The weather leading up to this match was shocking, very wet and extremely windy but still holding quite mild considering the time of year!
my preperations for this match revolved around ensuring i had rod and line coverage if the pole was not going to be an option on the day, although the pole was definately ready and waiting!
A top Suasage and Bacon sandwich was consumed on my way over and i arrived in plenty of time to get some pellets and get my shuttle loaded and pool side.
QUICK NOTE - Mrs P treated me a Preston Shuttle and i have to say (after only the second time of using it) i dont know how i managed to get around without one previously. i had a fox trolley which when loaded properly was ok, but the shuttle blows it away and i now no longer need to carry anything on my shoulders!
With only 5 anglers braving the conditions today the right hand bank of Laugherne was used with the wind off our backs as best as possible, and i managed to pull out peg 37 out of the bag. this was end peg with the corner of the pool 18-19 meters away to my left.
The wind was pretty much coming straight across the water right to left but the corner to my left was looking quite calm and with the angler in this area last week caught in the margin, so i was quite confident of catching towards the corner.
Tackle for the day consisted of: -
RODS
Maver Powerlite feeder system @ 11ft, 3012 TD-R, 6lb sensor, with a drennan carp feeder (maggot) to 0.16 and a 15 B711, clipped 1m off the island.
Maver powerlite feeder system @ 11ft, 3012 TD-R, 6lb sensor with micro drennan cage feeder to 0.18 and a knotless knotted 16 B911 clipped at 16m over my long pole line.
Daiwa SR3 12 match rod, TD-R 2508, 0.18 genesis, 3AAA maver waggler, 0.16 hooklength with a pellet band on 16 B911 for 1m off the island.
POLE
Rig 1- Heavy pellet rig, 0.9g fat pencil with 2mm tip, 0.18 mainline to 0.15 Ultima Power Silk hooklength and a 16 B911. plumbed up at 16m where the island slope just startes to kick in.
Rig 2 - Light pellet rig, 0.5g slim pencil with 2mm tip, 0.15 power silk mainline, to 0.14 power silk hooklength, size 18 G-Point Pellet plumed the same as rig 1.
Rig 3 - Margin rig, 0.2 fat pencil with 2mm tip, 0.18 mainline to 0.16 hooklength and a size 16 B911, plumbed at 16m to my left up the margin in 3ft of water.
Rig 4 - Margin Rig as above but plumbed at 11m to my right to marginal reeds but found 4ft of water on this line. (this was set up 2 hours after the whistle)
the bait table for the day was very simple. 2 pints of softened micros for feed, 1 pint of reds and white maggots and some 4 and 6mm expanders.
It may seem crazy plumbing the pole line so far out considering the conditions but experience over the last few weeks has told me thats were the fish are and i could always chuck my little cage feeder over the line if it was really bad.
On the whistle i potted a 1/4 small preston cup of pellets with a few expanders mixed in on my long out line and long margin line then chucked the maggot feeder just off the island. i gave the maggot feeder 20 minutes with regular chucks but only managed a few liners with no positive pull rounds.
with nothing positive happening and a few fish coming out down the bank i needed to try some thing so out went the pole in front of me and i could hold it pretty well in the very strong wind, but the water was towing quicker than the Severn and after 5 minutes i knew it wasnt going to happen (yet, i'm always hopefull!)
My next port of call was the long margin to my left and shipping out the wind was still blustery in the corner but i was happy with the presentation. with a small CAD pot attached with a few micros potted in and a 4mm expander on the hook, the float went under after a minute and carp munber 1 was on and in the net afer 2 minutes. Again double number 8 slip is doing the business for me and keeping all my carp from 2lb to 8-9lb perfectly under control.
Catching on this line early put a smile on my face and i managed to put another 4 fish on the net over the next half an hour. i really didnt want to ruin this line and wanted to make it last all match. so another 1/4 pot of pellets went out on this line and my maggot feeder was sent ot the island. second cast on this session and the tip dropped back and a 3lb carp was quickly netted
ANOTHER QUICK NOTE - i've been looking for a good maggot hook for maggot feeder work as i feel the B611, although a perfect shape, is just a tad under gunned, so someone on Matchfishing-scene.co.uk recommended the B711 so i gave them a try. well they handled this carp with ease so so far i'm very happy!!!
With no more wraps in the next 15 minutes i felt the margin had had time to settle so i gave it another try and another 4 fish in 1/2 an hour kept me settled and i felt i was now doing well in the match. at this point with the margin working well i felt the margin to my right looked inviting and stood a chance of holding fish so rig number 4 was set-up , plumbed and fed with a 1/4 pot of pellets.
the magority of the match followed a cycle of catching 2, 3 or 4 fish from the long margin then a rest and where i'd try elsewhere to catch some thing else while the corner settled. incidently i only managed 1 foulhooked fish from the newer margin line. the hour brough a settled period in the weather and the long pole line looked quite calm so i potted some more bait in and had another session in the margin for another couple of fish.
With 45 minutes to go i gave the long out pole line a try and the tow had disappeared and the light pellet rig held nicely and actually went under and a fish was landed. i'd got double 6 on this rig as i wanted some security if the fish ran whilst shipping back from such a distance and breaking down twice that the fish could go quite easily with out pulling the hook out before i realised anything was happening.
Going into the last 15 minutes i'd 2 more touches on the out line so wanted sneak a last couple of fish out on the margin line! at this point Phil, the fishery manager turned up on the quad and parked about 20 metres away from the corner and i could only manage 1 more fish before the whistle went and the match was over.
I still felt confident and was happy i'd made the most of my peg. the scales confirmed i'd put 76lb 10oz in the nets with 57lb next weight i'd earned a vistory. i say earned because i spent 4 out of the 5 hours fishing 16m down the margin which was pretty hard work as it pretty blustery down in the corner.
I'm not sure i'd do anything different if i re-ran the match i's done enough to win and i only lost 2 fish. i could have tried the long out line earlier which may have put 2 or 3 more fish in the net, but i didnt need them.
I still felt confident and was happy i'd made the most of my peg. the scales confirmed i'd put 76lb 10oz in the nets with 57lb next weight i'd earned a vistory. i say earned because i spent 4 out of the 5 hours fishing 16m down the margin which was pretty hard work as it pretty blustery down in the corner.
I'm not sure i'd do anything different if i re-ran the match i's done enough to win and i only lost 2 fish. i could have tried the long out line earlier which may have put 2 or 3 more fish in the net, but i didnt need them.
Cob house again this Sunday with a pairsmatch to replace what would have been the second round of the winter league. See you all soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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