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MFS - Rolf's Lake, 11th April 2015

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Last time I fished Rolf's was back in May 2012, the lure of the large carp this lake holds was too much to resist.  There would be 26 of us fishing today, plenty of regular faces and new ones too, all run by Herbie, he of Stafford Moor, "Herbie is our leader" fame. The weather in the run up to the match had been warm, so the expectation was that the carp would be feeding.  I met up with Shedders at the services for a coffee before heading to the match, it was good to see Herbie, Coling Merce, Doddy and Bilo who where also there. Getting to the fishery, the car park was full which is alway great to see.  Pools money paid and John recommended 4mm pellets as feed and 6mm pellets as hook bait. The Draw More like a scrum is a better way to describe it this morning.  I drew peg 37 which is on the left side of the lake with open water in front of me.  Shedders had mentioned he wouldn't like to draw in that area, luckily he drew peg 40, just run the corner from me.

MFS - How End Fishery, 28th March 2015

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After a run of disappointing results I was hopeful that I could salvage some champion league points at How End with the MFS lads.  I've had quite a good run at How End and was pleased to be fishing Yasi's a lake I've had most time on. I've also had one particularly bad session on Yasi's, but the less said about that, the better... it cost me a pound to Baz and also a potential ban from the fishery by Pebs under the guise of bringing How End's good name into disrepute ;-) The fishery was really busy with a How End Team Winter league decider being fished, so it was great to see some of the other lads, luckily there was one space left in the car park for me. The Draw Baz ran over the net rules only to be corrected by Pebs... how many times have you fished here Baz?  My lot for the day would be peg 12. The Set-Up I didn't even bring any rods today so the pole lines were as follows: 13 metres at the start of the far shelf 12 metres mid way down the f

MFS - Tylers Common, Willow Lake, 22nd March 2015

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Another adventure to deepest darkest Essex on one of George's matches.  It would be an early start for me and I woke up before the alarm went off.  Switching the alarm off and putting my head back on the pillow was a fatal mistake... I re-awoke at 7:55am, the drive was an hour and the draw was at 9am and I hadn't even loaded the car! Luckily traffic was light and I just made the draw, much to the amusement of everyone who was waiting for me.  Thanks lads. The Draw Only just making the 9am draw, there were two bingo balls left in the bag, I ended up with Peg 12. The lads thought I wasn't going to make it, neither did I, especially with all those horrid speed camera's on the M25! The Set-Up Based on my previous experience here back in December, my match plan was pole going to be a pole only attack.  Given the prolific sport at the fishery and reports of the previous days match being won with 220lb of fish I was ready for a great day. Pole lines were set up at:

MFS - Stafford Moor - Silvers Festival, 6th March 2015

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A very heavy night in the Lodge.  The tequila came out and it proved my undoing.  To say I was a bit rough was an understatement! The Draw Open draw today, I took out peg 14 on Pines, aka the Fridge as no sun hits the bank and it’s pretty cold all day long. The Set-up Speaking to Andy G who fished the peg yesterday he told me to fish 14 metres on the right in the white water, so I set up two rigs that let me fish 14 and up to 16 metres on that line. Red maggots, worms, casters and groundbait was my bait for the day. The All-In I cupped in some wetted groundbait together with chopped worm and caster and went straight over the line with a single red maggot.  Bites were instant!  A small roach straight in the net.  This form continued for an an hour which while welcome is tough work when shipping 14 metres for a very small fish. I topped up the line and nipped back to the lodge to use the "facilities".  I was gone for around 20 minutes and arriving bac

MFS - Stafford Moor - Silvers Festival, 5th March 2015

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Most of the lads headed out for a curry.  The Lodge of Plenty had Colin’s Chilli Con Carne which was packed with finger chillies.  Another quiet night in with the lads, plenty of banter, mainly at my expense ;-) The Draw Herbie had seeded all the anglers today.  One of the seeded anglers would pick where we would be fishing today.  Woodpeckers low numbers was my lot for the day, out came peg 10, aka the “swivel” peg. I’ve fished before a few years ago so I felt confident. The Set-up Three pole lines today: 14.5 metres to the left of the peg 14.5 metres straight out from the peg Worm line at 4 metres for the perch or tench Two rigs served the 14.5 metre lines, a “99” double bulk rig and a red depth rig. The All-In Chris Martin had fished this peg the previous day and had killed his peg by putting in too much bait, so it was another negative approach today.   I kicked off the line to the left of me with a small golf ball of groundbait with some casters

MFS - Stafford Moor - Silvers Festival, 4th March 2015

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A night of darts against the cockneys and beers at another lodge for a change… Chris Martin did a disappearing act half way through the night, next thing we can all hear him snoring away.  Andy G kept us entertained as per usual.   I left around midnight and the rest of the lads came back to the lodge and had a bit of a late night, about 3am.  I never heard a thing as I was fast asleep. The Draw Another organised draw by Herbie, calling the groups in to draw and kicking the rest out of the tackle shop.  It worked well! Todays fishing would be on Woodpecker, peg 34.  An area that produced in the first day, but the weights had been low the rest of the week.  Neighbours for the day would be my L’Oreal twin, Tonkin Tommy and Whiteman The Set-up The wind was blowing across the peg which made it difficult plumbing up the 13 metre line straight ahead of me.  I decided on some back up plans, a waggler and feeder rod. The All-In Based on the previous day’s results I

MFS - Stafford Moor - Silvers Festival, 3rd March 2015

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After another surprisingly quiet night it was up early ready for a day on Tanners.  All of the Lodge of Plenty where hoping for a draw right outside Hollywood Lodge both in case the weather turned bad and also for the short walk to the peg. The Draw A very organised draw by Herbie, my spot for the day would be peg 35 on tanners, one off the flyer, but I was confident when arriving at the peg. The Set-up With the weather forecasting wind, I had plenty of open water in front of me so I broke out the rods, a feeder and waggler rod where the weapons of choice. I also setup two 13 metre pole lines in case the weather was kind. Bait again was dead reds, pellets and groundbait. The All-In My match plan was to feed both 13 metre poles lines negatively, one with micro pellets, the other with a ball of groundbait with no loose offers. I clipped the feeder up to fish the same line as the waggler.  The feeder was a small cage feeder with groundbait and double dead