Recent match results/event info

Gary's day

We were on the Backwater again today with it dropping after another wet week but with it still having some flow and colour. Wednesday's match showed the fish are still shoaled up at the top end and the goal was to squeeze us into the high numbers.

Out of the bag came peg 16 for me. The right end of the river, however, I had forgotten how close peg 15 is. You do not get a lot of water to play with and no gap in the boats. I had Rob on peg 15 below me, the same peg he had on Wednesday, with Steve above me on end peg 18.

A start on bread punch had a bite after a few runs through and a 2oz roach. After the last couple of matches fishing for bleak it looked huge. Below me Rob was having a slow start but Steve got off to a flyer with his landing net going out regularly.

After a decent roach to start the fish got steadily smaller and a big flash of silver under my float soon explained why - pike. Rob started to catch a few small perch over towards the barges and Phil on 14 was also getting a few fish now.

My day was pretty much the same. A few reasonable roach or dace, then a pike strike and back to micro fish until the better ones regrouped. As usual the fishing got tougher as the day progressed but the odd fish was still feeding the net. Steve was still catching well and Rob was also ticking over. At the weigh in I was surprised to have 4lbs of bits, lots of bites but nowhere near enough.

After seeing Steve regularly netting fish for most of the day it looked like he was the man to be beat and so it proved with a great mixed bag of perch and silvers for 9lbs 9oz. Second was John with 5lbs 14oz from peg 13 which looked so odd without a boat opposite. Another good weight and normally enough to win with Darren not far behind with 5lbs 3oz with around 130 small fish - a very busy day. With 3 1/2 lb taking last place it fished the best it has done for a long time. Photo today is Steve.

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Rob's day

Back on the River today for the penultimate round of the Winter League - it was touch and go as a few days ago the River was pretty much unfishable due to the amount of rainwater entering the River. Luckily it had fined down a lot in the last 2 days and looked good – coloured and a decent flow.

With 11 on the match today unfortunately a few lower numbered pegs had to be put in – these have not fished well on the last few visits – maybe with the water pushing through, a few fished have come back down (or not). So, we wanted a high draw and I was not upset when peg 15 came out. Had Phil for company on the end peg 18 (the peg he knew he would draw due to the long walk) but at least at the right end. Also had Barry Downstream on the next peg.

Set up a whip for trotting down the middle and a pole rig for across near the boats for perch. This peg is relatively shallow with about 4-4/2 feet in the deepest part (just short of the middle) and 3 foot across where there was a bit of slack water. Started on the punch and had bites from the off – small roach and one or two dace. After an hour or so the bites dropped off so went onto pinkies for a couple more roach including a couple around 3-4 oz and a 6oz perch.

Couple of tries over by the barges produced nothing so kept on with the whip. Conditions not great today with a cold wind causing presentation problems (and tangles) – also a lot of branches on the bottom – rarely had a clear trot through without snagging. (Hooking a pinkie on a size 20 not easy with frozen hands).

Saw Phil and Barry catch a few small fish – also Tony netting a decent perch and swinging in a sizable roach (he also had a run in with the crayfish pot). Fred had wandered down earlier to say things were slow where he was – also Graham who after 3 hours had not had a bite. After a couple of more roach on maggot, spent the last 30 minutes by the barges for perch and had 3 around 4-6 oz and bumped one.

At the weigh in Phil recorded a good 3lbs 9oz from a swim that a day earlier had white water flowing down from the weir – now looked good. Thinking I had around 2 ½ - 3lb I somehow had 4lb 3oz in the net – maybe the perch at the end weighed a bit more that thought. Tony (peg 13) pipped Phil by an ounce for second place and Bill filled 4th place with 3lb 2oz from peg 10. Bob had a decent weight of 2lb 9oz from peg 12 but things a bit different when reaching peg 9 down to 4 where it was a struggle to get any fish at all.

No fish pictures today, but instead a queue of anglers trying to get away from the low number pegs after a hard day.

Gary's day

It was a trip to Little Walden's Home Farm today and its large lake. The car park was pretty full as the small lake also had a match on. With a day of rain but strong winds forecast I left the brolly at home which was a mistake.

I have not been on the large lake many times and I seem to keep drawing the same corner so today was going to be a change as we fished the other bank with the wind off our backs. Out of the bag came peg 13 near the island which I could just reach the overhanging branches of at 14.5 m.

The plan was to fish long to the island until the wind picked up and then shorter with either maggots or expanders. And a maggot feeder rod in case the wind really picked up.

The first hour was very slow for me but Rob to my right was catching on a maggot feeder from early on and Fred was also getting a few bites on the pole.

The island proved a waste of time and I finally picked up a small F1 on the feeder. A try on the micros and expander swim gave me a reasonable carp but I only had 1 more bite on that swim all day. Rob and Fred were still catching and so now was Darren on the pole. A couple of small F1s from near the island kept me from falling too far behind.

Whilst all this was happening the gentle sleat at the start had turned horrendous with 50p sized bunches of snowflakes falling. Shipping the pole was horrible as your hands got covered in freezing slush. When it finally turned to rain about 12.30 it was a welcome relief as the temperature increased a bit. The forecast strong winds did not happen though, I could have brought the brolly.

As the weather eased there was a quiet spell for us all and then my right hand maggot swim started to come good with a steady run of bites through to the end fishing a very light float. A few lost, foulhooked fish including one at the whistle was the downside of this though.

By the end of the day everyone had caught a few fish despite the weather. It looked like it was going to be between Rob and Darren although Fred had had a couple of decent carp. At the scales Darren's fish went 56lbs to Rob's 46lbs 15oz. I had thought Rob had more than that as he'd seemed to be catching all day and lifting my nets out I had more than I thought. It was close with my fish going 46lbs 6oz - I just needed some of the foulhooked fish to stay on. Sorry no weigh in shots this week just the start of the match and the next 3 hours of sleet / rain and the more sensible of us under a brolly.

Rob's day

Back at Hall Farm today after a week or so of rain most days but with temperatures up to 10 degrees today. The level at Hall Farm pretty close to normal now after the rain and water pumped in from the stream, but with a rusty tinge to the water.

8 of us today so 4 each bank, I was last to draw and was left with peg 26. Hadn’t fished this for a while, but a lot of fish had been settling at this end of the lake over the winter so hopeful for a few bites. Set up hybrid and maggot feeders for over to the reeds and a couple of pole rigs. Started on the hybrid feeder with a wafter but after 30 minutes not a touch, thinking it might be harder than we thought today.

In the meantime, Barry on peg 2 had a couple of carp on the pole, seemed quiet elsewhere although Fred on 24 mentioned they had caught further along the bank. A change to a maggot feeder brought an instant response though and I had three small carp in as many cast. Kept on the maggot feeder for a couple of hours catching the odd carp – most tight to the reeds opposite. The middle of the match went quiet – went an hour or so without a bite – fish seemed to disappear somewhere for a while. Nothing on any pole line so back to the feeder.

Looking across Jeff had a few carp now fishing the pole and Steve on peg 10 seemed to have caught a few on the tip. Not sure about our bank, although Fred had one carp going into the last 30 mins. The carp seemed to have returned by the end and I finished with a good run of 4 to 5 carp although most seemed small (spoilt by the size of Beggar's carp!) last fish on the whistle which also brought back a float that had been stuck in the weeds across all match.

Weighed in the low bank first – Barry sadly just the two carp caught early but weighed 10lbs 15oz – Terry one carp, Jeff catching five to win the bank with 18lbs 1oz and Steve second with 15lbs 9oz. On the high bank Bob on peg 20 weighing a good 22lbs 10oz, John Carter 12lbs 6oz from 22, Fred, who added a couple of fish near the end for 11lbs and my fifteen or so fish going 53lbs 5oz – one on the hybrid feeder, the rest on a maggot feeder. None on the pole today. So, fishing hard for most today, but at least we all caught at least one carp. Photo today is Bob Fox.

Gary's day

After yet another very wet week it was Beggar's Hall today for us. The water was a lot more coloured than expected likely due to all the rain and the water being pumped in.

At the draw out came peg 18 for me. A great summer peg but not so great in the winter as you have a lot of water in front to try and find the fish in. The pole stayed in the car today and it was to be a day on the feeder and bomb with a waggler rod set up just in case.

A search around with a couple of bits of corn on the bomb to start with did not produce any signs. Darren on peg 21 and John on 19 got off to a good start with a carp each early on. Mark all the way up on peg 14 also looked to be getting a few bites too. 90 minutes in I finally had a bite on the feeder and a nice common was in the net. Had I found them? In short no.

Darren and John by this time had another each and then John quickly had a couple more. I was now at least 4 carp behind John. Fred then wandered down for a break from watching a motionless tip and mentioned that Rob had at least 5 carp too.

10 mins or so later I finally had another carp but just the 1 bite. Mark was still catching fish including on the pole and I could not see how Rob was doing. With 40 mins or so to go I finally had a bite where I had been feeding a bit of corn all day. The tip sailed round but nothing was on the end. A quick recast and the tip yanked round and carp 3 was in the net. The last 30 mins was like another match with 3 more carp in quick succession.

John thought he had about 30lbs and I reckoned I had that beat. Darren had had a pretty slow second half of the match. Fred had not wandered down or packed up so he must have caught too up on peg 16.

Having seen Mark catching pretty much on and off all day and knowing Rob had 5 fish early on it looked like it was a case of seeing if I could get 3rd. Rob was the clear winner today with 101lbs even after going over on one of his nets. It was then a lot closer than I expected with Mark's "40lbs" going 59lbs and my "35lbs" going 50lbs. Those carp are getting bigger and we also had a showing of a few bream for Rob and Darren. Picture today is birthday boy Fred at 85 years young.