After the Country Fair over the week-end I decided to leave the pole at home and set off with a feeder and waggler rod up to peg 19 (the first peg after the island) on the Tuesday. I started on the open end feeder at 40m at 07:40 and after an hour and a half had 2 skimmers on maggot having missed lots of bites from small roach, during this time I had been catapulting out wheat and hemp out to my waggler line at about 20m. So from 09:10 to 12:00 when I packed up I stuck to the waggler but decided to just fish corn on the hook. What transpired was a very pleasant session with my 3AAA homemade sarkandas reed insert waggler performing nicely and produced 30 rudd, 3 roach and 11 skimmers all on corn for a 6-12 total. Nothing big but plenty of action to keep me busy.

Friday sees me back with the pole to peg 8 which had a nice colour to it. I fished from 08:30 to 12:00, a homemade short rugby ball float with my usual bulk about 6 inches from the 16 hook to the 0.16mm Tornado hook-length. Starting on maggot, over my four balls of wheat, corn and hemp laced groundbait, I was surprised not to get the immediate rudd which is usually a positive sign that the bigger fish were already present. I changed to corn straight away and after a short wait the float lifted and a small skimmer came to the net. The action was steady thereafter with 4 rudd, 3 roach a further skimmer and 7 bream being landed. I lost two big bream plus had a double figure pike on for 5-6 minutes before the hook pulled (not a pike strike, just the pike taking the corn!). This gave me a 20-06 total.

As you can see I weigh the fish as I catch them in the unscrewed landing net and jot down the weight on a scrap of card in my box.

Unusually for me I went to peg 6 on the Sunday (and wished I hadn’t!), fishing 09:00 to 11:45 I had 6 micro rudd on the maggot for 4 ounces. I had 3 proper bites on the corn, one I missed and bumped the other two, however the float was never still as the peg seemed full of micro rudd that were constantly worrying the corn between erupting from the surface and scattering as the pike homed in on them!

Undeterred I was back next day on peg 17 (first peg at back of island in short narrow arm). This was a bit of a shame as the weed was almost impossible to get through but I stuck it out from 08:40 to 10-40 in which time I had a solitary bream of 2-08 and 2 rudd, when I did manage to get through the weed micro rudd put in an appearance and worried the corn into the weed! I decided that I would pack up and move down to the Pondtail peg 2 for an hour (11:00 to 12:00) this was a change fishing the pole at 10m rather than the whip (didn’t have them with me!) I had 16 roach, a perch and a skimmer for a level 2lb on wheat.

Wednesday sees me back at peg 6 fishing 09:00 to 12:00 usual tackle but no fish of size showed, I had sport with 45rudd and 3 roach for 2-11 whilst fending of at times 20 wasps that seemed to decide it was their platform! Friday sees me take the long walk up to the stock pond to fish the big fish peg (peg 1). Setting up to fish 13m where there was a flattish area I introduced 3 balls of groundbait, and fed 2mm pellet and hemp with corn on the size 16 hook, using the same short float as the main lake but altering the shot so I had the bulk set at 2 feet from the hook with 2 no 8 droppers about nine inches apart. I was hoping for carp for a change but apart from a 6lber that acme right up to the platform to have a root around for a couple of seconds that was it, I ended up with 22 roach for 2-04. The Stock Pond is the one place where you often see two kingfishers in tandem and today was no exception which made up for the lack of carp.

The other item of note from the Friday was the estate had now cut paths down to the pegs, some of which were hidden by the undergrowth previously and I was happy to see that the very first peg after the Stock Pond( peg 15) was now not only visible but fishable, this was one peg I had never fished so Sunday (yes another Sunday) I made my way up to the end of the arm, cursing that I had left my phone at home as I wanted to take a picture of the peg (I will visit at some point and do so!).

Anyway plumbing up I had barely 14 inches anywhere in the peg; I decided on two areas, the first directly in front at 10m where I put a solitary ball of groundbait some 2mm pellet, hemp and wheat plus a few samples of corn; the other was to my left where the arm narrows to a reed lined channel leading to the overflow from the Stock pond. I picked a point at 10m where I introduced hemp, pellet and a few grains of corn. I decided to use my usual rig, so that I had a good 2m+ of line above the float- this would allow me to keep the pole away from the baited area. I was not expecting very much and was surprised when a roach of an ounce took my double maggot offering shortly after starting. A couple more roach followed before a far better fish that headed of to the main lake before the elastic controlled it and shortly after I was slipping the net under a bream of 3-08 (typical of me not to have my phone!), the swim went quiet after that so I alternated the two swims with no sign of any action in the left hand one. More small roach and some rudd followed making it an enjoyable session but I kept trying the left swim, finally putting on corn and swinging the rig slightly past the feed area where I had been loose feeding pellet and hemp, the float buried and the elastic headed towards the Stock Pond and the banks of reeds, eventually I managed to draw the fish back up to me and slipped the net under a tench of exactly 4lb! Together with the 20 small roach and 6 rudd this gave me a 8-08 total.

Tuesday, the last but one day of August sees me try peg 5 for an hour and a half between 09:00 and 10:30 for 3 tiny rudd and 2 roach for 3oz,at which point I moved up to peg 10, my first visit of the season! I fished 10:45 to 12:05 and despite the weed still being a bit of a problem in the 8feet of water I enjoyed plenty of bites and ended with 26 rudd, 5 roach and 5 skimmers for 3-08.

Summer is over, September brings a two day pairs match at the Glebe and a move towards the deeper water I think!