Sunday 7th July - SW Super League Round 3, Huntspill

Back on the Huntspill for Round 3 of the SW Super League.

Team today was ....
Clive Branson
Clive Roberts
Gary Swain
Rich Whitmarsh
Mike Withey
Mark Williams
Steve Saunders
Me

Prior to the draw we agreed that Clive Roberts could have the first section below Woolavington Bridge due to mobility issues. So whoever drew this section would have to swap, all above board and agreed with the organiser.

The 2 Clives turned up on time this week (sounds like a civil partnership) so managed to mug them for the pools money rather than sub them. £40 in crisp notes were handed over just as if they rolled off the press that morning (well they are not far from the Royal Mint). We also had Gary Swain from the Principality today as well so 4 Celts (Celts I said) and 4 Anglo Saxons.

I got the Team Sheet, filled in the names, collected the money and handed over to Dave Micklewright who said I was £20 short ......forgot to put Steve Stretch Saunders down... how did that happen. All sorted in the end. Mike Withey went up and done the draw for us and came back with the following....

A Section, Gold Corner - Gary peg 5
B Section, North Bank - Stretch peg 12
C Section, North Bank - Mike peg 21
D Section, Top of Woolavington Up - Me peg 26
E Section, Middle Woolavington Up - Rich peg 33
F Section, Bottom Woolavington Up - Mark peg 39
G Section, Woolavington Down - Clive R peg 47
F Section, Woolavington Down - Clive B peg 53

Not a great draw to be honest and no end pegs, we knew the 3 sections above Woolavington Bridge would be difficult and based on the previous week Gold Corner and North Bank would also be iffy with the breamfest likey to continue below the bridge.

Plenty of time to get to my peg as fishing was 11 - 4.
My peg was pretty open and there did not appear to be much weed. I thought about setting the pole up but the reeds on the fringes of my peg were a good 16 metres out and I felt I needed to go beyond that so set up a waggler instead. 2 feeder rods completed the set up, one 3/4 over with a 14 hook and one just under halfway with a 16 hook.
Groundbait was Green Fishmeal for the feeder and black lake and leam for the waggler line.
I was setting up and Kev Perry walked past me, he was on the next peg to my right upstream. Kev had to go home to Clevedon as he forgot a few things ..... well he does drink Thatchers Haze!!!

I was set up in plenty of time and had a walk down to Rich on peg 33. I walked past Liam Braddell and had a chat with Nige Evans on the way, both in my section. Think Nige is also sponsored by Sonu Baits looking at the amount of ground bait he had mixed up.
When I got to Rich's peg he was with the Legend Gary Etheridge one peg down. Gary was still setting up and was scratching his head setting up a feeder rod (anyone who knows Gary will understand his predicament). I offered to set it up for him with a twizzel boom and running loop. He immediately handed the lot over to me lol. Afterwards he said he'd buy me a pint but I said I rather have a day waggler fishing with you to which he agreed. He is superb on the waggler.

At 11 I started on the long feeder line with a hook length and bait but retrieving and casting out every 5 minutes looking for an early fish. 90 minutes in and nothing. I had been feeding the waggler line with hemp and a little maggot so gave it a try. Again nothing.

My first cast with the short feeder line produced a decent eel which was hooked nicely in the bottom lip followed by another bootlace.
Kev above me was feeiling lonely at this point and started asking what I'd had, I told him but had to ask what he had (he keeps things close to his chest). He told me he had one decent skimmer and a smaller one. Then young England International's Andy Cranston came walking down the bank asking if we had caught, all he had was a few ounces and said most were struggling.

I decided to stay on the short feeder line the rest of the match, I was able to hit a couple of spots more accurately and retrieve quicker. I was hoping for some more decent eels but the last 2 hours I put together a nice net of small hybrids and skimmers and there was also a chance of a bonus fish on this line but it didn't materialise.
Listening to Liam and Nige talk I believed I had done better than them but anglers tell lies.

I walked up to meet the scales and Andy Richings was weighing, his 3lb plus was the best so far. Andy C weighed in and registered 6.5 oz! Kev was net to weigh and said he had 3lbs ish, he weighed 5lb 1.5oz lying b@$%&£d.
I weighed 5lb dead, Liam had 3lb 5oz and Nige 2lb 11oz. So 2nd in section and done by 1.5oz, still a pick up due as they pay top 2 in sections.

Back at the 37 Club most came back. Clive B was also 2nd in section only getting beat by Andy Power off the end peg with a bream 5 mins from the all out. The bream did not feed this week.

Team sheet as follows...

The match was won by Charlie Vallender DGL with 12lb plus from Gold Corner on the pole followed by Nick Chedzoy Thatchers with 10lb from the end peg in the last section above Woolavington (couple of bream), 3rd was Martin Howard DGL 9lb of roach.

DGL won the day.

We are cumulatively in 6th place, ah well.

Chippenham and Melksham next week for a practice match and before that back at Staverton for the Wednesday match.

Sunday 23rd June - Super League Practice Match - Huntspill

Quite a few fished this match despite other clashes i.e. Evesham Team Qualifier. Looking around at the draw I think there were a few who simply came along as it was an ''Open''.

Drew the worst section above Woolavington Bridge....absolutley awful. To my left Nigellas Wyatt had 1 bream in the first 45 minutes plus 2 bits for 2nd in section. Nice Evans had 11lb of pole caught bits for 1st in section. to my right Adam Palmer had 4lb ish on the pole. i tipped back 2lb plus on the wag not a bite on the feeder.

Below the bridge fished ok as predicted as did the upper section above.

Our man Mike Withey aka bream whisper done the business in the last hour putting 4 bream in the net to win his section with 15lb beating up young Andy Cranston who had a bag of white bait for 8lb taking 2nd in Section.

North Bank and Gold Corner fish ok it seems.

40lb plus won the match with a few 20lb weight making up the rest of the frame.

Lets hope I draw better next week.

Staverton on Wednesday for the Open.

Nothing else to say....nothing happened.....

Sunday 29th July - S W Super League Round 4, River Huntspill

Bit of a late blog due to having a bit of a DIY workload and Community Bus commitment this week.

Back on the Huntspill then for the 3rd Sunday in a row. Heavy rain and strong winds were forecast so as a team we decided on an all out Feeder approach as we had nothing to loose. Top positions in the League are gone for us so we are just going for individual glory in the form of pick ups if we can.

Team was.....
Mark Williams (c)
Rich Whitmarsh
Rich Candy
Leigh Wakefield
Martin Bendall
Mike Withey
Steve Saunders
Me

It was blowing up a bit on the way down the M5 along with heavy showers. Leigh and I met up with Rob Jones in the Services and he too was going for a Feeder approach.

The draw was at the 37 Club Woolavington.

Mark came back with the draw and I found myself on 86 which was the Section below Woolavington Bridge. It had not fished that well in the previous weeks. Leigh was in the next Section down on 89 so we both had a fairly easy walk.

When I got to my peg there was one more in just before the copse, after that there was a 50 yard gap. Fortunately the peg below me was not drawn. It must have been put in to accommodate a Hospital Team in order to boost the number of anglers fishing.

The wind was off our backs on this bank so not much effort was needed to chuck a 30 gram feeder tight across (42 turns), I had a line down the middle as well. It didn't take long to set up the 2 Feeder Rods. Usual fishmeal ground bait with choppy, caster and dead reds.

I fed the 2 lines with 6 feeder fulls each before starting right across with half a dendra and a dead red on a 14 to 0.13.  Most other anglers in the section appeared to do the same. 

It took about 30 minutes to get the first indication, just a rattle from a small fish. I hit the bite but nothing. Next cast I had a slightly more positive indication in the form of a slight pull and a drop back on the 2.5 oz tip. Hit it and a positive thud in the form of a bream. Not big, more of a skimmer around 1.5 lbs.  15 minutes later another one, slightly bigger. Lee Green DGL to my right also had one but was not casting as far as me. In the next hour I had another 2 small bream and just kept plugging away but unfortunately no more bream although I was getting the odd liner.

Lee to my right managed a few quality roach on the pole and hemp late to pip me by a few ounces.

They look bigger than what they weighed

Heres how my Section finished, I only needed one proper bream to pick up.

Chris Parr on the first peg in did really well on the pole catching quality roach, hybrids and small skimmers to win the Section.

Heres how our Team Sheet looked, not good.

Overall the River switched off compared to the previous week with only 20lb needed to win.

Top 3 individuals on the day....

1st     Martin Barrett 20lb

2nd    Matt Parsons 17lb 11oz

3rd     Steve Long 16lb 10oz

Teams on the day.....

1st     DGL

2nd    GBV

3rd     Sensas 88

4th     P I Thatchers

5th     Sensas Nomads

6th     Sensas Lobbys

League position to date...

1st     DGL

2nd    P I Thatchers

3rd     GBV

4th     Sensas 88

5th     Sensas Lobbys

6th     Sensas Nomads

Practice Match Sunday 5th on the Bristol Avon at Newbridge, league match the week after.

Sunday 22nd July South West Super League Round 3 - River Huntspill

An extra Team was made up for todays match in order to boost numbers but their points did not count, so 56 fishing today.
I met team mate Leigh at the Clevedon Junction of the M5 South before heading down to McDonalds for a breakfast wrap. Reason being Laburnum house where the draw is held is way over priced. Just as well we did as they had no gas and were just able to do bacon or sausage sandwiches with tea for £5.

Team today was...
Mark Williams (c) ...stands for captain although alternative words are available
Mike Withey
Rich Whitmarsh
Steve ''Stretch'' Saunders ...not sure what Stretch sand for
Andy Thomas
Chris Hook
Leigh Wakefield
Me

Todays Sections were...
A - Gold Corner
B - North Bank
C, D, E, F - Woolavington Bridge Up
G - Woolavington Bridge Down

The Team Plan was to fish the Feeder on A and B Section plus the top end of C, all other Sections we were to spend most of the time on the pole based on the last practice match.

Mark came back with the draw and I saw that I was on 66 which was D Section, not great to be honest but just got to get on with it.
The good news was we were able to drive to our pegs on Woolavington Up, drop our kit off and then park in the usual car park.

The peg was nice and comfortable.

I was the last peg in my Section. I set up 2 feeder rods (as it was always going to be worth a look across and down the middle now and again. A waggler for just past the pole line and 2 rigs at 13 metres, a 0.5 and a 0.75. Ground bait was fishmeal for the feeder lines and magic and lake for the pole.

I cupped in 3 hard and 3 loose helpings laced with caster and hemp before feeding the middle and across with 5 big feeder fulls of caster and some worm.

Starting on the pole with the 0.5 gram rig I had small fish straight away. The trip on the water was just right and heading towards the sea. A few better fish moved in, hybrids, perch and dumpy roach. In less than an hour the bites stopped, the wind got up and the trip was going the wrong way. A change to the heavier rig just brought the odd bite.

A look on both feeder lines for about 10 mins each gave no indications. I tried the waggler but conditions were not right and presentation was rubbish. Back on the pole and nothing so I re-fed. this did not make any difference what so ever.

I couldn't see if anyone was catching around me either. I phoned Leigh and Chris as they were in the Sections below me and they were also struggling just catching small fish although Chris had a few hand sized skimmers on the tip.

A look on the tip down the middle gave me a small rattle and when I hit it I thought it was an eel but turned out to be a 10oz skimmer. I gave it another 15 mins or so which produced nothing.

I stayed on the pole the rest of the match cupping in loose neat ground bait at intervals to pick up small fish and that was it.

Nick Ewers up stream from me sat on the tip all match and was admitting to 10lbs approx.

I walked up to meet the scales halfway down the Section. I asked Mark Bromsgrove what the weights were so far....he said two 14's and a DNW....two 14ozs that was! I thought he was joking...he wasn't.

Anyway this is how my Section panned out with Nick winning it very comfortably.

Nick easily won the Section

There were some fantastic weights today from the inform and known area's of the river.

Individuals...

1st      Tony Goodland 73lb 8oz - peg 54

2nd     Paul Purchase 66lb 12oz - peg 37

3rd      Andy Richings 37lb 15oz - peg - 38 ....Andy came 3rd the day before at Evesham and qualified for the BH Weekend match in August so a good weekend for him.

There were at least 3 other 30lb plus weights.

I tried to get all the Section winners but too noisy when they were read out.

Teams on the day...

1st     P I Thatchers

2nd    DGL

3rd     Sensas Lobbys

4th     GBV

5th     Sensas 88

6th     Sensas Nomads

League to date.....

1st     P I Thatchers

2nd    DGL

3rd     GBV

4th     Sensas Lobbys

5th     Sensas 88

6th     Sensas Nomads

Back on the Huntspill for Round 4 next week.

We had another Team fishing at Evesham today on the last qualifying match for the BH Weekend.

It was great to hear that they came 5th and qualified after narrowly missing out by ounces on the first attempt.

Captain Clive Branson even took a dip to land a chub after his landing net broke..and...apparently he can't swim!

Clive with his 5lb 11oz which was 5th in the match at Evesham

Hope to fish the Staverton match on Wednesday afternoon but hear there is very little flow.

Sunday 15th July - River Huntspill ''knock up'' quick summary

Sunday 15th July was meant to be the 3rd SW Super League match which was to be held on the Huntspill but after the practice match on 8th July it was decided to push the dates back a week as it was World Cup Final Day and all eyes where on England making it. 

I was on a Rhine Cruise while the practice match was being run but was looking forward to the league match on the 15th when I would be back.

Before I go on ....team mate Andy Thomas won the Practice Match on the 8th with over 30lbs so well done to him.

Sensas Nomads have had some success so far this year......

• Mike Martin-Davis has qualified for the Evesham Festival.
• The Team just missed out on qualifying for the Team Event at Evesham (but having another go this weekend)
• Chris Hook and I won the AT/CRT Canal Pairs Qualifier on the Gloucester Canal
• Geraint Powell finished 3rd at Staverton on a Open
• Andy Thomas won the Huntspill Open

I arrived back in the UK on the 12th July so was unsure where I would fish on the Sunday. Andy Thomas put out on Facebook that he would run a ''knock up'' on the Huntspill (North Bank) so I said I would come along. Only 6 in total and Andy sorted out the day tickets. We fished downstream from the famous Gold Corner pegs 37 to 42.

I had not fished this bank for some years but it was where the bream showed the week before. I drew peg 40. It was a hot day with little or no wind and bright sunshine.

Andy Jane was on end peg 37 where Andy Thomas had won the previous week and Derek Jarman was on the other end peg 42 but hadn't brought his Feeder Reels with him (I wasn't supposed to mention that). 

So....

Peg 37 Andy Jane

Peg 38 Chris Hook

Peg 39 Andy Thomas

Peg 40 me

Peg 41 Andy Richings

Peg 42 Derek Jarman

I set up 2 Feeder Rods (middle and across) plus 1 pole rig. Usual Fishmeal ground bait for Feeder and  Lake and Roach for the pole.

I did catch on the pole but the fish were relatively small. I did pick up some skimmers and a decent bream on the Feeder but only after coming down the middle instead of right across.

Andy on 37 was in to bream quite early and ended up with 10 of them for 31lb plus which was more than enough to win.

2nd was Derek on 42 who fished the pole most of the day and the whip now and again. He caught 3 bream on the pole with about 90 minutes to go for 14lb 6oz.

Next door Andy Richings caught bream on the Feeder and Waggler for 14lb 2oz.

I had a measly 5lb 6oz but should have come in closer earlier.

Chris and Andy tipped back and had about the same as me.

Looking forward to Sundays match and hope to get out on my local River Kenn tomorrow.

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).

Sunday 31st July - SW Super League River Huntspill

We had our Team Meeting on the Wednesday night with England International Calum Dicks in attendance. Calum was kind enough to bring us some gifts in the form of pole floats and hooks along with some advice, he was also going to fish with us for the remaining three matches. Given the management structure at Maver UK has changed this will help us to maintain our relationship with the Company which is launching some new products and improving the quality of others over the next few months. I am also going to replace my non Maver items.
We discussed how the venue had been fishing and came up with a plan which all of us would stick to using the pole. Calum gave us a ground bait mix which consisted of a 3kg mix of three different ground baits (we will keep that in our back pocket for future use). We would add a pint of hemp and a pint of caster. It was going to be a positive approach and something we had never done before or been used to. In addition we also into intended to bait up a bream line with an approach we will also keep in our back pocket for now.
Saturday saw quite a bit of prep but once complete I felt confident thanks to Calum.

The very experienced Calum Dicks, good to get his advice.

Match day came with the draw being held at Laburnum House at 08:30 with fishing 11:00 - 16:00. Captain Chris Hook was early in the draw due us paying our money early and we had time for a quick review of the pegs before heading off. 

I was on 57 upstream of Woolavington Bridge, also above the bridge was Calum and Lewis. Passing them they were setting up platforms in the water. The sun was out and a small ripple on the water, it did look good.

As I got nearer my peg I could see Andy Power was on 58. Due to the vegetation no one would be able to see whether or not anyone was catching and on what method.

After the long walk I still had 90 minutes to set up. Two similar pole rigs were set up on 1 gram floats to fish at 14 and 13 meters where the depth was around 4 foot. An eel rig was set up for fishing to my right and left at 10 meters, I also set up the feeder for fishing at around 2/3 rds the way across. it is very wide at this end and did not try to get all the way over.

Ground bait was already pre mixed  and just needed a bit of attention to get the consistency right.

I was ready with 15 minutes to go and looked at the amount of ground bait I had to put in as per the plan!

On the ''all in'' I began feeding the pole lines first and finished 15 minutes later. Next I fed the feeder line which tool another 15 minutes! So with the first 30 minutes gone I put a maggot on my 14 meter pole line. Straight away it sailed under and a 4 oz roach was netted, taking no chances. for the first 2 hours it was all going to plan and I was happy with progress as a few small skimmers and perch also came to the bait. I was using caster on the hook and feeding hemp every put in. 

The wind became stronger so came in a bit shorter and continued to catch although presentation was not great and I bumped a few decent fish. Tried the shorter eel lines but nothing. 

By 3 p.m. and with an hour to go I was knackered holding the pole in the wind so picked up the feeder. 

First cast I had a small knock which I hit resulting in a skimmer of around 8 ozs. 15 minutes later a more positive bite in the form of a drop back giving me a bream of around 3lbs, happy days. I had a couple of small blades and perch for the remainder of the match. 

I had the scales and assisting was Andy who said he had around 25lb, I could hear him casting out the feeder for most of the day.

Here are the scores on the doors for our Section.

I was happy with my weight, I had followed the Team plan to the letter, perhaps if I had gone out on the tip and hour earlier I would have snared another bream or two which would have made all the difference.

Mark Leader had a good day on the bream with 34lbs 13oz and went on to win the match so fair play to him. Andy Power who also had bream came second overall.

Thatchers won on the day with Sensas 88 coming second, cannot remember who was third, we were fourth so not bad, two of our Team picking up 2nd in Section money (Chris and Sam). 

The wind picking up scuppered our plan after 3 hours and we were slow to re-act. Still learned an awful lot and I personally ended up in the top 20 out of 64 anglers. 

Newbridge on the Bristol Avon next week for a practice match before the next two rounds. 

Prep also beginning for the Arva Festival first week in September.

Update - Holiday, River Huntspill, River Kenn

Well it's been a while but then I have been to Las Vegas, Hawaii and San Franciso. Las Vegas was an experience but I've been there and do not intend to go back in the foreseeable future. Too busy, too much concrete and plastic. I loved Hawaii, we stayed on the big island of Oahu flying into Honolulu and headed for some super and quality accommodation on the West Coast. As an ex Royal Navy sailor I found Pearl Harbour quite moving especially when visiting the Arizona Memorial.
Calling into San Francisco for 3 nights on the way home was also very good, Alcatraz especially.

Arriving home on Sunday 17th July we did not have time to get over our ''jet lag'' as we set off to London on the 19th for our youngest daughters graduation, so proud of her.

The remainder of the week saw me sorting my life out and doing some prep for a Super League Practice match on the Huntspill.

The practice match was well attended despite the current mood of the venue, well it's always moody and can be a difficult nut to crack. Most anglers, me included end up chasing those ghostly bream and only the odd angler connects with them.
Lance Tucker was in charge today and he did run a very good match. Sections used were Woolavington Bridge up and down and Withy Grove up and down so good access and not many long walks.
I drew 138 which was upstream of Withy Grove a section I had not fished before but word was there was plenty of roach there. The peg looked quite good when I got there with quite a few small fish topping and what looked like a few blows from the middle across to the far bank.

Set up today as it was a practice was Feeder for all the way across, waggler for the middle and pole at 13 meters.
I will not go anymore technical than that as it was all very simple. Depth was more or less the same all the way across and around foot.
As usual I fed 5 hard ball of ground bait laced with squat, hemp and caster at 13 meters then fed around 8 feeder fulls of chop, squats and caster across.
After that I started on the tip loose feeding the waggler line halfway across. I had a couple of bits on the tip in the first 20 minutes (small rudd) but after that it went quiet. 50 minutes in I was bored so came in on the pole and started to catch small roach. I re-fed and rested this line after 30 minutes giving the waggler a go and had a few small fish on that as well.
The rest of the match was really spent between the waggler and the pole apart from the last 20 minutes on the tip.
I ended up with 1kg 450grms for around halfway in the Section. On reflection i wish I had stuck to either the pole or the waggler all match. The Section was won by Martin Barrett with 6 kgs of waggler caught silvers. 3 kg odd was second.
Overall Kev Rowles won with 8 kg of bream, Clive Branson was second with 7 kgs on the waggler and Martins 6 kgs was good enough for third.
We have the pleasure of Calum Dicks fishing for us in the last three matches and he is giving us some coaching tomorrow night so looking forward to that.

The following day I went on the River Kenn for a 3.5 hour session in the afternoon as my car is getting repaired this week after some twat keyed it while I was fishing a Bristol City Docks Match.
I settled in on peg 22 and fished the pole at 13 meters, with a 1.5 gram float using double caster on the hook over Sensas Roach and Brown Crumb with left over squat, hemp and caster from Sunday. It was a great short session with a mid double figure bag of mainly quality roach and a couple of hybrids.

Great to see the roach showing now.

So.... it's good to be back and looking forward to sunday on the ''spill''.

Sunday 12th July - SW Super League (Match 2) River Huntspill

I missed the first match of the league due to being away on holiday which was also on the Huntspill and was looking forward to round 2. A lot of people moan about the venue but personally I like it. Yes it is usually won with a bag of bream and supported with a few decent backing weights and the rest of the field struggle mainly because they sit out for bream and pin all their hopes on the feeder lines, most end up disappointed and this match was no different. A float only match would be much fairer on this venue (depending on the conditions).
To be fair Team Captain Chris Hook did say try the tip for the first half hour to an hour and then come in on the pole, after all it is a Team Match.
I arrived at Laburnum House for the draw at 08:00, the rest of the Team were already there but on arrival the first person who spoke to me was Maver Lobby's Andy Richings, more of Andy further on.
After a bit of banter the draw was called and Chris went up for the Team (still have not worked out how they do this). I was allocated peg 80 on the South Bank above Woolavington bridge which I didn't mind although in the first match it did not fish that well.
The fishing was to be from 11:00 until 16:00 so plenty of time, the drive was straightforward, parking good and not too bad a walk to the peg with one gate as the access point.
The peg was towards the end of a wooded area and looked ok, no issues with casting due to the trees and there was a bit of colour in the water.

Peg 80 on the mighty Huntspill

I noticed there were quite a few small fish topping so set up a waggler rod a pole rig for 13 meters and 10 meters plus my two feeders from the ready rod bag, one the 13 foot Dutch Master for the far side the other my Drennan Pro for the middle. Bait was 2 pints caster, 1 of red maggot, 1/2 pinkie and 1/2 kilo of worm plus some red worms from compost heap and dead maggot and 2 kilos of GB.
Before the all in and after he had set up my next door neighbour Andy Richings on 79 came down and asked if I think we would catch. I said we would, again, more of Andy futher on.
On the all in I put 8 big feeder fulls in right across, 5 in the middle and cupped in 3 balls at 13 meters and 1 at 10 meters.
I started off with the middle feeder line and had a bite 2nd cast which I hit and it was a 2 oz roach and couple more casts and I was getting the odd twitch from small fish. Out on the Dutch master and I experienced the same, just twitches. After an hour the feeder rods were put behind me and I picked up the wag, I had been feeding casters while the tip rods had been out.
First cast and as the maggot reached the bottom the float buried and I had a 4 oz hybrid in a few successive casts I added some 2oz roach and blades but at least I was putting fish in the net. A look on the feeder lines produced nothing at intervals during the match so I stuck at the wag and pole adding small fish. At around 14:30 on the wag I came in a little closer and cast slightly downstream when the float went under, when I struck I half expected a little resistance but intead thought I caught the bottom and then in started to move slowly and then at speed. Thankfully I had an 0,11 hooklength and after some concerns turned the fish around eventually putting the net under a 3lb bream, happy days. Sadly that was the only one but knew it would be worth a few points.
When the all out was called Andy came down to my peg and said he was still shaking after loosing a 3lb plus bream at the net just seconds prior to the end but thought he had double figures, he fished the tip all of the match.
Andy Power from Thatchers was on the scales and came down our way after starting at the top of the section. 13lb odd was winning before Andy put 19lb plus in the scales with some nice skimmers, he would easily win the section.

Andy Richings Section Winner (old pic from last year on the Avon)

I had a look on the weight sheet and knew I would be 3rd in the section as most had struggled. The scales registered 7lb 7oz so happy with that and good Team points. I could have gambled and stuck it out on the feeder but what would have been the consequences?

Heres how the section fished.....

Team wise not good, Chris had an equal 2nd in section, Dom and Don both 4th and other blew out from what I could see, we finished up one from bottom on the day and remain in that position in the league.

Top weights
Gary Webber Thatchers 27lb 11oz
Andy Ottaway Thatchers 19lb 4oz
Andy Richings Lobbys 19lb 3oz

League as it stands is....
Diawa Gordon League
Preston Thatchers
SensasThyers
Maver Lobbys
Garbolino Blackmore Vale
Maver Cadbury Angling
Sensas Cardiff Nomads

Next match is on the Gloucester Canal in 2 weeks time but a few of us fishing the practice match next week Hempstead to Pilot.

Sunday 20th July SW Super League River Huntspill

On the Huntspill for the 3rd week running now, the first 2 matches I was drawn on the North Bank which has fished awful. This time I drew peg 72 at Woolavington which apparently was ok.... really! My Section was won with 5lb and I managed a credable 5 points out of 8. I had a small skimmer first chuck on the tip in the middle and that was it. The remainder of my 2lb 13oz was on the pole made up of small roach and a couple of bootlace eels. The section above me was not that good either but did produce the winning weight of 50lb. Glenn Calvert won his Section at Gold Corner with 12lb plus beating England International Des Shipp. We scrapped a few other mediocre points to finish some way down the table on the day and now are at 6th overall. I miss this weeks match (on the Huntspill again) as I am off to Canada and Alaska. First week is a Cruise and the second week is fishing with my wifes cousins, salmon hopefully. I have mentioned the River Kenn over the last few weeks and it just seems to be getting better. Here is a fantastic bag of 37 bream caught by Simon Carvello from Peg 9 estimated at around 160lb..

July update on all fronts

It's been a couple of weeks since I last wrote on the blog. Life in general has been a bit manic. My new job is very demanding at present and I feel burnt out by around 3 p.m. each day hopefully it will start to settle down. I had the option to select early voluntary redundancy (no guarantee that I would get it) but ticked the option to stay, I can just see it on my headstone... here lies Ivan Currie, he ticked the wrong box'.

The fishing has also been full on with hours spent on preparation the Saturday before them match. We had a Super League Practise on the Huntspill 6th July following by an Angling Trust Teams of 10 on the same venue yesterday. I drew the middle section twice and within 5 pegs of each other. Generally a poor draw on the north bank and in the main only the end pegs produced, I only weighed in 3lb on both occasions, both times in the middle of the section. The strange thing is I did enjoy the venue, the potential is there, if only the fish were spread out a bit more. Bream dominated and if you were on them you had a decent day. In the middle sections were I was most anglers caught early and then little or nothing. Good turn outs with 70 anglers yesterday and about 50 odd the week before. Yesterdays Angling Trust match result was dominated by the Thatchers Team delivering a very consistent performance as a team and individual pick ups, quality.
We had a bit of a drains up after the match and Dom Sullivan made a very good point, we need to take on board what he said and put it into practise at this weekends Super League match back on the Huntspill.

On a more positive note the River Kenn has been fishing its head off, here is the press report I sent off a couple of weeks ago with Dan Dymonds picture.

New River Season opens in style

The fishing season on rivers commenced on 16^th June and North Somerset’s River Kenn which flows through Clevedon is producing excellent bags of bream, hybrids, perch and eels. The river from the M5 Motor Way bridge down to the outfall at the sea wall is easily accessible and suitable for disabled anglers. Most methods are catching fish but early mornings and evenings are the best times to go. The fishing is controlled by Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club who also have 5 miles of fishing on the Bristol Avon and Paddock Lake at Acorn Fishery Kingston Seymour. A season permit for fishing the rivers is £20 or £35 just to fish the Paddock Lake, a combined permit is £50, concessionary rates and day permits are also available, all through local tackle shops. For more information please visit http://clevedon-fwac.webs.com.

Pictured is Dan Dymond with a fantastic 90lb of quality bream caught in the first week of the season on the River Kenn.

Dan

 Last weekend there was a match on the Kenn, here are the results.........

1st Dan Dymond 71lb 10oz

2nd Adie Baker 71lb 9oz

3rd Steve Bonwick 53lb 4oz

4th Scott Smallwood 51lb 4oz

Here is a pic of one of the nets being carried up to the scales.

Dan and Aidie

Club Chairman Steve Bonwick with part of his catch.

The match was dominated by big bream caught on the wag or feeder. I have yet to get on the Kenn this year which is disappointing.

So that's a quick summary, off to tie more hooks, lets hope they get put to good use.