Thread: advise needed

hi lads,
i ve got my 1st ever club match tommorow and would appreciate any help if possible
we are fishing a lake that averages 4 feet at 4m and i am told its a fish a chuck mainly silvers but also good carp to 15lb
im told that you must feed very heavily constantly and you can easily go through 6 pints of maggots and 3 pints of casters
should i stick to maggot and caster over a big bed of hemp fishing a small pole float on a size 18 hook to say 6lb main line and a 4lb hook length
or should i go on my yank and bank with strong rig big hook and meat hoping to get a few lunkers
regards fran

I have fished these "one a chuck" venues in the past only to go home disappointed. I would err on the side of caution and feed half a dozen maggots or casters every couple of minutes on your light set up and feel my way into the match. By all means feed the meat down the edge and go for it late on with the heavy gear. Keep a close watch on the more experienced anglers around you and see how they are fishing, feeding, etc. Most of all don't get panicked into over feeding and fishing too many lines. Keep it nice and simple. Keep plugging away and put fish in your net regularly and you may be pleasantly surprised. Tight lines.

the fish a chuck are apparenly mainly small silvers should i try and build a bag of those from the off
kindest regards fran

Yes I would go for the bits to put some fish in your net. The bigger fish will move in once they realise there is food on offer. A 18 hook to say a .12 bottom should be ample to fool the bits but strong enough to cope with any decent size fish.

thanks big g
as you mat suspect im as nervous as hell and just dont want to embarrass myself
all i want is a bit of confidence if i can get the fish feeding i know i will be alright
would you suggest putting some ground bait in to start with then keep the loose feed going once the bites are coming
well thats my theory anyway
regards fran

6 pints of maggots and 3 of casters?? jesus, do match anglers really go through so much bait in a match??

Originally Posted by fran the blanker

thanks big g
as you mat suspect im as nervous as hell and just dont want to embarrass myself
regards fran

Don't worry about that. If it's a half-decent club no-one will take any notice.

I treated my first club match as a glorified pleasure session, relaxed and just fished as I would normally. It worked: I came 4th by nicking a bream off the winner who was on the next peg...there was some amusing banter at that.....