Sunday 30th December - Clevedon Pairs Match Plantation Main Lake

This was the last match of the year, 22 of us attended (full house for this lake). To be honest I nearly sent a text to Barry our match secretary about 6 a.m. asking if it was still on due to the severe weather we were having in North Somerset. Got up again at 7 a.m for a 8.30 draw and it appeared to have blown over so off I went. This was a pairs match and to be honest there were various forms of understanding as how it was going to be run, section points or weight. Barry had put together the pairs numbers on the peg cards so it wasn't until you drew did you know who you were with. I drew 32 which is not normally pegged and my partner was Mr. consistent, Rob Wootton but Rob had drawn 24, so there was not much chance of framing ah well head down and get on with it. It was a hard day with skimmers not feeding just roach and the odd perch. I had very few options, I could have chucked to an island diagonally but that would have been taking the piss and infringing on peg 31 and 39 so I just stuck it out in front. Bumped a few perch with the small hooks and weighed in just over 5lbs of roach but beat the pegs either side of me.

Anyway here is the press report which covers the match...

Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club held their last match of 2012 on the Main Lake at the Plantations complex Kingston Seymour. Twenty two hardy souls attended despite the gale force winds and hail that occurred during the night, during the day it remained cold and mainly dry. This was a random pairs completion with angler only finding out who their partner was after the draw. Kev Perry and Rich Lovering won the day with a combined weight of 65lbs 11oz.

Rich had 34lb 1oz and caught carp down the nearside margin of peg 23 on pellet while Kev put together 31lb 10oz of carp of fancied peg 7 fishing a varity of baits at  16 meters, he did well in the windy conditions. Second was the pairing of Mark Bartlett and Dave Smart who collectively weighed 40lb 11oz. Mark was on peg 28 and professionally poached some fish from the island opposite peg 29 from Glen Calvert. That didn’t seem to bother Glen as he took third place with his partner Adie Baker for a total weight 39lbs 4oz. The Club would like to wish its members a happy new year and tight lines for 2013.

1^st Kev Perry and Rich Lovering 65lbs 11oz 

2^nd Mark Bartlett and Dave Smart 40lb 11oz

3^rd Adie Baker and Glen Calvert 39lb 4oz

My camera packed up as well so unable to get a pic of the pairs but heres one of Kev which just about sums him up.... (pic from Chris Foxes Blog)

Happy New Year all, off to a David Bowie tribute act in a pub tonight (gettin too old for this).

Sunday 23rd December - Clevedon Club Christmas Match Acorn Fishery

It was hoped that this would be a 40 pegger and we had originally 20 pegs on Acorn and 20 on the main lake at Plantations just down the road. I bumped into Match Secretary Barry Fowler in Cadbury Angling on Saturday who informed me a number of anglers had gone down with the dreaded lurgy including our Steve Bonwick our Chairman. It was all to be on Paddock Lake at Acorn, fair enough.
Breakfast was from 07:45 at the Bridge Inn Yatton but there were only a handfull of us had it there as most went to Acorn for Breakfast. I can understand this as mine wasn't very good and appeared to have been cooked for a while. Everyone had to come to the Bridge Inn anyway as we done the draw there.
29 Turned up including some members who don't fish our matches that often, a prize for everyone being the attraction but it is good to see them.
Draw was at 09:00 with fishing 10:30 - 15:30. I drew peg 5 on the island, not fished it before but was told it has form with fish coming to the left hand edge or shelf later in the match. I planned to keep it simple today and fish the bottom of the far shelf, middle and left hand edge. Feed was to be caster, mirco and dead red, for company on peg 4 I had Paul Nicholls and on my right on the far side was Lance Tucker who is always worth a few fish, I think he won the previous day on Plantation with 96lb on the pole off peg 8.
The match started and I was just about ready, fed my lines and first put in on the bottom of the far shelf with a dead red produced a small skimmer, then nothing for about 30mins when another skimmer graced the net. Looking around no one was catching. I fished the middle line most of the match, in hindsight I should have just stuck to down the lefthand shelf. I had one carp across and one down the left hand side with about 15 mins to go. My middle line produced a few more skimmers.
My two carp weighed 7lb odd and my skimmers went 2lb 2oz, Paul next to me weighed in a few ozs less than me, Lance to my left weighed 25lb odd.

1st  James Gunter 60lb 06oz
2nd Brian Slipper 42lb 13oz
3rd Mark Bromsgrove 36lb 08oz.
4th Lance Tucker 25lb 14oz

Silvers
1st Simon Carvallo 21lb odd
2nd Mike Owen 2lb 12oz (I wasn't far away with 2lb 2oz)

Sections
A - Barry Fowler 12lb 11oz
B - Clive Richards 22lb
C - Paul Faires 23lb 07
D - Glen Calvert 24lb 9oz

1st James Gunter

2nd Brian Slipper

Prizes, alcohol being the main theme

Press report to Anglers Mail and North Somerset Times below.

Clevedon Freshwater Angling Clubs Christmas Match was held on the Acorn Fishery Kingston Seymour, 29 Anglers took part hoping to win some festive cheer as well as catch a few fish. For most of the day it remained dry but the recent heavy downpours affected the fishes appetite. Feeding the correct amount and bait presentation was the key to success. James Gunter drew peg 6 and pole fished maggot up close to a bridge catching a very creditable 60lb 6oz of carp made up of fish to 6lbs for 1^st place. James won a Tesco Hamper, bottle of champagne and cash. Second was Brian Slipper who took advantage of an empty peg next to him to catch 42lb 13oz, all carp. Third and drawn on the other side of the bridge to James Gunter was Mark Bromsgrove with a mixed net of fish for 36b 8oz. Top silverfish net went to Simon Carvallo who weighed in 21lb. Four anglers failed to catch, one of them the legend that is Kev Perry which shows how difficult it was on the day. Kevin made up for it though winning 1^st and 3^rd prize in the raffle. The Club would like to thank The Bridge Inn, Cadbury Angling and Acorn Fishery for supporting this event.



Well done to the guys for putting this match on and getting all the prizes, it doesn't just happen.

We have a pairs match next Sunday 30th Decemeber on Plantation Main Lake, lets hope the weather holds.

Happy Christmas all.

Sunday 9th December - Clevedon Club Match Rushcombe Lake

''What a load of Bullocks''

This was my first outing in a month and although not a huge fan of Rushcombe Lake at this time of year I was looking forward to wetting a line.
It was a 08:30 draw and I got there about 08:15, as I drove up towards the car park I saw that the Match Lake had been closed off and I could see a lot of the Frys AC guys. Was this to be an interclub instead? Not so Frys were running their own match and there were only a few of Clevedons anglers, namely 7! Which is poor and has been the case for a number of months, it also appeared there was some confusion with the booking but was not a problem as there was plenty of space and hardly any pleasure anglers.
Paul Faires pegged out and we were all huddled at one end but 4 pegs were put on the island which in my expericene always fishes better. I didn't draw on the island and I had Mark the 'paste' Walsh to my left and John the 'duck' Wolstencroft to my right. On the island was Paul Faires, Glen Calvert and Ady Baker.
It was going to be rock hard, the water was clear, down about a foot (how can this be given the rain we have had) and there was a chilly wind coming straight up the lake and into the face of Walshy, at the end of the match he looked like he had been on holiday for a week lol.
Simple rigs today (for everyone), 0.09 or 0.10 to a 20 or 18, little or no feed and dead or live maggot or punched bread on the hook.
At the beginning a few of us had bites from brown goldfish fairly quickly but then nothing. I think Ady caught a carp about 40min into the match and then don't believe he had another bite!!!
I caught 5 brown goldfish all day, Walshy caught a couple and John Wolstencrof who got his head down and fully concentrated almost right to the end blanked, not a bite.
On the island it was a different story, the press report below covers it.

Slow day on Rushcombe

Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club members took advantage of a break in the recent adverse weather conditions and fished a match on Rushcombe Lake which is part of the Bullocks Farm complex at Kingston Seymour. A biting wind combined with low and very clear water made it a difficult day for most and bites were a premium. Competitors had to use ultrafine lines and small hooks and minimal feed to induce the fish into taking the bait. Glen Calvert took full advantage of a reasonable peg and put together a decent catch of small carp for a winning weight of 14lb 9oz. Glen pole fished to far bank features but in the closing stages of the match took two better fish from a halfway point and caught on dead maggot. Paul Fairs and James Gunter fought it out for second place with Paul just edging James with 7lb 8oz of small carp caught on bread to James 7lb 4oz.

1^st Glen Calvert 14lb 9oz

2^nd Paul Faires 7lb 8oz

3^rd James Gunter 7lb 4oz

Glen with his winning catch.

Next outing is the Clubs Christmas Match 23rd Dec on Acorn and Plantation, 20 pegs on each.

Quiet times

Not been out for a few weeks due to work and the match scheduled for last Sunday on Apex was cancelled due to no one to run it and not many interested, sad times indeed.
I have been looking at the results / weights coming from the lower and middle Bristol Avon which is becoming very tempting. Chippenham is about 45 mins away from me and the local club are very active on the river, they have a great stretch and access is also good.
Next outing is a Clevedon Club Match on Ruscombe Lake at Bullocks Farm on 9th Dec, will be intresting to see if it goes ahead, after that the Christmas Match will be on Acorn Fishery which will prob be a sell out.
I believe we should have more Silverfish matches even if they are on a commercial and it might bring the attendance numbers up.
Anyway  reports (I hope) to follow over the run up to Christmas.

Tight lines

Clevedon Club Match 11th Nov - Plantation main lake

What a hard day, the results and press report below give an overview of the day. I drew peg 1, not great, had 3 carp for 18lb which was good on the day, some anglers DNW and some packed up early.

Press report......

Rod Wotton and Andy Hembrow enjoyed a head to head battle during the latest Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club competition held on the main lake of the Plantations complex at Kingston Seymour. Both of them were pegged opposite each other and both fished the same method which was the pole at 14 meters with pellet on the hook and spraying regular helpings of pellet to attract quality carp throughout the five and a half hour match. Rod took an early lead in the first couple of hours but Andy was soon catching up and at the end there was only a couple of fish between them. Rod weighed in 138lb 4oz and Andy put 133lb 14oz on the scales. Their nearest competitor was Kev Perry with 56lb 7oz, after that the weights dropped dramatically with the majority of anglers struggling. Glenn Calvert won the silverfish prize with a mixed bag for 16lb 4oz caught on chopped worm.

Rod Wotton

1^st Rod Wotton 138lb 4oz

2^nd Andy Hembrow 133lb 14oz

3^rd Kev Perry 56lb 4oz

Silvers – Glenn Calvert 16lb 1oz

Sunday 28th October Woodland Lake Trinity Waters

Not much to say about today, very hard only ended up with 10lb but better than some who realy struggled. Started of with 2 fish on the bread then a tench in the margins - that was it!

Press report below.

Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club kicked off their winter programme of competitions at Trinity Waters just outside Bridgwater. Anglers were not only glad of the extra hour in bed but also the rise in temperature from the previous day. As usual competitors were greeted with complimentary tea and coffee on arrival and orders taken for superb breakfast rolls which were delivered to the anglers pegs an hour into the match. An hour into the match it was evident the fish were going to be hard to come by with just a few anglers catching despite feeding cautiously due to the flat calm conditions and the water still very cold. Andy Hembrow had fished the venue during the week leading up to the match and used up to date information to assist him win the match. Andy pole fished at 14 meters straight out in front fishing no more than 1 foot deep in 10 feet of water using pellet on the hook and spraying pellet at regular intervals for a magnificent 161lb of carp. Second and over 100lb behind was club match secretary Barry Fowler with 42lb 1oz, Barry had some quality carp backed up with some silver fish caught on the worm. Top silver fish net went to Mark Barlett with 12lb of bream, skimmers and roach.

Pic below of Andy Hembrow with part of his catch.

Sunday 21st Oct River Avon Swineford

This was meant to be an interclub between Clevedon, Frys and Frome Vale. Only Barry Fowler and I turned up from Clevedon, 5 from Frys and 4 from Frome Vale.
The river had been high for a couple of weeks and was running off nicely but still had a lot of pace. Dean Harvey and I pegged it and everyone had some slack water some more than others but thats river fishing for you.
I drew peg 3 with a little slack and barry drew peg 1 which is permanet peg 2, Barrys peg looked like the one to draw but personally some of the pegs around 5, 6 and 7 appeared to have more potential.
I had slack to my right but it had a lot of mini wirls as the current pushed into the bank and back out again.
I set up 2 feeder rods, on ewith a 42grm and the other with a 30grm.
View from my peg below.

I had 1.5 pints of caster and worm plus some reds. Second chuck down to my right I started getting small knocks, after a few misses I hit a roach then a dace and a few more roach all in the first hour. To cut a long story short I only ended up with 10oz.
Dale Harvey had about 12lb of pike! and nothing else, pike did not count!!!!
The top weight was Dean Harvey with just over 5lb of nice roach, pic below.

Dean caught most of his fish on the float, he did have a lovely piece of slack water. On reflection I should have laid on a rod length out with a 12BB crowquil but hey ho. Barry on peg 1 weighed in 1lb 10oz.

Still nice to be back on the river, 2 anglers also caught some nice brown trout.

Not sure about next Sunday, Frys are holding a match on their stretch of the Avon so could be tempted if Clevedon don't have a match, according to my calender its Trinty Waters but yet to be confirmed.

Saturday and Sunday 13th / 14th October River Kenn and Apex Lake

Saturday;
I got a call on Friday to inform me that the Clevedon Inter Club Match with Frys AC had been cancelled due to the Avon being in full flood. It was the right call as the banks can be dangerous under normal conditions.
My wife went to Weymouth with her mum and brother for the weekend so I planned to go out somewhere on both days.
I fancied fishing the River Kenn again after my success a few weeks ago and didn't think the river would have been affected that much by the recent rain. I was also toying with fishing Bristol City Docks at Baltic Wharf or Apex Lake in Highbridge.
After doing a few odd jobs on the Saturday morning I headed down to Cadbury Angling and picked up some caster and maggot, I already had plently of worm and groundbait. I had intended to go the long way round to the shop to look at the river on the way but decided against it, surely it would be fishable. Wrong!
I got to peg 5 and could not believe it, the river was rushing through and at the lowest I had ever seen it. I was going to go on one of the local lakes but saw 2 big fish move above the outfall. That was it, I tackled up with just the feeder and fished a whole worm on a 14. It was hard work with all the weed etc but I did manage an eel about 1 hour in. Soon after I caught a glimpse of someone on the bank behind me and did not take that much notice until I heard something along the lines of..... '' never seen the river so low but there is a mad irishman fishing peg 5'', I turned around and it was John aka 'the duck' Wolstencroft! I caught 1 more eel while John was there.
John was looking for somewhere to fish on Sunday and after a short debate we agreed to meet at Apex the next morning for a days silver fishing. John went off about his business, I stayed until 2.30 and packed up.

Sunday;
Up bright and early on the Sunday morning at 6.30 to meet John in the car park at Apex at 8.00. I looked out and the car was covered in frost, bugger! I let the dog out and to be honest it did not feel too bad.
On the drive down the M5 the temperature changed between 2 and 2.5 degrees. I got here about 8.00, John was already there and unloaded ready to go, he had not been out for a few weeks either. A quick chat about where to fish and we decided on going around the back of the lake, I pitched up on 29 and John on 30, the pegs did not appeared to have been fished recently.
Both of us took a simple approach today, a light feeder set up for the first hour, 1 pole rig (although John set up 2 the only difference being elastic strengths). 18 hooks and 0.10 hook length. Feed would be caster in a dark groundbait mix and worm, caster, maggot on the hook.
We started fishing around 10 with both of us cupping in some caster etc, john was fishing 11 meters, I opted for 14.

View of my peg

First cast in with the feeder I got knocks straight away which I was not expecting, there was hardly andy ripple and we had a bright blue sky. John also had bites straight away and was soon putting a small skimmer in the net. I soon followed with a skimmer and some roach but they were hard to hit. After an hour John out the pole out and I could see he was getting bites every put in but was bumping a lot of fish due to the size of them. I stayed on the tip for another 30 mins or so and put a decent 12oz roach in the net.

Out on the pole line around 11:15 and I to got bites straight away, caster and crumb were put in with via the kinder cup and a proper ball via the pole cup every 20 mins or so. I soon had quite a few skimmers and som better samples, it was great to fish a match top 3 with a preston blue hollow elastic, proper fishing. John also ha a few better samples. We both had to chop and change hookbaits to keep the fish interested but they did respond to feed every time.

We packed up around 4.00 and just after an isolated heavy showerm the wind had picked up as well.

John weighed just over 13lb, pic below.

No ducks today for John but there was a grebe on a suicide misson in his peg toward the end of the session.

I weighed in just over 20lb and only beat John due to having some better samples. My camera has been playing up and John took this pic of me while I was looking down, he had another reason for taking the pic too quickly as he was probably still dizzy after falling of my platform backards!

Apex Lake is on the North Somerset Anglers tab, it's not a commercial and there is a good head of silvers in it as well as carp, it is a great winter venue and has easy access, most pegs have platforms. The average depth is around 5' to 6'.

All in all a great day, thanks for the company John.

Next Sunday we are due to fish an interclub on the Avon at Swineford, river conditions permitting.

Clevedon Charity Match Report for 7th October

As stated previously I was unable to fish this event but Chairman Steve Bonwick and Scot Smallwood sent me so info for the press resports.

The event was held to support Cancer Research UK and was a complete sell out, 40 pegs spread over two lakes at the Plantation Fishery Kingston Seymour. The match was also sponsored by Ecolab, Cadbury Angling and Veals of Bristol. I believe there were 20 pegs on each lake and overall individuals paid out on each lake with runners up which is fair.

Big Carp man and Commercial Match angler Mark Barlett won off the main lake with just over 162lb of carp mainly on the pellet waggler with Brian Slipper second with 152lb caught on the pole shallow.
On the smaller lake (formally Horseshoe) seasoned all rounder Kev Perry won with 74lb, Kev caught long down the margins on meat and paste, second was Paul Nichols with 41lb.

Each year money is raised by asking people to guess the winning weight with 50% of the takings going to the person who guesses the nearest. P Hill guessed 162lb 5oz and won £235.

Overall the event raised £625.

Winners pictured below, Mark on the left Kev on the right.

Not sure if we have an inter club with Frys AC on the Avon this comming weekend if we have I'll be there.

No fishing this weekend either!

I did not fish last Sunday mainly because I was knackered after a heavy week at work with lots of travelling involved, I also had to go to Leicester on the Saturday.
I was looking forward to fishing the Charity Match our Club is running on both lakes at Plantation but had to pull out today due to going away for the weekend as my wife starts a new job the week after which in turn affected our plans, hey ho. Hope to fish against Frys on the Avon on the 14th though. Another bit of good news is that Ireland is booked for Sept 2013, going back to the Anglers Rest in Ballyconnell run by top angler and ex irish international Francis McGoldrick.

Sample of roach and hybrid catches from last years trip

Steve Vernon

Himself

Cheers

You thought the weather here was bad?

Have a look at the conditions anglers faced during the world pairs championships in Ireland the other week!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwFkk8VPYQE&feature=player_detailpage

River Kenn - inter club match with Frome Vale Sunday 23rd September

With a roast dinner now inside me and a hot shower I have finally warmed up after today on what felt like the first day of winter.This was meant to be a 3 way inter club match between Clevedon, Frys and Frome Vale. Due to some confusion Frys had booked Paddock Lake at Acorn Fishery as the venue but it was always on the Clevedon Match Programme as the River Kenn. With a commercial fishery booked Frys did not have much choice but to go ahead with Acorn but on their own, it also meant they had to fill up the pegs which I believe attracted some of our guys who would rather fish a commercial (each to their own). There were also other matches on in the area which affected our numbers. Anyway I was always going to fish the Kenn.
The draw and breakfast was at Warrens Holiday Camp, the service is a bit slow but a very editable breakfast was enjoyed by the 5 Clevedon and 3 Frome Vale anglers. The slow service adjusted the fishing times to 10:30 - 16:00. A very civilised draw took place by passing the bucket around, there were at least 3 pegs between each angler and we were all on the bottom stretch below Strode Rd. I drew peg 5 which has a lot of form and with only one angler below I couldn't wait to get to the peg.

View of my peg, you could get right in the water.

Simple set up today waggler at various depths and adjusted as necessary between the far shelf and down the track, loose feed caster and red maggot on an 18 to 0.010. Feeder rod with small cage feeder to a 14 hook with either worm or maggot, groundbait 50/50 green swim stim and sensas noire - sorted.

High tide was due at 12:50 which always seems to put the fish off for a couple of hours due to nil flow.

At the start and while the river was moving through nice I started on the wag, 15 mins in I had my first fish, a small perch, more followed from the far shelf. I rested this line and went down the middle, I had been feed both lines, the float sailed away 2nd trot down and I bumped a good fish, then I had a few roach. Rested this line and went back on the far shelf, good fish on, thought it was a tench, just as I thought I had it beated in snapped me, I just saw it beyond the net, a chub about 2lb (we stocked these a few years ago but they are rarely seen. I then had a couple of them plus some roach (these have been rare as well this year). High tide came and stopped the flow I only added a few more perch in the next 2 hours. Match Secretary came up walking the bank, I told him I had about 4lb at the halfway point, he told me James Gunter had one bream and other than that onlt a few perch had been caught, some anglers blanking. I decided to ball in down the track and put 5 in with caster and dead mag for later. The tide ran off and flow returned about 14:15 and with that managed a few roach and hybrids. I then went over the groundbait line and had a good bream 4th trot down but no more followed. About 15:00 I was trotted the far shelf and just tripping bottom when I had another good bream, surely this should be enough. Only two small fish followed in that last hour.

I packed up at 16:00 and walked up to James he had not had anymore bream. The scales came down and 2lb 15 was winning it, only James and I had to weigh as the Frome Vale angler below me packed up at 15:00.

James weighed in 7lb 14oz, pic below with his bream.

I weighed in 14lb 14oz for top weight on the day, pic below.

The pic below is better concerning the catch, it was taken while I was trying to line them up hence the head was down.

What a great day, press report below and I need new water proofs.



Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club staged an inter club competition with Frome Vale on their home water the river Kenn. Bad weather, a high tide in the middle of the match and other open competitions elsewhere affected the number of competitors.  A hearty breakfast from Angelina’s Restaurant at Warrens Village helped the anglers face the onslaught of winter and the continuous rain which fell for the duration of the match.

The river Kenn can be a difficult venue at the best of time so anglers were given plenty of space between the pegs in order to maximise their chances of drawing fish. Club Press Officer Ivan Currie has been putting some time in on the venue and knew exactly what to do when he drew Peg 5 at the end of the down stream section near the sea wall. Ivan fished the float all day with light tackle and fed caster sparingly with red maggot on the hook searching out chub, roach, hybrids, perch and two good bream for a very respectable 14lb 14oz. Second on the day was James Gunter another Clevedon angler who was immediately upstream. James weighed in 7lb 14oz which as made up of one good Bream that he caught on the pole along with some perch. Frome Vale angler Roger Worlock was third overall with an all perch net of 2lb 15oz.

1^st Ivan Currie

2^nd James Gunter

3rd Roger Worlock



Sunday 16th September - Inter Club with Frys Shiplate Farm

I was made aware of this match out of the blue, it was not on any match programme I have but solved my problem of deciding where to fish this weekend. The last time I was there I won it off West Pool and to be honest although it's a bit of a strange venue I was looking forward to it.
I arrived in the car park in plenty of time for the 08:30 draw and there were already a load of the Frys guys there, I was surprised to only find a 3 other Clevedon member present, maybe the others had made alternative arrangements as it was not on their match programme either! I parked up beside 'my mum fed me paste when I was a baby Walsh', can't knock the guy he has so much faith in the method and he won the previous days open on Acorn. A couple of other Clevedon members turned up giving us about 6 versus 16 to 18 of Fry's.
The draw was called and a debate commenced regarding fishing times 10:15 - 16:45 or 17:00 etc etc 10:15 to 16:30 was the final decision, some of the Frys members fish the star light matches on the Bristol City Docks on a Thursday night so would not have worried if we fished until 21:00 (9pm in old money)!
Pegs were thrown up in the air, I fancied West Pool again as a match had been fished the previous day on Hawthorns. I picked up the peg card open it up and it just said 10 but on which lake. Dean Harvey (draw master) confirmed the pegs with just numbers were on West Pool. Not bad methinks and 2 pegs away from where I won it from a few weeks ago. I knew what to expect so was fairly happy, I also had a spare peg each side of me as only the even numbers were in except for peg 7.
There were fish moving along the far bank at 16 meters but not much else.

View of my peg below from the high bank which is real pain for pole anglers.

Eye level view of the peg.

I did have a plan which was hard 8mm across and feeding 6's at the bottom of the far shelf, micro and dead maggot down the middle and paste off the inside shelf. Question though - whty did I have 8mm, 6mm, 4mm, corn, worm, paste, dead and live mag plus meat on the bait tray!

The all in went at 10:15 and I was ready, baited up the target area's and started on 8mm across, the sun kept coming out and in and the light was rubbish, a change to a yellow top solved that and I had a small carp after 20 mins not much was happening at all from what I could see, others were fishing tight across very shallow feeding mirco. Peg 8 above me started to catch and lose fish (foul hookers). I got the odd carp at 30 min intervals and soon switched to the middle on dead read and caught a couple of skimmers but even they were not having it properly. 2 hours in the paste line failed as well. No point rambling on, West Pool anglers really struggled compared to Hawthorn which was surprising.

I weighed in 27lb 6oz which was good enough for a section win, the top silvers weight did come off our pool though but it was not massive.

The winner on the day was Bristol City Docks expert and seasoned Commercial angler Pete Sivell with 99lb 10oz.



1st   Pete Sivell 99lb 10oz (Frys)

2nd  Paul Chapman 81lb 13oz (Clevedon)

3rd   Jason Bird 60lb 13oz (Frys)

Silvers - Derek Coles 16lb 1oz (Frys)

A good day out though despite the fishing and money well spread out (well done Dean).

Sunday sees us fishing an interclub between Frys (River squad) and Frome Vale on and wait for it the River Kenn (hard but fair), at least the bait will be kept simple!!!!!



No fishing Sun 9th Sept - 34th Wedding Anniversary

Almost forgot about Wedding Anniversary but saved the day a weekend staying in the Red Lion Clovelly. Match was on Trinity Woodlands and not Shiplake as previously mentioned in last blog. Back the week after somewhere but not sure where yet.

Sunday 2nd Sept River Kenn

I picked up a pint of caster and a half pint of maggot Saturday afternoon from Cadbury Angling,I still wasn't sure where I was going to go on Sunday. I had toyed with the Summerhayes open but the thought of coming back up the M5 with all the holiday traffic put me off, I also thought about trying to book int Shiplake but decided against it as we have a Club match there next Sunday. I got up about 8.15 on Sunday and still was not decided, had a bit of breakie and kept looking out the window for devine inspiration. There was some very light drizzel and it was overcast with a little bit of wind. Motorway section of the River Kenn it was to be then. I got some worm from the compost bin and loaded up the car at around 9.30. I parked in the layby in Davis Lane and went back and forwards from the car with my gear over the two stiles. All on the re-assembled barrow and off up toward the motorway. I didn't take a pole, just waggler and two feeder rods.
I was mindful of picking a swim with far bank cover as there are a lot of dog walkers on the far bank during the day and they do not give a monkeys if their dog goes for a dip opposite you. The water was fairly clear as well and there was a gentle upstream breeze, there was also a lot of streamer weed either side of the middle, it did look fishy.
I settled in on a comfortable bit of bank and was able to get close to the water, the M5 mototway was about 3 or 4 pegs upstream.

I mixed up some Sensas Silver Fish with Green Swim Stim and Sensas Magic, it looked great and a nice dark colour. I set up the wag and found about 6' down the track, the medium feeder rod was set up with a small 20g cage feeder to a 16 drennan carbon chub tied to 0.13 due to the weed.

I started fishing just before 11.00 with catapulted casters don the track and began with the wag, it was going through quite nice. After a few trots down the float buried and the predictable perch of about 5oz as soon in the net, a few more followed over the first hour before putting the rod up the bank behind me. I decided then and there to have a more postive aproach and put a worm and mag out on the feeder casting about two thirds across, more perch followed but a better stamp. About 12.30 I got really positive pull rounds but could not connect, liners? Bream where about as slime came back on the line, I tried casting shorter but same thing happened, no connection with the bite. I put on a whole red worm with 2 maggots and on the next pull connected with a bream but slipped the hook. Out again but this time connected, a good fish around 4lb was in the net after a  good scrap. More liners followed the I connected with what I thought was a carp! It tore off down stream and into some weed, I got it out and it came to the surface, looked like a common carp in the sun and ripple. I got in in after a hell of a fight, it was a big hybrid around 4lb 8oz. It appeared to have killed the swim with all the splashing around etc but a few more perch followed. While I was about to swing one in around 4oz this huge perch followed it in. I packed up at 3.45 as had to pick mum up for dinner in Portishead. So al in all a good day, 1 Bream, 1 Hybrid and 12 perch for well over 10lb. Pic of the bigger fish below.

Only saw one roach top all day but a lot of fry in the margins. Shiplake Farm next Sunday for Clevedon Club match and back to work tomorrow.

Fluff chucking on Chew Thursday 30th August

As mention in my previous post I had planned to go fly fishing for a late afternoon evening session with Dan from Cadbury Angling. I was meant to recieve a call from him around lunchtime confirming that it was still on. 13:15 ish and no call so phoned his mobile and it went straight to voice message, a quick call to John at Cadbury suggested he was going. I made myself a decent lunch and loaded the car up ready for the off around 15:00. At around the same time I had a message from Dan saying he was not going due to picking up some kind of flu bug. A quick decision saw me get on the lap top and check out if a singleton boat was possible on Chew, this was soon folowed by a call to the lodge and I booked a boat, £23 for 16:00 - 20:00. I arrived dead on 16:00 and was out in the boat 10 mins later. I could see a few boats down in the bay immediately below the lodge and thought that'll do for me. I started off right down the bottom end and just drifted within 10 mins I had my first pull on what I think was the orange gold headed lure, I had a couple of nymph's further up the 18 foot leader. The wind was quite strong and kept pushing me into a weeded area which meant I had to start up the engine again. Across on the lodge bank the boats that were there were protected from the win by the trees and didn't seem to move much. I was soon across which was much better in terms of drift and fly presentation. No one was catching around me, the about 17:30 the boat further up the bank had 2 in quick succession, I also saw a few fish move on the surface but the sun was still quite bright. A wind knot made me replace the leader and I only put on 2 flies this time but extended the leader by 2 foot. On the end was a red diawl bach

and further up was a green diawl back
Both on size 14 hooks.

Its amazing casting these small flies into some 1,200 acres that you can catch at all.

I decided to do a very slow retrieve as I guessed most of the fish were down deep, I had another pull but missed it, I still haven't got the hang of the strike when fly fishing. 20 mins later another pull and managed to hit it this time. A real craker of a fish, 5 mins later he was in the boat and knocked on the head a really good fish.
Back out and nothing for about 20 mins the another pull, did  not connect, same again back out hit a fish this time but came off half way to the boat.
19:50 I headed back in, the boats had to be tied up by 20:00. I weighed my fish at the lodge, 4lb 4oz, pic taken below in my kitchen just before it was cleaned and put in the freezer.

No matched scheduled for the weekend so not sure if I will go out orn not, the following week we have a club match at Shiplake. I might go back on the Kenn for a few hours if I go out at all. It's been a good week off work.

River Kenn Wednesday 29th August

With the week off work and no major jobs to do (Mrs. C was also at work) I planned to take full advantage of the situation. After the success of my short spell on the Kenn last week I planned another visit so popped down to Cadbury Angling yesterday and picked up a pint of caster and some maggot, I already had enough worm. Dan in the tackle shop suggested bream were being caught down near the sea wall. I fancied the motorway stretch myself and had thought about pre baiting the evening before. This didn't happen and I am glad I didn't bother as the wind up there today would have been awful. I got up around 8am and it was persisiting down, you had a job to see through it. I had some breakie and kept looking out at it, a quick check on the BBC site indicated it would be on and off all day with thunderstorms in the early afternoon. I went out to load the car up about 8.45, it felt warm and all of a sudden the rain stopped, that'll do for me. I was driving through Tickenham at 9.15, Bruce Springsteen came on the radio singing 'sunny day' and the heavens opened up again, but I was on my way. I decided to go down the bottom end and pitched up on peg 3, it has a nice solid bank and you can get down level with the water.

I decided just to fish the feeder so mixed up some sensas lake and bream 50/50, half pint of caster and a few grains of corn. With worm on the hook I cast about two thirds the way across, the river is quite wide here and the wind was getting up as well, heres what it looks like looking upstream from peg 3.

Three casts in and the tip rattles, as expected a small perch but at least it's a fish, a few more follow. In between looking at the tip I was watching the surface, although the wind was quite strong the pace of the river looked spot on. After 2 hours with only 4 small perch I decided to set up the waggler. First cast with mag and loose fed caster a roach of about 4oz takes the bait, then a few more and some perch, much more fun than watching the tip. I then hooked what I thought was a small fish the the rod went solid and the line shot off the reel, I thought a pike had taken it. I played it very carefully and got it's head up, a tench of about 4lb, my first ever Kenn tench. I continued to trot for the next couple of hours and only added small fish. The lightening arrived on schedule and it poured down again, once it had stopped about 2.30 I decided to pack up. Overall an enjoyable session, the Kenn has fished hard for the last 2 years but I think it's on the way back, lets hope so. My total weight for the day was around 6lbs. Go on give it a go.

If all goes to plan I will be fluff chucking on Blagdon tomorrow afternoon / evening. 





Monday 27th August Clevedon open at Acorn Fishery

It has been a busy week with starting a new job and my nephew got married on Saturday and we were out with friends on Sunday night so 2 late nights. It was a 9 o'clock draw so didn't get up until 7.15, everthing was prepared a couple of days before so no rush.
Steve Bonwick as in charge again today as match secretary Barry Fowler was away. 21 had booked in and then Adie Baker turned up as he didn't fancy camping. This was an open run by Clevedon so we had a number of anglers from Bristol and they knew the venue well. There are around 3 to 4 matches a week at Acorn and the weights just seem to get better and better. John Wolstencroft was also there, I expected a clip around the ear to be honest after taking the p**s out of him on the blog last week and in the local press (but it was suttle), all was well though until Darren aka 'Nuddy' suggested his pic on the blog last week made him appear a bit camp! Justas well he was out of John's reach.
The draw appeared to be going well until Pete Sivell ended up without a peg! Lots of moans but also joy from those of us who drew 'crap', re-draw, redraw was the cry and so we tried again. First time around I had 18 (no likely), second time around peg 3 (much better but I have never fished it).
To my right was that man again John W on peg 1, to my left was a visiting angler on peg 5.
Simple today, banded across, soft in the middle and paste on the left hand margin. The wind and rain started and then died off a bit and I had a great 2 hours catching 1lb - 2lb carp across, then the wind really got up and on reflection I shouldn't have but I did carry on and try and present across. I had loads of foul hookers that got off and loads of liners in the drop. I did get the odd one but without any consistency. Down the track with soft pellet was short lived as the waves were getting up as well. The last 2 hours I spent on the paste and to be fair did catch on a regular basis, I only wish I made the decision around 1 o'clock. I weighed in 56lb no were near enough. Rich Lovering had 100lb 08oz and only won his section by default!

Glen Bailey won with 136lb, pic below

2nd was Darren 'Nuddy' Vowles with 116lb mainly on the method, pic below.

3rd was Brian Slipper with 103lb 8oz, pic below

Press report for North Somerset Times and Anglers Mail as follows;



On Bank Holiday Monday 27^th August Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club held an open competition at Acorn Fisheries Kingston Seymour. A field of 22 Anglers took part some of which travelled down from Bristol. By the end of the match some wished they hadn’t bothered as heavy rain and wind made it almost impossible to fish beyond 8 meters. Visiting angler Glen Bailey from Bristol drew in form peg 9, he fished into the wind and short for most of the day with paste on the hook and fed 6mm pellet for a tremendous 136lb of carp up to 5lb for first place. Second and drawn on peg 34 by one of the bridges was Clevedons Darren Nudd. Darren decided not to struggle pole fishing due to the high winds and instead used the method feeder casting to the far bank with pellet. It paid off and he caught steady all day putting 116lb of carp on the scales. Third was Brian Slipper, another Clevedon angler who is rarely out of the frame, Brian caugh103lb 8oz of peg 32. Top silver fish net and for the second week running was Paul Faires with 25lb 10oz of bream. If you would like to know more about this popular club please visit http://clevedon-fwac.webs.com/

1^st – Glen Bailey 136lb

2^nd – Darren Nudd 116lb

3^rd – Brian Slipper 103lb 8oz

Slivers

1^st – Paul Faires 25lb 10oz



I have the rest of the week off so hope to have at least one day out fishing.

Sunday 19th August Clevedon Club Match Shiplake Farm

This was the second time the club has been to Shiplake Farm near Loxton and we were on West Pool which is a canal type match venue but much narrower at one end compared to the other maximum width is about 16 meters, I personally had never fished it before. The complex is very popular and does hold regular opens, the owners are also very friendly and accommodating.
I arrived in the car park in good time approx 8 o'clock and I could see that a few of the guys were already parked up and enjoying a cuppa in the fishery reception. I walked back to the car to unload and a few more had arrived, I knew John aka 'the duck' Wolstencroft was there because I could hear him before I saw him, John was having a good old moan about.... well just about everything, he should be on the panel on Question Time, he doesn't mince his words but very entertaining with it. I called out his name while he was having said moan(s) and took this pic, he always looks this happy when moaning.

It was a very warm day and overcast with light rain forecast so everyone was looking forward to it.

Chairman Steve Bonwick was in charge again today but only had to take care of the entry fee and pay out as the owners had gave us the peg numbers and would also weigh us in, great service.

Into the empty beer box which was used as the draw bucket, I was almost last to draw and I pull out peg 12 which mean nothing to me.

After a 10 minute walk I arrived at my peg and could see lots of fish activity along the whole length. On peg 11 to my right I had Nick Harvey but this time he had left Smudge the dog at home, probably just as well due to the number of geese around. I don't think Nick had fished the venue before either as he was on the phone to Dominic Sullivan for advise on depth etc, Dominic advised him it was about 2 foot deep across on the far shelf, it probably was if you went 16 meters plus, Nick actually found it to be around 3 to 4 feet!

I went across to plumb up and had around 4 feet at the bottom of the far shelf, no point in going any further as there was a risk of getting snagged in the far bank vegitation, there was a small will hanging in the water as well. Banded pellet was to be the hook bait over loose feed 6's. I set up a paste rig for the middle where I had about 5 feet and a soft pellet rig for the bottom of the the near shelf which was the same depth as the 14 meter line.

At the start the usual micro went in ith a few 4's on the near and middle lines. Straight across at 14 meters with banded 8 mm and after feeding one pouch of 6's the float buried and a carp about 2lb was in the net, happy days, Nick also had one but took a bit longer to land it. We both had about 4 fish each then in quick succession the it slowed a bit. I looked up and down the match length and there did not appear to be that muc activity hmm. On peg 14 or 15 John Wolstencrof was fishing the tip towards an aireator which was in full flow, I saw him catch a few but he as soon on the pole nicking the odd fish, he lost a good few at the net and the air was blue. Now I know I take the p**s out of John but he just can't help himself, he hooked a duck across on the pole and the air was even bluer, I hadn't said a word and he was shout 'Currie don't say a f*****g word or I'll sue you. I didn't respond, he is a big guy and done some time in the army. The duck escaped and then we had a laugh about it. I looked at Johns peg after the match, he even had 2 decoy ducks in his left hand margin, pic below, spooky or what!!

Anway back to the match. I tried the paste line as I felt confident it would produce due the amout of bubbles over the feed, I had a could of sail away bites but did not connect, I even tried away from the feed and the same thing happened they just were not having it. I could see Nick getting a few on the nearside but this was slow as well. I decided then to concentrate fully on the far bank line taking a fish about every 15 to 20 mins some were foul hookers and very angry but I landed most of them. The sun had come out halfay through the match making the conditions even hotter. At the end Nick suggested I was in ith a shout but I knew John was having a few as well plus there were some tidy anglers on the early pegs.

Steve the owner soon came round with the scales, John was first to weigh and had just over 50lb. hen it came to my turn I put just over 57lb on the scales, pic below, the shadow is Steve taking the pic.

I think Nick next to me weighed in mid 30's,after that weights tailed off. Paul Faires, who is never far away in the frame weighed in 38lb odd, 32lb was made up of a really nice net of bream and skimmers caught on dead maggot or worm, pic below.

Glenn Calvert put in a credible performance in a poor area for over 44lb. I won overall and the win was well overdue.

Local press report for North Somerset Times and Anglers Mail is as follows:

Currie stays cool in the heat to win

Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club visited Shiplake Farm Fishery near Loxton for their latest competition. The weather was overcast at first changing to bright sunshine and extremely warm with no breeze at all making the pool appear almost glass like. Fish could be seen moving along the far bank vegetation and were reluctant to venture out into open water. Press Officer Ivan Currie was on peg 12 and pole fished 8mm banded pellet at depth 14 meters across to the bottom of the far shelf most of the day to tempt a winning 57lb 14oz net of carp up to 5lb. Not far behind and off peg 14 was the ducks favourite angler John Wolstencroft. John weighed in 50lb 12oz but lost around 20lb of fish at the net. Glenn Calvert came third from the other end of the pool with 44lb 6oz. A beautiful net of bream weighing 32lb 8oz earned Paul Faires top place in the silverfish category. The club are holding an open on August Bank Holiday Monday at Acorn Fisheries Kingston Seymour, please check website for contact details http://clevedon-fwac.webs.com/.

Ist Ivan Currie 57lb 14oz

2^nd John Wolstencroft 50lb 12oz  

3^rd Glenn Calvert 44lb 6oz

1^st Silvers Paul Faires 32lb 8oz

No match next Sunday but club open BH Monday on Acorn report to follow in due course.





River Kenn - Strode Rd Sat 18th August

With the wife of to Seaton for the day I planned to get out on the Kenn, I haven't fished it yet this season but when I saw the roach about a week ago when a few of us were swim clearing I had to give it a try. I did intend to get out fairly early, around 9:00 but I was drawn to the shaving light above the bathroom mirror, it went a couple of months ago and it needed a new fitting. 'Simples' I thought a quick drive over to Homebase at Portishead, pick up a new one, fit it and off down to Cadbury Angling for some mag and caster at 10:30. Wrong, no lights in stock when I arrived so up the M5 to B & Q, got one eventually after a conversation with a very unhelpul lady ''well just because it's on display doesn't mean we have it in stock''. Back home with light fitting by 10:30 all wired up and fitted by 11:15, switch on, no light! bugger or words to that affect. Off comes the light and found a wire hand come loose. All back on and working (Mrs. C will be impressed) by 11:45. Then the dog looks at me with 'take me for a walk eyes', up the field and back by 12:15. Quick lunch and out the door, load up the car and in Cadbury for 13:15. Quick conversation with Toby on the way out I bump into Mike Lilly, quick conversation with mike heading for the door while talking. 'You'll have a job to get through the weed' says Mike. Anyway, finally arrived at Strode Road in Clevedon and after a quick walk up and down a couple of pegs I settled in in Peg 40, the one that Barry Fowler cleared the other Thursday night standing in the water wearing a wet suit and using a chain saw!!!!
Simple approach as I only had about two and a half hours. Waggler with maggot over caster. 0.10 bottom to a micro barb 18.
First chuck to the far bank without feeding the float buried and I had a 6oz perch. I fired in a few casters across and had a few more perch then they stopped coming. I had been feeding the middle as well so switched to this line and picked up a few roach and so more perch. The level of the river was more or less at winter level becuase of the recent rain and appeared a nice colour and was pushing through but when the sun came out you could see the bottom on the inside. The sun also caused the bites to cease and I went about 30 mins without anything. At 4:30 and shortly after I got snagged and had to put on another hook length the float buried and the tip arched over 'bream', after a good fight in mid river and avoiding the weed on the inside it was successfully netted. I had another couple of trots through but nothing was forthcoming. I packed up at 4:50. A guy who was feeding ducks (not John the duck Wolstencroft) kindly too the pick for me. The Bream went 5lb 4oz and the bits went 4lb 1oz, not bad for two and half hours.

Just as I arrived back at the car Darren Vowles (aka 'Nuddy') stopped on his way back from Horseshoe to make sure he wasn't seeing things (someone had actually fished the Kenn).

Club match at Shiplake Farm tomorrow, West Pool (its a long ditch really)

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.