Tuesday 24 March 2015

A Jolly Jaunt to The Cunneries. 24/3/15

With the year moving along quickly, we need to start thinking ahead to 2016 already. The turnouts at matches are fantastic but it also creates a few headaches. Some of our regular haunts will not longer accommodate our needs. A suggestion from Ian Simpson is that The Cunneries may be suitable for what we require. For those who know Orcheton Farm, it is 2 minutes down the road. If you don't, its in Eccleston, Chorley, which is 30 miles from the Wirral, along the M58 and North for 1 junction on the M6.
Nicky Harrop and I decided to take a look. The S Canal was the water in question. Upon arrival the place does look a bit of a dump, with stacks of hardcore lying around the place, and they are in the process of digging another lake.
However, once at the waterside, it takes on a much better appearance. There are 4 interlinked 'canal' strips, and a total of 47 pegs. The owner, a very pleasant lady called Betty, will organise pegs to suit requirements.
At £6 a peg, and a very modest £3.50 for pensioners, the cost also falls within range of what the club is willing to pay.
On to the fishing. We decided upon 2 adjacent pegs near the car park. The canal is rush-lined on both sides and would be about 11 metres wide, so no heroics to reach the far bank. We chose to fish 5 metres (there's a surprise), and were into fish immediately. It was F1s all the way, on maggot and pellet, with fish in the 'Lingmere' weight range, i.e. 1lb to 3lb. The owner told us that it was stocked 80% F1s with occasional rogue carp. some bream to 4lb, chub, perch and gudgeon. We fished for 6 hours, including a mad last hour on maggot shallow at 5metres, and ended with 250 F1s between us. A phenomenal day's sport. Ok, it's not likely to fish that well all the time, but it seems to have most of what the club wants in a venue so Jamie has booked a few , one for this November, and some for next year. We managed to get dates early and late in the year because everything is fully booked already which indicates how other clubs must rate it.
Finally, last Sunday, when we struggled, every peg was in at The Cunneries and a club match was won with 98lb.
Would definitely recommend a pleasure session on there, and you can decide for yourself. I think we may go back for another look.... only the once though.

Monday 23 March 2015

LINGMERE, 22/3/15 ~ Sumo 'does it his way'

********GUEST BLOG********
Some of you may notice a different writing style to this week's blog as Yozzer, our usual scribe, is too busy catching up on a Sky-plussed season of the Jeremy Kyle Show to write it himself. Watching Jeremy is the only way he can keep up with what his close family and friends have been up to recently.
With an influx of new members and Lingmere's well deserved reputation as a decent fishery, 24 members turned out. Unfortunately, the weather and the sheer number of anglers conspired against us, with a sharp frost, clear skies and nearly every peg used.
After the usual top notch breakfast, cooked and served by the lovely Jan, the draw was done and members took to their pegs with the usual mix of loud groans and half-concealed smiles.
As expected, by those with any brains at least, things started slowly in the bright, still conditions.
On peg 29 in G section, Sumo had two venue regulars to contend with in the shape of retired (retarded?) double act Yozzer and Harrop Senior. Managing to ignore most of their advice, he finally managed to put a decent number of F1s and small carp together by long-lining pellet shallow at 13 and 14 metres. Following Nick's advice, he even caught a few down the edge. Would have been nicer if Nick had told him about the bloody big snag in the edge, which cost him 3 hooks!!! Still, Nick's rendition of 'I did it my way' proved that the X-Factor doesn't have a monopoly on people with voices like a fucked Ford alternator. Sumo's final tally was 41lb 03oz, enough to take first on the day.
Meanwhile, in E Section, on peg 20, Dirk the Wiggler managed to catch enough hazy glimpses of his float / quiver tip through the massive clouds of his vapour fag to put together 31lb 09oz to take the first runner up position. About 10lb of that total was a carp too big to fit into Dirk's Lidl landing net so the Cookie Monster on the next peg, and in the same section, stepped in to help by lending Dirk his net. At the weigh in Dirk beat Cookie by less than 7lb. DOH!
In B Section on peg 7, Jamie Pickup managed to get over the embarrassment of using the same pole for the third match in a row and put 30lb 08oz in the onion bags for a well deserved third place.
An honourable mention must go to Pato in A Section, who, after much recent venue coaching, and finally deciding not to use his usual badly cast Method / bomb, went for a pole only approach. Either side of him, Andy (the Butler) and Dave (he's not my dad) Harrop both went with the method / bomb and showed the big fella how it should be done. Dave took the section with 21lb 12oz and earned himself Pato's undying admiration as a 'Tip Wanker'.
C Section was taken by Paul Cargill who, after a recent absence, decided he needed some cash and the easiest way to score it was to turn up at an Eggy match and fish half tidily in a tough section for 10lb 07oz. Well done Paul and great to see you on the bank.
Over in D Section, Lee Pickup managed to show venue regular and new member Big Ears (but small brain) Jackson how it should be done with a section winning 12lb 04oz.
F Section was taken by John Rogers with 23lb 11oz off a normally poor corner peg. In the same section as Daddy Pickup and Storming Norman Smith, John probably knew he'd only need about 8lb to win but decided to batter them anyway.
Personally I found it strange how all the regulars at the Wednesday Coffin Dodgers matches seem to struggle when presented with an opposition field that doesn't have prostate problems and has to spend half the match pissing..... or trying to.
See you at Blundells boys.  ANON.

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Note from The Gnome: Thought it might be an idea to let others have a bash at the blog. A superb first attempt from Anonymous. If anyone else fancies having a go please let me know.

Monday 9 March 2015

LATHOMS No1, 8/3/15 ~ Spadger strikes gold..... and no groundbait!

Another great turnout, and reasonable sport for everyone. Most people had some early fish while the scheduled rain showers stretched on into the afternoon. As soon as the rain stopped, so did the fishing. A slow couple of hours in mid-match put the dampeners on some possible top weights, before they came back in the final hour.
Adopting the quiz programme 'Pointless' on BBC, where the object is to come up with an obscure answer than nobody would have given, this would definitely produce a pointless answer.
Q. Name someone who hasn't won an Eggy match.
A. Dave Lynch!!!!!!!!!!
Absolutely amazing to check back through the blog reports to find that Spadger had never been the headline act. For an angler of such quality, experience and knowledge I was staggered  at the facts.
Dave put that right in no uncertain manner at Lathoms.
Despite being eyeballed for signs of illegal groundbait, Spadger kept to the rules, and kept his cool. Feeding a kilo bag of Maver moans steadily throughout the match, the fish continued to go into the onion bag, and at the end, Dave had amassed 57lb 06oz to gain that long awaited victory. Congratulations Spadge.
Fortunately for us, the title doesn't mean he has to wear a dress, but bridesmaid for the third match this campaign was John Edwards. Making great use of a decent draw, Sumo again threatened the venue record, but suffered the mid-match lull, and this cost him dearly. 52lb 14oz was an excellent return on the day so well done to John.
Jamie Pickup, pegged next to the Maestro Pete Clueless, was inspired by the returning Mr Lucas, and responded to the banter in grand style to take the final podium position with 49lb 07oz. Following some mediocre showings in recent matches, Jambo was back on song, and Luco's wit and repartee enhanced some lively exchanges between members.
The Garden Gnome was next, with a section winning 35lb 09oz, while a solid performance off an average peg, gave Steve Coleman a section prize with a well earned 28lb 04oz.
I personally think that the influx of new members has made the club even better as they have all fitted in nicely to the social and banter side of things as well as attending the matches. It gives great pleasure then, when one of them has some success. Johnny 'Buck' Rogers had his first section win with his 17lb 15oz, so a massive pat on the back to him.
It's equally nice to see the club stalwarts enjoying some glory too, so to see Tony Byers give work a miss for once, and earn some cash from fishing, was also a pleasant sight.
Finally, it was also great to see Harry Simpson back on his feet after an horrendous illness before Christmas.

Tuesday 3 March 2015

NEWS FROM GENERAL MEETING, TUESDAY 3rd MARCH 2015

Any member intending to go on the club weekend away to CobHouse / Solhampton must ensure that the Treasurer is in receipt of a £20 deposit (non-refundable) by the April General Meeting.

Monday 2 March 2015

LLOYDS Badger, 1/3/15 ~ Dennis is the star of the little and large show.

An excellent winter turnout of 19 endured variable conditions ranging from flat calm and sunny, to gusty winds and heavy rain.
Most started on the standard Badger tactics, dobbing bread to the far bank, and most had an early carp or two.
As has been the case in recent matches, the first 2 on the podium were on adjacent pegs. Dennis Jones maintained recent good form. After the initial early fish on bread that most experienced, Dennis' float just kept disappearing for the duration of the match. Carp, carp and more carp went into his net. He did, however, make a couple of mistakes. Half a dozen lost fish cost him the magical ton as the final tally ONLY added up to 89lb 05oz. Another cracking performance from the little ginger one though, so congratulations.
His other mistake was letting the occasional carp crawl past him and into Pato's peg. The jolly green giant sat patiently waiting for the scraps, and ended up in the silver spot. His weight was more in keeping with the rest of the field as he managed 16lb 08oz. This was the start of normality, but still a decent effort by Neil.
Third, and bitterly disappointed not to do the 20lb challenge, was Lee Pickup. His 15lb 15oz fell short of the target, but others would have welcomed such a weight so well done to Lee.
Section wins went to Sumo with 14lb 04oz (smashing Jambo too), Kenny Pickup with a level 13lb, Spadger with an honourable 14lb 15oz, and The Gnome with a dreary 8lb 08oz.
Below average returns following last month's visit, but more like the norm for winter..... apart from Big Dennis!