Awoke excited to get going today after not fishing last week. First match of the new season with Pewsey lads. Fishing Sharcott lake the clubs only non canal water. Start of the lake championship. The club runs two parallel championships (one on the canal and one on the lake) at the end of the year the points are added together for the overall championship. Arrived early to get a little info on the place - know nothing about it. Brief history is that the local farm fields used to be all for potatoes. The local spud producers dug out a deep water storage lake so they had store of water they could pump out on the fields in dry times. No fear of that this year, the ground is saturated.
 |
| Sharcott water |
 |
| Feeder Stream for the pond |
Holds about 18 pegs in a slight crescent shape. The fellas were split down the middle about how it would fish, and getting info on what we were fishing for was surprisingly difficult. The lads were very cagey. It appears there has been up to 9 Cormorants on the lake in recent times. In the good days skimmers golden tench and Carp were the order of the day, but now dire days have come and fish stocks are low. The conversation was up beat, and talk of how the carp in the various anglers garden ponds were starting to move and look for food gave us a bit of a boost, the hope of carp feeding today. I walked the bank before the draw ropes have been stretched across the lake between the pegs in an effort to deter cormorants from landing and taking off. Horse bolted and shut the gate comes to mind; as I look at the water. It is dead still, I don't mean flat calm, I mean there was absolutely no sign of fish. None - I mean nothing it looked devoid of fish, the cormorants really had filled their crops with fish here.
 |
| The Draw |
£5 pools £5 super pools and £1 silvers pool paid and I ask where the flier is. Far end mate. Where don't I want to be? 3,4 or 5. What did I draw - you guessed it 5. Trudge to my peg, and sat on my box for a bit trying to form a plan of attack. First shock is the depth - 6 foot plus down the middle. I thought it would be 4 to 5 like a commercial. Problem, very few longer rigs in the box. Tackled up and looked around to see what people would be baiting up with. Chopped worm, and caster looked favourite with a little ground bait. I had brought everything, so no worries there. The all in and I fed a short expander pellet line to my right at around 4 feet. Bit of cloudy ground bait, choppy and caster. at 8 meters in 7 feet. The I pinged a 10 gram scoop feeder across to the far edge with micro pellet and a banded 4 mill. Gave it an hour on the tip - nothing doing. 30 mins on the deep line and nothing. Fed a few loose pinkie and came in close over the pellet. This was no better and no bites for another 30 mins. Back across on the tip and still nothing. The rain has stopped now and the sun is poking through, its 12.20 and I ask the guys either side of me if there is actually "any" fish in this lake. The reply all at the other end mate.
Jimmy (chairman committee) on peg 3 was fishing down the edge in a pile of floating sticks and started to catch tiny fish. Ian two to my right was swinging 5 gram fish, and me I was getting small nibbles on a worm on the tip, but just cant hit the bites. Frustration gets the better of me and I, come in over the deep line and the pinkie I had sprinkled in. It is away 12.35 and my first proper bite. I gently dolly in a nice perch around 12 oz.
Fat little thing took a pinkie on a size 22, to o8 line. Straight back in and two more roach about an ounce a piece. Its put me ahead in the section but Ian is continuing to catch 5 gram fish. Perked up and ready to rip into it, I am gobsmacked to find that's it nothing for another hour. I go back on the tip and start getting the frustrating taps again. Gary to my right lands a lobster of a crayfish, and then finally the tip goes around , well not quite more like moved a quarter inch and I lift into a crayfish! So that's what the nibbles were, and thats why I kept pulling in just the head of a worm!. Two more crayfish one after another and then nothing.
Embarrassed to weigh in with my new friends I try to laugh off a difficult day. Jimmy has caught a few tiddlers, Ian has done well I think its med section blues for me. I walk to the far end, and am amazed to find everyone has struggled. Chris has won it with 2lb 5 and half ounces - end peg flier. His section having one blank 3 at 3onces and one 6oz weight.
Ian wins my section with 1lb 4oz (25 fish). Jimmy has last gasp roach (3oz )to come second with 15oz. Then me with 13 and a quarter ounce, and beaten into third one of the money by 1 and 3/4 of an ounce gutted. Tough day with a committee carve up for the money.
1st Chris Rushton (left -Committee Secretary)
2nd Ian Spanswick (middle - Treasurer)
3 rd Jimmy Bromham (right - Chairman).
Concerned conversation accompanies us back to our vehicles. Were the Carp and Bream preparing to spawn, nobody is sure. One thing is for sure, the Cormorants have done more damage than first thought. Weights have never been so low apparently.
I am gagging for Wednesday to come, Todber Manor. Army group 2 match number 6. Cant wait its one of my favourite venues, always a good day there.
No comments:
Post a Comment