Category: Woodland View

This Sunday I went over to Woodland View for the Sunday Open. With a lot a clubs fishing on various pools across the complex as you get in the summer months the open match saw 22 anglers spilt over Front Dean and Hay pool this time.

Now that the covid restrictions have been lifted at was nice to finally draw my own peg this week. My hand pulled out Hay 8 which isn’t a bad area. Only problem was I’d forgotten to bring my trolley and it’s a bit of a walk from the top car park to Hay.

On the plus side Jason Powell a venue expert who consistently picks up at Woodland View and various other places lent me his trolley up at the top car park which was good of him but the bad news was he’d drawn to next peg to me. It was now going to be tough for me to do well with Jas being in my section. But then it got worse when I arrived at my peg. Kev Slade was setting up on the other side of me. Kev is the main man at Woodland View and always the man the beat, which isn’t very often. So the pressure was well and truly on.

The match began and Kev was soon into fish. I’d caught a few small F1’s and Carp but I couldn’t really see what Jas and Kev were up to. My peg had a Willow tree either side of me so if I was going to be Chip Shopped (Battered both sides) at least I wasn’t going to have to watch them bag up. Being blinkered on my peg also didn’t help. I couldn’t see what they were doing, fishing long, short, shallow or the margins. I really didn’t know how I was doing in the match. I was catching fish OK but because I couldn’t see anyone else I really couldn’t gauge how I was doing. For all I knew I was doing alright. I caught in spells mainly on hard pellets. but I really I was never in the race. The good news is I know why and will put this into practise next time. I caught plenty of fish just the wrong size.

I weighed in 63lb, Kev was 2nd in the match with 180lb and Jas won the section with 104lb even though both were claiming 50lb as we waited for the scales. (Both of them couldn’t lie straight in bed) so I had a right chip shop match (battered both sides) Not really worth me blogging about how I caught my fish this week I got it wrong! I Broke a top kit too, the first time I’ve done that for a few years, but at least it didn’t rain!

So a short write-up this week.

This Sunday saw me travel over to Woodland View for the Sunday Open. This week spread over Back Deans and High pools.

Back Deans hadn’t fished well the previous day with only 40lb winning the pool then so I hoped to draw on High pool, which I did and home for the day was peg 8. This is a deep peg at around 6 foot at 2×2 and even deeper further out. Weather conditions were warm around 20 degrees and the sun was out. So I set out my stall to fish my 2+2 line with hard pellets, 2+1 soft pellets over fishery micro and corn over micro into the right margin. As it was warm and sunny I also set up 4 shallows rigs for F1’s should the carp not feeding.

At the all in I big potted in fishery micro in the short 2+1 line and the right margin and started on the 2+2 line, cad potting in 6mm pellets with a 6mm hard pellet on the hook. This produced a couple of carp in the first hour but it was clear the carp weren’t there yet. So I began priming my long shallow pole line with 4mm pellets after 30 minutes and I went out to 14.5 metres 30 minutes later. I had 4 shallow rigs set up and the 12 inch depth proved to be best. Hook pellet was a 4mm Dynamite Baits Red Robin. This was much better now and I was catching mainly small F1’s and a few roach.

Shallow set up

Back to trying to catch Carp

3 hours in and although fishing this long shallow line for F1’s was fun I’d noted that a few carp were now beginning to be caught by anglers fishing short. These F1’s weren’t going to win me anything. I needed some carp. I had been feeding the short 2+1 line with fishery micro’s and also the margins since the start of the match, re-feeding these lines very 30 minutes to give them some confidence. Bigger fish where expected here so both rigs were tied up on 0.19mm to 0.15mm hook lengths and size 14 hooks. Bait wise I’d dyed some 6mm and 8mm Sonu baits soft expanders blue to match the blue fishery pellets and these lines produced a few carp around 3lb – 4lb but it was a waiting game for them and I probably sat here for to long before giving up these lines. I returned to the short 2+2 where I’d started the match and I couldn’t catch here either. However during striking on a couple of float dips I foul hooked a couple of carp up in the water before loosing them.

Shallow Pellet line

So with 45 minutes left in the match and with those short bottom lines not producing and thinking about those two foul hooked fish up in the water decided to fish short for them. I had those 4 shallow kits set up and I just needed to find what depth the fish were sat it. I started throwing 4mm’s by hand and fished at 3+2 with my deepest shallow rig set at 2 foot deep. The rig was the same as earlier but with a bristled float. A Preston F1 Shallow. I began to catch some F1’s and some small Carp now but as the last 20 minutes progressed with the regular feeding of 4mm’s I began to miss a lot of bites. I was now fishing to deep. A quick switch to the 12 inch dibber rig put me back in contact with the fish.

Good fishing but to late!

So I had a good last 45 minutes catching Carp and F1’s short shallow again with a Dynamite Baits Red Robin hook bait.. This gave me 51lb at the weigh in only for me to find the section was won with 51lb 8oz. I wasted to much time trying to catch some bigger carp. Where if I’d have returned shallow earlier I’d have taken the section. But that’s match fishing, you need to make the right decisions at the right time. This last 45 minutes was a real bagging session but sadly to short. But still a good days fishing though and home in time to watch England v Italy in the Euro final. but the less said about that the better! It went Rome!

Last Sunday it was back to Woodland View for the Open. Another good attendance saw 34 anglers spread over Back Deans, Hay and Arles pools. I quite fancied Hay pool. I’ve not fished it many times before and this time Mick actually drew me peg 6 on Hay from the Car Park, as per the Covid restrictions.

It’s a little walk to Hay and I’d forgotten my shuttle this week but with the large amount of anglers fishing we were given an hour and a half to get to our pegs and set up for the match.. So I had plenty of time.

On arrival at my peg planned long and short pole lines with hard pellets on the bottom, margins left and right and a 2+1 line with micro and corn. Being a canal/snake style pool I also set up a small pellet feeder for throwing over to the far bank which was about 20 metres away and out of pole range.

Weather wise is was overcast and mild with a gentle breeze. I’d seen a few small fish topping but with no carp cruising around I left my shallow kits in the holdall. But being already set up I could easily get them out if needed. Talking to the other anglers on the bank before the all-in it appeared the big carp were down the other end of the pool but I still hoped for a good day.

Starting on the Pellet Feeder

I started on the pellet feeder fishing a small 30g Preston ICS pellet feeder loaded with fishery micro and a 6mm pellet on a 4 inch size 16 0.17mm Preston KKM-B Banded Ready rig. I began to catch a few small F1’s straight from the start. But no Carp. The angler to my left had also started well but he was on the pole half way across. I wanted to continue with pellet feeder approach as it’s a method I don’t fish that often but it soon began apparent more fish could be caught on the pole so reluctantly I switched to the pole next.

Long/short Pole lines

The angler next to me was catching a few small F1’s on the pole at 13 metres on the bottom so I copied him next! I opted to fish a banded 6mm fishery pellet while feeding a few 6mm’s via a cad pot hoping for a better stamp of fish than the other angler was catching. I felt feeding 4mm’s would only draw in small fish. The set up in approximately 5 foot of water was an 4×14 Carp Pellet pole float on 0.17mm Guru N Gauge mainline with strung out shotting on the bottom half of the rig with a size 16 Guru 0.13mm SLWG banded Ready rig, set up on Preston Red 15 Dura Slip. (love this elastic). Plumbing around my long and short poles I had the same depth of water. So I plumbed up to the body of the pole float for fishing dead depth. I caught a few on the long line but these were only small F1’s so I began to prime my short line, again with 6mm’s hoping for a better stamp of fish closer in but I could only catch small F1’s. I need some carp!

Time for the margins

Two hours in to the match I had a look short in the left and right margins and my short 2×1 line. I’d been feeding big pots of corn and micro every half hour since the start of the match hoping to give the fish confidence before fishing here. The right hand margin with double corn hook bait proved to be the best. I caught a 8lb carp, a couple of big Skimmers and two small Carp. But that was it and I probably stayed on this line for two long. The fish weren’t coming on to feed. The margin rig was a 4×14 Preston Edge pole float (ideal with it’s 2.5mm bristle) on 0.19 Guru N Gauge with a bulk above a 4 inch cut down Size 14 Preston XSH Ready Rig. set up on 19 Hollo and the 2+1 line was a 4g Guru Diamond which gives the rig good stability over a pile of bait again with a size 14 Preston XSH Ready Rig.

The fishing wasn’t great though and I thought the fish weren’t coming on to the top shelf of the margin so I tried my short 2+1 line at the bottom of the shelf next, again with double corn but this only produced a couple of small F1’s.

Back to the Hard pellet short line

With a hour of the match left it was clear the big carp weren’t feeding. Just small F1’s and the odd small Carp. So I returned to the short hard pellet line to pick off what I could and try for a section win. I’d still been feeding it with the 6mm’s and sometimes the bigger carp can show up late here. I began to catch again but still only small carp and F1’s. But at least I was catching a few. I finished the match of here weighing in 51lb which was just the one big carp from the margin and the rest were small F1’s and carp. I just missed the section win finishing 2nd in the section this time, for just a days fishing.

Really looking back on the day and should have stayed on the short hard pellet line catching the small F1’s and carp and building a weight. The time spent in the margins hoping for the big fish to turn up cost me a brown envelope this week as it turned out the big carp didn’t feed on this day and most anglers struggled to build big weights this time.

This week had seen the fish spawning at Woodland View. So the fishing was always going to be interesting and so it proved.

The Open was held on Front and Back Deans with me drawing the front bank of Deans again. Having drawn this area for the last 3 times and I’ve struggled to put a decent bag together from this area. This time peg 10 was home for the day but I did have more room this time with spare pegs available either side of me.

I set up rigs for the margins, short lines, 2×2 and 2×1. With options of replumbing up further out if needed as there wasn’t much of a change in depth going out into the pool. Normally catching on a short line works well at Woodland View. So at the all in I fed my left margin and my 2×1 line with a large pot of micro’s for later in the match, which I planned to top up each half hour and started on my 2×2 line with hard pellet.

The Rig

The rig was a 4×14 Preston Carp Pellet on 0.17mm Guru N Gauge main line with a spread bulk above a size 16 (o.13mm) Guru SWLG banded ready rig set up on a 15 Preston Dura slip elastic, though a puller top kit.

I caught a few small F1 stockies during the first hour here, Cad potting in fishery 4mm’s but the fishing was slow and looking around the pool, everybody else was also struggling. I needed to move and I added another section on to 2×3 replumbed up and continued with a 6mm hard pellet on the hook. This was a little better and I caught a couple of carp and some more smaller stockies, but still not good. But at least it was the same for all. A week of spawning fish had played it’s part.

After an hour I decided to go long shipping out to 13 metres and replumbed up fishing on bottom but with strung out shotting a could fish through all the layers of water. I changed the feed pellets to 6mm’s and waited for a response.

This proved to be the right choice as I began to catch some more small carp and stockies and estimated I had about 30lb two hours into the match which looking around seemed to be better than the other anglers on the pool. Most of these anglers were still fishing short or shallow with little return so I was happy to continue to pick some fish off the 13 metre line.

Another hour in I was catching a few, mainly stockies with the odd carp. I melt there were a few carp to be caught and I began to ping over a few 6mm’s with the catty hoping to draw in some larger carp. This worked to some degree and the stamp of fish I was catching improved. I even caught a few carp on the drop and I considered going shallow for them but opted to continue what I was doing as I seemed to be winning the pool. However I’d now noted the angler in the corner opposite on a good peg was also catching now.

3 hours in the 13 metre line was slowing up and it was time for a look short in the margins and the 2×1 line were I’d been feeding micro’s every half hour. I tried here first with a 8mm Sonubaits 8mm expander, dyed blue to match the fishery feed pellets. First put in the float buried straight down and my elastic stretched out with a bigger carp. Rig wise I was geared up for big carp. 0.19mm to 15mm with a 14 Preston GPM hook and a heavier elastic so I was able to give the fish a little more force before he ended up in the keepnet.

At this point I thought, great they’ve turned up. and I hoped for a bagging couple of hours. But no I’m not that lucky!! It was the only fish I caught here after waiting 30 minutes more. I tried the margin next which only produced a ‘flying Skimmer’. My catch rate had now dropped right down. I’d tried to catch short but only had the one carp here.

So it was decision time. Do I stick with it or return to the 13 metre line for the last 45 minutes. The other anglers were catching me up. especially the angler on the opposite bank in the corner and I hadn’t put much in the keep net for the last hour.

So back out to 13 metres I went. I caught a few more small carp here after a 15 minute wait thinking I’d made the wrong decision. I probably added 10lb before the all out came.

At the weight in I had 50lb to beat in my section with one more angler to weigh in after me but he was on a flyer end peg. First weigh with my stockies and small carp went to 20lb and I needed 30lb+ The 2nd net sent the scales around to 47lb giving me 67lb all together. So I hoped for the section win. It turned out the last angler only had 30lb so I had my section at least.

The talk around the pool was that this may be enough to win the match as Back Deans had also been a struggle for all. It was the angler on the opposite corner I had to worry about and he was the last to weigh in on Front Deans.

He weighed in 69lb for the win relegating me to 2nd place overall. I just needed one more Carp! But I was happy to take a brown envelope home anyway. The hour fishing short for little return had cost me the win.

This week I fished Woodland View’s Fur and Feather match. Always a good turn out for these matches and this week 30 anglers were spread over Front and Back Deans. 

I drew FD23 a decent area but not the best as the carp shoal up in the winter and the corner pegs normally throw up a good weight and so it proved. 

On arrival at my peg the recent heavy rain had turned the paths around the pool a mud bath and my kit was covered in mud after the match, but that’s winter fishing and can’t be helped. 

The plan was to fish for anything with maggots, No cash prizes up for grabs in this match as all the pools go towards the prizes so I wanted to catch as much as I could, I set up a pole rig at 14.5 metres, a 4×16 Preston F1 Fine pole float on 0.13mm mainline with a strung out no. 8 and no,10;s to a size 18  0.11mm Preston SFL (ready rig)  This same rig for the short line but a 4×14 as it was a little shallower at 5 foot and a 4×12 for the inside line. 

I began cad potting in several maggots and a small ball of fishery micro’s on the long pole line and began catching small stockie’s and the odd small F1 on double red maggot for the next hour but then the angler on the end peg flyer began to catch proper Carp now. Although I was catching well these stockie’s weren’t going to compete with carp being caught. So I switched to corn skin hook bait for the next 30 minutes hoping for a carp on the drop as I was fishing though the water and a corn skin still sinks slow through the depths of water.  This didn’t work I was still catching the stockies but at a lower catch rate. It wasn’t working. So I tried triple red maggot on the hook next and began feeding maggot with a catapult next rather than cad potting in the maggots. No change to luck  now I was still catching small stockie’s and F1’s but my catch rate hadn’t improved when fishing the corn.

Now at the half way point in the match, the two end pegs on my end of the pool were now catching carp as expected and were pulling away from the rest of us A section win was all that I could hope for now so I returned to the double red maggot hook bait and carried on catching the stockies. At least I was catching well and building a weight and there was still a change of catching a carp at any time. I stayed on this long line but began feeding my short line with maggots hoping for a good last hour there which sometimes can be brilliant. 

I did finally hook a carp on the long line next. My no.11 Dura slip elastic stretched out, This was my bonus fish! I needed to get it out so I took my time with it and after several minutes I placed a 6lb Carp in the keepnet. This probably doubled my weight now and I hoped for another. But the low winter sun had finally come out now and my peg was pointing directly at the sun. With the ripple on the water I just couldn’t see my float but as I’d finally caught a carp I persevered with the long line with a view to switching to the short line a little sooner and I added another small carp after another 30 minutes, plus more stockies but I really couldn’t see my float now. It was time to switch to the short line. 

This was much better. I could see my float now and it was now into the last hour of the match. I hoped for a few bites otherwise the maggot feeder would come into play for the long line. I caught a few more small F1’s here so I decided to finish off the match here, catching a few more stockie’s and silvers. Then with 15 minutes to go I hooked a small carp but pulled out of it. I should have taken my time but with only 15 minutes left in the match I bullied it to much hoping to catch another and it was lost. (Bad angling) I shipped back out and then hooked another on the all out. You get time to play a fish after the all out so having just lost a small carp I didn’t want to lose this one and I took my rime. But you’ve guessed it, I pulled out!! 

So that was it. I knew the end peg flyer had already beaten me but if he mainframed, would those to two lost carp cost me an default section win? He actually won the match with 85lb and my 27lb of small stockies and F1’s plus the two carp already caught was enough to pick up the default section. So a good day and my Christmas goodie bag (which everybody gets) was enhanced with a few more Christmas goodies to eat over Christmas and the New Year. 

Woodland View really do look after there regulars with some great Fur and Feather prizes for all fishing and the complimentary Soup and Bread before the prizes were handed out really warmed us all up after the cold winters day fishing. Thank you Woodland View.   

This week I travelled over to Woodland View for their Sunday Open match with a good turnout spread over Front and Back Deans. 

The weather was horrible, wind and rain was forecast all day but the temperature was up a little from last week so I hoped some fish would be feeding. I drew peg 5 on Front Deans an area that hasn’t produced in recent weeks so I though it would be tough going this time. No Carp had been caught in this area the previous week. However this was a end peg and I had plenty of room so I was a little hopeful. 

I setup a light rig for fishing maggots or corn on the drop. This was Preston 4×14 F1 Fine pole float as it has a thin 1.2mm bristle to show up the smallest of bites and also a carbon stem to follow the lightly spread shotted no.10’s and no,11’s though the depths of the swim. Main line was 0.13mm to a light size 18 Preston SFL hook on a 6 inch 0.11mm Ready rig. Elastic choice was a Preston 11 Dura Slip which would give me half a chance of getting Carp on a light hook length out but also soft enough for silvers which would probably come into play this week. 

I also set up a heavier rig for soft pellets and corn as the temperature was warmer this week and a margin rig for fishing down the self in the deeper water. If things didn’t go to plan or if the wind became to bad for the long pole I had bomb rod on stand by for fishing bread or corn out into the middle of the pool. 

I started on the long pole at 14.5 metres fishing maggots and cad potted in several maggots and waited for a response. I began to catch very small Roach and the odd small Skimmer but this wasn’t going to win anything. So hoping to attract a Carp I began to cad pot in small balls of fishery micro and alternated between 1 and 3 maggot on the hook. This didn’t make any difference I was still catching very small fish. So I came in short at 6 sections again fishing maggots and balls of fishery micro. This made no difference to my catch rate but it was easier to fish short because of the wind. So I stayed on this short line for the next half hour. 

An angler down the other end of the pool had now caught a carp and a re-think was needed. I decided fishing with maggots for these small fish wasn’t the way forward and I changed to corn on the hook, still feeding micro’s and a few grains of corn between these two pole lines. First ship out on the long line with corn snared a carp on the drop around 4lb. This took the pressure off and I stayed there for the next half hour but no more bites followed. Maybe it was a rouge carp? I came in short and caught a 2nd carp here again on corn and then after a while another. This persuaded me to stick with the corn hook bait as the odd carp was feeding and not many had been caught around the pool. I was doing OK with my three carp and a few silvers. 

As time progressed sitting it out on corn hoping for another carp after trying different places long and short, Silvers began to come into my thoughts. I was doing well, not many carp had been caught on the pool and I had three. Maybe I should now fish for silvers to boost my weight to give me a better chance of framing. It was going into the last hour now. I’d tried pellets and corn short and even the margins for no reward. My float was towing a lot today and it was difficult to fish over my few loose offerings that I was cad potting in but I felt the carp would feed in the last hour as despite it being windy and raining the actual temperature was good. I began catapulting maggots out to 13 metres spreading out my bait trying to trigger the carp to feed but also knowing there were still plenty of small silvers to be caught if the carp didn’t show up. So I began to feed maggots though the catapult heavier. I caught some silvers as expected, then the elastic pulled out with another carp. The heavier feeding at the right time worked! 

I went on to have a good last hour adding another five Carp with a few Roach and small Skimmers feeding the maggots via the catapult and catching on the drop. I felt I would push for a section win as not much else had been caught by the other anglers on the pool. However the angler at the opposite end of the pool had caught a few. I was first to weigh in and placed a dead 39lb on the scales and then packed away all my gear as it was raining rather than going to look to see what everybody else had caught. So I didn’t know the result until the end when Mick the fishery owner pulled up back at my peg as I was loading up the car with a brown envelope for me. I thought I’d won the section but actually it turned out that I had actually finished top weight on my pool and 2nd overall in the match between both front and Back Deans.

So this was a difficult days fishing with the tow on the water and the windy conditions making it hard to fish over my feed. I felt the best chance was feeding with the catapult and spreading out my bait. This worked well in that last golden hour and a nice brown envelope to go home with this week from an unfaniced peg!! 

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