Sunday 7th Sept SW Super League Bristol Avon Newbridge final round

This has been my first year fishing the SW Super League and the second season for the Team. I have really enjoyed fishing the Gloucester Canal, the Huntspill and of course the Bristol Avon at Newbridge and the upper stretches around Trowbridge. The draw was at 10:00 again with fishing from 12:00 - 17:00 in order to miss the majority of the boat traffic (mainly from the rowing club). Problem is I don't get home unit about 7 p.m.so just time to unload, shower and eat then its bed time and up at 6 a.m. With two of the Team travelling back from Ireland, two sick and one getting ready to move house we again had to draft in Scott Smallwood from Clevedon and three from Bathampton to make up the 8 man Team. Young Lewis said last week I think we should get someone else to draw for us due to a series of poor ones so this week Darren Gillman (on loan from Bathampton) performed the task and it wasn't bad either. I was allocated permanet peg 39 which I was told by three anglers it was a good peg in the winter! So with temperatures of 20 degrees I knew it would be hard. Tim Ford gave me a couple of tips as promised which also confirmed my own plan after my experience the previous week. The peg was high up the bank and only the bottom two rings of the keepnet went into the water but once I set my box up it was comfortable. As with most of the pegs there was a nice tree line on the far bank and an ok chuck for a waggler but feeding with a catty would be a stretch.

I set up a feeder as well but only had a look two thirds away across for 15 mins. Main line of attack was the pole at 13 meters with two rigs, 1 gramme and 2 gramme, depth was just beyond top 3 kit but became a top 4 rig in order to long line for trotting well down the peg.

I balled in 10 good sized jaffa's with a little feed made up of hemp and caster on the all in and went over it straight away, first trot down float sailed under and I was on my way. I could see the Freenze angler on peg 40 doing the same but after an hour I knew I was ahead of him and he had gone across on the wag fishing shallow and catching bleak, Even though bites had slowed up stuck with the pole and kept getting a fish every 20 mins or so. After about 3 hours I went across with the wag to have a look, caught a few bleak and then this line died, by this time peg 40 was chucking the feeder out. I decided then to stick with the pole and put a fish in the net now and then.
The Freenze angler came running up the bank about 3:30 and asked if pike counted, he had one about 2lb. I said I didn't think so and the angler on peg 38 confrmed this (phew).
At the all out I believed I had about 4lb.
I walked down the bank to have a look at the weigh in and saw Andy Richens (Lobbys) tip back 9lb 6oz which included a good bream, Section winner I thought. Andy was also in charge of the scales and when he came to me and I gave him my name he immediately said 'Ivans Angle' which he follows, so here you are Andy fame at last by way of a mention and pic.

Riverfest 2014 qualifier Roy Carter (Sensa Thyers) is in the background, so a first for you as well Roy.

The Section was pretty tight as expected, I got 5 points from 8 so reasonably happy, here are the weights.

On the way back I stopped at team mate young Lewis just below the Pump House who put 11lb odd in the net consisting mainly of chublets on the wag and won his section so well done to him. Back at the results Sam Johnson also won his Section. Overall we finished 4th on the day with 38 points and 5th out of 8 in the league. Lobbys won on the day and Thatchers won the league outright. See Tim Fords account of the match for more info http://cluckerspeg.blogspot.co.uk/

Well next week its back on the Bristol Avon, Swineford and Crane for the first round of the Commercial House League (Teams of 6), we are in A Division this year after winning B Divison last year.

Saturday 23rd Aug Chew, Sunday 24th and 31st Aug Bristol Avon

Well I find myself catching up again on the blog, life is still very busy on all fronts. I was keen to get back on the bank after my holiday and with the wife on lates over the Bank Holiday Weekend it was too good opportunity to miss.

Saturday 23rd Aug.
On Saturday 23rd Aug I went down to get my bait as usual, I was fishing a Super League practice match on the Sunday but was discussing with the guys in the shop where to go, I fancied the Kenn but had been told it was full of duckweed and they had been dredging it further up so lots of floating green stuff, it will be cleared soon though. After leaving the shop I was still undecided where to go. Got back home put the bait away, walked the dog and grabbed the Fly gear and headed up to Chew Valley Lake just after 3;30 pm. £16 after 3 pm from the bank with a 4 fish limit and catch and release is great value. Dan down at Cadbury had informed me they were up in 3 feet of water. The wind on arrival was pretty strong in front of the Lodge but one of the Rangers told me Whalley Bank up between the Sailing Club and the Dam would be OK. I had not fished this stretch before so this would be a new area for me. After a short walk I was surprised to see how good the bank was for fishing and you could wade out quite a bit. I set up a washing line rig with a bright orange booby on the point and two black buzzers as droppers. I love this kind of fishing especially if you can get a good cast, takes are usually pretty positive and you need to hang on. There were a few boats out but I did not see them catch anything in front of me. At about 4.30 I had a really good take and after a scrap a nice rainbow of about 2lb was banked. I moved up the bank abit nearer the dam after about an hour as I saw a few fishing rising a bit further out than I could cast (always the way). At around 6.30 a fish broke the surface in front of me and about 10' behind my flies, a quick pull on the line to cause a bit of friction on the surface and it took the orange booby, a little bigger than the first fish as well. At about 7.45 I was thinking of packing up when a fish rose to my left a few feet out from the bank, I quickily retrieved my line and covered the area where is rose and had an instant take, if was the biggest fish of the session and brought the outing to a great close. I am sure if I had stayed on a bit longer I would have had my limit.

Not bad for a few hours, total weight approx 8 to 9 lbs

Sunday 24th Aug

James Gunter and I were the only members of the Team that could fish this match and was pitched as a Super League Practice (Bristol Avon Newbridge). There had been a match on the same stretch the previous week and there had been a couple of good bream weights as well as a few decent bags of roach plus the usual 5lb weights. Draw wa 10 am with fishing 12 - 5 mainly because of the amount of rowers in the morning period. Times were not ideal as I had to drive to London the following day (bank hol) to move my daughter from West to East London and all thats another story.

James Drew peg 54 and became quite excited, so excited in fact he fell in, had to get helped out, needed his phone replaced but went on to catch 4lb of fish. Think he has caught something else though as he was too ill to fish Sunday just gone.

I drew end peg 150, end of the trees. Walked along with Clive Branson who drew 134, he told me the end pegs in the trees are normally very good.

Found peg 150 which was right next to a kissing gate serving the path that runs alongside the river, it appeard not to have been fished, prob because of all the walkers and dogs. I moved down a little to give myself a bit of room and looking behind me saw the vegitation had been cut back to allow a pole to be shipped, I was still more or less right on the path which is not good and people walking directly behind are a risk.

Peg 150 the patch is directly behind my box.

I plumbed up on te pole at 13m and found it to be top 4 rigs including about a meter of line between the pole tip and the float which was a 2.5 grammer. Also set up a feeder just in case. Balling in mix was Noire, and Lake, laced with a few casters, hemp and cw. I balled in 8 on the all in and fished the feeder for the first 30 mins, it looked like most anglers below me did the same.

I caught roach around the 3oz mark and decided to switch to the pole if that was the stamp of fish. I caught on the pole straight away and for most of the day albeit small fish. I ended up with 8lb 8oz for 3rd in the Section, Section was won with 15lb of roach. Still had a good days fishing on troting through on the pole.

Sunday 31st Aug South West Super League Bristol Avon.

We had to bring in a few ringers for the match by way of 2 Bathampton Angers and Scott Smallwood from Clevedon due to James being ill, Sean also with a back problem and captain Chris Hook and Don Sullivan away fishing in Ireland.

I drew G5 which was about halfway down in the trees so must have been in the region of permanent peg 135 ish, not great. Same set up as the previous week but added a short line for perch over chop and caster.

  Peg G5 my Office for the day, more room this time.

Balls at the ready.

I started on the feeder again after balling in and had a few small roach, went on the pole line after 20 mins and caught straight away but this only lasted for about 40 mins and it went dead, it was the same up the whole section. I did manage a few baby perch down the inside to compliment my 2 small skimmers and 10 oz roach giving me 3lb 8oz one from bottom in the section, the angler below me weight 2lb 8oz and the one above 4lb 2oz so not good Section was won with 6lb 5oz. Last match in the League is next week same venue. I did not hang around as had visitors from New Zealand staying but word on the street was most struggled.

Ah well theres always next week.