Oakfield Wednesday Open 06 12 2017

Last week caused a bit of a stir. I had over a hundred views on the page for not going fishing. Unfortunately, I still had the clutch issues with my car, which puts a strain on actually getting there. The weather had however improved slightly. It was still cold especially in the wind, but the temperatures had improved from -2 degrees to around the 4 mark. 

Mick had kindly offered to do the driving and with the increased traffic expected we left slightly earlier than normal. Arriving in plenty of time for a breakfast and a couple of cups of tea, meant we were well prepared. We had taken a quick walk upto Red Kite Lake and both fancied a peg in the middle of the lake nearside out of the wind and to avoid the corner pegs.

There were 17 anglers in attendance including fellow GOT Baits angler Roy Makins, who regularly contributes his sessions on various websites. 

Going into draw my hand stuck to peg 17 and a corner peg with the wind blowing in. Mick had fared slightly better on peg 9 in the middle of the lake, also with the wind in his face.

With an hour to set up I set up 3 pole lines, 7m, 11 and 12.5m I would start at 12.5 feeding at 11m in case the wind got up and it was impossible to fish longer. I would feed a little at 12.5 via a tosspot but nothing of any significance, My other line at would be corn at 7m feeding regularly by hand. I also set up a bomb rod which could easily be changed to a maggot feeder if required. Bait would be fishery 6mm pellets, dead maggot and trusty old corn.

I started off with a small pot of corn and dead reds on the 11m line and another of the same at 7m. The theory being that the bait will not disappear whilst on the bottom. The dead reds hopefully bringing in smaller fish which in turn attract the larger f1s and carp. There would then be some corn to them to feast on. 

I then picked up the bomb rod and had a couple of chucks towards the bare bank to my left. After 15 minutes and nothing I tried the open water in front of me and first put in with single hair rigged corn resulted in a good sized f1. After an hour that solitary fish was all I had to show for it. Dave Stratful on the opposite corner peg was struggling, Roy Makins had a couple of foul hookers on the tip and waggler. The guy Next to Roy though was catching well on the tip, Pete Alland also had caught. My neighbours were struggling also with a couple of small roach to show for there efforts.

I re-fed my pole lines and decided to have a look on these. I started off at 12.5 with corn and nothing, coming back to 11m and I had a small carp after around 15 minutes which was hooked under the chin. No other bites on either corn or dead reds. I tried a banded 6mm but again this proved fruitless.

Others were now catching, especially opposite. Dave had caught a couple of f1s and a carp, Roy was now getting a few, chopping and changing between waggler and pole, whilst his neighbour was also still putting a few into the net.

Going into the last 2 hours I was stuck on 2 bites and 2 fish. The remaining couple of hours were spent on the bomb with a couple of dead reds. Cast it and leave it. Two more fish followed and four in four but nowhere near enough to compete. To be fair I think I was out of it at the draw, but you never know. My weight of 16lb 5oz fared better than Mick who surprisingly had also struggled on peg 9. One carp and a few roach for a did not weigh.

We did not wait for the overall result but knew we were well out of it. I am sure Roy will inform us in due course. Well done to all the framers, I do know there was a couple of 40lb+ weights from the early pegs before Mick and those opposite must of had close to that if not more.

So that is all I have to post for this year, it has been challenging, both in learning and the MK Nugget. Mick is improving year on year and always keeps me on my toes. Many thanks to all those who have helped improve my fishing, you may not think you have but sometimes a single conversation is all that is required.

Have a good Xmas and New Year and I will see you all when the ice melts.

Oooopppps

Unfortunately Part 2 of 2 has been postponed for a couple of weeks.

A couple of reasons, the clutch on my car has been playing up and needs fixing, the guy I was going with has called to say he cannot make it. The weather is planned for -2 degrees overnight with a plus 1 temperature and a wind chill of -3. Now I do not mind going fishing in the cold but when faced with this scenario a couple of weeks ago, three of us all blanked, with none of us even have an indication.

Winter fishing has a lot to answer for. Saying that if I was booked into a match I would have still gone.

Alders Farm Tuesday Open 28 11 2017

Working the shifts that both Mick and I do means we have a fair bit of time off midweek to go fishing. This week will be another double header for me, a Tuesday Open at Alders and another session on Linford Lakes Black Horse Lake (Thursday) hoping for a few bream.

Tuesday's match was on Pines Lake. The lake fished quite well over the weekend and with only ten anglers on the match space was not an issue. So hopefully we would all have a few bites. Overnight the temperatures had dropped and with a bit of rain, I suspected that the fish would be in the deeper water and not come up like last week when it was consistently milder leading up to the match. So a priority at the draw would be a deep water swim, please. Peg 5 stuck to my hand and I was happy with that. Peg 4 and 6 were empty so I had a bit of room and could see Mick on Peg 3. Pete Archer sat on peg 2. Dennis on 7 and Danny Wallace on peg 9. Opposite Trevor was on 16, Sean 17, Graham West on 18, Paul Higgins on 22 and John Light was last peg 24.

Peg 5 is a cracking peg, plenty of depth for both on the deck and fishing up in the water. I also had plenty of water behind the pole line to have a go with the waggler. It is something I must admit I do not do enough of. Strange really as, when I do fish it I enjoy it. I am starting to think that we all suffer with poleitis when we go out fishing.

I started off fishing a line at 7m fishing double maggot over a half cup of micros.10 minutes in and nothing. Out to 11m with the same rig pinging a few maggots every minute or so. 20 minutes and still nothing, no liners,bites or any form of indication. A switch to the 11m deep rig with a bulk around 18 inches from a size 18 B911x. Around 10 minutes spent on this and a first bite, a nice skimmer around 1 3/4lb. Nothing then for the next 20 minutes. A look on the waggler saw the wind blowing a big bow in the line and making the float travel through the peg too quickly. However when the wind slowed you could get decent presentation. After 20 minutes of perseverance I managed a couple of small carp on double maggot. The bites coming as soon as the hook-bait hit the bottom. Back into 7m and start the whole process again, hoping that during the rotation a run of fish come. Mick had started off very well on the maggot feeder in the open water and was nicking odd fish on the pole lines. Trevor opposite was catching well on the far bank fishing away from the island spraying maggot. And although I could not see Graham or Sean I could hear a bit of splashing from behind the island. Pete Archer was targeting silvers and ticking over. I would like to say that my plan worked, but it did not. I ended up with around 7 carp and 2 skimmers for 27lb odd and nowhere but that's winter fishing.

Overall
1st Graham West 60-04
2nd Trevor Price 55-00
3rd Danny |Wallace 50lb

That's winter fishing for you though, I think I managed to keep changing things around a bit better than last week. Feeding was a bit tidier and although I only had a few bites lost fish have cost me a better weight, I would still not have got in the frame, but I worked out why I was lost 5 carp in a row and corrected it. Now I am looking forward to a day's fishing for bream on Black Horse Lake. Cold clear water, Brilliant sunshine and a maximum temperature of 5 degrees, perfect bream conditions!!!!!!!

Oakfield Revisited 22 11 2017

Many moons ago I used to fish Oakfield Fishery at Kingswood,  Aylesbury. They have a couple of lakes back then and rotated between Brook and Kingfisher. The owners then added a couple of other new lakes and the place started to take off. Red Kite has become their main match lake nowadays and although quite open and wind affected offers plenty of sport for the regulars.
It was a chance meeting with Dave Stratful, who now looks after the catering and matches at Oakfield , that gave both Mick and I the desire to revisit the fishery and take our chances.

With 18 booked on it would be a good test for us. The MK Nugget series is over for the year as agreed by the both of us, and although we are fishing a match, it really is just a pleasure day for us both.
We both arrived nice and early and with Dave donning his pinny behind the counter, a full English breakfast was soon being devoured by both Mick and I, a couple of cups of tea washing it down.
I had exchanged a few texts with Gary Thorpe prior to the visit and he suggested that corn may start working on the pole lines. So that was one kilo removed from the freezer. I would also set up both a bomb rod and a Atomic laced maggot feeder. I would fish these for the first hour regardless of where I drew.
I was quite happy with peg 23, I would have the wind on my back and with the breeze gradually getting up to 50mph, I was glad of it. Mick had drawn 29, again a peg with the wind on his back.
Mick would base a lot of his fishing around fishery pellets and maggots, whilst my attack would be predominantly corn with maggot as a back up.
At the all in, I cupped in half a pot of corn onto the 11m line, whilst I could hold the pole out there. I also fed a line at 6m by hand. Leaving them to settle I started on the bomb with double corn, just over half way. I could catapult 4 or 5 grains over this line. I also fed a few grains at around 25m.
I was fishing double corn on a hair rig to a size 16 QM1 and although I was getting a few pulls, they were just liners, nothing concrete. A switch to the maggot feeder brought 2 micro roach impersonating fish. So back onto the bomb.With an hour gone I saw only 1 fish caught on the bomb but Pete Alland further down on 27 was getting a few on the pole.
Out to 11m with a single grain of corn and a tosspot of corn. After 5 minutes a bite and a good sized F1 was steadily coming back to the waiting net. One last ditch run for freedom and it was off, Damn or words to that effect. Back out and a longer wait, in hindsight I probably did not feed via the toss pot at this point. But a bite did come eventually. A run of 2 or 3 F1's would come but then nothing. I did lose a couple during this spell and found that by feeding 10 grains of corn and 6 or 7 6mm pellets after every fish or 5 minutes whichever was first was the way to go. I was still at 11m but the wind was getting stronger as the day wore on.
I have ended up with 6 F1's and a single mirror carp and a couple of more micro fish for 24lb 11oz and a thank you for coming. Beaten both sides by a couple of fish.

Overall

1st Pete Alland 56-10 Peg 27

2nd Chris Davis 40-02 Peg 10

3rd Mick Wright 30-02 Peg 29

4th Paddy Mack 30-00 Peg 33

So not too far off and a few more lessons, I think a longer tail on the bomb with a softer hair and single baits may have been a better approach. Also A lighter rig .4g with spread out shotting worked better than a heavier .6g rig in the conditions.Also small corn worked well.
Mick done well creeping into 3rd spot with a few late fish down the edge on maggots and a nice brown envelope. Well done to all the framers.

Alders Farm Tuesday Open 21 11 17

It feels strange to be going fishing with no real purpose, other than going fishing. I am attending the Alders Farm Tuesday Open and you may be saying to yourselves that surely I should be going there with the sole intention of winning it. There are 10 other anglers in attendance today, not many I know but some good ones amongst them. See the difference is I go match fishing because I enjoy it. I am NOT very good at it when you consider the quality of some of the anglers I fish against, but I enjoy it. I will make plenty of wrong decisions during the lead up to the match in bait selection, I will make numerous mistakes when I get to my peg and Christ knows how many during the 5 hour duration.I am competitive and want to do well but it is not the be all and end all. When I stop enjoying it I will stop going, but for now I enjoy it. We were chatting about this whilst waiting to draw and it was quite surprising how many agree with me.
Anyway on to today's match Pines Lake I draw peg 24, middle of the dam wall and a good peg, in fact I like all the pegs on Pines, they all have there days. The wind was blowing up over my shoulder towards the opposite end of the lake so at least I would be comfortable. I was the only one on the dam wall but had Ash Bunnage on 19 and Madd on peg 1.
I set up a couple of rigs to fish short 2+2, a light one and a heavier rig for fishing maggot. A deep rig for 11m, again for maggot. I also set up a long line at 11m to my right about 5m off the platform as I had around 3ft there. Bait was 4 and 6mm hookers pellets, fishery micros and 4mm for feeding plus 2 pints of maggot.
I started off fishing 2+2 on a light rig and did not get any bites in the first 20minutes. A switch to the heavier rig saw a couple of small dips but nothing hitable. A move to 11m saw a couple of liners so changed the depth slightly and the shotting on the rig to a more spread out rig. I still had a couple of liners and finally settled on the fact that the fish were higher up in the water than I originally thought. After 90 minutes I had not had a fish, but it was fishing hard, with only Lee Newson, Danny Wallace and John Light really catching well. Colin Kidd was stringing a few together on the opposite bank.
I then grabbed my shallow 3ft rig and went over the 11m line and started pinging a few maggots out, to my surprise the float dipped and my first carp was on and soon in the landing net. Out again and another 10 minutes passed before fish number two was joining his mate. Now lets get real, It is the back end of November and I am catching shallow. Imagine what Pete Archer would have been doing now. However as quickly as the bites came they disappeared. I came a section closer and nicked another smaller fish, added a section to 12.5m and had another one. I now had 4 carp.Nothing followed except the odd crayfish caught fishing on the deck at 11m, when I started getting a few liners, I just grabbed the shallow rig again and nicked a couple more.
Going into the last hour it was obvious that all the prizes were going elsewhere. But I still persevered and ended up with 9 carp and a couple of skimmers.

Overall

1st Danny Wallace peg 7 91-00

2nd Lee Newson peg 5   83-14

3rd Colin Kidd    Peg 17 60-07

My weight of 33-14 was well off the pace but I enjoyed it, I had to work for every fish and although I came nowhere, I stuck it out and learnt. I seem to be learning a lot at the moment, always too late to do any damage. But not one word of complaint, the guys who framed have all served their apprenticeships, can adapt and change that little bit quicker than me and deserve all their successes.

And tomorrow I can do it all again on another venue I have not fished for years, a rare day out to Oakfield Fishery near Aylesbury. 

Alders Farm Ash Lake Costcutter 14 11 2017

There I was congratulating Mick on his win as Marsh AC club champion for yet another year, when it dawned on me that the all important MK Nugget was not finished and we still had one last agreed match to finish off the season. Today, was the day. Conveniently the score was 10 each, so it was all to play for. It's not the we do not go fishing anymore because we do. It is just that the matches tend to dry up, as we both do not like breaking ice, and we can focus on different aaspects of our sport. Myself, trying my hand for skimmers and proper bream on a local complex, Mick tackling the local rivers with a loaf of bread.
Ash Lake was the chosen venue, and as it had got decidedly cooler, the ball would fall nicely into Mick's court. he had completely dominated the start of the campaign winning a lot of his matches during the cooler spring months, before I managed a comeback during the summer months. Still the weather was fair with little wind and odd showers planned for later on towards the 3pm finishing time.
With only a few hardy souls in attendance. Nice to see Dave Stratful there as it has been a few years since our paths last crossed. We spread out along the cafe bank and the dam wall. Mick was again one of the first into the bucket and end peg flyer 21 sticks to his mitt. My attempt would see me on peg 19. So after 11 months of fishing, travelling and being pegged next to each other on numerous occasions we were also together on this last MK Nugget match of the year.
I planned to fish at 11m just out of the shaded area of the peg, this stretched to 14m before going completely dark with shadows. I also set up a line for top four and three but did not think the fish would come so close. I had good depth there, just a strange feeling around the time of year when a lot of fish are shoaling up in the bowl and island pegs. I also set up a small drennan crystal dibber which doubled up as a margin rig and shallow rig.
At the all in I started on a banded 6mm feeding a small amount of micros and a pinch of maggot. No bites after 20 minutes, I tried lifting and dropping, switching to a 6mm expander and even a 4mm banded. Still no bites. For 90 minutes, nothing no bites at 11m despite trying a variety of baits. Mick was faring better and had secured 3 carp before my float dipped and a small carp around 3lb graced the net taken on worm. Another fish on worm ten minutes later saw me close the gap to 3-2 before Mick pulled away again.I was looking around the lake and no one seemed to be setting the world alight and it was a case of trying to nick odd fish throughout. However, Trevor and John on pegs 6 and 7 were getting odd fish on the waggler.
Coming in on the closer lines proved fruitless with 30 minutes wasted for no bites or indications. Dennis decided he was going for a swim after falling off his box, so I was quick to ship back in and run to his aid. He did not look too good and was quite shaken but after a change of clothes was was soon back fishing. Back out to 11m and another carp, Mick was still nicking odd fish by the tree, however I found that by feeding a line at 11m and fishing 12.5m I would get odd bites. Strange I know, but who am I to argue.
I was now fishing double maggot on my 11m rig at 12.5m. Another seven carp came before the end of the five hours. It would be close between us, we both had 10 or 11 carp with Mick having a couple of Rudd and a skimmer to me solitary skimmer. Everyone seemed to have struggled.
Overall
1st Trevor Price 57-07
2nd John Light 56-04
3rd DanWallace 40-00
4th Dave Stratful 36-00
5th Keith Ashby 34-07
6th Mick Wright 27-02
7th Dave Adams 20-02
8th Pete Archer 14-10
9th Dennis Simpson DNW
So that's it for another MK Nugget year. A close one to call, I just nicked it at the death, 11-10. I still do not know how I managed to scrape in, I had a horrendous start to the year, worse than previous years, but managed to claw some results back during the summer and autumn.
Now for a few pleasure sessions to see the year out.

Monks Lake 2 Marsh AC 21 10 2017

We must be absolutely mental to go fishing in gale force winds brought on by Storm Brian, couple that with torrential rain heading our way.
We knew it was going to be a bit blowy as soon as I had collected Mick and hit the motorway. It was busier than normal and as soon as there was any sort of gap the wind hit you, pushing you to one side. Sensible precautions were the order of the day. We still made good time and were soon pulling into the car park at Monk Lakes. We were on Lake 2, a lake I have fished only once before and drew a dolly peg and won the lake. Today would be a bit harder, my dolly peg on the spit was not in and the bridge had gone. Dave had decided to fish the match trying to give everyone a spare peg. As there were only 12 of us this only comprised the car park bank and the left hand part of the spit.
After fuelling up on a bacon stick from the mobile snack wagon on site, we were ready for the draw. Mick had gone in early and I was hanging back. Out comes peg 60 for Mick and I have peg 58 on my scrap of paper. Yet again, we are pegged next to each other. At least we would have a tree in between us.I had Gino, who was in a rich vein of form at present, the other side of me. Tony Roberts was a little further up the bank and needed to beat Mick by a couple of places to win the overall league title. It would be interesting to see how it all turned out.
I set my stall out to catch on the deck, it was blowing well and gusting all over the shop but the calm patches were easily reachable and thought I could fish comfortably at 12.5m, I settled on 11m though just in case the wind got up even more. I had the same depth so used the same rig. Rig wise it was a DT Diamond .6g to .17 NGauge and a size 16 B911x. I also set up a DT Diamond in a .4g for the right hand edge. This time I had a hair-rigged banded pellet on a size 18 B911x.My final rig was a small Drennan crystal float for fishing shallow. It was set at 2ft with .19 NGauge to a size 18 B911x to white hydro.Bait would be 6 and 8mm hard pellets and meat on the 5m line. I did bring a feeder rod with me but the whistle went before I had a chance to set it up.
At the all in I cup in some 4mm pellets onto both 5m and 11m lines, leaving the margin until I was planning to fish it properly. I also put half a pot of 6mm meat onto the 5m line. I started off doing something a little bird told to try ages ago but had forgotten. I shipped my top three down the edge with a 8mm piece of meat and fed nothing, after 5 minutes the float buries and fish number one was on and off just as quick. There is definitely something in this. That was a bonus fish lost and I would need to work the margin properly now.
I started off over the 5m line and again first drop in had a carp around 4lb and I was off and running, A couple of skimmers followed, so I re-fed and went out to 11m, whilst I can. Fishing on the deck in the blustery conditions was not easy going, even with a longer than normal line between float and pole tip. Back shotting helped a lot but had to use a couple of number 4s to make it work. A couple of small F1s came during this spell, but also quite a few liners. Instead of shallowing up, I added a bit more line and held it all still. Another couple of fish before the liners appeared again. I picked up the shallow rig and after 5 minutes of pinging 3 or 4 pellets I was nicking a few better fish, a mix of F1s and Carp.I carried on throughout the match, I mean it is October. The last half hour I went down the edge properly. A banded 8mm tight in to the bank accounted for my best fish of the day 12lb.
I think everyone was relieved when the whistle went for the all out. We had all got battered by the wind, although it could have been a lot worse. The rain was only sporadic and although most of my gear was damp it was not sodden.
John started the ball rolling on the scales with 20lb although he did leave early.

Simon 68-12

Simon put 68-12 on the scales and word was that would be enough to win it. Chairman dave placed a level 16lb on the scales before a tie with Richard and Chris both recording 37-04.

Richard 37-04

Chris 37-04

Jim chipped in with 18lb of barbel.

Gino 29-08

Yours Truly 83-04

Mick not quite 48-12

Gino placed 29-08 onto the board with mainly feeder caught fish. I then placed my three nets on the scales to overtake Simon with 83-04. Mick was next to weigh, 48-04 and the MK Nugget was going my way. Terry placed 5-04 on the scales. Tony had sneaked in front of Mick with 60-12 before Jim placed 35-00 on the board.

Overall

1st Keith Ashby  83-04

2nd Simon Watkins 68-12

3rd Tony Roberts 60-12

4th Mick Wright 48-12

5th= Richard 37-04

5th= Chris Withall 37-04

So that is it for another Marsh AC year. As ever it has been a good year with plenty of ill health hampering our fishing, yet we still get out when ever we can and enjoy the craic. The Marsh AC lads are a credit to angling, they do not fish for the riches on offer because there ain't none, yet month in month out they turn out regardless of the conditions.Congratulations to Mick Wright on winning the Overall League title, something I know you have wanted since we joined all those years back. Well done to all the framers in all of the matches this year, it has been a pleasure to compete with you.
Finally to Mick, a long standing friend and travelling companion. It has again been a pleasure. After all our matches this year the score is situated at 10 each. A decider is on the cards.

Alders Farm October Festival Day Three ( Final)

First of all I would like to say Thank You to all those who have read my ramblings over the years. Although I really write this blog for my own personal notes, it is great to see that others enjoy it. All the feedback is positive and it is nice to know that it is something people look forward to reading.
Day three and the last and final day of the Alders Farm Festival. Going into the last round there were three anglers all tied on 12 points, one on 11, two on 10 and another three on 9. And we had the unknown factor of Pines Lake to contend with. We had spent two days on Ash Lake and from a personal point of view, I was just happy to still be in with a shout. OK I needed others to fall by the bank-side and I needed a near Herculean performance. But that's the beauty of fishing, anything can happen.
As a group we decided to amend the fishing times as some lads needed to get away sharpish at the end of the match. At least this time we will finish weighing in during daylight.
With yet another Full English firmly tucked away, it was onto the ever important draw. Again two sections of 7, although John Haselar was unable to attend as he put his back out lifting his nets on day two. Slowly the pegs were going and as I got closer there was not many left. In goes the hand and peg 15. I had to ask where it was, but was told it used to be a good area. Nice, used to be.
All the draw bags had still managed to draw well, even without Pop Ups assistance. Nick was on Peg 1, Followed by Ricky and Nick P on 2 and 3. Fozzy had secured 4 with Dave Taylor sitting on 5. Colin Spencer on 22 and Paul Kearns on 24 made up the section,
My section went Pete Archer on 6, Rob on 9 with Lee sitting on 12. I was next on 15 with Matt Kearns keeping me company on 16. Alan made up the last man in the section.
My plan today was simple, 4 pole lines, one up at 11m due to the wind and one down on the same hole. A 5m line for pellet and a top three line for maggot. I also set up a waggler rod for fishing beyond the pole in case the wind dropped. I did not expect to use it but it was available.

I started off at 5m and spent the first 30 minutes trying to stop foul hooking fish. I had landed three all in the tail and was shortening the rig to no avail. So I went back to plan A and changed the shotting to a spread shot pattern. This seemed to work better. Very few foul hookers and bites almost instantly. I was feeding a mixture of fishery micros and 4mm and fishing a 6mm on the hook. I had not fed the top three line as I was leaving this for the last hour unless things dried up. I had put a pot of micros and 4mms onto the 11m line in case but again with the wind it would make this awkward to fish.
To be fair I was getting into a rhythm, I would hook a fish and ping 6 or 7 pellets onto the line whilst playing it. Net it and feed again by hand again about 6 or 7 pellets. Load up toss pot with micros and 4mm , ship out, float settle and bury, repeat process. It was working well. If I felt fish were coming up in the water I simply cut out the 4mms and fed micros, this seemed to put them back down.
With 2 hours gone I reckoned on having around 40lb and although not a brilliant weight I was going OK against those in my section and that was the main priority. Section Points. I could see Pete Archer on peg 6 and he was catching well and good fish. All mine were on the 2lb mark with the odd better one. Rob was slowly putting together a good weight, whilst Lee had a few early fish but was struggling at 14m for only small yearling carp and odd proper carp. Matt was getting odd bites but was again getting pestered by the smaller yearling fish. Alan I could not see very well but I did hear his spool going regularly on his feeder reel.
For me it was heads down and focus and having had a nightmare start, make use of the remaining time. Hours three and four flew by, I was still catching well and putting fish in the onion sack.
However with around 90 minutes to go , disaster, the elastic snapped at the puller and everything was lost elastic, rig, the lot. A quick re-plumb of the 11m deep rig and I was back in but with a firmer elastic than I really needed. I then decided to start feeding the top three lines and only feeding the 5m line every now and again to keep it ticking over.
Another couple of fish on the 5m line and after spending 20 minutes of regular feeding the top 3 line I started fishing it properly. I was feeding very regularly around 30 or 40 maggots every 30 seconds and getting a mix of fish, mainly carp to around 4lb but odd yearlings, an odd skimmer and a perch.
Fortunately I was able to keep things ticking over to the end.
All out and the festival was over, Pete had battered the section and would be crowned Alders Farm October Festival Champion for 2017 so any hopes I had were gone. It was left for the weigh in and the results to be shared.

Matt Kearns Peg 16

Alan Harrison Peg 19

Barbel and A Tench for Colin

Paul Kearns peg 24 

Top Three Individuals
1st Pete Archer 246-02
2nd Colin Spencer 232-14
3rd Colin Fosdyke 206-00

Overall Section 1
1st Colin Spencer 232-14 7pts
2nd Colin Fosdyke 206-00 6pts
3rd Ricky Quick 192-08 Section Winner 5pts
4th Nick Pringle 171-08 4pts
5th Dave Taylor 145-08 3pts
6th Nick Rowe 117 -00 2pts
7th Paul kearns 49-04 1pt

Overall Section 2
1st Pete Archer 246-02
2nd Keith Ashby 172-00 Section Winner 6pts
3rd Alan Harrison 146-04 5pts New Personal Best Match Weight beating yesterday's weight
4th Rob Rendle 140-00 4pts
5th Matt Kearns 101-12 3pts
6th Lee Newson 96-08 2pts
7th John Haselar  Did Not Fish 1pt

Final Points table
1st Pete Archer 19 points  541-01
2nd Colin Spencer 18 points 534-04
3rd Colin Fosdyke 18 points 517-00
4th Ricky Quick 15 points  431-11
5th Dave Taylor 15 points  421-03
6th Keith Ashby 15 points  403-08
7th Lee Newson 12 points 355-04
8th Matt Kearns 12 points 325-12
9th Nick Rowe 11 points 343-02
10th Alan Harrison 11 points 334-03
11th Rob Rendle 8 points 308-02
12th Nick Pringle 6 points 296-14
13th Paul Kearns 4 points 213-01
14th John Haselar 4 points  153-12

So that is it for another year, many thanks to all the competitors, plenty of new faces which is always good to see.No moaning or complaining, instead discussed and agreed. Well done to all the winners and losers. The staff at Alders Farm over the 3 days, first class service as always. You do realise you are the standard I measure everyone against. To Trevor Price who has organised the event and been on hand every day to assist, guide, supply bait and coach where required. Also to Alders Farm Fishery (not the people), the fish have surpassed themselves over the three days, excellent and fair sections with you making us work for our catches.Finally to Drennan who as a surprise, laid on a few prizes, rods and umbrellas, for some of the contestants. Unfortunately not for me though, still I cannot complain, I have picked up a few quid and enjoyed three days wonderful fishing in good company.

Alders Farm October Festival Day Two 12 10 2017

So there I was yesterday, professing to fishing too light for the fish in front of me. I felt that I would have secured another few fish by fishing more positive. So with this mind, I was going to pull out all the stops, regardless of where I was going to draw.
I had done alright yesterday, 4th in section but picked up some coin, sneaking the section by triple default. Strange how these things work. Today though was on the harder but fairer section. At the breakfast table all the talk was who was getting peg 21 and 29. Both Pete Archer and Colin Spencer were claiming them as their's. With breakfast out of the way and Pete holding the bucket,  Pop Up stepped up and pulled out his peg, 21 can you believe it? Colin could not believe it, only for Jim to pull out 29 for Colin. That is one golden arm. I was going to reside on peg 27, it won the section the day before. Colin Fosdyke was on 28 and Alan Harrison was on Peg 30. Round the corner we had Pete Archer on 21, Nick Pringle on the peg nobody wanted 20 and Rob Rendle on 19.

Any one of these Please!!!

Interestingly both Matt Kearns and Dave Taylor who were leading the other section were pegged next to each other on 2 and 3 respectively. John Haselar on 1, Paul Kearns on 5, Nick Rowe on 6, Ricky Quick 7 and Lee Newson on end peg 8.
As I stated earlier I felt a more positive approach was required, this would not be in the feeding but in the rigs themselves. I was going to start on .19 NGauge to a size 16 B911x and .4 rigs. They were all Derek Smith Diamonds, there was not a lot of difference in depth from 5m through to 11m so I just made duplicates of the same rig with depths accordingly. I also set up a small float for fishing maggot tight into the reeds to my right. I only had about 10 inches of cover, but the fish are used to it.
At the all in, I started off on 6mm pellet at 5m feeding fishery 4mm pellets through a toss pot. A foul hooked fish to start with and then nothing. I tried a maggot on the hook and still nothing. Adding a section and working a pellet around the feed got me a couple of small carp. Fossy had got off to a good start with 5 in 5 put ins before again his swim went quiet.

I could hear a bit of splashing from peg 29 so knew Colin was also nicking a few early on.

I could not work it out, I had to feed to get bites, not too much and you would get one or two fish and then have to move to a new area of the peg. Bait would have be either maggot or Pellet, it did not seem to make any difference. With 2 hours gone I had 9 fish for around 18lb and felt I was going nowhere. I was going to fish the remainder of the match down the edge. I was going to be last in section if I did nothing so attacked the edge positively.
Although I had only around 10 inches of depth at a top three and tight in, I could see odd fish coming in and going out again. I needed to find a way of holding them there. Feeding pellets and maggots together seemed to work and bites were coming regularly enough to keep things interesting. I was still having to wait but bites were hit-able and averaging 3lb a fish, I was building a weight. Not enough to catch Fossy but it would be close within the section.
At the all out I thought I had around 80lb but it may be nearer the ton if they were slightly better than the estimate.
Top Three Individuals
1st Lee Newson 152-04
2nd Colin Fosdyke 146-02
3rd Ricky Quick 125-10

Overall Section 1
1st Colin Fosdyke 146-02  7pts
2nd Pete Archer 109-07  Section Winner 6pts
3rd Keith Ashby 105-09  5pts
4th Colin Spencer 105-06 4pts
5th Alan Harrison 101-07 New Personal Best Match Weight  3pts
6th Rob Rendle 86-01 2pts
7th Nick Pringle 46-08  1pt

Overall Section 2
1st Lee Newson  152-04 7pts
2nd Ricky Quick 125-10 6pts
3rd Dave Taylor 115-00 5pts  Section Winner
4th Nick Rowe 107-06
5th Matt Kearns 100-09
6th John Haselar 68-01
7th Paul Kearns 66-04

So all to play for tomorrow, I realistically need a section win and hope that others fail. I am probably lying mid table and is where I thought I would be. I spoke with Nick Rowe prior to the start of the festival and he was of the same vein as me. Did not think we could compete at the top of the table but can upset a few results.

Alders Farm October Festival Day One 11 10 2017

Like a lot of anglers around the country I enjoy a change, this may be a change of venue, a different style of fishing or in this case a festival over a set amount of days. This had been planned for months, I committed to it and arranged all of my life around it. Nothing was scheduled for the three competitive days. Admittedly I was busy leading up to the event and will be after, but nothing in between.
Alders Farm for me, is a venue that I do not fish a great deal of at weekends. Mainly due to the anglers attending the weekends. They are a great bunch of lads but I feel that I cannot compete with them on a regular basis. Perhaps wrongly but it is how I feel. Events like this, gives me confidence as it is spread over a period of time rather than one match.

On this festival we have some very good anglers, who have appeared in both the weekly and monthly magazines showing off the skills that us mere mortals can only dream about. Yet these same people will tell you anything you want to know. People have travelled far and wide for the event and this is on my doorstep.
My festival started with a chat with Trevor Price and collecting the excellent maggots I had ordered from him. Loading the trolley with everything I would need for three days of fishing, as we did not know which lake we would be on. A full English breakfast followed in the cafe, before we received the bad news. It seems that a lot of anglers had dropped out, some with good reason, some without any notification whatsoever. Still, there would be 14 of us, not ideal but it made two sections of 7 and we decided amongst ourselves how we would progress considering the short numbers. We decided on two sections of 7 on Ash lake. Alternate on day two using the opposite sections still on Ash Lake. Friday would see all 14 of us on Pines Lake again split into 2 sections. Section points would be awarded each day and the highest score winning, If a tie then weight would be a decider. Payout each day would be top three on the lake and default section winners, thus spreading the pot a little further.
My draw saw me on Peg 6 on Ash, a good peg and one I fished thew week earlier. I caught then on pellet at top four and late on with maggot on top three both in front and to the left. I would set my stall to do similar today. I set up a couple of DS diamonds .3g to cover the depth from top three to top 5, incase they pushed out a bit. I also set up a .3g MW steady for 11m in case the wind dropped and I needed to fish long. I had Pete Archer and Nick Endpeg Pringle on 7 and 8 with Colin Fosdyke on peg 4. Rob Randle was on 3 with the pastehead supreme Colin Spencer on peg 2. Alan Harrison made up the section on peg 1. To be honest I thought that mid way in the section would be about right. Pegs one, two and four were all good and eight would have a lot of water to play with.
I started off fishing the 5m line and within minutes I was playing a good fish around 8lb. I would have blown the whistle for all out then.Another smaller fish after around 5 minutes of lifting and dropping. I was feeding a small amount of micros with 4 or 5 fishery 4mm pellets via a toss pot. I was having a bite instantly as the float settled, if not I would start lifting and dropping. Colin was catching well on 4 and I could see Colin Spencer's landing net going backwards and forwards. Pete on 7 was getting a few bites long both up and down in the water. After a couple of hours I had a dozen fish for approximately 40lb.
I had a quick look long but nothing was forthcoming, I think a heavier float would have been better. A look on maggot short only produced a 2oz perch, so it was back on the pellet. By swapping rigs and depths around I was nicking odd fish, a couple on pellet, a couple on maggot then 20 minutes with nothing before It went full circle again. Eventually  I got a few fish to settle on the top three line to the left and I was putting a run together, however I was also getting a few foul hookers amongst them. Pete was now flying, getting a fish nearly every put in long and shallow. Nick was struggling on the end peg. Fossy and Colin Spencer were also doing well.
The anglers on the opposite dam wall were all catching but in spurts, similar to us. I could see those on 27 to 30 putting fish in their nets, so at least we were all getting a few.
At the all out I had the pleasure of saying fish on, and after taking my time slipped the net under a 3lber firmly hooked in the side.
Top Three Individuals:
1st Colin Spencer 196-01 
2nd Peter Archer 185-08
3rd Colin Fosdyke 164-14

Overall Section 1
1st Colin Spencer 196-01   7pts
2nd Peter Archer 185-08  6pts
3rd Colin Fosdyke 164-14  5pts
4th Keith Ashby 125-15  4pts Section Winner
5th Alan Harrison 86-08  3pts
6th Rob Rendle 81-14  2pts
7th Nick Pringle 78-14  1pt

Overall Section 2
1st Dave Taylor  160-11  7pts  Section Winner
2nd Matt Kearns 123-07  6pts
3rd Nick Rowe 118-12  5pts
4th Ricky Quick 113-09  4pts
5th Lee Newson 106-08  3pts
6th Paul Kearns 97 -09  2pts
7th John Haselar  85-11  1pt

So with day one out of the way it is time to reflect on the day. In hindsight I think I fished it too light on all fronts. I would have been better off fishing with a bulk rig and dotting the float right down to a dimple. I did get a few in the end but so did everyone else on the short lines, so perhaps a bit more time with a more direct approach longer would have produced more.

Alders Farm Ash Lake 03 10 2017

It has been a while but we have finally got a MK Nugget match after a few weeks off. Mick has been on family duties for the last couple of weeks, so no matches. Just when he had opened up a lead again. It is back to 10-8 in his favour and with the year and potential matches running out, it will come down to the wire.
Today saw a dozen of us fishing Ash Lake at Alders Farm. Pines Lake had suffered from plenty of rain and made the trek up to it a bit messy so on the grounds of Health and Safety the decision was made to fish Ash Lake.
We had the pegs 1 round to 21 with a few pleasure anglers occupying the pegs opposite the cafe. They were getting a few fish whilst we were waiting to draw so we were all hopeful of a good days fishing. I deliberately hung back and waited for Mick to draw first. Peg 8 was to be his home for the day whilst my paw lifted peg 6 out. At least we could see what the other was doing and gauge accordingly. In between the pair of us we had a new face in Ben Lawrence. A couple of older faces were on 2,3,and 4 in Dennis Simpson, Trevor Price and Peter Archer. Waldorf and Statler were back together again. Mr consistency Lee Newson was on Peg 1. Charlie Lancaster had drawn peg 12 with Paul Woodley on 19 David Adams 20 and Neil Lawrence 21.
I opted to fish 4 lines today. 9m, 5m, 3m and top three to my right. It was quite breezy to start with so I set up a heavier rig than normal .6g DT Diamond to .19 Stream and a B911F1 hook in size 16. This would cover the 9m line. A couple of .4g DS Diamonds to .17 Stream but one with a size 16 the other 18 B911f1 hooks. The margin line was a Del Smith Green into a foot of water. I did not expect to catch on this line as it was fairly clear. Bait would be 6mm Hard Pellet with 4mm and micros( both fishery pellets) on the longer lines and maggot on the shorter lines.

I started on the 5m line feeding micros via a toss pot and fishing dead depth, I also felt that the fish needed to know that bait was coming in so threw 4 or 5 pellets in every 30 seconds or so. This caught me a couple of quick fish, but then nothing, Ben next door on 7 also had a couple then nothing. Mick was ahead of me after an hour. Ben started fishing long and this is perhaps something I should have done earlier. I did go out to 9m after the hour but I was getting skimmers and odd smaller carp.Things were steadily going from bad to worse. After 2 hours I had 11 fish for around 30lb. Ben was catching well for the first couple of hours, Pete Archer and Trevor were also catching well on differing tactics. Trevor fishing rod and line to Pete's pole attack.

A deep spell of no fish affected the three of us on 6,7 and 8 despite us all changing lines, shotting, opening up new areas of the peg and differing our feeding approaches. Nothing any of us could do brought a run of fish.Going into the last hour I made the switch to maggot. I had been feeding a little and often at top three and had a look over it at regular intervals. However, this time the float dipped and red hydro came out. A good carp around 5lb and his little brother also joined in the fun. A couple of foul hookers put the dampers on things for a little while but they soon came back and I was catching a few fish. Problem was so was Mick. The scales would tell at the end but I thought it would be close.

David Adams on peg 20 was leading by the time the scales got round to our side of the bank with 89-07.

Charlie had packed up early preferring to sort out his clutch on his car than continue to struggle on peg 12.

 Mick was next and his total of 74-13 was his reward.

Ben placed 98-05 on the board to take the lead, considering he struggled for over half the match.

 My three weighs went a total of 112-15 to take the lead but still had 4 good pegs with good anglers on.

  Pete weighed in 124-14 to jump ahead of me.

Trevor Price placed a method caught 128-13 to jump ahead of Pete, it was that sort of match. Dennis placed a creditable 68lb on the scales which consisted of a lot of small fish, again caught on the method. I will say that there was a lot of underhand tactics going on today with Trevor having to bear the brunt of it. Both sides of him have tried to stop him catching by filling it in. Groundbait one side and micros the other. 

Last to weigh though was Mr Consistency Lee Newson. 129-02 and yet another win under his belt albeit by 5oz.

My luck has turned again and I have to find another home for an old pound coin. Mick now leads 10-9 but considering where I was a while back, I am happy with the fightback and my Positive Mental Attitude.

Alders Farm Ash Lake 26 09 17

It was so good having Pete Morton stay over as we got talking about his blog and how the photos he takes are a great feature of it. Now Peter fishes for fun, but still has a competitive streak when required. He will regularly stop mid match and take a few snaps before going back to his peg and mugging a few fish to normally frame. However I took the opportunity to ask him how he does his photos. It was never this easy before. So now you get piccies.
It has been noticeable over the last few weeks that there are a lot of fish holed up on the far bank of Ash Lake. Some double tons at weekends and even when the rest of the lake has been performing below par there have been some good weights. That's not to say the cafe bank has been fishing badly, just that the fish have drifted in and out all the time. Getting a run of fish together is hard but if you can get them going then a very good weight is on the cards.
Today would see pegs 1-8 on the cafe bank and 27 to 30 on the opposite bank. Now we are entering October and the fish are still sitting in the shallow water, strange place Alders. With pools and pegging paid it was onto the draw. Peg 28 was to be my home and not where I fancied to be honest. It had some good form winning the JJL match and also framing the previous week, so there were fish about. Either side of me, I had Nick Pringle on 27, Peter Archer ( Waldorf from the muppets) and Trevor Price on 30 ( Statler also from the muppets). I knew the banter would flow and before a line was wetted a post was on Facebook highlighting the new parking arrangements and what sponsorship was all about. At least Nick would keep me sane.

I had decided to fish pellet on a top four and top six if things were not going to plan. I had the tree to my left and although I fancied it for a few fish was not comfortable fishing it, as it was fraught with danger. A couple of margin rigs one for pellet and the other with maggot would see me through the match.
At the all in I started off feeding a few micros with a pinch of 4mms. After 5 minutes the float dips and a 5lb carp is soon in the net. Feed again and same thing happens, The red hydro is doing its stuff. Then nothing, I started dropping in 4 or 5 pellets and I would get a couple more fish. A switch to maggot saw a smaller fish of 2lb so this was sacked off and I continued plugging away on the pellet.
Pete was catching well in between bursts of tourettes. Nick was proclaiming his ascendancy as the Alders Farm Perch Champion, Trevor was bemoaning his lack of fish. Across the pond I could see Alan Donnelly, Charlie Lancaster and John Clennet all catching well. Far better than I.
All I could do was to keep plugging away, I was switching between top four, margins pellet and maggots just nicking odd fish, but they were a decent size so you never know. I was seeing tails and fish down the edges but they would not feed. They were coming in and as soon as a pole went over them they shot off. The water was quite clear so this may have been a contributory factor.
Back out to top four and by fishing just dead depth and dotting the float to a dimple, I caught steadily to the end. Nick had finally got amongst the carp with a late run of fish. But the match would be settled from the cafe bank or Pete.
Overall
1st Pete Archer 212-03

2nd Charlie Lancaster 186-13

3rd Alan Donnelly 185-02 ( First ton weight of carp)

4th John Clennet 182-02

5th Keith Ashby 147-04

6th Trevor Price 111-15

Well where are they Trev?

Now all I have to do is check the Waldorf and Statler statuses on Facebook. It was promised to get messy.

Alders Farm Tuesday Open 19 09 17

It is amazing what a couple of days holiday from work gives you. I have managed to fit three days fishing in at Alders plus managed to paint the landing and stairs, albeit it does need another coat. I would never make a living out of it that's for sure.
Still onto today's match. A nice and friendly do on Alders Ash Lake. It has been a bit funny lately, I think with the recent drop in temperatures especially overnight the fish are gearing up for winter, after all the scientists will have us believe that animals know whats coming before it arrives. Try telling that to a rabbit full of buckshot.
Twelve of us and we had the luxury of the whole lake. So we had a bit of space, I must admit I fancied a go on the far bank today pegs 27 to 30 but as is my luck peg 10 stick to my palm. Not to worry, Troy had a good weight from it on the MDs match so fish were there or there about.I had the whole corner to myself, unfortunately, it was hard to see any of it as the reeds and the tree have grown on. For company I had two bagging machines, Derek Smith on 18 and Lee Newson on 8 although I could not see him.. Both very capable of winning from there pegs.
I opted to fish three lines today, one at 9m, one at 5m and one just in front of my keepnets. I set up both a heavy rig and a light rig for each line, and would keep rotating until I could find a regular supply of fish and the ditch one if it was not working. Red hydro for the heavier rigs and black for the lighter ones.
Over the last couple of matches I have found that by feeding micros draws fish in and you tend to get a quick response, but it tends to die after an hour. I have prolonged this spell by adding a few 4mms to the tosspot. I have also been pinging a couple of 4mms regularly.
I started off on the 5m line and although it was slow going I was nicking a few fish fishing dead depth. After an hour I had seven carp and a couple of skimmers, which went back. Hour two and I was still nicking a couple of 3lb fish and a few good perch on the maggot, but felt it was dying. I decided not to re-feed the peg and go to 9m. I deliberately had not feed anything on this line and I had three carp without feeding a single pellet. I had to keep switching between heavy and light rigs as I could not get them lined up on one method. I would nick a couple light and then have to pin it on the deck.
By rotating lines and rigs I was able to keep the fish coming, I did have a couple of dry 20 minutes were no matter what I did I could not get a fish but that's fishing. I could see Derek catching steadily and Lee Wilson on 21 was also getting amongst them but I felt as if I was always just in front of them. Lee on 8 was catching well and word was the pegs 27 to 30 were catching. I just needed to keep fish coming.
Going into the last hour I made a change that would stick in the memory banks. I came off the deck by 6 inches. Still pinging a few 4mms and fishing a 6 over the top and by lifting and dropping regularly managed to put a late surge together of small carp.
Overall
1st Lee Newson 128-11 Peg 8
2nd John Clennett 116-10 Peg 28
3rd Graham West 109-14 Peg 1
4th Pete Archer 104-10 Peg 27
5th Keith Ashby 91-13 Peg 10
6th Mick Kelly 90-14 Peg 2
So overall it fished fair, no clear cut winner going into the last hour. Lee having 60lb in that hour with some horses down the edge.

Marsh AC Alders Farm Ash Lake 16 09 17

I must admit it has taken a while but I am gradually clawing my way back in the MK Nugget stakes. It is now 9-8 in Mick's favour but considering it was 9-3, I have done well. Today would see us lining the bank on Ash Lake at Alders Farm. A venue we both know well and one I fished the previous day on the Joseph James Law match, although I was on a different lake.

On that match, Ash Lake fished steadily considering nearly every peg was in. But it was noticeable that the fish preferred micros to 4mm feed pellets. Pete Morton, Clive and Dave Pontin had all fished that match and would have the insider knowledge to get a good result. Peter had stopped over at mine, as travelling to and from Barnsley would take its toll. 

Sixteen anglers descended upon the fishery and after a great breakfast in the cafe, it was draw time. We had pegs 1- 21, but it would mean tight pegging on some of the pegs. The fancied pegs, were 1-4 and 21. Pegs 12 and 14 could feature if the wind got up and started to blow into the corner. I placed my hand in the bucket and peg 7 stuck to my palm. This peg was the one Dave Pontin had the previous day and struggled on. I had for company Pete Morton on peg 5, Dave Collier on 6, Kris Old on 8 and Troy Hillier on 10. Mick however,stuck to his plan and drew another flyer, peg 2. Possibly the best peg on the lake this year. People though have started to notice how well you are drawing Mick!!!!

Bearing in mind the previous day's lesson I went armed planning to feed micros with a pinch of 4mms all via a toss pot. I set up to fish 4 lines. One at 12.5m in 4ft of water, .19 DS small diamond in .4g to a size 18 B911f1 hook coupled with Black hydro. My top four line would be a .2g version of the above set up but with red hydro. I also set up a duplicate rig as the peg shallowed up towards the right hand side. A margin rig and a slapping rig should I become desperate were also made up.

I started my match feeding 4 or 5 4mms with a pinch of maggot and a toss pot filled with micros on the top 4 line. Bites came thick and fast and I was catching well. Those around me were struggling, and I think the choice of micros was paying dividends. Troy was catching a few, although I could not see him, I could see the swirls at the end of his bush. I just tried to keep the fish coming but after and hour the line died. I went out to 12.5m and had a couple of fish on a 6mm pellet without feeding anything. But I was foul hooking lots of fish and not getting them out. So frustrating.

I really do not know what to do. I am fishing dead depth or an inch on I foul hook fish, if I come off the deck by an inch, I do not get a bite. They say to shallow up but if your not getting bites, then whats the point. I cannot understand it.

Coming back into the top 4 shallow side I was nicking odd fish, not setting the world alight but nicking fish all the same. A look down the edges saw a couple of small carp on maggot. 

By rotating all my lines I was able to keep fish coming throughout the match albeit with plenty of lost fish. Both Peter and Dave had caught well towards the end of the match but Kris had struggled throughout, losing as many as he had in his net. 

Overall

1st Mick Wright 128-08

2nd Gino Excell 116-08

3rd Tony Roberts 98-00

4th Keith Ashby 96-00

5th Peter Morton 89-00

6th John Holdsworth 77-08

7th Troy Hillier 77-00

8th Dave Pontin 73-00

9th Simon Watkins 69-12

10th Jim Etherington 667-00

11th Dave Collier 62-00

12th Chris Withall 49-04

13th Clive Pritchard 39-00

14th Kris Old 37-00

15th John Button 12-00

16th Barry Testro DNW

So another flyer Mick has drawn and done the business from, another MK Nugget has gone his way and sees his lead extend to 10-8. The match itself was a fairly steady match, plenty of frustration by everyone. those who managed to swap and change quickly caught well. 

On a final note I must say a big thank you to Lewis Monk at Alders Farm who assisted one of our members who managed to get his car stuck. With a lot of pushing and shoving and the help of a large piece of plywood we were able to free the car. There is a 4 car rule in place for reasons such as these. Lewis is not always there to help.

Alders Farm 15 09 17 Joseph James Law Event

It is not everyday you get to fish in the company of some very talented anglers, anglers who have fished for their countries, anglers who have qualified and won some of the most prestigious events in the angling calendar. Joseph James Law, an enterprising Law firm has helped give us mere mortals the chance to do just that. They had invited 11 of the most noted teams in the match fish world, and us the mighty maggotdrowners. An opportunity not to miss.
Unfortunately Dave Webster, or Wibblester if you know him well enough was unable to attend, but his able Deputy Pete Morton was on hand to be able to bring together a team. Pete, Dave Pontin, Clive Pritchard, Adam Daniells and myselfgathered like a Marvel Comic assemble. Barry made up the final member of our team as it was felt that we needed to keep an eye on the opposition and relay any vital gossip.
Dave W had kindly provided us with a hoodie and I must say they are very warm, but they do tend to soak up plenty of rain water throughout the day. Anyway I digress.
With a donation from Maggotdrowning towards our bait bill for the event, (I bet the other teams had to pay for there own). See how professional maggotdrowners are.I opted for some 4mm pellet and some maggot. I have always got some corn in my bag, so did not need that. A walk to the cafe where a bacon, sausage and egg roll awaited, washed down with plenty of tea.
Our draw saw Pete on Oak 5, Adam Ash 23, Dave Ash 7, Clive Pines 15 and myself Peg 8 on Pines.  I really like Pines Lake but today we had nearly every peg in and it would fish harder than normal. I had Dave Pez on the next peg 9 and John Beasley on peg 7. Both very tidy anglers and with Mark Skeggs and Pete Archer also within viewing range I could see how the section was going.
I set up a rig to fish 14.5m with a DS Diamond to a 16 B911f1 black hydro and .19 line. Two rigs to fish corn and pellet at 10 and 2 on a top four plus a margin rig to the right. I also set up a small hybrid feeder to the island in front of me.
I started off on a top four with corn on the hook feeding 4 or 5 grains every 30 seconds, Nothing after 10 minutes saw me switch sides to the pellet line, again feeding 12 pellets via a toss pot, nothing. A move to 14.5m saw my first fish, a skimmer around 2lb after an hour. I had not even seen a carp. Another skimmer and I now had 3.5lb in the net. John, Pete and Dave had all had a carp and I was going nowhere. I played around with shotting to no avail. I changed depths regularly, getting foul hookers on the deck or just touching and nothing 2 inches off. After 3 hours I sneaked 3 carp in 3 chucks and thought at last they had turned up, but just as quick had they arrived it was soon back to foul hookers.
My margins never produced, I could see fish coming in and going out but they never settled. All in all a frustrating day. I felt as though I never did the peg justice. I know it was hard with all the anglers on the lake, but I felt I missed a trick on the day, but a lesson learned. Unfortunately, I came last in my section with 12lb. Clive had fared better with 26lb and a welcome 7 points towards the team cause.Peter had fished a blinder from his peg on Oak with a very creditable 6 points including a fish of 12lb 8oz . Andy Kinder winning the lake with over a ton.
Over on Ash, Dave had struggled on peg 7 with 41lb and another last in section, whereas Adam had fished a blinder beating some very good company to secure second place in section.
Overall as a team, we came 10th out of the 12 competing teams, we had beaten our nemesis Match Fishing Scene again and BAE. Steve Tucker( Garbolino) won on Ash Lake and  Simon Skelton (Mallory Park). On the team front the Lads from Mallory Park won the event with 15 points from the Joseph James Law side. Mosella NW and Drennan International tying for third place.
In summary, an event like this takes some organisation, the staff at Joseph James Law have come out of their comfort zone and performed miracles on a day where the weather did not help. It has rained nearly all day, they have stood out in it in T shirts and wellies, never once did I see them moan or not smile. Every thing from checking in to photos, to drawing to free snacks and refreshments was laid at their very capable hands. If you need advice on any Legal matter give them a chance to prove themselves to you. I am sold. To the team at Alders Farm. You never cease to amaze us anglers, Smiles, chuckles and nothing too much trouble. You know us by name and make us all feel very welcome. Thank you. Lastly but not least, to all the volunteers, who weighed us in, kept score on larger specimen fish, walked around the complex offering advice and refreshments, never encroaching on the angler. Finally also to Andrew Settle, who without his vision and foresight has created a fixture that all the top teams look forward to. We certainly do at Maggotdrowning.com.

Shearsby Valley Lakes 09 09 17 John Buxton Memorial.

Many, many, moons ago a Gentleman by the name of John Buxton started posting a few threads on www.maggot-drowning.com. One of those was a charity match. It was fairly local to me and as I had a free Saturday I promptly put my name down. I had never been to Holly Farm before, so a quick practice was called for. I tried a couple of things on the day and they all caught me a few fish. I was happy and looking forward to the match.
Match day duly arrived and it was a pleasure to see such a great turnout for the event. John had badgered and pestered nearly everyone he knew to raise a few extra quid for the chosen charity. That was the measure of the man. He was a mountain of a man, big and strong, but with a wit and charm that you could not forget. I have never forgot him or his lovely wife Lynn. Always doing something for charity, even though he himself had a disability. I have met and befriended many people through John and for that alone I thank him. Sadly John passed away a few years ago and his friends have tried to remember him this way.
I had never been to Shearsby Valley Lakes before but the little information I managed to glean was it was fishing below par. A lot of the weekend and midweek matches were being won with around 40lb. Pellet was the dominant bait but corn could also work.
I arrived nice and early to be one of the first people there. I popped into the cafe and felt compelled to eat a large breakfast. Pete Morton, a long time friend from Maggot Drowning, Jinx and Marsh AC arrived from a rather leisurely trot from his new home in Barnsley, Match organiser Dave Pontin and Henry Williams arrived along with around 40 other anglers. I am glad I arrived early.
Dirk Williams and Mark Causer, again from over 10 years ago arrived and it was great to see them again.
The match was to be split over two pools Alders and Willow. I drew Willow 33 and after a quick chat was told it was not the best of areas, but fish swim so I went there with a positive attitude. My peg was to the right of a gap between islands. It was not in my peg but I did have a couple of features on the island. Two bushes either side at 14.5m and a clump of grass again at 14.5 in between them. It was a fairly uniform far edge and I set up a .2 NG ghandi float for tight across. Coming back towards me I had around 3ft at the bottom of the shelf and a DS .4 diamond to a size 18 B911 F1 banded pellet on a hair. A couple of margin rigs either side completed the set up. I had a nice depth and plenty of natural vegetation.
What was really disheartening was seeing nearly everyone chopping worms and preparing maggots and casters. Things started badly just after the all in and the lad on the next peg caught a skimmer on the worm. The lad opposite was also catching small silvers, also on the worm.
I started off fishing pellet at the bottom of the shelf feeding via a toss pot so it was not overfed.A couple of grains of corn with 4mm feed pellets. After an hour I had nothing to show for my efforts, I had tried the margins for no bites. I decided it was long or bust. After 15 minutes a small dip on the ghandi and a carp around 4lb was in the net. His mate followed 20 minutes later by the clump of grass.
Sadly that was my lot, I did have another bite I missed on corn and I also foul hooked a fish last put in. The regulars either side beat me but not by a lot. I reckoned on 8 or 9lb and threw back. One of them weighed 11lb and the other 15lb, so one or two fish.
Overall it was an enjoyable day, the organisation by well run, the staff at Shearsby Valley are match anglers and know there stuff. The cafe is clean and food is good. Would I go back? Yes I think I would but once the weights start going upwards rather than downwards.
John would of been proud of the efforts of Dave and his team. It even rained on us.

Marsh AC Orchard Place Lake 6 02 09 17

I must admit my fishing has been put on the back burner for a few weeks. One of the factors associated with packing up smoking is that your sense of smell returns. I used to smoke 30 a day for the last 40 years and many of them were inside the house. Now, with my sense of smell returning, I know that the house needs decorating from top to bottom and this has taken priority.
However, I still had a club match to fish at a new venue to me, the lads fished it last year and were impressed. Orchard Place near Kings Hill, Kent.The complex has a lot of lakes and we were on Lake 6. A quick chat with Mark Hathway, put me straight on tactics and baits and I was ready with a plan.
Mick was driving and another early start beckoned, but the motorways were clear and we progressed calmly towards an awaiting breakfast.
With monies paid, and peg numbers sorted, we decided on 11 to 22, as someone has mislaid 1 to 10. We had 12 anglers but Tony, Jim and Terry managed to squeeze everyone in although some pegs would only offer room for 2 keepnets. Mick as usual would draw first, Peg 21 whilst my right hand pulled 18 from the bag. Mick seemed happy with his draw, just off an island with good looking edges. I was a little further up on the same bank on the end of the point. Again I was happy with the peg, although the lake was flat calm.
My plan was to fish 6mm pellets feeding 4mms and switching to sloppy ground bait if it goes off. I was going to fish at 2+2 trying to bring them in closer to a top kit if possible. I would start off on the deck and gradually fish up in the water under a jigga to .17 mainline to .15 B911X size 18 hooklength. I set this for 2ft but had another standard rig set at a foot deep. My deep rig was a DS float taking 3 number 8 shot to a 18 B911X hook. It is a strange float to use as it takes ages to settle but once you are used to it brilliant for this sort of fishing.
At the all in I started feeding 4 or 5 pellets every 20 seconds and fishing on the deck with white hydro. A few missed bites before fish number one was in the net. an F1 around 2lb, another couple followed and I was getting into a rhythm of hook, feed, land, feed, ship out, feed and so on. It was busy fishing but worth it as I was catching. With an hour gone, I reckoned on having 20 fish for about 42lb. Others around me were nicking odd fish with Gino next peg on 12 fish, Dave on 7. I could see Mick's landing net handle going in and out regularly so knew he was doing well. The others were behind me, but Tony Roberts and the Watkins Brothers were catching well.
I was now on the Jigga, lifting and dropping all the time, and catching well on it, this lasted for about another hour before the rig got smashed. Out with the foot deep rig and I was able to carry on catching. After 3 hours I knew the ton was passed. It was now a case of juggling keepnets. I could only get two into the water and with a 70lb limit I knew I would need a third, maybe a fourth. In the distance you could hear the drone of aircraft, a look up though and you saw a spitfire on rehearsals for a show. Well done the pilot, amazing to watch and worth a few missed bites.
I managed to keep fish coming throughout the session, but had to keep adjusting the feed. 4 or 5 pellets when the fish were coming up and 20 to 30 when they dropped back down. I was now on a top three but as I was fishing shallow a lot of the time it was not a great deal of difference. I even had a spell where the float was set up 8 inches deep and I was still catching. A steady end to the match would see me finish with around 120 fish. 30 in each net. I had caught well throughout, a couple of small things have cost me. Word was Simon had 150 fish with brother Tony also admitting to 120 fish, and he was in my section, Tony Roberts was owning up to around 180lb and Mick was admitting to having had a good day and a grin.
Chris was first to weigh in with 94-04, Jim followed with 75lb. Tony Roberts was then next to up the stakes to 184lb. Simon then tipped 6 keepnets onto the scales for 298lb 8oz. Brother Tony could not match the exploits of Simon but still managed 233-08 for second so far. Terry kept the ton weights coming with 104lb, whilst Richard placed 43-12 on the board.
I was next and was thinking that 3rd place on my first visit to the venue would be nice, couple that with a MK Nugget off of Mick and I would be happy. However, my four nets went 237lb and into second. Gino was next to weigh. Having persevered with paste throughout the match he had done well with 157lb. Dave again was struggling with his health but still crept in with 61lb 4oz before we got to Mick. Mick was admitting to a good day and knowing Mick as I do, know that he rotates his fish so there is not normally a lot of difference between them. So first weigh goes 58lb and I am thinking 58 x 4 nets equals 232lb it will be close for the MK Nugget. Fortunately for me the other nets came up just short and the scales settled on 213lb 12oz. Rod brought up the rear with 42lb 8oz.

Overall

1st Simon Watkins 298-08

2nd Keith Ashby   237-00

3rd Tony Watkins 233-08

4th Mick Wright   213-12

5th Tony Roberts  184-00

6th Gino Excell     157-00

Well first time at Orchard Place, excellent fishing and made to feel welcome. To come second on the day to stop a Watkins 1-2 was pleasing and to take another MK Nugget off Mick was also a highlight. Mick reliably informs me the the score is now 9-8 to him.

Next week I am at Shearsby Valley Lakes for John Buxton's Memorial Match with a few maggot drowners. Another venue I have not fished before, hope its as good as this one.

Monks Lake 4 Marsh AC 12 08 17

After the fishing festivals, Stafford Moor and Yam Yams, a family holiday to Spain it seems that I have not fished a match for ages. I was really looking forward to getting out on the bank. I had done no preparation whatsoever, just sorted out a bait bag. Everything else was the same as my last match.
Monks Lake 4 was the destination so an early start for both Mick and I, but the traffic was clear and and a decent run saw us pulling into the car park around 0730, plenty of time for a chat. Richard was already there and the remainder slowly followed. A generous Bacon and Egg Baguette and a large Tea set me up for the day. A chance meeting with Mark Hathway, another Ghandi from another site was welcome. He was fishing one of the proper lakes on the complex. 
With no Dave Collier in attendance today. Tony Roberts would stand in for the Chairman and manage the pools and pegging from the comfort of his breakfast table. Mick had gone into the hat first, and promptly pulls out the end peg 152, whilst I had to settle for 140. On arrival at the peg I fancied it for a few fish. There were fish topping, I could see a swirl to the left hand side edge, fish crashing on the feeder line, but I had forgotten the rods, as I said no preparation.
I decided on setting up for 5 lines. Left hand edge with a .2 DS diamond to .16 Stream and a B911X 16 hook. Two lines at 2+2 at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock, same rigs .4 DT Diamonds to .16 Stream and B911X, one a 16 with a hair-rigged band. The other a plain hook for with banding pellets myself or for fishing meat.
I set up a couple of shallow rigs for fishing long, one a drennan dibber for fishing an 8mm pellet and slapping, the other a shallow drennan bristle float for fishing a 6mm pellet.
For company I had John on 139, and Richard on 142 and at the all in I decided to let everyone pot in and just try for a sneaky carp down the edge without feeding. A couple of cubes of meat were lowered into the swim at top three and nothing. After 10 minutes I started my feeding regime. Pinging a few pellets long and potting a mix of 4 and 6mm pellets onto the 2+2 lines. These lines started fizzing fairly quickly and after a couple of minutes a 6oz skimmer was in the net, his mate followed but no carp. A look on the right hand side saw another small skimmer before my first carp of the day followed around the 1lb mark. I could hear Tony Watkins and Gino discussing their fishing and it sounded as if they were catching well, only small stuff but I was expecting them to be catching odd carp amongst them. I could hear odd splashing from John next door, so knew he was catching. Tony Roberts and Simon were on walkabout with Tony admitting to catching a few carp and Simon admitting to nothing. It seemed to be fishing very hard. I was speaking with a regular at the venue who stated a lot of the carp had been removed recently and this certainly seemed correct as the fish were not competing for food. 
With this in mind I set up another line and decided to only feed it, if I caught a fish and only with a couple of pellets. This seemed to work for an hour. I was fishing 11m feeding nothing but the hook bait. After each carp I would feed 4 6mm pellets and wait. In this time I caught 10 small carp between 1lb and 3lb. Then as quickly as it started it stopped. I tried doing the same on a different line but suffered more with foul hookers, coming off deck saw no bites, just touching or over depth resulting in foul hooked fish. Yet every now and again I would connect with another small carp of skimmer. 
Tony reckoned on 20lb for a good result today and I had that, just. But at the all in a lot of others were admitting to 20lb. It would be close.

Results:
1. Tony R peg 143 32-08lb
2. Keith Peg 140 22-08lb
3. Terry Peg 144 21-12lb
4. John Peg 139 21-00lb
5. Mick Peg 152 20-00lb
6. Clive Peg 148 18-04lb
7. Gino Peg 137 13-08lb
8. Jim Peg 151 12-00lb
9. Tony W Peg 136 11-00lb
10. Simon Peg 146 8-08lb
11. Richard Peg 142 6-08lb
12. Rod Peg 149 4-00lb

Section winners today: 136-140 Keith; 142-146 Tony R; 148-152 Mick

To be fair, the lake fished harder than we all expected, and does not do the complex justice. The other match lakes are far more competitive and enjoyable to fish. Still not to complain my positive mental attitude is continuing to bear fruit with another MK Nugget going into the coffers to make it 9-7 to Mick. The gap is closing.