Two days later I was back in the twenties, I have made myself a target of fishing every peg at least once this year and I wanted to get the twenties out of the way before the summer was over. Peg 24, opposite 4 and 5, was my choice for the session and as it was still quite shallow I had brought the spinning rod should any pike show.

The same rig used on peg 3 came into play and with approx 2.5ft of water I cupped in 3 balls and deposited half a cup of 2mm pellets and wheat with a dozen kernels of corn at 11.5m and went out on the corn. The usual dips and plucks from the fry began but then halted after 20 minutes; the float lifted and a bream of 2-4 was gracing the net after a spirited fight. Ten minutes later the same scenario but this time one of 1-12. It then went quiet, thinking there may be a pike around the spinning rod came into play but no interest there. Back on to the corn and 4 rudd and 1 roach was all I could muster. Decided to have a last few casts on the spinning rod before packing up and fourth cast in a scrappy jack took the lure, I thought it looked 12oz but on the scales it went 1-8! Anyway that was that and I trudged back to the car with a total of 5-12.

That morning I had spotted some carp and bream by the bridge in the Pondtail and had decided to have a go at them, so the next day I had the unusual luxury of a very short walk from the car to the first peg on the Pondtail. I had left the pole at home and decided to fish a method towards the reeds by the bridge and a waggler for the roach in front of me.

Setting up a 20g in-line method with a .20mm Shogun hooklength to a 14 with a bayonet, I was planning on trying 8mm and 10mm boilies/wafters  with Swinstim being the groundbait for the method. The float was set up with a 2AA peacock waggler with just 2 number 10 shot on the line . Plumbing up I had 6 feet of water at 2 rod lengths and I kick started that swim with a ball of groundbait (not the Swimstim) and about 40 pieces of wheat. I began by putting the method out with a 10mm white shellfish boilie and went straight on the maggot on the float. The Pondtail is chocked full of roach but it was very hard going, 20 minutes before I had a bite on the maggot, and after the first hour on the float I had only 4 gudgeon and 4 roach.However the method had surprised me as in the same time I had a roach of 14oz on the shellfish  boilie and a hybrid of 1-9. In the next hour I changed to wheat on the float and it was like a tap was turned on, with bites every cast, the second hour saw me adding a further 2 gudgeon and 11 roach to the net, it would have been more but I had missed a bite on the method with an 8mm white pop-up but on changing to a chocolate orange 10mm wafter I had added a roach of exactly a pound, a further hybrid of 1-6 and lost another unknown fish. At this point I dispensed with the float and concentrated on the method as the sun was getting higher and I felt I only had another 45 minutes before any shade would be lost. Next cast nothing. Followed by another, then a good wrap round and I was into a better fish which after a short scrap turned out to be a carp of 3lb. Two further casts were motionless and I called it a day with a 9-13 total.

Two days later back in the twenties – 23 to be precise for a short session between 10:30 and 1:30.

Depth was a more reasonable 4 feet but I went for the slightly heavier rig. Starting in my usual fashion I had a couple of early rudd then it went quiet. A lift of the float and the elastic came out as a bream tried unsuccessfully to get to the far bank! A short fight only made more difficult by an unseen weed bed close in that the bream knew all about but I didn’t, resulted in me slipping the net under  a bream of 2-4. Twenty minutes passed before the next bite, a rudd. The odd rudd and roach made an infrequent appearance before the float lifted and a far weightier fish stretched the elastic, this took longer but a tench of 4-10 soon was in the net.

A few more rudd followed and I ended with just the 8 rudd, 3 roach and a small skimmer giving an 8-8 total.

Back to the Pondtail on the Sunday, armed only with a method rod!(mistake!) The plan was to fish until midday, so at best 3 hours. The first hour resulted in one missed wrap round and nothing else. The second hour was not much better but I did hook my solitary bite, a good carp by the feel of it, I managed to keep it out of the rushes by the bridge but it found the one snag in open water and parted company with me! The final hour saw a  motionless tip and a blank was saved by a foul hooked roach!

Tuesday saw me back on the twenties – 22 for the session.

Starting the usual way it was very slow on corn, not even dips and bumps from the fry, a change to double wheat saw a change in fortune and 22 roach, 9 rudd and a skimmer for 4-12.  Next day I returned to fish peg 3. There had been some rain during the day and overnight on the Monday and I reckoned the colour would be suited to the shallow pegs. Starting off in my regular way I was soon into roach and rudd on the corn, the swim then went quiet and some typical tench bubbles started to appear, a couple of minutes passed when the float lifted and a tench was hooked, not a massive one but given the weedy nature of the peg it was a tussle to get it into netting range, it slipped into the net then darted out again before the hook pulled! Forty minutes later another tench hooked, this one made a beeline for the lillies 12m to my right, I managed to get it away from the lillies then knitted one and purled one through the weed in front of me to finally net this one at 4-4.

A few more roach and rudd came before I hit into another good fish that led me a merry dance through the weeds, finally surfacing it was a good bream close to 5lb, as I drew it to the net the hook popped out agonisingly short of the net. I was not a happy bunny! The session ended with me on 20 rudd, 16 roach and 3 skimmers for 9-6.

Friday, the last day of July sees me at the Pondtail for a short session on what was promising to be the hottest day of the year for the area, again just the method but this time I blanked, I had one bite on the fourth cast that I didn’t hook and that was it ! A blank! I lasted a little over two hours before I felt I was melting and went home!

July did not start well due to two new sofas being ordered and only one delivered as the courier had lost one! So it was not until the first Sunday that I managed to get out.  Bowood was very quiet and I walked up to peg 6 for a change. Setting up with a slightly heavier float in the 4-5ft of water I again bulked the shot six inches from the hook to counteract any weed and small fish on the surface, I began by introducing three balls of groundbait (1 part lake, 1 part vanilla, 1 part coco belgique, from the Caperlan range), and a dozen grains of corn along with a handful of 2mm pellets and a similar quantity of wheat. Second put in and the float lifted, a gentle lift saw the elastic (KND hybrid 8-12)  come out and a small bream of 1-10 come to the net. Unfortunately that was not the start of a bagging session, instead the morning progressed slowly as before with pike scattering fish on a regular basis. I ended up with 5 roach, 4 rudd, 14 small skimmers, 1 hybrid and that bream for 4-12.

Undeterred I was back the following day this time on peg 5, similar set up and approach same result but no bream – 26 roach, 33 rudd and 5 skimmers for 5-1 and a great deal more pike activity.

Friday was my next chance and I made my way up to peg 7, this time with a spinning rod in attendance. Similar approach ending in 30 rudd, 16 roach, 6 skimmers and a hybrid for 7-1. This time I tried spinning every now and again to no avail apart from one take that was on for 10 seconds before throwing the hook!

Sunday saw me travel up the M5 and M6 to Bromley Mill lake near Stoke for a Match-fishing Scene match organised by Les Hobson. I had been told it was shallow and you would need to sit in the water to get depth for your keepnets- three of which had to be put in at the start! I drew peg 7 which was the furthest walk and according to Les the match the previous day had been a struggle for those further down the lake. The arrow in the picture is where I drew- for some reason I forgot to take any other snaps!

When I set up I found there were carp coming right in to the keepnets- Les had warned us of this and said some would swim under your box! I had 3 foot of water at 10m which is all the regulars fish usually and 14 inches off to my right at 5m. I began on the method but after 20 minutes with little indication gave that up and went on the pole. After an hour with no bites and a brief dalliance at the end of my keepnets I decided on a change. I had noticed a lot of carp moved through the swim from the right, so dumped a half pot of 2mm pellets and wheat off to my right about 4m out from the bank and a small nugget of Swimstim groundbait and left it for 5minutes allowing the fish to find it (which didn’t take long) and get their heads down. The next 10 minutes were frustrating as carp were all over my single corn bait but not taking it. Change to double corn and still no response. I finally had a bite and bumped it! Now an hour and a half into the match and blanking whereas others were catching on a fairly regular basis. I then hit upon the idea of putting all the shot under the float so the bait was not tethered in a position. First put in the carp swirled around the float looking for the wheat I was feeding every put in, this time the whole rig moved to a new position in the aftermath of the carps swirls, 5 secs later the float buried and the 14-16 yellow Slik elastic was called into action. A carp of about 4lb was deposited in the net, another handful of wheat was thrown into the area and single corn put on the hook, 5minutes later carp number 2 went into the net.  So it carried on for the rest of the match until the last 15 minutes, by which stage I had caught 20 carp and lost 6, but had managed to snap the last 2 inches off my number4 section (it was already splintered and weak being 20+years old) and had replaced it with a short number 4 that didn’t really suit the top kits and I was having to make sure it was securely in place before shipping out. The inevitable happened I hook a carp, carp runs to my left and I start to bring it back with a nice angle between tip and carp, glance around to make certain of getting pole onto roller and in that instant carp changes direction, angle is lost and the top kit flies off towards the centre of the lake. Unwilling to risk another kit I put a small bomb over the feed area but no further fish by the time of the whistle going.

I was first to weigh in and that may be why I didn’t take any photos plus still aggrieved at losing the top-kit (at least the barbless hook would mean the carp would soon divest itself of the top-kit). The scales showed I had managed 94-6 for fourth overall and lost the section money to Les who had 102lb. An enjoyable day out and lots to think over on the 2.5hour journey home.

Wednesday sees me sufficiently recovered to venture to Bowood. Now this time I was going to peg 21 –

my better half and I go for an early morning walk several times a week and usually stop for a coffee at a tree stump by peg 21. This morning I had noticed several dark shapes , either tench or bream under the surface in pole distance. When plumbing up I had 5 feet at 11.5m and set up with a 0.8g float and 14 hook to 0.16mm Shogun. Single corn followed the three balls of groundbait cupped with 2mm pellets, wheat and 12 grains of corn. Twenty minutes in the float lifted and a strike resulted in a bream of 2-1 coming to the net. Fifteen minutes later a similar bite was met with a far more spirited fish, a tench of 4-14. Another tench of 4-6 followed by a bream of 1-14, 7 rudd, 3 roach and a skimmer gave me a total of 15-13. Glad I went for that walk now!

Friday sees me back at 21 but with no great expectations as the morning walk had not yielded any indications like previously. Same set up and approach but this time a bream of 1-10 first put in then just 4 roach, 3 rudd and 3 skimmers on the corn for a level 3-0.

Sunday sees me back at Bowood but no other anglers- the lake to myself! I decided to bite the bullet and try peg 3 – this has a reed bed directly in front of the platform, 5 minutes of work and I had a channel I could ship out and net fish in.

I reverted back to my peg 1 and 2 rig

and began with my standard 3 balls cupped in with corn,2mm pellet and wheat, feeding 10 pellets and similar amounts of wheat every other cast. First put in I had a 3oz rudd on single corn, next put in a larger fish pulled the elastic out and I was pleased to put the net under a rudd of 1-1, my PB for Bowood.

The 3.5hour session went well with regular bites despite the attentions of pike that still refused to take a lure! I ended up with 50 rudd (not including the one above), 8 roach and a skimmer plus a bream of 2-9 for 13-4 from a swim nobody fishes because it looks unfishable.

With my next outing on Tuesday I am going to try another peg in the 20s.