This match was probably the most enjoyable days fishing of the year so far.   

I started the match long on the pole at 13 metres trying to catch carp on the bottom and shallow but it soon became clear that the carp were not feeding. I spent the first hour doing this with very little in the keep nets. 

A change was needed. I’d been loose feeding my 2+2 line with hard 4mm pellets where I’d planned to fish here later in the match. So I tried this line next. After a few minutes I began getting getting the odd bite off a few F1’s but I was bumping them off. I was on a 12-16 elastic with a carp rig (0.17mm main line with a size 14 hook with an 0.15 hook length)  

At this point with hardly anyone catching carp on my pool (Heron) I decided to go for the F1’s with proper F1 gear. I got off my seat box and went into my rod bag for a top kit fitted with white hydro and tied on a lighter F1 rig. I never looked back catching F1’s here for the rest of the day. 

I had two good looking margins to the left and right which I am sure would have produced a few carp but I was really enjoying catching and playing the F1’s on the light gear. So I stayed on this same line. It just didn’t slow down and with careful feeding of 4mm pellet I was able to keep them coming for the rest of the match. Hook bait was a banded 6mm pellet. 

Come the weigh in my 122lb was enough to win the pool/section.   

F1 Rig – 0.3g Nick Gilbert Power Jordan pole float set up on 0.15mm N Gauge main line with a small bulk of no.9 Stotz’s with 2 no. 10 dropper shot above a 6 inch Size 16 0.13mm Guru SLWG Ready rig. Set up on White Hydro.