Cob House TA Fur and Feather

3 bites, 1 lost foul hooker, 1 weigher 3-7-0.
No where, nothing, nadda, zip!!!!!!!!!!!!!











































But, a massive well done and thanks to Bob (20meterking) for putting on a brilliant day and fantastic prize selection!

Cob House Fisheries, Sunday Open, 06-12-09

Well it was back to Cob House this week, with an open match on Sunday filling in for the cancelled winter league.

Wyatts pool was the venue this week. Although not my favourite pool on the complex, there is certainly nothing wrong with it and i've done pretty well on there historically (i held the venue record for a while from Wyatts with 207lb). Wyatts is all about a fish race, rather than the proper siazed fish that Laugherne holds. Weather leading up to the match had been very changeable, with frosts one morning and +8 degrees the next with plenty of wind and rain mixed in, but i was still looking forward to getting out on the bank.

Unfortunatley the day didnt go to well and i found myself lacking in 2 areas, 1 of which was completely my own fault and the other due to the extreme conditions on the day. I'll explain!!

The draw put me on peg 9, in the middle of the near bank. a pretty non-descript peg with a spare peg either side like everyone else but i was at the back of slight of a slight bay.

The wind at the start of the match wasnt to bad, blowy but very manageable and the rigs held steady when i was checking the shotting. my plan was totally based around pellets with some maggots and pinkies as backup.

So i set the following up: -

Rig 1 - 0.7g slim pencil with 1.5mm tip, 0.15 Ultima Power Silk mainline to 0.10 Power silk hooklength and an 18 G-Point Pellet.

Rig 2 - 1g Fat pencil with 2mm tip, 0.15 Power Silk Mainline, 0.12 Power Silk Hooklength and an 18 G-Point Pellet

Rig 3 - 0.5g slim pencil with 1.5mm tip, 0.15 Power Silk mainline, 0.10 Power Silk Hooklength and an 18 G Point Pellet

Rig 4 - 0.4g Rounder bodied float (a new shape i'm playing with), 0.14 Power Silk mainline, 0.10 Powersilk hooklength and an 18 B611.

Rigs 1 and 2 were for the main pellet lines at 11m where the wind was easily manageable and i could follow the fish out if necessary without resorting to going really long. rig 1 was set just touching with a spread bulk and droppers and rig 2 was set 3" over depth with a spread bulk and droppers. i gave myself 2 lines here at 10 and 2 o'clock and would feed micro's on one line and 4mm on the other to determine if the fish prefered one type of feed.

Before the match kicked off i managed to have 5 minutes talking to Chris Cameron who was pegged next to me and an absolutely brilliant pellet angler so i chekced his rigs out. he uses a very positive shotting pattern which 'looked' totally wrong to me, as i like nice spread out shotting to give a nice slow fall through the water, but his way obviously works. With this in mind i altered rig 2 with the bulk 18" from the hook and a second bulk in between the first and the hook. i just couldnt go as positive as chris who fishes a single bulk 12" from the hook!

Rig 3 was plumbed at 4 sections where the inside shelf starts to flatten slightly to me left out of the noisy water which would be created by netted fish and would be hand fed with pellets and rig 4 was plumbed at the same place as rig 3 but 9m to my right nearly in front of the peg next door. this was going to be dump potted with pinkies as was only to be used as a back up.
The maggot dumping line has worked for me at various venues in the depths of winter as i liken it to a bloodworm and joker approach where the majority of the bait is introduced at the start and the fish are left to graze over it with nothing else over the top and picked off as and when required.

the bait table as very simple, with 2 pints of soaked micros, 2 pints of soaked 4mm's, half of red maggots and half a pint of mixed pinkies all mixed together and some 4mm expanders.

On the whistle my 11m lines received a medium CAD pot of pellets on each (i was going to feel my way in), the 4 section line got a few pellets hand fed and the maggot line got a full small cupping pot of feed.

This is where the issues started and the struggle began. 10 minutes after the whistle went the wind quickly picked up quite dramatically and was really gusting and creating some sizeable waves on the surface. for the first 45 minutes i could get half decent presentation and i manged to put a few mirrors in the net. i had too fish the 2 O'clock line as the sun had come out and i couldnt see a thing on the 10 o'clock line! but then the tow started to kick in!!!!!!!!!!!!

for some reason i hadnt put my ready rod bad in which had micro method and maggot feeder rods set up in it. the tow became relentless and bites dropped away and i was left struggling just gettin the odd indication if i could keep it still for a few seconds. Chris next door and John opposite me chucked small feeders and were instantly rewarded with fish when i was sat there struggling. Must remember rods!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my other issue was not being prepared for the situation. after the match Steve Ford told me he had caught using a 2g rig held back against the tow and nailed in place. the biggest rig in my box is only 1g. the wind didnt stop and my rigs just werent right for the conditions. if there was the slightest break in the wind my float went straight under and there was a fish on. i did put an extension onto my rig with 3ft of line above the float and a couple of number 8 back shot but the wind and waves were pushing the float through way too quickly!!! i think a round bodied float 2-3g would have been perfect, but with my own float making (slim float making) hobby kicking in i was left short of the right gear. But on the flip side the conditions were pretty extreme and the rod and line approach would have the best on the day!?!?!?!

i did manage occasional bursts of fish and could only manage 2 fish from each of my 11m lines before they needed topping up and resting. the fish definately wanted some feed and regular top ups gave me bites through out the match, but it was really hard work holding the pole against the constant wind with regular gusts!

I couldnt muster a bite from either of my close lines and had everything from my 11 meter lines on a 4mm expander. bites were pretty positive and the 6-8 middy latex doubled in my match kits is absolutely perfect. i will definately be using this from now on. i need to get hold of some of the 8-10 to try it out on Laugherne island for the bigger carp and find a regular source as i cant seem to get in anywhere in my local area.

I managed to put 36lb on the scales for midway in the match. 65lb won with 63lb second so overall not the best of days!

Cob House again this week with the Talk Angling fur and feather. 40 guys booked on with Wyatts and Laugherne island in! Should a be good match, i just hope that wind ides of and gives us a decent day for once!!!!

Chestnut Pool Fishery - 29/11/09

This week was a change to the usual trip around the corner to Cob House as Pete Bailey had invited me to join him at a match at Chestnut Pools near Bedford.

Format for the day was pole only, 14.5m limit, and a silvers match. I hadnt targetted silvers specificially for a long time so i fancied the change and the challenge. its quite a jaunt from Worcester and i was at petes loading the van up at 6am!! was going to be a long day!

all my gear was targetted to carp to 8lb so a major overhaul of my pole and rigs was in order to getit suitable for the target fish. i was happy using my winter commercial rigs which are made up on 0.14 mainline and i would happy putting a 0.08 hooklength on. my top kits got the light elastic treatment and i put 2 sets of doubled 2, 2 sets of double 4 and i final double 6. this would give me a good range of rigs to set up for whatever species may appear.

I spent the second half of the previous week trying to do some research and formulate a reasonable plan to put some weight in my net. it was very hard work to be honest, although a beautifull pool it doesnt seem to be all that well known so info was minimal. a few calls to pete and the few snippets of info off the net gave me a reasonable idea of what to do but i would have to be on my toes during the match to tailor my tactics when i needed too. target wieght was set to double figures to do well.

the journey over was pretty easy and the services did well out of me with a couple of breakfasts and drinks to nearly £20! BUT i then watched Pete pour the 2 bottles of water i'd just bought him into his groundbait bucket to finish his mix off!!!! he's only person i know who uses Evian to mix groundbait! TART!!!

We arrvied in good time and i finally managed to shake hands with the legend known as Mr Scone!! Not as tall as i thought he would be!!

With monies paid and the shuttle loaded i managed to pull out peg 3. it didnt mean anything to me apart from a short walk and a high bank behind me.

plan for the day was initially going to be kept very simple but meant i could add to it as i needed too. i spent a good 20 minutes plumbing my peg and found a good 4ft of water in the margin, the inside shelf finishing at 4 sections to out then the peg flat as a pancake out to the 14.5 limit!

4 lines were going to be my initial plan of attack, from top to bottom: -

- 1 - 0.2g slim pencil with 1.5mm tip for the margin at 9m to my left. Pellet and worm.

- 2 - 0.7g slim pencil with 1.5mm tip for 14.5m, front right, pellet.

- 3 - 0.4g silver fish float, 1mm tip for 13m in front, groundbait and pinkies

- 4 - 0.3g silver fish float, 4 sections in front, loose fed caster.

All the rigs were made up on 0.14 Ultima Power Silk with 0.10 Power silk hooklengths and B611 hooks.

my bait table consisted of 1.5kg of roach noire and matchblend mixed the night before, 1/2 pint of dead pinkies, 1 pint of maggots, 1 pint of micro's , 1.5 pints of casters and 1/4kg of worms and some 4mm expanders.

On the whistle the 13m line recieved 3 balls of GB with a small sprinkling of pinkies and casters in, 2 well squeezed balls and 1 loose one. the 14.5m and margin lines recieved a golf ball of micro's with a bit of worm and caster mixed in, and the 4 section line was going to get casters flicked in at regular intervals.

the weather wasnt very nice at all with swirling winds and rain mixed in, so it was quite a miserable day. its took 10 minutes to get an indication on the GB line and a small blade roach saved the blank! no more indications followed for half an hour apart from 4 leaves hooked. it was looking quite desperate as no one else had caught much, if anything at all. Pete had managed 1 net fish.

the sun decided to make an appearance and i could not see my 4 section line and knew it was going to drift over my 13m line making those lines impossible to fish. i had an early try on the pellet line without a sniff with the same on my margin line. i really fancied the margin line for a tench or big perch with a good depth tight in to the reeds but i didnt have a touch there all day.

With 1.5 hours gone i was getting desperate and Pete had started to catch a few fish fairly regularly so i started a new line 45 degrees to my right at 13m with just chopped worm and caster and gave it 20 minutes to rest.

i strung my 13m rig right out to give a slow fall with the bait 1" off the bottom and finally got some more bites and put another 4 roach in the net in that 20 minutes. my first try on the new line gave me 3 fish, 2 perch and roach for 10-12oz and my spirits lifted and thoughts of a come back came into my mind. my concentration was renewed.

I didint want to over do that line so i converted my 14.5 line ot just worm and caster and topped up with a good handfull of bait and went back over the GB line for another couple of blades. i then spent the next coupld of hours catching 2-3 fish from the 2 worm and caster lines, each time topping up with a pinch of bait and resting them to keep them alive for as long as possible.

I was catching some nice sized perch, definately net fish, but i was concerned whether they would weigh much. By this time pete had managed some bonus fish in the shape of a massive Rudd, a tench and crucian so he was in a commanding position. 1 other angler had had some net fish too, so out of those i could see, 15 anglers, i thought i was 3rd.

the middle part of the match produced fish but they were getting more and more finicky and i had to reduce the size of hookbait the longer i fished on. from a fat worm head down to a small tail section down to a maggot to keep fish coming.

with 90 minutes to go i lifted into a some thing more substantial and the double 2 cushioned a nice 2lb bream easily into the net which doubled my weight at that point.

Things really slowed down at that point as the rain got steadily worse and the wind was really swirling. but the fish did not want a positive/heavy rig in front of them. 0.7g rig got me one indication with all the rest of my fish coming tothe 0.3g float strung out over the bottom half of the rig. bites were fairly instant if the bait was constantly worked.

the last half an hour gave a string of rudd to put another 6oz on the net but my new next door neighbor (the guy originally next to me packed up after 2 hours and went home) hooked and landed a proper perch easily 2.5lb. he had been putting a few roach together over the second half of the match and i feared he had done me with it.

I was first to weigh as peg 2 didnt bother the scales and was quite pleased to put 5lb 13oz in the sling. that bream really helped! the guy next door put 6lb 12oz in the sling with the big perch nearly 3lb and Pete put 12lb 12oz on the scales for a convincing victory. one other 8lb weight made the frame with me picking up my section by double default!!! YAY!

Once the i'd got the worm lines sorted i was happy with my performance as i'd kept the lines going for the remainder of the match and managed to land my bonus, put it took a prompt from Pete to start the new worm line. i did try the worm early doors over the long pellet line but didnt have a touch on it so put me off the scent slightly but the hard work second part of the match meant i went home happy.

the journey back was an effort with a lorry shedding its load of hay, so an hour sat still on the M6 didnt help but we made it with nodding dog Pete snoring in the passenger seat waking up to the sat nav teeling us where to go!

Cob Hosue again this sunday, Wyatts Pool, with a match filling in for the cancelled winter league. weather this week has been noticably colder so it will be hard work! I love it!