Summerhayes – Open – 25th August 2025
Bank Holiday Monday saw me headed to Summerhayes for the match on Longs which has been fishing really well for silvers. Only ten of us today and I drew peg 30 which was right where I wanted to be although …
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 …
River Parrett – Stoke vs Ilminster (Axminster Cup) – 6th September 2020
I’ve really enjoyed these inter-club matches and this year Ilminster fielded a team of 12 which is a brilliant turnout. We all met at the bowling club for breakfast before heading to Martock to do the draw and lock horns with our mortal foes! Last year we narrowly beat Stoke on the Parrett but they got their revenge at Dillington so honours …
Spotlight On….. Bait-Tech Carp & Coarse Pellets
For part five of this series which started last year, I thought I’d have a look at the Carp & Coarse Pellets which I use a lot of, especially in the Summer. They’re available from 2mm right up to 11mm but I tend to use the micros and 6mm sizes for most of my commercial fishing and occasionally 4mm and 8mm. They …
Covey Fisheries – Open – 30th August 2020
The lovely Steve Chant has been running some opens here and after having a cracking day on bunghole peg 1 last time, I was hoping for more of the same this time, especially after a nightmare week with difficulties caring for dad, a £600 vets bill (not for dad!) and my back going when I was picking up dog poo! My week …