Lewy's Lines

The previous night those already at the fishery went to the Lymington Arms for a beef dinner with Jo and Paul and the draw for teams.  Herbie had sacked last years captains and new captains assigned, you can imagine my surprise when my name came out to be a team captain. I drew from the 4 pint pots and drew Shedders, Pete Merce, Pat Pritchard and Hainsey, what a team! The day when the rest of the lads would descend on the fishery and the chance to have a Champions League match with all three lakes in the draw. I had popped out early in the morning to grab some more cash and toast for the lads.  It was an early start and I managed to get back to the fishery before 8am, however my "entry speed" into the fishery had been captured on CCTV together with the large cloud of dust I'd created.  By the time I would get to the draw I'd been identified by Herbie as the culprit and was in for a surprise fine! The Draw Rolling draw and of course we were the last lodge to

That time of year is on us once again, time to drive down to Devon and the brilliant Stafford Moor fishery to see Paul and Jo and witness the work they've untaken since last years trip.  We would not be disappointed. An early morning start saw me getting to the fishery at 9am to be welcomed with a hug, from Jo, not Paul and a cup of coffee.  Behind the tackle shop the new lake is taking shape, the roads around the fishery vastly improved together with plenty of great parking at the lodges.  Paul and Jo have also built an area with electrical hook ups for caravan and motorhome owners.  Great job guys! I was first at the lodge so plenty of time to unpack both the fishing gear, clean the worms, prepare some ground bait and get the food and beer supplies ready. Today, Herbie had organised a knock up match for 3 hours which allows you to get your gear sorted for the week and also to figure out where it all is after the winter storage. The Draw Taners and Woodpecker pegs were

Another opportunity to get some silvers practise in before the 'Moor and back to Sumner's fishery with Hathers and crew. After learning from last week, the match plan today if the peg allowed it, was to have a single long line that would be fed heavily from the off and left to settle, a waggler line and 5 metre line for the roach. Today's weather was pretty horrid and the car was showing 2 degrees as I arrived at the fishery.  The wind was a nasty north easterly and blowing straight down the lake. The Draw Peg 12 which is permanent peg 21 the far end of the right hand bank and today somewhat sheltered from the wind. Set-up As per the match plan 14.5 metre pole line straight ahead towards the peg opposite.  Close in lines to 5 metres including a margin line and the waggler rod out of the bag. Bait list today, maggots (red/white) and casters including some ground bait for the long line. All-In Hathers came round to collect his peg markers and with all the o

First outing for 2018 and some much needed practise ready for my week at Stafford Moor.  So today I was out with the MFS lads at Sumners Fishery, Horsham on the match lake. My last visit here was back in 2012 however that was a carp match and I had a fantastic day recording my PB match weight at the time. As usual it was great to see a lot of the lads I'd not see for a while despite much Mickey taking as I'd prepared a bacon sandwich for our match organiser Hathers. The weather was pretty mild around 10 degrees with a gentle south westerly wind even though the day before it had rained for most of the day. The Draw Peg 16 which is permanent peg 30. Set-up Looking at my peg I decided to fish four pole lines, two would be fed negatively and the others positively.  So I opted for two lines at 14.5 metres at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions, the other two lines would be at 5 metres.  I also managed to find the same depth on all lines so one rig would cover th

A trip to Manchester to see all the North West lads and another new fishery to try out.  Jim Manc had organised a small match at Moss Farm Fisheries in Irlam, Manchester.  Now the journey from London would have been quite a long one so I decided to travel up on the friday and join some of the lads for a curry in Media City. Friday isn't the best day to be travelling and so it took me a long 5 hours to trek up from the countries capital however a great night was assured and to top that Herbie had organised some top accommodation for us both!  Cheers Herbie. The next morning we all gathered at the fishery were we where treated to a great breakfast although I didn't go the whole hog as I was pretty full from the night before! The Draw Today we were on Madison's lake, yes it sounded like a nightclub from Middlesbrough to me however all the lakes were named after ladies.  The fancied draws were most definitely the corner pegs.  I was lucky enough to be first to draw and

The Munkees were ahead of the Shandies and we only needed a few wins to get the overall result for the northern contingent.  The previous night we were "treated" to a bit of Twisted Biscuit, Sconey's band.  What a great nights entertainment however there was one gentleman who didn't really appreciate the music and was seen with napkins stuffed in his ears.  I missed the opportunity to grab a photograph. The Draw I certainly didn't want Pool 4 despite yesterdays great result.  I was more than happy when Pool 1, Peg 2 came out of the bag however, I had Peg 1 to beat which was fishing very well! Set-up Peg 2 is a know feeder peg and the far bank had been cleared as the gap between the reeds was pretty clear to see however it would take some good casting to plop it in the right area.  As yesterday I decided to set up the feeder rod, bomb and pellet (just in case), a 5 metre pole line and I had a pretty good margin to my right hand side underneath a tree. All

The annual Munkees vs Shandies at the Glebe which is a 3 day event organised by Sconey is another highlight of the the angling year.  I had missed Day 1 due to work commitments however Yidcarper (Ian) kindly took my place. The event over 3 days is fished as follows, Day 1 - Teams of 4v4, Day 2 - Teams of 2v2 and Day 3 is 1v1.  Points are allocated for the team each day which group is victorious across those days rolling up to the final Munkees vs Shandies team scores. The Draw Everyone at the draw didn't want Pool 4 as it wasn't fishing that well, even Pete Bailey had a nightmare on it the previous day with only 25lb of fish... this wasn't going to be the end of Pete's Pool 4 adventure either. I was the first to draw and had the choice of all the envelopes on the table.  The lads were all chanting, "Pool4, Pool 4...".  Opening the envelope I had took my folded up peg and opened it.  Pool 4, Peg 75! Hathers had predicted it as I've been on this p

Matchfishing Scene organise a match for all the match winners during the Champion League season and I was lucky enough to win two matches this year and earn a spot of this match.  The match had been organised for the fantastic Barston Lakes near East Midlands Airport. The Draw Peg 46 for me.  I'd been in this area before.  On arrival at the peg it was a very tight home for the day.  The box needed to go in the water to give me some room. Set-Up The pole line was going to be difficult as I would have to ship the pole along the bank due to the number of walkers, runner and cyclists that go past you. Today I felt would be more of a rod and line affair, the following were set-up: Long range hybrid feeder Pellet Waggler Bomb rod Method rod for going over the 14 metre pole line Pole lines were set at: Top 2 and two sections 14 metres straight ahead  14 metres to the left hand margin Bait was pretty simple.  Sweetcorn, some worms for the margin line, dead reds an

Neil (NS69) has organised a match at Lawn Farm Fisheries in Elsworth near Cambridge, its a place I've fished quite a times with some good results.  Today we would be fishing the snake lake, Honeysuckle. Most of the lads could be found at the normal meeting place of McDonalds down the road for breakfast. The Draw 13 of us fishing today and pegging would start at peg 10 leaving a peg out until the next angler so plenty of room.  The talk on the bank was that pegs 1 to 7 hadn't been fishing well in the local matches.  My luck for the day was Peg 10, effectively the end peg and with nobody at all to my left and Neil for my neighbour. Set-Up Pole only today and it was the first outing for my new Tricast Excellence Pro.  The pole lines for the day were: 14 metres across, about 2 metres from the mud line where there was around 18 inches of water Top 2 + 2 Margin line on the left As I'd just come back from holiday I didn't have any time to organise any bait so

Day 2 after a quiet curry night in Bosworth with Herbie, Daddy May, Colin and Rolly.  We did arrive at the Glebe and got the appropriate abuse for not visiting the lads at the Longshoot. Glen was telling everyone the story of the multiple coach roaches in his room.  "I know the place is a sh*thole, but this is just too much" he told the night porter.  The Longshoot isn't the nicest place to stay however the craic in the bar with the lads is fantastic! The Draw So today I'd be drawing for a peg on Pool 4, 5, 6 or 7.  After my experience at the Glebe with Pool 4, it was the last place that anyone wanted! Hand goes into the bowl and yes, you've guessed it, Pool 4!!! but peg 66 in the corner.  Company on Pool 4 would be Pikey, Pete Bailey, Shaur, Drawbag and Kenfish. Set-Up Corner peg so the left hand bank would be targeted at multiple locations. Other pole lines were at 5 metres and I also set-up a shallow rig just in case. The feeder rod was also set-u

The first time I'd fished the Hillbilly Pairs which is very generously sponsored by Neil of HillBilly Floats.  Check out his webpage for some fantastic hand made floats. http://www.hillbillyfloats.co.uk The event takes place over two days and you are drawn a random partner.  The might of the MFS massive were all gathered at the Glebe.  On the other hand, I was late as my journey there was a bit more interesting with a tyre pressure warning light telling me my back right tyre was down on pressure.  A quick pit stop to the garage to fill it back up and I was at the fishery. The Draw Organised by Mr Andy Kinder and the lovely Sarah, the first name out of the hat would be fishing on Pool 1, the next name would then be your partner and they would be drawing for Pools 4, 5, 6 or 7. My name came out the hat and my Pool 1 draw was peg 14.  Steve Wynn (SWB) was next out the hat so had the unfortunate pleasure of being my partner... Set-Up The weather during the run up to the e

Back to Barston Lakes for a MFS Champion's League match, a good opportunity to get some practise in for the Match winners final later this year. The Draw I got a call from Pat 10 minutes before the draw asking if I was heading to the fishery.  I was almost in the car park when he called.  As JC said, I'm normally one of the first one there, today I was only one mile from the fishery yet I was one of the last one to arrive.  Sorry guys.  Anyway, Peg 73 was home for the day, luckily peg 74 was a redraw as one of the lads hadn't turned up so I had a lovely end peg all to myself. Neighbours for the day were Big Ron on 72 and Daddy May across the bank. Set-Up The wind was right in my face so I broke out the method and bomb rod.  I wasn't planning on fishing long as when I'd arrive at the peg I could see some skimmers topping not to far out. Pole line would only be a short line due to the wind so I set up top 2 +3 sections straight ahead with a 1.0g rig.  I al

A new venue for me popped up on the Match Fishing Scene website, Boddington Reservoir.  It was a silvers match and I'd heard that there was a big head of roach so I popped my name down.  The weekend weather was shaping up to be quite a scorcher and the temperature was rising as I drove towards Northamptonshire. Shedders saw me on the motorway so we conveyed the rest of the way to the fishery to catch up with Hathers and the rest of the lads.  17 of use were fishing today. The Draw My milk bottle top had the number 43 on it.  We had heard that the pegs you wanted where the higher numbers.  Neighbours for the day, George, Les, Pikey and Shedders. Set-Up The waggler rod was first out of the bag setup with a 4AAA Nick Gilbert waggler.  Pole lines all straight ahead using a sailing buoy as my marker were: 13 metres using a 1gram float on 0.12 main line with a 0.10 bottom to a gamma green 16 7 metres, same depth so same rig Bottom of the stairs, top 2 + 1, using a 0.8 gram

The Lodge of Plenty! A great week at Stafford Moor!  Jo and Paul have worked hard and the fishery is responding extremely well.  Keep doing what you are doing guys because its working! It goes without saying that thanks go to Herbie and his glamorous assistance Ken for all the organisation and effort to get us all in order during the week! Great to see all the regulars at the Moor and some new faces.  Alan, brilliant to have a proper geordie onboard for translation purposes, just don't forget where you left your keys! Finally to my Lodge of Plenty mates, the best week of the year and you guys make it more fun year on year! Full Festival results: Congratulations Colin, 3rd time festival winner! Pos. NAME TOTAL OVERALL WEIGHT TOTAL FESTIVAL POINTS 1 Colin Mercer 98-2-0 6           2 Steve Martin 92-1-0 15         3 Pete Bailey 86-9-0 17         4