RD 4 2025 Winter League-29th November-Grange Park-Curlew

[Leo Martin]

Big Bash Winter league round 4 Grange Park Curlew Lake 6.12.2025

Round 4 saw us welcome winter stalwart John Utting to the group and a couple of LORAC lads ( Paul and Dave) who were previous Winter club regulars but had a couple of winter seasons break and decided to dust off their winter gear and join us to fill in some vacant spaces.

The week had seen more torrential rain and temperature changes. The wind had turned from a cold Northernly to a cold Southernly and after a heavy downpour Friday night, we had rain threatening in the morning and forecast for late afternoon.

Alan and Steve had been busy again replacing platforms and the smallest on Curlew now is 8 feet wide I think, loads of room, and goof secure flat plastic surfaces. The rest of the complex platforms are also being worked upon. Thank you from all anglers.

10 anglers on the lake so plenty of room for everyone. Curlew different to Heron and everyone can see each other almost, and also share banter and encouragement with each other.
 
Friday draw made and peg 10 was left on the wheel for yours truly, happy with that one and hoping for good things. However, hero to zero can soon happen in Winter.
 
Section 1
Peg 3 Dave Dobbs 27-11 and a 2nd  in section. Dave back with us fished all methods but caught mainly on pole on maggots

Peg 5 Gavin Cooper 23-6, pushed Dave close using pole and rod to island.

Peg 8 Keith Smith 48-1 and a match win. Keith started on rod to island whilst priming short and long pole lines. After about 4 fish he moved onto his pole lines and rotated throughout the match. His best line was long pole on maggot which had been given to him form Jacko having received a generous supply from Catchy Bait. Keith was probably the most consistent angler in the match, catching throughout with very few lean spells. Well done Keith.

Peg 10  Leo Martin. Plan was bomb and corn on 2 lines, alternating with come bread. Method and wafter, also Pole lines for maggot and pellet at 2+1 in 6 feet of water.
Started on bomb and bread, then corn however not bites or even liners. Switched onto pole maggot line and again no bites. Went on method rod and it whipped around for first bite and fish, about 4lber, game on me thinks. Long gap for second bite and fish however stamp was good compared to those around me. 3rd fish was after another long wait then nothing. Rotated lines, however after one small fish on pole line, nothing else. The day was spent rotating methods and searching for bites and fish. Most success came off method rod. The fish turned up on my maggot pole line at 2:30 with 5 small fish on 5 put ins but it was too little too late . Hero to zero in 7 days, that's fishing I suppose.

Peg 12 saw Steve Jackson 34lb and second in section. Peg 12 platform is huge, nay HUGE. Jacko started on pole for a few then around 12 o'clock he had a good session on his bomb rod chucking to the reeds to his right, then progressed to more success searching the swim to his right in various areas. Well done Steve, good bombing.

Section 2
Peg 17 John Utting 14-5. John was the first to catch a fish and had a decent morning session but long bite-less gap which tested his patience to the full. His comment around 2pm was "I don't know what to do next".  Well done for sticking it out John, its winter fishing as you well know mate. You love it really.

Peg 19  Mark Radford 39-10 and a first in section. Maggot Master Mark strikes again. Fishing short pole most of the match he preserved with his approach and caught in spells throughout the day. Some long biteless gaps but then a few fish before more gaps. His last fish was a zoo creature which saw him overtake his neighbour Tracey to achieve the section win. Well done Mark.

Peg 21 Tracey Benson 37-3 and second in section. Tracey also swapped and changed throughout the match. Long pole, short pole, rod to island, margin to his right. Again some long bite less gaps during the match. A good run in his margin line to his right with better stamp of fish enabled his second in section points.

Peg 24 Dave Fox 29-5. Both Dave and Paul on peg 27 faced the worse of the conditions. Cold wind blowing in their faces and a good healthy ripple on the water as well. Dave rotated his pole and rods throughout the match to catch his weight. A very slow start with a stronger afternoon session. Well done

Peg 27 Paul Abbey 18-0 Again struggled through the conditions and searching for bites. Only one decent carp caught and the rest made up  on smaller fish. Well done Paul and good to see you again.

Difficult day for most with the fish not settling down to feed consistently. Fish having to be searched for and bites at a premium. Weather was kind to us, even some sunshine in the afternoon. Those on the early pegs had the best of the weather, sheltered by the conifers and high banking. Lads on opposite bank faced the wind with Dave and Paul having the brunt of the cold wind. We did get lucky in that after a small shower at the start of the day, we escaped the rain so big positive there.
Everyone caught a few as well which compared elsewhere was good. Heron match was won with only 20lb and other fisheries have also struggled on the day. We are now in winter mode so we shouldn't expect big nets every session, it is what it is as they say.
 
Thankyou to Mr Fox for the timekeeping. Also  many thanks to Jacko and Keith for  assisting in the weighing in.
Next Big Bash is our Fur and Feather at Lindholme on Strip Lake, next Saturday ( 13th) Draw Friday night by Jasper in a Santa Claus suit.

Next Winter League Match  is in 2026 on January 3rd when we are back at Grange Park on Curlew again. Please confirm and pay on as my PayPal is open.

[Leo Martin]

match results

[Leo Martin]

League after 4 rounds