2020 Yearly Review
January 2020 A few of us decided to have a knock up at Sadborow before the Xmas break was over, I drew peg 7 which I was happy with and had a steady start but I fell behind the others …
River Isle – Ilminster vs Stoke – 18th October 2020
I’m really enjoying these inter-club fixtures and it’s great having some bigger matches although with 25 originally booked in, pegging it was going to cause a few headaches. I have to say a massive thanks to Rob Cox, Baz Morgan, Leighton and Paul Adams who did loads of work finding swims and making them fishable and at Midelney, they even put pallets …
Summerhayes – Charlie Barnes Memorial Match – 17th October 2020
Two matches this weekend that I was really looking forward to, Charlie’s Memorial at Summerhayes on Saturday and then Ilminster v Stoke on the Isle the following day. Charlie’s match is silvers only and one I would love to do well in, although I’ve really struggled to avoid the carp this year which I’m sure Charlie would find very amusing! Up early, …
What Do Points Make………?
I’ve written about all the different variables in match fishing many times on this blog, it’s part of what makes our sport so great but in equal measure it can be the most frustrating thing in the world. I’m not going to regurgitate all those reasons here but somebody messaged me recently about trying to level the playing field and I’m sure …
River Isle – V.E.S. Precision League 1 – 11th October 2020
I always look forward to this league and getting back on the Isle, it’s seven matches with your best six results counting so it’s nice if you can get off to a decent start. I managed to win the league last season for only the second time and would be trying my hardest to retain the title. Rob and Leighton had been …
Dillington Pond – Pairs Open – 4th October 2020
I’d really enjoyed fishing the Parrett over the summer and when Stoke rescheduled this match from last week, I booked in with Steve P as it would probably be the last chance to fish it this year. The weather had other ideas though and it rained solidly Friday and Saturday with strong winds chucked in for good measure. Ilminster AA very kindly …
Covey Fisheries – Silvers Open – 27th September 2020
In the last match here, I spent an hour fishing across for carp but struggled so decided to fish for silvers and had a lovely day catching nine crucians, a barbel plus rudd, roach and little skimbobs for 12lb odd but was a long way behind the winning weight of 21lb. The temperature dropped a few degrees in recent days so it …
Tom Pickering – Born to Win – A Review
I’ve reviewed quite a few books on the blog over the years but as I hinted at when I read Steve Gardener’s book (which was a cracking read) there are relatively few match fishing books out there so when I saw Tommy Pickering was publishing his story I ordered a copy from his Facebook store. It was £20 which seems to be …
Dillington Pond – Bob Hammond Memorial Match – 20th September 2020
I’d really enjoyed this match last year, it was nice to fish the feeder for the first time in ages and I actually managed to finish second with 12lb 10oz of bream and skimmers behind Andy ‘Calamity’ Saunders who won it with 13lb 3oz from peg 2 but broke his toe when he fell over in the morning! With the whip dominating …
Dillington Pond – 13th September 2020
As it’s Bob’s match next week, I thought I’d fish the last match in the Summer League to give me an idea of how to approach it, Paul Homewood was second in the last match with some skimmers on the pole and feeder for 13lb odd so I was hoping I might get a few on my new feeder rod. I had …
Todber Manor – Garbolino Club Angler Of The Year Qualifier – 11th September 2020
I’ve always fancied having a go at this competition and when I saw the Southern qualifier was at Todber this year, I thought why not? Now I’m under no illusions that it’s not a big ask, given that my pb match weight is 155lb and at the moment you need 300lb plus to frame! That sort of fishing just isn’t something I …