RESULT F&F strip lake 13.12.25

[Leo Martin]

Big Bash AC Fur and Feather Lindholme Strip Lake 13.12.25

Our annual Fur and Feather match was on the prolific strip lake at Lindholme Lake and we had 15 names on our list at the start of the week. For numerous reasons the match was fished with 10 Bashers, I do hope for those who didn't fish,  their own and families heath is well and they are better for the Xmas break.

Another changing week weather wise and this morning it was 2 degrees in my car and windscreen frozen over. We should expect no other as we are now in winter, but previously we would not see the drastic swings in temperature we currently witness.

Strip lake was booked to hopefully give everyone a few bites from the ravenous F1s and possible a bonus carp or two. The draw and admin was conducted by a much toned down and slimline Jasper for us on the Friday night and we had a section of 6 on roadside and a section of 5 on Loco side.

Our F & F is fished for 1st section and 2nd in section moneys to share around the money more. No financial reward for the match win,

I had a couple of plans to approach the match. Maggot line, pellet line with either hard of soft pellet and a margin line. Rods set up to cast along end of lake if required.  Started on plan A, lost one first put in then nothing for 10 minutes.  Moved onto pellet line for 10 minutes and no bites all time and then went back onto maggot line with first fish landed after 25 minutes of nothing. Things not looking very good as fish were being caught all around the lake. Need to pull my finger out.

Peg 2 Keith Smith 44-10. Keith was easy winner of first fish award however at 9.20 and not started this one didn't count. It took him hook whilst plumbing up. Keith was to fish pellet line on long pole and maggots on short pole. He also tried his bomb rod to edge of lake. Maggots his best bait, and a good late run alternating each side margin helped boost his weight.
 
Peg 4 Nigel Cooke 32-4 also alternated many lines. Started on his rod for a few whilst primed up pole lines. Again, maggot his best bait. Nigel did manage to land a decent carp around 7lbs as a welcome surprised on double maggot. 

Peg 6 saw inform Tracy Benson land 77lb for a section win with highest weight of the day. Expanders and maggot Tracys baits of choice,  with maggots in margin giving him the best reward. A good split of nets with one larger fish and one full of smaller F1s. Well done Tracy on another victory.

Peg 8 John Utting 46-8. Another Basher fishing maggots for his reward. Long pole, short pole and margin lines  once again. Well done John.

Peg 10 Joe Martin 56-1 and 2nd in section. Nice to See both Joe and Scott attend the fur and feather match as they generally don't fish our winter matches, thank you. Joe again had most of his success on maggot.

Peg 12 John Lanelly 45-7 from the corner peg. Johns best bait of the day was punched bread on his pole line. Fishing to the bush at the side of his peg for the majority of his fish. Well done John.

Peg 15 Scott Barker 17-13. Nice to see you out of your summer gear and wrapped up against the cold. Joe did say you was going to wear an Elf's outfit but I guess he was winding me up. take care buddy and see you in March.

Peg 17 Richard Cooke 39-7. Pole long, short and his trusty feeder rod exercised. Maggot  again best bait for Rich.

Peg 19 Mark "maggot meister" Radford 66-10 for a 1st in section win. Mark gets the official first fish prize as he was into one on his first put in. Mark spent the majority of his match on short pole line as his go to approach on this lake. Why break when its not broken. Fish caught throughout the day to achieve his weight. Well done Mark

Peg 23 Leo Martin 51-13. Started on top kit + 2 maggot line at dead depth for only one bite and lost fish. Moved to pellet to see if that was what they wanted, same rejected after 10 minutes of nothing. Back on maggot line but instead of a full 5 maggots on hook I chose double and this went down well. Bites were regular and fish coming to my net. I was loose feeding maggots as well as through a kinder pot. 2 pints used for 1pm I had to go to my car for more maggots. I had been priming near the platform on peg 24 for a margin line and had a 10 minute look at 1:30 but nothing showing. Back on the top kit and 2 maggot line and after 10 minutes the fish were back and feeding again. Never leave a line that is working to look elsewhere is a general rule and I applied this to the end of the match. Some lads who went in their margins were catching similar stamp of fish as their other lines so I guess the larger fish were not feeding. I had chose to click fish not weight as I thought I it easier than guessing the weight of the smaller fish. 97 was the number on my clicker at the end of the match. The stamp was better than I expected but only 3 fish caught would have been over a pound and half. Wasn't sure how much they would weigh but presently surprised with the 51-13.

Around the lake there were some very close weights caught, and everyone had lots of bites and fish which considering its December made for a good days fishing. The weather was nice with bright sunshine in the morning which hindered the lads vision who had drawn on the roadside. A good tip on this lake on roadside is to start off on your left then when sun moves round your vision improves when sun gets brighter. The wind was coming off Loco so again the roadside pegs suffered in the cold wind blowing in to them. Lads on Loco bank had it over their back so no issues for us. Water was also almost flat calm on our side as well so dotting float right down was easy to see.

Many thanks to Jasper for his admin and the draw Friday night. Thank you to Mr Lanelly for his timekeeping.   Special thanks to Keith for weighing in, much appreciated.

After the weighing in it was back to the Anglers Arms for a pint and share our gifts with each other. Nice of our slimline Jasper to be there to greet us and bring a pressie to. I must say his hearing was spot on as mid conversation he managed to hear his name called from the other end of the room that he had won his section on Laurels 😊. Well done mate. Thankyou to Aaron and Alex for the Drennan gift donation to the club for our match bookings on Lindholme which were shared out as well

The winter league soldiers on and round 5 is on January 3rd at Grange Park on Curlew lake. Currently there is a vacancy on this match.

The summer league starts in March and we still have a few members to confirm they are joining us in 2026 with the deadline December 31st required for match booking alterations.

So this was the last official match of 2025 for the Big Bash Angling Club. Thank you to everyone who has fished with us and made another special year. We also remember those 3 special guys we have lost this year, may they rest in peace and enjoy tight heavenly lines together.

Here's wishing you and your families a happy Christmas and more importantly a healthy 2026.