After a long day yesterday, I was flagging a bit when the alarm went off this morning but a bowling club breakfast sorted me out and I was raring to go once again! When we got to Bridgwater, the car park was pretty busy with 26 booked in for the match. As we waited for the draw I was saying to somebody that I can’t seem to get anywhere near the pegs along the track only to then pull out 33, slap bang where I wanted to be!
I set up a 0.1 gram Elsa for two lines at top four and a 0.2 gram Bobbie for 13 and 14.5 metres. Lots of maggots and some Bait-Tech Special G F1 Dark on the menu for today. At the all in I fed all my lines before starting short, after a few minutes I had an ide and began catching quite well with some chunky roach and a couple of 6oz skimbobs.
With two hours gone, I had 32 fish for around 4lb but was waiting longer and longer for bites and I could see Dan T on 36 netting some decent skimmers. As we got to the halfway mark, I had my first look at 13 metres and had a nice run of ide, roach and a little tench. When that slowed I moved out to 14.5 metres and was hoping for another flurry of fish but it didn’t really happen with just a few small fish and another tinca.
I tried the top four lines again but the only action came from a rather lumpy carp, back at 13 metres I had a couple of roach but the next bite saw loads of elastic come out on the strike as another carp made a bid for freedom. Shipping back quickly to the top kit, it was being fairly well behaved but I could see the line zig-zagging and it was either a foul hooked carp or an eel. It was the latter and a big fish, mindful of the light hooklength, I was being ultra careful as it would be a big bonus today if I could land it.
Steve Collins who was on 35 provided the mid match entertainment, as he was tapping in pellets, his ‘Smart’ watch registered he’d had a fall and notified his nearest and dearest. After numerous phone calls from family members who ascertained he was still alive, he decided the best course of action was to take the watch off so he could concentrate on his fishing. He then hooked the far bank and the float shot back smacking him in the nose, leaving him with a bloody face!
In the meantime, his very clever time piece now detected he had no heartbeat (as it was now on his side tray) and alerted the emergency services which shortly arrived in the form of two police cars with sirens and lights (this immediately sent Craig into panic mode as he thought they’d come for him!). Steve then had to apologise profusely and explain that the claret all over his face wasn’t from a near death experience. Thankfully they were very understanding and after they’d left, Mr Lyttle came out of hiding. And they say fishing is supposed to be relaxing!
I was having a nightmare trying to get the net under it’s tail and was sure the fragile hooklength would part at any moment but it held firm and eventually a 2lb+ bonus was netted. Next chuck I had a roach before hooking what I thought was another carp and as elastic streamed from the pole tip I threw the pole back. Once again, there was the characteristic see sawing motion, surely it couldn’t be, could it? It was and this one was bigger, at least 2.5lb and was better behaved, going in the net at the second attempt.
I did manage a few more silvers but started hooking a few carp as well, Pete shouted the all out and I finished up with 68 fish which I thought might go around 12lb (66 fish at 2oz apiece for 8lb plus the two eels). As the scales made their way around the pond, Dan Squire was first to weigh and set the bar very high with an excellent 95lb 1oz from peg 38, Craig had 44lb 4oz from peg 2 on ‘Cyanide Straight’ and Adie had a lovely net of crucians, tench and skimmers for 12lb 5oz on peg 3.
Dan S had an excellent 95lb 1oz on peg 38
Craig weighed 44lb 4oz on peg 2
Adie had crucians, tench and skimmers for 12lb 5oz
Glynn weighed 8lb 9oz of silvers on 13
Dave B had 9lb 2oz (including 3lb of silvers) on the helipad
Alex did well on 21 catching 8lb 15oz of silvers to go into second spot until Roy on 29 pipped him with 9lb 9oz. Matt S on 32 had caught carp steadily for 70lb 5oz to go into the lead and then it was me, I chucked my carp back and then the silvers weighed 16lb 14oz. After all the earlier excitement, Steve C weighed 23lb 6oz and then Dan T on 36 had some big skimmers for 10lb 14oz and third in the silvers.
Alex had loads of fish for 8lb 15oz on 21
Roy weighed 9lb 9oz on 29
Matt was second overall with 70lb 5oz
I weighed 16lb 14oz of silvers including a couple of bonus snakes
Dan T was third in the silvers with 10lb 14oz
1 – Dan Squire (Summerhayes) – 95lb 1oz
2 – Matt Shepard (Summerhayes) – 70lb 5oz
3 – Craig Lyttle (Summerhayes) – 44lb 4oz
4 – Rich (Summerhayes) – 38lb
Silvers
1 – Jamie Rich (Bait-Tech/Colmic) – 16lb 14oz
2 – Adie Bishop (Summerhayes) – 12lb 5oz
3 – Dan Taggart (Summerhayes) – 10lb 14oz
4 – Roy Hughes (Summerhayes) – 9lb 9oz
Another great match at Summerhayes (with lots of bonus excitement this week!), I had a nice pick up of £71 and those eels came in handy although it probably would’ve still been close without them. I have to say that Colmic Teck Stream is superb hooklength line, it just doesn’t let you down.
Awesome line
Craig Lyttle very generously gave me a fiver for the pot and along with pounds from Dan T and Zooner the Nugget-O-Meter jumped up to £219.
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 – Summerhayes
Coming soon – Lots more match reports
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