Shiplate (Hawthorns) match - Keynsham AA - 18.05.2013

Having an earlier than planned start (05:30) plenty of time was had to wake up and load the kit for the short drive to Shiplate fishery.

Despite not having fished the venue before, I sought out as many tips as possible from some fellow club members and drawn up my plan of attack for the match.

With only 10 anglers entering the draw and the golden peg safe for another day I had my hopes pinned on an end peg. As luck would have it I drew peg 14 with no one to my right.

A school boy error of forgetting my bungees for the trolley made the longer walk a harder task than it needed to be but with sunshine and a light breeze I could hardly complain.

With my kits ready and baits prep'd I was ready for the "All-in" and relishing the prospect of wetting my line.

The lake was deeper than expected, particularly the near side margin so I chose the middle to begin with. The feed went in and fish were topping & rolling around me but bites were shy. The first fish was a small skimmer on red maggot but not much else was showing. 

My next move was switching to the far side margin and going shallow. It paid off with a nice carp to around 4lb coming out. The next few hours went quiet so with more feed going in it was double or quits. Red magg proved the winner once again, tempting a couple more carp to the net.

The last hour came & went with only a couple of skimmers so my expectations were not high but being the last to weigh and already off the pace of 1st and 2nd, my 8lb 8oz bag was enough for 4th.

Only 6 anglers weighed in so all things considered I was pleased with my efforts. Let's hope the fish are ready to feed next time around

Arthur Edwards cup - River Chew, Keynsham - 09.03.2013

10 anglers braved the weather to fish for the Arthur Edwards cup, Keynsham AA's traditional, end of season river match on the Mill Ground stretch of the River Chew.

Once again I got a lucky at the draw, picking out the golden peg number 6, although this has started to become a bit of a curse in previous matches, such as the 2011 Christmas match at Farleigh Wood!

Having got to my peg, I was pleased with my draw, with a fallen tree to my right and some clear water in front and downstream to my left.

With fish topping early on and a few splashes right in front of me, I set up my tackle a little way back from the water's edge to avoid spooking my potential catch.

My favourite method for this stretch was the straight lead or small feeder (maggot or cage) but to give myself a chance, I also set up a shallow pole rig and an old cork stick float for trotting.

The pole rig was tested first in a patch of still water by the fallen tree and straight away the float started to dip. Once missed bite later and I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice, striking into a nice little chublet that stretched my No.4 elastic.

With one fish successfully landed, the rig was re-baited and back in the water. Nothing showed for the next 10 minutes so I cut my losses and went out into the middle with my straight led set up. Plenty of feed went in to draw the fish and it didn't take long to get a few knocks on the tip.

First out was a small roach, followed by another and then the brown trout moved in. The next few hours saw several more roach landed and a half decent brownie to 3/4lb.

As midday came and went, the temperature started to dip and the bites became few and far between.

A gudgeon and one or two more roach were added plus a bonus brownie before the swim simply packed up. Despite alternating the feed, swapping rigs and varying hook sizes, nothing was going to tempt those fish for the last few hours.

With a few anglers still catching, all I could do was hope for the best that my morning session was enough to see me place.

When the final "All-Out" was called and the first 3 anglers had weighed-in, I knew it was going to be close.
Peg 7 next door had plucked some sly roach from the swim unnoticed and bagged 2lb 10oz.

My turn arrived and with my fish in the sling, all I could do was wait for the decision. Too close to call, a decision was given for the same weight of 2lb 10oz and a joint lead. Only two more anglers stood a realistic chance of beating us and with one falling short of the 2lb mark, the angler from peg 4 emptied his net, the scales swinging round to 2lb 1oz.

A tough battle and close call but joint 1st and my name back on the trophy was pleasing enough. I managed to avoid hearing "what I could 'ave won" from the golden peg pot and went home with a smile on my face!

Check out the KAA facebook page at www.facebook.com/KeynshamAA for the club's full match report.

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