My last match of the year saw me return to Woodland View for the Sunday open, this week held on Front and Back Deans.   

I planned a simple match with maggots to catch “anything that swims” as the fishing on this pool has been quite hard lately.  

So I set up a maggot rig to fish 14.5 metres over two lines at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock. With the plan to alternate between the two lines. This tactic worked well for me the previous week at this venues fur and feather match where I finished 3rd and won my section/pool. 

That was off Front Deans but I was pegged on Back Deans 44 this time but I felt I was at the right end of the pool this time. 

I had a good start catching a Carp around 4lb and a few stockie F1’s and Skimmers during the first hour before it slowed down. I noted this was the same for the other anglers on the opposite bank, so I just put this down to the fish not feeding. So I cut down the loose feeding I’d been doing via a sprinkle pot.  

I then struggled for the middle part of the match just catching the odd Skimmer and Roach. I did try other methods at this point fishing expanders over micro pellet, corn in the margin and the Bomb but I never got any bites. 

Going into the last hour I felt the fish would come on the feed and I noted several fish were now been caught around the pool. So I changed my feeding and started to catapult in maggots over a large area. This seemed to work and I began catching some of the F1’s that had disappeared earlier. I felt they were back on the feed so I began to feed a little more via the catapult. 

I was now catching again now, F1’s Skimmers and a few Roach. But I managed to catch 3 more Carp in this last hour feeding and alternating between the two lines.  

I knew the anglers on the flyer end pegs were catching carp and I realised one of these would probably win the match so I was happy enough just to keep my head down and catch what I could and aim for a section win.  I weighed in 32lb 4oz which was enough to pick up a section win by double default !! as 1st and 2nd were in my section. 

This was another nice days fishing. Fishing in the last week of the year can be hard but at least this maggot “catch all that swims approach” gives you plenty of bites.   

Maggot rig – 0.4g Nick Gilbert NG XT Finesse Carbon HD pole float set up on 0.15m Guru N-Gaue mainline with tapered out shotting in the last 2 foot of water. The hook length was 0.13mm tied to a size 18 Guru LWG spade end hook. baited with 2 or 3 red maggots. Set up on 6-8 F1 Orange Hydro through a Short Stop Kit.