Sunday 11th May Clevedon blind pairs match Shiplate Farm - West and Hawthorn Pools

Press report as follows (I was rubbish)

Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club had a match with a difference down at Shiplate Farm between Loxton and Weston Super Mare. A pairs completion was held on West and Hawthorn Canal Lakes but anglers did not know who they were paired with until the draw was made. Although there were very strong winds on the day they did not present too much of a problem as the majority of anglers had their backs to it. In form angler Andy Hembrow and Cadbury Anglings James Gunter were the top pair on the day with a combined weight of 113lb 14oz. James came second on West Lake with just over 33lb and Andy won on Hawthorn with 80lb plus of carp caught on pole fished meat. Not far behind was the pairing of another in form angler, Adie Baker who came second on Hawthorn and lee Williams who won on the West Lake with 59lb.

Andy Hembrow

James Gunter

Gloucester Canal this Sunday.

Sunday 30th March - Clevedon Club Match Shiplate Farm Main Lake

This was my first outing for about 4 weeks and it was to be my 3rd visit to the Main Lake at Shiplate Farm, I have done ok ish in the past but never enough to frame. When you look at the match results for this fishery most of the good weights appear to come from either of the two canal lakes. It can also be very peggy and today was no different. 16 were fishing today and Rob Fogg was in charge of proceedings. Draw was at 09:00 to give people a lie in due to the clocks going forward. Into the draw basin and I pulled out Peg 12, so around the far side for a change. The weather was glorious and most were in polo shirts. The wind usually catches this lake due to its position but it was more or less flat calm for the first half, it did get up later on and was straight in our faces on the far side which affected the presentation and most struggled in the last few hours. Fellow Maver Cadbury Angling ( http://www.cadburyangling.co.uk/)Team mate (Commercial Branch lol)was fishing the open on West Pool and gave me a few of his special soft pellets to try, and I did catch on them, plus they stayed on the hook better than mine. After talking to Andy he advised me to stick to 13 meters and just fish soft over mirco. So 3 lines were set up with 2 similar rigs and a couple of heavier carp set up's in case the lumps moved in (but they seldon do for me).

set up on peg 12 with plenty of room

So 3 lines fished all day on soft pellet over micro, for a change I stuck to the plan. 4 carp were landed on 5 elastic and I had 6lb odd of small skimmers, total weight 27lb ish and  10th over all, 4 anglers DNW.

Lewis Jones won the day with 63lb 14oz of a kind of end peg with a natural bank (instead of big stones), all carp down the edge except for 1lb of silvers.

Lewis Jones

Noted peg 1 produced 2nd place, rarely out of the frame this peg, on it today was Rob Fogg who fished mainly corn down to his right for 55lb 15oz of lumps.



Rob Fogg

3rd place was Clevedon legend Kev Perry who drew peg 13 and after getting advice from Lewis Jones fished 8mm hard pellet all day over pellet at 14 meters to net 53lb 14oz.



Kev with his catch

Another team mate James Gunter had a decent days fishing trying out his new drennan pole and bagged this nice net of silvers for 15lb odd.



James Gunter

Although a decent net, Mike Owens on the next peg had a great day and took the 1st in the silvers place with 32lb 10oz.



Mike Owens

So let that be a lesson to me, must try harder. Woodlands Lake at Trinity next week.

Sunday 16th February - Clevedon Club Match, Main Lake Shiplate Farm

The press report at the end of this post and results gives you a good idea of the day. I was looking forward to this match especially as I had taken the tackle for a tour of North Somerset the week before and not taken it out og the car due to the conditions (even though I looked at 4 different venues!). I was not a well man either and coughed my guts up all day (which must have scared the fish). I drew peg 5 which has a large amount of open water and set to work with the popped up bread at the start. The last 3 matches when I have used this I have had a carp first cast, today was no different and within 10 - 15 minutes I had a 12lb - 13lb lump in the net. I had to wait until the last 15 mins for my 2nd one. In between I had a couple of skimmers and roach on the wag and caster. I did wait unitl the end to get the necessary pictures for the paper and then headed home to bed, been off sick ever since and today (Thursday just coming around).

Press resport as follows.....

Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club made their first visit of the year to Shiplate Farm Fishery which is situated between Loxton and Bleadon. The main lake was used for the match which allowed for plenty of space between competitors. A cold night with a ground frost and a clear blue sky were not what everyone wished for but after many weeks of rain it did make a welcome change for the anglers to stay dry. Favoured pegs before the draw were 1 and 15 as they border an area of the lake set aside for wildlife giving the anglers who draw these pegs plenty of options. Andy Hembrow when given a good draw does not make mistakes so when he drew Peg 1 the outcome was more or less a foregone conclusion. Andy attacked his swim fishing 14 and 16 meter pole lines with pellet to his far right hand margins for 63lb 6oz of quality carp more than doubling his nearest rival Lee Williams. Lee drew peg 30 but had to chop and change tactics during the match to keep the bites coming finally weighing 30lb 6oz which was made up of a good mixed bag of carp and silverfish. In third place and from the opposite end of the lake of peg 9 was Mark Bromgrove with 29lb 6oz. The top silverfish net of the day went to Rob Wotton with 18lb 8oz of quality skimmer bream from peg 4.

1st Andy Hembrow (2nd weigh)

1st Silvers Rob Wotton with some nice skimmers

Full results, I finished 7th so not bad.

That's it now for about 4 weeks, no fishing this weeked as I have a lot to catch up on before going back to work fully recovered (I hope), then it's off to Thailand for a 3 center holiday, can't wait. So next blog will prob be around week commencing 17th March (St. Patricks Day).

Clevedon Club Match - Shiplate Farm Main Lake 9th June

Nice day for sunbathing, fish did not respond, I drew peg 1 for the second time in two visits on the main lake. I had 5 small skimmers which I did not weigh (approx 2lb if I was lucky), Rich Healey did not get a bite all day, Rod Wotten packed up early as well, really disappointing day. Anglers fishing the Summer League on the two Canal Lakes caught most of the day!
To be fair the guys who framed kept their heads down and went for it, Paul Faires made a really good decision and stuck at it on the normal feeder method for first place in the silvers. Here is the press report.

Clevedon Freshwater Angling Clubs latest Match was held on the main lake at Shiplate Farm near Bleadon Weston Super Mare. Sun cream and hats were the order of the day to protect anglers from the glorious sunshine which also had a detrimental effect on the fishes appetite. Fish could be seen rolling on the surface for most of the day but had no intention of getting their heads down and feeding. As a result a few anglers packed up before the end of the match in frustration after trying every trick in their book to entice the fish to their baits. Andy Hembrow who was on peg 14 on the west side of the lake had an early 10lb specimen carp in the first hour fishing his usual banded pellet over pellet at 14 meters, he went on to add more at regular 40 minute intervals to finish with a total weight of 54lb 12oz and first place. Another regular framer, Brian Slipper was opposite him on peg 6a and put together 35lb 6oz using a similar method for second, had he not lost a number of foul hooked fish he may have pushed Andy harder for the top position. A couple of pegs away from Brian was new comer Lee Williams with 23lb 12oz off peg 5a for third place.

Top silver fish net went to Paul Faires who adopted a traditional feeder rig set up and fished with fine lines and smaller hooks for a number of average sized bream for 7lb 6oz off peg 14b.

Paul Faires

Andy Hembrow - need a new pic

On the River Kenn next Sunday for a pleasure session.

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!!!!!



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.





Clevedon club match Sunday 1st July Shiplate Farm

The text received earlier in the week from match secretary Barry was that there was only 15 pegs as we had Hawthorn Lake booked and this is the maximum number on the lake (which is a canal type 'puddle'). I got to the venue in good time and parked beside Richard Healey, Richard was already out of his van and I could see he was going off on one already. Apparently there were now more than 15 and Barry was going to squeeze another peg in or put a few on the speci lake. If I draw speci lake I'm goin home, it's been fishin crap and I ain't got no maggot or caster. Anway at the draw Barry had put 5 pegs on the speci and yes Richard draws one and he is not happy but a lifeline is thrown to him as two anglers both draw peg 6!!!!!!! re-draw, re-draw, well you could imagine the moaning and p##s taking but not Richard as he had another chance. Pegs are made out again and Richard draws on Hawthorn he is happy, I draw peg 1 on speci and old happy says, 'thats what I had' chuckle chuckle, I was not bothered either way.
I had heard reports though that speci was fishing hard and I did speak to Callum Dicks in the Bristol Angling Center on Friday about it when I went in to get some pole tubes, he had recently done a feature for Coarse Angling Mag and it had not fished well, take worm, caster and mag was the advice.
Peg 1 looked good to be honest (I had never been to the venue before).

This pic was taken at the end of the match, the wind had dropped by then. I did go out and set up a rig (16m) to the willow but never fished it as the wind made it impossible. I stuck to an 8m line in 4 foot of water using a 4 x 14 with an 18 MT6 to 0.13 straight through for maggot, caster or worm on the hook. I fed CW&C in a 50/50 mix of sensas lake and fishmeal. I could see the other 4 anglers in my section, Darren 'the nudd' Vowles, Glenn Calvert, Paul Faires and a chap (don't know his name) who has recently joined.
I caught silvers from the off and I decided this was my game plan all match, there are some big bream in this lake and I was hoping to find them during the day.
A couple of hours in and I only saw one carp being caught and not much else, then Darren caught a lump of a bream down the side but I knew I was way ahead of him.I could see some of the anglers on Hawthorn but there did not seem to be much activity there either. Toward the end of the match Darren had a few carp and I knew it would be close.
On Hawthorn Tim Lewis (pic below) had 100lb 10oz of carp on the paste, the previous day in the open he won as well with 100lb 7oz!

2nd also on Hawthorn was Dave Smart with 55lb and 3rd also on Hawthorn was Barry Fowler with 48lb.

When it came to weighing in the speci Darren put 34lb on the scales, not that many fish, this was his silvers.(pic below).

I was next and knew it would be close, pulling out the net was very satisfying given that the biggest fish I has was about 10oz. The scales went just past 29lb, ah well (pic below).

Press report

200lb of fish in 2 days for Tim.

Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club held their latest competition at Shiplate Farm near Bleadon. Local angler and venue expert Tim aka ‘the draw bag’ Lewis did not get down hearted when he drew peg 13 on Hawthorn Lake. Using pole fished paste down the centre of the track he weighed in a magnificent 100lb 10oz of carp, he also won the previous open match the day before with 100lb 7oz! Second and two pegs away from the winner was Dave Smart who from peg 11 pole fished corn for a mainly carp catch of 55lb. Third and on the same lake with 48lb was match secretary Barry Fowler who also pole fished corn. It was hard going for anglers on the specimen lake but Darren Nudd had a late run of big fish for a total weigh of 34lb beating press officer Ivan Currie who caught small fish all day for just over 29lb. If you would like more information on the Club please visit http://clevedon-fwac.webs.com/

1^st Tim Lewis 100lb 10oz peg 13 pic 005

2^nd Dave Smart 55lb peg 11 – no pic

3^rd Barry Fowler 48lb peg 10 – no pic

1^st Specimen Lake Darren Nudd peg 2,  34lb pic 002

2^nd Specimen Lake Ivan Currie peg 1, 29lb 4oz 003



No match next week off to mid Wales but Trinity Wildmarsh the week after.