Rolfs open

When I got up this morning it looked like a fine day the sun was shining and no breeze at all a quick look at the weather girl forecast on the TV decided my mind I ought to be fishing

A quick check on the match calendar for Rolfs lake showed there was an open on today and the draw was at 12 noon sorted  

It was only 8am so I had plenty of time to sort my gear out and as I was busy checking stuff and loading the car I forgot to ring John and book in for the match

But it was 10.50am so I jumped in the car and set off I decided that the opens are never that full with the exception of bank holidays so I'm bound to get a place

As I sat at the traffic lights at skew bridge just outside Pangbourne I had an urge to give John a quick ring before the lights changed and the call went something like this

Me   " Hi John it's Clive is the match still on today "

John  " yes mate"

Me   " great what times the draw "

John   " it's NOW " pause "we're just about to draw "

Well bugger me backwards with a floppy cucumber  was I gob smacked or what I spent all morning flaffing around wasting time to get there for 12 noon if only I had rung first thing I would have known the draw was at 11am and I would have been on time I won't make that mistake again (mebby )

Still all was not lost John said he would draw a peg out for me and to get there as soon as I could 

I was only 30 mins away and the match wasn't due to start till 12 noon so I would still have 30 mins to get set up before the whistle

Soon as I arrived I paid my pools etc and John told me I was on peg 24 hmmm that will make a change then as I seem to have spent most of the year up around pegs 23 and 24

Still as I carried my gear along to the peg I noticed that I was on the end peg  so with no one above me I might be in for a decent days fishing after all

I decided on just 2 lines today as I was in a bit of a rush so set up 1 rig to fish out at 7m and another to fish on the bush to my right

(no photo's today as I was a bit busy  )

With only 2 rigs to set up I was ready just in time for the all in  I started off on the 7m line with a soft hooker on the hook fished on the deck and spent the first 20 min's without a single bite   I tried corn , meat , banded pellet and even a paste pellet but couldn't buy a bite

So I swapped to the margin swim and dropped a banded 8mm pellet in tight to the end of the bush to my right threw a hand full of pellets over the top and was just about to give the float a little lift when the float buried closely followed by the end of my pole  fish on at last

I was soon up at the scales with my first weigher

(it was a while ago and I can't remember the weights )

followed by another weigher on the next put in

In fact in the next hour I was up and down like a tarts draws and was worn out keep on running to the weigh scales then along to Mick on peg 26 then back to the scales but hey don't knock it this is what you come to Rolfs for

After about an hour the bites slowed down a bit and the fish got a lot smaller and it looked like the small fish had moved down from peg 22 but I wasn't complaining as I was still putting fish in the net regularly and that lasted for the rest of the match

Mick on peg 26 started to catch towards the end of the match and he had a lot of big fish mostly all weighers but I didn't see too much of the rest of the match as I was sat with my back to the rest of the lake

But talking to Jon Walker after the final whistle he said that he had only had 9 fish all day but they were all weighers and totalled 168lb  

The biggest being a massive common of 27lb which is a new lake record

Most other people round the lake were claiming to have struggled today and as I reckoned I had over 200lb I was quietly confident as we went round with the scales

When we arrived at my peg I managed to weigh 233lb to take the match win

Another great days fishing down at Rolfs lake in Oxfordshire  

But I'll be booking in with John well before the match in future

MFS

Match Fishing-Scene

Back at Rolfs this week to fish with the guys from MFS

At the draw I drew peg 4 out of the bag and although the lake isn't fishing too well at the moment I fancy peg 4 for a few fish today

So I soon had my gear round on peg 4 and set up

I've fished peg 4 quite a few times before but this is the first time since the new platform went in

My plan today is to fish paste out in front at 4m

And pellet and meat 7m along the bush to my right tight into the trees

First put in at 4m and the float sailed away and I was into a fish within seconds of the whistle  but I had quite a wait for the next fish which again came at 4m on paste

Everyone else I could see in the little lake was struggling to find any fish at all

I managed a few more fish from the 4m line before it died then for the rest of the match I fished along the bush to my right and managed 3 decent weighers caught on banded pellet

The whistle came as a relief to most of the field who had struggled all day

When the scales arrived I managed 58lb not a fantastic weight by Rolfs standards but it gave me second in section and another pay out

Simon won the match with a fine 93lb from peg 29  and Steve Wilson sneaked into the frame for 2nd in match with 85lb from peg 16

You can tell it's fishing hard when the lake owner blanks  but all in all it was still another good days fishing with a bit of banter thrown in

Maggotdrowners Southern Championship

 Maggotdrowners

        Southern Championships 2009

I'm down at Hartleylands farm in Kent this week for the Maggotdrowners Southern Championships

This year they are being held on Nicks Lake

I drew peg 36 which from what I can gather is not the draw you wanted but at least it was a short walk from the car

To make things even better it appears the top method for these pegs is chucking a method feeder to the island

Well that's me out then as I don't even own a method feeder

I plumped for my usual 7m out in front

And a margin swim to the left of the platform

I started off out in front at 7m and caught a few pasties but it was hard going

Peter added to his duck tally

2 visits 2 ducks nice stats Peter

After a couple of hours I decided to swap to the margin swim and sit it out for some decent fish

So I fished an 8mm banded pellet on a top2 tight into the bank

And over the next 3 hours managed 5 or 6 better sized fish

So I at least got my elastic pulled today

When the scales arrived at my peg I managed 33lb not exciting but I have had worse days

Nick Costar won the match with 114lb from the other end of the lake

The lake on the whole didn't fish too well but it was an enjoyable day out with a good bit of banter and a few fish thrown in

Secret Venue

 Marsh Angling Club

I received a call from Dave Collier asking if I fancied fishing a secret venue down in Kent on Saturday ?

I have been to the lake before but for certain reasons the lake owner doesn't want the name or location published which is fair enough

As with my last few posts I'm a bit late writing this as we have so much work on at the moment by the time I get home the last thing on my mind is blogging  so can't remember too much about the match so it will just be some photo's and the results

I drew peg 8 which is just at the top of the "R" in the venue photo

It looks like an ok peg with at chuck to the island

I was hoping to be further round the lake where you can reach the island with the pole

But this will have to do

My plan of attack is to fish out in front at 7m

1 swim in the left hand margin

Another in the right hand margin

And I also set up a bomb rod to chuck to the island

The fishing was hard today and no one with the exception of Al was catching

I managed a few small Carp out in front at 7m but couldn't get a touch in the margin swims

Eventually I managed to hook a decent fish on the bomb fished tight to the island with an 8mm banded pellet on the hook

Peter was pegged almost opposite me on the other side of the island

And seemed to be struggling same as me

Terry next to him seemed to be having a bit better luck then Peter

And on cue hooked a fish for the camera

In the last hour the fish moved into the margin and I managed to put a few together again caught on 8mm banded pellet

The final whistle came too soon as the fishing was just starting to take off

But the weigh in showed just how bad the lake had fished in fact I was in the lead right the way round the lake with 45lb until we came to Al on the last peg who had caught small fish most of the day for a fantastic 122lb and the match win

Big thanks to Dave and the lads and lass from Marsh AC for inviting me again for another good days fishing in great company

Secret Venue
POSITION	NAME	WEIGHT	PEG
1st	Al Loader	122lbs 00ozs	15
2nd	Clive Pritchard	45lbs 04ozs	8
3rd	Colin Sharrard	42lbs 08ozs	5
4th	Bill Gibbens	40lbs 12ozs	4
5th	Terry Goff	36lbs 04ozs	11
6th	Chris Withall	31lbs 00ozs	9
7th	Keith Ashby	30lbs 12ozs	1
8th	Peter Morton	29lbs 08ozs	12
9th	Tony Roberts	26lbs 08ozs	13
10th	Simon Watkins	20lbs 08ozs	7
11th	Mick Wright	20lbs 04ozs	14
12th	Dave Collier	10lbs 04ozs	6
13th	Jim Boase	6lbs 12ozs	3
14th	Zac Johnson	5lbs 04ozs	2
15th	Martin Hucker	DNW	10
15th	Graham Manning	DNW	16

Fish4Wales

Fish4Wales Challenge Cup 

I'm back down to Rolfs Lake in Oxfordshire today for the Fish4Wales Challenge cup for my 3rd match at the lake this weekend

Another club have half the lake booked today for a club match so we have pegs 22 round to peg 2

At the draw I drew peg 2 out which was a good draw as there is a strong wind today and they are forecasting it to get stronger throughout the day and  the wind is blowing down the lake into peg 2 result!

Peter had peg 2 yesterday so there would have been a bit of feed gone in and hopefully the fish will up for a bit more today

My plan is to fish 2 lines today

The first out in front at 4m where I intend to fish paste

And the 2nd in the margin to my left tight to the bank under the tree

I can't remember all the details  but I remember it was kin cold sat in the wind but I had fish at regular intervals all day I lost a lot of fish that were foul hooked on the paste line but had a lot of good hook ups under the tree and by the time the whistle went I thought I had done ok

I soon had the gear put away in the car and went off round to help with the weigh in

The car park bank hadn't fished too well and my Assassins team mate Steve Wilson was out in front with 116lb as we headed off round into the little lake I thought I had over 120lb so was quietly confident and was quite pleased when I finally managed to weigh in 143lb to take the win

Another good days fishing  

In fact a good weekends fishing with back to back wins

Big thanks to Nick Williams for running the match