09.05.14

Pemb's Whiteacres Diary - Pemb Wrighting

"About a month ago I decided on a trip to Whiteacres for the Milo festival, the last of three spring festivals. I was to be in E section for the week so I started at Bolingey for day one...

Day 1, Bolingey peg 40

Peg 40 is situated on the right hand arm of the lake. I was happy to be in this section, as there aren't really any out-and-out fliers in it, so hopefully I could make a good start for the week points wise.
I started on the short pole hoping for a quick run of fish but nothing happened; not the best start. After that I went out on the long pole fished shallow and caught F1s and odd carp pretty steadily for two hours until it was really dead. For a while I couldn't catch anywhere in my peg. With 90 minutes to go I decided to really attack the short pole line, feeding heavily with meat. The last hour was great, and saw me hooking a carp most casts. I used a size-14 Guru XS Spade hook on this line, and they were just perfect. It suited the 8mm meat hook bait just right.
I ended up with 135lb, which was enough for a section win.

Day 2, Pollawyn peg 10

When I drew this peg I wasn't overly happy with it to be honest. With the in-form peg 1 in my section, along with the consistent pegs 7 and 13, I wasn't expecting a successful day.

My plan mainly involved around the long pole with meat, and fishing in the edge with casters. I was hoping for skimmers and odd carp out long, and anything that came along down the edge!
After about 40 minutes I went down the edge with a lightish rig made of 0.11mm N-Gauge. To start with the swim was solid with big perch. I caught about 10 or 15 lb in 20 minutes or so. Every fish was 1lb plus, great fishing! But as quick as they were there, they were gone. After that first spell I had to keep resting the edge by fishing somewhere else after nicking a couple of good fish.
With two hours or so to go, the odd carp started to put in an appearance on the long pole. It seemed I had to feed a lot of bait, 250ml, just to get an interest from even one fish. Because of this, foul-hooking soon become a problem. Fishing four feet deep in the seven-foot swim soon sorted them out and a nice run of carp was added to the nets before the end.

I ended up with 77lb, which was a frustrating second in section. Before the match I would have bitten your hand off for second, but getting so close to a win; the winner had 84lb, so it was very frustrating.

Day 3, Twin Oaks peg 4

To say I was gutted to have drawn this peg was an understatement. The only hope I had was if the wind was blowing down my end. When I got to peg I couldn't believe it, the wind was blowing into two! So at least we had half a chance up this end.

When I was setting up there were actually quite a few carp topping, so it was looking better all the time. My initial plan when I drew was to take a lot of casters to fish for silvers on a short pole, but after a good think and weigh up of the situation, I decided to sack that plan off for a much more positive one. The plan now revolved around a method feeder, a 36 gram Guru In-Line small version, and two short pole lines. One at six sections, and a margin line.
To cut a long story short, the rod was steady for most of the match, then in the last 20 minutes it really kicked of down the edge. The six-section line was a waste of time.

I weighed in 132lb 14oz, which was enough to sneak a second in section. I say sneaked because Andy Power on peg 2 weighed 132lb and Alan Crouch weighed 132lb 2oz on peg 14! It just goes to show you should never give up. Right up until the end I though I was way off the pace. Marcus Harrison fished a great match on the in-form peg 10 to win the section with 155lb.

Day 4, Trewaters peg 49

I've not been on either of the two lakes at Trewaters for about three years, so I was really happy to draw one of them. Both the lakes are full of all sorts of fish and plenty of bites are normally guaranteed.

It was a windy day so my plan was a simple one; pellet feeder to the island, short pole and margin. I thought a small Guru Pellet Feeder might be better on the day, first because the fish are smallish, up to 4 lb, but mostly in the 1lb to 3lb bracket. Also, because the fish are smaller, I'd have to cast more frequently, and a Pellet Feeder is very quick to load compared to a Method.
I started the match on the short pole with meat and caught well for 20 minutes or so. After a dull spell I went out on the feeder. For most of the match the pellet feeder was good. I'd get three or four quick fish then I'd have to rest it and repeat the process.

In the last 40 minutes the edge was solid. By fishing worms over groundbait I must have put 30lb in the net in the last 40 minutes and hoped it would be enough.

I weighed in 96lb to beat my old mate Simon Gould by 8lb for the section win.

Day 5, Porth peg 85

With 34 points already in the bag and a possible 35 points if I won, I was going to Porth to fish a safe pole match. It never entered my head to fish for a bream; there was no need to take the risk.

I fished the long pole for skimmers and a short pole for roach and caught on and off all day for 9lb 8oz. 10lb 2oz won the section so it was a very close day and another second for me.

So, I ended the week with three seconds and two firsts, to finish with 34 points, dropping a second. In the final shake-up that was good enough for 8th overall. I had a lovely week’s fishing, in great company. I certainly learnt a lot that I can put into my fishing all over the country, not just down Whiteacres. The carp lakes really are fishing fantastic now, the management seem to have it spot on. As always I can't wait to get back!"

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