Colmic Evolution 2.0 seatbox

So here it is!

This is the Colmic Evolution 2.0 seatbox in all its glory. A fantastic piece of kit, strong, lightweight, stable and plenty of storage space make this a stunning box.

this features a very comfortable gel seat, a non slip platform, 2 spirit levels, 6 adjustable legs, a sliding cassette under the seat, 2 front drawers and a decent carrying strap. You can actually adjust the height of the seat without using the legs or having to buy additional units under the cushion. This is simply done by an alan key (supplied) and adjusting the height up or down.

The box also boasts water proof trays and drawers that do not get stuck when sitting on the box. There is also a host of accessories that can be bought with it, but if you buy the full package you get 2 different side trays, a set of balling arms, brolley arm, spray bar, spare legs for the trays and bags to fit it all in.

As you can see, the side trays do not require the supplied spare legs as they can support themselves, each have a support structure under the trays to keep the rigidity and keep them from tipping.

What does it cost?
The basic box without any accesories will cost you around the £450 mark, with everything pictured you will be looking at around £799.

What accessories are available?
Colmic have a whole catalogue of accessories, from trays with awnings to keep the bait dry, top kit roosts that fit on the box, keepnet atttachements, foam arms in varying lengths and sizes, trays, cassettes and a host of others, You can have a quick look online here;

https://issuu.com/colmicspa/docs/8_panieri_seatboxes_it_2

I will follow this up with a used and abused review later in the year.

Tightlines!

Old Hough fishery - 27th December 2016

So Colin and Pete Mercer have an annual Christmas match that they very kindly subsidize for the benefit of the members on MFS (Match Fishing Scene website - see links lower right of page)

This year they had booked Old Hough fishery and the lake was to be Big Max.

I've never visited this venue before and information was kindly supplied via Colin Mercer and a couple of others on the website. The pool itself has a large island in the middle and supports some 40 pegs. The pool is filled with lots of roach, skimmers, carp and F1s...simple!

So Ive drawn a peg literally within inches of the carp park the draw was made on, perfect!! Means no trolley required, mince pies in easy reach and a bum warmer if the weather got any colder.

So looking at my peg I had a corner of the island to throw a waggler or feeder/bomb too, lots of open water in front of me and the pleasure of Steve "Daddy" May to my left and Colin "I have a chuck at the island" Mercer to my right, and just round the corner a little further I had Jim Manc and Andy "Oooooosh!!!!" May. The banter was going to be very good...

So swim choice, the obvious choice was a feeder chuck to the island initially, I was a little undecided as to what to do but I just couldn't get the little niggle in my head that said micro method feeder. So going with the niggle I set up a small 15grm garbolino inline method feeder around 2m from the far bank of the island, this would be loaded with fishery micro pellets and a 6mm pellet mounted on Guru 4 inch method rig, size 18 MWG and a band. this was set up on my Colmic Next Adventure 10ft feeder rod, what an awesome little bit of kit these rods are, super soft actions but with lots of power in reserve to handle any carp, a Daiwa TDX 3012 reel loaded with 0.23mm Colmic Feeder Pro NXAT70 line.

Ive also set up a 12ft waggler rod loaded with 0.20mm Colmic Feeder Pro and a TDX 2508 reel. Waggler was a hand made Scott Pynton loaded waggler with 3 number 10s down the line with a 0.12 Stream hooklength to a size 18 Milo Suehiro T213 hook. This would be suitable for a piece of corn, double maggot etc, this was set initially at 4ft deep.

Pole lines,

The topography of the lake is quite unusual, as it has quite deep margins which shelves off quite quickly to 6-7 ft out to around 12/13m then it steadily shelves back up to around 4ft again all the way to the island. So ive set up a 13m line directly in front of me just at the base of the shelf, this was set on 0.145mm Stream line with a 4x14 handmade float, this would have a shirtbutton style bulk of number 10s, this would give me the ability to move the shot around if required. I have set up a duplicate but with a bulk set above 2 droppers spaced 6 inches apart. The hooklength was a 6 inch length of 0.125mm Stream line and size 18 T213 hooks. I was going to fish small balls of micros laced with a few maggots to tempt anything that swims I hoped.

Ive also set a line on top of the shelf at 16m away from the 13m line, this would be fed a lot heavier primarily with corn and micros and left until the later period of the match.
Using the same 0.145mm Stream line, 4 x 12 handmade float and a 6 inch .125mm hooklength with a size 16 T213 hook. This was setup again with a shirt button style bulk of number 11 shot.

All my top kits had an 8-10 orange hollow with pulla kits.

Bait,

Again I've tried to keep my side tray as simple as possible, some Micro Pellets, 2 pints of maggots, 1 tin of corn, a few expanders in 2mm and 4mm plus a few 6mm pellets for the hook on the method feeder.

A little hint for fishing the method feeder, well micro ones. use a small plastic bag and put your method mould into it, then fill the mould with the bag over the top, this helps stop the pellets sticking to the mould and breaking away as the made up feeder is pried from the mould.

The all in!

I've initially fed my 13m line with a small uneven ball of micros and 30 maggots, then fed my 16m line with 30 grains of corn and few loose micro pellets easy!! I've then cast my method feeder out tot the corner of the island and the wait began. Sitting on a method or bomb gives you the chance to a) have a cup of coffee, b) a mince pie and c) watch everyone else and seeing what happens initially. This can give you an idea of whats going on around the lake, especially if a method like the waggler works immediately casting to features, pole lines coming alive very quickly etc etc.

During the first 20 minutes I've re-cast once as I like to leave the feeder in 15 minutes or so when its so cold, this allows me to see any liners and keep an ever watchful eye on Others.

Andy May further to my right was casting a bomb and bread some 10m short of the island, whilst feeding a waggler line some 18m out with casters...interesting!! Jim Manc was also searching his swim using a bomb without any early success. colin Mercer to my right was looking on the pole lines but remained biteless for the time being. Steve May to my left however had managed a couple of little roach on the pole fishing over his worm lines...worm??? worm??? nobody said anything about bringing any worm.

27 minutes in (second mince pie time..how rude!!) my tip has gone round with my first fish, a mirror carp of around 6lb. Great start fro me as nobody I could see had around me had a carp or decent fish up till now. Although I couldn't resist an OOOOOSH for Andy May's sake.

Now, I've made a cardinal sin here i guess, Ive not re-cast my method back to the island, I wanted to give it a few minutes to settle after finding that fish and try my 13m line. Im sure Andy may would tell you, "Dont come off feeding fish" but I couldn't resist looking just incase an F1 or carp had found my bait. I spent 5 minutes on the pole catching a few small roach on the maggot and decided that the fish were not there yet, time to re-feed and let it settle.

So back to the method rod, Ive cast out again letting the feeder hit my clip and fall 2m short of the island and sat back to wait. (cup of coffee 2 and finish off that mince pie) So now the lake is starting to wake up, Andy May has come off the bomb and is now looking on his waggler line and catching the odd roach, Jim Manc is still casting a bomb, Colin Mercer is catching some small roach fairly regularly on the pole and Steve May has had some decent roach over his worm lines. I am also aware that a carp has been snared further to my left on the pole.

After another re-cast the tip has gone round with another carp, this time around 5lb in weight, things were looking good. I've also just re-fed all my pole lines with just a trickle of bait to hopefully keep anything there interested.

A fruitless 10 minutes and ive watched Steve May to my left hook and land a carp of around 4lb on the pole, this has prompted me to wind in and look on my own pole lines for a while. So Tosppot added to my top kit, a small nugget of micros and 10 maggots went out to my 13m swim and I lowered my rig over the top, I have initially started on the strung out rig just to see if anything was about. an instant reaction from a couple of 2oz roach on double maggot and a missed bite...hmmm

So an expander was next on the hook with another small nugget of pellets and maggots. This time I've waited all of 20 seconds and a bite has been met with solid resistance and a carp around 4lb was the culprit, easy subdued on the pulla kit. so 3 carp in the ent and a few silvers, not a bad start and I was doing well from what I could see.

Re-feeding my pole lines ive now decided to have a quick look on the 16m line with a garin of corn on the hook, this has resulted in...nothing and a wasted 10 minutes. Back to the 13m line and again just a couple of small roach for my efforts, time to try that method again.
Casting just short of the island, the method has gone in with a lovely plop...just thought I'd share this with you, i was rather pleased with my casting for a change.

Andy may has now caught a few decent skimmers on his waggler line alongside the roach and one foulhooked carp/F1 which unfortunately found freedom.
Colin Mercer is rotating his pole lines looking for bites, but is still catching odd bits and pieces. Jim Manc is now on the waggler pinching Andy May's fish, Steve May is still catching odd bits on the pole and has now found a whopper of a perch!
News from the bank is that Rich Hodgkis is catching out the edge further to my left and Jay (pellethead) was catching fish regularity on the pole around the other side of the lake.

Ive managed another carp and F1 on my method line but I'm waiting a very long time for bites, Colin Mercer has now settle on a shorter line at 11m pinging maggots and catching small roach a bung, Andy May has now gone back onto the bomb whilst letting his pole lines come to life, Steve May has now started to cast a small bomb with maggot at 18m pinging maggot...this was an interesting method...As this line came to life for him, as hes had 5 F1s/carp in the last hour on this method.

I've switched back to my pole line at 13m and started to get indications, finally foulhooking a carp that steamed off into Steve's peg and breaking my hooklength. After sorting out a new hooklength I've re-plumbed, fed a small amount of maggots and hey presto...F1 on the pole, followed by a carp and then another carp...and another carp!

A decent last hour has put me into contention I thought, Steve to my left has had a good last hour, Colin Mercer has worked hard and managed to snare a carp on his maggot lines whilst fishing for roach, middy 6-8 orange elastic is ever so good for this.
Andy may has had a few more decent silvers and a clonking great big perch which he reckoned would eat Daddy May's (the result was Daddy May's was the bigger specimen, his words to Andy were..let that be a lesson to you.)

Ive managed to trouble the scales with a 39lb for 2nd overall, not a bad result! The match was won by Jay (pellethead) with a cracking net of F1s and carp. A great little venue and one which I would love top come back to, maybe when its not quite so cold.

Thanks to Colin and Pete Mercer for organizing the match and for subsiding it, most generous!

Colmic 9401-X3 Carp pole

So first pole review of the year, The Airon  F66 review will come in a few months time...watch this space.

Colmics new 9401-X3 carp pole is their top of the range super specimen pole, its designed to be super stiff, super strong and handle everything that can be thrown at it.

It comes at 13m as standard but 1.7m extensions are available to purchase separately (I have 2 of them to extend the pole to 16m)

What do you get as a standard package,

13m pole with power kit inside
4 x oversize K power kits
2 x reversible extensions
1 x Force 4 K number 4
1 x duro pole holdall

Now this may not be the biggest package on the planet, but Colmic are more than happy to personalize the pole package as they have done with me.

I've now used this pole over the latter end of the summer and autumn for all my heavy duty carp fishing, I can honestly say its a pole that wont let you down in the most demanding of situations, I've used it at the Glebe fishery to take bags of fish to 260lb, at Larford to take carp from the edge to nearly 20lb, fishing in reeds using super heavy elastics to extract them from inside the reed beds...no problem! The nicest thing is, it doesn't bend like a banana when playing fish or giving the pole some stick, this I feel gives you control of the fish at all times, rather than just hitting and holding on.

If you primarily carp fish at bagging meccas, big fish venues, short on meat etc, this is the pole for you. The finish is super slick and doesn't stick to your hands in wet conditions, all the joints are reinforced with the titanium weave, the graphics are simple yet attractive.

The top kits are quite a large bore, meaning you only need to cut off 4-6 inches to accommodate the 5.5mm internals that I personally prefer. All the top kits, match and power for this pole have the re-enforced band for drilling, but again you can request Colmic to supply the power kits pre-drilled.

There is a plethora of extras available, from power kits without holes and with. Short power kits with and without holes, super power kits called "Hyper kits" which take just about any elastic available. Colmic actually produce a hollow thats 3.8mm thick..... thats tow rope!!
Obviously there are lots of top 3s, 4s and 5s available and are at extremely good prices. In fact if you want a pole to throw around for river fishing this is the pole to have.

Whats it like to use at 13m?
Its fantastic, you wouldn't know your holding a super specimen pole, Its as good as any top of the range pole out there.

Whats it like at 14.5m?
Its a good pole, you know its a carp pole as its quite heavy but the stiffness and rigidity are there and can compete with most poles.

Whats it like at 16m?
Its a carp pole, with a match kit and match number 4 on its great, with the carp kits and power 4s you know it s a carp pole, don't get me wrong its more than usable at this length.

What will it cost?
It has a an ssp of £1299 for the 13m package, with extensions costing around £159.99 each.

The pole itself comes with a very nice Duro carp XL pole holdall, this has a single zip down the entire length wioth a pocket at the side for umbrellas, landing net poles etc.
The holdall has a heavy re-enforced base to protect the ends of the tubes when in transit or setting the holdall down.

So, there you have it!

Lower Broadheath fisheries open match Saturday 7th of January

Its been a long time since I've actually fished an open carp match at Lower Broadheath Fisheries or the jam factory as its more affectionately known. Its a venue that holds some great memories and some sad ones. The spring leagues were awesome and the teams of 4 competitions, however these have long gone.

The weather has been on the cold side running up to this match, meaning that unfortunately we have had several days of melt water, cold nights and ice. Upon arriving at the fishery I was rather hoping that the lakes would be ice free, as they average 8-10ft deep so tend to hold the temperature a little better than most places.

Alas, the lakes still had ice on them in some places so of course some anglers were going to end up breaking the ice on some pegs and others who draw well (like me) will have ice free pegs.

The lakes being used were Oak and Willow, both pools have around 20-22 pegs so there would be some room for us all. I managed to draw a fancied ice free corner area in the shape of permanent peg 10, this area is a little shallower than the early pegs and a little more sheltered. I had an inviting corner some 17m to my left covered by a willow tree and plenty of open water in front to have a few different lines.

So I've decided on 3  pole lines initially, my first and primary line was at 14.5m at the 10 o-clock position and my second open water line would be at the 2 o-clock position (but only at 13m) my third pole line was into that lovely looking corner to my left at 16m into the slightly deeper water just off the marginal ledge in around 4ft of water.

The techy bit, rigs!!

My open water swims were made up on 0.145 Stream line (see earlier review) utilising a Perfect Control plus float, these are my current favorite float for deep water fishing. They are similar in shape to a carpa chimp, but have a stronger wire at the base and a thick solid plastic tip. I prefer these thicker plastic tips for a couple of reasons, Firstly I believe they are more sensitive and you can have a little more of the bristle showing so bite detection is a little easier, secondly I find them easier to shot.

I have used a reverse taper shotting pattern of number 10s on a 4 x 16 size float in 8ft of water, with a 6 inch hooklenght of 0.125 Stream line and a size 16 Milo Suehiro T213 hook. This was matched with a 10-12 hollow elastic on a pulla kit.

Now, Ive also set up a lighter float in the shape of a 4x14 Perfect Control plus float, again with a reverse taper shotting pattern of number 10 shot, again matched to a 0.125mm hooklength and sizze 16 T213 hook plus the same grade 10-12 hollow.

My reasoning behind this is the lake has a mixture of large carp and decent skimmers, as per winter carping, all the carp could be up the other end of the lake and skimmers might be worth aiming for, some of them can go 3lb plus.

My margin line was made up using a handmade 0.3grm float mounted on 0.165mm Stream and hooklength of 0.145mm matched to a size 16 T213 hook.I prefer a slightly heavier hollow for the margin and opted for a 12-14 hollow. These fish can approach 20lb in the lake so are worth hanging onto if I found one.

Owing to the depth of the lake I have also set up a 12ft waggler fished at 5ft initially with a light waggler, 4lb mainline and an 0.125mm hooklength armed with a Guru LWG size 18 hook. I would use this in the first 15-30 minutes of the match looking for anything mid water around the peg.

Bait - Nice and simple.

I had on my side tray 2 pints of swimstim green pellets, 1 tin of corn, 2 pints of maggots and 2 sizes of white expanders plus some Ringers wafters for the waggler.

The start of the match,

I have initially cupped in a quarter cup of micros squeezed into a ball with a couple of grains of corn in at 14.5m made into a slightly uneven ball so that it doesnt spin off from where Im planning on fishing.
Same again at 13m but with added maggots as this would be the line I would concentrate on if the skimmers were present in any numbers.
The margin line then received a half cup of loose micro pellets and 30 grains of corn, as i would not be looking at this line for at least 2 hours.

Pole lines fed, it was time for me to search the peg with the waggler and watch what others are doing on the lake to see if a particular method or area would catch fish. Of course the obligatory bomb and bread went out from some pegs, pellet feeders on others and some started on the pole. the two anglers opposite each other had carp on straight leads around 10 minutes into the match, literally at the same time, in fact I was wondering whether they were playing the same fish. However watching them land carp of around 3lb a piece I wasnt overly worried.

My match started off very slowly, I never had a touch on the waggler despite changing depths, hookbaits and exploring the open water in front of me. (although I hadnt seen a fish move or top yet ether) after 40 biteless minutes the waggler was put up the bank and out the way as it just wasnt meant to be. The angler opposite me in the other corner hadnt had a bite yet so i was beginning to worry that the fish were under the ice at the other end of the lake. indeed the anglers in the middle of the lake had all caught 1 or 2 carp now and the skimmers were starting to show in the early pegs.

Time to concentrate on the pole lines which I had fed once more at the 30 minute mark, giving them around 10 minutes rest before hopefully plundering a load of carpy type creatures! Alas, my float tips remained motionless for the next 20 minutes, despite changing hookbaits and lifting and dropping to try and entice anything. an hour and 15 minutes in I was still biteless and the middle pegs were now on 3-4 carp, this was looking like an early bath.

Finally after another small tosspot nugget* of pellets my float has buried on the 14,5m line and a skimmer was on its way to the net. this had a least given me a little hope that some fish would move in to these lines. I swapped to my 13m line and after 5 minutes another followed, again at 2lb it was a welcome fish.

On the next cast I've decided to change hookbaits and tried a piece of corn, hoping that maybe a carp would have moved over the bait at 14.5m after the initial fish activity. A few lifts and drops and the float has buried and my first carp nudging 6lb was in the net in double quick time. This gave me more hope that the fish would actually move up the lake or at least any resident fish in the area would move over my lines. Re-feeding again with a tosspot nugget* I've moved over to my 13m swim and waited for 15 minutes without a sign or indication.

Now 2 hours in I've had 3 skimmers and 1 carp for my efforts, so a change back to white expanders on the lighter rig resulted in another decent skimmer around 3lb and a carp shortly after on the 14.5m line. At this point I've decided to discontinue feeding the 13m line as another 15 minutes of no indications has led me to believe the fish wanted to be that little further out and perhaps I'd made the mistake of starting too far out.

So concentrating on the 14.5m line I've managed to snare another 2 carp both around 7lb mark, one gave me a right runaround for some reason? properly hooked in the top lip too, must have taken me 7-8 minutes before it finally found the way into my landing net, albeit reluctantly.

Time to try the margin line, I had been prepping the margin to my left with small amounts of bait during the course of the match and was rather hoping i would have an immediate fish. On went a tosspot, a few grains of corn topped off with loose micro pellets. I've put my rig in first, gently lowering the hookbait into position in the hope a carp might be waiting before depositing the tosspot contents over the top. alas, no bites for a few minutes and it was time to feed and wait.

Unfortunately after 10 minutes of waiting Ive had to come off this line as no signs down there meant i needed to look elsewhere for fish for the time being. Back outon the 14.5m line the rest has done it some good and a little run of 2 carp and another skimmer moved me into the last hour of the match.

The guys in the middle of the lake had slowed down and I was quite sure I was only 1 or 2 fish away from contending for 1st place, time to make a new 16m line in the open water and see if the carp had moved away. I've fed this with a a tosspot nugget* and 4 grains of corn and left it for 5 minutes. No more signs on the 14.5m line and it was time to try the new area.

The float has buried as soon as the corn hit the bottom, perfect!!! The last hour saw me add 3 carp and 1 more skimmer to the total and i knew I was somewhere close, although the angler in the far opposite corner at the top of the lake had caught well in the last 2 hours on bomb and pellet cast tight to the edges. This has frustrated me somewhat as my margin line just didn't work, perhaps i also needed to just ping some 6mm pellets up the edge and look over it with a banded 6mm?? Food for thought on the next one.

I was also quite sure the angler to my right ion the middle of the lake was also 2 fish ahead which was later confirmed by the scales.

The angler in the far opposite corner has managed some right lumps and weighed a very creditable 64lb to win the lake, the angler to my right in the middle of the lake weighed in 62lb and my estimate of being 2 fish behind was just about right with me weighing in 50lb on the nose for 3rd overall.

I enjoy this venue as you can catch up relatively quickly if the bigger carp turn up, so you are never quite out of the match and its worth persisting with big fish lines. Roll on the next one!!


*Tosspot nugget - compressed ball of pellets large enough to fit in a medium sized cad pot, this ensures the pellets go down to the bottom on deep venues without breaking up or sitting in the lower levels of the water.

Product review - Stream rig and hooklength line.

So here we have my current choice for all my hooklengths at present, this line comes in 50m spools at an approximate cost of £4.99 in the shops.

It does have some very interesting breaking strain statistics, as in the picture the 0.165mm has a breaking strain of over 4kg (8.9lb)

0.064mm - 0.62kg - 1.3lb
0.070mm - 0.77kg - 1.7lb
0.080mm - 0.94kg - 2.1lb
0.090mm - 1.10kg - 2.4lb
0.103mm - 1.49kg - 3.3lb
0.115mm - 1.90kg - 4.2lb
0.125mm - 2.39kg - 5.2lb
0.145mm - 2.95kg - 6.5lb
0.165mm - 4.05kg - 8.9lb
0.185mm - 5.40kg - 11.9lb
0.200mm - 6.80kg - 14.9lb

Colmic have advertised that these are real diameters and breaking strains and verified by testing, Im always a little skeptical with such high figures on low diameter lines, but what i will say is Im using the 0.125mm for all my carp fishing at the moment and have been since November without any issue.

I have no problem in saying this is great hooklength material, although expensive if you want to go down the rig making side of things with it. The 0.20mm looks awesome for summer conditions with heavy duty carp fishing in the edges or 200lb+ weight venues. The spools are quite small making them easy to store in your seatbox, so are quite user friendly when storing.

How times change!

So it's been a while since I've posted on here, time to resurrect the blog and share some of the memories and matches I've fished.

A little update is required first I think.

Since being married I've changed sponsors from SPRO and Ultima to Frenzee and now to Colmic.

I've also been blessed with the birth of my handsome son, Jamie Steven Bailey, born boxing day of 2015. Its been a fantastic time, one that I wouldn't change for the world.

Has it impacted on fishing, well yes of course it has, I cant give the time that I once used to, especially the preparation and the time away from home. It rends my heart when I'm away for any length of time from Jamie, he's growing so fast and I don't want to miss anything.

Proper cheeky little man!! Wonder where he gets that from?

So yes, I've lost a bit more hair and put on a few pounds...OK maybe more than a few.

So moving on, I would like to say a big thanks to Colmic for taking me on as a sponsored angler, looking forward to using the large range of products they have available and hopefully helping them get a foothold back in UK.

Keep an eye out for the reviews that will be added to the blog, this will be rods, poles, luggage, lines, shot, keepnets and seatbox all used and abused!

So, bring on the fish, the warmer weather and have tightlines all!

So the first round of the Barston B&J winter league series was to be an interesting round, the weather was warm, the lake had very little wind on it and the temperature a barmy 17 degrees!After meeting Diddy on the carpark with his mate Shaun it was time to get the bait sorted and the groundbait done.
I was given a little help with the mix that would suit the day and forgive me but I shall not be putting it on here at this time...too many people fishing it and if its the only edge ive got over these professionals then im keeping it as close to my chest as possible.....well ok then it was a bag of leam and a bag of Van Dan Eynde Superlake...cant keep a secret me.....Plus the waggler mix which was exactly the same apart from a little fishmeal in the mix.I decided on 1 pint of joker, 1 pint of chopped worm and half a pint of casters to fill my bait limit, and alongside the 12 litres of gear I was also about to launch at the lake.

So bait all prepared and ready mixed with the use of a drill and large whisk (never be without one) it was time for the draw. Walking in to Barstons clubhouse Diddy relieved me of my pools money and promptly made the draw which placed me on the road bank on peg 94. Not the best of areas as you have to compete with the point a little further to your left. But fish have fins.

So at least I didnt have a long walk ahead of me and I could pretty much park behind the peg, so a relaxing set up was all that was needed right? Think again.....long and hard.
At least I was in good company with Darren Cox to my left, Will Raison to his left, Lee Kerry further up, Des Shipp and Rob Middleton to my right...hmmmm...star struck much?

Darren immediately asked If I was well and are we having that pound on the side.....of course I couldnt say no and I expected a right battering. At least I would be able to see what they do differently.
The match is fished to Cips rules, so this means the match will be 4 hours in duration, (a little twist on the rules) 13m pole limit, float only and you get a 10 minute pre baiting period. So, I chose to have 2, 13m lines one directly in front of me and one as far right as I could push the pole. I also had a 7m line slightly to my left where I would put chopped worm and caster and look for a bonus perch or even an F1 if there was a bold sucker about.
I also decided on a waggler set up aswell, comprising of a Cralusso Rocket Lite, 3 number 8 droppers and a small swivol to attach the hooklength of some 15 inches to a size 16 hook.This was complemented with a Spro Tamas Walther Bream rod and a Spro Red Arc Reel filled to the brim with 4lb Ultima Power Steel.

I set up 6 top kits of my new Colmic X5000 match pole, 3 on the 13m pole line, which varied from 0.20grm with a lightly strung out shotting pattern to a size 20 gamma green set 2 inches off the bottom, 0.08 hooklength and 0.10mm mainline to a size 3 elastic. A 0.4grm sensas desque float, with a bulk of number 10s and 2 droppers to a 0.09mm hooklength, 0.10mm mainline and an 18 gamma black hook set an inch off bottom matche d a slip number 5 through 3 sections. This would give me the chance to get an F1 or bonus skimmer out. The last rig on this line was set 2 inches over depth, featured a sensas abbeville 0.60grm float, 0.12mm mainline to a 0.10mm hooklength and a 16 milo T213 hook. This was all connected to a number 6 elastic through 3 sections for when or if the bonus fish arrived.My far right hand 13m line would be fished with a 4x14 Garbolino DC11 float attached to 0.12mm mainline and 0.10mm hooklength again to a 16 Milo T213 hook. This was used in conjunction with J Range Lastix 3-6 hollow through 3 sections. This was my big fish line and would be fed with a fishmeal groundbait and worms.

My 7m line incorporated exactly the same set up as the big fish rig but used a 4x12 float instead as it was around a foot shallower just down the shelf in front of me. This would be fed with worm and caster thrown in by hand.Right, 20 mins to go and I havnt even taken care of groundbait and the joker yet...doh! So another quick blitz with the drill and whisk to make sure all the groundbaits were fine, then I separated the joker with dry leam using a sieve. I then added 75% of the joker to my initial balling in mix, as I really didnt want to re-feed later in the match. I added a handful of minced worm and some casters just in case the bigger fish turned up. I wanted the fish to get the fish feeding confidently with plenty of bait available. When it gets cold though....things change! That was that, 10 double handed balls were made for the 13m line.

The waggler mix recieved a few bloodworm from my hooker pack and just a pinch of joker alongside a good helping of worm and caster. I then created some 26 sausages for catapulting onto the waggler line 35 yards in front of me. Give it to them......Just as I had finished doing this the first call was shouted to pre-bait...this is were it went all WRONG!So I cupped in my 10 balls of groundbait from some 3 feet off the water top make a spladoosh, everyone else around me all elected to chuck theirs in. So it was time to get the catapult out. I chucked my unbaited waggler rig into the spot I had clipped up and had 3 turns of the reel before it settled.

The first sausage slammed into my hand.....fook me that hurt and I managed to spray myself and the swim with bits of groundbait, worm and smashed caster....nice.The second sausage fell woefully short, the third well past it............shall I go home now?
The next 5-6 balls all landed where they should, then I managed to yet again slam another into my hand. I was ready to go home now.
Another 4 balls followed somewhere in the general direction of the float and that was it I had, had enough of that game. Now pay attention!I picked up my waggler rod and baited the hook with 3 bloodworm and a segemnt of worm and then made a lovely cast just where the last 4 balls had landed, the float sat up proud from the water as the dropper shot registered and slowly sank the carbon tip to its hollow bristle......dink down it went, a strike was met with the firm yet distinctive nod of a large skimmer...YES!

I played this fish very carefully back to the bank and managed to land it, perfectly hooked, what a start...or so I thought.
Darren then said to me, "Pete....that dont count mate....!)
"Pardon"
"That dont count mate you have to wait for the all in.....)

Oh rollox I had just caught an illegal fish in the first CIPS rule match of the league in full view of half the england squad.....dammit.

I was gutted, the fish had to be put back and at around 2lb+ it made me feel ill. I was that distracted I didnt hear Darren call the all in 30 seconds later.
Let me tell you I felt a right muppet.

Darren was very good though and said not to worry, we all make mistakes and at least it was an honest one. Just dont do it again he laughed.I managed to get a little composure back to re-bait the waggler again and chucked out to the same area, Iw aited some 5 minutes and missed the bite....my mind was elsewhere as Im sure you can appreciate.
I wound back in, checked the bait and re-cast.
Another bite was met with resistance as a near 8oz roach was netted and at least this one counted.Again another look on the waggler produced my First LEGAL skimmer after a another 10 minutes and at around a 1lb 8oz it settled me a little. At least ive got the 2lb in the net.............

I spent the next 10 mins on the wag with one more bite and nothing else to show for my efforts, this was time for me to go on the pole line and see if the roach had settled. Will had around 8 roach in the net with Darren having 4 and a skimmer. I baited up the heavier roach rig and was immmeditaly into dumpy little samples averaging some 3 oz, good weight builders. I did try my big fish line over the top when it went quiet and was rewarded with a perch nudging 1lb!
The roach came quite regular for me and with the odd look on the big fish line after all I could catch was roach...no bad thing I suppose.
I did try the waggler although even with repeated casts and more feed over the top I didnt get another fish off this line.About 3 hours into the match the roach all but dissappeared and even Will and Darren were struggling. I decided it was time to look over the big fish line and sit and wait for the big fish. Another 2 sausages of groundbait and generous helping of chopped worm went in on this line. I then baited up with a dendro tail and waited...and waited and waited....15 minutes and finally the float slid under, I struck and around 10 yards of hollow elastic streamed out to the centre of the lake, a spirited yet short fight ensued as a near 1lb 8oz F1 was netted, again rebaited I dropped in on the smae line, I had 20 minutes to go before the float went under and strike was met with a the resistance of a near 2lb skimmer....perfect, had these moved in?

Er no!

I wasted oo much time waiting for the skimmers and onlyu had one more liner before the all out was called.What a day, I felt a little deflated from the initial mistake and it affected my match as I just couldnt focus to be honest. It played on my mind a lot!

Darren was admitting to some 8lb and Will had admitted to around 10lb. I was sure I would have 10lb and might just do Darren. I was suprised to weigh in over 17lb and was delighted with the performance. Darren was very gracious and kindly gave me his pound later in the clubhouse...thank you Darren, Im sure you will get it back next time!
Will weighed in 11lb, and I managed 4th in section...not bad at all!
The team was 5th on the day with Diddy managing 2nd in section...always reliable, I think he knows fish langauge...well you cant be that ugly and not be able too?
Well done again Ian......

Remember if you fish CIPS rules...wait for the all in!

Tight lines.