He's been going on & on about having nowt new to read on here since Sunday night, so here's a quick catch-up on what's happened since the last post. Well,nowt much really. In all seriousness-ness-ness, I've been on a few different places and caught a few fish. A few less than I would've liked, but at least I've not blanked.
It started-off with a chuck on the Sluice on opening day, which was a bit of a waste of time really. It was harder than a goat's knee 'cos of the bright conditions and the gin-clear water. I had so few bites I was counting the holes in the mesh in my keepnet... I had five bites and beached two tommies a billy and a snig. That was enough, so home I went.
The next day (Thursday) I went in search of fish at Hall Lane and I wasn't disappointed. Fishing on the hill side of the lake, it was a bite a chuck with various stuff coming out - golden orfe, carp, tench, barbel, roach, chub even a few ide. Cos there's a 'no-keepnet' rule in place, I had no idea what weight I'd caught but it was good to catch after the previous day. Captain Strap-On came down on a reccy and sheltered under the brolly out of the sun - it was uber-hot.
Friday was a better day for the Sluice - cloudy and on the cusp of rain. Off I went back down to the match-length and the contrast couldn't have been more marked. I dropped lucky to be fair - in the space of just under three hours I managed to snare thirteen bream (up to 6lb) and seven tench. The tench all came in a row and some appeared to be recent 'stockies'. It was all good fun and a good way to balance-up the atrocious session two days earlier.
Saturday was the SDAA match at Hall Lane and from a personal perspective it was a bit of a let-down really. I was on an unfavoured peg which didn't produce when I was on with BAS the previous week and the conditions didn't help matters much either. It blew a hoolie on our side of the island and was (apparently) quite calm from what Colin said, after he'd been for a mooch mid-match. Colin was on the next peg to me and he struggled much the same as I did. With the frame weights already pretty-much established before the scales came round to me, I tipped about 9lb back and went home.
I woke up on Sunday morning hoping for clouds, but as soon as I opened my eyes I knew we were going to be in for a grueller. In terms of the conditions we were back to Thursday - the sun was out, the wind was blowing and I struggled for fish in from of me. I fished tight to the reeds for a spell and managed a few flirters, but not much else. Another tip-back and retreat homeward.
Monday night was the SDAA sweep and that was another struggle. Pegged in the wides, I decided to give the tip rod a go and was rewarded first chuck with a wrap-round from a 3oz billy. Nowt else showed, so I went to the pole line at 13m where I promptly foul-hooked a small tench in the dorsal fin. It took off up the sluice like a missile and I shouted to Wrighty on the next peg that I might not see this one. It came back (straight past me) making towards Phil on the other side of me. It then dived into the silk-weed (whatever it's called) under my feet and succeeded in blinding itself. That done, I was lucky enough to be able to scoop it out. Half an hour later I did it again - this time I pinched a slightly larger male tench in the front leg and it didn't like it one bit. A bit of ploughing up & down ensued and then it came paddling across to the net - not bad for a pound & half bottom on 4s elastic... There were fish fizzing and bubbling all ove the place as the sun faded behind the pumphouse (and if the world ever needs an enema - that's surely where the tube will be inserted...) but no more tench were forthcoming. Just for curiousity, I waited for the scales and managed 4lb 9oz - not bad for two little tench, a billy and a rudd.
Today was the slithering Adder's latest attempt to bamboozle the pools-fodder by taking us to the Cunneries at Eccleston. It very nearly backfired too. I'd driven past the place the other week while on safari, but today was the first time I'd ever seen the fishery itself. It's a pretty standard small commercial, really. A rectangular lake with an island down the middle and 10 pegs on either side of it. We'd heard tales of plenty of fish and it producing pretty decent weights in matches, so it seemed a good alternative to German Lane (where all the fish have now had texts off the Adder...).
I decided to continue with the (now tried & tested) worm & caster approach and wasn't let down. I caught steadily throughout the match from the end peg (although mid-way down the lake) and only really needed to fish one line just off the rushes on the island. There was a steady stream of chub, ide and F1 carp - none of them were very big (biggest around 2lb) but they just kept coming. I was first on the scales and was amazed to see them go round to 50lb 4oz. I didn't think it was going to be anywhere near winning, especially as I'd probably lost around 10-12lb and I was proved right; the Adder slithered in with 61lb 8oz, closely followed by Matt Humphries on the other end peg with 55lb 12oz. Between the seven of us, over 300lb of fish were banked, so there may well be a return visit being planned.
No comments:
Post a Comment