Lewy's Lines

The third day of the festival and the beast from the east was closing in on us fast.  Herbie had taken a measured decision that today would be our final day as the weather forecast for tomorrow could see us snowed in at Stafford Moor.  Now we had plenty of beer and food to last but it was definitely the right decision given the conditions.  After all we still had curry night to enjoy too. Today I'd be on Tanners and was really hoping for a draw on the lawns, not too far from the comfort of the lodge. Again the lakes had frozen lids on them so it was going to be a tough one. The Draw Peg 17 on Tanner would be my home for the day.  This is directly opposite the lodge, not quite next to it as I'd hoped.  I'd have Rob A and Silvers for company. Pete Bailey had drawn 18 and once he saw the lake he quite rightly said he was off home! Set-up The wind was really gusting so today was most definitely a rod only day.  The bonus of the wind was that it would shift the ice

Ice, ice baby! We were greeted to the second day with ice on the lakes and a very cold easterly wind.  The beast from the east was heading our way that was for sure. Animal was heading down for the night and he was cooking for us too, bonus!  Yesterday was a tough day for all with Captain and Col Merce leading the festival so far. Today it was our turn for Pines that mostly had a thick ice lid on top of it!  Negative feeding would be the order of the day.  I was also up against Big Nige in today's knock out. The Draw Well at least I'm not on Woodpeckers!  Peg 3 would be my home for the day however before I could even set up it was time to break out the ice breaker.  Luckily Peg 3 I was able to access from both banks so could break the ice across the lake. It took an hour of effort however I was rewarded with a lovely clear wide channel to fish.  My neighbour was John Nugent one of the new ASBO's. Set-up Pole setup today as I was guarded from the wind by the

Day 1 of the festival and a great night in the Lodge of Plenty with spirits high even though the weather wasn't looking it's best and set to get worse! Everyone gathered at the Tackle shop, Kenfish doing a great job of collecting the pools money and organising the rabble, then it was our leaders turn, Herbie.  But of course before he could speak a rousing welcome of, "Herbie is our leader, la, la, la, la" was sung in his honour. The Draw Please not Woodpecker was my thought having spent two very fruitless days on there already.  The peg came out of the bag, it was red which meant Woodpecker again!  This time I'd be again on the high back although peg 17 in the corner which was a bit more sheltered from the wind. Neighbours for the day, Chris Martin and Pete Bailey.  I mentioned to Pete I don't mind seeing him, but not on the next peg!  At least I could observe his angling approach I thought to myself. Set-up I was not going to make yesterdays mista

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