Thursday 29 September 2011

Hartleylands Farm Fishery. The Reservoir. September 29th, 2011.

Hartleylands Farm Reservoir
Day out at Hartleylands

It’s off down to Hartleylands Farm just outside the village of Cranbrook in Kent today. I’m meeting Dave, Terry, Simon and Gino for a days fishing on the reservoir. Our club Marsh AC have a match there in a couple of weeks time, and as none of us have fished the reservoir for quite a time it seems like a good idea to have a session before the match to try and suss out what works and what doesn’t.

No point in an early start today as I’d arranged to meet the lads at 9·30am at the fishery, and that was when I arrived to find Terry, Simon and Gino there already and just about to set off to pick their swims. A quick discussion ensued and with a few anglers already ensconced in pegs we decided to fish what I refer to as the ‘Finches Bank’ as it runs parallel to Finches Pond. The lads set off to bag their pegs while I unloaded my kit, and with my trolley loaded set off to claim a peg. It was promising to be scorcher of a day, not a cloud in the sky and the first peg I came to was 24 between two overhanging trees and pleasantly shaded, but I felt that Dave would probably like that one (once he finally got there) so left that one. Next up was Gino on 23 with Simon on 22. Terry had gone further round to Peg 18 as he’d always fancied fishing that one, so I settled on peg 20 to leave Simon a bit of space……
Peg Plan for the day
With the sun climbing higher and barely a breathe of wind, the water looked like glass. It definitely was going to be a warm one today. First things first, so the kit was unloaded and as it wasn’t a match I fed a couple of good handfuls of pellet down the left hand margin straight away, then started to set my kit up. One of the things I noticed was that hardly anything was showing on the surface, which I felt was a little strange given the conditions. I knew that Simon was going to try the pellet wag, so left mine in it’s ready sleeve, It wouldn’t take long to set up if I decided to give it a go later.

 Instead I decided to just fish 2 lines, the first at 2 sections and a top 2 straight out where I had around 5 feet of water and the second down the left hand margin.. Rigs were a 4×12 CX pencil on 0·20 Ultima Power Match finishing with a size 14 Guru MWG and a 0.2 NG Edger on 0·20 Ultima Power Match finished off with a size 14 Guru MWG for the margin line. Bait today was simply 6mm pellet for feed and plenty of it with 8mm pellet and some GOT Baits soft hookers for the hook ……
Peg 20 was mine for the day
By now Dave had arrived and strolled up to see where we all were, and as I expected he did indeed decide to settle into Peg 24. It was around 10·30am by now so time to get started. I could see that fish were already in the margins over the bait I’d fed, but I was going to ignore them for now and just keep some bait going in and take a look there later in the day. At the start I fed 2 good handfuls of pellet straight out and another down the margin before shipping out a banded 8mm straight out. A couple of lift and drops of the rig and the float sailed away and it was immediately apparent that I was attached to one of the reservoirs hard fighting carp. They give a good account of themselves and make full use of the deep water there, but I soon gained the upper hand and had it sliding over the landing net, a nice chunky Mirror, longer than the width of my 22 inch net and around the 10lbs mark ……
My first fish of the day
With us not using keepnets today I decided to use my clicker to keep track of what I had today and it soon started to tick over as I started to pick up regular fish. I was feeding a good handful of pellet every put in as well as keeping some bait going into the margins and was soon picking up a mix of Mirrors and Commons on a regular basis, the average size of which seemed to be around the 4-5 lbs mark with the odd better fish.

Around 11·30am Dave called out that the kettle had boiled, so I strolled round for a cup of coffee, to find that Dave was playing what turned out to be his first carp of the day ……
Dave plays his first carp of the day
Simon’s mate Gino was also into a fish, he’s quite new to fishing and was taking it easy as the fish gave a good account of itself and refusing to get it’s head up, but steady gentle pressure won the day and he was rewarded with a lovely ghostie ……
A lovely reservoir Ghostie for Gino
With refreshments taken care of it was time to get back to my peg. Unfortunately the pellet wag had failed to produce anything of note for Simon, just a couple of small carp and a skimmer, so he’d reverted to the pole as he’d seen me catching regularly. The fish were still there on my return and it was really just a question of keeping the feed going in to keep the bites coming, The margin was still coloured up as well, so I just kept the feed going in, but still left it for later. Over on Peg 18 however Terry was having a bit of a struggle and getting a few to many skimmers rather than the carp he’d been hoping for, though the odd carp was getting a look in ……..
Terry was plagued by skimmers on peg 18
Dave had come up for a stroll, it seemed that the carp I’d seen him playing had been his only one !!!!! and all he was getting were roach, and although they were of a decent stamp around the 8-12oz mark, they weren’t what he was really after. From where I was sitting I had a pretty good view of what was going on around the reservoir and there must have been around 20 anglers in total, however the majority appeared to be struggling with just the odd fish coming out and despite the heat there was still nothing showing on the top. My peg seemed to be the exception however and I can only put that down to the amount I was feeding. Whatever it was the fish kept coming and by 1pm I had 103lbs on my clicker. So with a ‘Ton by One’ I decided to take a break and go and put the kettle on for another cuppa.

By now Dave had opted to try paste in an effort to try to tempt another carp, but it’s probably not a good idea to try and hit sharp paste bites when you’ve got an audience of piss taking supportive mates watching your every move and they’re ripping it out of you offering you their support. Dave gave it up and joined us for a coffee as we mulled over the mornings sport or lack of it in some cases.

With the inquest over we returned to our respective pegs. More feed onto both lines, but it seemed I’d left it a little to long as my line out in front seemed to be devoid of carp now, though there were plenty of skimmers that seemed only to happy to engulf an 8mm pellet. Time to target the margins. All morning I’d fed where the shelf dropped off and by laying the rig out so that the bait rested on the slope I had a bite straight away. Fishing against the slope the fish tend to dive off for the deeper water which limits any disturbance and once that initial run is contained they can be played out away from the swim. That first fish turned out to be a nice Mirror around the 7lb mark, and once again it was really just a case of steady away and taking fish on a regular basis……
Peter Fishing the margin
With the water well coloured up there was really very little chance of the fish vanishing on me as long as I kept the feed going in to hold them. Simon had taken another look on the pellet wag but that had proved to be fruitless. He’d had a couple of carp on the paste but had now decided to take a look at his right hand margin, but with an empty peg between us it wasn’t producing nearly as well for him ……
Simon gave the margin a try
As the afternoon wore on Terry finally managed to start picking up a few more carp among the skimmers that steadfastly refused to go away ……
Terry finaly got amongst a few carp
Gino was still enjoying himself and managing to winkle out the odd carp here and there alternating between fishing the method and the pole ……
Gino playing a fish
and Dave had finally managed to find a few carp from a swim that had frustrated him for a good part of the day, even though he was forced to fish a bit further out than he really wanted to……
Dave ended up fishing a bit longer on Peg 24
For me it was an easy afternoons fishing with just the odd foul hooker upsetting things and breaking the flow as fish came steadily to the net……
Carp on for Peter
Gently does it
Another carp safely in the net
….. and by 4pm it was time for one last coffee as I had 201lbs showing on my clicker. Simon had decided to concentrate on one margin spot and up his feed and it was finally starting to pay off for him as he started to take fish on a regular basis ……
Simon playing a carp from the margins
My fish were still there and feeding well and just after 5pm I had my best fish of the day, a nice plump Mirror at around 14-15lbs that Simon kindly caught on camera for me.
A nice Mirror to finish off with
That was my final fish as the rig parted on the strike on my next bite, but with 265lbs showing on my clicker I was happy enough to leave it at that, and I packed my gear away. Terry, Simon and Gino were going to fish on for a bit and Dave managed a final carp before he to decided to call it a day ……
A final carp to end the day for Dave
So what did we learn today? If the fish are there it’s possible to do a really decent weight, It’s possible to struggle in some pegs, even if it holds some obvious feature to fish to, and don’t ignore the margins. Thanks to Dave, Terry, Simon and Gino for their company today, let’s hope it’s a decent day for the match on the 15th, but I somehow feel it may just be a little bit different on the day.

Saturday 24 September 2011

Rolf's Lake. Holton. Oxfordshire. September 24th, 2011.

Jinx Match 6

Well it’s time for the final match of The Jinx Series and Clive has wrapped it up with a match to go to retain the title. That leaves Tony, Malc, Steve and Dai to fight it out for the placing's, while Steve & Dai along with Simon & Webbo battle for The Pairs. So hopefully we can all sit back and rip it out of them offer them encouragement today. Now today is also my 28th Wedding Anniversary and to celebrate Maria is coming with me today, so with the cats fed and a few extra bits loaded up in the car we set off just before 8am. As usual the first stop was at The Jimmy’s Griddle CafĂ© in Battersea where I treated her to breakfast (never let it be said that I don’t know how to treat a Lady) before we climbed back into the car and resumed the journey, and after a smooth run down and a quick stop off at Asda for a few bits and bobs, we pulled into the car park at the lake around 10·30am.

Greetings and introductions took place with those that hadn’t met Maria before, and the discussions soon turned to the prospects for the day ahead. The final Night Match of the year had taken place last night, but it had fished hard for most with Chris Lovelock winning from Peg 30 with 104½lbs. 8 of The Jinx Squad were missing today, but with 4 guests there would still be 23 fishing. Section C for me today and I said that I fancied anywhere between 14-16 to Maria prior to the draw.

Just before 11·30am Malc called the Draw. Maria was chatting to Ann in the caravan, so I drew for myself when my turn came. Peg 14 was my reward and I wasn’t unhappy with that. I took 2 trips round, one with my gear and the second with a bed chair and the cooker for Maria. It’s not a peg I’ve fished much but it throws up its fair share of decent weights so I was quite keen to give it a go. To my right on Peg 13 was Paul with his wife Jayne for company, while Webbo was to my left on Peg 16……
Peg Plan for todays match

Set up today was simply 3 rigs, 2 were 0·3 NG Springer Open Water XT’s on 0·20 Ultima Power Match finishing with size 14 Guru MWG’s which would be used on the 5mtr line, while the 3rd was a 0.2 NG Edger on 0·20 Ultima Power Match finished off with a size 14 Guru MWG for the margins where I had bushes both sides. Bait today was just 6 and 8mm fishery pellet and some GOT Ghost Pellets for a change bait on the hook.
Peg 14 for me today
With a bit of time to spare before the All-In I put the kettle on for a coffee and took a stroll with the camera. Clive was on peg 11 and hoping for a better day than he’d had last weekend on our club match ……
Clive was hoping for a better day today
Terry was all alone on Peg 7 as Peg 8 had remained in the draw bag, but he did have The Pink Elephant to keep him company today ……
Terry had The Pink Elephant for company today
As I made my way back Budgie was settling into Peg 9 and Geoff was eager to get going on Peg 10……
Geoff was ready for the All-In
With the kettle boiling on my return I made myself a coffee and settled down to await the off. Well at 1pm the fishery bell was rung signalling the All-In. I fed 2 small pots of pellets onto the 5mtr line and a handful in each margin and then shipped a banded 8mm out to 5mtrs. Within a couple of minutes the float buried, but lifting into it I could tell straight away that it was a carp that was foul hooked. Of course Malc on Peg 20 noticed this and was soon instructing me to take care not to loose it. Of course this was the cue for the rig to come flying back with just a scale on the hook among a chorus of laughter from those looking on, and Neil’s call of “Nobody likes to see that” .

Shortly after this Maria appeared having finished chatting to Ann. I settled back to concentrate on the 5mtr line, but it refused to offer up a single bite, but I stuck at it as you know that the fish can turn up at any time. After around an hour I added another couple of sections of pole and went out to 7mtrs. There was only about 4 inches more water there, but I cupped a pot of pellets in and followed it out with the rig which slid away before it really had a chance to settle. This was a carp that came in fairly easily and was gratefully netted. I decided to weigh it just to get some idea, but it only went 8lbs, still I was off the mark.

Paul, a Lake regular was guesting on Peg 32 today and had been catching steadily from the off, helped no doubt by Peg 8 not being drawn, and was already looking like todays winner unless sport dropped off for him. Opposite me on Peg 26 Dave had Chris keeping him company, and he was starting to pick up the odd decent fish from the bush to his right ……
Dave was into a decent fish as Chris looked on
Meanwhile I was starting to get really frustrated as the only fish I could connect with were foul hookers over which I had no control as they trashed my rigs and the swim.
In fact it was a good job that Maria was there as it stopped me throwing my teddies right out of the pram. Then just to ratchet up the pressure a few more notches I looked over to see Gem playing a carp, which soon produced the familiar cry of YEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!! so now a Minxing could be on the cards.
A carp for Gem would mean a Minxing for some.
I decided to take a look down my right hand margin, but it didn’t produce anything at all, so I switched to the left. A couple of dips and a tentative strike saw me hook a bream, but as I brought it to the top it shed the hook. Back out and as I lifted the rig it went solid before a carp charged off smashing the rig. A couple of deep breaths and I tied up a new rig and as I took a few minutes to re-plumb I found a small drop off, no more than 6 inches deeper 3 feet off of the bush. Maria provided another cup of coffee and even made one for Webbo as I fed the new spot and shipped an 8mm pellet out. A few lift and drops and the float dipped then slid away, and soon a Common of around 9lbs was safely in the net.

This was soon followed by a slightly larger Mirror, Things were finally starting to pick up. Next up came a better fish and it really didn’t want to get its head up and I wasn’t about to bully it, however Terry appeared wanting a photo of a carp that he’d caught and been weighed and witnessed by Budgie at 25lbs. I explained that I was otherwise occupied but Maria did the honours with the camera……
A 25lb Common for Terry
I finally managed to net the troublesome carp and when I put it on the scales it went 15½lbs, needless to say Webbo seemed happy for me. I then managed to loose another bream, but a couple of smaller commons and another weigher soon made up for that. Dave C had landed a real lump as well, at 20½lbs a new PB and Maria was kind enough to stroll round with my camera to do the honours for him ……
A 20¼lb Common for Dave. A new PB.
When she returned a final cup of coffee went down rather well as I managed another weigher and a net Mirror before the All-Out was sounded by the fishery bell at 6pm.
Packing the kit away it became apparent how hard some had found it today with Paul suffering a blank on Peg 13, and I felt I may have around 70lbs if I was lucky. Anyway with the kit back at the car it was time for the Weigh-In.

Simon kicked things off with 53¼lbs from Peg 34. Dai and Jon had suffered with just 23lbs and 26lbs respectively while Chris had 46¾lbs on 2. Simon had 88¾lbs followed By Dave Moore with 69½lbs and Terry with 95lbs. Budgie had a level 50lbs while Geoff’s 30¾lbs edged out Clive’s 29¼lbs. My fish weighed 76¼ but Webbo could only muster 36¾lbs. Tony had 64½lbs from Peg 18 while Nick had caught in the final 15 minutes to record 15¼lbs. The Jinx had extracted 61¾lbs from peg 20 while Neil’s 41¼lbs was just 4ozs short of Steve’s 41½lbs. Dave recorded a level 86lbs from 26 Nick W had 38½lbs and Pete T 40lbs. Gem put 42½lbs on the scales and handed out 11 Minxings in the process. Finally Paul weighed 167lbs to take the win on the day, meaning that Terry was second and Simon 3rd.

By now the dark was drawing in and back at the hut John had fired up the Barbecue and soon had everyone fed as we waited for Malc to sort out todays results and also the Series results. Olly made sure he didn’t miss out, helping Paul to finish off his burger……
Olly helps Paul out with his burger
And Beau waited patiently for Ann to share hers as well ……
Beau waits his turn for a bit of burger
Finally Malc had things sorted, well as sorted as Malc can be with Terry, Paul and Me taking the sections today with Simon, Dave C and Tony runners up. Then onto the final Series results. As we already knew Clive had won the Series retaining his title from last year. Tony took 2nd place and Malc had managed 3rd place.

In the Pairs Simon and Webbo had triumphed over Steve W and Dai having been neck and neck going into todays match.

So with
The Jinx Series
finished for yet another year it’s just a question of a few words of Thanks to finish off. It’s been another great Series of matches this year, due in no small way to the efforts of Malc(The Jinx) for organising and running the whole thing.

John & Pauline who once again have been kind enough to put up with
The Jinx Squad
at their Fishery which continues to do them and Rolf’s memory great credit.

Finally as always,
The Jinx Squad
and those that have fished as Guests over the Series. It’s the anglers fishing the Series that make it the event it is. Take a bow, and see you all next year.


Position
Peg
Angler
Weight
 1st Peg 32 Paul JayGuest
   167lbs 00ozs
 2nd Peg 7 Terry Goff 
     95lbs 00ozs
 3rdPeg 4 Simon Mound 
     88lbs 12ozs
 4thPeg 26 Dave Collier 
     86lbs 00ozs
 5thPeg 14 Peter Morton 
     76lbs 04ozs
 6thPeg 5 Dave Moore 
     69lbs 08ozs
 7thPeg 18 Tony Roberts 
     64lbs 08ozs
 8thPeg 20 Malc(The Jinx)Doyle 
     61lbs 12ozs
 9thPeg 34 Simon WatkinsGuest
     53lbs 04ozs
 10thPeg 2 Chris LovelockGuest
     46lbs 12ozs
 11thPeg 9 Marcus Burgess 
     50lbs 00ozs
 12thPeg 31 Gem(The Minx)Doyle 
     42lbs 08ozs
 13thPeg 23 Steve Wilson 
     41lbs 08ozs
 14thPeg 22 Neil Riddy 
     41lbs 04ozs
 15thPeg 29 Pete TappGuest
     40lbs 00ozs
 16thPeg 28 Nick Williams 
     38lbs 08ozs
 17thPeg 16 Dave Webster 
     36lbs 12ozs
 18thPeg 10 Geoff Palmer 
     30lbs 12ozs
 19thPeg 11 Clive Pritchard 
     29lbs 04ozs
 20thPeg 40 Jon Hatch 
     26lbs 00ozs
 21stPeg 38 Dai Thomas 
     23lbs 00ozs
 22ndPeg 19 Nick Watkins-Price 
     15lbs 04ozs
 23rdPeg 13 Paul Roberts 
DNW

Names in Pink are those that were “MINXED”

Section A






Position
Peg
Angler
Weight
Points
 1st Peg 7 Terry Goff      95lbs 00ozs
1
 2nd Peg 4 Simon Mound      88lbs 12ozs
2
 3rd Peg 5 Dave Moore      69lbs 08ozs
3
 4th Peg 34 Simon WatkinsGuest     53lbs 04ozs
0
 5th  Peg 2 Chris LovelockGuest     46lbs 12ozs
0
 6th  Peg 40 Jon Hatch      26lbs 00ozs
4
 7th  Peg 38 Dai Thomas      23lbs 00ozs
5






Section B






Position
Peg
Angler
Weight
Points
 1st Peg 32 Paul JayGuest   167lbs 00ozs
0
 2nd Peg 26 Dave Collier      86lbs 00ozs
1
 3rd Peg 9 Marcus Burgess      50lbs 00ozs
2
 4th  Peg 31 Gem(The Minx)Doyle      42lbs 08ozs
3
 5th  Peg 29 Pete TappGuest     40lbs 00ozs
0
 6th  Peg 28 Nick Williams      38lbs 08ozs
4
 7th  Peg 10 Geoff Palmer      30lbs 12ozs
5
 8th  Peg 11 Clive Pritchard      29lbs 04ozs
6
 9th  Peg 13 Paul Roberts 
DNW
9






Section C






Position
Peg
Angler
Weight
Points
 1st Peg 14 Peter Morton      76lbs 04ozs
1
 2nd Peg 18 Tony Roberts      64lbs 08ozs
2
 3rd Peg 20 Malc(The Jinx)Doyle      61lbs 12ozs
3
 4th  Peg 23 Steve Wilson      41lbs 08ozs
4
 5st  Peg 22 Neil Riddy      41lbs 04ozs
5
 6th  Peg 16 Dave Webster      36lbs 12ozs
6
 7th Peg 19 Nick Watkins-Price      15lbs 04ozs
7

 
Overall Individual Series Result
Position
Angler
 
 
 
 
 
 
Weight
Points
 1st Clive Pritchard
2
1
2
1
1
6
   608lbs 12ozs
7
 2nd Tony Roberts
2
5
2
2
2
2
   514lbs 12ozs
10
 3rd Malc Doyle
8
1
1
4
3
3
   575lbs 12ozs
12
 4th Steve Wilson
2
2
1
7
5
4
   453lbs 04ozs
14
 5th Dai Thomas
1
3
6
1
9
5
   374lbs 00ozs
16
 6th Dave Collier
3
3
10
6
3
1
   304lbs 04ozs
16
 7th Simon Mound
4
2
3
10
6
2
   355lbs 04ozs
17
 8th Terry Goff
5
6
8
2
3
1
   285lbs 00ozs
17
 9th Marcus Burgess
4
6
2
7
5
2
   292lbs 08ozs
19
 10th Dave Moore
6
5
3
4
4
3
   265lbs 08ozs
19
 11th Jon Hatch
4
4
4
3
7
4
   254lbs 00ozs
19
 12th Dave Webster
5
1
7
1
10
6
   391lbs 10ozs
20
 13th Peter Morton
7
8
3
5
4
1
   374lbs 08ozs
20
 14th Neil Riddy
6
4
10
6
1
5
   334lbs 02ozs
22
 15th Paul Roberts
1
7
6
4
4
9
   297lbs 08ozs
22
 16th Nick Williams
6
5
4
3
7
4
   281lbs 04ozs
22
 17th Gem Doyle
3
9
5
10
5
3
   234lbs 04ozs
25
 18th Geoff Palmer
8
10
7
5
2
5
   211lbs 02ozs
27
 19th Mat Edwards
3
10
1
6
8
10
   251lbs 08ozs
28
 20th Nick Watkins-Price
6
7
4
8
6
7
   167lbs 10ozs
30
 21st Mitch Auger
1
7
10
10
2
10
   152lbs 04ozs
30
 22nd Fred Parker
10
10
4
5
1
10
   146lbs 12ozs
30
 23rd Ant Haywood
10
2
10
2
10
10
   183lbs 12ozs
34
 24th Al Loader
9
3
10
3
10
10
   226lbs 12ozs
35
 25th Ady Williams
7
8
5
10
5
10
   112lbs 12ozs
35
 26th Kevin Loveland
8
4
8
8
8
10
   110lbs 00ozs
36
 27th Alex Clark
5
6
6
10
10
10
   111lbs 10ozs
37

NB:Anglers were allowed to drop their worst section result during the series so that the Overall Series results were decided by best 5 out of 6 section points. Overall weight counting in the result of Anglers tieing on points.
Overall Pairs Result
Position
Pairs
      
Weight
Points
 1st Simon Mound and Dave Webster
25
5
26
12
27
20
934lbs 02ozs
88
 2nd Steve Wilson and Dai Thomas
5
16
19
21
40
34
827lbs 04ozs
95
 3rd Malc Doyle and Gem Doyle
31
26
18
34
17
20
809lbs 12ozs
112
 4th Kevin Loveland and Clive Pritchard
23
16
27
29
27
20
745lbs 04ozs
113
 5th  Ady Williams and Tony Roberts
25
34
23
11
25
37
724lbs 00ozs
118
 6th Al Loader and Mat Edwards
30
24
10
24
30
41
723lbs 12ozs
118
 7th Peter Morton and Fred Parker
29
49
25
25
25
14
633lbs 00ozs
118
 8th Dave Collier and Terry Goff
29
27
46
34
26
6
616lbs 00ozs
122
 9th Nick Williams and Neil Riddy
35
23
43
25
16
30
615lbs 06ozs
129
 10th Ant Haywood and Marcus Burgess
32
21
36
31
40
25
540lbs 04ozs
145
 11th Paul Roberts and Ant Haywood
25
23
47
25
39
38
545lbs 04ozs
150
 12th Dave Moore and Geoff Palmer
51
39
28
38
22
24
517lbs 02ozs
151
 13th Nick Watkins-Price and Jon Hatch 
38
40
22
29
43
42
421lbs 10ozs
171
 14th Mitch Auger and Alex Clark
20
41
44
60
33
60
338lbs 00ozs
198

NB: Pairs were allowed to drop their worst points total during the series so that the results were decided by best 5 out of 6 points scores. Overall weights counting in the result of Pairs tieing on points. Guests fished when a Pairs Partner was absent and their weights and points were included in the overall totals.