Clevedon Club Match Woodland Lake Trinity Waters

What a cold day it has been but after arriving home at 17:20 I had a cold beer!

Anyway I was really looking forward to this match and had a plan, popped up bread on the straight lead orwith liqqy in a small feeder. It did not produce a bite (for me anyway but read on)!
I drew peg 24, Rich Healtey was on 23 and the rest of the anglers were spread out, it was like being put in the naughty boys corner at school and of course Richard had something to say about it (didn't he ever but he soon shut up, read on)
Apart from the bread I feed micro and small amouts of caster at 13 meters which produced 3 roach all day, iinside on the second shelf zero, inside on the first shelf zero so DNW.
Richard next to me had 10 fish on the second shelf on maggot, 2 or 3 fished at a time. The pic below is hinm landing his last fish at 15:15, I was packing up at the time.

The further pic below is him with his winning catch.

Nick Harvey did catch on popped up bread fished 3/4 the way across as there was no anglers opposite him, here is Nick with his catch and wearing a hat that is no good if the wind is behind you as someone set fire to it when he was at work! and yes I believe he was wearing it at the time!!!!!

Mark Bromsgrove was 3rd with a mixed net for 19lb 8oz, Mark was in the top corner and caught on various methods.
Top Silvers was Dominic Sullivan with and excellent 12lb 12oz on maggot and caster.

As I was packing up Kev (Perry) shouted over to me and made me witness him putting a small skimmer back so.... for the record Kev did not blank.

Press report to North Somerset Times and Anglers mail below.....

Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club held their first competition of 2013 on Woodland Lake Chiltern Trinity near Bridgwater. Temperatures remained just above freezing the night before and did not go much higher during the day despite glorious winter sunshine. Some anglers looked as if they were about to go on army winter training in Norway rather than try and catch fish. It was always going to be a difficult match due to the elements but some anglers did find the right method on the day and were able to put together some decent bags. Drawn on a peg  he didn’t fancy, Richard Heatley soon stopped complaining as he caught ten quality carp at regular intervals on the pole in 5 feet of water just over the nearside shelf on maggot for a winning 45lb 12oz. Not far behind him and on the opposite side of the lake Nick Harvey patiently fished pop up bread at distance for the same number of fish as Richard but a slightly smaller stamp for 40lb 5oz. Third was Mark Bromgrove with a mixed bag for 19lb 8oz. Top Silver Fish weight went to Dominic Sullivan with 12lb 12oz.

1^st R Heatley 45lb 12oz pic attached (RH Woodland jan 13) pic RH Woodland jan 13 showing Richard landing one of his fish

2^nd N Harvey 40lb 5oz pic attached (NH Woodland jan 13)

3^rd M Bromsgrove 19lb 8oz

Silvers Dominic Sullivan 12lb 12oz

The Clubs AGM is on 24th January, 19:30 Highcliffe Hotel Clevedon all members welcome.

I won't be fishing now until prob 2nd week in Feb, off for some winter sun at the end of the month.

Tight lines.

Sunday 6th January - Apex Lake pleasure session

With no Club Match on this week up I was undecided what to do up until the Saturday. During the week I was thinking about fishing the Saturday Open at Acorn as the wife was working or book into Summerhayes for the Sunday Open. I really wanted to fish for some proper Silvers though and finally narrowed my choice down to two venues, Apex Lake in Highbridge or the River Kenn. I bought some caster, maggot and groundbait from Cadbury Angling on the Saturday afternoon, I had some worm and dead reds at home so I was fully armed for a pleasure session.... somewhere.
I fancied the upper reaches of the Kenn up by the Cross Waters and took a look on the way home from the tackle shop. It looked fairly good, nice clour but just a little too pacey with the old River Kenn coming into to it and the ditch opposite also in full flow due to all the water draining off the moors, by Wednesday it would be spot on if it remained dry, I will be back though befor the end of the river season. That was that then, Apex it was.

Alarm went off 06:40, got up 07:50, well no rush today. Even when I was packing the car I was still being drawn to the Kenn! A short trip down the M5, 7.5 degrees and a bit foggy, arrived in the lake car park at 09:00 ish. On arrival there were loads of guys about, car boots open, it looked like there was a match on. Upon further examination it was loads of guys out 'twitching' bird watching. I asked one of them what were they looking at / for, he replied some kind of birds name, he could see I looked puzzled and then said a big f*****g angry gull to you lol.

I decided to fish in the narrow part of the lake nearest the sea, John Wolstencroft and I had done well in this area before. There were only 3 other anglers on the lake, 2 piking (didn't know there were pike in here) and 1 carping, all on the far side and down towards the boating lake end so plenty of room.

I was fishing by 10:15, 1 rig fished at 12:00 and 14:00, same depth approx 5', 4 x 14, with 0.13 main and 0.10 trace with a drennan 18 silver fish, thats as technical as it gets, oh and fished at 14m.

Groundbait mix was Sensas Nore and Greem Stim. 2 cup fulls in on both lines with caster and a few dead reds. Straight out at 12:00 with a live maggot and I was in to a small skimmer straight away, same secon put in, 3rd put in bumped a good bream.

Tried the 14:00 line, nothing and did not get a bite from it alL day.

I re-fed a little more GB and went back out with double caster, skimmer and a few more but bumped another good fish. Trouble was my lightest elastic was Preston Blue Hollow, I left a top 3 at home with  No.5 pure latex.

Anyway I had bites all day on varous baits and all from the one line. Finished the day just after 15:00, managed to persuade a passing youth to take the pic below, he seemed a bit reluctant or was he thinkin of running off with the camera. I ended up with just over 12lb but should have been around 20lb had I had the right elastic.

Club Match next Sunday on Woodlands Lake Trinity Waters.

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