Rayne Lodge Fishery. The Top Lake. April 21st, 2012.

Marsh AC club match.

The Top Lake at Rayne Lodge just outside of Braintree in Essex is yet again the venue for the second Marsh AC club match of the year. However we normally visit the venue in late may once things have started to warm up a bit. The view through the bedroom window today promised a decent start to the day ahead, but the forecast was for heavy showers after midday. I soon had the cats fed, while cereal and coffee fuelled me to load up the car and set off. A good traffic free run saw me arriving in the car park just after 7·30am along with Kevin & Jean.

 Soon the others started to arrive and with just 14 of us fishing today things were soon underway. Dave asked Keith and I to sort out the pegs to use today so we set off round the lake while others ferried their gear down the hill and Dave collected the monies. Virtually every peg looked good for a few fish and Keith and I made the picks trying to give most anglers a bit of room and our 14 choices went into the hat ready for the draw.

Into the hat and it’s peg 14A for me, the 2nd time in the last 3 visits (the other one was peg 14) I never seem to be able to get out of this corner of the lake when we visit, but it’s normally good for a few fish.

Knowing the area so well it didn’t take long to get set up, just 3 top kits with black hydro. It can tow a bit in this corner if the wind gets into it so I set up a couple of rigs to fish at 6mtrs where there’s around 3 feet of water, the first was an 0·4 NG XT Gimp on 0·14 Ultima power match straight through to a size 16 Kamasan B911X while the second was a, 0·3 NG XT Power Pencil Mk 2 again on 0·14 Ultima power match straight through to a size 16 Kamasan B911X which was a little more delicate and would see use if it wasn’t towing. The third rig was my customary 0.2 NG Edger again on 0·14 Ultima power match straight through to a size 16 Kamasan B911X for the margin lines that had around 2 feet of depth. Bait was simply 6mm coarse pellet for feed and the hook along with some sweetcorn and 6mm GOT Rippers as alternative hookers.

There was still a good 30 minutes to go so I took a stroll to see how others were going to tackle things. Al and Dave were already exchanging banter on the prospects for the day that lay ahead. Kev was settling into peg 1 which I’d fancied for a few fish when Keith and I selected it earlier. Jean kindly provided a freshly cooked sausage and bacon roll and a mug of coffee to wash it down. Chris had set up for a catch anything with fins approach. Most seemed to be going with the pole, though Martin next to me on peg 14 was going for the feeder to the island in front.

10am and the whistle sounded for the All-In. A cup of pellets with a few grains of corn was fed at 6mtrs along with a handful of pellet into the left hand margin before I shipped out with a banded 6mm pellet, Dave over on peg 21 had got off to a flyer with 6 fish in his first 6 put in’s !!! and I had seen Al netting a couple of quick fish as well.
A few more pellets flicked over my rig and a couple of lift and drops soon saw the float slide away and a spirited fight from a small common followed before I netted it to get myself off the mark. The first hour was nice and steady, keeping a little bit of feed going in and working the rig kept the bites coming and a few small carp and skimmers coming to the net.

Word was filtering down that Dave was already in the pound seats as he’d found the fish in the margins and feeding from the off, while Al had reverted to the method to the point of the island in an attempt to keep up with him as he couldn’t buy a bite from his margin. I could hear the two of them talking and tales of 3-4lbs fish, which meant I was going to need some more and larger fish than I’d already got, especially when my next fish was this mint little common ……

I took an early look down my margins but to no avail so it was back to 6mtrs to keep working it, occasionally adding another section to see if anything had backed off the feed, but they didn’t seem to be there in any numbers. I would take 2 or 3 fish and then have to wait 10-15 minutes for a bite. This seems to be the pattern in this part of the lake since 2009 when all the overhanging trees that provided cover were cut down and it now seems that fish just move through the area and you almost have to ambush them as they pass through as they seem reluctant to settle for any length of time.

Mick over on peg 16 was putting a few together but having to work for them, though this was disturbed when a passing duck snaffled his bait as he was laying his rig in. Thankfully Mick managed to get the duck to the bankside where he finally managed to unhook it after some deft work with a disgorger, the duck swimming off with just a few feathers and its dignity ruffled. Martin was having a hard time of it, latching into various snags round the island and then seeing his reel handle fly off and land in the lake. Undaunted he soon changed reels and was back in action……

For me it was just a question of plugging away and keeping a few fish going into the net as apart from Dave and Al nobody else seemed to be getting among the fish from what I could see or hear. I kept having the odd look down the margins but they steadfastly refused to produce as much as a bite, and after a blank spell of nearly 20 minutes at 6mtrs I re-fed it pretty heavily and set of for my customary stroll with the camera. John was struggling next door to Martin and it looked like the two travelling companions would be battling to the end of the match for the bragging rights today.

Clive was settled into peg 11A and having a look down his left hand margin, having struggled to catch from the right hand side of his peg ……

Keith was on peg 10 and working hard to put a few together and beat Mick in another battle of the travelling companions, though I did manage to bring a smile to his face when I related the tale of Mick’s encounter with the duck …

Simon and Graham had similar tales of struggle, though Graham’s did ring a little hollow as he lifted into a fish as I passed by……

Ken seemed quite content with his lot tucked away in a corner on peg 5 and was happily putting a few together today ……

Chris on peg 3 was also putting a mixed bag together with his approach, but felt that he could be doing better ……

Kev on peg 1 was having a mare in all honesty, not only was he struggling for bites from his swim, he also had the perfect view of Dave and Al apparently bagging up just across from him ……

Dave had vanished for a stroll by the time I got round there, but I probably shouldn’t have asked Al what the crack was, as it wasn’t a pretty site ……

Back at my peg it was just a question of head down and get on with it, nick a couple of fish then wait a while before getting another couple. At least they were getting a little larger as time wore on with a few 2-3 pounders mixed in among the smaller ones. After yet another blank spell I took another look down the margins with 45 minutes to go and the float buried by a feisty little mirror that was soon in the net and thankfully this continued right up to the whistle sounded the All-Out at 4pm.

Packing away my kit I couldn’t help wondering what the outcome would have been had they turned up earlier in the margins? I was sure that Dave and Al were way out in front but reckoned that my late run of fish should see me with around 70lbs of fish to put on the scales.

The Weigh-In started with Kev on peg 1 who only managed a meagre 12lbs. Chris recorded 38½lbs while Ken was happy to see his fish weigh 53lbs, Graham’s 42¼lbs was followed by Simon’s 36½lbs and Keith chipped in with 39½lbs. Clive had a smile on his face due to his 56½lbs, while Martin and John both recorded a level 16lbs to share the bragging rights in the car. My fish came to 77lbs leaving me happy with what I’d got from my peg. Mick’s 36½lbs meant that Keith had the bragging rights for their trip home and Terry could only muster 26½lbs for his days efforts. that just left Al who was admitting to 70lbs (meaning he probably had a Ton+) and Dave who was owning up to 80lbs and he’s normally pretty close with his estimates. Al in fact put 106lbs on the scales and Dave 87½lbs.

So back up Heart Attack Hill to the car park where Dave sorted out the days results and the monies. The Winner today was Al, with Dave taking 2nd and third place for me. The sections went to Ken, myself and Al.

Next up for Marsh AC is an Inter-club match at Hartleylands Farm against Morefax AC , but before that I’m off on my first trip of the year to Rolf’s Lake next Friday for a 2 day Special Jinx Match.

Position	Peg	Angler	Weight
1st	Peg 20	Al Loader	106lbs 00ozs
2nd	Peg 21	Dave Collier	87lbs 08ozs
3rd	Peg 14A	Peter Morton	77lbs 00ozs
4th	Peg 11A	Clive Pritchard	56lbs 08ozs
5th	Peg 5	Ken Walker	53lbs 00ozs
6th	Peg 7	Graham Manning	42lbs 04ozs
7th	Peg 10	Keith Ashby	39lbs 08ozs
8th	Peg 3	Chris Withall	38lbs 08ozs
9th=	Peg 16	Mick Wright	36lbs 08ozs
9th=	Peg 9	Simon Watkins	36lbs 08ozs
11th	Peg 18	Terry Goff	26lbs 08ozs
12th=	Peg 14	Martin Hucker	16lbs 00ozs
12th=	Peg 13	John Holdsworth	16lbs 00ozs
14th	Peg 1	Kevin Loveland	12lbs 00ozs

Rayne Lodge Fishery. The Top Lake. May 21st, 2011.

Marsh AC club match.

The Top Lake at Rayne Lodge just outside of Braintree in Essex is the venue for what is the second Marsh AC club match of the year. A quick glance through the curtains confirmed that the forecaster hadn’t been kidding last night and it promised to be a fine sunny day, so shorts and tee shirt were the order of the day. Cats fed and coffee drunk I loaded up the car and set off round to Dave’s house where I met up Chris and Dave for the trip down to the fishery. An accident on the way to the Dartford Tunnel meant we had to divert round it making us a little late, but we still pulled into the car park just after 8am.

Soon all the kit was transferred down the hill to the lake and discussions were underway about the prospects for the day ahead. Vic (SHANGER) Nugent was fishing his first club match with us since joining and had brought his partner Diane along to fish as well, while Keith had brought workmate Mick along as his guest once more. Into the draw and peg 14 was mine for the day (one away from the one I had on my last visit here)……

while Keith drew peg 14A to my left……

 with Kevin and partner Jean to my right on peg 12 and Al next up on peg 11A……

I have to say that the lake looked cock on, There were plenty of fish showing, however they just appeared to be mooching about and it looked as if they were getting ready to spawn to me.

With us fishing from 10·15am till 4·15pm today there was plenty of time to set up, so everything got an outing today. 2 pellet waggler rods and a method feeder set up came out of their ready sleeves along with 3 top kits for the pole.

The top kits were set up with 2 Sackup CX 4×12 pencils on 0·16 Ultima Power Match finishing with size 16 Guru MWG’s and a NG 0·3 XT Sampson margin on 0·16 Ultima Power Match finishing with size 16 Guru MWG for the margin line. Feed was 6mm hard pellet, with dampened pellet for the method while hook baits were 6 & 8mm hard pellet, corn and a selection of GOT Baits soft hookers.

Jean kindly provided me with my customary coffee and a bonus today in the shape of a freshly cooked sausage & bacon roll so I was well set by the time Dave sounded the All-In at 10·15am. A pot of pellets and corn onto each my selected lines then I shipped a banded 6mm pellet out to 7mtrs. A minute later and the float slid away and carp number 1 was on its way to the net. Unfortunately it was only a couple of ounces, not quite the stamp I was looking for. A better example of around a pound was next up and this was followed by a couple of skimmers and I got the impression that the fish I was really looking for weren’t present in any numbers.

I’d started catapulting a few pellets across to the corner of the island and after around an hour took a look with the pellet waggler after re-feeding my pole lines. There were fish there alright, I could see them cruising, but after half an hour I’d only managed 3 small carp for my efforts. A quick look with the feeder was unproductive so it was back to the pole.

At this stage nobody appeared to be running away with it, and the word was that it was generally fishing slow. I started to get a few carp interested on my 7mtr line, nothing remarkable, but enough to make me feel that I was holding my own against Keith. Another coffee and sausage & bacon roll from Jean was most welcome, so having been re-fed myself, I re-fed the swim and took a quick stroll to try and see what was happening elsewhere.

Keith was starting to find a few on a more regular basis, though he was ruing the loss of a ‘Double’ that had taken off out of his swim and just kept going……

 Simon appeared to be ticking along nicely picking up fish by alternating between on the deck and up in the water in an attempt to keep in touch with the fish……

 Diane was playing a fish as I passed and seemed to think that she might have the beating of Vic……

 …… and although Vic was also playing a fish, a quick chat revealed that he was far from confident in gaining the upper hand today……

 Terry on peg 22 claimed to be struggling, though he was playing a fish while we chatted. while Eddie on peg 1 appeared to be ticking along nicely and enjoying his first day out on the bank for a while……

Dave had started to catch fishing floaters under the tree to his left and while he was having trouble feeding due to the resident geese he seemed to be getting a decent stamp of fish, and it seemed that Martin had followed his lead and was starting to catch a similar stamp of fish from peg 6 round the corner from Dave ……

Clive was claiming to have a mare, but the fact that he was happy to pose with a small roach that he caught led me to believe that he might just be sand bagging about how his match was going…

I found Mick in the corner on peg 11 and was shocked to see him fishing the waggler, but he was having a bit of a lean time and figured that it was the best way to tempt a few……

 As I got back to my peg Keith was into another fish so it was time to get my head down and concentrate. First put in and the float buried as a carp intercepted the bait and although the sport was never fast or furious, I managed to keep the fish coming on a reasonably regular basis by keeping the pellet going in to hold the fish. It was nip and tuck between me and Keith right the way to the end with a bit of banter back and forth between the two of us right up till the end when Dave called the All-Out at 4·15pm while I played a final fish that took my total up to 51 carp.

As we packed up I knew it would be to close to call between Keith and I and with the weigh in starting on peg 1 it had made it’s way round to Martin on peg 6 before I caught up with it to find Dave leading with a fine 114¾lbs which would prove to be good enough to take the win on the day as Martin’s net came up a little short at 103¾lb, but still good enough for 2nd. Clive had indeed been economical with the truth as his net came in at a level 89lbs for 3rd overall. Al managed 64½lbs while my fish weighed a total of 73lbs giving me the section and just edging out Keith’s 71½lbs. Simon’s 64½lbs allowed him to tie for 6th with Al. Round to peg 20 where Diane placed a level 48lbs on the scales to take the decision from Vic’s 34½lbs, though of course we were all full of sympathy for him ……………NOT

Back up the hill to the car park for the results and the section monies and that was it for another match. The next match is at Mill Barn Reservoir on June 11th where I’ll be defending a narrow 1 point lead from Al and Clive with Keith just a point further back.
 

	Peg	Angler	Weight
1st	Peg 4	Dave Collier	114lbs 12ozs
2nd	Peg 6	Martin Hucker	103lbs 12ozs
3rd	Peg 8	Clive Pritchard	89lbs 00ozs
4th	Peg 14	Peter Morton	73lbs 00ozs
5th	Peg 14a	Keith Ashby	71lbs 08ozs
6th=	Peg 11a	Al Loader	64lbs 08ozs
6th=	Peg 17	Simon Watkins	64lbs 08ozs
8th	Peg 7	Tony Roberts	55lbs 00ozs
9th	Peg 1	Eddie Dobson	51lbs 00ozs
10th	Peg 20	Diane                     Guest	48lbs 00ozs
11th	Peg 16	Jim Boase	38lbs 00ozs
12th	Peg 21	Vic Nugent	34lbs 08ozs
13th	Peg 12	Kevin Loveland	30lbs 00ozs
14th	Peg 11	Mick Wright           Guest	29lbs 00ozs
15th	Peg 22	Terry Goff	19lbs 00ozs
16th	Peg 9	Chris Withall	14lbs 08ozs
17th	Peg 10	Judy Hermite	14lbs 04ozs
18th	Peg 3	Ron Mannister	7lbs 12ozs

 

Rayne Lodge Fishery. The Top Lake. September 19th, 2009.

Marsh AC club match.

So it was off to the Top Lake at Rayne Lodge just outside Braintree in Essex today for what should be the last Marsh AC club match of the year (Though we might manage to sneak another one in somewhere). It promised to feel a little strange as Dave Collier would be missing his first club match in nearly twenty years but I felt sure that we’d manage to muddle through without him.

The initial look through the bedroom curtains held the promise of a decent day ahead, and it was pleasantly mild as I loaded the kit into the car and set off for deepest Essex. An easy trouble free run down saw me pulling into the Top Lake car park just after 8am, where I found a few of the lads already sorting their kit and ferrying it down the hill to the lake. There were 16 of us today including two of our regular guests, Keith and Mick who had trekked down from Milton Keynes.

Now the Top Lake at Rayne Lodge is one of those picture book little lakes with trees trailing into the lake offering plenty of cover and features to fish to. Well it was !!!!

Unfortunately someone appears to have acquired a chainsaw and has yet to discover the OFF switch.
To say that the pruning in some swims has been extensive would be an understatement. Brutal bordering on vandalism would be more accurate in my opinion. By way of example the following photo shows the view from peg 16 last May……

While the following photo shows the view from the same peg now ……

Anyway rant over and back to the business of the day. With Dave absent, Colin and Tony had taken care of the pegging and collection of the cash and it was soon time for the draw. Into the draw-bag and I find myself holding Peg 14a. Last year I would have run to it, but I wasn’t so enthusiastic today as it’s right at the heart of the recent ‘Pruning’. It’s one of Dave’s favourite swims, but in a way I’m glad he’s not here today as he would probably have cried to see it as it is now.

Well it was my swim for the next 6 hours so it was a question of making the most of it. For company today I had Keith over to my left on Peg 16, a quality angler and if he’s on a few fish, more than capable of doing the necessary. To my right there was Judy on peg 13 and Colin next to her on Peg 12. Tony has drawn peg 1 and there were a stack of fish in the corner to his right as we were drawing, and with Peg 22 drawn for Al (who hadn’t made it as it turned out) he’s got that corner to himself.

Time to set up and today I was going with a pellet and paste attack. The lake’s level was about a foot down from its normal level and I was going to fish one line straight out at around 7mts where there was around 3ft of depth, and down both margins where there was around a foot. Rigs were my favourite Malman 4X12 Adam on 0·18 Power Match with size 16 Drennan Carp hook to fish pellet as well as a small Malman SC Paste float on 0·18 Power Match with a size 12 Ashima Barbless hook for paste on the 7mtr line with a couple of Malman MTD1 dibbers rigged up on 0·18 Power Match, one with a 16 Drennan for pellet and the other with a size 12 Ashima for paste. I had my feeder rod rigged up in it’s ready sleeve but didn’t really want to go down that route unless I was struggling. Bait for the day was simply a selection of various pellets and paste, while feed was taken care of with 6mm Skrettings pellets while a bag of groundbait was in the carryall if I needed it later.

So down to business as Colin signalled the All-In at 10am. Out with a pot of pellet at 7mtrs and some more by hand down the margins. A banded 8mm to start was shipped out to 7mtrs. A few little dinks, probably silvers pecking at the pellet. A few lift and drops, float dipped, missed it. Now something I noticed on a previous visit is how bad the condition a lot of the fishes mouths are and I’m sure that’s the reason for a lot of missed bites here, as it must be hard to get a hook-hold with the state of some of their mouths. Keith had landed his 1st fish “That’s the blank saved” he remarked. I was in almost straight after and soon had a Common of around 2lbs safely in the net. I noticed that the fish was very slimy and hard to get hold of and made a mental note not to try lifting any into the keepnet. Another couple of fish followed for both Keith and myself, but sport was slow to say the least.

After a couple of hours I’d got 7 Carp and a couple of silvers, so out came the feeder rod and I knocked up a bit of groundbait, I’d banded an 8mm pellet and out went the method feeder to the corner of the island. An almost instant response in the form of a Mirror around the 2½lb mark didn’t lead to better things however. Colin strolled up with his sandwiches. He’d been having a torrid time of it with just 3 Carp to show for his efforts. Keith meanwhile has suffered from ’slippery fish’ syndrome and deposited a Carp safely back into the lake rather than his keepnet. With just 2 Carp to show for 45 minutes on the feeder I decided to cup in some loose groundbait and pellets on my 7mtr line and take a quick stroll with my camera to allow it to settle.

I took a stroll down to see Mick (Keith’s travelling partner) on 11a. Tony had this swim on our visit last year and took a good bag from the left hand tree. It’s not there any more, just a stump but Mick was nicking a few from the left hand margin ……

I could see Eddie over on Peg 5 with what appeared to be a nice patch of lilies on his right to fish to, so hopefully he would be picking up a few ……

Making my way back, I stopped off at Colin, but things weren’t showing any signs of improving for him I’m afraid and he was at a loss as to what he could do to improve things ……

while Judy was in pretty much the same boat as Colin, but was plugging away and at least keeping up with him ……

Back to my peg and I noticed a couple of bubbles coming up on the 7mtr line. Keith was a bit exasperated by the number of fish he’d had shed the hook and had managed to release yet another ‘slippery fish’ but he now appeared to be concentrating on his margin line……

Bites for me were still finicky so I decided to fish the 6mm Skrettings I was feeding banded on the hook as they were really quite small compared with some other 6mm pellets.
That seemed to make all the difference for me, and while Keith started to put together a run of fish I felt that I was managing to match him and maybe even ease ahead a little bit. In fact it was all going pretty well apart from a couple of foul hookers, one of which trashed my pellet rig with 15 minutes to go. However swapping to my paste rig still kept the bites coming and I managed another 4 Carp before Colin called the All-Out at 4pm.

Packing away I couldn’t help feeling a little frustrated at the way my match had gone, mostly due to the fact that the swim had been altered so drastically from the one I’d been expecting when I drew it, but on the plus side I felt confident that I’d beaten Keith and those around me. The Weigh-In was in full swing by the time that Keith and I caught up with it. Tony leading with a fine 79½lbs that would ultimately take his section and the honours on the day. Ron and Jim had managed a tie from adjacent pegs (3 & 4) with 28lbs each while Eddie had winkled out 21½lbs from peg 5. Martin had managed a very creditable 63½lbs from Peg 7 only to be pipped by 1lb from the next peg when Terry placed 64½lbs on the scales.

Poor Zack had struggled and could only manage a meagre 11½lbs from peg 10 while John put a level 73lbs on the scales that would give him the section and 2nd overall on the day, but most importantly the bragging rights over Martin & Zack in the car on the way home.
Ken recorded 13½lbs from Peg 11, but it was Mick on Peg 11a with 42½lbs who took the section spoils after Colin and Judy tied from their adjacent pegs with a level 18lbs each.

Round to my peg and my 25 Carp along with a few silvers took the scales round to 67¼lbs for a section win and 3rd overall. Keith’s 53½lbs at least saw him with the bragging rights over Mick on the way home. Roger round on Peg 20 weighed in 32½lbs but once again suffered the agony of losing a PB carp at the venue as he’d done last year, While Rod was the last to weigh with a level 14lbs.

All that just left us with just the slog back up the hill to the car park. Thank Heavens that Dave wasn’t there to waltz up the hill with his powered trolley and take the mickey out of us all. So with the sections paid out the farewells were done, That’s it officially for the Marsh AC club matches this year, though we hope to fit one final outing in next month as Kevin is coming back to visit from the Bahamas, so we’ll try to sort out a day with him.

In the meantime it’s been a most enjoyable series of matches oncemore, and I’d like to say a BIG THANK YOU to Dave for organising the matches as always and another BIG THANK YOU to all that have fished the matches, both members and guests who’ve made them great fun to fish as always. Here’s to more of the same next year.

Position	Peg	Angler	Weight
1st	Peg 1	Tony Roberts	79lbs 08ozs
2nd	Peg 10	John Holdsworth	73lbs 00ozs
3rd	Peg 14a	Peter Morton	67lbs 04ozs
4th	Peg 8	Terry Goff	64lbs 08ozs
5th	Peg 7	Martin Hucker	63lbs 08ozs
6th	Peg 16	Keith Ashby     (guest)	53lbs 08ozs
7th	Peg 11a	Mick Wright     (guest)	42lbs 08ozs
8th	Peg 20	Roger Noakes	32lbs 08ozs
9th=	Peg 3	Ron Mannister	28lbs 00ozs
9th=	Peg 4	Jim Boase	28lbs 00ozs
11th	Peg 5	Eddie Dobson	21lbs 08ozs
12th=	Peg 12	Colin Sharrard	18lbs 00ozs
12th=	Peg 13	Judy Hermite	18lbs 00ozs
14th	Peg 21	Rod Turner	14lbs 00ozs
15th	Peg 11	Ken Walker	13lbs 08ozs
16th	Peg 9	Zack Johnson	11lbs 08ozs