round 7 SpringVale Oak Avenue 24-2-2024

[Leo Martin]

Round 7 Aquastim Big Bash winter League SpringVale Oak Avenue 24.2 2024

More changeable weather leading up to our latest winter league match heavy downpours and we awake to a sharp frost and thick fog was waiting for the meandering drive down the Trent valley or at least to Dunham bridge where it finally cleared up. 
At SpringVale bright sunshine was waiting to greet the Winter league Big Bash Loonies as they assembled around Oak Avenue Lake which in fairness fits our league numbers well as there is plenty of room, its not shared with another club and Banter can travel along and across the whole lake.

13 members around the lake which made 3 sections and ten of the 13 received a prize.

Match winner was our summer league guest Joe ( corner peg ) Martin who from peg 9 took 66-0 to the scales
Section one winner was Indian who weighed in 41-7 off peg 6, second in section Rich Cooke on peg 8 with 32-13
Section 2 winner peg 14 Steve Curtis with 30-10, second in section peg 12 Tracey Benson 17-10
Third section winner was Jasper on peg 17 with 28-2 and second Steve Jackson peg 15 with a close thought 25-00.

Bottles of vino to drown any sorrows Big Glen, Gave Cooper and Dark Horse John Utting.
Well done everyone

Friday Night and with Buster making an appearance for  the wheel of doom peg 5 landed for yours truly which should have been a good draw for me. True to my consistent form this year I did it justice with a return of 5-2 only to find Glen had beat me to the bottle of wine....

My set up was Bomb and Feeder rod to chuck across to far bank. Pole lines for maggot to 2 +2 to start and went out to 2 + 4, a shallow line which was tried 2+2, 2 + 4 and 13m at one stage after I saw Indian nick a few out long. A line for corn over micros at 2 + 2. With the depth very shallow I didn't set up a margin line to start off with as I assumed it was to cold and early but went there late in the match as a desperate measure.

Peg 5 is central to the tree bank and Oak Avenue an long oval lake with one long central island about a 20m chuck. The depth was around 3 to 3-6 inch deep and fairly consistent, margins just over a foot deep alongside the reeds to 18 inch about 3 feet from the side. The island is now also starting to collapse as it has slowly become undercut with the water.

Match started and method to island with wafter and micros. I had to wait about 25mins for first bite which was a chub about a pound. Then another long gap so I dropped onto 2+2 maggot line and picked u0 2 skimmmers about a pound each then nothing.
Despite lots of roation of lines and baits it was no bites all time for long periods. The bailff on his bait and hook checks suggested tight across as a throw away line ad bites would come, nope.
I did catch a  few more small skimmers on the maggot line but even with a single maggot on an 18 hook it was hard work. I only had one bite on my corn line early on at 2+ 2 but missed it.
number of lines and areas being fished increase as the match goes on in the search for fish. 2:45 I filled in a spot 2 + 2 up the reeds to my left with ground bait and micros. Went over it about 3 times for no bites all time and aroud 3:20 I noticed some surface disturbance so dropped a single kernel of corn and the float dipped, struck, nothing but a large bow wave. Back in again for same result and that was my chances of an improvement on 5-2 and thanks for coming. I must say despite the poor weight I did enjoy my day again. Good company as always, the weather was exceptional for a February with sunshine for long periods, being outside and listening to the silence of nature which did include the tap tap tap of a woodpecker behind us in the Oaktrees.

Rich Cooke was first to strike with a fish from his method line across on his first chuck. Quickly followed by Indian on peg 6 and also Paul Whitehouse on peg 3 all using same method. Paul had some success on this method, tried his pole on numerous lines, margin lines but due to long waiting I think settled on method across where he had at least some bites to add fish to his net.

Chef Indian on peg 6 had some early success chucking across on his method line, he switched to a pole line where he picked up a few. Then he went shallow out long to catch his first couple of carp and a skimmer. Kev continued to rotate and search his peg as most of us were doing but he was having much more success. Late on he primed his left hand margin and consequently after going over it landed 2 big lumps in quick succession. Weighing in 41-7 for his section win and strengthening his league position.

Joe and Rich Cooke had been catching fish intermittently throughout the match to various methods but the last hour they found 2 + 2 maggot lines were rewarding them with regular carp coming to the net. These gave them a match win and second in section.
I think overall the fishery weights were down as other local fisheries due to the sharp overnight frosts.
Thanks you to Jasper for his organisation once again. Thank you to Steve for the weighing in task once again and also Big Glen for timekeeping and blowing his whistle.

Next match is back to the clubs favourite breakfast venue Grange Park and on Heron, please confirm and pay on in a timely manner to help in the admin.

I will see you all on the following match as I have am looking to share a tin of snuff and relive tales with some of my mates as we meet up on the 40th anniversary of the 84 strike.

[fishfinder]

Hoping for a draw on 1 to 10 side only because the last and only time i fished it thats where the fish were.Peg 14 it was and with end peg 9 and 11 in my section i feared the worst.Decided to not bother fishing for the silvers ,maggot feeder,method and 11m pole.started on feeder across then maggot feeder,then pole and paste and pellet nothing not a bite.Could see them catching on the other side opposite me again and either side of me catching on maggot on pole and thought with 2hrs gone i was wasting my time fishing for silvers as a i was too far behind,did try maggot on my pole line and had 4 fish for 2lb so abandoned that and sat on my trusty method hoping they would arrive.At 2.30 had 2lb and last on my bank,chucked method where i had fished maggot feeder and caught a 2lb carp then nothing so back to original swim and round it went,had 7 and lost 1 in last hour to get me out of jail and sneaked a bank win but no good as pegs 6 to 9 took first 3 places.Just like to say Steve Jackson fished a tidy match next to me with 28lb of silvers pleased he wasnt in my section it would have been robbery to have pipped him in last 5 mins when i had done it all wrong for 4hrs.