Hillview Lakes
Saturday 27th March 2010
16 Fished

16 turned up and with pleasure anglers on pegs 24-30 on heron I was already a bit doubtful of the pools producing but would still take a draw on heron (the walkway side). Because of the pleasure anglers and only 16 anglers turning up Keith decided on a rover. I pulled out peg 12. Not the best. After most the anglers looking at Wednesdays results they ran to the canals. Moorhen was also pretty full so come my draw no one had gone on heron. So I got excited and went on peg 37.

Getting to my peg, there weren’t as many fish on the top as id hoped for. Also the wind was off my back. Firstly I set up my new Preston ²G10 pole which I was dying to fish long shallow with, so I set up 2 shallow rigs comprising of 0.14 main line to 0.12 hook lengths with Gamma pellet hooks in size 16. Floats, I used Ackoo shallow floats in 0.2. I also set up a rig for on the bottom which was a 4 x 16 KC Chimp; this was on 0.14 again to a 0.12 hook length and a size 16 gamma pellet. A simple bulk and 2 droppers on this. I also set up an 8m rig fishing at 10 o clock. This was the same rig as above but with a 4 x 14 float. Also a margin rig, again exactly the same but with a 4 x 10 chimp. Pheww! Elastic for shallow was white hydro, grey for on the bottom and black hydro in the edge. I also set up a waggler rod which was a mach 3 11ft, with a mach 3 reel. 0.18 hooklenth with a Drennan feeder hook and a new Cralusso waggler. Bait wise I had a pint of 4mm feed pellet, 6 and 4mm hookers, corn, a little bit of meat on the hook and some 8mm pellets for banding.

At the all in I fed 20 or so pellets and a bit of corn on all lines apart from my margin line, which I leave until about 12 o clock. I then chucked the waggler for the first hour which produced one small carp. Not the best start. I then re-fed all my pole lines and dropped in at 14 metres on the deck. I started to ping 4 pellets every minute or so. After 10 minutes a carp boiled right by my float so I changed to my shallow rig, 15 minutes later, altering depths , shotting pattern and hook baits eventually after many silly bites, my float shot under and I was attached to a nice plump 4 pounder. I fed again and went straight back in using meat on the hook. Nothing after 20 minutes longer I kept pinging it and had a look short. Short line produced nothing, so I fed that and went back on the waggler, where I had a lot of bites but couldn’t hit any. I eventually struck into a carp which darted behind the island, my rod was locked out as I just held on, all of a sudden it went slack and it was off. The rod stood up well, but my hook had been straightened!

The waggler had produced a few small carp but nothing major so I was back on the pole shallow where I had a carp first chuck then as I went back in I saw a big black shadow swim towards my hook bait and BANG, fish on. I got the fish to the net and it just popped up as I took a scoop it shot off and come off! After a lot of cursing to myself I went back in for another go, I had now been feeding my edge and 8 metre lines quite regularly. I had about 20lb in my net going into the last 2 hours and I thought 50-60lb would be enough. So I went in confident down the edge and had a skimmer first cast and then a small carp then nothing so I fed it and went to 8 metres. In 20 minutes I put about 10lb in the net from the 8m line, feeding nothing and just fishing a 6mm pellet until it died. Back down the edge and I hooked a fish straight away and it was obviously foul hooked as it shot off into the middle of the lake. Test number one for my new pole! I held on and eventually got back to my top 2 where it shot of again. It was trying to snag me in my near side margin, until I pulled it all the way across the surface and slid the net under a 7 pounder! My margin was now devoid of fish though. I fed it and back to 8 metres with nothing. So I went on the waggler and snared a few more carp before the all out. I knew deep down I hadn’t done enough to win as the canals had fished well with most catching in the edge. When Keith arrived at my peg and told me Josh was winning with 63lb and 2 more weights of 60+ had come out I felt rather dejected after my 2 previous wins. I tipped a hard earned 51lb on the scales for only 4th in the match. I think the only thing I could have done different today is stuck on one or 2 lines and hoped they eventually showed up… Willow Marsh for a Friday afternoon match looks promising if the weather holds.