This match was split over the Windmill and Ash pool’s at Manor Farm Leisure. I fancied fishing Ash as I don’t really like Windmill pool which is very deep on some pegs. I drew Ash 20 a renowned flyer and the first time I’d ever drawn it. So I looked forward to hopefully catching a few.

Starting on Hard Pellets

The plan was fish the pole with hard pellets for the first half of the match for F1’s and then switch to the margin for some Carp in the latter half of the match. I plumbed up long and short pole lines but I had to settle on a short 2+2 line after the first 30 minutes due to a strong cross wind from left to right. I caught steady here. not many F1’s but the one’s I did catch were a decent stamp of fish and I was happy to be just picking off the odd F1’s every now and again. But I knew I would need some Carp if I was going to frame.

Switching to the right margin (big mistake)

The right hand margin plumbed up great, about 18 inches deep and nice and flat. So planned to fish meat here. So 20 minutes before trying it I began to loose feed a few cubes of 6mm meat into the margin. Then when I tried it for the fist time cad potting in a few 6mm cubes of meat in over the same on the hook. My float buried after 10 seconds and my 19 Dura Slip elastic gushed out.

It this point a realized a big problem! Carp were obviously in the margins but the bank was undercut and the first hooked carp knew exactly where to go, straight under the bank rubbing on the tree roots and my strong size 12 hook length tied to 0.17mm line was no match and quickly broke. So I quickly changed to a new hook length and repeated feeding a few cubes of 6mm meat and yes you guessed right after another 10 seconds out gushed my orange 19 Dura slip with another carp darting straight under the bank and another hook length gone. I did finally catch a couple of F1’s and a big Skimmer but every time I hooked a big carp it was game over. I was spending to far to long re tying hook lengths all the time and in the end I just give up and returned to catching the F1’s on hard pellets on the short pole for the last hour. I did catch some more F1’s but when the all out came I only had F1’s and a few Silvers in the keepnets. No Carp and on a mixed fishery in the summer you really do need to catch some Carp to compete. But luckily some of those F1’s were a decent size and weighed in at 51lb 8oz which was enough to claim the last brown envelope on offer. After the match I was told no one fishes the right hand margin because of the undercut bank. Well you live and learn I guess !!

Best Rig of the day

This was the F1 rig in 4 foot of water at 2+2 straight out in front of me. This was a 4×14 Preston F1 Maggot float tied on 0.17mm mainline with a strung out no. 9’s and 10 shot above a 4 inch Preston size 16 (0.13mm) GPM banded Ready rig set up on 11 Green Dura Slip elastic though a standard power kit.