The Plan
My initial plan was to feed 2 pole lines, both at 13 meters, one line at a 10 o'clock angle and one at a 1 o'clock angle. The plan was to then start the match on the bomb to the corner of the island whilst the pole lines settled down. I also had a waggler set up for for targeting the corner the island too, this was set at half depth just in case the fish were feeding off the bottom. I also set up a short line at a top 2 plus 2 distance, which I planned to fish maggot on if things were difficult.
Bait
For the pole I had some dampened fishery micro pellets for feed and for the hook I had some 2 and 4 mm expanders. For the bomb I had some corn, bread and 6 mm hard pellets. For the waggler I decided to just go with 6 mm hard pellet. As explained above I also had a couple of pints of maggots as a back up.
Rigs
13 Meter Rigs
- Pole - Browning Z12
- Elastic - Pink Browning Stretch 7 hollow
- Mainline - 0.12 Browning Hybrid Power
- Hook length - 0.10 Browning Cenex
- Hook - Size 20 Kamasan B911 F1
- Float - Scotthorne 1 0.3g
- Shotting - Strung bulk
Short Rig
- Pole - Browning Z12
- Elastic - Double 4 Cenex solid
- Mainline - 0.12 Browning Hybrid Power
- Hook length - 0.10 Browning Cenex
- Hook - Size 20 Kamasan B911 F1
- Float - Scotthorne 1 0.2g
- Shotting - Strung bulk
Bomb Rod
- Rod - Browning Commercial King 8 ft F1 Wand
- Reel - Browning Black Magic Burner
- Mainline - 0.18 Browning Hybrid Power
- Hook length - 0.12 Browning Hybrid Power
- Hook - Size 18 Kamasan B911 eyed tied with a knot less knot with a hairigged quick stop.
- Bomb - 1/3 oz square
Waggler
- Rod - 11ft Force Pellet Waggler
- Reel - Browning Black Magic Burner
- Mainline - 0.16 Browning Cenex Match line
- Hook length - 0.12 Browning Hybrid Power
- Hook - Size 18 Kamasan B911 eyed tied with a knot less knot with a hairigged micro band
- Waggler - Drennan Crystal Waggler
- Shotting - The bulk set around the float plus 2 droppers
The Session
I started the session by feeding both the pole lines with around 10 - 15 micros on each of my two, 13 meter lines. I then cast the bomb tight to the corner of the island. For bait on the bomb I decided to start on corn, which over previous weeks has been the best bait for this method. After a biteless 20 minutes and a number of casts to different areas I decided to have a few casts with the waggler. After another biteless 20 minutes and a lot of changing depth and casting around I still hadn't had a single bite or liner. The only real option I had left was to give the pole lines a try; unfortunately nothing materialised on these either and another 20 minutes rolled past with not a sign.
Drastic action was needed so the maggot box came out. I started to feed maggots by hand for the short line and via catapult onto the 10 o'clock 13 meter line. I decided to give the 13 meter line a go first, so I baited up with double maggot and shipped the pole into position. It didn't take long for the first bite and a chunky little Roach was soon in the net; this was a welcome sight! The next hour was fast and furious, I was now catching small fish at a rate of knots, I also had a couple of Bream which were more than welcome. I opted to have a go on the short line to try and catch even quicker. This worked a treat as I managed to latch into a few Bream and a couple of Tench too, as well as plenty of Roach. As the match progressed bites slowed right down, so in a bid to keep them going I started feeding maggots via catapult to the island. The plan was to switch to the waggler after 10 minutes of regular feeding. I changed the hook length to an 0.10 bottom and a 20 hook then baited up with a single maggot. I was into fish straight away, mainly Roach but also a couple of Chublets. I then hooked into something much bigger, which I thought maybe a Carp or F1. I was really surprised when a cracking Chub broke the surface and was soon netted...Happy days!
The remainder of the match was spent switching between the 3 lines just to keep the bites coming. At the weigh in I managed to put 26lb 12oz on the scales which I was highly delighted with. This gave me second in my section behind Andy Bailey who beat me by a pound - Bring on the penultimate round 10!!!
For more info on the lake/venue click here
The remainder of the match was spent switching between the 3 lines just to keep the bites coming. At the weigh in I managed to put 26lb 12oz on the scales which I was highly delighted with. This gave me second in my section behind Andy Bailey who beat me by a pound - Bring on the penultimate round 10!!!
For more info on the lake/venue click here
