Lewy's Lines

Spoils to the Victor ;-) Mark had come down to London for the weekend so we could fish Gold Valley and also at charity match at Sivyers Lake. The weather had definately warmed up so we were both looking forward to some Gold Valley Carp. All lakes were open so we decided to fish pegs 56 & 57 on Gold Lake. Mark chose the infamous peg 57 where he could cast to the little bay outside the clubhouse steps where the water is deepest. Andy Gregory and Barry Parker came over to say hello. They were fishing a match on the Basingstoke Canal. The Set-Up We had both decided that we would have a day on the rods rather than breaking out the poles. Bait for the day was soaked micros and groundbait for the method and cage feeder, 8mm pellets, corn and dead red maggots. Method feeder, 10' bomb rod, 6lb mainline Waggler, 11'6" Float rod, 4lb mainline Bomb / Small Cage feeder, 10' bomb rod, 6lb mainline, 20" hook length Mark had also set up a method feeder

Stafford Moor Fishery is a fantastic fishery run by a very helpful owners, Andy and Debbie Seery. After spending a week at the fishery staying at the what can only be described luxurious lodges I feel that I can give all blog readers an insight into this jewel in Devon. The Lodges I stayed in Maple Lodge, which is the first lodge on the left as you enter the fishery.  Sharing the lodge with me where two other MatchFishing Scene members, Andy G and Rich H.  As you can see by the picture, the lodges have a wide balcony both on the ground and first floor, the only thing you need to watch out for is slipping in your wet boots. Either side of the double entry doors are two secure lock up's for tackle and bait which include a freezer and washing machine.  The kitchen is fully appointed and you don't need to bring anything apart from your condiments, tea, coffee, milk, etc.  The downstairs lounge is spatious with a dinning table that can seat 6 people with ease and som

Final day fishing at Stafford Moor and Herbie had organised another MFS Champion League match with both a Carp and Silvers Pool, so I was looking forward to getting the rods out and trying to bag some large Stafford Moor Carp. The match would be over both Woodpecker and Tanners with Woodpecker being the favoured lake as the carp had been showing a lot over the week. I drew out peg 1 on Tanners.  Andy, Stafford Moor fishery owner said that the wind was blowing out of the peg and it would be tough for me, but thats the luck of the draw bag. Peg 1 on Tanners is an end peg, the lake curves around from the left side up to Peg 36.  It was clear that fish were feeding as you could see blowing in the calm water and Chris Haines next to me on peg 3 had mentioned that I would need to chase the fish up that bank. The Set-up 14.5 metres to the left bank into a part of the bank that was eroded 10' Bomb rod with bomb and 8mm Go-Nut pellet 11'6" Waggler rod set at 3' dept

Final day of the MFS Stafford Moor Silvers competition. I drew peg 30 on Tanners again!  I was a little disappointed as I wanted to fish somewhere else on the lake, but on the up side at least I knew what I was in for and how to fish it. The Set-up 13 metre line - groundbait, caster. dead red maggot 6 metre line - groundbait, caster. dead red maggot Top two for the bush next to me - hand fed with caster After plumbing up the 13 & 6 metre line I had 6 inches difference in depth, so marked the top kit with both depths and would use the same rig, adjusting the depth when changing swims. Steve May had given me some good tips on groundbait to prepare it as sloppy as possible while still holding it’s shape.  It allows the skimmers to feed on it straight away.  So I prepared the groundbait as normal and then in another tub prepared some sloppy groundbait. The All-In I fed two balls of sloppy groundbait with caster and chopped worm on the 13 metre line and

Third day of the MFS Silvers Festival at Stafford Moor.  Another open draw so I could be on either Woodpecker or Tanners... In went the hand to the drawbag and out came peg 10 on Woodpeckers.  Peg 10 is know as the swivel peg as there is a large bay behind your seating position.  Andy G advised not trying down there as it was full of carp. John (Redarmy) won from this peg yesterday, would this be a repeat of day one?  Col told me he caught at 14.5 metres straight out on worm, so that would be one line for today. The Set-up 14.5 metre line straight ahead 7 metre line straight ahead 7 metre line at 45 degrees, as advised by Stevie May Top two kit at 45 degrees After plumbing up the 14.5 & 7 metre line straight ahead were the same depth.  The 7 metre line at 45 degrees slightly shallower.  I could not find any features while plumbing around. The All-In Cupping in some worm at 14.5 metres and two balls of groundbait at both the 7 metre swims I went out

Second day of the MFS Silvers Festival at Stafford Moor.  Again we all gathered at the tackle shop for 9am. Team A, needed a result today as we were languishing in last position! I drew peg 30 on Tanners at the end of the section on the far bank.  The wrong end of that bank according to the locals. The Set-up 13 metre line - groundbait, caster. dead red maggot 6 metre line - groundbait, caster. dead red maggot 8 metre line to peg 29, chopped worm Top two for the bush next to me - hand fed with caster After plumbing up the 13 & 6 metre line I had 6 inches difference in depth, so marked the top kit with both depths and would use the same rig, adjusting the depth when changing swims. The chopped worm and bush swim were the same depth, so one rig for those two. The All-In Andy G had tipped me off how to fish these pegs, so following his advice, I cupped in one ball of groundbait on both the 13 metre and 6 metre and cupped in some choppe

The long awaited Match Fishing Scene Stafford Moor silvers festival sponsored by Marukyu . Stafford Moor has 22 acres of lakes set in the Devon countryside with 30 of Match Fishing Scene's "characters" all staying at the lodges this is going to be a memorable week! Marukyu had kindly sponsored the event by sending three cases of their EFG130 groundbait , including a Marukyu cap for all anglers.  Other sponsors of the event include SconeZone floats and Haines Angling. First day of the MFS Silvers Festival at Stafford Moor.  Again we all gathered at the tackle shop for 9am. The teams had been drawn the previous night, I was with Rolly, Jim McD and Animal.  The teams weight on the day would be for the team event and your own weight for section and/or lake win. I drew peg 16 on Woodpecker, this peg won the lake yesterday with 52lb of silvers so I was hopeful of a good day on the bank... how wrong would I be! Peg 16 is a corner peg.  After speaking to Pete