MFS - Stafford Moor - Silvers Festival , 29th February 2012


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 to the 45 degree swim first.  Baiting with two dead red maggots the first skimmer was soon in the net.  I would top up the 14.5 metre swim after 30 minutes with chopped worm and caster before trying that line.
Next bite was was a pig with fins, namely a carp which came to the net after about 8 minutes, so I topped up the 7 metre line with another ball of groundbait and went back over it.
The bites weren’t coming that quickly and it proved difficult and frustrating to put a couple of fish together.  The stamp of the fish where generally small too which wasn’t helping the day.
After an hour I tried the 14.5metre line using a kinder pot with a nip of chopped worm and caster and following the bait down using a worm head, nothing.... it took 10 minutes before a roach was netted.
The day was turning out too well at all!
Meantime, Steve May (Daddy May) was netting some good skimmers and also having some fun with the odd carp, especially one in the bush next to him.
The hours past by and I didn’t have a large number of fish when all of a sudden the 7 metre line straight ahead of me produced a lovely cruician carp, this was to be the last decent fish of the day.
Meantime, Steve had netted a lovely tench.
I tried to fish a metre past the 14.5 metre swim, a metre to the side and inside, but nothing at all.
I ended up scratching for bits in the last hour on the top two which were mainly roach, not the tench I was hoping for!
Steve May was having more fun with carp and he was very Zorro like while trying to pull for a break or get them close in to net!
The Result
8lb dead, 3 bottom off the lake and last in section :-(

Link to Matchfishing Scene Day 3 results
The Team Result
No win this time, my weight didn't help, plus we had three team members on Woodpecker which wasn't fishing so well.
Conclusion
Talk about going from hero to zero...  I never settled into any rhythm and tried to force the 14.5 metre line by cupping in 4 balls of groundbait at 13 metres in the last 90 minutes.  I got well and truly battered by Dave (Shedful) and Steve May of the pegs either side of me...  Never mind, tomorrow’s another day and I’m back on tanners!
The T-Shirt
Captain was beaten by Col and the T-shirt would be presented to him the next day.
The Lodge of Plenty Dinner Menu
Col knocked up a Spaghetti Bolognese which was scoffed with gusto by all in the Lodge of Plenty and the left overs soaked up in bread!  A lot of the other anglers descended on the Lodge of Plenty and we ended up running out of beer!  Luckily some of the other guys brought some fresh stocks of beer and wine.  The banter between Gary (Milo), John (Red Army) and Andy G was hilarious ensuring another side splitting night was had by all!  There were plenty of handovers in the morning.
Location: Stafford Moor Fisheries

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