Sunday 29 January 2012

CONWY, 29/1/12 ~ Gnome breaks strings on Paterson banjo

At last, a day on Conwy without a hurricane. Flat calm conditions were the order of the day, and the predicted snowstorms turned out to be gentle rain showers.
As in the last Conwy match, there seemed to be a runaway winner. This time Neil Paterson set a furious pace, catching several decent carp on his new favourite tactic, the banjo feeder. Pato caught on and off throughout the match and finished with a very respectable weight of 31lb 15oz. A valiant effort, but it wasn't quite good enough though.
Two pegs along sat the Gnome, weilding 13metres of pole. Scrapping the customary maggot/ roach route, 6mm pellet was his chosen approach and it worked a treat. Big skimmers and a few F1s went into the net on a regular basis, and the final tally went 35lb 02oz.
With Pato cursing his luck, things got a little worse as, with two anglers still to weigh, a guest known only as Andy tipped 34lb 02oz of roach into the weigh sling, relegating the big fella to 3rd! A great catch, and proof that the roach are still very much present at Conwy. The successful tactic was hemp and caster at 6metres.
Sumo Edwards had a steady but thankfully uneventful day, and caught on short and long pole with worm, and an odd fish on teabag to collect some section money with a well earned 21lb 15oz . Nice one John, never mind the triple default, it's money in your pocket and a notch on your belt.
Our very own Mastercatcher made up the prize list. Kenny Stuart put together a mix of skimmers and roach on maggot and pellet to finish with 16lb 14oz and take the other section. Well done Ken.
That's the last of Conwy for another winter, but members please note an additional match next Sunday. A much shorter journey as this one's at Lingmere. 

Monday 16 January 2012

CONWY, 15/1/12 ~ Pato shows the field a clean pair of...buttocks!

Rumours and recent results from Wirral matches at Conwy suggested that the once prolific roach sport was a distant memory. Once again the roach failed to show in any numbers, and following a couple of hard frosts, it was tough going on the carp front too.
Bright sunshine bathed the right-hand bank, and such was the temperature on that side that the banter started with regard to sun cream and removal of shirts, etc., while those on the other bank sat dithering in the icy shadows. Neil 'the legend' spookily showed everyone his lily-white buttocks before the all in, and it proved to be an omen.
Pato plodded through a few miniscule roach for the first half of the match before deciding to sit it out on pellet at 16metres. He was rewarded with three small carp, then found a better sample seconds before the whistle. Weighing 20lb 14oz, he'd shown the field a clean pair of heels. Well done Neil.
That last fish was a crushing blow to Jamie Pickup who was the only one to find a proper bag of roach. Fishing worm at 12metres, Jambo had a solitary goldfish in an otherwise roach net and put 20lb 08oz on the scales. Another consistent effort from JBay, nice one son.
Yozzer half heartedly gave the roach fishing an hour, and with next to nothing to show for it, he decided to carp fish at 12metres. Banded pellet produced four carp and a goldfish, along with a handful of roach and he sneaked third place with 16lb 08oz.
Whether it was anorexic fish, or just girlie elastic, Dave Norman had caught what seemed to be quality skimmers all through the match on his mackerel rig. So much so that everyone had him down as a comfortable winner. The scales proved otherwise and 16lb 02oz wasn't quite enough for the frame.
Such is the history at Conwy that this match goes down as a disappointment even though everyone had plenty of bites and a decent winter weight. Sometimes I think we expect too much.

Monday 9 January 2012

LINGMERE, 8/1/12 ~ Dave clinches victory with help of new species

A hastily arranged knockup was well attended by Eggy members, Wirral borough members and other assorted guests. Being local, it also attracted a number of spectators to add to the atmosphere.
Dave Norman usually does well at Lingmere (amongst other places), so when he started catching F1s and small carp it came as no surprise. Pole fished pellet at 12/13m was the successful approach. A small slice of fortune helped though. Dave hooked a mystery fish which had a mouth under its pectoral fin! Amazing. Reportedly weighing about 8lb it boosted his weight to 28lb 04oz and helped clinch victory.Then again it happens to us all, so well fished Dave, a deserved success.
Arriving at his peg, Yozzer discovered that he had Wirral's angler of the year Billy Gore, on one side, and venue expert Pete Zimbo Delmaine on the other. No pressure then. On the plus side it was the very same peg he had sat on when practising in the week. Fishing mainly maggot at 12metres, Yoz had an assortment of F1s, a couple of big skimmers, a perch, a tench and a few roach for a total of 27lb 01oz and second place.
Lingmere's barbel had apparently been shoaled up in a few areas, including just off the island at peg 5. Making full use of his draw was Mark Ormond, who plundered those fish on the tip rod with maggot, adding a few F1s on the pole. At the whistle, Mark had crept into third place with a well earned 20lb 09oz. A good performance.
Our old friend Ian 'Simo' also joined the party, and as is usual, he put up a consistent display. Ian caught a few F1s out at 16metres on pellet, and also managed to add some quality roach and big skimmers on margin fished maggot. With cash for the top four today, his 20lb 02oz total was enough to secure another Eggy envelope for the Simpster. Well done mate. 
Certainly not Lingmere at it's best, but all in all everyone had a few fish, and a return trip in February is a definite.