Marsh AC Colemans Pathfield 30 08 14

It seems an eternity since both Mick and I went fishing together. A change of shifts meant we rarely get to go head to head in our own personal duel, the coveted MK Nugget. However with us both on annual leave, it was on. Mick was chauffeur for the relatively short trip around the M25 to Colemans Cottage and Pathfield Lake.
We had not fished on here for a few years and both of us have suffered mixed results, but today is a new day. We arrived nice and early and dived into a full English breakfast with Pete Thompson who had followed us into the fishery. With monies and pegs decided on it was the all important draw. Mick was on peg 3, Pete on 26, whilst I was going to be on peg 2 for 6 hours and next to Mick. A proper head to head battle.
I had a cunning plan, as they say, I was going to fish maggot down both edges in 18in of water, a corn line at 2+2 and another corn/pellet line at 11m. This would leave me with around 4m to the far bank and somewhere to go if I was struggling.
I set up a couple of MW Diamond's .3g to .18 Stroft and a size 16 PR36 to fish 2+2 and 11m and targeted the edges with NG Ghandi's on .18 Stroft and a size 18 PR36.
At the all in I potted in a 50/50 mix of corn and pellet on to both 11m and 5m lines and a full pot of maggot to the left hand edge. I sprinkled a few maggots to the right hand swim and for good measure put a few grains of corn and around a dozen pellets. I would drip feed this line regularly but leave the potted maggot line until I started getting bites.
I started off at 2+2 feeding a few grains of corn every 20 seconds but after 10 minutes and no bites I opted to go out to 11m. Second put in and a carp of around 4lb, a good fish as I could hear Mick playing one in the next peg. I missed a couple of rapid bites before connecting with a good fish which took the black hydro to a bed of lily pads to the far right of my peg and snagged me. Out again and a small carp around the 1lb mark. Then nothing, lifting and dropping made no difference, nor shallower or deeper. The wind was blowing the rig a bit so I added a bit more line and tried a "gelled" grain of corn and snagged another 3lb fish. No more bites followed so it was time to plunder my carefully primed margins.
Starting off over the potted maggot line with a couple of stinky maggots saw a procession of ide and small crucian carp. But no carp. A look to the right saw a foul hooked carp which I managed to land. Then nothing.
It seems that the lake had switched off, if it had even started, everyone seemed to be struggling. So it was head down and try to sneak a few fish. By rotating all my lines I was going nowhere and thought I may have overfed my lines at the start and killed it. I added a couple more sections and pushed the pole across to the far bank. I decided initially not to fed anything. The float dipped and a small roach came back. Out again and a small carp around 2lb. I attached a toss pot and placed in a dozen pellets and a GOT Ripper on the hook. After 5 minutes a carp around 5lb was sitting in my landing net. Out again with another dozen pellets and Ripper and another smaller carp. Then nothing again, I tried moving along the far bank foliage to see if there was anything else in the vicinity but nothing. A move back inside saw a couple of small carp but time soon ran out.
I was frustrated I could not build a weight today, no matter how I fed it, it seemed wrong, another day and it may have been right. I reckoned on having 30lb for nowhere in the match, but the scales do not lie and 31lb was recorded on the weigh sheet. Mick was next to weigh and pipped me by one fish with 32-8. So the Nugget was his and leaves him trailing 12-7. As Mick put it, he is on a roll and you have to start somewhere.

Overall

1st Clive Pritchard           81-00

2nd Dave Collier             75-08

3rd Graham Manning      50-00

4th Jim Boase                  46-00

5th Tony Roberts             38-00

6th Gary Luck                 33-00

To be fair the venue did not fish to its full potential. But it was a fair match with no one really running away with it. A good hour for anyone would have seen them push up the leader board.
The next two club matches are at Rolf's Lake which I cannot attend but I will be back on the bank next week with Troy and Pete as we are going to fish Viaduct and Goodiford Mill as part of a long weekend.

Alders Farm Affordable Oaks Lake 26 08 14

For once the weathermen have got it right, on Monday they predicted rain and lots of it and although it was scheduled to run into Tuesday I was hopeful that it would have stopped before going fishing. I was wrong and they were right, it was still raining as I drove to Alders Farm for the affordable open. Today was on the Specimen lake (Oaks).We had fished it last week and I managed my first 100lb weight from it and still came fifth. There are plenty of small carp in the 8oz to 2lb mark and if you are brave enough and fish for them carp up to 30lb+.
I got there nice and early to avoid the traffic and was surprised to see only Trevor Price's car in the car park. So I had a good chat with him before unloading the car. Paul and Terry soon turned up so it looked as if the knock up would go ahead. Personally I think the numbers were down due to the rain and holidays. A cup of tea in the café confirmed it was only going to be the four of us on the lake, so we looked out of the window, decided which way the rain was going and selected the most sheltered bank to fish on. This was in the trees.
Terry had drawn peg 11 I was on 14 with Paul on 15 before Trevor had secured 17. I was going for it today. I had mixed up 2 kilo of 3G groundbait and this was going in down the edges. One side would be fed with corn the other micros over the top of the 3G. I also set up a line at 2+2 to start the match with.
At the all in I potted in 3 soft balls of 3G down both edges and fed heavily with both corn and micros, I also started feeding the 2+2 line with just corn. Baiting up with a grain of pineapple Gel-it corn I was soon into small carp to around 2lb with an odd Rudd intercepting the bait on the drop. After an hour and with around 25lb in the net and not a fish over 2lb, I decided to have a look in the left hand edge. A standard grain of corn was impaled on to a size 14 and lowered tight to the reeds. A few missed bites before red hydro came out of the pole. Another small carp around 3lb started off my second net. Next drop in and his brother followed, before it went quiet. I re-fed the swim and switched to the left hand edge, nothing over the GB and micro line.
Back out to 2+2 and after a skimmer around 2lb came to the net I decided to pot in a few micros half a section closer, as I thought the fish may be feeding on the edges of the feed and I wanted to hold them there. I was still getting a few small carp on this line but occasionally a decent skimmer would put in an appearance. My small fish net was growing. I stuck with this line until around the 3 1/2 hour mark when I thought it was time to try the left hand edge again. I reckoned on having around 75lb and was hoping a few lumps would boost me up to the ton again.
I had been drip feeding the swim throughout and with only an hour and a bit left I decided to up the pace. Feeding around 20 grains every  minute or so started to see a few bites. A couple of 7lb fish before the elastic came out and stopped on one bite. A large paddle of a tail broke the water and I thought I was in trouble. The fish careered to the left further down the peg before coming back towards me and crashing through every reed along its route. Out in open water it got no better, bottoming out the elastic on a couple of occasions. The pole was now at top kit stage and with a gentle lift I realised I could not get its head up so added a few sections to gain more leverage. Slowly I was getting control and after 5 minutes of playing the leviathan the fish rolled in front of me and straight over the hook length and snap. It was off and I was left cursing. Gutted at losing such a large fish I re-fed with more corn and hoped to have another chance, however it was not to be. I did have a few more 4-5lb fish from the swim to bolster my weight.
After 5 hours the all out was called and I reckoned on 120lb in the nets. Terry was first to weigh and placed 96lb on the board. My 120lb went 130lb to lead, Paul put 30lb of small carp on the scales before Trevor placed 79lb and rued a few lost lumps. I had secured the win and a new PB on the lake.
My next match is a club match at Coleman's Cottage on Saturday and the MK Nugget will be up for grabs.

Alders Farm Ash Lake Challenge Match 23 08 14

Saturdays are my football days, not playing but sitting in front of the telly watching. However I had promised Trevor I would help out with the shop and assist Terry Lancaster whilst he fished a match arranged by Colin Fossey against Apollo Sonu-baits Banstead. True to my word I arrived nice and early as it can be a bit manic on match days with everyone wanting pellet and maggots. However the first words out of Trev's mouth was do you want to fish today, we are one short. So back in the car to home, collect gear including 2 bags of frozen corn. Back to the fishery and sort out my nets. Grab a couple of bags of fishery pellets and pray the corn de-frosted early enough to make it work. I did have 4 tins in my bag so all was not lost.
I had been "selected" for the ASB team, along with Terry and Brian Townley who each had had a similar conversation with Trevor. How he does it is beyond me. Still it makes a change to fish a team match, something I have not done for over 10 years. With Breakfast out of the way and monies paid the two captains drew for pegs. I ended up on peg 9, I was happy with that, I had a blank peg either side and is home to a few fish. Brian was on 7 and Colin on 12. The two "chuckle brothers" Carl and Colin were on pegs 5 and 6 respectively with Matt Grant on 4 and Mick Dickens on 3. I would do well to beat a couple of these lads on those pegs. Trevor had drawn peg 32 with Nick Darke on 28 and Ricky Quick sandwiched between them on 30. Terry had drawn 34.
I decided I was not going to complicate things today and concentrate on 2 lines only. Two plus one in front and top two to my right.  Rig one was a .3 NG Mini Diamond to fish in 2ft of water. 20 Stroft and a size 14 PR36. The margin rig was a .2 Ghandi set to fish just on bottom in a foot of water. I made duplicate rigs of each in case of any breakages or tangles.
By now some of the corn was de-frosting nicely and although would not be ready for the all in. I had enough to kick start the swim. At the all in I put a couple of handfuls of fishery pellet down the side and fed around a dozen grains of corn. Another 20 grains went to top three and a grain of "gelled corn" was shipped out to position. A positive couple of bites missed saw me change the shotting slightly before carp number 1 was in the net. Another couple followed and by the hour mark I reckoned on 15 fish for around 40lb.
I noticed a few swirls down the side so had a look down there and was rewarded with another 15 fish in the 2nd hour for another 60lb and a ton in two hours. I was starting to get a few iffy bites and felt they were coming off the feed, so moved the rig around a metre from the bank and this had a desired effect, Although I was waiting longer for a bite it was a positive bite and I was landing at lot of the hooked carp. Hour 3 gone and around 180lb in the net.
However all good things come to an end and hour 4 saw me struggle in comparison to the previous hour. A move to top three still down the edge a metre out saw me foul hook fish after fish and losing all of them. Back to top two and a half cured this problem and I was getting a few more fish by flicking the rig beyond the feed. This was a 5 and 1/2 hour match so with 200lb in the net I was hoping for a good last hour to push me up the board. Brain was catching well but was struggling for bites, Colin's splashing was less frequent although Colin on 6 was still catching. In fact Carl had told Colin he had 300lb in the first three hours but was struggling now. The last hour saw me still fishing down the right hand edge but I was rotating the line I was fishing. In close, back, to the left and front of the feed. I was gradually feeding more regularly and during this spell, by switching between standard corn and the Gellit flavoured corn I could keep fish coming. By the end of the match I estimated I had 250lb. I had done about all I could on the day from the peg on the method I chose. I had fed 2 1/2 kilo of corn throughout and 3pints of pellet to keep the fish there but at times the fish still seemed to drift off and I suffered a lot of 10 minutes spells where I could not get a bite.

Overall

1st Colin Spencer    Peg 6      486-09 GOT Baits

2nd Carl Williams   Peg 5      450-02 GOT Baits

3rd Matt Grant        Peg 4      385-00 GOT Baits

4th Nick Darke       Peg 28    371-07 GOT Baits

5th Terry Molloy    Peg 36    360-05 ASB

6th Colin Fossey     Peg 12    345-11 GOT Baits

My 293-06 was good enough for 8th on the day which I was pleased with. I was second in the ABS team and could hold my head up high. Even though we GOT beat by a good GOT Baits team. Well done lads.

Something Different 21 08 14

"What are you doing on Thursday?" was the question on Trevor Price's lips as he spoke to me before last Tuesday's affordable open at Alders Farm. "Nothing" came the reply. "Good, come up to Pines and show a few lads how you fish corn" "Errr OK" says I.
He then proceeded to tell me that he had arranged for a competition on Match Fishing Scene for 5 lucky anglers to win a day at the fishery. Breakfast was provided as was day tickets and bait. All he had to do was show them how to catch mammoth weights and provide a write up of the day for the website.
Now I admit I have caught a few fish from Pines, nothing near the large weights that others can and do, but, I will also admit that I am still learning from the experience. I am willing to listen and learn from some very good anglers and try to make it my own style. He had also asked Terry Lancaster to talk about his World Championship experiences and Mark Quick to help out as the day progressed offering his advice on GB and maggot approaches. Trevor would also give an insight into his methods and show how you can transform a seemingly dead peg into a peg full of fish. It is not often you get to sit next to a good angler fishing their method and actually see and understand what is happening in the peg.
The five lucky anglers were Mike, Neil, Russ, Terry and Dave who had travelled up with Rick Baxter who fished Ash Lake during the coaching. With lads coming from as far as Manchester it not only shows the draw of Alders Farm but Trevor Price as well.
After breakfast Trevor placed anglers on pegs 1,3,6,8, and 10 on Pines and instructed them to get tackled up and start fishing it as they saw it.
I had a chat with both Mike and Neil on 1 and 3 respectively before Trevor could do his stuff and both were catching on corn, Mike fishing corn over pellet whilst Neil was catching on corn over corn. However slight changes to rigs were needed after missing a few bites, we tried a shallow rig over the top with a couple of bites but no fish, but a change to shotting patterns meant fish came to the net. Neil commented on this slight change and how effective it was and could not believe the difference it made to his catch rate. Mike was catching on peg 1 straight out on top two plus one, carp around 2lb but regularly. Both were feeding the margins for later in the day.
I took a walk up to see the other lads and Terry was settled in on peg 6 coaching Russ encouraging the feeding approach that has gained him numerous wins on the venue. Russ was keen and listening intently fishing two plus two to the left in open water. Terry was priming a margin line by feeding a few maggots and pellets on a topkit line but with Russ getting a few lumps further out may not be required.
Dave and Terry on 8 and 10 were getting advice from Trevor on rigs for fishing maggot and pellets. Both were catching well on different methods, Dave on paste and Terry on JPZ pellets.
After an hour of the session Trevor called everyone to Peg 3 (Neil allowed Trevor to use his peg) for a demonstration of his method of margin fishing. This is a lesson I was intent on listening to. Because I fish against Trevor a lot, you never seem to notice the small things he does, you never focus on his set up and why he fishes the way he does. It is not about copying him, it is about what he is trying to achieve and that is large weights of fish. Time was spent on his bait preparation and how it would be fed throughout the match, quantities, ratios and when and how to feed ground-bait. A look at his set up would scare most anglers, a top-kit, brown hydro, 10lb line straight through and a size 12 hook. All to fish single or double maggot on the hook. Trevor started to feed the peg initially with ground-bait before putting in pellets and maggots into the swim. No rig was presented during this time. After the initial feeding spell, he showed the eager anglers how to feed the swim to build a large weight. Remember most of the anglers were catching 2-3lb fish before, Trevor said he would start to catch the slightly larger fish in the peg. After around 20 minutes of this regular feeding pattern the fish started to arrive and ended up in the keep-net. Each part of Trevor's set up was designed for a function. A strong top-kit that was capable of taking a battering, brown Hydro which stretched enough to keep the fish  under control, a real eye opener for me, I must admit. 10lb line which would not break on most fish and a size 12 hook which looked unsightly with a single or double maggot on would provide a good hook hold. Everything for a  reason.
With around 30lb in the net in 15 minutes it was clear this is a method that could not be dismissed, it took a while to get the fish queued up but once there it was manic. Trevor then allowed the other anglers to have a go in the same peg before they went back to there own pegs to put it into practice.
After all his exertions catching fish and talking, Trevor was ready for a cup of tea so we retreated to the café  to allow the MFS winners time to set up and start catching down the sides. It did not take long as when we walked back up to the lake all we could see was elastic out of the poles and fish coming to the net. A better stamp of fish than those that were caught earlier.
After an hour of watching others catching fish I needed to leave them to it. Trevor, Mark and Terry Lancaster were still in attendance and sorting out goodie bags for each of the winners. Both my charges, Mike and Neil were catching well as I left and easily on target for a good weight, they had both learnt lessons from the day and were really nice people to talk to. I had learnt a few lessons just talking to these lads so don't think for one minute it is all one sided, it's not.
It will be interesting to read their take on the day. I am sure it will be a day of surprises.

Alders Farm Affordable 19 08 14 Oaks Lake

Every year I have the last two weeks in August off from work as holiday which is a welcome break, however the lead up is mental and apart from an odd day fishing with Troy on one of his club lakes, I have not been on the bank.
Today would see me lining the bank with 6 other anglers on the Specimen Lake at Alders Farm. I avoided the travelling exodus from Milton Keynes and left nice and early to get to the venue. A quick chat with Trevor and Terry Lancaster (fresh from his medal winning excursion to Rome with the England Veterans Team) at the shop and nets dipped. A cup of tea and the draw was being made.
Paul had drawn peg 1, Trevor was on 2 with "Kerbcrawler Dell" on 3 with Jim Stubbings, making a welcome return to fishing on peg 4, Phil "Madd" Young was on peg 5 with Owen Smith on peg 6 which left myself on peg 7.
I had the main island in front of me, but had left the rods at home so that was a non starter. I opted for a line at 12m and both edges fishing 4m. I had some nice looking margins which needed a bit of pulling back to make them fishable but after a couple of minutes it looked ok. Rigs were a .6 MW Diamond to fish in 5ft of water at 12m with a bulk of no8s and 2nos10 droppers to a size 16 PR36. I was expecting skimmers, small carp and maybe an odd lump on this line. My margins were around 18inches deep and for this I set up a couple of NG Edger floats to a size 16 PR38.
I knew that groundbait was working well on the other lakes on the complex and with this in mind I decided to mix some up on the day. I also had around 6 pints of fishery micros and a kilo of corn with 4 tins in reserve, just in case.
At the all in I cupped in 2 balls of GB onto the 12m line along with a pot of micro balls and around half a pot of corn. In the edges I fed a ball of GB and around half pot of corn and pellet to my right and just corn to my left.
I decided to start off at 12m and baiting the hook with a single grain of corn, I had my first bite instantly and a small Rudd had taken the bait of the drop. Out again and a similar story. A switch to double corn produced the first carp around 12oz. Out again and another. At this point and after around 20 minutes in I noticed a swirl over the right hand margin. A quick look and a fish around 3lb graced the net, out again and for the next hour I managed around 10 carp ranging from 2lb to 6lb before I was waiting too long for a bite. I re-fed the line and switched to the left hand edge and had a couple of smaller carp before again I was waiting too long. Back out to 12m and after a few small carp I hooked and landed a lump around 8lb but this was the death knoll for this line. No bites at all from either the left or right hand edges of the swim. I decided then to concentrate on the right hand edge.
I could see Trevor and Dell catching well and regularly on pegs 2 and 3, albeit small fish but lots of them. Pete on peg 1 had broken a topkit but was getting a few fish, I could not see Jim but word was he was catching well. Madd was very quiet so must have been catching and Owen was bagging with an estimated 70lb in the first 2 hours.
We were now 2 1/2 hours into the match and by adding another section and fishing just past the feed I managed to extract another couple of carp. In fact I was having to switch between 4 and 5m regularly to keep in touch with bites. I could see fish coming in and out of the peg and the odd one would have a munch on the corn. I was now fishing double corn with Gellit Pineapple over it but although I was still catching odd fish I had to keep switching hookbaits, singles and double both with and without the Gellit. It just goes to show that the Gellit will get a few extra fish, and I tend to start off on the standard or Stinky Corn before switching to the Gellit when things go quiet. I did try GOT Rippers and 8mm banded pellet on the hook a couple of times throughout the match but with no bites on them I was back on the corn.
At the all out I estimated I had around 100lb and was happy with the way I fished. I had attacked the peg and felt that I had caught what was there to be caught. In hindsight I think the 12m line should have been a lot closer and perhaps my normal 2+2 line would have been better suited on the day. The lake had fished well.

Overall

1st       Jim Stubbings      Peg 4    137-00

2nd     Owen Smith         Peg 6    125-14

3rd      Del Smith            Peg 3     112-11

4th      Trevor Price        Peg 2     112-07

5th      Keith Ashby        Peg 7     100-03

6th      Phil Young          Peg 5     89-02

7th      Paul                     Peg 1     48-04

A few lessons learnt and a few mistakes on the way but overall a good solid performance I was happy to walk away from. A shorter line may have got me a few more fish and something I will try next time. 

Marsh AC Alders Pines Lake 02 08 14

I have been looking forward to showcasing Alders Farm Pines Lake to the Marsh AC lads. They had fished Ash Lake before and done well with a few weights over 200lb including a couple around 300lb. However when I mentioned that in my opinion that Pines Lake was a better lake for us to fish, they were keen to see for themselves.
I had told them via this blog and in person on previous club matches on how I approach it and with the ever helpful Trevor Price, also on hand to offer assistance, hopes were high.
I arrived early as it was local to the MK members and was surprised to see a few of the other lads already in attendance. I popped in to the shop to get my breakfast ticket and arranged for a couple of lads to drive to the bottom and drop their gear off. After the compulsory net dip, I took my gear up to the lake. Dave Collier and Tony Roberts needed a hand with their tackle so Troy, John and myself took care of this whilst they sorted out the draw and pools. With everyone in attendance (14 anglers) we deposited our gear on our pegs and aired our keep-nets, before walking to the café for breakfast.
I had wanted a peg in the low numbers, anyone from 1-10. However the draw gods were not kind and I had to settle into peg 18, a decent peg and one I was happy with. I had for company Simon on 19, Gino on 20 and Tony Roberts on 21. Vic was on 17 so I would have my work cut out to win the section.
 I had a plan that has served me well recently, fish 2+2 straight out and down the edge if struggling. I do not think that 6 hours down the edge works with corn. So most of the match I would need to catch longer and have an odd look throughout.

My nemesis, Mick and Troy had drawn peg 6 and 5 respectively and would take some beating, Dave Collier was on peg 8 and I would need to keep an eye on him. Chris was on 2, Jim on 3, John had drawn between Mick and Dave on 7, Terry was on 9 with Clive filling the bank on peg 10. Graham was billy no mates on peg 15. A good peg on its day and with no one else within a couple of pegs could fish well.

At the all in I started off feeding around 4 grains of corn every 20 seconds as per plan but after 30 minutes with around 8 small fish to show for it, I started to gradually up the feed to around a dozen every 30 seconds. This seemed to have a desired effect and slowly I was building a weight. After an hour I reckoned on around 30lb. Hour two saw the fish respond better to a shallow rig fished over the 2+2 line but again I felt the fish were spooking from the pole tip. A change with more line added above the float and I was back into a rhythm. Gelled Corn was the working bait, with Stinky Corn only accounting for around 6 fish before switching off. Three hours in and with around 100lb in the net, the 2+2 line was taking too long to get a bite. A move to 2+2 right, under the tree, saw another good spell of fish to around 4lb and kept fish coming. At this point the heavens opened and a torrential downpour had me grasping for my waterproof coat. Only I had left it at home and would have to sit through it. Still the fish were biting and I was happy. This hour defined my match and I reckoned on putting around 80lb in the net during this spell. Yet again the bites dried up, so it was into the margins for the last hour. I had been feeding this all the time and first put in the float goes and another carp. I was getting enough bites to keep me interested in the margin but found I had to keep changing depths to keep bites coming through the last hour.

At the all out I honestly, thought I had 200 - 220lb and with Vic claiming 200lb I knew it would be close between us for the section. Simon and Gino had caught but both had quiet spells which cost them time. Tony had tried shallow for an hour for little reward, however his edge fishing saved his day as the fish were queuing up at the end. I could see opposite and knew the Troy, Mick and Dave had caught well so the MK Nugget was still all to play for.

Overall

1st  Troy Hillier                   271-00

2nd Keith Ashby                  254-00

3rd Vic Nugent                    235-00

4th Mick Wright                  219-00

5th Dave Collier                  213-12

6th John Holdsworth           205-08

I had managed to sneak another MK Nugget from Mick to lead 12-6 in our head to head battle. Well done to Troy and Dave on their section wins.