LOWER RIDGE, SAUGHALL, 8/7/12 ~ Warren expensive session that was

Under normal circumstances, pole damage at Lower Ridge is frequent, but usually down to the strong winds which blight this fishery. Today however, it was the lake inhabitants which were the cause.
Derek Warren was midway through his attempt to empty the lake when, for no apparent reason, the top 2 kit on his Trilogy exploded into three pieces as he latched into a decent carp. An audition to join the Tourettes society followed, before Degsy settled down and continued to catch margin carp on chopped worm n caster. With an hour to go, the fishery owner asked if there were any big carp in keepnets, and proceeded to weigh Derek's fish before returning them to the water. Unable to catch in the margins, his catch rate plummeted, but at the proper weigh-in he'd done enough, securing victory with a level 39lb. A great win for Degs, well done.
Paul Robb drew the open water, and despite a healthy breeze, decided to fish long pole shallow with caster. An assortment of F1s and ide totalled 32lb 14oz, and gave Paul an excellent second place.
On his first visit to Saughall was Colin Cook. He opted for a light elastic with 0.12 hooklength. After only a few fish, he realised that heavier gear was needed. Col ended up with a foot of tight black hydro in a number one top, and still managed to lose a few angry carp. He got enough out to put 32lb 08oz on the scales and slip into a deserved third place.
Jamie Pickup fished chopped worm at about 11metres with his NEW Sensas 774, and had an ide dominated bag which went 31lb 04oz and earned him a section win.
With winds pushing the fish towards the car park end, the other section proved a little tougher, and was won by John Heald, who used the method feeder at 14metres and after netting a few decent carp, weighed in with 22lb 12oz. Nice one John.
The Sumo Sovereign is becoming a bit predictable, and despite some Saturday night taunting, Jamie came out on top again. When asked for his coin, Sumo muttered something about setting up a direct debit and quickly left the venue. Better luck next time John.

GORSTY HALL (Ben Pickup Memorial), 10/6/12 ~ Awesome success for Uncle Jamie

The now customary Ben Pickup Memorial was held at this Gorsty fixture.With 3 golden pegs running, it seemed bizarre that Lee (Ben's dad) and Jamie (his uncle) should both draw one. Pegged on numbers 11 and 13, they then settled down to a pellet waggler duel, with both men catching steadily throughout the match. Lee certainly had more fish, but they were of a smaller stamp, and combined with the loss of some better carp, it was Jamie who came out on top.
 JBay caught better carp on a regular basis and finished with an honourable 37lb 12oz to record a fitting and deserved victory. "Awesome! and a nice bloke, too"
Although it appeared that this was a private show for the Pickups, the scales indicated that several other members had put in decent performances too. Colin Cook had quietly slipped a few early method fish into the net, and, adding some better carp from a pellet waggler attack, he earned a silver medal with his 32lb 08oz net. Another good Gorsty effort from Col, well done.
Despite apparently struggling for the entire match, The Gnome had managed a few skimmers, roach, crucians, tench and small carp to the tune of 27lb 14oz, and sneaked onto the podium. Pole-fished meat proving fruitful.
Leaving Lee to rue those lost fish was John Edwards. Sumo tried the method, the wag, and the pole, and amassed a mixed net which went 21lb 10oz at the scales. and pipped Lee for the section.
Kenny Stuart also plodded steadily through on 6mm pellet. A skimmer dominated net , with some late cruies, went 21lb to give the master the other section. Two more respectable performances, well done to John and Kenny.
Not only did Jamie win the match and the golden peg, he also took another sovereign off  Sumo. A particularly fine achievement as rumour is that John is now sponsored by Drennan North West. Why else would his name regularly be followed by DNW ?

WESTON POOLS,CANAL, 27/5/12 ~ Win for Yozz.......by a whisker

The heatwave continued for the latest visit to Weston, and the fishing was red hot, too. 14 members all weighed more than 25lb, on a variety of methods and with a real mix of species.
Taking the weather into account, the Gnome went for maggot, fished shallow, to target everything that swims, particularly the visible shoals of ide. The ide fed for an hour before getting bullied out by an assortment of chub, carp, tench and even barbel. The result was so close that one of those set of whiskers gave Yozz a narrow victory. He weighed 55lb 14oz.
Just behind, with another excellent net, going 55lb 04oz, was John Edwards. For such a big weight, ( the fish, not the angler!)  Sumo used an amazingly small amount of bait. 3 tosspots full of micros, a handful of expanders for the hook, and half a scoop of maggot was all that was needed to put the usual species mix into the bag. In fact, trashed rigs and lost hook-lengths probably cost John more than his bait bill. Only down side for Sumo (apart from being ounced) was that Jamie wasn't there, otherwise it was probably one back for John in the Sumo sovereign challenge.
An even smaller gap back to third, as Lee Pickup gave another fine display of meat fishing the margins. He managed to extract 54lb 12oz of better fish from the boards next door, and, but for some costly losses, would possibly have won the match. Unlucky Lee, but a great effort nonetheless.
With 3 golden pegs (each worth £50) on the go, and under the new format, the closest challenger, with a level 47lb, was Steve Coleman. He caught a good species mix on a variety of baits, and got paid the section prize instead. Seems scant consolation, but as Steve remarked, with a great day's fishing like that you wouldn't care if you came last.
After some coaching from his grandad (aahhhh!), Paul Cargill also demonstrated that you dont need a bucketful of bait. Half a loaf was enough, as Paul fished bread six inches deep and caught mainly quality carp to record his best match weight of 42lb 02oz, and take the other section money. A big 'well done' to Paul.

**********SPECIAL REPORT********** LAKEVIEW FISHERY, Melton Mowbray, 26/4/12 ~ Living the Fisho Dream

As some of you already know, several of our members like to enter the Fishomania qualifiers and, more recently, the Maver Match This. Following allocation of tickets, news was that Pete Lucas had been offered 6 opportunities to fish while John Edwards and Neil Paterson only got one each. As fate would have it they all received tickets for the qualifier at Lakeview Fishery in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.
About 6 weeks ago Pato mentioned to me that he had a day off on the Friday prior to his match on the Saturday, and he was considering a practice session. With tongue very much in cheek, I replied that if he took a lieu day on the Thursday prior he would be able to have 2 days practice. Surprisingly he gave me the nod so I went surfing for accomodation and booked the Premier Inn at Loughboro, with a twin room costing £29 per night and 'all you can eat' breakfast an optional extra at £8. So for £23.50 each per night, we had B&B.
I immediately texted Sumo and The Maestro with details of our plan. A positive response was returned, so we now had a mini practice festival because the fishery allows keepnets for pleasure anglers too!
Thursday morning came and we decided to call at the angling superstore that is 'Nathans of Derby' on route. It was like being kids in a sweet shop, such was the array of tackle on offer. I splashed out and bought a packet of hooks, while the others bought all sorts of must-have equipment including some branded clothing so they would fit in with the sponsored megastars that attend fishomania. Pato is now Senseless, while Sumo is Garbagelino.
We arrived at Lakeview about 11am, and met up with Lucas, who had already tackled up on one of the noted fliers. The rest of us drew for nearby pegs and agreed to fish from around noon until 6pm.
Pato fished mainly to the island at 13metres with banded pellet. He had a bit of a 'mare, losing as many F1s as he landed, but ended up with 30lb. Lucas messed about with bread and paste to catch mostly gudgeon for a couple of hours, before finding the carp with pellet, fished shallow at around 10metres. He weighed in a credible 32lb. Sumo fished a few lines, ranging from 3metres to 13 tight to the island. He found F1s and proper carp to about 3lb and totalled 53lb odd. I thought about fishing to the island and had to have a lie down. Recovering quickly, I decided on the opposite, and just got out a top2 kit. With quite a steep slope in front, it came to over five feet at 4metres, so i fished half way down in about 3 and a half feet. Micro pellet and a few grains of corn went in at the 'ten oclock' angle while a ball of groundbait and a handful of maggots went in at two oclock. After a few initial gudgeon and a change to 3 maggots on the hook, I caught a few F1s and a decent skimmer. I tried the corn line and added about 8 good sized F1s before switching back to maggot. For some reason I thought I'd give it a go about a foot deep, so moved the float down the line rather than set up another rig. Amazingly, after two roach shallow I started getting F1s to nearly 3lb, all on my top kit a foot deep! I ended up winning the first practice session with 66lb.
The evening saw us discussing the day's events, and plans for Friday in an Indian restaurant over a few beers (and lemonade for me). Amongst many topics, Sumo mentioned he felt it was important to have duplicates of each rig ready in case of tangles, etc. We agreed it was a fantastic meal, and a great end to a great first day.
With ten lakes being used in Fisho, we had to try another. The vote was that we fish 4 hours on one lake, then literally turn our gear round and fish another lake, immediately behind, for four more hours in the afternoon.
The morning was a miserable affair, with persistent rain and a cold wind making life very uncomfortable. Pato had learned from the day before, and adjusted his feeding. Instead of foul-hookers and lost fish, he put a healthy number of mirrors and commons in the net from his 13metre line, and totalled 36lb for an easy win. I fished short again, and managed a mix of cruies and F1s for 19lb and a distant 2nd.
As we turned round, the wind was now at our backs, and the rain finally eased off. Getting a bit cocky after some success, I again decided to fish ultra-short. After half an hour, and no fish, I was in danger of a battering as the others were catching readily at 12metres to the far bank. The Maestro was catching one a bung on maggot, all small F1s. Sumo was also bagging small F1s on banded pellet, as was Pato. I eventually succumbed and unhappily went out to 12metres with corn. The chase was on.
Final weights, which were all F1 nets, showed the following result:- Lucas 24lb, Pato 26lb, Sumo 31lb odd, and I managed to claw back the early deficit to weigh 34lb. Amid much banter, the main highlight was when Sumo announced that he'd wrecked 8 rigs during the session, due to tangles. The amusing response was that the trouble with duplicates is.... if you make one crap rig, they all end up being crap!
We found a cheap 'carvery' pub for our evening meal and had some more beers and a superb roast, with the two big fellas going kingsize, while Sumo (surprise) and I went regulation. Pato even had room for an ice cream. Whilst outside for a fag, Pato was invited, by a delightful lady, to join her in town for a few drinks and a dance. However, being the consumate professional, he declined the offer, telling her he had a big fishing match the following morning. What dedication, the man is a true legend.
And so on to match day. Lucas gave breakfast a miss due to nerves, and must have left in time to be at the fishery by 7am. The rest had the 'all you can eat' meal in the hotel and we arrived at the fishery around 8.15.
Wow! the car park can be so intimidating. Everyone is decked in branded clothing from top to bottom, and then you spot the stars. The Ringer family, Jon Arthur, and a host of other top anglers. There, in the corner, is the Sky cameras trying to capture the atmosphere. The queue forms for the draw, and it's your turn at the bag of dreams. Lucas picks out an end peg on the lake we had fished on Friday afternoon. He's grinning from ear to ear, while we try to give him a sense of reality. Section win at best, the fish are too small. He toddles off happily. Pato draws on a smaller lake which has just one section (of 10). Arriving at the lake, the pegging looks cramped, and another section win seems the best hope.
Finally Sumo, and he looks delighted as he arrived at his chosen peg, on a lake reported to throw up a likely winner. With most of his tackle at the peg, a voice is heard, "is that peg 21, Serpent?". Sumo froze....he checked his ticket......21 OASIS......oh no! In best little britain voice, "dont want that peg, want THAT one"
Shifting all his gear to his actual alloted peg, John thought the 'new' peg looked even better.
I tried to decide who to sit behind, as bank walking during the match just wouldnt be right. From Sumo's peg I could visit Lucas without upsetting anyone, and from there I could get to Pato and stand about 10yards behind him, on the wrong side of a fence.
I started at Sumo's peg.
The hooter went at 11am and with all around him shipping big pots out all over the lake, John ships over to the island with a pinch of micros and a 6mm pellet on a band. He tipped the micros in and gently lowered his rig in. The float carried on going and it was fish on. What a start, as a pound and a half carp graced the net. Next two put-ins produced the same, and even I started dreaming of the Cudmore final. An hour later and John added fish number four to his collection. Talk about an anti-climax. He added another soon after and at 12.30, I went to see Pato.
Grueller was the description offered. He'd had 3 carp but lost four more, and the lake was not fishing well. I watched for twenty minutes, saw Neil's float twitch only twice, and went to find Lucas.
A familiar tale, with 3 small F1s in the first 3 chucks, and nothing since, Pete was going nowhere fast too. I gave it half an hour, and couldn't bring him any luck so it was back to Pato.
During my absence, Neil had now moved on to 7 fish and was in buoyant mood. I left him to concentrate and started talking to a fishery regular who was stewarding. His summary was as follows:- Pato's lake had not been fishing well, and a recent open match had been won with 15lb. Lucas was on a decent peg for that particular lake, but as we suspected, the fish were too small to compete. Finally, Sumo was, by the fishery owner's admission, on the worst lake on the complex, which really did need some new stock.
Back at John's peg, he'd had just 1 more fish in the 2 hours I'd been gone, and was talking about the walk of shame. "No disgrace in that" was my reply, as on my earlier travels, I'd spotted the legendary Steve Ringer putting all his gear into the van for an early dart.
With half an hour to go, Sumo became the fourth angler on his lake to pack up early, and tip back his 6 fish. Lucas had ended with 8 fish and his section was won with 18lb. Meanwhile, Pato weighed in with 14lb odd and had finished second on the lake, behind the winner with 25lb. No money, but Neil had fished a tidy match and was happy with his effort.
I was disappointed for the lads, but had lived the Fisho dream without the personal disappointment of bombing out, and I still had £25 in my wallet. In all honesty, the £25 is not a waste of money, as it gives you a chance to take part and it's a fantastic thing to be part of. The whole complex had been hard due to the weather and volume of anglers on the banks, with 65lb being enough to win and qualify for the final. Someone's dream lives on.

GORSTY HALL, 22/4/12 ~ Fletcher has ammo to see off the opposition

Following our last visit, which was disappointing to say the least, any doubts about Gorsty were cast aside following this outing. The green haze which threatened the lake seemed to have settled down, and the usual assortment was brought to the scales. Carp, both big and small, cruies, tench, roach and skimmers all featured in catches. With the first three all adopting different tactics, proof was there that Gorsty is very much alive.
Carl Fletcher, fishing as a guest, lead the way with pole-fished pellet, both expanders and later hard banded, to put a real mix in his net and finish with 41lb 08oz, and an easy victory....Well done.
After supporting the club outings for a few months now despite a damaged shoulder, Derek Warren finally got his reward with a fine display of method fishing. Loads of carp, most only going about a pound, found their way into Degsy's keepnet and gave him a well deserved second place with 34lb 10oz.
Demonstrating the diversity of approaches which work on the venue was Dave Cargill, who fished 12mm banded pellet on the waggler (honestly!!!) to net a couple of better carp along with the pasties which totalled 31lb 04oz, and give Dave the bronze medal. Nice one Mr.Sec.
Dennis Jones, fresh form his big open match win at Yewtree on Thursday, was in the money again. This time his 25lb 08oz mix was split 50/50 between pole at 7 metres and a method feeder, using mainly pellet. Another sound performance from the gudgeon basher, this time winning a section prize.
The other section was won by The Gnome, who pole-fished (what else?) meat at 8 metres. A catch of small skimmers, boosted by half a dozen carp, went 25lb 02oz.
Other noteables, without a cash prize though, were Pete Lucas with 25lb, and Steve Coleman with 23lb. Both weights of method caught carp.
Did anybody catch on big white pellet? I saw loads on everybodys bait tray midway through the match. Despite the heavy shower, not a bad match really.

HAMPTON, WILLOW, 1/4/12 ~ Lee edges his way to victory

With everyone in buoyant mood following a couple of weeks of warm weather, the good old British climate threw a curve ball on Sunday at Hampton. No ice on windscreens, but the display in the car read 1*c on the way there. I think it caught everyone out, and a little too much initial feed made the whole day a struggle for most. Although it felt like a scratch around for a few bites, the overall weights were still as impressive as any.
Lee Pickup had worked hard on the method with only a couple of fish to show for it, but a look down the edge with an hour to go transformed his day. It was a fish a chuck till the end and Lee finally put 47lb 12oz of meat loving carp onto the scales. A great performance and a well deserved win.
The lottery peg was drawn by Gary Brislin, who had guessed at 52lb and it looked likely that he would go close with his own catch. Hauling a net full of carp up the bank to the scales it was indeed a possibility but in the end he fell short with a level 45lb and had to settle for the silver berth. A good effort from Gary though.
At the other end of the lake, Yozzer had overfed a couple of his usual close in lines. A switch to 6metres on corn brought about an improvement and having caught carp slowly but steadily throughout, The Gnome managed 37lb 10oz which was enough for third place.
John Heald has pleasure-fished Willow a few times and the experience told. After a slow start, a scum drifted into his peg (probably from Old Trafford) and he began to catch. A number of proper barbel, a few carp and some small tench on meat added up to 28lb 08oz and was sufficient to give the Benidorm chariot driver a well earned section win.
The other section again showed off Andy Lawton's feeder fishing prowess. Using the method with meat hookbait, Andy caught on and off all day to finish with 26lb 08oz of mainly carp. Nice one fella.
Pete Delmaine had a day to forget. Pole fishing up to his number 5, he reached for his tangled feeder rod, which gave a crafty mirror the opportunity to whip the pole from his relaxed grip. As the pole skipped across the lake, Pete lunged to grab it, missed, and his head went past a waterside bramble. Standing up, his hair was dripping, his sleeves were soaked, and his face was scratched with blood trickling down it. Meanwhile the offending carp had taken his pole through several pegs and was nearing the bridge. Jamie and Kenny Pickup both chased after it but missed, and when Zimbo came along, it was he who hooked the elastic with another top kit. With carp still attached he made his way back to his peg, netted and unhooked the mirror, before accidently breaking the attached top 2!!! To finally compound the disaster, the Club Chairman then announced to Pete that the fish must go back as he had left his peg. Never mind Zimbo, it could have been worse...... it could have happened to me (only joking). I think you took the incident remarkably well.
Another match not on the calendar, a possible bagging fest on Moreton Brickworks, Sunday 15th April. Phone Cargy for details and to book on. 

Weston Pools Canal, 25/3/12 ~ EFC...Easy For Col... on his Weston return

There have been far more important things in life than fishing for Colin Cook over the last couple of years. How fitting then, that on his return to the sport with Eggy Ferry, a glorious spring morning greeted him and the other members at Weston.
The script gets better as everyone had a reasonable day's sport, a few bites and a few fish. A fitting end to proceedings too, as Colin ran out a comfortable winner with 44lb 04oz. Fishing 4mm pellet, he had the customary mix of F1s, cruies, tench and ide, but crucially he also found a number of better carp, which generally proved elusive during the match. Great to see Colin back on the bank, but as KP said, you're supposed to hold the thick end of the pole.
Another tidy performance from John Edwards, who also found some carp to add to the general mix, this time mainly on maggot. His total of 32lb 12oz was more than enough to put him in first loser position. Getting better Sumo, keep it up.
'Team Kenny' were in the money. 2oz separated the pair, with Ken Stuart edging into third with 23lb 02oz of tench, cruies, ide on maggot, while Ken Pickup was left to win the section money with his level 23lb. He too found a few better carp on pellet, to boost his mixed net. Well done the Kennies.
The other section was a noisy affair. Stevie Coleman was pegged in a corner. In the adjacent field was, presumably, a rugby match. The vociferous crowd cheered and sang all morning. It coincided with Steve having a golden catching spell, so every time we heard the crowd roar and sing, we looked over to the corner and there was Steve with reams of elastic out of his pole. That encouraged us to cheer and sing too.
The support proved to be in vain as the Gnome had plodded through the match, steadily catching 4oz ide on maggot, and despite dropping a number 4 section in the lake, (whatever was he doing with that much pole out of the bag???) Yoz managed to bring a level 22lb to the scales for a section win. Thanks to some much appreciated help from several members, the offending 4section was also retrieved. I am eternally grateful.
Another enjoyable outing, and not long to wait for the next one as Dave has managed to book Hampton Springs Willow pool for Sunday 1st April (no it's not a wind up).