Sunday 4th may 2008

Milemead open
Only 9 of us turned out for this one, as currently just about everybody is spread around a bit on various venues across the South West. The standard is getting very high as well so that might have something to do with it. It’s only the second match I have fished this year however, so I wasn’t at all disappointed, just happy to be out.I pulled out peg 3 & was very pleased as it’s an ideal peg for fishing the pellet waggler to the island, one of my favourite methods. It’s also a decent long pole & pellet shallow peg, but it’s probably still a bit early for that method yet, the fish need to lose a little bit more inhibition. Never the less I set up 2 shallow rigs, one with a Garbolino DC2 for small 6mm banded pellets, the other with a MAP 5 dibber for bigger hair rigged 8mm & 11mm pellets should the fish turn up in numbers, both tied to Ultima power match main line & Silstar hook lengths tied to eyed B911‘s & Fox series 2 barbless. As well as this I also set up a MAP 8 for fishing on the deck for a mixed bag should the carp fishing be slow, also incorperating the Ultima mainline & silstar hook lengths tied to spade end B911‘s in sizes 18 & 16 for soft pellets. The skimmer rig was tied to no.8 latex through a match kit & the shallow rigs to no.12 latex using power kits.A little tip here & something I got from the Total-fishing Forum is to paint your floats with 'hard as nails' nail polish, not only does it finish them nicely, but it also makes them completely waterproof as well as very strong.Anyway, with mild weather leading up to the match & a beautiful spring day, we were all confident of a few fish. I had the pleasure of Paul Carpenter next to me on peg 4 & the rest were well spread out on the best pegs giving us plenty of room. I set up 2 waggler rods, the first with 4lb maxima & the second with 3lb; it can make a difference, especially when the wind picks up. Both incorporated my own homemade balsa pellet wagglers, simply connected with the brilliant Drennan silicone adapters. Locked with 3ssg’s & finished with a micro swivel. Attached to this I used a variety of length hook lengths, but a 12 inch one was the most successful on the day. As the swim was about 25m-30m in distance, I decided on the ever dependable Skretting 8mm coarse pellets, both hair rigged & fed. Catapulting 2 or 3 pellets out regularly saw me get a fish first chuck. The next hour was steady with about 8 fish, the slighter bigger commons & a few mirrors. However it soon became apparent that I would have to cast tight to the island, with a brisk wind this was proving a challenge as I literally had to be within 2 foot, any further out & I couldn’t buy a bite. The fish here love the safety of features & it isn‘t until later on in the year that they really begin to move around a bit. This is where the skill factor kicks in & without being arrogant I feel I am very good at this. Time & again I managed to hit the spot & after half way I had about 15-20 fish for 40lb, although its still very frustrating when your off target. Meanwhile Paul was catching very well next to me & was ahead in numbers, some of his fish were smaller though, but I was sure he was pulling away. He was catching using the long pole tight to the island, literally fishing into the young stickups, where the fish live & love to feed confidently. Soon though both of our swims started to fade, Paul decided to rest his & came inside for silvers, catching some chunky roach & rudd shallow on maggot, as well as a few skimmers. I persevered a little longer but in hindsight it was a waste of time. The swim was now dead with no signs of any fish. I came in & had a go on the long pole shallow & decided I would only give it half an hour, because if you are going to catch on this method you will almost certainly get a couple straight away, if not then usually it becomes a waste of time. With not even a bite to show after half an hour I decided to have a go on the deck with the soft pellets. I wasn’t putting anything in the net & it was now costing me. Paul was still catching plenty of silvers & was forging ahead. I gave the pole line 45minutes & managed 2 small carp & about a dozen small skimmers for about 6lb but it wasn’t going to be enough so I decided to see the rest of the match out on the pellet wag. I had a few more fish & a good last hour but it was very difficult. The fish just were not there in numbers like they can be & it was a case of picking off one or two then nothing for a quiet spell when you would get another run of one or two fish.I was last to weigh in & the ever consistent John Hetherington had already put 80lb+ on the scales from flyer peg 21, disappointingly I knew that I had nowhere near that & with Paul bagging I was out of the frame. When the scales did arrive at Paul, he put a very very good 89lb+ on the scales 20lb+ of which were silvers. I put 68lb, mostly carp for third on the day, which considering the class of the field I was pleased with. Congratulations must go to Paul though, who not only won the day, but also the silvers pool & the golden peg. He did it from a fair peg, but by no means a flyer under pressure to do so as well. He is a class angler who is always looking to put something in the net & his tactical decision making on the day was spot on. It was a pleasure to be pegged next to a good performance like that as I came away learning something.