Colemans Cottage Fishery. Wood Lake. July 7th, 2012

Marsh AC club match.

Well it’s off to Essex for me today for another Marsh AC club match at Colemans Cottage on Wood Lake. That first glance out of the window didn’t look too promising though there was a bit of sun among the clouds but the forecast wasn’t that good for the day ahead. Anyway with the two cats fed and the kit loaded up it was time to go. Through the Dartford Tunnel and down the A12 proved to be straightforward and I arrived around at 7·30am to find Simon just returning from a walk round the lake with his brother Tony who had come along as a guest today.

First things first and it was into the clubhouse for one of Colemans Big Breakfasts, a great way to fortify yourself for the day ahead.

Terry and Rod were already tucking into theirs and slowly but surely the rest arrived and the banter started to flow. A few were concerned that the weather may have unsettled the fish making for patchy sport, but I was fairly sure that given the quality of the venue most would have a decent days sport. Chairman Dave had daughter Chrissy along for company today and fishing as a guest, she’s not a bad angler and having had a bit of coaching from Tommy Pickering at Lindholme recently there were a few that were worrying about the possibility of being CHRISSIED today.

By 8·45am it was time for the draw and having dipped my hand in I found peg 12 was to be mine for the match, just a couple away from the one I’d had in the corresponding match last year.

With the gear collected I made my way to my peg, Al was on peg 6 a strongly favoured peg and he would be looking to make it five wins out of five on this years club matches. With just an hour to set up it was make your mind up time as there are so many possibilities on the pegs with the islands running down the centre, The carp in woods run to a good size and the barbel keep growing and fight like hell. I opted for just 3 pole lines. so the rigs would be similar to those I use at Rolfs to take any possible wear and tear. One straight out in front at around 6mtrs where I had around 5 feet of water, one at the end of the bush to my left with around 4 feet of depth and the final one for the right hand margin which had 18 inches of water close in. All the rigs were freshly tied and made up with NG XT Mugger HD’s in sizes 0·3gm and 0·4gm on 0·21 Ultima power match straight through to size 16 Kamasan B911X’s. Bait for today was a mix of 4 and 6mm pellet for feed along with some 6 and 8mm pellets for banding along with some corn and GOT Baits soft hookers.

The All-In was called at 10am and I fed a large pot of mixed pellets with a few grains of corn at 6mtrs, a handful at the end of the bush and another handful down the margin. I banded a 6mm and shipped out to 6mtrs where some bubbles were already coming up and was hopeful of some quick action. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be the wind had picked up a bit and was blowing into me and bringing with it the odd shower (no surprise there then) but I was just getting little digs and dips on the float and only managed to connect with a couple of small roach that I bumped off. despite swapping through the hook baits I couldn’t tempt a thing and while nobody that I could see had got off to a flyer Tony had taken a couple of carp as had Graham next to me on peg 11.

After half an hour of total frustration I gave it up as a bad job and swapped over to target the end of the bush with a banded 8mm. Still a bit slow but the float finally buried and a lift saw plenty of elastic stream from the top kit as the fish powered off and after a minute the culprit popped up by my nets, a barbel of around 3lbs. Not the expected carp but very welcome none the less to get me off the mark. Jean had also brought me a mug of coffee so things were starting to look up despite the showers. A couple of small carp followed and an F1 before yet another barbel put in an appearance and it was these that kept me ticking over for the next couple of hours.

 I could hear a bit of banter between Kevin and Al that suggested that Al was catching reasonably well on peg 6 but from what I could see Tony opposite on peg 29 had made the best start but nobody seemed to be heading off into the distance, though …….

By about 12·30 I got a shout to bring my mug round to Jean if I wanted another cup off coffee and with sport remaining slow took the opportunity to fill in the bush and margin and take a stroll with my camera.

Terry was still tucked away under his brolly and didn’t look like he was having a particularly good time of it despite having the fun of watching Dave trying his best to get the better of Chrissy on the opposite bank ……

A quick chat with Al revealed that he was struggling though it didn’t look like it to me when he shipped out, gave a couple of taps and he shipped back with an F1 attached that was soon netted ……

Mick was being a bit cagey as to just how well he was doing on peg 2, but it was obvious that he fancied his chances of taking home the Milton Keynes Nugget today. As I got to the car park I stopped to take a picture looking down the lake so that those reading this who aren’t familiar with Colemans can get some idea of Wood Lake……

Carrying on round Chris’s guest Gary Luck on peg 38 was playing a bream and soon had it safely in the net …….

I soon reached Jean and collected a fresh mug of coffee, while Kevin seemed to be relatively happy with the way his match was progressing. Chrissy on peg 32 had just dropped her rig in short of the bush to her left to see if she could tempt something.

While Dad Dave next up on peg 31 seemed to be targeting silvers fishing maggot down his left hand margin, and although he declared himself confident of being ahead of his daughter at that point, it looked like the actions of a desperate man to me. Tony seemed to be going along steadily with his favourite method, fishing up in the water.

Keith wasn’t looking to happy with his lot and was struggling to get to grips with peg 25, though he probably had one eye on how fellow GOT Bait angler Vic was doing over on peg 17……

Tony Watkins on peg 22 seemed quite happy taking carp on the method feeder, which was more than could be said for his brother Simon on peg 20 who was really struggling to get a bite from anywhere in his peg ……

Keith Powell was on peg 18 and had just started to have a look down his right hand margin as he’d started to see signs of fish there ……

Vic was trying hard to sort his peg out but reckoned it wasn’t really happening for him today and he would be lucky if he had 30lbs to show for his efforts so far. Ken on peg 14 was fishing his usual relaxed match on the waggler and was into a carp as I passed by……

When I returned to my peg Graham was catching from his margin, but he had the advantage of a reed bed there and I could see fish there. I flicked some more feed to the edge of the bush and the margin, but with no sign of fish in my margin targeted the end of the bush first off. The rest seemed to have done the trick as a couple of minutes in the float buried as a carp picked up the bait and after a spirited tussle was soon in the net.

 It wasn’t fast and furious but I started to pick up regular fish for around an hour. All the while I was feeding the margin and with an hour and a half to go I finally saw a couple of tail patterns there. First put in with a banded 8mm produced a positive bite and another barbel of around 3lbs, but from then on it was carp all the way. A good common had me thinking I was back at Rolfs, giving a really good account of itself and it was obvious why when I finally slid the net under a big common that must have been close to 15lbs which was to be my best fish of the day. This was followed by a stunning Ghostie of around 10lbs and a few smaller fish.

Graham was having trouble connecting with bites and I suggested that he changed to 8mm pellet and let him have some to try and it seemed to do the trick for him in the last hour. I finished with another five carp including another double before Dave blew the whistle for the All-Out at 4pm. Shouts of Fish-On came from Graham and Chrissy and I couldn’t help wondering if Chrissy had done enough to beat her Dad……

The gear was soon packed away and I was pretty confident I had around a ‘Ton’ in the nets despite having lost track of just what was in them at the end. I soon had my gear back in the car and had a chat with Gerry before following the Weigh-In Round.

 Mick set a good target with a first weight of exactly 100lbs followed by John with 84½lbs. Next up was Rod with 59½lbs a new PB match weight. Al had a storming end to the match getting decent carp lined up in the margin on paste for 194lbs. Jimmy had 32½lbs and Terry 43½lbs. Graham put 84½lbs on the scales while my fish came to 113lbs. Ken had 80½lbs another PB match weight and Roger 29lbs. Vic had managed 64½lbs. Keith Powell weighed 83lbs while Simon’s meagre 24lbs left the bragging right firmly with brother Tony who also recorded a new match PB of 70lbs. Keith’s 65½ meant he was waving farewell to the MK Nugget today. Jim’s 53lbs and Martin’s 45lbs brought us round to Tony with an excellent 126lbs. Next up was Chairman Dave with a weight of 67½lbs, but he didn’t look to confident, and rightly so when Chrissy put a new PB match weight of 93lbs on the scales. Sympathy for Dave? ………………. No Chance, it was like a pack of hounds with a 3 legged fox ………… Merciless. Kev was next with 62lbs followed by Zack with 79lbs while Chris was the fifth angler to claim a new PB match weight today with 118lbs. Gary had 28lbs while Ron was last to weigh with 14lbs.

Back to the clubhouse for drinks and sausage rolls while Dave worked out the results. Todays winner was Al (his fifth on the trot) with Tony taking second place and Chris third.
The sections today went to Al, Myself, Keith Powell, Tony and Chris.

Next up for the club is Rockells in two weeks time. Can Al make it six in a row or will someone else get a look in? Time will tell.

Position	Peg	Angler		Weight
1st	Peg 6	Al Loader		194lbs 00ozs
2nd	Peg 29	Tony Roberts		126lbs 00ozs
3rd	Peg 37	Chris Withall		118lbs 00ozs
4th	Peg 12	Peter Morton		113lbs 00ozs
5th	Peg 2	Mick Wright		100lbs 00ozs
6th	Peg 32	Christine Collier	Guest	93lbs 00ozs
7th	Peg 11	Graham Manning		85lbs 08ozs
8th	Peg 3	John Holdsworth		84lbs 08ozs
9th	Peg 18	Keith Powell	Guest	83lbs 00ozs
10th	Peg 14	Ken Walker		80lbs 08ozs
11th	Peg 35	Zack Johnson		79lbs 00ozs
12th	Peg 22	Tony Watkins	Guest	70lbs 00ozs
13th	Peg 31	Dave Collier		67lbs 08ozs
14th	Peg 25	Keith Ashby		65lbs 08ozs
15th	Peg 17	Vic Nugent		64lbs 08ozs
16th	Peg 34	Kevin Loveland		62lbs 00ozs
17th	Peg 5	Rod Turner		59lbs 08ozs
18th	Peg 26	Jim Boase		53lbs 00ozs
19th	Peg 28	Martin Hucker		45lbs 00ozs
20th	Peg 9	Terry Goff		43lbs 08ozs
21st	Peg 8	Jimmy Etherington	Guest	32lbs 08ozs
22nd	Peg 15	Roger Noakes		29lbs 00ozs
23rd	Peg 38	Gary Luck	Guest	28lbs 08ozs
24th	Peg 20	Simon Watkins		24lbs 00ozs
25th	Peg 40	Ron Mannister		14lbs 00ozs

 

Hartleylands Farm Fishery. The Reservoir. October 15th, 2011.

Marsh AC club match.

Hartleylands Farm just outside the village of Cranbrook in Kent is the venue today for the final Marsh AC match this year. The club has booked The Reservoir for today, which should make a nice change as we normally fish Nick’s Lake. It was an early start for me as I’d arranged to meet up with Mick Pearson who was coming along as my guest today for a spot of breakfast prior to the match.

There was a noticeable chill in the air as I loaded up the car, and as I made my way down the temperature was only registering 4°C on the car thermometer. I arrived at The Knoxbridge Café just after 7am to find Mick waiting for me. We were soon tucking into a hearty breakfast and catching up with events since we’d last met. Kevin & Jean along with Graham, John, Martin and Zack arrived for breakfast as well, and with that taken care of it was just a matter of a five minute drive up to the fishery.

Pulling into the car park it was the usual hive of activity as greetings were exchanged and tackle was assembled prior to the draw……

Paul East was actually fishing today !!!! complete with new shuttle, space station and pole that he’s treated himself to, but unfortunately there were a few faces missing due to a combination of work, illness and prior engagements, which meant there were just 15 of us fishing, but with the whole reservoir booked it meant that we would have plenty of space. A quick chat with the bailiff revealed there had been a frost this morning and the day before, not the best of news as it may have had an effect on the fish feeding, though it promised to be a nice sunny day with what wind there was, blowing toward the earlier pegs.

Just after 8·30am Dave started the draw and I found peg 16 sticking to my hand, probably the furthest walk, but the end of the reservoir I prefer. You can see where it is, and where everyone ended up on the peg plan below ……

As I made my way round I found Terry was on peg 18, where he’d fished a couple of weeks ago, while Zack was on peg 20, the peg I’d fished with Dave keeping him company on peg 21 along with Chris who’d come along to watch again as his hand is still in plaster. Settling my gear into the peg I planned to tackle it in a similar way to the way I’d fished peg 20 a couple of weeks ago, and that was to just fish 2 lines, the first at 2 sections and a top 2 straight out where I had around 4 feet of water and the second down the left and right hand margins. Rigs were two 4×12 CX pencils on 0·20 Ultima Power Match finishing with size 14 Guru MWG’s for straight out 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 8mm pellet and various GOT Baits soft hookers for the hook……

With a bit of time before the off, I took a stroll down to see Mick and Paul who were on pegs 12 & 10 and the side bet of a ‘Golden Nugget’ was struck with Mick who was obviously confident in the pulling power of Mary Q . Jean had provided a welcome cup of coffee which went down well as the breeze had a bit of a nip to it as we waited for the start. As I sat there I couldn’t help noticing that some of the colour seemed to have dropped out of the water, no doubt due to those first frosts, would it effect things? We’d soon find out.

10am and Dave called the All-In, I was determined to be positive and fed a good handful of pellet straight out and down the margins before shipping a banded 8mm out in front. The first couple of put ins resulted in a couple of tentative dips of the float that I didn’t connect with, but the third put in saw me connect with what was obviously a carp, they do pull a bit these reservoir carp as they seek the deeper water, but steady pressure soon took its toll as a feisty Mirror found its way to the waiting landing net, at around 4lbs a nice way to get off the mark.

Bites weren’t coming instantly like they were a couple of weeks ago, but by feeding every put in and continually working the bait there were bites to be had, and in what seemed like no time at all I’d put 8 carp in the nets. The reality was that it had taken 50 minutes as I looked at my watch which said 10 to 11. I really shouldn’t have looked though, as that seemed to be the signal for the fish to switch off.

The next hour or so was pure torture as there wasn’t a bite to be had, but from what I could hear and see everyone else seemed to be pretty much in the same boat, though I was sure I’d heard a top kit smash from down toward Paul’s peg. I could see that nothing had touched the bait in the margins as the water hadn’t coloured up at all, but I kept bait trickling in on all the lines as I didn’t want fish to move in and find nothing to hold them. Around midday I’d heard that Mick and Paul had taken a few fish, so fed a good handful straight out and took a stroll with the camera to see what was happening and take my mug back to Jean.

It appeared that Mick was alternating between a pole line and the method feeder to tempt a few fish and he was owning up to around 25lbs in the net, though as I strolled away he was into another fish on the feeder ……

Paul revealed that the earlier sound of splintering carbon had indeed come from his peg, his top kit not being up to the task of heaving a double figure carp into his landing net when it had other ideas ……

Kevin was having a real struggle as were Rod and Martin on that bank, in fact it was hard to tell if Martin was watching the tip of his feeder rod or just staring despondently into the distance ……

Round to peg 29 and there was Clive struggling for a bite on the peg that according to the bailiff had won the last match with 176lbs, talk about “You should have been here last week” added to which was the fact that the peg was in almost total shade, it would be fair to say that the moustachioed one wasn’t exactly ecstatic with the prospect of another few hours sat there ……

Ken wasn’t fairing a whole lot better on 27, another shaded peg, though he had a few small silvers in the net to show for his efforts ……

Graham was next up on the last of the shaded pegs and was just unhooking a small roach as I arrived, always positive he was hopeful that a few carp would put in an appearance later in the day …

onto 23 and Nick at least had a carp in the net to show for his efforts, while Dave had managed 3 carp early before they switched off, but he was now feeding small pinches of hemp with a tare on the hook trying to tempt some roach, and while he was getting the odd one or two, even they were proving reluctant to feed ……

On peg 20 Zack had concentrated on his right hand margin from the off and it had yielded a carp and a few silvers for him, while Terry had been unable resist a look down his left hand margin having seen a fish down there ……

Back at my peg and a glance down both margins revealed that nothing had visited for a munch so it was back out with a banded 8mm in front, followed by some pellets. A quick dip of the float followed by a lift saw me attached not to a carp but a skimmer, still it was something to add to the net even if it did slime me.

Next put in and the same again only this time it wasn’t a skimmer, obviously a substantial carp it powered off in unstoppable fashion, the rig returning with a straightened out hook. Luckily I had a second identical rig to hand and the next 3 put ins saw 3 more skimmers deposited in the net. Next put in and a lift was met with stronger resistance, a carp this time, a chunky Common around the 6lbs mark and very welcome. This was rapidly followed by a similar sized Mirror that took a bit of getting in as it was hooked in the pectoral fin, but come in it did.

This stirred the peg up a bit and led to a lull, but after around 10 minutes another skimmer joined its mates in the silvers net. By now Dave was targeting his margins and I watched as he landed a couple of carp, and I knew that if there were fish there he would give me a run for my money. Next put in and I was briefly attached to a lump that took off before launching itself out of the water like a Polaris missile and crashing back on the line smashing the rig.

Time to compose myself and tie up another couple of rigs, and with that done get back to fishing. Kev appeared with another cup of coffee, but it dropped to the floor, emptying its contents before I could reach it. Kev trundled off with the empty cup after I retrieved it from the water promising a refill. 10 minutes later and Dave came wandering along to bring me the refill and tried to convince me that I already had 100lbs in my nets………….I wish.

Unfortunately it was back to scratching for bites after that, though Dave gave us all a bit of amusement with the length of time he spent playing a Ghostie, but he had the last laugh as it ended safely in the net. Meanwhile I was just picking up the odd skimmer here and there. Terry however suddenly seemed to have the carp turn up in front of him with an hour to go, and Dave was still getting the odd fish from the margins. Thankfully I managed 3 more carp among the skimmers while Terry suffered a run of bumped bites and lost fish in the last 20 minutes.

4pm and Dave called the All-Out. it had been a hard days fishing and the reservoir hadn’t fished up to its potential. I felt I had around 70lbs in the nets, but I’d soon find out for sure come the Weigh-In.

I packed my gear away but left it at my peg and went to get on with the Weigh-In. Rod kicked things off with just 9¼lbs while Martin could only muster 6lbs. Kev had 20¼lbs and John 14lbs proving just how hard the fishing on that bank had been. Paul despite his early woes had managed to get the better of a few decent lumps down the margin and put 77½lbs on the scales and take 2nd on the day. Mick had enjoyed his day with 52lbs, but Jim had suffered a torrid day with just 5¾lbs. I was next and my carp nets came up short of Paul’s weight, but 15lbs of skimmers gave me a total of 81¾lbs and the win today. Terry had 50½lbs and Zack 29¼lbs. Dave’s 69¼lbs took 3rd overall. Nick weighed 15lbs while Graham did manage some afternoon carp to take 42¼lbs to the scales. Ken had 8¾lbs while Clive was last to weigh with a level 20lbs.

Back at the car park Dave collated the scores and monies with the top 3 taking their sections on the day and I relieved Mick of a ‘Golden Nugget’ before we loaded our gear up, bade our farewells and headed off for home.

 

Position	Peg	Angler		Weight
1st	Peg 16	Peter Morton		81lbs 12ozs
2nd	Peg 10	Paul East		77lbs 08ozs
3rd	Peg 21	Dave Collier		69lbs 04ozs
4th	Peg 12	Mick Pearson	Guest	52lbs 00ozs
5th	Peg 18	Terry Goff		50lbs 08ozs
6th	Peg 25	Graham Manning		42lbs 04ozs
7th	Peg 20	Zack Johnson	Guest	29lbs 04ozs
8th	Peg 6	Kevin Loveland		20lbs 12ozs
9th	Peg 29	Clive Pritchard		20lbs 00ozs
10th	Peg 23	Nick Bondeau	Guest	15lbs 00ozs
11th	Peg 8	John Holdsworth		14lbs 00ozs
12th	Peg 2	Rod Turner		9lbs 04ozs
13th	Peg 27	Ken Walker		8lbs 12ozs
14th	Peg 4	Martin Hucker		6lbs 00ozs
15th	Peg 14	Jim Boase		5lbs 12ozs

The club does run a points table over the course of the matches (Guests results are not included in the table) and as you can see Dave Collier reaped the rewards of a very consistent season that included 3 match wins, coming out on top with 218 points while I was Runner-Up with 204 points and Al finished 3rd on 194 points despite missing the final Match. I’d just like to say Thank You to all the club members and guests who’ve fished this years matches. They’ve been great company on the bankside, with some hilarious banter meaning the matches have been enjoyable as always, and I’m looking forward to next year already.

Finally, MANY THANKS to Dave Collier (Mr Chairman) for his organisational efforts on behalf of the club, we give him plenty of ribbing at times, but we do appreciate his efforts. .

Position	Angler	Monk	Rayne	MillBarn	Colemans	Blasford	Private	Rockells	Hartlylands	Total Weight	Points
1st	Dave Collier	21	30	28	27	30	24	30	28	695lbs 12ozs	218 pts
2nd	Peter Morton	29	27	29	29	17	25	22	30	628lbs 00ozs	208 pts
3rd	Al Loader	30	25	30	28	27	28	29	d.n.f	702lbs 00ozs	197 pts
4th	Keith Ashby	28	26	25	26	25	29	27	d.n.f	567lbs 12ozs	186 pts
5th	Clive Pritchard	27	28	d.n.f	25	26	30	19	24	453lbs 04ozs	179 pts
6th	Terry Goff	25	18	24	24	12	22	20	27	308lbs 08ozs	172 pts
7th=	John Holdsworth	20	d.n.f	20	20	19	23	28	23	330lbs 00ozs	153 pts
7th=	Kevin Loveland	23	19	21	15	14	19	17	25	172lbs 00ozs	153 pts
9th	Martin Hucker	d.n.f	29	15	14	23	20	26	20	350lbs 12ozs	147 pts
10th	Jim Boase	22	21	15	12	29	d.n.f	21	19	211lbs 08ozs	139 pts
11th	Tony Roberts	d.n.f	23	26	30	21	d.n.f	25	d.n.f	411lbs 04ozs	125 pts
12th	Simon Watkins	18	25	18	18	d.n.f	21	23	d.n.f	291lbs 04ozs	123 pts
13th	Graham Manning	24	d.n.f	19	22	28	d.n.f	d.n.f	26	178lbs 04ozs	119 pts
14th	Rod Turner	15	d.n.f	22	17	21	d.n.f	18	22	109lbs 12ozs	115 pts
15th	Paul East	26	d.n.f	16	16	d.n.f	27	d.n.f	29	227lbs 12ozs	114 pts
16th	Ken Walker	19	d.n.f	27	21	13	d.n.f	d.n.f	21	127lbs 00ozs	101 pts
17th	Vic Nugent	d.n.f	20	d.n.f	d.n.f	22	26	24	d.n.f	264lbs 12ozs	92 pts
18th	Judy Hermite	16	16	17	13	24	d.n.f	d.n.f	d.n.f	87lbs 08ozs	86 pts
19th	Chris Withall	17	17	23	19	d.n.f	d.n.f	d.n.f	d.n.f	101lbs 12ozs	76 pts
20th=	Ron Mannister	d.n.f	15	d.n.f	11	16	d.n.f	d.n.f	d.n.f	31lbs 04ozs	42 pts
20th=	Roger Noakes	d.n.f	d.n.f	d.n.f	23	19	d.n.f	d.n.f	d.n.f	63lbs 08ozs	42 pts
22nd	Eddie Dobson	d.n.f	22	d.n.f	d.n.f	15	d.n.f	d.n.f	d.n.f	59lbs 04ozs	37 pts

(d.n.f = Did not Fish. 30 = Match Winner.)