Sunday 20th August - SW Super League Final Round Bristol Avon Newbridge

This was the final round of a 6 match series but with practice matches in between it took up almost every Sunday for 3 months. This is my 3rd year fishing it and I get a real buzz out of it. It does not happen all on its own so a massive thanks must go to the organisers namely Dave Micklewright, Mark Treasure, Mark Harper, Nicky Johns and Lance Tucker. In addition those that organised the practice matches Andy Jane, Lance Tucker and Kev Dicks. There are also many others working behind the scenes and not forgetting the hospitality provided at the draw venues....Gordon League Rugby Club in Gloucester, Laburnum House in Highbridge and the Riverside Pub Saltford.

We were a man down up until the Friday but then new signing for the Commercial House Winter League stepped in, Jack Jones. We also had Mosella Bathamptons Kev Dicks and Darren Gillman helping us out today.
We were one from bottom in the League so nothing to gain today as a team. Although we have had some good individual results we have been way off the mark as a team and its all about consistency and availability for our guys. Its a tough ask turning out every week from a small squad.

Chris done the draw as usual and we ended up with the following pegs.....
20 Chris Hook
32 Me
47 Sam
63 Geoff
77 Nigel
99 Jack
118 Kev
146 Darren

The river was clear again so a difficult match was predicted with small fish being the main target on the pole.
I walked down to my peg (32) with Geoff who was on 33 the previous week. I had fished this peg last year and only had a low weight off it helped by a decent skimmer.
Mark ''whippet'' Williams was on the peg I had last week and I gave him some info for what it was worth. He was the first peg in my section as was I the previous week and all the pegs below had done better. But that was then!

I was quite high off the water on my peg with only the bottom 2 rings of the keep net in the water. Plenty of cover across and looked inviting but the big Chub that used to frequent the far side no longer show.

It was top 4.5 deep at 13 meters were the flow was so same set up as last week a 2 gram for running through and a flat float same distance. A waggler and a feeder was also assembled. Ground bait was gros gardons and magic with a little black crumb.
Usual bombardment on the ''all in'' and out immediately with the pole. It was a difficult angle to fish due to the high bank and I missed too many early bites, on reflection I had a little too much line between the end of the pole and the float but it was a bit gusty at times. Roach started to come but only lasted 30 minutes or so and they were not that big.  I went out on the flat float early with half a dendra and had a 10oz skimmer followed by a perch about the same size then nothing. I fed a couple of small balls and loose fed caster and hemp over the top. Back on the 2 gram rig and running it through bumped a decent fish, probably a big perch. A few more small roach followed and then bumped 3 good fish one after the other. I became very frustrated and I quietly cursed to myself as I knew those fish would probably make the difference today.
I tried the waggler for about 15 minutes but the fish were the size of minnows, small chub and bleak.
Nothing on the tip either although I didn't really give it very long.
The flat float produced a few more small skimmers and by the end of the match I knew I had no more than 4lbs.
In fact it was less that but I wasn't last and it could have been a few more pounds if I had got my act together and not lost those fish, all down to me.

my section

I met up with Chris who was packing up on peg 20 and he had done just over 4lbs but done better than Dean Harvey on favoured peg 18!

Back at the Riverside the Teams started drifting back in and it was clear we struggled (again).

Points from a possible 7 were....

Chris 2

Me 2

Sam 3

Geoff 5

Nigel 3

Jack 4

Kev ? didn't come back

Darren 2 (but did not fish 146 due to a boat, ended up on a crap peg).

individuals on the day...

1st   Neil Richards DGL 19lb 9oz

2nd  Kevin Abigail GBV 12lb 2oz

3rd   Dave Clapton Sensas Lobbys 11lb 14oz

Teams on the day....

1st   DGL

2nd  PI Thatchers

3rd  Sensas Lobbys

4th   GBV

5th   Sensas Nomads

6th  Maver Cadbury

7th  Sensas 88

Top 3 Teams after 6 rounds...

1st  DGL

2nd PI Thatchers

3rd  Sensas Lobbys

Thats a fair result and these 3 teams dominate the league, we as a team find it hard to compete against the bigger squads but we will be back to have another go next year.

Next up for us is the Bristol Commercial House League starting 10th September on the Avon. I miss the first one as I get back from Ireland in the early hours that day.

No more fishing for me now until 3rd Sept when I will be in Arva, first day pleasure fishing then 5 days fishing the festival, prep almost done.

Sunday 13th August - SW Super League Bristol Avon Newbridge

I am going to start this blog in reverse to the way I normally write it because.......

Our man Glenn Calvert won the match overall.
Glenn was allocated peg 3 in the little field above Newbridge the same peg that Captain Chris Hook had the previous week and the where 30lb plus of bream came from the week before that. Glenn does not fish many matches for us as he likes his comfort so is usually on the Commercials week in week out and does OK.
Glenn went to his peg full of advice as a few of us have drawn this area before and done very well.
He balled it in at the start with 10 big balls and starting catching roach immediately but the bites dried up after an hour and he had a lot of pike trouble landing two of them up to 6lbs - 8lbs, but they don't count. Not to worry though as he went on the Flat Float with worm after feeding a couple more hard balls and the float rose and sailed away first put in...5lb bream! He went on to catch a few skimmers bringing his total weigh up to 18lb 12oz which was enough to win the day on a difficult river.

Top man Glenn Calvert

Sensas Lobbys Andy Powell was second overall with 16lb 3oz, not sure what peg Andy was on but well done to him as he has been next to two anglers who framed recently so perseverance paid off.

Senses Nomads stalwart Rich Whitmarsh was third with 14lb 10oz, Rich was in the same section as Glenn.

On the Team front ...
1st  GBMV
2nd DGL
3rd PI Thatchers
4th Sensas Lobbys
5th Sensas 88
6th Maver Cadbury
7th Sensas Nomads

Our Team sheet was a bit of a disaster with 4 anglers in the bottom 2 in Section but Geoff Surman and Leigh Wakefield both had 5 points from 7 with Leigh just missing out on a Section pay out again by 3 ozs. Leigh had one bream and bits for 9lb plus but the bream were rolling between 48 and 50 refusing to get their heads down.

Leigh catch

As for me....I was on 22 behind the Pump House, nice peg but died after 40 minutes and I really, really struggled. All small fish and a 1lb skimmer for 6lb 12oz and last but one, enough said.

nice looking peg though

The rest of the Section was really tight and made up of small fish.

Well its the last match in the League next week then its off to Prague for a few days then the Arva International Festival in Ireland.

Back still playing up so got to get it sorted this week.

Sunday 6th August - SW Super League Practice / Open. Bristol Avon Newbridge

Like the other Super League Practice Matches anyone could enter this match. Bathampton AA Match Secretary Kev Dicks was running it and he had sent out a message on Facebook during the week to ensure a good attendance.
I usually fish during the week and try to have a practice session on the venue I am due to fish on the Sunday but not this week due to injuring my back while assembling a steel table on the Wednesday. Lots of pain killers and deep heat didn't get me quite match fit but good enough as long as I took it steady.
We usually draw at the Stothert and Pitt Rugby Club which also offers parking and access to the bottom part of the river. It appears the Stewards have move on and no one is prepared to do breakfasts etc. Not to worry though as a new draw venue has been found....The Riverside Inn at Saltford. What a cracking spot and friendly helpful staff as well as the mother of all breakfasts for £5.

The Riverside inn

A quick glance at the ''Section Boards'' Kev had prepared suggested there were 50 plus anglers fishing.
From our Team there was only myself and Chris due to two being ill and others had family commitments, but full Team for next week.
The draw was at 10:00 with fishing from 12:00 to 17:00 to avoid the rowing boats which usually are around a.m.
The draw started on time and I was around halfway in the que but got pushed back a bit due to being edged out by another line lead by Lance Tucker who took not notice of the abuse directed at him.
There were a few new faces in the draw around me and it was obvious they had not fished this part of the River before as they were asking about directions for parking.
Chris was way ahead of me in the draw and came back into the due to let me know he had drawn peg 3 in the little field at Newbridge, apparently 30lb plus came off it the previous week so he was off bream chasing.
I drew 79 which was not too bad as far as I was concerned, wouldn't have minded 74 but with a warm day forecast there may be the chance of idiots jumping off the old railway bridge into the water next to it so happy with my lot.
We were still able to park in the Rugby Club grounds for this Section, without this facility I can't see how you could access the water, good news.
It was a steady walk to the peg and I was able to get down in the water and set up my ''rigger platform''.

Peg 79

I could see most of the flow was just short of 13 metres out and it was quite steady so selected a 2 gram float to plumb up with and found it was about top 4.5 deep, a couple of run throughs and the float was spot on for running through and I had a 18 tubertini series 2 hook to 0.12 drennan fluro. I decided to keep the same line for my second rig and set up a 4 gram flat float to nail the bait on the deck and hold back hard with a 16 tubertini series 18 hook to 0.11 power. Finally a tip rod with a ''window feeder'' for fishing across although a couple of ''open enders'' were on my bait tray just in case. 

The water was surprisingly clear so I added some black lake to my sensas match, gros gardons and brown crumb along with a little mole hill soil due to the depth. The mix felt great and I split it in half adding a good portion of hemp, caster and a big pinch of dead reds. I had plenty of worm but decided to hold back at the start until I saw how the match progressed.

I wasn't quite ready at the ''all in'' but around 12:05 lobbed in 10 big balls of ground bait on the pole line. They were solid and went in with a thud!

Picking up the 2 gram rig and at the end of the first run though the float sailed away and a roach of around 3oz was swung in. Noise does not bother them at all and the float buried every run though for the first 90 minutes. The roach were not massive but I was putting weight in the net. Then the pike moved in and I lost a few fish having to replace hook lengths. I topped up every now and then with small gold balls of ground bait. Sometimes this does not work but it did on this occasion and I started catch small hybrids, lovely little fish as well as the odd chublet. The chublets were a nice size but due to them being virtually hollow took up more room in the keep net rather than add weight.

I had a nice skimmer around 15:30 and went on the flat float with worm but no joy, false alarm and was soon back on the ''run through'' rig and added a decent perch of around 12oz.

A couple of bank walkers suggested the bream were not showing up at Newbridge with the best being 2 bream and most anglers admitting to around 7lbs.

I had a quick look across on the tip and managed a few small chub as well as hybrids but the rattles were hard to hit so was soon back on the pole adding 2oz roach.

All in all I had a great days fishing with bites galore, just a pity they were not a bit bigger. when the scales came to me they said what I thought I had, a low double figures and registered 13lb 9oz. 

My catch

Above me there was a 16lb and a few pegs below there was a 20lb of roach and an 18lb which included a 5lb bream.

Back in the car park most anglers had 7 to 8lbs so the river fished brilliantly for small fish. Chris phoned me and said he weighed 12lb 9oz from peg 3 which included a 5lb bream on the pole. He also said Dave Micklewright had 15lb of roach in his Section.

Due to it getting late I didn't go back for the results but believe a low 20lb won the match.

Looking forward to next week and hopefully completely match fit.

Sunday 30th July - Clevedon Club Match Durleigh Reservoir

With no league match on this weekend I decided to support my Clubs Match on Durleigh Reservoir.

Durleigh Reservoir is just outside the town of Bridgwater (postcode TA5 2AW) and is 80 acres in size.
For those of you thinking of fishing it here is a link to paste giving you all the info you need. ( no keep nets for pleasure fishing).
https://www.wessexwater.co.uk/About-us/Community/...reservoirs/Durleigh-reservoir/

17 booked in so we were all pegged along the Lodge Bank. There has been a few matches on it lately with some really good weights made up of roach, hybrids, perch and decent bream. The last match was won by England Carp Team Captain Mark Bartlett with 36 bream for over 100lb.

I had fished it in the week and had 6 good bream along with some big roach on 8mm banded pellet on the pellet feeder. The water has a lot of big carp and the other fish have got used to the pellet and high protein bait going in.
The Reservoir is a lot shallower up the top end making the draw an all important factor. I thought if I draw a peg at the shallow end I would fish the pole / whip for roach.

On the morning of the match I was driving through a local village and killed a pigeon that flew into the van. Didn't like that and felt bad (not as much as the pigeon though). I thought to myself ''thats me doomed''.
Driving the down the M5 the temperature gauge was reading 11 degrees around Clevedon and towards Bridgwater it went up to 13.
Arrived at the Reservoir around 08:00 and saw there were a few who joined the Club just to fish the match (£20 to join the Club and £20 to fish) but no worries good for the Club.
Into the draw box and the draw gods paid me back for the earlier incident as I drew peg 4 right up the shallow end.

The mighty Durleigh my peg was bottom right just past 2nd lot of trees.

I walked up the bank with Rob Fogg who had Peg 3 passing the fancied lawn area were Sensas 88 angler Chris Parr was pegged. Up our end was roach slayer Steve Kedge on Peg 1, Andy Law Peg 2. Below us and the other side of the trees was Sensas 88 anglers Paul Purchase and Mark Bromsgrove (no mugs here then).

Well the plan of fishing the pole / whip went out the window. Why I do not know and instead set up 2 Feeder Rods. 13' 8'' dutch master for fishing a 45 gram hybrid feeder at 60 turns and my trusty drennan pro feeder for fishing the window feeder at around 45 turns. Both filled with micro hemp and dead reds mixed with fishmeal and a banded wafter or pellet at the hook end. How did fishing for bream end up like this?

I had traditional bream baits in the bag but thats were they stayed.

I think that the big weights taken on the previous match and Rob just setting up a feeder rod influenced me.

I started off on the window feeder with banded pellet and got a couple of early knocks but no proper pull arounds. Rob was casting a fair old way and his method feeder landed with a proper thud probably sparking out a few roach on the way down. Despite this he had the first fish after about 40 minutes on a red wafter. I followed suit n the hybrid feeder and had my first fish after about 30 minutes but Rob had also added another.

We could hear the guys to our right having some banter and could tell Chris Parr was having a great day on the bream.

We shared information during the long wait for a bite and had the odd fish in turn, big skimmers or baby bream around 2lbs.

A couple of bank walkers with around and hour and a half to go said most were struggling.

Towards the end Rob had a late run of 3 or 4 fish ending up with 9 to my 5. 

Rob ended up with just over 20lb to my 11lb.

Robs catch, well done mate.

Chris Parr done the business and ended up with around 30 bream for 63lb plus caught on open ended feeder chop and caster!

Mark Bromsgrove 2 pegs below me had a great day on the whip for 37lb odd and second place.

Here are the weigh sheets....

Great performance from Match Secretary Adie Bakers son Josh with 17lb of small fish.

Josh with his catch.

Super League Practice Match on the Bristol Avon at Newbridge next Sunday followed by the last two matches on the same venue.

Sunday 23rd July - SW Super League Round 4 River Huntspill

This was the final match on the Huntspill with the last two at Newbridge on the Bristol Avon. I fished the Huntspill in the week from peg 95 which is a short walk below Woolavington Bridge just to get a bit of practice on the wider part of the river. I fished pretty positive and ended up with 3 good bream and some smaller skimmers as well as a decent eel for around 15lb but had bites all day from small fish.
One of our team members became ill with an abscess so Chris gave me a call from Cornwall where he was on holiday on the Thursday to try and find someone. Nigel Evans pointed me towards Richard Candy and we were soon back to a full team.
Fishing his second match this year for us was Leigh Wakefield, he hadn't fished the Huntspill for a few years so lots on info was exchanged to try and give him some guidance.

Team today was....
Chris Hook
Me
Dom Sullivan
Leigh Wakefield
Geoff Surman
Nigel Wyatt
Tony Goodland
Richard Candy

There was a decent bit of colour in the river on the Wednesday and after the heavy rain on Friday night and Saturday I was sure the colour would be maintained and the level up.

The draw was at Laburnham House again and on arriving at around 07:45 I saw Des Shipp England International and John Harvey Welsh International. Its good to see these guys turn up occasionally for these matches and they were just guesting for the day. Nice if you can call on quality anglers to fish for you although we did have Callum Dicks fish for us a few times last year.

Chris came back with the team draw and immediately I saw that Richard was on the peg I had been on the previous week (186), Geoff was on the peg Chris had been on (98) and Leigh was on 60 which Dom had been on.
I put Richard right on my peg and he went off a happy man.

I was on 73 which was in the worst Section above Woolavington Bridge. A least I only had this Section once, Paul Purchase of Sensas 88 was going there for the third time and he wasssssss notttttt happyyyyyyy!

On arriving at my peg it did look fine with a little bit of a bay right across and just a light breeze on the water. The sky was overcast with some rain forecast later on.

peg 73

I set up two feeder rods, one for right across and one for the middle. I didn't set the pole up and chose a waggler instead the theory being ... if they had not caught much on the pole line the last few weeks the fish might be a bit further out.

I feeder 10 feeder fulls down the middle at the start and began on the other feeder rod across catapulting caster and hemp over my waggler line. The first hour was terrible, only one bite on the feeder at distance which I missed. A 15 minute spell down the middle produced nothing either so had a look on the waggler. One ruffe was my only bite.

The wind started to get up now along with some heavy showers and you had to really punch the feeder out and hit the clip to reduce the bow in the line caused by the upstream wind.

I did start to put a few small skimmers in the net from my distance line but also missed loads on bites.  I had no proper wrap arounds at all but persevered to the end adding a fish here and there.

Nothing else to say really just kept putting the bait in hoping for a lost bream but it didn't happen.

We had the scales again so was soon packed up and headed up to Nick Chedzoy who had the board.

The Section lived up to its reputation and I managed 3 points from 7 with 4lb 9ozs.

I met Leigh back in Woolavington Bridge car park who was cursing loosing a bream in some weed just before he was able to net which cost him 2nd in Section and £50.

He still had a couple of bream and done the business for the team with 9lb and 5 points from 7.

Leigh with his catch.

Welsh International Nigel Evans won the section Leigh was in with 18lbs from the same peg he had the previous week (stewards enquiry please). When pressed after he had a beer Nigel revealed the ''jelly babies'' helped him concentrate!

Nigel (aka ''same peg'') wins his Section again

Back at the results it was a bit doom and gloom for our team but Geoff had done OK with 18lbs and 5 points. Richard on 186 had just over 10lbs as the bream had moved back down to 187. Chris and Tony finished bottom in their Sections giving us a total of 23.5 points, not good.

The river had fished better than the previous week in terms of leading weights and at least others had a turn on the podium.

Individual results:

1st  D Jarman Sensas Lobbys 69lb 12oz (end peg 101)

2nd Jon Tocknell Sensas Lobbys 44lb 3oz

3rd Mike Withey Sensas Nomads 41lb 4oz

4th Martin Barrett PI Thatchers 37lb 12oz (Martin has had a good run on the Huntspill)

5th Nigel Evans DGL 18lb 15oz

6th Neil Richards DGL 18lb 8oz

Teams on the day:

1. DGL

2. Sensas Lobbys

3. P I Thatchers

4. GBV

5. Sensas 88

6. Maver Cadbury

7. Sensas Nomads

A happy 2nd placed Jon Tocknell

No league match next week so fishing a Club match on Durleigh Reservoir.

Sunday 16th July - SW Super League Round 3 River Huntspill

This was to be my 3rd visit to the Huntspill in 8 days. After last Sundays practice match I pleasure fished it in the week on peg 133 with the main aim of sorting out my Feeder fishing technique and had a great day with 30 lb ish of bream and a 10 lb mixed bag of roach, rudd and skimmers. Amount of fish aside I was much happier with my casting and ground bait approach which gave me renewed confidence.

part of my practice session catch.

Got to Laburnum House Hotel nice and early and was soon tucking in to a big quality breakfast, best I have had anywhere.

The team today was.......
Chris (capt)
Sam
Me
Dave
Dom (aka eel slayer)
Tony
Nigel
Geoff

Generally speaking the river (totally canalised) fished very well the week before with double figures needed to win each Section so I was really up for it and its not complicated fishing either.
The Team was in good spirits and some info share was done before the draw. All capable and experienced anglers just needed the draw gods to be kind along with a bit of lady luck.
I think its fair to say that 99% of the anglers fishing the Huntspill only pay a visit on the Super League matches so no real venue experts.
Chris came back with the Team Draw and I found myself on 186 (Puriton Bridge). Not fished this Section before and not sure where it was but was put right and it was the shortest drive from the draw.
Its always a bit of a panic and rush after the draw with guys wanting to head off to park even though there is plenty of room and time before the match.
Thatchers Rob Jones was in my Section and wasn't sure where to go so I said follow me ...... like I am totally familiar with the area!
It was straight forward and on arrival Nicky Collins was opening the gate to allow parking. We were soon parked in an orderly manner and looking around there were no mugs here.
Brian Slipper Sensas 88, Alan Jones DGL (2nd last week), Richard Candy Sensas Nomads, Rob Jones Thatchers, Nicky Collins GBV and Andy Powell Sensas Lobbys.

186 was the first peg in by the road bridge and on 187 was Andy Powell. Andy told me he was on my peg last week and had 12lb made up of a couple of bream and skimmers, but the winner from last week Steve "Stretch" Saunders had been on 187 (36lb 4oz of bream). At least there was a chance of a few bonus fish today I thought.

peg 186

A fair bit of weed had been cleared the previous week but right out in the middle was a big raft which would give me problems sinking the line, thankfully it was floating and by the time 11:00 came it had moved down, happy days. 

I cast the straight lead out in order to get the distance and have a feel around right across. It was not as far as last week but the marginal weed on the far side came out a fair bit. I found a reasonably clear spot in between the two clumps of big rushes and about a metre out from the weed on the top, it was still a fair chuck. I set another Feeder Rod up for the middle but was never used. Two pole rigs were set up at 13 meters where it was around 4.5 feet deep, one with a 5 elastic and the other with a 6 due to the marginal weed, these were not used either!

On the ''all in'' at 11:00 I put seven cup full's of ground bait in on the pole line (wasted really) and started on the Feeder right across. I think most of the guys in the Section had the same approach.

After 10 minutes or so the wind picked up so instead of holding the rod in the rest to my right I brought it around to my left and rested it on top of the keep net. This was much better and the tip was protected from the wind. 15 minutes in and after about 6 to 8 casts across I had a very small knock and hit it. A pleasing thump was felt the other end and it was bream on.  Nervously I played it very carefully and brought it through the weed. A nice fish at 3lb plus. I kept casting regularly and I suppose another 10 minutes passed when a proper wrap around connected me with another good fish and bream number two was netted. On the next cast I had another, couldn't believe it and thought to myself, thats the team points sorted now just go for it.

Andy next to me was also on the tip but only getting small fish, how strange is that, they must have moved near the bridge from last week or preferred my offerings more.

Sam text me after 2 hours to see how I was doing, he had 1 bream in the first 30 minutes but said Adam Palmer in his Section had 6 bream in the first hour, by this time I had 5.

I could hear Andy next door talking to Alan Jones who was the next peg up and it appeared to be a struggle above me.

The middle of the match was fairly quite and I lost a bream in some weed halfway across and bumped another, I also got bitten off by pike or eels three times.

Kept plugging away though and ended up with 10 bream and some bits which easily won the Section,  a level 31lbs.

heres how my Section looked, Alan Jones had a nice 3lb plus tench.

my 31lbs

During the weigh in some phone calls were made and we understood from reports that Chris Parr had been catching bream all day at Woolavington but the thought was I would at least frame.

Back at the results those of the team that returned met up. Team Captain Chris Hook had been next to Chris Parr and ended up with 20lb plus and was 2nd in Section, Dom was 3rd in Section missing 2nd place and a pay out by a couple of ounces. Sam was 4th in Section and the other guys were well down.

Results as follows:

Individuals.....

1st   Chris Parr Sensas 88  57lb 11oz 

2nd  Ivan Currie Maver Cadbury Angling 31lb

3rd   Martin Barrett PI Thatchers 29lb 8oz

4th   Nigel Evans DGL 24lb 13oz

5th   Chris Hook Maver Cadbury Angling 20lb 8oz

6th   Brian Slipper Sensas 88 19lb 2oz

Teams on the day...

1st   DGL

2nd  Sensas 88

3rd   PI Thatchers

= 4th Maver Cadbury Angling & Sensas Lobbys

6th   GBV

7th   Sensas Nomads

A couple of other catch pics...

1st place Chris Parr

4th place Nigel Evans

Back on the Huntspill next Sunday for Round 4.

Sunday 9th July - SW Super League Practice (aka swim clearing) River Huntspill

I had not been out for a couple of weeks due to a weekend away and some building work being done, think it was too hot anyway.
This was pitched as a practice match before round 3 and 4 of the SW Super League on the River Huntspill which to be honest is not really match fished these days. Its a real shame as access is good.
The draw was at Laburnham House where a really good breakfast is always served and is only a short drive to the different Sections. Lance Tucker was in charge today and it was well organised.
We had seven of the 8 man Team fishing today so lots of opportunity to learn and pick up a few tips.
Sections used were Woolavington Bridge up and down, Withy Grove and Puriton Bridge.
I was fairly near the front of the que and drew 138 which was Withy Grove South Bank upstream. I fished this area a couple of years ago and thought it would be a small fish match.

Peg 138

Some excellent anglers were in my Section. DGL's Alan Jones was on the end peg upstream and said he was just going to go for bream. End peg downstream was Thatchers Gary Webber so up against it!

The first 20 minutes were spent clearing weed with a weed cutter on the landing net handle telescoped up through my No. 5 section to get the required distance.

At the end of the match there were reports of a few anglers actually getting in with just their underpants on to clear the weed in some Sections! 

I just set up the one Feeder Rod for fishing right across and two pole rigs for 11 and 13 metres. Depth was more or less the same but had a 4 elastic for 13 metres and a 5 for the 11 metre line due to the weed.

Last year we had some coaching from Callum Dicks concerning a ground bait approach for fishing the pole on this water so that plan was used again today and once it was put in I started off on the Feeder right across like most of the others. 

I was not confident on catching on the tip and after about 15 minutes saw a lot of fish toping over the pole line and so bubbles.

The Feeder was soon up the bank and I was on the 13 metre line. First put in and a nice rudd about 4 ozs. A few more followed and then it was a problem getting the float to settle due to small fish taking the bait on the drop resulting in stretched maggots.

The depth was around 4 feet so I moved the olivetti right down on top of the hook length which seemed to improve things.

I stayed on the pole for the majority of the match and did not have a bite on the tip, but I did not really give it a fair crack.

About halfway through I heard Alan Jones had 5 bream so Section was won.

Alan must had a few more as he ended up with 36lb 13oz of them, he told me he should have had about 50lb! First I have heard of bream down this end in a match. The other end peg had 12lb odd for 2nd in the Section. I was happy with my 7lb 2oz, all small fish, just needed a couple of bonus fish and had I gave the Feeder a proper go who knows.

My Section

Back at the results it was clear the river fished well and better than previous years with double figures needed to do any good in the Sections.

Top 4 as follows:

1st   Steve ''Stretch'' Saunders 36lb 14oz peg 187

2nd  Alan Jones 36lb 13oz peg 133

3rd   Andy Ottaway 23lb

4th   Gary Townsend 21lb 9oz

''Stretch'' with his winning bag.

Must try and get out this week to practice the tip (I need it).