Saturday 30/3/13 Open Match
There was a great turn out for the Saturdays open match, with over 30 anglers in attendance. On the draw I drew peg 9; a peg I have not fished before, but still I had a good feeling about today.
On arriving at my peg I was highly delighted; the island in front of me was only 13 meters away, which would be a comfortable distance, even with a strong swirling wind!
On arriving at my peg I was highly delighted; the island in front of me was only 13 meters away, which would be a comfortable distance, even with a strong swirling wind!
Directly in front of me was a cut out in the island reeds, which led right to the mud bank, approximately a meter wide; the rest of the island was reed lined.
In summer the cut out would be my target area due to the water being shallow, but with the temperatures lower than 5 degrees, I decided to target the deeper water in front of the island reeds.
In summer the cut out would be my target area due to the water being shallow, but with the temperatures lower than 5 degrees, I decided to target the deeper water in front of the island reeds.
Plumbing Up
The first line I plumbed up was in front of the reeds, immediately left of the cut out, which gave me approximately 3 ½ feet of water. After plumbing up other areas of the island I could utilise the same rig for these areas too.
*The second rig was a backup rig for the cut out, just in case the fish backed off into it. The depth here was 1 ½ - 2 feet deep.
Rigs
For both rigs I utilised the same material, the only difference will be the depth.
- Main line - 0.12 Browning Hybrid power line
- Hook length - 0.12 Browning Hybrid to a size 16 Kamasan B911 F1 hook
*I have started with a 0.12 which gives me scope for change if bites are hard to come by.
- Float - Dino Sedge 0.12 gram
- Shotting - strung out bulk for both positivity and sensitivity.
*I have also set up a bomb rod for fishing the gaps either side of the island. This will be a backup line.
Bomb set up
- Rod - Browning Force Bomb 10 feet long
- Reel - Browning Backfire loaded with 6lb Browning Cenex sinking feeder line
- Bomb - 10g square lead (free running)
- Hook length 0.12 Browning Hybrid to an 18 Middy hook tied with a knot less knot with a short hair rig to a micro band.
Bait
Today’s bait could not be simpler:
- 6mm fishery pellets - for the Bomb
- Fishery micro pellets - for feed on the pole
- A mixture of 2 and 4mm expanders - for the hook
*I also have some bread if things become really difficult for the bomb
On The Whistle
About a minute before the all in, I baited the hook with a 4mm expander pellet and put around 10 micro pellets in the pole mounted pot. I have learnt in previous visits that over feeding causes the fish to back off really quickly, so minimal feeding was today’s approach.
On the whistle I shipped out the pole to 13m, to the area in front of the reeds, I tapped in the micros and the lowered the rig in slowly over the top. It was not long before my first bite, and after a short battle a nice Mirror Carp was in the net. Just the start I wanted!
The first hour was very productive; I had around 10 fish in the net. The second hour however was extremely frustrating, as I must have foul hooked around 5 fish and lost them; but I did manage to land a few properly hooked ones.
Even though I had foul hooked and lost fish, I didn’t get too despondent, as it meant there were plenty of fish still in the swim. The third hour was again quite productive with no foul hookers. I put around 7 fish in the net.
Even though I had foul hooked and lost fish, I didn’t get too despondent, as it meant there were plenty of fish still in the swim. The third hour was again quite productive with no foul hookers. I put around 7 fish in the net.
As the match went on the bites slowed right down, so I started to target the other areas that I had plumbed up along the island. The rewards were instant; I picked up a couple of quick fish before again bites became scarce.
The rest of the match resulted in me picking up odd fish from different areas. I had to wait quite some time for the bites, but then again so did everybody else that I could see!
The rest of the match resulted in me picking up odd fish from different areas. I had to wait quite some time for the bites, but then again so did everybody else that I could see!
At the end of the match I thought I would have close to 50lb, but when I weighed in it was 60lb 11oz, I was more than happy; this gave me 4th place in the match, and a section win. A cracking result!
