Sunday 10th February - Clevedon Club Match v Fry's AC, Horseshoe Lake

I don't get to fish many of my local Club matches but with nothing else on I booked into this one. The Match was originally scheduled to be on the bigger and more prolific lake at the Plantations complex in Kingston Seymour but the owners have stopped Weekend Matches on it now trying to get anglers to fish the smaller Horseshoe Lake. We decided to give it a try. There is some improvements being made but quite a bit more to do.
We were fishing an inter club against Fry's today as it seems to be the way forward in order to get more anglers on the bank especially when booking a Commercial.

14 of us in total today after a few no shows. 10 pegs around the perimeter and 4 on the island.
I drew peg 10 which was deemed a good peg but opposite me at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock I had 2 anglers on the island and the distance from my bank to the island is only about 14 metres.

Anyway, I got stuck in plumbing up and had a good 5 foot in the middle and 5' in the left hand margin by some reeds. Right across at 13 metres I had about 4' so depth was not a problem on all lines.

Fry's Ray Cooper was opposite me at 2 o'clock and had a foul hooker on after about 20 minutes. Looking down my bank no one else was catching but I could see Mark Bromsgrove catching roach on the whip over on the island.

3 pegs to my right I saw Paul Ratcliffe catch a small carp on the corn, he had a sunken island in front of him and he was fishing up against it, I was still bite less as was Matthew Davis opposite me at 10 o'clock.

It was fishing rock hard but Paul to my left added a skimmer to his earlier carp.

Paul Faiers who was end peg on the island packed up after catching a few see through roach and went off to watch the football.

Ray opposite had another foul hooker and lost it plus he missed a bite down the edge under a tree and ended up squirrel fishing. He also packed up well before the end.

Shortly afterwards Matt Davis packed up as well.

I had one small dip of the float and a liner, that was my excitement for the day and I also packed up 30 minutes before the all out.

The anglers who had no one opposite them all caught my part of the lake was dire.

Pete Sivell of Fry's had a good day after switching to the pellet feeder and had some right lumps for first place by a country mile.

Pete Sivell

Full results as follows:

1st     Pete Sivell Fry's AC 37lb 12oz

2nd    Ade Crawley Fry's AC 17lb 10oz

3rd     Mark Bromsgrove Clevedon 17lb

4th     Steve Bonwick Clevedon 14lb 14oz

Silvers

Paul Ratcliffe Fry's AC 7lb (default)

Some more pics

Mark Bromsgrove

Steve Bonwick

Paul Ratcliffe

So .... one to forget

Sunday 22nd December - Clevedon Christmas Match

Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club Christmas Match was held on the Main and Match Lake (aka Horseshoe). 31 Anglers turned up which is very good by todays standards, I was told a few other guys guys who booked had to work and a couple were suffering from alcohol abuse from the night before. Match Secretary Adie Baker was in charge and ran a good match as well as organising the prizes and raffle. 11 anglers would be on the Match Lake (Horseshoe) and 20 on the Main which is about right for the Main Lake (even though there are 40 pegs!). The money was well spread with similar top pay-outs on both lakes. I drew peg 10 on the Match Lake so was only up against 10 other anglers. A quick check with Scott and Simon who pegged it confirmed I was on the top left peg on the island, I was happy with that and had plenty of room.

 

Match Lake above and my peg circled

The peg did look ok with an island feature but when I plumbed up the maximum depth I had was 2' 6'', not good on a bitterly cold day and a strong wind. 3 rigs were set up for the peg nothing complicated and a small kinder pot on each of the top 2's for feeding micro pellet, dead maggot and swim stim. Opposite me was carp slayer Rich Lovering and round from him on the top end of the main bank was Andy Hembrow. Fishing was from 10:15 - 15:15 and I was just about ready when the all in was called. About 15 mins in I could see Rich had a carp on catching tight against the island on his side but it came off, foul hooked. It was encouranging to see this but I found it difficult to fish long due to the strong icey wind, I did hook one at about 11 meters but it also was foul hooked and came off at the net. I had been drip feeding to my left about 3 meters out from the near bank and at 8 meters and gave it a try 2 hours in. The float sailed away instantly and I landed one about 3lb on live maggot and an 18 hook. At this pont Rich was still fishless, I could see Rich Healey down to Rich Lovering right and as far as I could see he was also fishless to this point. I kept having a look along this line and was getting mirco bites (little dips of the float but nothing on the end when I struck). Rich opposite me also came on the inside and had 2 carp in a row! I persevered and had a small skimmer a very very small perch and 3 roach. I added another carp and over the course of the match lost another 3 foul hookers(bugger). Kev Perry came down the bank for a walk and was blanking, news was Glen Calvert had 3 carp and was playing another. Rich Lovering added another 2 from the inside. It was a tough day but I did enjoy it.

Top weight on the Match Lake was Rich Lovering with 15lb 5oz (4 carp).

Rich Lovering

2nd on the lake was Glen Calvert with 11lb 8oz (also 4 carp but a smaller stamp).

3rd was Phil Decon (I think that was his surname) with 8lb 3oz.

1st in the silvers was Andy Hembrow with a big skimmer for 2lb 2 oz.

2nd sliver prize went to Simon Carvello with 1lb 8oz on a dodgy set of scales.

I weighed in 7lb 12oz, I know that Rich Healey blanked and Kev Perry tried to blag a late rudd after the whistle stating that it took him 15 mins to land it.

Here is Kev below selecting the wifes Christmas present from the raffle prizes (he knows how to treat her)



Over on the Main Lake it was also a struggle. Top weight was my old mate John (the duck) Wolstencroft with 64lb 10oz, 12 carp on the bread feeder with popped up bread (you see he was trying to catch a duck!). Fair play to him, he was on peg 8, a peg I fancied myself. The money will come in handy as John has a new car, an Audi with a personalised number plate... MA55OTT (maggot lol, could have been worse and begun with an 'F'). Seriously it was great to see John win, he reallty does prepare and try hard during the course of a match.

John Wolstencroft

2nd was Maver backed Dom Sutherland with 25lb 8oz and 3rd was Clevedon's Paul Nichols with 19lb 12oz off peg 1.

Top silver weight was Mike Owen with a net of perch for 6lb 14oz.

2nd was Brian Slipper with 5lb 7oz

A special going away gift was presented to Phil Nash who is emigrating to Canada so all the best Phil.

Phil Nash

Adie Baker called out the results in order, I ended up 12th, so not bad out of a field of 31 and on a hard day. Several really good anglers blanked and Adie made them do the walk of shame (brave man but all took it well).

Next up is the blind pairs match on 29th which is being held on the main lake at Plantation, I am booked in but haven't told the wife yet.

Until then merry Christmas all and tight lines.

Sunday 12th August Clevedon Club match Horseshoe Lake Kingston Seymour

Back on the bank at last, it seems to have been ages since I wet a line. While in Norway I was itching to do some flyfishing for salmon and trout and at approx £4 per day it would have been great value for money, I must return. Anyway back to the Club match, 14 booked in and 13 turned up, a couple of guys went down and fished the Frys AC match on Durleigh, not sure of the weights but Andy Hembrow said the levels were still high despite him leaving his hosepipe on for a week! Horseshoe or the Match Lake as it is named now looked spot on with lots of fish and I mean lots of fish cruising around as well as lots of evidence of bottom feed activity, recent reports suggested it would 'fish its head off' with Steve Bonwick predicting a lot of people would need 3 nets! The pegging was done prior to the arrival of Glenn Calvert and Paul Faires and they were asked to review the position of the pegs, I think they done a good job with plenty of room for everyone. We also had a new member 'Smudge Harvey' pictured below, I would have got a better picture but he was attacking me at the time, must have known I was a postie!

At the draw I pulled out a peg along the split which is a favoured area and about halfway up and on the right hand side with plent of deep water out in front and a good left hand edge. I decided to keep it simple today and just had soft & hard pellet, paste and meat. I was about 10 mins late in starting beacuse my rigs were either too short or too long. At 14 meters I had about 4 feet so decided to feed hard 6 mm and fish banded on the hook, in the middle about 8 meters out it was about 5 feet so was going to use soft pelllet or meat over micro, down the edge I had a nice 2 feet of water which was to the paste attack.

First put in down the middle I had a skimmer about 1lb 8oz and had a few more in over the next 40 mins, lots of missed bites and every time the kinder pot of micro's went in there was lots of feeding activity. I then had a good run of small carp up to about 1lb 8oz with the odd foul hooked bigger fish coming off. Meat also played it's part on this line with quite a few fish, I saw little point in going over to 14 meters when ther was enough fish at 8 meters. I had been feeding the edge with hard 6 and 8 mm, first 4 put in's I had 4 carp, it was now 2 o'clock and I could see lots of activity in this margin but kept foul hooking and bumping fish. A switch to a lighter elastic resovled this problem. Word on the bank was some anglers were struggling I knew I had had a lot of fish but they were small in comparison to the zoo creatures swimming around on the surface and not feeding. I weighed in 47lb 10oz, 7th on the day.

1st was Brian Slipper who put over 120lb on the scales, Brian had quality fish, pic below.

2nd was Paul Faires with just over 97lb, Pual had one net of pasty size carp and another net of bigger fish caught in the latter half of the match down the edge, pic below.

3rd was Rod Wooten with just over 79lb, Rod probably had more fish than anyone else but of a smaller stamp.

Top silvers of the day went to Glenn Calvert with just over 10lb, I think he beat me by aound a pound, there was only one place for silvers today. Glenn is pictured below with his carp net, this boy knows how to pose for a pic and looks more alive at the end of the match compared to when he first turned up (maybe that's his secret).



It was a good day out and I estimate between 450lb and 500lb was put on the scales, press report is below.

No slip ups for Brian

Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club stayed close to home for their latest fishing competition and held it on Horseshoe Lake which is part of the Plantations complex at Kingston Seymor. On arrival lots of big fish could be seen cruising around in the warm humid conditions and seemed oblivious to the bankside activity as anglers arrivied andprepared for the day ahead. Steve Bonwick the club chairman predicted a big weight and he was not wrong. Drawn toward the top end of the split was Sensas Thyers angler Brian Slipper who took full advantage of a good peg and pole fished varous baits to his right and left hand margins for a magnificent 120lb 13oz of quality carp. Second was his team mate Paul Faires who was fishing more or less opposite Brian and used similar tactics for a total weight of 97lb 12ozs. Third was 'Mr. Consistent' Rob Wotton who had probably more fish than anyone else but of a much smaller stamp but never the less weighed in a respectable 79lb 8oz. Top Siver Fish net of the day went to Glenn Calvert with 10lb 5oz. The 14 competitors weighed in 450lb overall (all fish were returned to the water after weighing). If you would like to know more about the club please go to http://clevedon-fwac.webs.com/

1st Brian Slipper 120lb 13oz

2nd Paul Faires 97lb 8oz

3rd Rob Wotton 79lb 8oz

Silvers Glenn Calvert 10lb 5oz

Next Sunday we have a match at Shitlake  Shiplake Farm, report will follow.



Sunday 26th February pleasure session Horseshoe Lake Kingston Seymour

I wasn't sure whether or not to fish this weekend, there was no Club Match and didn't fancy travelling very far after spending best part of 2 days working in London and to be honest felt pretty knackered. A change of heart late Saturday afternoon say me rumaging through my bait store in the garage to see what I had, plenty of mirco and some 4 mm and about half a pint of dead red in the freezer. I then went on line to check out the bookings for the local lakes, Bullock Farm had only one lake booked for a match and the big lake at Plantations was also taken leaving Horseshoe free, I fancied Horshoe as there was likely to be more room. Sunday morning came, got up at 9 a.m. and cooked some breakfast, loaded up the car and arried at Horshoe just after 10 a.m. only about 6 anglers on the lake so picked a spot on the island well away from everyone else. Bit bright today and quite warm, little or no wind. Due to bait limitations it was to be soft 6mm pellet or dead read on the hook, the float was some kind of senas 4 x 14, 0.13 mainline to a 0.10 hooklength with a MT6 size 18 fished approx 11 meters out at about 4 foot just at the bottom of the shelf of the sunken island, another rig was made up exactly the same and I could fish them at 9 o'clock, 12 o'clock and 2 o'clock as it was all the same deph, lovely.

view from my peg

I cupped in some wetted micro and a few dead reds on all lines, first put in straight in front of me the float sailed away and a foul hooked carp of about 2lb was soon in the net. I had bites and fish all day on all lines except the 9 o'clock one, bet fish was about 5lb and I have 4 nice 2lb skimmers as well. It was a real treat to see the float go under on a regular basis again. A specialist angler came along and set up a couple of pegs away and had some cracking perch on lobb worm, best one almost 4lb. I packed up just before 4 p.m. and ended up with well over 50lb, the specalist angler kindly took a picture of me with my catch.

A great days fishing which didn't cost a lot as I used about a pint of micro, a few soft pellets and no more than quarter pint of dead reds.

Next week we have a club match which is scheduled for the River Kenn (oh dear)

Sunday 22nd January Clevedon Club Match Plantations Horseshoe lake

This match was scheduled to be fished on the main lake at the Plantations complex but had to be switched to the smaller Horseshoe lake due to only 9 being booked in. Apparently an open had been arranged on the nearby Acorn Fishery which had affected the number of attendees. I was not concerned as Match Secretary Barry Fowler had done the decent thing and sent us a text a few days beforehand.
The draw was to be held in the main car park due to high levels of soft mud on the approach to Horseshoe but a couple of anglers still drove their vehicles and one ended up being pushed out at the end of the match. Why don't people listen to good advice?
Anyway I paid my £20 to Barry who informed me we were now down to 8 anglers due to Darren (aka Nudd MBE and venue expert) having to take his daughter to a party. No worries, it's a day out and there would be loads of room for everyone.
Into the sensas draw bucket and out comes Peg 2 (permanent peg 3) not my favourite area to be honest but would have to make the most of it. On arrival I had James Gunter to my right on peg 1 and Dave Baker on permanent peg 5), James has drawn this peg 4 times in 5 matches and done well.

View from my peg

I set up 3 rigs one to fish at 6 meters out in front for silvers, one at 11 meters for silvers and one at 13 meters to the island for carp. Both silver rigs had 0.10 and a drennan 18 silver fish pellet hook at the business end, the carp rig had 0.13 straight through to a maver mt6 16 with a few 10's as bulk and one 10 as a dropper. I fed all 3 lines at the start the short one with liquidised bread, the long silver one with green swim stim and caster and the carp with wetted micro and a few dead reds. I fish the bread fish and after 30 mins with regular feeding not an indication. Straight over on the long silver line with double dead red the float slowly goes under and a 1lb perch is my reward, nice. By this time James was blanking and Dave had a couple of roach. Out again and a small roach, then another and another, I was topping up the feed via a kinder pot. I rested the long silver line and fed the near one with caster and went over on my carp line with corn, no response from anything, I changed between dead red and live maggot, no movement at all. Back out on the long silver and few more roach give themslves up then a nice skimmer around 2lb. I rested this swim and came in on the short line again and had a few roach. Dave had a few small carp and James was also begining to catch including a carp around 6lb. Needed carp if I was to stand a chance so back over with double maggot, I did not have to wait long for a bite which resulted in a small carp around a pound and then a couple more, I foul hooked a better one around 3lb which messed up the swim but did land it. The rest of my match continued nicking a few fish here and there, I knew James had more than me but I had more than Dave. The usual bankside rumours and the jungle telegraph indicated that Simon Carvello had a few fish and the far leg of the Horseshoe had produced a few good weights.
Weighing in started on my bank, Simon Carvello on the end had 26lb 2oz, some really big perch and skimmers plus small carp around a pound, next to weigh was Phil Nash who had a similar bag to Simons but beat him by an oz! Dave Baker did not weigh, I weighed 11lb 12oz and James had 18lb. On the far leg of the lake Barry weighed in 14lb plus next to him Rob Fogg pictured below with his catch had 44lb 8oz.

Next and what seemed to be miles from any other angler was Dave Wride who said he had more than 40lb. Bloody right he did there were 3 nets in the water 2 carp and 1 silver! Dave weighed in 126lb 4, only 1lb 14oz was silvers. Dave caught all day on expander over 2mm pellet at 11meters. What a catch on a January day and on a lake that a lot of anglers ignore. Dave is pictured below with part of his catch.

1st - Dave Wride 126lb 4oz
2nd Rob Fogg 44lb 8oz
3rd Phil Nash 26lb 5oz

I have a week off now and may go to the Tuesday tenner open at Acorn, decorating permitting.