November

Rookery Waters, Pidley, Magpie peg 3

Set up a pole line to fish topkit + 3. Stiff breeze left to right so I expected a tow in the opposite direction. Because of the conditions set up a 1g float, swim was six foot deep. Also rigged for the (deep) margins. On this lake they are almost full depth so used a 0.5g float instead of my normal 0.2g margin one. To the right the margin at topkit was six inches shallower than at +1 and topkit to the left. So set two margin rigs. Also set up a pellet feeder to start on while the pole swims settled. Plan was to fish pellet, 4& 6 mil expander on the hook and 2 & 4 mil for feed, I also had some corn but strangely this year I have caught little on this. I had meant to take some meat but forgot to do it.

Started on the feeder to the opposite platform, didn't have any interest in thee casts and switched to the +3 line. Feeding a mixture of micros and four mils. Despite the stiff breeze there was no tow at all. This line didn't produce so it was on to the margins. The right +1 margin showed signs of life and I soon had a small carp in the net. Strangely this margin showed signs all day but very few actual bites and only the occasional fish. The first fish from the left margin went 5 1/2lb so this looked promising if I could keep them coming.

Things though were very slow with only the odd fish. Meanwhile plenty of splashing from my left indicated Stewart on peg 1 was doing it right. spent a couple of hours rotating round the lines, feeder, +3 and margins and picking up odd fish. Set up an overdepth rig for the +3 line and took one fish almost immediately then nothing. So now it was time to decide how to fish the last 90 minutes. Given the weight Stewart seemed to be amassing I knew I was fishing for a frame and not the win.

Chucked the feeder while I sorted out a broken hooklength and it went round. For about 30 minutes I had a fish a chuck with fairly quick bites. Nothing large but building a weight. With around 45 minutes to go I decided to have a last look in the margins and concentrated on the short one to the left. I had switched feed from micros in a pot to throwing 4 mils. This line now came alive and I stayed on it for the rest of the match. The sun directly in my face made casting the feeder difficult.

Ended the match on 81lb for fourth. Stewart had 95 for second. top was 105 and third 91.

The day was odd though. I lost more fish than I have for many months. I had two break me on the feeder (0.17 hooklength) and they didn't feel like particularly big fish. I had two hooks (B611) straighten, something that hasn't happened for years, even when landing double figure fish and had two run under a keepnet breaking the hooklength. Those lost fish cost me second I think.

Waterloo Farm (Market Harborough)

No peg numbers here, drew the last island peg furthest from the car park on the lodges bank.

The fish had obviously shoaled up or were playing hard to get apart from one swim. I had only fished Waterloo once before a few years ago and late on had discovered that pellets on a feeder were better than groundbait (managed second that day). Starting method would be pellet feeder to the willow on the end of the island. I also set up a pole line in front at +3 and in the margins looking for the barbel. With that in mind I fed meat on the margin line and micro pellets sparingly on two spots in front.

After an hour I had not had any interest shown on any line, any bait. A couple of fish had been caught, particularly by Pete to my right. He had the end peg and was casting into the open water away from the island. Just after the hour with polony on the pellet feeder hook the tip jagged and fell back. I lifted into what would be a carp of around five pound. But nothing else showed interest. I decided to start a new line at 9 metres in front. I thought the fish may just have pushed further from the bank. Fed sparingly again with micros and at nearing two hours into the match I landed a five and a half pound fish on a 4 mil expender. And that was it for the day.

Late on I did have a few bites on both corn skin and pellet on the 9 metre line but didn't connect with any of them despite dotting the float right down and shortening the line above to four inches. This may have been because I had decided to leave my main pole at home and fish with a new 9.5m margin pole just to see how it went. Handled the fish with ease but may have been a bit slow when striking causing the missed bites.

Pete to my right though had an excellent day. Sticking on the Method feeder with I think meat on the hook he kept a steady if not frequent stream of decent fish. He recorded 56lb to win with a margin of 26 over second.

I weight just over 10 with my two for near last. Good anglers struggled this day. I think we just hit a bad day as I am told by regulars that 100lb nets are to be had in Summer.

Rookery Waters, Pidley, Magpie peg 1

With some frosts in the preceeding week and the day dawning to a clear blue sky and no wind I suspected we would be in for a tough day. I was right.

The feeling about the day wasn't helped when we discovered the bailiff and a mate fishing the lake. Shouldn't have been a problem, we had 15 out of around 30 pegs booked. But this lake has an island with pegs on that match, number wise, pegs 1-23 on the outer bank. You can choose whether to fish your match to or from the island. The bailiff had put himself and friend on pegs that were opposite some of those we would have wanted to use.  With the rest of the lake to choose from plus two others on site I can't fathom what made him want to fish opposite our booked pegs. 

Set up to fish a pellet feeder towards the bridge and also at the same distance into the corner. Pole at 10m gave me three spots the same depth and, although I thought it wouldn't work I also set up a margin rig. Margin on this lake is around four foot and a stir of silt beside the platform told me there was at least one fish there as I was tackling up.

Fed the pole lines sparingly with micros and started on the feeder. After twenty minutes the tip hadn't moved. I usually start on the feeder partly to let the pole lines settle and partly to judge whether the fish are active. Even just liners give me confidence.

Onto the pole lines and they seemed dead also. Word down the bank was that no-one was catching, possibly one or two odd fish. Back on the feeder changing baits from dead reds to meat, corn and eventually hard pellet. Still nothing. A couple of twitches but nothing that gave me confidence.

Topped up the pole lines and margins (micros and some meat) and finally had a bite that gave me a 1lb carp. Then all quiet on the Pidley front. Tried the margins but had no indications.

After around two hours I was still on a pound. Time for a re-think. I had been fishing dead depth on the pole line. For a change I set up a longer rig to fish ten inches or so overdepth. This brought two fish within a few minutes. I had around five pound now, whoopie! But still word was that no-one was catching well so all was not lost.

Spent the next two hours playing around between the overdepth and dead depth rigs, changing feeding patterns and hookbaits. Managed another two fish, one foulhooked on corn skin.

With an hour to go I decided to put out the feeder and pack away the poles. But something said to have a look down the margins but instead of feeding micros I added a section of pole and started to feed six cubes of meat (6 mil) with a cube on the hook. I thought my eyes had gone when I thought the float moved. Two minutes later and I was playing an F1 of around 2lb.

Last hour I stayed in the margins feeding meat sparingly and picking up another four fish, the last being a chub of a pound.

I was first to weigh - 17-01. We had been told that pegs five and six had been doing well and so it proved. With two good anglers on I was pushed into third. Stayed like that until the last man to weigh. He had 21-02, damn! Still fourth wasn't bad considering I was nowhere with an hour to go. Picked up a small prize to offset part of the day's costs so couldn't be unhappy given the way the match had started. Just goes to show you can't predict and you shouldn't give up.

I am told that a new manager starts here in the new year and he has ideas to improve the facilities. 

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