fish feeding in the next peg down the edge but I wasn't too optimistic that they would be there when the match started. I went out on the deep rig at the start with chopped worm and foul hooked one first drop in. I netted that and went back in with the shallower rig on the same line and had one straight way, which came off as soon as I hooked it. All the time I was feeding caster down to the next peg and the fish were still there and boiling so I had to have a look. I normally leave them settle but these fish were feeding well and I didn't see the point in waiting. I put the edge rig out which was .15 direct to a size 18 PR 27 and had eight carp in the first eight drops on corn while feeding caster. The next few drops I started to miss some bites so I took a few inches off the depth but I was still missing them. I reasoned that they were feeding very well but avoiding larger hook baits so I put a single caster on the hook to see if this was the case. The hook looks a little on the large side but if you bury the caster and the float is going under, I see no need to fish lighter than you have to for carp. The next two hours I emptied the peg and I was getting carp between 6lb and 8lb regularly. I find it is better to fish with a number 10 elastic (Roubasienne pure latex) and lift into the fish rather than striking at them. My theory is that if you strike, the risks of foul hooking them are greater but by lifting the pole slowly you can feel the carp and then jerk the pole up to set the hook against the resistance. It works for me but each to their own I suppose. The secret to getting them out quick is to then lower the pole so they feel less pressure which causes them to stop dead every time. It is just a case of unshipping with the pole tip under the surface then, avoiding applying any pressure to the fish. They follow the elastic in with this approach and all I do is lift the pole up and net them as they break the surface. I was getting most of them within 20 seconds of hooking them which means you can net them before they start to fight properly. With this method there is no need to add sections as the fish come towards you rather than away from you, unless of course they are foul hooked! This can be avoided by fishing at half depth and allowing the carp to pull the elastic out. Single caster seems best for this but other anglers will no doubt have their own preferences regarding hook baits for carp.
The last two hours was not as productive and I added a few carp but not enough to do the match record which stands at 204 lb. I weighed 150 lb 13oz to win the match and Ginger was second with 96lb. The peg was solid at the start but they never stayed and it is good to see the weights so high, this early in the season. At the time of writing the methods I am using are the results of sorting out previous problems and if anyone is having difficulty with any of these methods then feel free to email me about the problems.
It is probably something as simple as seasonal changes to feeding habits but the key to success is keeping in tune with these changes and capitalising on them while other anglers are not. After all we all have a great deal to learn before we can call ourselves good anglers, me especially!
Giles |
