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It’s always interesting fishing a match on a venue you don’t know and when I turned up at Manor Farm Leisure’s Island Pool for one of their Wednesday open matches, I had no idea what to expect. It was only a small match but the advantage of that is it gave us all plenty of room, and after speaking with venue regular Neil McKinnon before the start, a weight of around 150lb was expected to be needed to win. At the draw, the fishery staff have pulled out Peg 18 for me and the look on Neil’s face said it all! Not the best of pegs apparently but with plenty of room you never know.

09:40
Although I’ve been to this venue to do magazine features and filming in the past, I’ve only ever fished one match here and that was in the depths of winter when it was iced over. The lake is well known for its large F1s but there are now some small stockies, which could be a nuisance when I’m looking to catch bigger fish. There are carp in here as well to double figures and if they feed a really big weight is on the cards.

I’ve got the wind in my face on this bank, which rules out the pellet waggler (I know a lot of fish get caught on the pellet wag here), but I’ve got the island for fishing a Method feeder with pellets up to. I’ve also heard that they don’t really catch much here on the short pole but I’ve got to be honest, with the wind blowing at me I really fancy it to catch short so I think I’m going to go against the grain and start short on hard pellets and see what happens. If it doesn’t work I can always go out on the Method feeder.

I’ve got the margins too and hopefully later in the match I might get one or two fish there, and I’ll also feed hard pellet long at 13 metres with the aim of catching shallow but that could be difficult in this wind.

09:55
Bait-wise I’ve got plenty of pellets (2mm, 4mm and 6mm) with me because it’s a venue dominated by pellets. Hard pellet is the way to go because there’s a lot of small fish in here, which I want to avoid, and you have to net every fish here so the fewer small fish the better!

I’ve also got four tins of meat cut into 7mm cubes with me and I might change to meat on the short line later depending on how it goes. Finally, I’ve got some sweetcorn that I’ll mix in with my meat for feeding down the edge, and some groundbait mixed up but not sure if I’ll need it – if it’s going pear-shaped I might need to put some in.

10:15
My rigs for the match, starting with the Method feeder setup. For this I’ve got a 9ft Ignition feeder rod with 8lb Sinking Mono on the reel, a small 30g ICS elasticated Method feeder to 0.17mm hooklength and a size 16 KKH with a small band for fishing Band’Ums or hard pellets on the hook.

On to my pole rigs and the first thing to note is that I haven’t set a rig up for fishing on the deck long. It’s probably eight feet deep on the long pole line and with it being warm, I think to do any good I’ll need to catch shallow on the long pole or on the Method, short pole or down the edge. My shallow rig has a 4x10 Carp shallow float that I’ve got set at two feet deep, because Neil was telling me earlier that they don’t really catch any shallower than that on this lake. I’ve also set two short line rigs up to fish a top kit plus two, and a top kit plus one. I really fancy this because of that wind but chatting to Neil it’s not something they do here because it doesn’t seem to work, which amazes me!

The top kit plus two rig has a 4x14 Inline Diamond float and the top kit plus one, where it’s one foot shallower, has a 4x12 Inline Diamond. I’ve got a 4x12 Carp Shallow set up for fishing down the edge and I fancy feeding hard pellets down there to begin with because of all the small fish.

I’ve got No13 Dura Slip elastic on all my rigs because I’m expecting fish of all sizes on every line and this elastic is perfect for that. All my rigs are on 0.19mm main lines to 0.15mm hooklengths except the shallow rig, which has a finer 0.13mm hooklength for those cute F1s.

10:30
All in and because I’m starting on the short pole, I’ve made up half a dozen balls of micro pellets that I’m going to catapult next to the island on my feeder line to get some bait over there. With that bait introduced, it’s straight in on the short pole with a hard 6mm pellet on the hook. I’m loose feeding a few 6mm pellets over the top and catapulting 4mm pellets on to my long shallow line. A few pellets go down the edge as well and with all the initial feeding done it’s time to start concentrating on getting a few bites. The wind is perfect for the short pole so let’s see if going against the grain is going to pay off.

10:55
In the opening 25 minutes on the short two-plus-two line I’ve had a couple of small skimmers, a big F1, a small F1 and a small carp and missed a couple of bites, so the fishing hasn’t been great. The angler to my right has had a couple of big carp on the Method fished three-quarters of the way across, but it’s important not to panic because I’m still feeling my way into it and am still building the peg.

I’m looking closely at Neil, who is two to my right and he’s only had one carp on the Method so far so from what I can see I’m not falling too far behind. My big F1 was 5lb so that’s equivalent to a carp and that’s why it’s important to look at what and where other anglers are catching because it helps you with decision making. I’ll probably go on the Method soon but from what I can see I’m doing okay on this for now.

11:28
I had a few more small fish on the short pole and then about 20 minutes ago I switched to the Method feeder across to the island with a Scopex Band’Um on the hook. Unfortunately, I lost a big carp that broke me and I’ve had another decent F1 and some smaller ones and a couple of skimmers.

The bites have been coming at between 45 seconds and two minutes and that’s what I’m looking for; if I have to wait longer than that then it’s not really fast enough unless the fish are all 4lb plus. My next fish feels like another good carp that tears away to my right and to try and stop it from going too far right I ended up putting too much pressure on the and the hook pulled out! Two decent carp hooked, two decent carp lost! I’m still keeping the pellets going in on the pole lines for later.

11:57
I’m still fishing the Method and have had another couple of decent F1s since I last checked in with you but now I seem to be getting a lot of small taps, which I think are those really small F1s. I’ve not seen a lot being caught, which is why I’m still on this, with the exception of the angler on Peg 6, which is the noted flyer, who has had some decent carp and F1s on the feeder. I have to forget about him though, and just concentrate on my peg and compared to Neil and the other anglers to my left and right, I’m doing okay.

Neil says he’s got 12lb at the minute and I reckon I’ve got 25lb. Venues like this can turn on very quick though, and that’s what I’m hoping for at some point during the match, otherwise it’s going to be hard going all day.

12:28
I’ve had to come off the Method feeder because the fish got smaller and smaller and then the bites fizzled out completely, and I’ve also tried the long pole shallow but only managed to catch one roach. I’m now back on my two-plus-two line and have had a couple of F1s and some small skimmers and carp on hard pellet so the fishing is really tough.

I’m still hoping that it will switch on at some point because as time goes on, I’m falling further and further behind the angler on Peg 6, but I am catching more than anyone else that I can see. Having said that the angler to my right is now catching small F1s and small carp on the deck on the long pole so I might regret not setting that up. There are still three hours to go so there’s plenty of time left yet.

12:59
I’m still fishing my top kit-plus-two line and I’ve just had a nice carp around 4lb and a decent F1 on it, as well as small F1s and a few skimmers. I’m getting bites but they’re not the right sort of fish really but I’m sticking with it for now, because apart from the angler on Peg 6, I’m catching more fish than the other anglers I can see.

I’ve started feeding a few 4mm pellets on this line as well as the 6mms and it’s definitely increased the number of bites and fish I’m getting. I was thinking about going back on the Method but I’ve seen others go back on it and then switch back to the pole so that makes me think I’m better of sticking with this and taking whatever comes along for now because I am catching fish.

Not knowing the venue isn’t helping but I just feel this short line is right. I’ve still got the margins for later although I can see Neil is fishing down the edge now and has only had a couple of small fish; he must be struggling if he’s looking down the edge this early.

13:14
I’m definitely seeing signs of improvement on my top kit-plus-two line and in the last half an hour I’ve unfortunately lost a couple of carp but the smaller F1s and skimmers have been coming regularly. I’m now certain this is the right thing to do on this part of the lake and it’s a case of taking what comes along and then keeping my fingers crossed that the big fish do switch on eventually.

Peg 6 is having it away compared to the rest of us as far as I can see, and I have to forget about him and not let it affect the way I’m approaching my peg. I had a skimmer last chuck and now I’m into what feels like a carp, which I manage to land and at 5lb it’s very welcome. I’m still feeding 4mm and 6mm pellets on this line and fishing a banded hard 6mm on the hook.

13:44
The last half an hour has been good and I’ve had four or five big F1s and plenty of stockies. I don’t really want to come off this line now because it’s slowly got better over the last hour. I’m now accepting that winning the match is probably out of the question because the angler on Peg 6 is still catching decent fish regularly, so I’m using the other anglers that I can see to gauge how I’m doing.

I’m still feeding the margins and now we’re coming into the last 90 minutes of the match I have to start thinking about whether I’m going to have a look down there or not. But for now, I’m sticking with my short line.

14:00
Well this is an interesting development! A few minutes ago I decided to try a cube of 7mm meat on the hook and I’ve caught five big F1s in quick succession, which is just ridiculous! I started missing bites on hard pellet so I took the band off the hook and mounted a cube of meat just to try it, and the response has been unbelievable!

The bites are completely different too and they’re so positive that’s almost impossible to miss them. I don’t know how long it will last, we’ll just have to wait and see in that regard. Just before I tried meat on the hook, I also fed a big pot of meat and corn on my top kit-plus-one line so it will be interesting to see if they move in over that.

On my top kit-plus-two line I’m still feeding 4mm and 6mm pellets and after catching my fifth big F1 in as many casts, my float has only been back in for 30 seconds before I’m in again… I can’t believe the transformation and I’m kicking myself a bit for not trying it earlier. I’m probably too far behind Peg 6 to catch him up and it might not last, but it’s fantastic fishing! I’ve also started feeding some meat down the edge but I’d be a fool to come off this at the moment.

14:40
Well I’ve had a great run on the meat and I’ve just landed a 9lb carp that took the bait before it got to the bottom, which is nice bonus but those bigger fish seem to have backed off now. I have tried my top kit-plus-one line and I thought I would be in business straightaway but I never had a bite on that line so I’m back on my top kit-plus-two line again.

I’m now thinking about my margins but as long as I’m still getting the odd big fish on this line I’m tempted to stick with it. I’ve just added a bit more depth to the rig and am swinging the rig out straight in front and then letting the breeze bring it back into the shelf and that has produced another big F1 straightaway. It’s a tough decision to move now but I’ll have to decide what to do very quickly now time is running out.

15:15
I’ve still caught some decent F1s on meat on my top kit-plus-two line since I last spoke to you, but the draw of the margins can’t be ignored any longer! After feeding meat on my top kit-plus-one line and not getting bitted out there, I decided to start feeding meat down the edge and 10 minutes ago I saw movement to my right, so I had to go and have a look. I managed a 4lb bream first put in and that was followed by a 9lb carp before a couple of stockies have got me thinking I need to try the margin swim to my left before the siren goes to end the match.

15:30
Well, the left hand margin swim has produced two decent carp, another big bream and a couple of good skimmers so since I went down the edge I’ve probably caught over 30lb of fish. It’s been a good finish to the match and although I haven’t beaten Peg 6, I think I’ve caught more than the other anglers I’ve been able to see and, regardless of the result, it’s been a fantastic day’s fishing.

I think my decision to go against the grain and fish short has been the right one, even though there were times when I doubted it was. Sometimes you have to ignore what’s happening around you and stick to your guns and waiting for it to switch on was the right decision. However, if I hadn’t switched to meat I wouldn’t have caught anywhere near as many fish and to have the instant impact it did, it just proves that those big fish were in the swim all along but were very cautious about my pellet on the hook.

15:43
The angler on Peg 6 has weighed in 160lb and Neil has had 84lb and I reckon I’ve got somewhere in between those two weights. After three weighs I’ve recorded 156lb so just one carp short of winning the match! It was very close in the end and the run of fish I had on the meat has helped me to nearly pip Peg 6 at the post and I’m kicking myself a bit for not trying it sooner. Maybe trying down the edge earlier might have got me that extra fish too, and I’ve lost several carp today as well and any one of those would have done it for me. I’ll definitely know for next time!