Sunday 19th January Clevedon Club Match Apex Lake oh no it's not try Wildmarsh Trinity Waters

I love fishing Apex Lake in the winter for the skimmers and was really looking forward to the match. I had my down the track canal rigs from the last 2 weeks which would do nicely along with a couple of freshing tied spares. I was probably second to arrive in the lake car park and could see Rib Fogg talking to a couple of guys. Just after my arrival he came up to me and said it's unfishable! Unfishable I said, a lake, for a moment I thought he was on the wacky baccy lol. He then went on to explain the levels were up and above the platforms which meant on the far bank pegs you would need chest waders to go down the dip into the water and then up on the sunken platforms. Once a few others arrived we went to have a look (to confirm he did not need detained under the mental health act)and he was right. There were a couple of pegs you could fish near the car park but not enough for the 10 guys booked in. Kev Perry phoned Misca at Trinity waters to see if there were pegs on Wildmarsh Lake available as it was perceved it would be a silvers day. Soon it was established Wildmarsh was available, John Wostencroft decided it was not for him so headed home, Simon Carvello really wanted to stay and fish one of the few fishable pegs on Apex but reluctantly went with the flow and headed down to Bridgwater in convoy with the rest of us. Alough it appeared to be a nice day if you were looking out from a warm house it was freezing.We got down to Wildmarsh about 08:45 and decided to fish the back pegs in a row where there wasn't any pleasure anglers fishing was to be 10:15 - 15:15, pay your £20quid and pick a peg, simples. Peg 52 was mine which was much the same as the rest of them except Simon Carvello was to my left and set back in a corner and more or less around the corner was Phil Decon. If was pole only not much of a problem but if we all fished the tip we would be casting to the same spot and risk snagging up with each other, if one of us got a bite n=on the tip we all would! As luck would have it Simon decided not to use the tip so it was a case of me poaching as much as I could get away with in front of Phil.

Peg 52 my Office for the 5 hours

There is a good head of silvers in this lake but quite a few carp, in the summer 60lb - 70lb is needed to win. Most of us were convinced it would be silvers only that would feed today so everyone had the same approch i.e out on the pole, fish light feed light. I set up 3 lines, all were the same depth at around 7 foot, 2 at 13 meters either side and one at 14 meters straight out in front. Bait was caster, pinkie, maggot and worm. After setting up I decided to get the puddle chucker out and set it up with a small cage feeder and a 16 on a hair for bread. I had plently of bread left from last week and as Simon wasn't going to fish the tip then.... why not. On the other side of me was carp slayer Rich Lovering, still not sure why he turned up for a match at Apex, not really his bag.

At the all in the lines were fed, after that I went straight out on the bread casting about 30 meters, Phil Decon looked up but didn't say anything (got away with it), he had plently of room down his left anyway as the nearest angler on this sid of him could barely be seen. I looked down at the tip immediately after it settled and seen what looked like liners, very small at that, then after 5 minutes the tip sort of moved more positively, what the heck, I lifted into it and felt something solid which started to move and bend the small puddle chucker rod double, carp on. It was soon noticed by the other guys around me and word soon got about that I was in. 5 minutes or so later a 5lb carp was netted, nice. I stayed on the bread for the next hour but that was it. Nothing else had been caught either side of me. Simon was struggling and did not have a bite.



Simon after an hour thinking.... should have stayed on Apex

I put the pole out at 13 meters to my right and it buried immediately and a small roach about 2 oz graced the net. At the same time I could see the elastic from Phil Decons pole coming out and he was playing a carp, he had it on for ages and landed it after what seemed to be 15 minutes, it looked a right lump. Ah well second place now. For the remainder of the match I did not have another bite on the pole, anywhere. Rich to my right was getting the odd roach and Simon also started to pick up the odd (very odd) very small roach. At about 12:30 Phil had another lump on the pole and a few skimmers. Rich also had a carp on light gear and did well to land it on 5 - 8 elastic. It was now around 14:00 so I decided to stick it on the tip the rest of the match. First 20 minutes back out on the bread and nothing, decded to change to groundbait and pinkie with 3 reds on a 16, within 2 casts I had 2 good skimmers and that was it. Phil Decon was first to weigh, here is his catch.

3 lumps for 20lb 4oz and silvers weighing 2lb 4oz

Simon decided not to weigh, so next to weigh was me.



1 carp, 1 roach and 2 skimmers 9lb 10oz

Rich was next, when he pulled his net out I knew he had done me.



Rich weighed 11lb, carp was slightly bigger than mine and his silvers made a good back up weight

Paul Nichols followed Rich and put 5lb of silvers on the scales then it was Paul Faires as some other did not weigh, Paul had 4lb 10oz and that was it, just half the field weighed in.

1st Phil Decon 22lb 8oz

2nd Rich Lovering 11lb

3rd Ivan Currie 9lb 10oz

So that's another one over, not sure about next week, I have some jobs at home to catch up on but the wife is working so who knows!