For round 2, we all knew which lake we’d be on and which section of three pegs we’d be in and with whom. It was pegs 16, 17 or 18 at Dillington for me and although it had been the hardest of the three mini sections in the first round, I really fancied 18 after having a lovely day on the feeder the last time I drew it.
We all met at the bowling club for breakfast before it was time for the all important draw. I went first and pulled out 17, the peg I wanted least and with Simon Garbutt on 18 and Bish on 16, I was already fearing the worst and another bad result would basically end my league after two rounds!
The peg looks really nice with a tree in the water to the right along with some reeds and lilies but fishing too tight to the cover, I wouldn’t fancy my chances if I hooked a big chub or carp.
I set up my Guru 11ft N-Gauge rod with a little cage feeder, twizzled boom and a size 14 Guru Pole Special to 0.14mm plus a 4 x 16 Chianti to size 16 Guru Kuranku to 0.14mm for the pole at 13 metres. Loads of bait on the side tray today, 1.5 pints of casters, maggots (dead and alive), hemp, corn plus Bait-Tech Pro Nat Bream Dark and Special G F1 Dark.
Leighton got us underway and I had ten chucks on the feeder line before cupping in two balls of groundbait and then a big pot of casters, hemp and corn at 13 metres. Starting on the feeder, I was expecting a wait as in previous matches, it’s taken around 45 mins to catch. I was recasting regularly to keep some bait going in but with an hour gone, I’d only had a few little knocks and rattles.
Bish was catching some roach and rudd but as far as I could tell, Simon hadn’t had much yet while on the opposite bank I’d seen Nick on peg 7 and Les on 5 both land a couple of better fish. A further half an hour passed and I was still blanking but I wasn’t panicking just yet as you don’t need loads of fish here and in the last match, I had five in the last hour and a quarter so plenty of time yet.
I decided to have a quick look on the pole line and first put in with treble maggot on the hook, the float buried but instead of solid resistance on the strike, a miniscule perch of less than half an ounce flew out the water. The next bite resulted in a tiny carp and as I’ve said before, the decision to stock carp in what was a fantastic natural water with a great head of bream, skimmers and chub along with some big perch, mystifies me as these carp will pack on weight and just take over in the next few years.
Anyway back to the match, another mini perch took my total to three fish that wouldn’t go an ounce between them! Knowing bonus fish would be required to do any good, I tried a piece of corn and then double caster but no indications so I fed it again and went back on the feeder. By now we were over two hours into the match and I was beginning to think a dreaded three pointer was on the cards. Another thirty minutes elapsed and then out the blue, the tip flew round and I was into a decent fish.
I must admit the old butterflies were going as I carefully played what could be a very important fish and it was a relief when a big 2.5lb skimmer slid into the net. Les and Nick were still catching some good skimmers and chub by swapping between the pole and feeder, Fieldy on peg 2 had landed a couple of fish but Terry on 9 and Leighton on 14 looked to be struggling and I couldn’t see how Priv on peg 1 was doing.
After that fish settled my nerves a bit, I felt sure I’d get a few more (skimmers don’t travel around on their own do they!) but apart from a few taps and a little 2oz eel that was on when I reeled in, the next hour was pretty uneventful. Another look on the pole resulted in a waspy perch so I fed it again and went back on the feeder.
I did have a bite when I poured a coffee and the tip went round but as I put the cup down, the tip sprang back and I’d missed a chance! With around two hours remaining, Fieldy, Nick and Les were still catching well although Les had lost a lumpy carp and then Terry landed a couple of decent fish to put him right back in the mix.
Over the next sixty minutes I kept swapping between the pole and the feeder for the sum total of a solitary 2oz roach. Simon wandered up and said he’d only had a few small fish and probably didn’t even have 8oz! As we headed into the ‘golden last hour’, I was still on the feeder hoping for a couple of pulls when I noticed loads of elastic streaming from Simon’s pole tip. From the way it was taking him on a tour all round the peg, I was sure it would be a chub or carp but turned out to be a big skimmer, foul hooked in the wing!
There was now nothing between Simon and me and I wasn’t sure how Bish was doing so I desperately needed another decent fish from somewhere but just couldn’t see where it was coming from! Then my rather inconsiderate neighbour threw a big spanner in the works when he struck into another decent fish, this time it was a chub and he was now probably winning the section. There were quite a few big fish coming out on the pole now so with only 30 mins remaining, I’ve gone back on my 13 metre line and decided if my next bite was a small fish, I’d see the match out on the feeder.
A couple of minutes passed and then the float slid away, I lifted into solid resistance and this was a good fish, thankfully it went left rather than right towards the tree. This was proper heart in your mouth stuff and I took my time, really wanting to make this fish count. I got down to the top kit and could see it was big chub, probably 4lb and when it went in the net, I was back in with a shout.
Next chuck I’ve missed a bite but Mr Garbutt wasn’t done yet and struck into his second chub and my heart sank as he safely landed it and the pendulum swung in his favour again. I was willing my float to go under and with just quarter of an hour left, it sank from view and I was in again, it was a smaller chub around 2lb but that didn’t help my anxiety levels which were through the roof. It didn’t give me too much trouble and with ten minutes to go I thought I might get another but as time ticked by, I kept expecting Simon to spoil the party again.
On the whistle, neither of us had added anymore and had virtually identical nets of fish, one big skimmer, two chub plus a few bits and bobs, Simon was only admitting to 5.5lb and I said I thought I might have 7lb or so. Bish said he hadn’t caught any bonus fish but had been catching rudd and roach.
After packing up we walked round to start the weigh in with Priv on peg 1, he had 3lb 10oz which included a nice perch, Fieldy had some proper skimmers, a chub plus a carp (and he lost two) for 19lb 12oz and then Les had a cracking net of skimmers, chub along with a perch (and he’d been seen off by a big carp) to just pip Graham for the section with 19lb 14oz.
Priv on peg 1 weighed 3lb 10oz
Fieldy had a lovely net of fish for 19lb 12oz
Les did really well to win his mini section and finish second on the lake with 19lb 14oz of skimmers and chub
Nick also had a lovely net of skimmers and chub for 18lb 2oz, Terry had caught really well on the pole down the edge towards the end to weigh two carp for 11lb 6oz and three chub and bits for 10lb 3oz and a 21lb 9oz total to win the section and the match, he’d also lost a couple of carp. Leighton was the last peg in that section and had struggled for a few small fish and chucked back.
Nick had 18lb 2oz of skimmers and chub on peg 7
Terry won the section and the lake with three chub and two carp for 21lb 9oz
Bish had a nice net of roach and rudd (along with a couple of those small carp) for 6lb 8oz, my fish went 9lb 7oz which was little more than I thought (nothing new there then!), Simon was last to weigh and when he pulled his net out, it was too close for comfort but Leighton called it at 9lb 3oz (not bad for 5.5lb!) – phew!
Bish had 6lb 8oz of roach, rudd, perch and little carp
I had two chub, a big skimmer plus a few bits and bobs to win my section with 9lb 7oz
Simon weighed 9lb 3oz which included two nice chub and a big skimmer
I was well chuffed to come away with a point and I definitely felt like I’d done the right thing by going all out for bonus fish. The trouble is, it’s pointless fishing for anything else but there is also the potential to blow right out. It’s exciting stuff though when the float goes under or the tip goes round. The far side had fished brilliantly with just one fish between the top four places and there had been a fair few lost as well.
Over at Coombe, it had fished really tricky with the silvers not showing in significant numbers again, Rob won the lake with several decent carp for 20lb 10oz from peg 5, Jake had the best silvers weight with 14lb 8oz from 3, Dave Pope was third with 13lb 8oz which included a 10lb carp and Frank was fourth with 8lb 12oz from peg 9. Thanks to Rob Cox for the photos*
Rob won the lake with 20lb 10oz of carp*
We all knew Jake would do well as he was hungover in the morning, he won his mini section and was second on the lake with 14lb 8oz*
Dave Pope was third on the lake with 13lb 8oz which included a 10lb carp*
Big Frank had 8lb 12oz of tench, crucians and skimmers to win his section*
Parker ‘The Pole’ had 7lb 14oz from peg 10*
Max had 6lb of crucians and skimmers from peg 7*
Dave Phillips had 4lb 12oz of skimmers and crucians on peg 4*
Neil P weighed 3lb on peg 8*
Bagger Burton struggled for 1lb 3oz on peg 1*
Dillington
1 – Terry Morgan (Ilminster) – 21lb 9oz
2 – Les Braunton (Chard) – 19lb 14oz
3 – Graham Field (Taunton) – 19lb 12oz
4 – Nick Payne (Ilminster) – 18lb 2oz
Coombe Farm
1 – Rob Cox (Ilminster) – 20lb 10oz
2 – Jake Woodard (Ilminster) – 14lb 8oz
3 – Dave Pope (Stoke) – 13lb 8oz
4 – Frank Woodard (Ilminster) – 8lb 12oz
After two rounds, Jake is the only angler with a perfect score, and then there are five on three points, you can drop your worst result but obviously this doesn’t really come into play yet.
Jake Woodard – 2 pts
Andy Saunders – 3 pts
Chris Haines – 3 pts
Jamie Rich – 3 pts
Frank Woodard – 3 pts
Les Braunton – 3 pts
Nick, me and Rob Cox all stuck £2 in the Nugget-O-Meter which has now reached £175.
There’s still a great offer running if you fancy treating yourself to some new fishing gear, use the exclusive discount code AgainstMenandFish10 to get 10% off when you shop online at Somerset Angling
Also I still have copies of my book available from eBay here or Amazon here
And if you could spare five minutes to leave a nice review on Amazon, it would be very much appreciated.
Next up – Todber Manor
Coming soon – Lots more match reports
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