The Week Where Things Went Right.

After a slow trip last time I got down to the new reservoir, my chosen venue for the winter, the lake is incredibly deep and full of fish with a few lumps in there as well.

I have always wanted to fish the grand union canal, so if all fails this will become my last resort. After a tiring Monday morning planning to get up early and fish till late, I failed to wake up, what an idiot! That morning I received a phone call and got invited to a local lake to fish for pike, which I have never caught before. Myself and Big Rich from college set off to the tackle shop and got some dead bait and proceeded to the lake. We arrived at around 3:00pm, I flicked a mackerel dead bait down the margin but this rod didn't produce, unfortunately. I then under armed it a bit further off the bank and the rod eventually tore off like a carp, I was into my first pike, 9lb 6oz, not massive but a lovely fish for my first Pike!

What a Creature, All 9lb 6oz of Her!

            Anyway, onto this session. It is lovely and bright outside so chod rigs and flouro baits are cast out whilst I set up my gear. I have all the amenities out on the stand and begin to tie up some bags, and trim down a few popups. In the bag mix I’m using something new, NV-R Stick Mix, Hemp Attack S-S (fine ground hemp), C2-R pellet and some Gremlin pellet to get the fish rooting around. This is tied up in a small stick, an easy mouthful for any Carp. I have had countless fish from high stocked waters on a similar mix but in solid bags! Could that approach be enrolled? The chod is left on the left rod, and the stick mix with a trimmed down white chocolate flouro popup is dispatched on the right rod, the rods are out!

The Awesome V-Cloud!

An hour or so later, the left bobbin springs up and settles down. I lifted into it and the fish bangs its head once and came off, I fear I may have done the wrong thing! The rod is soon dispatched back out to where I had it before. The right rod is sat motionless for the whole time, another bag is threaded on with a good soaking in the Velocity Baits V-Cloud glug, I have caught a lot of fish on the range of V-Clouds especially Roach and Bream when feeder fishing on the quiver tip!The fish are getting more active, topping left front and centre, one lad has had one opposite me; let’s hope they will swing round my way! With a few hours of no action and after that occurrence on the choddy, I have recast the rods and packed down the gear so I only have my rods and a net out on the stand. The fish are still crashing but nothing has taken my bait as of yet.

My Favored Winter Hook-baits!

The weather has become over cast and still remains quite warm. The wind had picked up but it’s just a light northerly breeze pushing across the lake. Both rods are incredibly slack as I believe fishing slack lines are the way forward. I am expecting a bait delivery of boilies and dumbells which I shall have with me on my next session to try and get the fish a bit more active. If all pans out I shall hopefully be doing a night over the next couple of weeks, a night on the reservoir will hopefully increase my chances of a better bite.

The light levels have dropped since earlier on today but it hasn't stopped the fish poking their heads out on the spots. The lake is still a bit busy with the odd angler slowly packing up but I’m aiming to stay on the lake until 5:00pm, just hope we’re not busy at work!

My Preferred Choddy Hook.

Just as I came off the phone, things finally started to unfold, the choddy let out a flurry of beeps and the bobbin settled down to the original position. The fish are still in the area; I had been waiting a couple of hours and watching the rods this is looking ever so promising. Eventually that rod screamed off minutes later, a short lived fight because of the sheer drop in water temperature I am sat cradling a beautiful Autumn coloured 12lb 10oz Common on the choddy! The pressure is now off from bagging my first fish from the new lake.

I would love to stay the rest of the evening but it is getting dark very gradually, so I’m packing down and setting off home in the next 20 minutes or so. A short while after that fish they are back on the ball so I couldn’t help but put the rod back out again. The fish are back in numbers over my rods once again. It’s looking pukka for another bite! The fish stayed active but unfortunately I couldn't trip another one up before I decided to reel in and make tracks home.

Here She is in All Her Autumn Glory - 12lb 10oz.

I have really enjoyed this session so I packed the barrow and made my way home, first fish from the lake C’MON! This week I’m busy with college for the rest of the week and out at the weekend so we’ll see where the weather takes me over the next couple of weeks. Thank you for reading I hope to be back very soon!

Follow Me on Titter - @Rosst93 and have a view of the matching video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvaS7SE25Gs.

First Session on the Winter Venue

The View as I was Leaving the Previous Sunday!
Stunning! 

I finally made it to the lake at 8:00am, after a quick fuel stop as the tank was low. I am then greeted with the sight of an angler playing a very nice fish. I help the angler land the fish and have a chat; the fish are on the feed!!

I set up in a peg which has a lot of water at its disposal. A couple of pouches of boilies are dispatched along with both rods, one on a running rig using a 14mm Velocity Baits white chocolate malt pop up (perfect for winter if you ask me) tied up with a size 6 Nash Fang Twister and some D-Cam shrink tubing. The other rod I chose to use a Choddy with a Velocity Baits Pineapple Popup with a size 6 Fang Twister tied onto 15lb ESP Stiff Rigger, a perfect combination.

My Favorite Winter Baits!

I finished sorting my gear and waited for the lines to go slack. I unloaded the unhooking mat and other bits and pieces when I had noticed a sodden chair. My flask of warm tea had leaked so I’m perched on a bucket until my chair dries out. It isn’t very busy at the lake with only 4 anglers fishing.

Due to having Mondays off work, it is prime time to get on the bank and get some fishing   done although I’m fishing on a Tuesday! I’m going to leave the rods alone until around lunchtime, I’m doing this deliberately to let the swim settle down after casting to clip up. 

My Favorite Choddy Hooks!

After waking up in pitch black this morning, and tossing and turning in bed I was greeted with temperatures of 2.5 degrees. I sat in the sun and it was lovely, wearing my thermals was a good choice as it is only 4 degrees with a 9 mph North easterly wind. Hopefully the fish will be moving into the deeper water. It was uneventful in the last swim so I reeled in and went for a walk. Some water craft came in as I reckoned the fish were in the deeper water, two rigs were quickly dispatched. Just as I’m doing a bit for my short video, a fish decides to show itself barely 15 yards off the bank so the choddy was under armed out. 

          It’s just started raining to put it politely and to stay light as possible there is no brolly for me! I took a short walk along the bank whilst peering into the margins; I put in a few handfuls of bait in a marginal hole to see if I can interest some fish.

And so the rain began to pour! Brolly less so I could move about easier, I was getting a soaking, on my first session I have learnt a lot and hope that I can put something on the bank soon, oh how I miss summer fishing but it is my goal to try and bank a winter carp! The gear is barrowed back to the car and time to head home ready for work, oh the life of a delivery driver!

       Another thing to make things even more interesting, I will be recording a short video to make things better for you to picture the situations I am faced with, until next time, see you in my next blog. 

Q&A With Nash Tackles Nick Burrage

Nash Tackles Very Own Nick Burrage an Incredibly
Acknowledged Angler!

 Questions and Answers!

     So the last interview situation I did was with another Nash Consultant, Julian Cundiff which can also be found on the same page, it was a real big hit and rolled in the reviews, here it is something i have wanted to publicize on Facebook and Twitter but i held back the excitement, here it is, this isn't just for the benefit of myself but yourself too, i hope you can pick up some tips and transfer them into your own fishing, Enjoy!   

     Q. I have seen you on the Nash DVDs, How do you get the most out of your fishing when your on the bank? 

Immaculate Presentation on the Lake Bed.

     A. By being stealthy, keeping my eyes wide open and most of all by being sensible in how I bait up! I suppose thinking and taking on board the weather, along with other factors that may upset the carps feeding habits.

     Q. What is you all time favourite rig(s) that you have caught on and what situations have they proved better than other rigs? 

     A. I do favour a supple Blow-back rig, with a supple braid it will sit on any lake bed I care to fish on. But where this really comes into its own is in Silt, even if the lead drops into the silt 3 inches; my hook bait will still sit correct!

     Q. Each angler has their own favourite pattern of hook, which is your favourite and how did that decision come about?

     A. Nash Fang X in a size 6, that’s the hook for me. After many years of trial and error with hooks, I soon found a curve shank style hooks, fish holding properties, were well above most patterns on the market. And proof of this is that while on the Fang X I have never lost a carp to a hook pull; let me touch some wood quick!!

Supple Rig As Explained Above.

     Q. Most of my fishing is more successful during the summer, as the winter is now looming how do you recommend people approach their venues during the winter to still bank fish? 

     A. Well to start with on this one, they need to cut right down on their baiting up. I find a good way to keep bites coming is to feed no more than 10 baits when you leave and almost just fish stringers or bags when I’m down fishing again; then bait again when I leave, (fishing the same peg) This will work best on quiet lakes/syndicate waters, as a day ticket you never know who’s been down really. You will always have an option of using a single fruity or spicy pop-up cast at showing fish too. But keep the bait very light and I work on a fish may eat only 2 baits a day; don’t forget to use proper winter boilies, this has more bird food and less oils… It will attract the carp twice as well in the end!

     Q. What are your favourite components that you use on every session you go fishing? What sort of spots do you use them on? 

     A.  Rig components Mmmm?  Fang X hooks size 6, Missing link 20lb, a 2mm rig ring and a little Cling-on putty to help it down… jobs a good UN! I also like using our Nash lead clips, as you know I have spent far too long fishing in Silt, the clips act as a silt break and stop the lead pulling in too far. Along with a flat pear lead and a Diffusion leader, that’s my set up for 90% of my carp angling. Very simple, but catches me lots of carp; so with my supple hook link and maybe a back lead that’s my favourite set-up!

Nice Scaly Mirror!

     Q. Usually some anglers just turn up at a lake and make a bee line for a swim nearest the car park or where ever is easiest to get to, what simple steps do you take when you arrive at a lake to ensure you make the most of the time that you have on the lake? 

     A. Unless its winter and I have a baiting plan going, I never pick a peg before I get to the lake. OK sometimes I will think if there is a big S/W wind blowing, the carp will be in X peg!  But as a rule I get down to the lake and have a good luck, if I still haven’t seen anything I go on a bit f gut feeling/watercraft of where I would be in the lake if I was a carp. Taking into account of the angling pressure, weather/wind/sun or even where the hot peg might be. A Bit like if a hot peg has been fished hard, I would go in a quiet area maybe on the back of the wind; just trying to catch my own fish.

   Q. Is there any lake or fish you would happily go back to or catch again and why? 

     A. Every lake I choose to fish I would go back to, I would need a 20 year gap though before going back; as I do try my best to catch most of the carp when I’m first there fishing!!

Q. How often do you get on the bank and do you usually do nights rather than days or do you get out on the bank when ever you can? 

     A. Time has been tight this year, and yeah I do nights never really just days. I do try and get out as much as I can, but with my family and other commitments sometimes it can be hard.

     Q. Pick a method from - Solid Bags, Bottom Baits, Zigs or Chod Rigs.. Suggest why this is a good tactic and how people can make the most of their session using this tactic.

Nash Black Squid, A Favored Bait
 for Nick!

     A. Bottom baits because the method can be used everywhere, from margins to baited areas. Even in the summer my bottom baits will fish the top 2 feet of water where the carp are swimming… two feet of water around the margins!! Find where the fish are and place the hook baits quietly, I’m a bit old school and it looks more natural to me. 

     Q. I am personally quite a basic angler, I keep things simple, some anglers say that staying basic is the best way to put fish on the bank, do you think this is true and using complicated rigs overcomplicates fishing itself? 

     A. As you can see from my approach, I’m also a simple angler in my approach; even if everything is well thought out else where.

I try and put thought where it’s needed really!

Q. What 3 items of tackle would you never go fishing without? 

     A. 2oz flat pear leads, supple braid, Fang X hooks.

    Well as long as I had my Bedchair, cooker and frying pan! Lol!

     Q. How long have you been angling and how long did it take to put the building blocks in place to get to where you are now in the angling world?

Lovely Big Commons, Always Look Good In All
There Colours!

     A. I’ve been angling for around 36 years, and to be honest… I’ve loved every day on the bank! Every day spent on the river or pool, has helped me get to be the lucky angler I am today. From feeding Roach to baggin Barbel or stalking Carp in the early days, it all has given a small piece that been added to my watercraft skills, that in turn helps me today.

     Q. People within angling have there pet hates, what is your biggest pet hates in fishing and how did it become apparent? 

     A. One of my pet hates is, when some try to catch a carp at any cost; Whether it’s at the expense of the other anglers, or at the expense of the carps well being.

At the end of the day we do it for fun!!

     Q. I love float and feeder fishing for big Roach as well as carp fishing, is there any other species that you like angling for and what particular lakes or rivers do you fish for them on? 

     A. I have spent all my life living in Bridgnorth on the River Severn, all of my childhood I was seen on the river bank catching all sorts really. These days I only fish for Carp as my time is limited, but there will soon come a day when I will make the river carp jump a little; after spending a long time fishing river I’m hoping it will be as fun as the lakes.

     Q. Nash tackle development has come some way over the past few years, what is your favourite item of tackle, luggage or bait that you have got your hands on and would you recommend it to carp anglers? 

     A. Nash tackle?? Well everything has its good points but if I had to narrow it down, I would say the new NR rods 3lb test, Fang X hooks and the Monster Squid… Each one of these items is a joy to use and helped me bag no end of carp over the past couple of seasons. The Monster Squid should be tried by everyone!

Cheers

Nick Burrage. (Nash)

First Night on the New Lake!



A Sight That May Become a Regular Occurance.





 

First Night on the New Lake!

 

       This is the first of many blogs on the new lake as described in a previous blog, I have learnt from my first mistake and not getting on the bank last week when we had that spell of real overcast weather which I'd say was

good for a bite, that's an error of my own.

     This is my first session and from speaking to an old member I have been given the lowdown on where the fish visit and how to approach it. I have taken those points into account but I am approaching it in my own way.
     I will be using a multitude of rigs that I would usually use, hair rigs, combi rigs and helicopter rigs. I am also adopting chods into that as well, with the possibility of solid bags.
     When I go to a new lake I always walk around for an hour or so to find some fish or to drop into likely looking swims that I like the look of. The lake isn't very big so it will take me no time at all to walk around and have a look, also taking into account where I have seen signs of fish when I went up to have a look around a few weeks ago.

     Onto the session:-
I aimed to get to the lake at around lunch time, have a walk around, put some bait in and get everything sorted for the evening. The 25 minute drive is definitely worth it for the stamp of fish I have swimming around in the four acre lake in front of me.
     The fish in here may be fish that are easily spooked so light baiting strategies until I know what I can do when they are on the feed.
     Just quickly I am going to run you through the components of my chod rigs and how I tie them up:-
● Size 6 Nash Fang Twister
● ESP Stiff Rigger
● Ring Swivel
● Rig Ring
● Putty

     To tie up my preferred version of the chod rig, I take around 7 inches of stiff rigger and a Fang Twister hook. I begin to tie a 12 turn knotless knot, I then leave around 3 inches and tie a ring swivel on with a loop knot, I use 2 pulla tools, one on the hook and one threaded throughout the loop and steam it straight. This removes the kinks and defects out of the rig. I then bend the hooklink to my favoured "aggressive curve" and slowly tease the rig so it's sitting flush(so the shank of the hook sits parallel with the swivel.
     I then thread on a rig ring onto the D of the rig and blob down the tag to hold the rig ring on the D of the rig. I then tie on my preferred hookbait, I use small pop ups around 14mm and drill them out and insert a piece of cork into the bait. That is the way I prefer to tie my chods.

     I have been watching the Internet a bit more recently with a few decent fish from around 17lb to 31lb being caught around the lake. This is my incentive to get on and fish the lake!
     I pull up at the gate and begin to walk round to discover where anglers are fishing and also to see if I can find a swim where there are fish present. I will be carrying a bag of air dried boilies with me so that if I find a swim I can put some bait in and hopefully get a quick bite early on in the session.
     I finally found a swim at the bottom end of the lake after a quick wander round. There was only myself and another angler who was going to be on for 2 nights.
     I am quick to get the rods out. One rod is on the described chod rig, and the other one is on a combi rig over a bed of the Velocity Baits RE-AKT boilies. The day was really slow and nothing showing on the spots. At 18:00 I swapped the chod rig for a hinged soft rig. The reason I call it that is because I tie on a soft boom as I'm not a fan of the stiff boom. I use an AK-4R popup cored out 3/4 of the way to insert an 8mm cork stick to keep it buoyant.
     This presentation allows the bait to sink really slowly and makes it incredibly sensitive. I put a small piece of putty on the boom to make sure it's not sitting up and laying flush against the bottom.
     I'll be using the same tactics, bait and rigs on every session on this lake unless I feel that a change is necessary.
     After a quick cup of tea and a chat with Steve the bailiff, I reposition my left rod a bit tighter to the far margin just before the bay. A fluorocarbon rig with a soft hair tied onto the bend of the hook with a pineapple popup with an AA shot to help it sink. These pop ups are incredibly buoyant and sink slowly.
     The night was unproductive. I saw 6 fish crash out on different spot throughout the night. The fish were on me but they weren't where I wanted them. Maybe I should have put a zig rig on with a piece of black foam as zigs in the right place are a killer in the dark! Who says they’re just for daytime fishing?
     Next time i’ll be back with the same strategy and bait although next time I won't put all my eggs into one basket and use a different bait as well. Follow me on twitter - @Rosst93 and like my Facebook page for more updates -

www.facebook.com/RossTierneyBlogPage. I hope over the next few months that a fish will be nicely on my landing mat! Until next time..  

The Moment I Hoped for the Rod to Scream Off!

The New Lake, Where Things Begin

The New Lake, Where Things Begin.

                Since I have fished the lagoon which is in one of my previous blogs, there is a small lake very close by that I have finally got my membership for. It is a small 4 acre lake packed with some stunning fish, fish that I am now going to start a campaign for and try and fit in at least one night a week to try and outwit these awesome specimens. The lake is set just outside Cambridgeshire around a 25 minute drive away; it took me by the scruff of the neck and screamed carp at me.

                I have always been the one for fishing huge expanses of water so I can hit to the horizon, but this lake really is something else, I’m going to explain what I’m going to be doing over the course of the year and how I am approaching this lake, not forgetting the advice that I have picked up along the way as well.

                I have been keeping up to date with the fish that have been coming out and I have lost count of how many fish, this lake has a good head that are over the 25lb mark. The record was around 37lb which went over 40lb just before spring, unfortunately this fish I wanted to target died a year or so ago, not to worry there are around 5 carp that I will be targeting, it is a good thing as it means If I catch the target on my first session I have got what I came for, but there are plenty of others so my work will be cut out on this venue. Unfortunately until I have got what I want from that lake it will remain nameless, some people that I speak to regularly may know the name of the lake already.

                This is really about what I am going to do to try and make the most of my time on this lake in terms of tactics and other things I’ll be doing, they are as follows :-

                This is the first chance I have got in front of me to properly target a water despite having a love of moving from venue to venue to keep my options open, I have been on a bait which I love made by Velocity Baits call NV-R, this bait smells pucka and I haven’t been on a session where a fish hasn’t taken it. I use this bait in different arrangements; I use the stick mix and a combo of other bait in solid bags, a real favoured method I use ANYWHERE. I also use the 14mm boilies in the same scent, these are brilliant, I have slid the net under carp of 21lb using this very bait so this won’t go a miss either used in solids or using one of the ranges pop-ups on a Choddy which will be explained.

                The fish in this lake are heavily fed on Mainline Cell; I want to try and do something different and use bait they may have never seen before which I’m not 100% sure of at this point in time. I will be using the Velocity Baits RE-AKT for the few weeks leading up to the winter months as it is dark and fish simply love it. Then I will be using a bait call ZUB-O through the winter months as I tend to use low key and less potent baits in the winter hopefully giving me an advantage, this bait is a mottled white colour and looks washed out and the fish love this bait as well.

                I will be using the baits in different ways until I find a way that the fish are confident with, if they prefer a spread of bait than a greedy pig style method then the spread will open the way for me to use in future sessions.

                Onto the rigs, I have a lot of faith in Combi rigs as they really are something special, they are camouflaged into any lake bed because of the flouro boom and they look great and in the right situation they really do rise above other rigs. The other one I will be using on a consistent basis is the good old Chod rig, I have been playing about with this rig and shown different ways of tying it up and I definitely have my preference of ways of tying it, but there is a lot of bottom dwelling blanket weed so I will have to play about with the size of the Chod rig until I find the optimum depth.

                Over the next couple of weeks I will be switching across to Nash Tackle, they have a great range open for use and they will all be received greatly into my fishing, I have 2 patterns of Nash hooks in my tackle box, one being the fang twister which I shall be adopting into my Chod rigs and I will show you how to tie one up in my next blog, hopefully it will be finished next week providing I can get onto the bank first thing in the week.  

                I really do hope things settle in quick with my first session next week, not just this but the winter is right on our doorstep, I shall be writing regular blogs on night sessions,  48 hour sessions and even the odd short session with other odd sessions throughout the winter on other venues. Hopefully if it can be organised, a few sessions with special guests as well this will make things more interesting.  

                College is finally upon us again so it’s back behind the desk to finish of my qualification stepping into the world of work next year, keep reading to see how I get on over the next few months.  Follow me on twitter - @Rosst93 and like my Facebook page www.facebook.com/RossTierneyBlogPage

World Carp Classic 2012 - Lago de Bolsena, Italy



Peter Micula - PVTV 15



                It's finally the end of august and time for the World Carp Classic held at Lago de Bolsena in Italy, after being awake for a full day and having to be at college for 1:30am, we are airport bound - Gatwick. We finally arrive and get to the drop off point making way straight for customs to get to our departure gate, everything sorted and walking through the scanners, it screams out as I walk through, after being searched I am clear to proceed. After getting into the departure lounge we make a bee line for Maccy D's, a sausage, egg and cheese bagel went down a treat. We get to the departure gate and are on the plane to Italy, we flew over Bolsena as we flew in from the north of Italy it was huge!

                The plane touched down and we were soon in the 30 degree heat ready to travel to Bolsena around 2 hours from the Fiumcino airport - in nothing but Fiat 500's. We reached Bolsena and pitched camp for the next few days until all the preparation side of things is complete, we made a short walk to the water’s edge to see what the lake looked like.. It was simply breath taking so we all went swimming for a couple of hours and I was fantastic.

                Friday evening was soon upon us, there was a gathering in the bar of some of the anglers and visitors from Bivvy City, after grabbing a much needed beer from the bar, I met and spoke to Mr and Mrs Spomb, really nice people and I am glad to have met them and some of the stories they had about recent trips. After countless games of table football a small rivalry begins losing some games I have found a table based game I am okay at without mincing things.

                We spent a fair bit of time in Bivvy City during the day on Saturday thus moving onto the pasta party in Marta, myself and my colleague Paul spoke to the reps of Wiley X, they are glasses representatives from the America based company, the glasses being ballistics tested and 100% polarised as seen in the pictures. Sunday was eventful first the Gladiator Games hosted by Carp Connections Hans Ssingh, i was pulled into "the pit" to face a 6ft+ Dutch fisherman on a 9kg horizontal lift to see who lasts the longest, I held my own for a matter of minutes but unfortunately lost, then the fun part, a wader race  by which Shuttleworth College faced Carp connections undertaken by Paul Wixcey, storming into an incredible lead, he tried his hardest they came up trumps, then a Shuttleworth vs Sparsholt just ended in a full on water fight rolled onto the evening parade through Bolsena town, carrying the national flags following a horse drawn cart with Ardy Veltkamp leading us was good, we then walked through the church with the flags and held them on the stage for the 2011 Madine champions of Germany to replace the trophy on a stand.  A short walk to a pizzeria with the Shuttleworth team accompanied by media team member Randy we sat and had a pizza - had to have a traditional Italian pizza whilst we were here. The peg draw was soon finished at the peg draw after a quick tidy up and we were back at base camp thoroughly knackered and time for bed and a cooked breakfast in the morning, result.

French Team - Big Fish Richworth
With The First 20kg+ In Our Section



                The night was pretty rough, waking up around 12-1:00 with a dodgy stomach and a few shooting pains I managed to slip off to sleep again and woke at 7:00am with a continuation of some stomach upset, after a wash and something to eat and a lovely cup of English breakfast tea, my stomach was feeling better already, bivvies down and gear away ready to move, I am stocking up on water and other supplies to keep me and my partnering marshal Jack going until we go back to basecamp for a shower.  A couple of mile stretch of our section was covered and introduced ourselves to the anglers and some rest was taken, sat reading Crafty Carper Magazine and chilling out. Back at the marshal station and food and supplies was dropped off and sat in the Bivvy trying to evict an ultimate swarm of mozzies and other bugs the citronella candles were put just inside the doorway of the bivvy and they seem to be doing the trick with several casualties swimming in the molten wax things are looking up for a bite-less night, time to wait for some dinner to come through.

                Radio activity is showing that fish are being caught just round from us on the lake in the ATT section, our Italian team had a fish but the Starter of the ATT section marshals weighed up the fish, it was a 3.6kg Common. 11:35 was soon here, the HQ now offline, time to climb into the sack and try and get some sleep before the section check to weigh any sacked up fish from during the night, if any have been caught.

A Lovely Fish, It Was Decided To
Give Him A Good Soaking!!



                Woken at 1:20 to a fish that needed weighing in PVTV section being a common weighing in at 13.5kg - absolutely stunning fishing dark and very muscular. After an eventful night a few more fish on the cards, in ATT peg one a 6.4kg Common, ATT peg five a 5kg Common. Whilst on our rounds first thing in the morning in PVTV a 7.0kg Common was reported, again another poor looking day in terms of weather more rain persisted. Another few fish to PVTV 8 being a nice sized 14.9kg Common, ATT3 a 12.0kg Common, ATT5 3.5kg Mirror and in ATT1 a 6.3kg Common. These results show that the fish are well spread unlike Madine being held in one prolific section of the lake. Just as I am sat typing this out my attention is drawn to PVTV15 again with the angler in the boat with a bend in the rod, we soon take a wonder down and weigh the fin perfect pretty common weighing in at 3.0kg.

The 22kg+ Common Peter Micula Had
When We Were Squaring Up Papers.



                Finally at 1:00pm the rain has stopped and the water is still thrashing the beach in front of us, the rain had been going since I got up first thing in the morning. After dealing with 3 fish in one peg with a pretty mirror as pictured, we finally had a lump and a half, an 18.2kg(40lb) Common landed in ATT01 also as pictured we got back to basecamp only to e pulled in both directions to ATT03 and PVTV08 to weigh fish but transport was at hand so a 40 minute job was turned into 10 minutes, now in the comfort of my bivvy I am off to sleep as we have been instructed to stay in our bivvies even if the anglers get a fish but it must be sacked until the morning so some much needed sleep catch up is 110% on the cards! Feeling absolutely shattered I eventually get out of bed at 8;00am, the section is already actor but the sun looks like it'll be putting a much slower angle on the result until this evening progresses on.

Greeted By Camera Crews The 22.5kg(49lb 5oz) Common
Was Hoisted For The Media Cameras, What A Stunner!



                A few more fish on our section after 3:00pm brings PVTV15 over ATT01, ATT01 are on 107.8kg of fish whilst the fish that PVTV15 caught brings them up to 125.6kg pull out a lead on our section, so far they are that far ahead they are the PVTV and ATT section leaders with a good weight of fish and most importantly catching consistently! The rain continues pouring, soaked to the skin we had to previously had to make a trip to the end of our section ATT05 to resolve some issues, whilst doing so the English Old Ghost Team manage to get there first fish on the scoreboard. I am sat in a soaking wet t-shirt sulking in my bivvy, I thought we were in Italy not still in sunny England - this weather resembles something we have once a week without fail in England, as soon as we leave Italy the weather will perk up, which would be typical! Rather than being sat out in the fresh air or socialising with the anglers, the rain has halted that considerably, so I am sat reading Crafty Carper Magazine which is keeping me entertained. Another relentless evening soaking wet I gave up trying to keep dry. Another couple of fish before I go to bed to wake up at 8:00am. Up and awake I set off to weigh in some more fish as follows;-

01:30am - 11.5kg Common ATT01

05:30am - 06.0kg Common ATT03

06:00am - 03.7kg Common PVTV15

06:30am - 03.0kg Common PVTV15

08:48am - 13.6kg Common PVTV15

10:25am - 13.9kg Common PVTV7

11:56am - 08.9kg Common PVTV15

12:20am - 21.1kg Common PVTV14

13:01pm - 08.8kg Common PVTV15

14:15pm - 12.7kg Common PVTV15

14:16pm - 09.0kg Common PVTV15 

We Really Were Over The Moon
For Peter, He Truly Deserved It
Well Done Again!



                Finally after the spell of action I am picked up by Mike to go back to our base. Sitting down trying to fill out the paperwork as soon as possible he kindly treats us to some lunch. There are now 4-5 marshals on out section which will ease the pressure and the tireless work. The paperwork had to be continued and finished off before 8:30am, at this time it was 11:00, there were some really good looking big fish 18.2kg and a 22.5kg(49lb 5oz) common to our pegs this means we pick up the biggest fish and a hot contender for 2nd/1st place overall. I eventually got to bed at around 3:15am and had to be up as early as possible to try and radio through the 40. With that done I am waiting for the media team to get to us for some filming and pictures! The fish was reported to media; Peter was over the moon with such a stunning fish. Plenty of pictures and filming were all done. Barely any fish were caught during the day on our section, temperatures pushing 25/30 degrees turning the fish off, the evening was also slow and barely any fish only 3 fish in our section were weighed in total on the last morning.

Last Fish After The Hooter For Ian
Chillcott, Result To The 2012 Champions



                The sweep of the section completed and we're gathered in PVTV15 with the 2012 champions along with Ian Chillcott and his camera crew filming the celebrations of the winning team, which was a good laugh.  All the gear packed away it's back to bivvy city for tonight’s ceremony and the champions to be crowned. The sun is about and it's going to be another scorcher once again. Well it has been a good event meeting and catching up with people I had met last year at Madine, I have met some amazing people some of which I hope to meet up with over the next year or so, I will say that in a few year’s time I shall be competing – Watch This Space!