Lewy's Lines

Day 2 of the mini Irish fishing festival.  Surprisingly we were all looking rather refreshed after sampling two nights of Guinness at the Anglers Rest. We had decided to come back to Foxholes in the hope that the bait we had put in on the previous day would have bought some fish to the area. Today I was fishing on the peg that Glynn was on yesterday and my partner for the day was Fred. The Setup As the previous day, I went for the same set-up: Pole at 12 metres with 5' depth 10' Bomb Rod with a running cage feeder at 40 turns Waggler rod to fish shallow at beyond pole range The All-In I balled in 2 large balls of groundbait packed with red maggot and sweetcorn and would let this swim rest for at least an hour.  While waiting I went out on the feeder baited with double red maggot. I had decided not to bait as heavily today on the pole line so as not to disturb any feeding fish. Meantime the feeder line had produced a couple of fish, but still we

My first trip to Ireland I was in the hands of Paul Colins (Animal) and his Uncles.  What a great group of guys they were and we would be staying at the Anglers Rest in Ballyconnell run by Francis and Pauline McGoldrick.  Francis is also in the Irish International Team. The first day the group had decided to fish within Killykeen Forest Park at a spot know as the Foxholes. Paul and the rest of the group had fished here before and the lure of some irish tench proved too much. Foxholes is accessed via a forestry road which can be closed without notice, so be warned. The Setup I opted to set up the following to tackle my swim: Pole at 12 metres with 7' depth (top 3) 10' Bomb Rod with a running cage feeder at 40 turns Waggler rod to fish shallow at beyond pole range We had decided to fish in randomly drawn teams of two and I was paired with Glynn today.  The winning team would get 1 point, second team 2 points, third team 3 points.  The angler over the week with the

Day 2 of the Withy bash.  The previous nights outing in Salisbury was pretty much as the friday night, a little drunken, although we did end up in a cracking curry house! Today I was pegged on the Snake Lake, outer ring, low peg numbers or cyanide straight as the lads call it. The Draw I drew peg 14 and had WithyBagger and McPikey for neighbours on the day. The Set-Up Today would be pole only, no need for rods and with 14 metres across a relatively easy day to fish the far bank.  My lines were: Far bank Down the track (10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions) Margin swim to peg 15 The All-In I cupped on the two track lines, one with meat and the other with pellets and went straight over to the far bank with a 4mm expander pellet and kinder pot with 4mm and dampened micro's.  I was told to fish tight up against the bank and the float soon buried due to a small skimmer.  The action then started, repeating the process but with a 6mm expander pellet the first large

Day 1 of the MatchFishing-Scene two day Withy bash in aid of the Steve Ramsey charity.  After a big night out in Salisbury we were all feeling pretty hungover and tired, mainly due to the copious amounts of cocktails we had all had in YOYOs (Your Only Young Once) My section I would be fishing Selwood Lake today and then the outer snake lake low peg numbers, also know as cyanide straight the following day.  Nick who organises the day scores the two days by sections and points for your section placing.  The final day placings are dependant on points scored and in the case of any draws weight will determine placing. The Draw I drew peg 4 on Selwood and had Jamie and Bez for neighbours.  Peg 4 had an island chuck but also a large bay that I would be sharing with Jamie. The Set-up Method feeder to the island Pellet Waggler rod 12 metre pole line 14 metre pole line to Peg 3 Inside pole line Bait for the day was 4mm & 6mm expander pellets, corn, red maggots, lunche

A pre-Witherington Farm match organised by Sconey,  who makes those great SconeZone floats . I've heard a lot about Rolf's Fishery  particularly the big match weights, large fish and the need to use powerful elastics and heavy line to get the fish out. Having never used my red hydro elastics I didn't know what to expect to be honest. The Draw Scone gathered all the usual suspects and John, fishery owner provided him with a mega phone which of course was used to great effect by Ian. I drew peg 14 which was on the opposite bank to the car park.  Having packed my gear that morning, I was horrified to find my barrow had a flat tyre which made getting my gear from my 4th floor flat to the car a right royal pain!  Luckily John had a pump and I was soon getting the gear to the peg. The Set-up John had told me to set up a long pole line and also two margin swims under the bushes on my left and right side. Does he really need a megaphone? 13 metre pole line - ba

The final day of the festival and the weather look a little better, although we were not holding our breathe! We would be fishing Bonsai Lake again for the final day of the Maggotdrowning Lindholme Festival. We would also be fishing from 10am until 4pm, so an hour earlier than the previous days. The Draw I drew peg 25 on Bonsai.  The wind was definitely favourable and it was opposite the flyers, pegs 69 & 70.  I also had a peg either side of me empty, giving me plenty of scope for the island ahead. The Set-up My plan was around a single method for the day and that would be the method feeder.  I did set up  13 metre and margin pole line just in case. I'd had a chat with Chris Walker the previous night around feeding patterns he had discovered during the week and the need for swim rotation.  My plan was centred around this information. The All-In I cupped out on the 13 metre pole line and then prepared my method feeder. The plan was to cast to the left of the is

The weather didn’t look promising again today.  The gear is soaked from yesterday and it looked like today would be the same!  We were fishing Oasis today.  Oasis is a U shaped lake of uniform width, around 16 metres.  The favourite pegs would be the 40’s and pegs 2 through 10.  These pegs are were the wind blows in to. The Draw I drew out Peg 35, on the favoured side of the lake, it was also the Golden Peg for the day, so a lake win would have netted me £300, little chance of that with the stamp of anglers in the group. Parking was easy, right behind the peg with a short walk over the sodden earth. The Set-up Pole and Method were broken out.  I’d use the method if the wind got up and made it difficult fishing at 16 metres.  It’s hard enough fishing at 16 metres without the wind! Pole Lines were: 16 metres on the far shelf 13 metres to the bottom of the far shelf 5 metre line bottom of the near shelf Top 2 and 2 for the margin on my right The All-In It