Tommo's good old 'balaclava' rig!!

Hillview Lakes
Saturday 17th April 2010
29 Anglers

Hillview has been lacking a good turnout on a Saturday of late if im honest, but now the good results have recently been coming more anglers wanted a go today. Gareth (Welshmagic) from Total Fishing and Match Fishing Scene had informed me he would be coming for a bash due to the volcanic ash, also 27 other anglers, including Garbolino’s Ian Didcote and good old Neville, so there would be some tough competition.

After taking all the money and having a nice breakfast I was in for the draw, hoping for peg 9 or 27... Ian went in at the front of the queue and pulled 9, and then I went in and pulled out 23. Not what I wanted. This peg is at the bottom end of heron and very rarely throws up any big weights so I already knew that it would be hard to frame, but I still set up and hoped that some fish would be in front of me. Neville had drawn 29! Gareth had pulled out 35, my dad was on the canal 47, my mate Ben was also on the canal and Lee had drawn 37 on the causeway.

I decided on fishing my normal approach. Shallow long, 1 line short and 2 margin swims. I plumbed up my short line at 5 metres, slightly to the right ( I went a bit further than normal because this is the shallowest part of the lake). My rig consisted of a 4 x 10 KC Chimp in 3 feet of water, 0.14 main line to an 0.12 hooklength and a Gamma pellet size 16. I had grey hydro as my elastic choice. My margin line to the right was 6 metre and then to the left at throwing distance by the bale. This rig was a 0.1 grizzly, 0.16 to an 0.14 hooklength finished with a size 14 gamma pellet, black hydro finished the set up. As for my long line, I did actually plumb up a bottom rig with a 0.3 Garbolino pellet pencil on 0.14 main line with 0.12 hooklength then a 18 gamma pellet with number 12 sensas latex. My shallow rigs were the norm – Malman thicko’s on 0.16 main line with 0.14 hooklengths all with bait bands and 18 b911’s all finished with 12 latex again.

At the all in I cupped in half a pot of pellet on my short line and a quarter of a pot at 14,5 metres then went straight onto my short line with a 4mm pellet and started pinging my shallow line hoping to line a few fish up. After a succession of missed bites in the first 10 minutes I finally connected with a roach that flew through the air, then a skimmer next drop, then finally a small carp about 2lb. After the carp I couldn’t buy a bite. After another 30 minutes I picked up my shallow rig and banded a 4mm pellet. No bites were forthcoming even though the surface was black with fish swimming around. I then foul hooked a carp out of the blue on my shallow rig that hooked itself but I really wasn’t having any indications on the float at all. I tried my bottom rig long continuing to feed a few pellets via catapult but I only managed a couple of skimmers and a small tench.

Hour 3 and the surface was alive with carp just cruising about so I picked up my balaclava rig (a shallow rig as above but no shot down the line as a large 6mm cocks the small float perfectly). First drop I slapped the pellet in front of a cruising fish and it was on... this was the trend for the next hour and a half as I steadily mugged fish on the pellet. Some snatched it, others just swam on. I did manage some really nice fish and thought id pulled myself back, but then come 2.30 the fish had vanished and I was back to square one.

I had been feeding my edge religiously since 12 and I was banking on having some fish there by now. I laid in my rig with a 4mm pellet and waited. Just as I was about to come off the line the float dinked and as I lifted the biggest ghost carp I had seen popped to the surface – clearly foul hooked. It didn’t fight and I just tried to guide it round, it was too big for my net as I tried to scoop it I slightly tapped it, leaving me without the fish! Gutted was an understatement.

In the last hour I managed a few more mugged fish but was now well behind. Neville had bagged, Diddy had managed a good 2 hours down the edge, and Gareth had caught a few shallow and some monsters down the side. Finally weighing in, Nev had clearly won with 127lb 74 was second so I knew I was out of the top 3 and all I could hope for was a section, I tipped 68lb on the scales and hoped for the best as I didn’t know how Keith had worked the sections. Diddy took second spot with 106lb and I pipped Gareth by 2lb. All in all I had more than I imagined I was going to catch and picked up some section money and 4th overall. I am now looking forward to the bank holiday Monday match which will be a double header!