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.