I have not been able to fish this annual fixture for some time due to league commitments but a free summer this year changed that and I was looking forward to it.
Durleigh is well known for it's vast shoals of bream and large carp but there is also some very good roach fishing to be had as well.
Even though I had not fished it for some time I was aware of it's current form as there is a league on the venue this year with some regular posts on social media on how it has been fishing.
I spoke to Mark Bartlett on the Saturday when I was over at Acorn Fishery getting some bait. Mark had been fishing the league and he confirmed my thoughts on what the approach should be the following day. Mark was also running the match for us as Rob Fogg had other commitments.
It was still going to be a hot one and I planned to wear a pair of old trainers and shorts to wade out into the water, set up the rigger with my box on it with feet in the water to stay cool.
I arrived at Durliegh in plenty of time, 18 were booked in but 19 turned up ... lol ....so Mark had to squeeze in an additional peg.
After dipping the nets the draw got underway and a dip into the bucket after the mad dash saw me pull out peg 7, my favourite number which is permeant peg 5 on the lake.
A fairly short walk brought me to a nice open peg with Matt Vowles on 8 and Mark Birdseye on 6.
The lake was flat calm and some green algae on the surface.
I set up as planned and it was very comfortable.
It was a bit like an Ireland set up to be fair and good practice for my Irish Festival campaign in September.
Everything I needed was out there..........
2 x 6 metre whips, 1 feeder rod (which I never used).
3 kilo of mixed Sensas Gros Gardons Noire and Black Lake.
2 pints of hemp, 1 pint of caster, 1/2 pint of dead reds, 1/2 pint live reds, 1/4 kilo of worm.
On the "all in" I put in 2 medium sized balls of ground bait with hemp, caster and dead reds. Mark next door put a method feeder out about 60 metres with one of them bandit thingy's or wafter on the hook. I thought he might have a long wait but then again if I wasn't fishing that far out or Nigel on peg 5 he would have that line to himself.
Out went a small 2AA waggler on my trusty Sensas 175 record whip. I had a maggot on the 18 wide gape hook (B560) and it soon sailed away but it was only a 1 oz roach. Back out and the same again.
A change to caster on the hook soon had me netting a small skimmer about 12 oz.
I quickly got into a rhythm feeding small nuggets every few minutes and the fish responded. Lovely roach some of which I netted.
An hour must have passed and Mark next door was into a bream, not a bad fish at around 4lbs. If they rocked up in any numbers I'd be in trouble but thought I was ahead of him at this point. Matt next door on 8 was catching but mixing it between the feeder and waggler so not getting fish as quickly as I was, I couldn't see anyone else.
Things were going well for me and then Mark on 6 had a few more bream.
Hybrids turned up in front of me which were good little weight builders but seemed to force the roach out but feeding a little heavier brought them back.
About an hour to go my waggler rig got trashed, all knotted up so picked up the other whip which only had a 4 x 14 on it.
I was fishing about half a metre shorter now but it didn't make any difference.
At the end of the match I was covered in slim and algae but enjoyed the day.
Mark ended up with 5 bream and a couple of skimmers.
I walked up along the bank to meet the scales, the bank telegraph suggested that Dan Dymond had 10 bream but that was a wind up. I saw Mark (Bartlett) weigh a lovely net of fish going 28lb 15oz. Mark said he saw me out in the water swinging in quite a few fish and asked did I count them, I never do that. That was the best weight from 19 to 12.
Mark Bartlett
When I pulled my net out I knew it would be close, it was, I weighed 29lb 12oz.
A great day
So that put me in the lead but Mark B next door was to weigh next. His bream bag went a level 20lb.
Our own "Top Gun" Mark Birdseye
The pegs after that weighed less so I came out top overall. It was great to beat bream nets using the whip.
Here is a photo of Dan Dymond with 8 bream less in his net lol but he won his section ......
Dan with some lovely fish 20lb 06oz.
1st Ivan Currie 29-12
2nd Mark Bartlett 28-15
3rd Dave Nash 23-09
4th. Adie Baker 20-10
A
section Mark Birdseye 20-00
B section Paul Smith 15-13
C section Dan Dymond 20-06
Evesham again this Wednesday for the final match before the BH Festival and then the Glossy on Sunday with Chris Hook for the Angling Trust Canal Pairs qualifier.
Hey Ivan, when you say the whip do you mean a flick tip, or elasticated long pole to hand? To me, a whip means a flick tip but that term seems to have become extended to include elastication now...
ReplyDeleteFlick tips bend, cast better and are great for smaller fish, elasticated poles don't but are better for the occasional (or regular) netters!