With the imminent arrival of Gareth and family on the Saturday I took the advantage of going to Bowood alone armed with ice breaker (sash window weight and chain on rope), as several days of sub-zero temperatures had certainly frozen it. Arriving at peg 10 with -2C temperature I set to work but after 30 minutes of hard graft I was in no way near to being able to fish!

The nearside ice was opaque as it was a double thickness – the top layer had partly thawed then froze again so once I broke through the top layer there was a second layer below it! I have fished this peg when I have broken ice an inch thick and caught both silvers and pike but the last time I fished anywhere where it was this thick was in Finland and they were driving cars on it! I gave up after taking these and went home!

Picked Gareth et al up from Heathrow on Saturday evening and Sunday he was itching to get fishing but with Bowood frozen and the river out of sorts we decided to give the river (the Marden) a go at Hazeland, fishing the disabled area by the car park. Fishing for about an hour an three quarters I blanked on the float but Gareth on the straight lead managed to winkle out a small roach and dace.

Monday sees us fishing Bowood from 1-3pm. I was not hoping for much as overnight heavy rain and the melting of the ice did not bode well. In fact it was at least 18 inches up, heavily coloured with the inlet brook a torrent and added to that very strong winds. Needless to say we blanked without a bite!

Tuesday was a very short session on the Marden at Hazeland, just intro the section 1 field, both fishing lead in slacks after the flow had increased. I had a minnow and a trout while Gareth had a clutch of minnows in the hour or so we were there.

Various necessities prevented any further fishing until Friday fishing 9 to 12 Gareth on 10 and myself on 9. I fished my usual way with the same rig using a homemade float, 0.12mm line to a 0.10mm hook-length to an 18 and managed to put together 5 roach, 5 skimmers/blades and 27 rudd for 1-15, no runs on the pike rod. Gareth had 30 silvers for 1-10, but as we packed up he had a run on the pike rod and ended up with one of exactly 7lb.

Sunday sees us at Hazeland fishing by the boom, again Gareth on the lead had 4 roach plus a bonus chub of 1-12, while I saved a blank on the waggler with a solitary roach.

Monday – back to Bowood but another regular has beaten us to the favoured swims so we made our way over the other side of the lake and after the long walk Gareth settled on peg 19 (first peg after the island) and myself on 20.Fishing 9 to 12 again. Depth was the same as fishing the other side but Gareth had a steep drop off at 10 where he fished whereas my peg seemed to slope towards Gareth, so I opted on a flattish spot at 10m also. The wind was a bit cold but using the same rigs I managed 20 roach, 4 ski8mmers/blades, 7 rudd and a rare gudgeon for 2-05. Gareth had 27 roach and 3 rudd for 1-15. As he was reeling in a jack pike take a liking to his sardine but didn’t take it properly and the chance was gone!

So Tuesday 30th sees us back at Bowood for an afternoon session from 2 to 4pm.This time Gareth put me on 10 and he fancied 9. Usual tactics saw 7 blades, 2 rudd, 6 roach and 2 gudgeon for 1-03 was part of the catch- I also had a surprise bream of 2-05 which at one point made me think I had a pike on as it was moving so slowly. I also had two pike of 5-04 and 11-13. The larger pike came in very subdued, partly I think as the line was wrapped under it’s body, but it woke up once in the net Gareth managed to video the “fight”. Gareth had a similar run of silvers and a pike of 5-02.

It has been a slow start to the new year with a heavy cold and weather conditions preventing me from going more than two times. First out was a visit to Blacklands, prompted by the weather conditions making the river unfishable and Bowood equally so for a variety of factors. Anyway the wife suggested going to Blacklands as it was close so who am I to argue!

Friday the fifth sees me on peg 4 on Heron lake at Blacklands, the first peg beyond the now overgrown bench peg! The water was very coloured and the slope down to the peg was quite slippery so I was happy to get down in one piece.There is a groundbait ban at Blacklands and I did not have any worms so my attack was going to be pellet and maggot/casters – these were the white maggots left over from Monk Hall back in September that had been stored in my bait fridge! I set up one rig on a top kit with a Chinese hollow elastic that equated to a 6-8, a chianti style homemade job to 0.12mm line and 0.10mm hooklength to an 18 barbless.

I primed two swims at 10m the left hand one with a decent amount of 2mm expanders and the right hand one with about 50 of the maggot/caster mix, there after I loose fed over the top of both lines. It was cold and the water very coloured so I was not surprised when I didn’t get an immediate response, however after two hours of inactivity I was stunned when the float went under with double maggot which produced a little hybrid of about 3oz. Ten minutes later I had another bite which I hooked but lost on the way in. A further ten minutes passed before a third bite produced a bream of about 2 to 2.5lb, I had inexplicably forgotten to put the scales in which I was to regret!

Another lost fish followed soon after before pulling out of a better fish possibly a carp but may also have been one of the big perch that frequent Heron. A lull followed and after a couple of cups of coffee the float dipped and I hit into a solid fish that I guided towards me slowly but with no great drama until it realised it was hooked and decided it didn’t like it – this was the start of a ten minute battle which ultimately saw me shuffle the carp into the net -just! It was too precarious to unhook on my seat so I took it up onto the flat grassy bank behind to unhook. My guess was it was between 15 and 18lb having weighed similar fish in the past, a quick photo and back it went, leaving me to have another cup of coffee and to take the decision to pack up and go which may appear strange but there is a reason behind my madness! Heron has very specific tackle requirements based on carp fishing but out of camping season they turn a blind eye so I can fish for the silvers, I don’t want to spoil the opportunity for others as if they see me on the cctv hooking/ landing carp consistently then they may change their mind about allowing silvers fishing!

Moving on to the Monday I ventured to Bowood peg 10 although I did have reservations given we had experienced a run of sub-zero temperatures overnight and day temperatures not getting much beyond 1C. On arrival it was -1C, the water was highly coloured with a max of three inches visibility in to it. The water from pegs 3 to 6 were covered in a layer of ice with the early pegs clear due to the flow of water coming into the lake from the tiny brook. All the pegs were covered with debris so the water had obviously risen over the platforms but now was some two feet below the platform so the sluice at the far end of the lake had clearly been opened to reduce the pressure on the dam at the end of the lake.

Having outlined my excuses you can guess what is coming! Fishing from 9:15 to 12:00 not a bite, no sign of any fish either on the pole or on the pike rod, even trying jigging a maggot under the platform, normally a blank saver with small fish, failed. So a trudge back up the hill fishless! Since then been a bit under the weather with a heavy head cold and have got to go to Heathrow next Saturday to collect Gareth and tribe who are visiting for a couple of weeks. Hope the fishing improves by then for him!

Monday 18th sees me to return to Bowood but this time settling in on peg 7 as 10 was occupied! Fishing 9:30 to 12:15 it was fairly uneventful with my usual set up, no pike runs and twenty three small fish (20 rudd, 2 roach and a blade) for 1-10. The weather was not much help with the rain affecting the river and muddy water going into Bowood so on Wednesday I bit the bullet, or rather the wife suggested, I went to Blacklands.

Setting up at peg 16 which is to the right of the jetty the plan was to fish worm near the jetty and pellet straight out in front of me at 10m. One rig set up a home made egg style float with a yellow 1.7mm tip to 0.12mm Shogun and a 0.10mm Tornado hook-length to an 18 barbless. A handful of 2mm expander pellets was potted out on the 10m line and left to “cook” while I put about a dozen finely chopped up dendrabena worms with a pinch of home turned casters at the edge of the jetty, fortunately both areas were the same depth. It was a slowish start but eventually I had a bite on worm and a perch of about two ounces came in. The next hour was slow but steady with odd fish coming to the worm despite a topping up of worm after 40 minutes, all the while I had been firing out a few pellet every 5 minutes or so on the 10m line, then the float slipped under and I hit a better fish that turned out to be a small carp of about 1-1.5lb

Things then went very slow so I switched to the 10m line with a 4mm expander and had an immediate bite from a roach! Two more bites later and I hit another better fish- another small carp!

I carried on and by swapping between the two lines and also pellet, maggot and worm I ended up with 12 perch,10 roach 4 gudgeon, a blade and the two carp in the 4 hours for 6-05 on the clicker, stopping only when I hooked one of the proper carp that took me to my right and snapped me on a snag by the island.

At this point it may be worth commenting on my kit as you may have noticed me using various boxes and poles! I have the Octbox which is my main match box that I use when on matches and is the only box I have that I bought new, the box in the video is a second hand Matchbox that came without the base which is what I use when I don’t need a lot of kit and not walking too far. I have a complete Matchbox that again was second hand (or more likely fourth or fifth hand!) that I use for Bowood or when I need the base to hold things and can use an old Boss trolley that my son had. I also have a very old canal style stool that Gareth had that I use for odd occasions when I want a box style seat but need to walk a long way without a trolley. Poles – my main match poles are all second hand and about 20 years old a Garbolino Super League and a Garbolino Super Legion, the pole sections are interchangeable but Gareth also has a Super League and I have a third Super League as cover for replacement spares! I also have two Maver Metallica (one from new as I bought it cheap after being impressed by a second hand one I bought) – this is my main pole for pleasure work and Bowood, although I did use the Super Legion for Blacklands! I think I may have too much kit!

Friday 22nd sees me on peg 10 at Bowood for a session starting at 9:45 when the first put in was made and ending at 12:15. Two balls of groundbait and some 2mm expanders were the initial introduction and shortly a roach was deposited in the net, then the small rudd arrived and several were dropped off as they were not hooked but hanging on to the maggots, just as quickly as they had arrived it went quiet. I guessed a pike had been attracted by the activity so wound the pike rod in and put it just beyond my pole tip. Sure enough the pike float disappeared after 5 minutes and a strike produces a heavy thud of a decent fish. A couple of runs later I slipped the net under a pike of 14-04.

Back out on the pole I decided to leave the pike rod close to where I was fishing – just in case. Once again it was slow but the odd blade and small rudd kept the interest until another quiet spell, this time the pike float remained motionless but the pole float went under and I got that familiar feeling when I struck – a solid unmoving weight like the bottom, only, after a couple of seconds the bottom moves – yes a pike! Now I was on my lighter winter kit with a 20 hook and 0.10mm line so it was a bit of struggle but eventually I landed another pike of 5-02.

Back out again and the same thing happens, this time a pike of 8-06 which had at some point been attacked by something as it had a large wound across both sides of its back.

Both of these pike were hooked in the jaw on double white maggot, ignoring the sardine that was close by! I packed up at 12:15 as the weather looked ominous with 8 rudd , 6 blades and the solitary roach for 0-12 making a 28-08 total.

Then Christmas came and the rain made the rivers unfishable on my free days and Bowood would have been a waste. Indeed I was planning to have had a session on the Marden today as I write this as the river was just about fishable when I walked past it in town yesterday but three heavy downpours over night killed that and the river is not fishable, the Avon at Chippenham is flooding below the weir and getting close to the top of the field – roll on 2024. Happy New Year !

Five days past before I return to Bowood peg 7, more in hope rather than any thing else! The weather was still variable with sunny spells dotted among gloom, typical November I suppose!

Views from peg 7.

Any way peg 7 was tackled with the usual pike rod set out to about 20m and slightly to right of centre while the pole line was at 10 metres with a 1g Paster float but this time with a soft set Chinese hollow elastic of 1.6mm (about a 6-8 in our terms) to provide me with a bit of oomph if the tench showed but still okay for the small fish. With the water being very coloured still I cupped out three balls of groundbait with micros and wheat – no corn this time. I had white maggots with casters that had turned from them, 2mm and 4mm expander and wheat.The small fish were in a feeding mood but when I say small I mean tiny, some were dropping out as they were just holding on to the maggot! After about an hour or so the pike float didn’t go under but started “drifting” towards me, a quick ship back with the pole and picking the rod up I struck and felt a solid connection which initially kept very low and plodded before waking up and eventually coming to the net at 8-05.

That was the only pike action, fishing 9:15 to 12:30 saw me finish with 13 roach, 20 rudd, a gudgeon (a rarity for the main lake), 2 blades and 2 small perch for the princely total of 1-08. Like I said they were small!

Wednesday sees me back on 7, why 7 you ask when your favourite is 10? Well the weather has not been kind but it has been warm and I don’t think the fish have moved down to the deeper water yet. This session was a little later starting 9:45 to 12:45 and there was no sign of pike action anywhere. I decided to do something different and fished mainly expander on the same rig as previously ending with 16 roach, 4 roach and a blade for 1-09 which should have been more as I managed to be lazy and tried to swing in a roach of 6oz and didn’t learn my lesson and did the same with a skimmer later on!

Friday arrives and I decide to have a rest and see what Blacklands is fishing like. If it was okay I had in mind seeing if I could hold a match there in the future. I paid my peg fee at reception and went to peg 3 which was not where I thought it was! I had assumed from the map in reception that it was on far side of the bench whereas it was on the the toilet block side. More of a worry was the amount of leaves on the surface of the water, I managed to clear some with my landing net but it was still awkward at the start although the breeze picked up and drew a lot down to the left of me, but I was still left with a lot. The peg would have been difficult to fish with a rod!. I set up to fish at 7m in about 6 feet of water but rather than do my usual tactic of starting two swims, one with worm the other with micros, I opted for just starting on worm and feeding micros over the top due to the leaves. I had taken a mish mash of tackle- my match pole and the canal style matchbox seat but had forgotten to put in the cup to go with the cupping kit, so I improvised and had to use a toss pot!

I had tackled up with a home made float on 0.14mm line to 0.12mm hooklength and a 16 but after a biteless hour on worm and expander I decided I needed to take the advice I had given to sidestreambob and make some changes, namely the hooklength was changed to a 0.10mm and 20 hook. The expander was put on and I got out a bite to eat expecting a wait but within a couple of minutes the float slowly went under and a strike saw a skimmer of 1-06 come to the net so small changes can make a difference! I carried on and ended up with 9 roach and further skimmers of 0-14, 1-00 and 0-13 all bar one on expander for a total of between 5 and 5.5lb. I had started at 9:30 and ended at 12:50 as the wind had changed direction and was starting to move the carpet of leaves back in my direction.

Wednesday and Thursday were to be taken up with domestic duties so Tuesday 28th was the last chance in November, so with the turn in the weather I headed off to peg10 at Bowood. I was short of useable sardines so for a change put out a smelt of roughly the right size to about 13m. On the pole line I opted for a home made chianti style taking 0.4g and set the bulk about three feet from the hook with a number 8 and a number 10 dropper about a foot apart as the water was a lot clearer and I know from past experience that a slow sinking bait is better in these conditions even if it attracts the smaller fish. Only one ball of groundbait was introduced with a pinch of 2mm expanders and wheat and at 8:45 I settled back with double white maggot.

I didn’t have to wait long, indeed the first six put ins saw me put 5 small skimmers/blades in the net along with a tiny roach. It was good to see the skimmers as it showed the bream are still breeding for the future. After about forty minutes the pike float bobbed a few times before disappearing, a strike produced a short but spirited fight from a jack of 4-12 with a weal on it’s back where it had been attacked by something. That however was the end of the pike rod action but I did hook a pike on the pole, I am presuming it was a pike as it was a classic slow sinking with the strike producing a solid weight as if the bottom was hooked, the “bottom” then moves slowly off before realising it is hooked and starts making a run – then the hook pulls! I ended that last session at 11:45 on the pole with 21 rudd, 6 roach and 13 skimmers/blades for 2-08; some of the rudd and all bar two of the roach were very small – 3 or 4 to the ounce!

December calls but Wednesday I pick up a kilo of sardines from the fishmonger in Devizes that I can bag up in pairs and store in the freezer for future pike visits!

The weather just keeps getting worse with storm after storm turning the ground into an over full sponge and the water chocolate, despite this I decided to brave the weather on Friday 3rd and take the long trek up to the Stock Pond. I was shocked by the amount of sponginess in even the areas of thick grass with water oozing up under foot, this partly explained the full nature of the main lake and it’s horrible colour. Given the long trek I had opted to go light and took just a feeder rod and the whips along with the haversack seat, net bag and collapsible bait bucket. Setting up on the first peg I put a cage feeder loaded with groundbait, caster and chopped worm and a piece of worm tipped with caster off to the far right at an angle of 45 degrees, safe that as there are only two pegs, that was my water to fish anyway!

I set up a 6m Chinese whip with a no 2 “orange” float on 0.12mm line and a 0.10mm hook-length to an 18 and double maggot. I adjusted the shotting so the olivette was set about 3 feet from the hook with 3 no 9 droppers in the 6 feet or so of water which was not at all a bad colour and still was fairly clear. It took a little while to start to get bites and after 20 minutes I wound the feeder in to recast only to find a lip-hooked roach on the end. Anyway I had one more roach on the feeder, this time a bite I saw and struck at plus 51 roach on the whip to give me a total of 3-01 for my 2 and a half hour session. No photo as although I thought I took one there was nothing on the phone when I got back!

The following Tuesday I decided to try the main lake and I had a sneaky suspicion that the earlier pegs may fish as although the weather had been wet and wild it was fairly warm, to this end I parked myself on peg 7 for a session from 9:15 to 12:45. I was not particularly hopeful of getting pike but put the customary sardine out about 20m and set up the pole. The water level had dropped about 12 inches looking at the tide mark on the platform legs so I guess they had opened the sluice gate at the far end of the lake to relieve the pressure of all the additional water. I put in two balls of groundbait with just a pinch of micros and wheat and 4 or 5 kernels of corn and settled back to wait but it was not long before the float went under and a firm strike saw a decent amount of the number 4 elastic come out with what felt a good fish at the end, I slowly managed to coax it close in , unshipped and reached for the net when the hook pulled out! There was no slime on the line but I was sure it was one of the big old bream from the way it fought. I was beginning to regret going into “winter mode” with my elastic!

No further bites on the pole line but after 20 minutes the pike float (ie my pellet waggler) disappeared and a firm strike saw a good bend in the rod as a feisty 9-04 pike came to the net. This mollified my angst over the elastic choice to some extent as I had not been that hopeful of getting any pike.

Another sardine was sent out this time a bit closer at 15m and I returned to the pole getting a small roach almost immediately then nothing! An hour went by and the pole had produced one further roach (it was hard!) when the pike float skated off, this time I’ll let you see what happened!

Back to the pole and two further roach before I thought the pike float moved slowly to one side against the tow for a couple of inches. Bringing the pole in, I picked up the pike rod and waited, again the float hardly moved but there was a definite dip, this continued for a couple of minutes before the float disappeared and winding down the strike provided a strong response and another pike of 12-04 ended up on the bank! For a day that started with little hope of pike this was proving to be a good session!

Last cast of the day on the pole the elastic curse struck again with a strong fish hooked and lots of elastic out, slowly but surely I managed to get it closer in and saw it was a tench around the 5lb mark, getting the net in position spooked the tench which went on another run, again got it back in and almost in the net before it made a last gasp dash for the margin weed on my right where it managed to wrap itself around several stalks and although it was on for a couple of minutes in the weed I could not extract it and eventually it came off! I made the walk back to the car elated by the pike but frustrated by the two fish lost on the pole – that’s fishing I suppose!

Weather and various commitments saw me delay my return until the 13th just before storm Debi hit the following day. The wind was already very strong with severe gusts and I was questioning my sanity as the water was chocolate again and towing, the ground under foot was bad and the short 60m section between the car park field and the first pegs was churned up and the muddy track full of water six inches deep. The fishing did not get my mood any better, I learnt from the previous visit and had changed to a slightly stronger elastic more like a 6-8 but one roach and a bream of 1-07 were my only two proper bites, proper because I hit a bite as the float slid under and hit a good fish which turned out to be a good tench of around 6lb+ that was foul hooked in the tail. As you can imagine this led me a merry dance and it did a first for me as it went under the platform and snagged in the weeds behind me! I was not a happy bunny as I walked back to the car through the quagmire with just the two fish landed.

Wednesday saw me decide to leave Bowood for a bit as more rain only was likely to make it worse, the river was a non-starter so I headed for the K&A canal at Horton with the club exchange ticket in my pocket and the whips in tow! I managed to park up okay between the boaters’ cars and chose a peg with no boat opposite just passed the end of the slope. I set up a 4.5m Chinese whip but with a home made “Greenie” taking 6 no 8 and 3 no 11, 0.12mm main line to 0.10mm hook-length to an 18. Now Gareth had opened my eyes to fishing bigger baits so it was double maggot bait with two nuggets of groundbait to kick start and a pinch of micros and some of the casters from the maggots as loose feed every few minutes.

The day itself was sunny but sitting down on the peg I didn’t get any and with the wind I was freezing which told me it was time to get the winter clothes out! Anyway 6 boats (one was both directions), 4 cups of coffee and two hours of fishing saw me with 9 roach, 8 perch, 2 small skimmers and a rudd for 2-05.

It would have been a pleasant session if not for the cold. Still here is hoping the weather calms down a bit for the rest of the month.

Monday 16th arrives and for a change I head off to the Pondtail peg 1 fishing 2:40 to 4:28pm with the 4.5m Chinese whip and favorite “orange” float.

I kicked off with a nugget of groundbait from the left overs from Saturday’s match that I had sealed in a freezer bag and stored in the fridge. Double maggot was the bait and by loose feeding a few casters (left overs again) each put in and a nugget every so often I had an enjoyable session ending with 40 roach for 4-08. I was happy as I had set myself the target of 40 fish in two hours, so target met!

Returning on the Wednesday to the Pondtail I fished 9:20 to 11:40 and set myself a target of fifty fish in two hours, again fishing the whip and same rig and same bait. Well I ended up with 51 roach and 7 perch for 4-12 but not sure if I managed the fifty by the two hour mark as I forgot to look!

Friday arrives and we have been hit with heavy rain for a couple of days. The change in the Pondtail is dramatic (I never even considered the main lake due to the weather), the water has turned chocolate and is flowing.

I thought I may not be able to get on a platform let alone catch, but fortunately the water stopped a couple of inches short of the top of the platforms. I opted for peg 2 as I knew there would be a big back eddy on peg 1 as I had experienced it in the past. I settled on the same approach but with little hope of catching. Fishing from 10:30 to 1:00 it was not easy but I surprised myself and managed to get 17 roach and 3 perch for 1-13.

Monday sees me return to the main lake and peg 10, fishing 10 to 12:30. The pike rod was dispatched to the right and about 30 m away with the customary sardine on the two single hook homemade trace. The pole is set up at 10m and following an initial feed of 3 balls of groundbait with casters (the same ones!) and some micros and corn I start on double maggot while loose feeding a few pieces of wheat every few minutes. A couple of small blades and a roach end up in the net before the rudd arrived. At this point the pike float bobs and disappears, my first run of the new season, a strike meets a solid resistance and a pike about 6-7lb eventually surfaces about 10m out in front of me and the hook pulls out!

So back to the rudd which were very small with several dropping off as if they were just holding on to the maggot. About midday which seems to be the witching hour at Bowood, the pike float, now about 20m out and slightly to me right zips off. Metaphorically crossing my fingers I strike and the pike is on this time it gets into the net despite its best efforts to tangle me in the encroaching rushes by the platform. The first of the season weighs in at 9-04.

I ended up with 15 rudd, 3 blades and 5 roach that came to 1-06 so a 10-10 total. Highlight of the day was a swooping visit from one of the resident birds of prey (could have been a buzzard?)

More rain but it brightens a bit on Wednesday and for some strange unfathomable reason (or a bout of madness) I decide after lunch to go for an hour or so to the Marden in the town, or to be more accurate as it leaves the town. The water runs parallel at one point alongside the blocked off Calne Canal (Wilts/Berks as was!), now I made the silly decision to walk down the canal and join the Marden at the end – suffice to say I now have my SAS jungle training badge! Anyway I eventually managed to get to the river and tried a few areas with small slacks to no avail having taken just a landing net, rucksack seat, foldable bucket with maggots and worms and my Shakespeare Mach 1 bomb rod. Making my way back I dropped into my first swim and this time dropped a piece of worm just in the main flow. A knock took my interest but nothing materialised until I wound in to find the knock had been a bullhead that had managed to hook itself! A blank saved and my first bullhead for over 30 years .

I have mentioned that midday appears to be the witching hour and it continues to be so as another regular fishing the first swim after the island (peg20) hooked and landed one of 8lb (I think) while at exactly 12 (the bell was chiming) I had a run and hit a fish only for it to release the bait, or so I thought! On inspection I found that the top hook was missing but the wire and sleeve were intact! I still cannot see how the pike managed that magic trick.

Last visit of the month was back to peg 10 for a 9:15 to 12:15 session. However the water had now risen to virtually the top of the platform and was a horrible chocolate colour. The pike rod was dispatched with a sardine but with no real hope of a run. Now I for some reason decided to change my approach and the medium elastic that I had been using was left in the holdall and I got out my light number 4 elastic and put on a rig tied with 0.10mm hooklength and an 18 barbless. It was hard to say the least with 6 blades and 4 roach coming for a princely sum of 0-06! I did however lose two better fish, probably skimmers when the hook pulled close in. I must have been dazed as I had a period with no interest at all in bait despite previous attention from small blades and roach, that should have set the alarm bells ringing as it is usually a sign that bigger fish or a pike is in residence. Needless to say I had a slow bite and when I struck I thought it was a good fish and it then went solid and I began to think I had hooked the bottom only now the bottom was moving! The number 4 elastic was no match for this fish and although it went on one “walk-about” generally it was slow and ponderous. I played the fish for 4-5 minutes and got it in close, in that I was down to my top kit and the stonfo attachment was visible within netting range, when the hook pulled. The fish probably never realised it was hooked!

Storm Ciaran awaits us so Bowood may be even more full and chocolate!

October arrives and my thoughts begin to turn to pike, so Tuesday 3rd sees me at Bowood complete with pike gear. Peg 10 my favourite is taken by another regular also after pike so I decide to take a look at peg 8 but on getting on the platform it felt VERY spongy and with gaps in the boarding where it had rotted I made the decision to go on peg 9 which is still a decent distance of 10 but I did ask if it was okay first.

Pike rod depth adjusted and sardine attached to the two single barbless hook set up, at 9:15 I launched, rather more like lobbed, the sardine out to around 20m and began setting up the pole. I opted to continue with my heavier approach with the 1g bulk six inches from the 14 hook. A small rudd first put in sees me change to corn and it was a case of waiting for the bites, which were generally Polaris like lifts. I had 4 blades, 3 roach and 12 rudd for 3-14, however most of that weight was taken up by a beautiful rudd of 1-10. Pike – not a sniff!

The Friday arrives and I head off to Meadowlands Fishery just outside Coventry as I was organising a silvers match there on the 14th. Arriving just before 9am I had a word with the bailiff and confirmed the match was taking place, he said that they had lost some bookings as the clubs that had booked in suddenly folded! I bought a bag of micros as I wanted to try and see if I could get the bream feeding over micros. I had a drive around the whole lake making a mental note of what pegs had been suggested should be left out plus how that fitted in with a potential 24 taking part in the match. I decided to settle on peg 16 which had the wind blowing straight in at me and parked up behind the peg. I set up three rigs, the first on a 6-8 elastic was a light 0.2g float (the Peatmoor) to 0.12mm and 0.10mm hook-length with a 16, this was for a 2+2 line,. The second was a rig I had made up specially for the venue with 0.14mm to 0.12mm hook-length and a 16, this was coupled with a soft 6-10 elastic and was going to be my main approach with a bulk 12inches from the hook and a single number 8 dropper. The final rig was a Chianti style float taking 0.3g with strung out no 8 and 9 shot but with similar line and hook to my main rig, again coupled with a soft 8 elastic.

I began fishing just after 10am and planned to finish by 2:30 at the latest, in fact I finished at 1:45 as the weather was getting worse and the carp were a pain but more of that later. I put 3 balls of Sonubaits F1 sweet dark mixed 50-50 with Sonubaits Method Match laced with chopped worm and casters plus a few pieces of corn on the 10m line directly in front in approx 3.5ft to 4ft of water. I then put approx 100ml of wetted micros at 10m but at an angle (10 o’clock), this was my trial line to see if the carp would settle on that or would the bream. Some casters and wheat were thrown on the 2+2 line although I was not placing much faith in this line!

The day went quickly and I ended up with 22 bream/skimmers, seven roach, 8 perch and a gudgeon of my target fish for around 16lb. Carp appeared and I had 36lb+ plus lost two. The biggest landed was a battle scarred one of at least 10lb that was so ugly my camera stayed in my pocket!

The bulk of the fish came from directly in front, the angled line with micros produced only roach to maggot or expander, the short line produced a perch and a carp, after which I stopped fishing there! Best bait on the day was worm, but I caught on maggot, caster, corn and expander!

Sunday sees a rare excursion at the weekend to Bowood, I had the whole lake to myself and went on peg 10. Fishing like the last visit from 9:15 to 11:45 (I’d accepted it was one of those days by then!) it was a struggle with two half ounce rudd, one of about 5oz, another of 6oz a skimmer of 11oz and that was it, a 1-07 total!

Not to be deterred I was back on Tuesday but decided on a change and headed along the opposite bank to peg 23. This side is shallower closer in and means to get a depth of water around 6ft you need to fish at 13m. A similar set up to the opposite bank sees me manage 24 rudd and 6 roach on corn for a level 5lb but the star was another cracking rudd of 1-07. No pike again, need to have some consistent cooler weather I think.

Saturday 14th arrives and I’m back at Meadowlands having left at silly o’clock to get there at 8am for a 9am draw! The weather had not been kind to us as there had been very heavy rain on Friday plus the coldest night for some time which I hoped (wrongly) would calm the carp down and allow the bream to feed.

Money sorted and draw done I was sat at peg 24 ready to start by 9:45 for an 11am start!

I had set up 3 similar rigs to my previous visit but this time could only find 2.5ft of water! Feeding in a similar way at the all-in I began to get worried when after 10 minutes on maggot I was still waiting for a fish, a switch to worm head brought me a few bites but managed to drop off the first 3 fish hooked at which point I swapped to my lighter rig (0.12 to 0.10mm) I began to get a few fish on my main line but kept getting disturbed by carp. To cut a long story short I weighed in 13-10 of silvers, mainly small skimmers, but landed over 36lb of carp, the best being 8-9lb and lost a further 5 that snapped me. The peg on my right fished longer at 13m but then fished short for the last hour as he was also plagued by carp as were most, he ended up with 27-13 and was second overall to a weight of 33-13. The peg on my left had 10-05, in fact the top three weights were the pegs to my right 20, 21 and 23. Still it was a nice day’s fishing.

Pike I hope will be a feature next time!

A Meadowlands carp

Tuesday 19th sees me head to the Pondtail for a session on peg 2 from 9 to 11:15 but this time fishing a waggler. I had bought a 10ft Frenzee FXT+ match on spec when it was on offer at just £20 and Gareth and I had used it to trot a waggler down the Marden and also on the Stock Pond which it handled both scenarios admirably so I had grabbed it for today’s session as it was already set up (as is the case with all my rods),

Fishing about 3-4 rod lengths out into approx 6-7ft of water, I started on double maggot on the 16 hook and was soon into fish responding to the nuggets of groundbait and wheat I was feeding. After 21 roach, four perch and two gudgeon I switched to corn and although the bites were slower in coming the stamp of fish improved with a further 14 roach being added to the net for a 5-06 total.

With the three day MFSReborn Festival coming up, I decided to head for Monkhall Fishery just outside Bridgnorth on the Friday. I paid my peg fee and bought some pellet while having a chat with the manager and confirming the arrangements for the festival.I headed up to Buzzard pool and opted for peg 8 at the far end with the wind blowing directly in my face. There was only one other angler there on about peg 13. I fished from 10am to 2:15and decided to concentrate on two lines/methods. The first was to fish paste at 2+2 range and the second was to fish the right hand margin but trying a different feeding approach to the one I usually adopt. The paste line was tackled with 0.16mm line to a 14 using a homemade 0.6g rugby ball style float. Groundbait is not allowed nor is feeding paste but you are able to fish paste which tends to be self feeding anyway! So each put in I added a pinch of softened 4mm pellets and after the third put in I had my first indications that resulted in a carp of 4-5lb.

The manager had said that people tend to underestimate the fish and it is common for anglers to be over the 60lb net limit, this certainly rang true as that first carp looked about 2-3lb but when lifted the weight of the fish showed it to be almost double what it appeared,

I continued on the paste for about an hour and a half getting plenty of indications and fish before trying the margin, toss-potting in a small nugget of over dampened micros each put in with corn on the 14 hook again to 0.16mm line and a small homemade 0.5g BGT1 style float. The wind was proving a little awkward as it was blowing a lot of reed stems into the bank but I persevered but although I was getting bites and fish it was not as good as the paste line with too many fish foul hooked.

For the last hour I went back on the paste line and apart from a rogue barbel I had mainly carp up to 8-9lb and the odd F1 up to 2lb. I clicked 77lb which I was happy with given I tried various things during the stay in order to see what was most productive or indeed worked.

The time in between was used sorting out my tackle and preparing for the visit. I had booked an annex in Oldbury for the stay as it was on the right side of Bridgnorth and was about 15-20 mins a way from the venue. Wednesday arrived and having collected the money and gone through the details of the festival I got the draw underway. I tend as organiser to take the last peg and in this case it put me on Buzzard peg 5 which I was quite happy with, especially as it is the one lake that you can park behind your peg and today we would be facing storm Agnes!

As expected we had light rain at times during a cold gloomy and windy day. I fished the same as previously and although it was a lot harder and the margins did not work for me I managed 52-10 off the paste line and 4th in the 5 peg section. At this point I should mention that apart from the usual section and overall pools money available there was a very generous sponsorship of £500 made by one of our members Andy Winters and this was going to be split into 5x £100 to be fished for in five seeded groups of four. Now as I was in the lowest group it was a positive result to come 4th! Also I had on one side of me Fishomania Finalist Wayne Kearney and on the other the bagging machine that is Chris Martin! The wooden structure you can see in the picture on the left holds landing nets and keepnets – you must use the fishery provided ones and not bring any nets on to the site.

Day 2 sees me draw Swallow peg 10 with the weather still overcast but dry and less wind! Fishing the paste for three hours and the margin for two sees me put a mixed bag of carp and F1s on the scales for 80-08 and another 4pts, once again I was flanked by Chris Martin and this time Al Rutherford, another bagging machine!

The final day arrives and the pressure is on as I need to sort all the results asap at the end and then payout the 34 brown envelopes! As we had Buzzard and Hawk on days 1 and 3 with Swallow and Owl on day 2, we fish the other pool to the one we fished on day 1 so this time I end up on Hawk 2 with once again Wayne Kearney on my left on peg 1 and Al Rutherford on my right on peg 4! Wayne fished shallow for most of the match apart from the last hour when he turned to the margins and despite going over in three of his nets still weighed in 234LB ! Anyway I know my limitations and fishing shallow is not my forte so predictably I started on the paste line only to struggle with just two fish in the first half hour and no indications. This prompted me to start a new line to my right with just my top kit halfway down the slope fishing worm, this accounted for a few carp and by rotating the two margins plus the top kit line with the odd look on paste I ended up with 83-06, 80lb of which were carp/F1s and the remaining 3-06 made up of two perch, two little skimmers, a small crucian, two small carp and a big ide.

I had arranged for the boards from Buzzard to be brought to me at Hawk and I sat in the car to do the results away from prying eyes and distractions. I then joined the group in the Old Canteen on site and announced the results. The overall winner was James Howarth with a perfect score of 3 points and a total weight 568-10. Surprisingly I managed to win my group of 4 and went home happy at my windfall but disappointed I did not manage to quite get to the ton!

October is here and Bowood awaits with its pike!

First day of September and I trundled off to peg 7 at Bowood, fishing 9:15 to 12:15. My rationale was as the weather was looking as if it may turn then the fish would start moving into the deeper water. Beginning in my usual way with a 1g Paster float with the bulked shot six inches from a 14 hook to counteract any subsurface weed I started off on corn over the top of three balls of groundbait with a liberal helping of wheat, hemp and micros plus a few grains of corn. It took about twenty minutes for the first indications to appear and a lift of the float signaled a bream of 2-03 coming to the net. Sport was not frantic but was consistent with the odd rudd interspersed amongst a further five bream and a tench of 4lb, plus a further tench lost in the weed. The session ended with a total of 19-14, the 0-14 being made up of 10 rudd however for some reason the photo taken on the phone did not save for some reason! So at home I managed to get a shot of the card I use to record the fish.

It wasn’t until the 6th that I returned to Bowood, unloading the car at the gate half way up what my wife has termed Satan’s Slope I find there is now a lock on the gate. Faced with unpacking the trolley, trying to get things over the fence and then walking down to the lake didn’t appeal as I would have to repeat the process on my way back after the long trudge up the steeply sloping field. (the large tree you see in the centre of the pic is roughly halfway in the first field, from that point it slopes down sharply to the level of the lake)

I decided that discretion was the better part of valour as I knew physically it would take too much out of me as lifting still causes me issues. Faced with returning home or rolling the tackle down Satan’s Slope and fishing the Pondtail – I decided that was manageable.

Having finally set up on peg 1 I was fishing pole out at 10m directly in front but also found the same depth of about 6 feet at an angle to my right alongside some lilies. My rig was a home made Chianti style float taking 0.5g made up of a small bulk just below half depth then 3 droppers to a size 16 on a 0.12mm hook length. I began on double maggot at 9am but after a slowish start I swapped to corn which proved as slow but a better stamp of fish. The line directly in front was not floating my boat, so to speak, and as I had primed the right hand swim with a couple of balls of groundbait and loose fed wheat I went over there with corn and got an immediate response. I occasionally tried maggot but apart from losing a 1lb+ perch at the net the fish tended to be smaller. By the time I packed up at 12 I had managed 32 roach and a small perch , all bar 8 on corn for 5-12. I phoned the estate office on my return to query the lock and after explaining my situation they agreed to not lock the gate as the access point they suggested was a kissing gate that you can not get through with tackle!

It wasn’t until the 15th that I could get out again following a short break to Yorkshire. After a couple of cooler nights I headed for peg 10 for the first time this season through a now unlocked gate!Fishing 9:45 to 12:30 I opted for a 1g Paster in the 9ft of water. Three balls with wheat, hemp and a few grains of corn were introduced, double maggot on the hook and then nothing! Now this led me to hope that bigger fish were already in situ, so on went the corn and after ten minutes I got a rudd! In what turned out to be a disappointing session I had 14 rudd, 7 small skimmers and 3 roach for 2-04. On reflection I think the larger fish are still down in the shallows and I would have been better fishing a peg in the 4-7 area. Still you live and learn!

End of the month sees me at Monkhall at Bridgenorth for a 3 day MFS festival.