Moorlands Farm open.
As I drove down the track at Moorlands farm on this lovely Saturday morning I looked across at the Meadow pool and thought to myself that's where I want to be today. So after one of Annabel Talbot's mighty breakfasts and pooling up, what did I draw? You guessed it not the meadow, but peg 2 on Island pool was gonna be my home for the next 5 hours.
Having not fished this peg before and knowing that Island pool is renown for being quite deep, I was surprised to find only about five feet in depth out to 13 metres before rising to about two feet. This sudden depth change is due to the sunken island in the pool from which it gets its name.
I decided to fish it at five metres on the deck feeding pellet and corn and meat on the hook, and also a line on the shallow plateau I found at 13 metres. That shallow rig could also be used for up in the water fishing and also for the margins. On the whistle out went the pot to 13 metres to deposit Moorlands own feed pellet into the swim (only Moorlands own feed pellet allowed) and pellet was also fed on the 5 metre line with a sprinkling of corn. As I finished my initial feeding I was startled by a funny noise behind me. Then it dawned on me I was sat directly behind the tackle shop fridge and it was kicking in every 10 minutes. I thought 'headache' coming on after 5 hours of demented fridge.
Out went the long line rig baited with corn. Fifteen minutes later the top of my float was still dry and people were catching around me. Not big fish but weight builders all the same. Forty-five minutes in and it was 5 metre line time. Out it went followed by more pellet. My float hadn't even cocked before it slid away. Two minutes later 6 pounds of pristine Moorlands common lay in the net. As I was about to ship back out I noticed that there were clouds of silt puffing up off the bottom at 4 metres, out went more pellet followed by the rig (Preston Chianti 4x12 WB Clark match team line Kamasan B911 size 16) no sooner had it settled it was away again, thoughts of mega weights started going through my head, but I thought get your head down and concentrate.
Steadily through the match, carp to 6 pounds came to the net, then in the 4th hour the peg died and I thought of something Giles Cochrane had told me about Moorlands farm. He said that when it dies put a section on and you will find them as they back off the feed. So on went another section and bingo back into a catching mode. Darren Clewley of Wessons, was one peg round from me and he had abandoned his short line earlier on in the match but was now back on it and catching carp and gradually catching me up, but I believed I was doing just enough to keep in front of him.
Reports were also reaching us that Chris hill of fosters, and one of the best anglers at Moorlands, was catching well on Middle pool peg 12 but until the weigh no one would know. Ten minutes to go and John Talbot arrived with the scales as I was to be weighed first. One last carp right on the whistle of about 6 pounds was a very good end to my match. I believed I had about 50 pounds, which normally wouldn't even win a section prize, so I was surprised when it added up after the second weigh to 62lb 12 oz. Chris hill on Middle pool was the closest to me with 50lbs made up of only 7 fish!!! He later told me he had lost an estimated 200lbs of foul hooked fish by fishing up to the reeds where the fish had shoaled preparing to spawn.
So match won to my surprise, along with an added bonus. Back at the cafe for the payout and it turned out that I was on the bonus peg and didn't know! But it was nice to know that I was gonna be £500 better off when he gave me that nice white envelope!
Steve berry (no longer team strike)
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