This weeks Sunday Open was just on the Moorhen pool. I drew peg 3 the same peg from the previous week where I had 87lb but struggled to compete as the wind was blowing down to the other end of the pool. This week there was no wind so I hoped to catch more than the week before.

I just set up for hard pellets on a couple of lines out in front of me and the righthand margin close in to the bank under a bush were I planned to fish dead red maggots.

I started on hard pellets where I caught straight away catching small F1’s and some nice Tench but despite catching fish they were a little on the small side and not really weight builders. So after an hour or so I decided to feed my right hand margin with some micro pellet and a few dead red maggots. Within 10 minutes I noticed a few swirls so I couldn’t help myself trying to catch a big edge dweller and it wasn’t long before I caught one! So here is where I stayed for the rest of the match. Feeding a large cad pot of dead red maggot and micro every put in. fishing 5 dead reds on the hook in about 10 inches of water right in tight to the bank under a bush. I was catching OK adding several big F1’s and the odd small Carp and big Skimmers. After a couple of hours I was getting too many fish in the swim with their heads down and tails up out of the water waving at me. They got a little difficult to catch and I slowed down the feed, cutting down the micro’s and just feeding the dead reds but foul hookers were to be expected and I lost several fish. Then come the last hour a few big boys turned up and I caught around 35lb in the last 45 minutes.

This give me a total weight of 116lb 7oz which was enough to come 3rd overall. I just wish those big edge dwellers turned up a little earlier.

Best rig of the day

This was the margin rig. A 4×14 Preston online Edge pole float set up on 0.19mm mainline with a bulk of stotz’s above a cut down to 4 inches Preston size 12 (o.17mm) XSH Ready Rig. Used on an short Garbolino Margin kit elasticated with 15 Dura slip elastic.