Carp Vale - Cyprio & Match pool August 23rd

After missing the previous match at Woodlands I was eager to get fishing this weekend and Carp Vale was in store once again. Unfortunately we weren’t on front pool which I’d taken a good weight from a few weeks previous but Cyprio would certainly do the business although I was dreading a draw on Match Pool seeing as the weights were so low in comparison last time around.

Stu and Nige weren’t in attendance this week so Honest John was running the match. As there were 18 of us in attendance it was decided to have three sections of six. With six anglers on match pool and 12 on Cyprio the weights would hopefully be a bit higher on the match pool as everyone would have plenty of room.

So come the draw I wanted any number lower than 21, this would guarantee a peg on Cyprio. So typically I drew 31 and would have to spend the day on the dreaded match pool!

The necessary two trips to my peg were then undertaken, I could have done with a lie down by the time I’d settled everything down! My peg looked quite nice; I was in a wide bay about 30m wide probably, so I’d have a nice chuck to the reed fringed island although there was a tree directly above me which would hamper my casting. I also had the spare platform of peg 30 to fish towards and also plenty of open space in front of me.

I decided to have a method line, a cat food line towards the spare platform and also a line at 13m for fishing pellet. I already had the method set up, 8lb Maxima mainline, a 15g small Preston method feeder to use in conjunction with my new moulds and a short hooklength of 0.18 Silk Shock with a PR36 size 16 and a small hair rigged bait band. Rather than using the size 10 swivel that Preston say will give you a semi fixed bolt rig, I had opted for a quick change bead.

My pole lines were all a lot shallower than I thought they would have been, I probably only found a maximum of 4 foot on the 13m line and just over 3ft off the edge of platform 30.

Bait for the day, I had a load of cat food but initially opened two tins, I had some soaked micros, some 4 and 6mm expanders and some ground bait mixed up for the method if I wanted to cut down the food content instead of fishing pellets on the frame.

The all in sounded at 10:15 and the match was underway, I lobbed the method out to within a foot of the far bank, sank my line, tightened up and waited, and waited, and waited………after watching a free DVD on method feeder fishing with Des Shipp, I remembered him saying ‘‘if you don’t get bites on the method then there probably aren’t any fish in your swim!’’ so after an hour of not even a liner I ditched the method and decided to have a look on the cat food line which I’d big potted right at the start.

I was glad to not be casting as the tree above had started to annoy me so I was glad to get on the pole, however annoyingly I had to break down twice due to the bushes behind me, due to me fishing essentially down my right margin it meant I had to ship out 13m straight in front and then swing the pole round 90 degrees to my right, which also wasn’t ideal! I lowered in with a juicy bit of cat meat and tipped in a further two chunks, my float dipped and I missed the bite, as well as my hook bait coming off, so annoying I shipped back, re-baited and dropped in again. I had another knock but this time managed a carp of about 12oz. I carried on in this vein for an hour or two missing fish and then getting a small carp and I was going no where fast! After missing a bite and having to re-bait for the umpteenth time I decided to put a new hooklength on with a smaller hook and a hair rigged quick stop which marginally improved my catch rate. But I was getting annoyed and decided to start up my pellet line at 13m instead. I needed to get a shift on too as Bri Gascoigne just down the bank from me was catching a fish a chuck and had been all match!

I big potted some micros in and left them for 10 minutes whilst I exhausted the meat line and then it was time! First drop out I managed a carp of 4lb, followed by plenty of smaller stocky carp. I also managed another good carp and two Tench that would both be knocking on 3lb a piece. I knew it was too little too late at the final whistle though as Bri had sacked up, I just wish I’d started on the pellet a lot earlier! Lesson learnt for next time I suppose!

Come the weigh in and Steve Hoddo was winning Cyprio with either 85 or 95lb, can’t quite remember, Tony Minikin was 2nd with 75lb, Tom Hoddo was 3rd with 72lb and rumours of Woody having a catfish?! Well Bri weighed in 66lb so I knew I didn’t have that and would hope for the section, I weighed in 43-12 so not a bad weight at the end of the day I was just really annoyed with how I’d fished and the constraints my peg had put up on me, but once you’ve drawn what can you do? Apart from fish it as best you can, which I didn’t feel I’d done on the day.

I don’t know what the final result was as we had to rush off as Gordon was party bound! I’m still in hope that I snuck my section but I knew Tony Koz had two nets in so he probably put a bigger weight on the board than myself, I can live in hope before the next match though!

I’m fishing for www.TalkAngling.co.uk on Saturday in the Northern Intersite so hopefully I’ll have a good days write up on the cards come next week!