Marsh AC
Alders Farm Fishery
Alders Farm Fishery
Well today sees me and some other members of Marsh AC visiting Alders Farm Fishery just outside the village of Great Brickhill. It’s really nothing more than a friendly mid-week knock up that’s been arranged by club member Keith Ashby who lives reasonably close to the fishery. It’s a venue that’s capable of throwing up some mega match weights, so it will be interesting to see how we get on fishing the Match Lake today.
However that means an early start for me today to avoid as much weekday traffic as I can, so I’m up at silly O’clock and have the car loaded and ready to go in time to drop Maria off at work at 6am, then it’s a case of driving straight through Central London to get onto the M1, then onto the A5 to get to Alders Farm. This saw me pulling into the car park just before 9am along with Al and Keith P. We soon had our kit unloaded and with our nets dipped and feed pellet purchased from Gary who pointed us in the right direction and we made our way down to the pump house where Gwen had kindly opened up so we could get a pre match bacon sarnie and a cuppa that was much appreciated.
However that means an early start for me today to avoid as much weekday traffic as I can, so I’m up at silly O’clock and have the car loaded and ready to go in time to drop Maria off at work at 6am, then it’s a case of driving straight through Central London to get onto the M1, then onto the A5 to get to Alders Farm. This saw me pulling into the car park just before 9am along with Al and Keith P. We soon had our kit unloaded and with our nets dipped and feed pellet purchased from Gary who pointed us in the right direction and we made our way down to the pump house where Gwen had kindly opened up so we could get a pre match bacon sarnie and a cuppa that was much appreciated.
Joining us today were Trev and Bert from GOT Baits along with Mick and John B who work with Keith. Standing outside on the patio you could see plenty of carp cruising around Peg 1 and a couple of crusts were eagerly devoured by them. Trev as usual was a mine of information for those that hadn’t fished the venue before. Unfortunately Simon phoned to say he’d had been delayed, so at 9·30am we went ahead with the draw and peg 1 was the one that ended up in my hand. Nice short walk then.
Unfortunately the weather had taken a bit of a turn for the worse after the glorious sunshine we’d had for the past few days with grey overcast skies and just the odd glimpse of sun along with a stiff wind blowing straight into the peg, but having been advised by Trev to stick to fishing top 2′s and 3′s hopefully that wouldn’t be to much of a problem. Jean provided a welcome cuppa so I set about sorting out my gear.
I elected to keep it simple and set up just 3 identical rigs. these were all 0·2 NG Mk 2 Edger’s on 0·20 Ultima Power Match straight through to size 14 Guru MWG’s. As it was just a friendly knock up bait was simply going to be the fishery 6mm pellet for feed and 8mm hard pellet for the hook, though Trev did give me some new 6mm hookers he’s working on to try as well.
Simon had arrived by now and Keith delayed the start to give him a chance to set up, so I took a stroll to chat with Al and Keith on pegs 2 & 3. Unfortunately over on the other side Dave had taken a tumble getting down to his peg but Trev and the rest of the lads on his side rallied round to check that he was OK. Al appeared to be well up for it today with visions of breaking his match PB today from what was a decent peg……
……… while Keith had been put under a bit of pressure from the Alders regulars among us as they were of the opinion that he’d drawn ‘The Flyer’ in Peg 3, though in Keith’s defence it should be noted that he doesn’t fish that many matches there, not that it seemed to make any difference to Trev, Vic or Bert.
Looking across I could see Keith P on Peg 28, another guest today taking advantage of a sunny interlude and apparently lost in thought, he’d never had a ‘Ton’ in a match, and was hoping that today would be the day. Trev has sorted him out with some advise on how to tackle the peg and even given him one of his own rigs so hopefully today would be the day……
So at 10·45 Keith called the All-In and this seemed to be the cue for the sun to vanish and the wind increase in my corner. A handful of pellet toward the pump house wall and another to the bush to my right and out with a banded 8mm to the bush. This led to a number of super fast bites which turned out to be from small Rudd trying to engulf the pellet, but they weren’t what I was after so I switched across toward the wall. Within a minute the float sailed away and soon the first Alders carp of the day was safely in the net, a Common of around 2lbs to get me off the mark. What I had hoped to do was alternate between the wall and the bush and take fish from both sides and then come back to a top 2 in the edges as the day wore on, but with the bush seeming to be solid with small Rudd I had to concentrate on the wall swim and I felt that slowed my catch rate down.
Meanwhile Simon opposite me was targeting the end of the bush on his left hand margin, however it was turning into a day of frustration for him which would end up costing him a damaged top kit and No4 section before the match was over ……
Meanwhile Simon opposite me was targeting the end of the bush on his left hand margin, however it was turning into a day of frustration for him which would end up costing him a damaged top kit and No4 section before the match was over ……
Steady away probably describes my progress, the wind gusting into the peg was the real problem as I was having to wait for lulls to feed as when it was gusting I couldn’t even throw 6mm’s 3 sections out!!! By around 1·30pm my calf was starting to ache, a legacy of pulling it at Rockells Farm, so I had a stroll up to see how Al and Keith were doing.
Al was going along steadily, feeding and fishing off the end of his nets, taking fish regularly and obviously on his way to a decent weight ……
Al was going along steadily, feeding and fishing off the end of his nets, taking fish regularly and obviously on his way to a decent weight ……
Meanwhile Keith was targeting his right hand margin and although he was catching reasonably steadily felt that Al was pulling away from him ……
A quick chat with Kev revealed that he was enjoying his day and although his catch rate was nowhere near either Keith or Al’s he was regularly putting the odd fish in the net fishing down his right hand margin …
Back at my peg the bush was still solid with rudd, however I’d been feeding close in as well and felt it was time to take a look and see if I could pick up some bonus margin fish.
Indeed the fish were there, but they seemed to be much smaller fish around the 8-12oz mark, not quite what I’d planned so back to the wall swim. Thankfully this was still producing and I ended up fishing there for the rest of the match as it steadily produced fish right up to when Keith called the All-Out at 3·45pm. I’d ended up with 76 carp which I felt should give me somewhere around 150lbs.
As I was packing my kit away Kevin came round for the scales. He and John were planning to fish on after the match, so they were going to start our half of the weigh-in straight away. I soon caught up with them, JohnB had a day fishing the method on Peg 9 and had 34½lbs. Next up was Vic who’d made full use of his knowledge of the water to put an excellent 310lbs on the scales. John was next with 136½lbs and Kevin 74½lbs. Keith had 199¼lbs just short of a ‘Double Ton’. Al had a fantastic day shattering his best ever match weight with 343lbs.
Indeed the fish were there, but they seemed to be much smaller fish around the 8-12oz mark, not quite what I’d planned so back to the wall swim. Thankfully this was still producing and I ended up fishing there for the rest of the match as it steadily produced fish right up to when Keith called the All-Out at 3·45pm. I’d ended up with 76 carp which I felt should give me somewhere around 150lbs.
As I was packing my kit away Kevin came round for the scales. He and John were planning to fish on after the match, so they were going to start our half of the weigh-in straight away. I soon caught up with them, JohnB had a day fishing the method on Peg 9 and had 34½lbs. Next up was Vic who’d made full use of his knowledge of the water to put an excellent 310lbs on the scales. John was next with 136½lbs and Kevin 74½lbs. Keith had 199¼lbs just short of a ‘Double Ton’. Al had a fantastic day shattering his best ever match weight with 343lbs.
However Alders operates a strict 100lbs per net limit and he was over on all 3 nets resulting in a disqualification. Finally my fish took the scales round to 176¼lbs.
With our part of the Weigh-In completed we assembled back at the pump house for the results. Gwen had kindly returned and opened it up and had left us a tin of cakes and tea and coffee, an unexpected treat and greatly appreciated. Keith collated the final results and as a result of Al’s misfortune it meant that Trevor took the honours on the day with 333¼lbs while Vic was second and Bert’s weight of 229lbs taking third so a clean sweep for the GOT Bait lads. A hard lesson for Al as he’d never caught anything close to that weight of fish before, but a mistake I’m sure he won’t repeat again. Keith P was well made up however as his weight of 186¼lbs had enabled him to record his first ever match ‘Ton’.
Overall a very enjoyable day and Thanks to Keith for organising it today, Alders Farm is a very special fishery that unfortunately attracts some unwarranted criticism for the weights it produces, however the most noticeable thing is that while a lot of waters are way down on their normal levels this year Alders has maintained its normal levels as it’s spring fed and it’s this that allows it to sustain the large head of fish and indeed allows them to breed successfully. Dinah and Gary have a quality, well managed fishery in beautiful surroundings that I’m sure Marsh AC and its members will be returning to in the future. Just a pity that it’s not a bit closer to home for me, as I could see myself becoming a regular there with the other lakes and facilities that the fishery has on offer.
With our part of the Weigh-In completed we assembled back at the pump house for the results. Gwen had kindly returned and opened it up and had left us a tin of cakes and tea and coffee, an unexpected treat and greatly appreciated. Keith collated the final results and as a result of Al’s misfortune it meant that Trevor took the honours on the day with 333¼lbs while Vic was second and Bert’s weight of 229lbs taking third so a clean sweep for the GOT Bait lads. A hard lesson for Al as he’d never caught anything close to that weight of fish before, but a mistake I’m sure he won’t repeat again. Keith P was well made up however as his weight of 186¼lbs had enabled him to record his first ever match ‘Ton’.
Overall a very enjoyable day and Thanks to Keith for organising it today, Alders Farm is a very special fishery that unfortunately attracts some unwarranted criticism for the weights it produces, however the most noticeable thing is that while a lot of waters are way down on their normal levels this year Alders has maintained its normal levels as it’s spring fed and it’s this that allows it to sustain the large head of fish and indeed allows them to breed successfully. Dinah and Gary have a quality, well managed fishery in beautiful surroundings that I’m sure Marsh AC and its members will be returning to in the future. Just a pity that it’s not a bit closer to home for me, as I could see myself becoming a regular there with the other lakes and facilities that the fishery has on offer.
Position
|
Peg
|
Angler
|
Weight
|
| 1st | Peg 2 | Al Loader |
*343lbs 00ozs
|
| 2nd | Peg 32 | Trevor Price |
333lbs 12ozs
|
| 3rd | Peg 7 | Vic Nugent |
310lbs 00ozs
|
| 4th | Peg 30 | Bert Gibbs |
229lbs 00ozs
|
| 5th | Peg 3 | Keith Ashby |
199lbs 04ozs
|
| 6th | Peg 28 | Keith Powell |
186lbs 04ozs
|
| 7th | Peg 1 | Peter Morton |
176lbs 04ozs
|
| 8th | Peg 36 | Mick Wright |
160lbs 00ozs
|
| 9th | Peg 34 | Clive Pritchard |
145lbs 00ozs
|
| 10th | Peg 29 | Dave Collier |
143lbs 12ozs
|
| 11th | Peg 5 | John Holdsworth |
136lbs 08ozs
|
| 12th | Peg 38 | Simon Watkins |
84lbs 00ozs
|
| 13th | Peg 4 | Kevin Loveland |
74lbs 08ozs
|
| 14th | Peg 9 | John Button |
34lbs 08ozs
|
* Alders operates a strict 100lbs per net rule in matches, and unfortunately Al was over on all 3 of his nets resulting in a disqualification. 
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