Everyone had been looking forward to this festival up until just a week before when the fish suddenly the fish decided to switch off. Be it spawning on their minds or something else who can say but it was set to become a hard 2 days.

The first day everyone had high spirits, some of the guys had travelled quite some distance to get there, 200 miles plus.  We waited for Zak for the draw but he was a little late so we had to draw for him, everyone else turned up except Dexy, he didn’t even contact me to say he wasn’t coming.

With 3 pegs left in the bag, Pete drew for Zak as he wasn’t there yet (peg 20) what a flier, Shaun drew next 21 another good peg and I was left with peg 16. 16 has not been producing at all and my hopes were drowned straight away but ah well you just have to get on with it.

Zak eventually turned up and was chuffed to have drawn peg 20, even though he had never fished the place I told him how and where to fish, an angler of his capabilities should win off that peg.  I had drawn it a few weeks ago and netted 108lb off it, unbelievably the highest weight off the lake this year to qualify for the king of tons match, (only me in it at the moment so looking promising for a win)

At the all-in I just did my usual and fed my 6m and 13m line fishing paste exclusively, this is how I fish it on there and do pretty well so no need to change things.  I had a few signs early but liners and after a couple of foul hookers and missed bites (liners) I managed to get a lump. At least I had a fish in the net and my worst fears were over, a blank was on my mind from that peg. 

I heard that Zak was catching a few and also Rick in 20a but you need to ignore others and get on with it.  I went on my shorter line and started to get a few indications so decided to stick it out on that. The main reason was I have a major shoulder and back problem which limits the amount of time I can fish the long pole, just the signs of getting old folks.

With Pete the bailiff giving me minute by minute accounts of the fish being caught I was in no doubt that I was doing ok, I just couldn’t believe that some of the fliers were not producing better. Peg 7 was a peg I did really well off just over a week before doing an article for Improve your Coarse Fishing Magazine, and Tony Brown was really struggling on it.  All you could hear was moan, moan, moan in typical Browny style.

The match ended and we were all so disappointed with the fishing, after all I know just how good it can be and the fish are still there, but we don’t know the reason they decided not to feed, we can all speculate but I would rather not apart from saying a fresh stocking would get them going again.

At the weigh in the results were soul destroying, apart from the usual peg 20, Zak, he managed 65lb 12oz. I was astounded to finish 2nd off 16 with 48lb 01oz and Steve Pretty (drawbag) had been on the last peg (30) and this had helped him to gain third place 44lb 02oz. It was still all in the draw for the second day, as this would decide the bee all and end all………….

The second day spirits were more than just dampened, they were drowned the night before for most of us in the pub. Some looked worse than others but I was feeling pretty good knowing I had a good start the day before. Unfortunately this was short lived when I drew peg 7, not normally bad but Browny had blanked off it the day previous, ouch………

Unbelievably Gary Bull managed to draw peg 1 again for the second day, this is my favourite peg, hard to fish but can be awesome, he had a joint 3rd under his belt from day 1 so could be a threat. Also Shaun Moss had drawn the same peg, 21, this is usually a real flier but he had struggled the day before with just 18lb, wonder if it would fish today.

Zak had drawn peg 11, this corner is where I have been saying the fish have been hiding for weeks but never gets put in the matches for some reason. He may struggle to start but I would have put money on him catching there later.

I could see Cliff Stanyard on peg 19 catching, steady but at least more than most, also there was a piper alfa gas rig set up on peg 20, oh wait no it’s Martin Pestell sat about 6m from the bank, probably further out than I fish on that peg. But he was catching, not well but steady away. I would more or less guarantee he would win off that peg anyone with a bit of an idea should do well off there and he’s a tidy angler.

My match was a bit better than Browny’s the day before off peg 7, at least I had caught 2 fish and lost 3 foul hookers but little did I know that would be my final tally, soul destroying off a peg I caught about 170lb off for a feature a short while ago in just 4 hours in the cold.  If I had been asked to bet, I would have put that peg in the running for the festival.

 Allan Foster was just starting sneaking a few fish in on the bomb in peg 4, he may have a position if he can keep them coming, Allan is not a bomb man but needs must and he was making the most of what he could. Looks like he would win our pound bet today and get his quid back from yesterday, At least he wasn’t moaning and he was set to win a quid if nothing else, (Bummer) .

There wasn’t much to watch apart from the odd fish all day until the last hour when Steve Pretty across on peg 15 started to catch well and Zak on peg 11 started to catch late but too late for him. All I could do was sit and wonder why, all the fish in that lake and there are plenty, fish to 20lb plus and loads of good stockies, well I still say they are wising up and need a fresh stocking to awaken them and get them feeding again. What a shame because it’s an excellent lake with options and plenty of room on each peg but above all one of the best paste venues when fishing well.

The weigh in was pretty short, not much to weigh so it would be a case of bite the bullet and take it on my chin from some of them saying what you picked this shit hole for.

The results on the day were going Steve (drawbag) Pretty’s way, he has been on fire of late both fishing and at drawing, what’s it like to draw good pegs regular? I just can’t do it and you see the same faces do it all the time.

Overall the results were in third, on equal points (7) Gary Bull and Zak Lawton but Zak had the advantage on weight, in second, Allan Foster (6 ponts) and the winner Steve Pretty with a great result of (3 points)

1st    Steve Pretty

1

2

3

2nd   Allan Foster

2

4

6

3rd   Zak Lawton

1

6

7 on weight

4TH  Gary Bull

4

3

7

5th   Martin Smith

5

4

9

6th   Martin Pestell

9

1

10 on weight

sunday 10/6.12 venue..puddledock farm anglers 50/60 weight..50lb 6oz started of with a new venue this week,i decided to go to puddle dock farm. on arrival it looked a nice snake lake and i no from reading it does produce some very big weights. started of with paying for the match to me i though it was expensive as it was £23 all in,weather or not it is as i usually pay £18 all in. all so this is for 5 hour match. next was the cafe very clean and well run but must say £1 for a cup of coffee i thought was dear. maybe its me and getting old.lol.well after getting the gear out of the car the call up was to draw well i saw myself nearly last with my friend who came aswell..so in i went after a long wait and drew 58,not knowing the venue i asked where the peg was and was given the correct way to the peg. spot on. also a nice angler told me to fish to the left of the rushes,he fished this in the week and was the only place he caught. great i thought. started of with a rig fishing 14 mtrs to the far bank after plumbing up had a few carp knocking the plummet about a bit so new the fish were their. this swim is about 2 ft deep. this was fished 0.14 with a ng float and a size 14 hook. this would be fished using red solid hi viz,18/20..next rig would be my track rig this was 0.14 again float was a ng float and a b911 size 16 hook.this was about 5ft deep. fishing solid elastic 14/16 hi viz..next would be my margin swim this was 3ft deep and fished using 0.18 ng float and a 14 b911..elastic was 18/20 hi viz.on with the match bait wise was micro's,meat,soft pellet and hard 6mm pellets. started of cupping in on the margin swim and the track like with a full pot of micro,s and left to settle. started of at the far bank as this was where the fish where,in i went on the meat soaked in garlic..miraclebaits...not a good start as first 4 fish i lost hook pulled,so i done the elastic as softened it, opps as out went the elastic,what a battle this went on for ages and after 10 min i landed the zoo animal,lol,it was between 12/14lb great start but arm was a bit saw. it was a bit on and off at the back taking a few and losing a few,fished the track and had 4 fish from their and my margin swim which i thought would go,did i had 6 fish one after the other then dead...roach after roach after roach. i new using micro's was a big mistake,that's where i went wrong but we all learn by our own mistakes. had a great day,not a big fantastic weight but its all learning. was told after the match..yeah after the match that a lot of them fish up in the water,but ill no next time...see pic ............very very clean fishery....came 17th out of 50/60 anglers not bad for the first run.i ended up with 50lb 6oz...... my mistakes.. using micro's.... need to change my elastic...to hydro or hollow......

Miracle Baits (Chris Clark) (Bank End Fishery) Finningley Sunday 10th June 20 fished

Allan Foster was to set another record today off peg 8 on east lake, fishing shallow with pellet at 13m he had a steady run of F1's all day.

1st.....Allan Foster..............Miracle Baits......................peg 8............221lb
2nd...Steve Gregory...........Miracle Baits/Middy..............peg 16..........136lb
3rd...Mick Miller...................Chesterfield.......................peg 3............127lb
4th...Chris Smith...............Miracle Baits.......................peg 12..........112lb
5th...Alan Watts.................Miracle Baits......................peg 22............90lb
6th...Simon sos.................Chesterfield.........................peg 18...........86lb

date 3/6/2012
fishery..magics
anglers 12
weather. wet and windy
 
report for sunday the 3rd june.well with the weather going to be bad was it go out or stay in bed,must of been mad got up in the rain fished all day in the rain and come home in the rain so could say a very very wet day.started of with the draw which drew peg 11 which is quite a good peg so i thought id have a good day,then to be told they had been clearing the area in the week and most of the fish have moved. well what a good start. arrived at my peg with the idea of fishing far shelf with 0.3 float 0.14 line and a kamassan b911 14 fishing meat soaked in garlic. my next rig was 0.3 with 0.14 and a b911 size 16 hook.i started at the far shelf and rushes fishing micros and meat,started of well catching a few f1s,skimmers and the odd carp. on my other rig i fished this with a full pot of micros with the odd meat and a few 6mm,this just came alive 1 1/2 to the end of the match it was fizzing like a can of coke shook up. fishing with a toss pot over the top ended up getting a few and losing a few as the fish can go big and because its quite shallow they go of like a steam train. with the wind and rain i managed to put 36lb in the net but as i was on a point it blows a gale through their so was happy but new id not win with the weight. so all in all with the wind,rain,rain and more rain i came 3rd so was quite pleased with the result.....
 
all the best untill next time..
 
dean townshend
miracle baits

Miracle Baits                                
Fen Lake bank holiday Tuesday open, "Metheringham                                 
5th June                                 
20 anglers    Steve Pretty broke the lake record with a stunning performance off peg 10 fishing top 2 to hand                              
                                
1st    Steve Pretty             Miracle Baits               peg 10    308lb 08oz        caught on Miracle Baits soft hook pellet over fishery feed pellets
2nd    Lee Cowlan            Miracle Baits               peg 2      256lb                caught on Miracle Baits soft hook pellets over fishery feed pellets
3rd    Steve Gregory         Miracle Baits/Middy     peg 16     204lb        
4th    Shaun Moss             Miracle Baits               peg 13     192lb 08oz        
5th    Dan Watson             Miracle Baits               peg 6       175lb 08oz        
6th    Dave Holmes          Miracle Baits                peg 4       171lb 08oz        

Well apart from being red hot, I had a bit of luck today I drew peg 17 on clover at Rycroft, with the wind blowing in that direction. It was the wrong time to draw it though, the fish had spawned and were feeding on the spawn and as you know they don't look at anything else while that's on the go.
Well I plugged away struggling at 16m in the wind down the edge with a few decent fish to boot. I came into the side on top 2 plus 1 later and managed a few more and luckily for me secured a win.
Results
1st...Steve Gregory....Middy/Miracle Baits..peg 17.....77lb 13oz
2nd..Tony Brown.......Map-Leegem............peg 8.......57lb
3rd...Allan Foster.......Miracle Baits............peg 22.....44lb 02oz
4th...Chris Smith........Miracle Baits............peg 13.....34lb 10oz
5th...Matt........never ever ever again.........peg15..... 26lb 12oz
6th...Cliff ?..................................................peg 23.....24lb 09oz

Even though the weather was almost unbearable the spirits were high for the final of the Super League.
It had been a hard job to qualify with the fishing still being quite peggy and it was more about drawing pegs than fishing. But the match was set to be a tight one with some excellent anglers on the bank. The wind was howling and the rain was pouring it would be an endurance test more than anything, poles might be a bit tricky in the conditions. It seemed that the fish had moved back down to the early numbers again making the fishing once again a little patchy but with £85 for a section win it was worth sticking it out till the death.

1st, John Hetherington (TYRAM) after starting on the method feeder to the island saw a good head of fish topping in his peg so he set up a pellet waggler to continue catching and keep one step ahead.
2nd, Steve Gregory (MIDDY/MIRACLE BAITS) fishing method feeder to the island with soaked 2mm feed pellets prepared with mpz-1 and punched meat soaked in garlic banderz juice. The pace was really set after an excellent start, this stuff really picks out the bigger fish and all the fish were 4lb to 8lb even after loosing 9 lumps the race was still on, but then a quiet spell allowed other anglers to creep up. A switch to pellet waggler and bomb was fruitless so back to the method and another few fish brought the weight back up.
3rd, Marc Johnson (MIRACLE BAITS/TYRAM) another one loosing a few fish was Marc, inevitable on here we don't know why but it just happens. Marc drawn on peg 4 fished to the channel at the back of the island using meat coated with banderz mpz-1 and corn coated in scopex banderz juice.
4th, Matt Marshall (Miracle Baits) Matt fished method across catching quite steady most of the day but also had a quiet spell that cost him a higher placing.
The other anglers collecting a decent envelope for section wins were
Jamie Wild (MIDDY/DYNAMITE BAITS)
Gary Smith (MIRACLE BAITS/TYRAM)
Geof Wild (BARNSLEY)
RESULTS

1st John Hetherington (TYRAM).................peg 6............70lb 06oz
2nd Steve Gregory (Middy/Miracle Baits) peg 8............56lb
3rd Marc Johnson (Miracle Baits/Tyram)  peg 4............46lb
4th Matt Marshall (Miracle Baits).................peg 10..........45lb
section winners
Gary Smith (Miracle Baits/Tyram)         
Jamie Wild (Middy/Dynamite Baits)
Geoff Wild (Barnsley)

A very slow start was a guaranteed formality with all the heavy rain we had the 3 days previous but with high spirits we got stuck in. Drawn at the side of Allan Foster I had some competition but it would all depend how things panned out on the day. Allan is a gentle feed merchant and feeds with great care and will plod on all day with mostly excellent results. However marsh has always been kind to me and my approach, heavy feed and proper gear.  This is usually the way forward as the fish will come to the feed and anyone close by not feeding will loose their fish, which usually is to my benefit.
As it happened the fishing was hard and the fish backed off the heavy feed to my dismay as I had to watch Al banging out fish all day from the island. I was catching but not at the same rate as Allan, my paste at 16m to the island approach was letting me down for once.
We plodded on and in the last hour they started to turn up for me and I was clawing my way back and although I lost a few lumps I was getting a few fish now.  I had been broke once on 0.19mm and lost 2 extremely big fish trying to stop them racing through Allans peg.
I knew that Alan Watts would be catching on the other side of the island on my favourite peg, someone had told him it was a bad peg at the start. Having not fished it before he was down in the dumps until I put him right, I would take that peg every match and take the rough with the smooth.
The last 15 minutes saw me trash a couple of rigs on pulled out fish which sort of slowed my momentum and my catch rate slowed but I knew Allan had well and truly battered me this time, but thats the thing about fishing, my method nearly almost always works but there are times when it will let you down.
In the end it was a pretty good match considering the conditions and the fish were a bit reluctant to feed but the weights were not too bad and with the top 5 anglers all Miracle Baits anglers.

1st Allan Foster..........93lb 14oz.......Miracle Baits
2nd Alan Watts..........77lb 08oz.......Miracle Baits
3rd Steve Gregory.......65lb...............Miracle Baits
4th Lee Cowlan..........61lb...............Miracle Baits
5th Shaun Moss........34lb...............Miracle Baits
6th Dave H.................31lb..............Heckington

here is my report from sunday i've also added a few pictures of my swim and fish,  
i arrived at magic's fishery which is a kind of snake lake i no this venue quite well now as i've fished this 8 times and have had 6 wins. after all was done the cuppa and paying for the match the draw was on,i was a bit slow getting in line and was 2nd from last to draw but in i went and whoop what a result peg 12 i drew, i won it of there 2 weeks before its one of the best pegs on the lake. so i had high hopes for a result. ariving at my peg i set up quite quickly knowing where to fish.i had to my left a over hanging tree this would be fished at 13mtrs with black hydro and 0.14 with a kamasan b911.14 fishing meat over micros.this swim is only 1 and a half foot deep,at the far shelf. the 2nd swim would be right in front of me as this goes into a corner this would also be fished black hydro 0.14 and b911.16.this would also be fished to the left of the corner swim this is 14mtrs.this would be fished pellet and 4mm feed pellet.the other corner to the right would be fished the same as the left hand side but this is fished with micros and pellet. both swims are 3ft deep. also far right was reeds all along the far shelf which is about the same depth as the tree swim so this rig was used to try all different features along the back,pellet and meat with no feed and the f1s seems to back of feed going in. through the day u have to work hard as its not a easy venue its a thinking venue cant just plod in and away u go.i worked hard lost a few fish which at the end of this would have cost me the match.i worked and worked at all the swims getting a few of each swim,quite a few foul hookers which u get quite a lot their,i was 2nd from last to weigh in droped 3 carp at the net with hook pulls and top weight was 30lb,i weighed in with 35lb which put me in front last to be weighed in which was also a good peg and he weighed in at 37lb,i was gutted but it was my own fault losing the fish and cost me the win but u cant win every time a second was good enough on the day.untill the next time.lol
 
all the best
 
dean townshend
venue. magic's fishery
open
anglers....18
date..sunday.15 april..12   meat was soaked in garlic and mpz-1 banderz juice

It was a very cold day and the fish were reluctant to feed in numbers but Marc Johnson found a few by fishing the pole and bomb. He potted in some Miracle Baits pellet crumb/slop and 2mm soaked pellet with a dash of the new Banderz liquid in early and when he dropped over it with Miracle Paste it was like a switch had been turned on. Although the fish were not big it was enough to secure a win and put another Miracle Baits sponsored angler in top spot.
1st.......Marc Johnson..........peg 27 Island lake...................50lb 12oz
2nd......Dave Evans..............peg 17 Horseshoe lake............36lb 04oz
3rd.......Kev Jones................peg 12 Island..........................32lb 10oz
4th.......Steve Gregory...........peg 36 Horseshoe lake...........22lb

Miracle Baits sponsored fishery Tyram Hall held a pairs match today on both the island lake and the horseshoe lakes. One angler on each lake with an overall weight of both anglers to count as the score. This is a tricky way to work out the results as just 1 angler could possibly win the pairs on his own.
It was going to be an interesting match as the horseshoe lake had been stocked with 2 ton of stockie carp a couple of days before.
There are plenty of fish to go at but on the day it proved to be a hard match and the fish refused to show in numbers, especially on the horseshoe lake.
The weather was stunning, warm sunny and little wind which makes a change but this could have been the contributing factor to the low weights. It is that time of year when the fish are almost ready to feed but a slight change in atmospheric pressure and temperature change can knock the off, big style.
This happened to be the case and a lot of anglers struggled to catch a decent weight, but the fish did show eventually in some pegs.
Unfortunately myself and Allan Foster my partner in the pairs both drew shocking, but chin up etc.
I was on horseshoe on peg 1, not a peg that gets fished much at all and I was just hoping for a miracle, Allan was on peg 28 on Island in the shallow pegs too so our work was cut out. 
As the shout went out to start the match I opted to stick with the pole unlike most who would be fishing bomb and pellet/meat. This seemed to pay off for me as I was the only one catching on my side of the lake, albeit not that much. I had a couple of stockies and a bigger carp on my 4mm Scopex soft hook pellet over pellet crumb but the bites were few and far between.  As the time drew on I managed another few stockies but no one else was catching at all, even the other bank were struggling so I just got my head down. 
After a couple of hours the bites just stopped and it was hard work, I even tried maggot and also method and bomb without success. I gave Allan a call to see what was happening on there and he was catching a few silvers and a couple of stockies but doing ok.
The match just stopped for me then and it was just a waiting game to see who would catch a few at the death to overtake me and drive our position down.
Word got round that there were a couple starting to catch on the other lake and catching really well in the last half hour, this was a blow.
With a couple on my lake snagging a few fish late on I knew that it would be a close call, I reckon I was winning my lake until the last 15 minutes but thats how it goes.  We weighed in and my pittance was 21lb 8oz, but as we went around the lake it seemed to be decent, it wasn't until we got to the other side I was beaten. There was a 23lb and a 24lb which pushed me into 3rd on my lake, one more fish would have done me good.

On the other lake the 3 pegs together that were catching cost my partner dear, they too didn't catch until late and pushed Allan down the list a bit. Allan had done really well, just as I expected as he is a very competent angler and awesome on silvers.  He did manage to turn a few heads and make others change tactics when he was catching well though, "monkey see monkey do" as they say.
At the final tally my weight of 21lb 8oz was 3rd on my lake and Allan's 40lb 8oz was 4th on his lake but just not enough to beat the weights on the other bank, 73lb 11oz and 71lb 2oz and 44lb 4oz.

It was unfortunate that we drew so badly but we could hold our heads up and managed a respectable 4th overall witha total of 62lb.

Top 6 on the day

1st.........Shane Trowel 73lb 11oz, Nathan Watson 10lb 08oz....................total 83lb 11oz
2nd........Jeff Wild 7lb, Jamie Wild 71lb 02oz...................................................78lb 02oz
3rd.........S Nemus 44lb 04oz, Dave Evans 23lb 04oz.......................................67lb 08oz
4th.........Steve Gregory 21lb 08oz, Allan Foster 40lb 08oz...............................62lb
5th.........Craig Jones 45lb 13oz, Matt Marshall 8lb 08oz..................................54lb 05oz
6th.........Neil Owen 37lb 09oz, Barry Owen 15lb 07oz.....................................53lb

_Well done to Mark today he showed how its done off peg 3 to score a victory.

1st....Mark Cree..............Newark.......................peg 3..................137lb 09oz   
2nd...Steve Gregory.......Miracle Baits/Middy.......peg 14................100lb 12oz  
3rd....Barry Young..........Newark........................peg 30..................67lb 05oz  
4th....Carl Williams.......Miracle Baits.................peg 29..................62lb 12oz   
5th....Gavin Cooper.......Miracle Baits.................peg 17..................45lb 12oz   
6th....John Watson........Miracle Baits................peg 15..................45lb 04oz

After a gruelling winter league on Bain Valley, the top 3 were
1st....John Cullass
2nd...Ade Freeman.....on weight countback
3rd...Steve Gregory
Full results to follow.

There are about 5 places left on the fen lake league for this season if anyone is interested. The dates are April 2nd - May 14th - Jun 11th - July 2nd & 30th - Aug 13th - Sept 3rd. Email me if you are interested miracle_baits@btinternet.com.

It was that time of year again, all the Christmas festivities were looming so it was time for our annual Christmas match. These matches are mainly for a get together for the lads rather than the usual heads down matches. Everyone brings some booze and we have a draw at the end, there were plenty of bottles so hangovers were on the cards. 
The match proved very popular and although I originally booked just one lake, I had to revise my plans and book the other lake too.  It's hard to decide how to run these type of matches sometimes, do you do separate matches like Burgess at Solhampton Fishery of run it as one big one. As I had never fished the old lake I had to get some advice from those who had, it was clear from what I heard that they were much of a muchness so I went for the one match approach.  I planned to do 2 sections on each lake and overall top 3, but remember there were many prizes to be drawn from at the end too so anyone could finish up a winner.
The draw took place and I drew old lake, with never fishing it before I was gutted as I had sorted the match lake and had 2 wins from 2 visits on there. Never the less I just thought I would give it my best but opted to fish pinkie and worm with it being really cold.  I knew it was going to be hard and very peggy, that's just the par for the course this time of year.  I was the last to draw so got what was left, peg 9 on old lake, I set up a long line to the island at 16m using my new and excellent Middy XK55 pole, awesome thing that is. I had a line at 8m down the track and a top 2 in front rig, this would probably not get used today but fed just in case.  Allan (end peg/corner peg) Foster had drawn peg 1, what a surprise he drew an end and corner peg, never been known.  I knew that he would find plenty of silvers down there and if the carp fed maybe a few of those too. Allan draws these fliers all the time (admit it golden bollocks) and with him being an excellent angler it certainly makes life much easier.
As the match unfolded the first hour was pretty good weather wise, BUT Steve Jackson in the next peg put the mockers on that by saying "it's like a spring morning" and yes you guessed it it absolutely pissed it down the rest of the day and was freezing cold. (well done Jacko)
It was pretty terrible I can tell you and to make matters worse the fish were not having it at all where I was, just the odd skimmer down the track on pinkie. I was not on my own it was the same all around our side of the lake, apparently they were getting a few on the other side though.  Well the match certainly dragged on in all that rain and I was glad to shout it up at the end, well Wolfy did, they heard him in Brussels I think.

After rushing to get all the gear into the van out of the rain we started to weigh in, my lake was first and Allan Foster had managed to secure a good net of silvers to secure his section, pushing me into second, cheers Al, but it was not enough to do any more damage. Ady Freeman on the other side found a few carp to win our lake and possibly get into the top 3.
The match lake was next, this lake had fished much better and almost all had a few carp but it would be Steve Pretty (another drawbag) on an excellent corner peg that would come out on top.
The weights were pretty tight for the top 3 spots and could have gone either way but at the end it was Pretty boy that won the Christmas show.
1st..............Steve Pretty.............peg 24 match lake..............42lb 08oz
2nd.............Alan Watts...............peg 6  match lake..............39lb 09oz
3rd..............Ady Freeman...........peg 29 old lake..................38lb 11oz

section 1 old lake................Allan Foster...........peg 1 old lake..................18lb 05oz
section 2 old lake................Chris Clark............peg 30 old lake.................15lb 04oz
section 1 match lake...........Paul Gregory.........peg 3 match lake..............20lb 15oz
section 2 match lake...........Dexy......................peg 21 match lake............13lb 06oz

With plenty of prizes for the draw at the end I did eventually manage to win 3 bottles so not all was lost.  They are a great bunch of guys and it was a great days fishing, you cant expect fantastic weights at this time of year, that's winter fishing for you.

Well its been a while since I had any opens and not been on the site to update it much. However we had a match today at Mill Dam at Girton, I have only fished this place once before but I was very impressed.
The lake suits my kind of fishing to the ground and I think the fish are of excellent breeding and fight so well, can't say that for everywhere.
Well at the draw I had the last peg in the bag and as it happened it was the same peg as I drew on the previous time I was there so knew how to approach it.  I opted today to fish at 11m on the slope, top 2 in front and down both sides long, this was the plan but things can change.  At the all in I put in a small pot of micro pellets and a few maggots on each line for starters and would feel my way into the match.  I had already decided to fish maggot over pellet so I could catch the silvers as well as the carp as I expected it to be hard going.
It didn't take long for a response on the 11m line this was about 2 metres short of the island, and had a carp of about 3lb.
I could not get consistent bites on any line throughout the day and had to chop and change all the time to keep any bites I could get coming. I was doing ok but I could see others doing pretty well too so needed to be on top of the situation. 
At the end of the match it was apparent the silvers were not in a feeding mood but I managed to stick a few carp in the net and secure a win with 81lb.
Everyone caught and really enjoyed the fishing there so we will be returning shortly.

1st..........Steve Gregory.............peg 3..................81lb 00oz
2nd.........Dave Wills..................peg 18................69lb 13oz
3rd..........Carl Sweatnam...........peg 14................52lb 11oz
4th..........Zak Lawton.................peg 10...............47lb 12oz
5th..........Malc Thompson..........peg 6.................43lb 02oz
6th..........Andy Woolfall.............peg 22...............41lb 08oz

Well this was the hardest match of the year so far for me, I always knew it would be hard but it outlived my expectations.  There are so many factors that can change a venue and how it fishes, it's been really hard on here recently and I have not been in attendance for that reason. When I drew peg 27 I was gutted as I reckon this is one of the worst pegs on the lake, it's ok people saying well 136lb came off that peg, but that was early in the year when it was fishing much better. 
I honestly believe that an introduction of a few more fresh stockies would bring this place back to it's former self as the fish get lazy and without fresh competition they just sit and wait until the end of the match to feed. 
The other factors that could be to blame are, cold nights, switch in air pressure, full moon etc each and everyone play their part in poor fishing.
Back to the match......
When I saw Dave Daniels draw peg 4 I thought well that's first place gone as peg 4 has been the most consistent winner all year, but who would believe that Dave would have been both biteless and fishless at the end.  Also on peg 21 the next most productive peg was Ben Brighton so that was 1st and 2nd sorted.
As the day drew on I kept trying the pole but was totally biteless on that and must have waisted over an hour in total fishing it.  This gave Sam Smith the edge over me in the next peg as he stuck it out on the bomb and pellet and kept a slow but steady stream of fish coming to the net.  I had to do something quick so I opted for the big bomb and tea bag with 8mm pellet on a massive chuck hoping for some better fish.  As it turned out the bigger fish were not interested and my biggest was a 5lber after loosing a monster at the net (costly fish), the rest were just stockies.
at the close of the day I was a bit disappointed with my performance but managed to hold my head up with a joint 2nd with 23lb 08oz, this still made me £131 but not the pleasure of winning, this went to a deservedly 26lb 14oz from Sam.

1st..............Sam Smith........................peg 28....................26lb 14oz
2nd.............Steve Gregory....................peg 27....................23lb 08oz
2nd.............Ben Brighton.....................peg 21....................23lb 08oz
4th..............Dexy................................peg 20.....................19lb 14oz
5th..............Carl Sweatnam.................peg 6.......................16lb 03oz
6th..............Shaun Moss.....................peg 14.....................15lb 11oz

Westwood Lakes was full to capacity for the Liam Wilson Memorial Match on Saturday 17th with 99 anglers taking part in this ever popular event. Anglers from as young as 8 and as old as 87 and as far a field as Norfolk came together to have a fun days fishing .Adam Wakelin, sponsored angler with Preston Innovations, also a consultant with SonuBaits & he represented England in the recent World feeder championships presented the trophies and carried out the draw for the raffle which raised £760 for Liam's Memorial Fund. This now stands at a total of over £19,000.  
Hawk Lake School Yr 8 & under.  
1st Callum Houlden     20lb 4oz
2nd Samuel Claydon  11lb 6oz
3rd Nathan Lee            9lb 6oz  

Hawk Lake School Yr 9,10 & 11  
1st Ben Elding             55lb 9oz
2nd Davis Gurton         39lb 8oz
3rd Adam Swain          35lb 14oz  

Kestral Lake  
1st Adam Wakelin       83lb 6oz
2nd Gavin Butler         57lb 4oz
3rd Luke Morley          27lb 10 oz  

Skylark Lake  
1st Paul Ogglesbee      46lb 8oz
2nd Ken Clarke            33lb 10oz
3rd Steve Gregory        32lb 10oz 

Kingfisher Lake NCRC Challenge  
1st Dave Wilson             50lb 2 oz
2nd Mark Sutherland     21lb
3rd Stuart Rumball        14lb 12oz  

Total weight Boston 99lb 8oz       Norwich 37lb  

Blind Mixed Pairs winners- Adam Wakelin/James Taylor  

Dave,Julie & Lauren Wilson would like to say a big thank you to all that took part and made the day a great success. Raffle prizes where kindly given by Westwood Lakes, Boston Angling Centre, Preston Innovations, BaitTech, Sensas, Middy, Miracle Baits and many numerous individuals. Thank You...   Thanks Dave

Conditions, gale force winds heavy swell but warm.
Steve Pretty drew his second home again to secure another win, it was quite a close match really but plenty of lost fish as usual.

1st.............Steve Pretty................peg 4...................92lb 15oz
2nd............Steve Gregory..............peg 23.................61lb 11oz
3rd.............Shaun Moss................peg 29.................42lb 11oz
4th.............Dave Usher..................peg 20.................42lb 03oz
5th.............Dexy...........................peg 8...................36lb 12oz
6th.............Allan Watts.................peg 21..................36lb 08oz

1st..................Steve Jackson..................121lb 06oz
2nd.................Geoff (fritz) Hides...............104lb 01oz
3rd..................Dave Sweeting....................48lb 09oz
4th..................John Bridges......................37lb 04oz
5th..................Pete Hides.........................36lb 11oz
6th..................Steve Gregory.....................36lb 03oz
Steve Jackson having never broken the ton weight before mad a sweet match where he found fish stacked up to secure not only a win but also his best ever weight and also walked away with the golden peg and a very nice cup.
As this was the last match of the season for the club Kitty donated a cup, well when we saw it we all broke out laughing, it was actually a mug with the miracle baits logo on and a picture of me with a big sparkle by my teeth. Funny as hell but everyone was after winning it, they must fancy me or something, just hope Jacko watches where he drinks from and keeps away from my lips, dodgy geezer, even got his arm around me on the pic, mind you where is my other arm????

Solhampton mini festival

overall winners:
1st S Gregory (Miracle Baits/Middy) 529-10
2nd C Jones (Maver) 460-05
3rd B Wilkes (Solhampton fishery/Miracle Baits) 397-06

Day 1

Dragonfly
1st K Stevens
2nd M Howells
3rd K Dales

Valley
1st A Foster
2nd B Homer
3rd B Wilkes

Kingfisher
1st S Gregory
2nd C Jones
3rd M Charod

Day 2

Dragonfly
1st C Jones
2nd S Gregory
3rd P Hallybone

Valley

1st A Croshaw
2nd N Rowley
3rd D Dryhurst

Kingfisher
1st B Wilkes
2nd K Stevens
3rd K Dales

Day 3

Dragonfly
1st A Croshaw
2nd B Wilkes
3rd B Homer

Valley
1st S Gregory
2nd C Jones
3rd M Howells

Kingfisher
1st S Pretty
2nd P Hallybone
3rd A Foster

Steve Gregory caught on Miracle baits Garlic paste over elite expanders on all 3 days.

(Clip from Solhampton fishery web site)
KING OF TONS FINAL 29TH BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY

king of tons final was won by Steve Gregory (Miracle Baits/MAP) with a winning weight of 293lb -12oz on valley pool
Steve caught using Garlic Miracle Paste over Miracle Baits elite expanders.

The king of tons matches were held over 6 hours with 34 fishing this gave us plenty of room for our anglers with between 8-9 on a pool 34 fished and 22 had over hundred pounds 3 over two hundred .The total amount caught 4,150 pounds of fish

valley pool
1 S.Gregory 293lb -12oz
2 B.Wilkes 230lb 12oz
3 S.Pearce 182lb -08oz

Dragonfly pool
1 D.Baker 178lb-00oz
2 D.Harrison 159lb-12oz
3 S.Dicken 156lb -08oz

Buzzard pool
1 C.Jones 220lb-10oz
2 K.Stephens 200lb -10oz
3 S.Foster 181lb -08oz

Kingfisher pool
1 B.Homer 184lb-12oz
2 A.Welding 173lb-00oz
3 M.Wall 152lb -08oz

top ten
1 S.Gregory 293lb 12oz
2 B.Wilkes 230lb 00oz
3 C.Jones 220lb 10oz
4 K.Stephens 200lb 12oz
5 B.Homer 184lb 120z
6 S.Pearce 182lb 08oz
7 S.Foster 181lb 10oz
8 D.Baker 178lb 00oz
9 A.Welding 173lb 00oz
10 T.maguire 172lb 10oz
11 M.Howells 171lb 08oz

It was a completely different day today, the fish wanted to feed and they got their heads down, unfortunately there were 2 pegs left in the bag 21 and 2 and I finished up with 2. Shaun on the other hand got 21 and this peg is on fire and has been for weeks, I suspected another win off it today.
The one thing for sure is Steve Pretty can draw well, he was on peg 4 again, he almost lives on this peg he draws it more than anyone else. It's an out and out flyer and with the right man on it it's a winner every-time, Steve would not prove me wrong.  Everyone was catching, this is what it should be like on here but has not been of late.
I was catching steady on the pole up until dinner time, only stockies but they are now a decent size. Steve Pretty was catching on a method feeder thrown just past the pole line and his swim was solid all day.  In all a good match which was very close and one big fish could have changed the positions all apart from Steve.  Pete Smith in the gorse bushes once again had a good session and was pushing Steve Pretty up until late.

1st.............Steve Pretty...................peg 4........................141lb 06oz
2nd............Pete Smith....................peg 15........................106lb 03oz
3rd.............Shaun Moss..................peg 21..........................96lb 01oz
4th.............Carl Sweatnam..............peg 6............................85lb 03oz
5th.............Brian Baxter..................peg 26..........................75lb 11oz
6th.............Steve Gregory................peg 2...........................74lb 10oz

We will be holding a Sunday afternoon match on here next Sunday, draw at 3 fish 3.30 to 8.30 if anyone interested just turn up on bank. We will be fishing after the day match and weights should be very high.

The club that has the curse, everywhere we go it fishes poor and this was no exception.  The fish were all over on the top and this is always a bad sign, (you can't catch what you can see) as the saying goes.  Well for me and Shaun on the roadside that was so true, we really struggled all day and Shaun on 11 had 18lb 06oz and I didn't do much better with 26lb 15oz off peg 9.
I could see John Bridges sneaking a few in but not bagging up, he was on the not so in form gorse bushes but looked as if it was producing better today.
1st..............John Bridges.....................peg 15..........................51lb 09oz
2nd.............Wano................................peg 4...........................38lb 08oz
3rd..............Jacko................................peg 2...........................38lb 07oz
4th..............Mac..................................peg 25..........................31lb 10oz
5th..............Fritz..................................peg 23..........................27lb 04oz
6th..............Me....................................peg 9............................26lb 15oz

 Today's results from a warm sunny Priory Lakes Ruskington. New member Lee Sallabanks won the day by a small margin over Ron Roberts on favoured peg 40.   1st   Lee Sallabanks  peg 33   61lb 3oz fishing pellet waggler   2nd  Ron Roberts     peg 40    57lb fishing paste on pole   3rd  Dave Wilson      peg 36    26lb 4oz method feeder & paste on pole

Next match 28th August @ Gedney Hill. If possible we need 15 or more anglers to get complete lake to ourselves,so if you can please let me know ASAP so i can update owner. davew404@btinternet.com     Dave Wilson.  

It was a bit of a shame but I took too many names for the festival forgetting about the first match at Fen Lake. This resulted in myself and Carl Falconer having to sit the first match out.  As it happened it was a hard match, the fishing around here at the moment is patchy to say the least. 

The expectations were high  for this match even though I had to put 2 extra pegs on the lake, this was just an open leading to the 2 day fest. Unfortunately Carl and myself were bystanders for this one but at least I could walk around and pass on a bit of advice to those who had not fished it before.  The all in saw elastics stretching immediately but the pace soon dropped and it looked as if it could be a hard match.  There were certain anglers I knew would do well looking at where they were pegged and I thought it may be a ton fifty win today, a patch of it's real potential.  Allan Foster drew in a decent area, not the best by far though, but I knew it would suit him as it tends to be shallow fishing of late.  Allan has mastered the shallow fishing and would put him up against almost all the anglers I know at this game. A couple of other anglers tipped to do well was Karl Stevens and Carl Sweatnam, both on pegs that suited their style of fishing.
As the day drew on I tipped only one winner Allan Foster, he was catching more steadily than anyone else and was keeping the fish there where others were loosing them for spells.
All I could do was watch, I would have really loved to have fished but as the organiser it was my fault there were not enough pegs, (but due to people not booking on and assuming I had put them down)
The match was pretty much poor for the venue but still decent weights overall and some happy faces
1st.................Allan Foster.................peg 12.......................130lb
2nd................Carl Sweatnam.............peg 3.........................122lb
3rd.................Karl Stevens.................peg 2.........................116lb

This match was a silver fish match with the carp just counting as a pond, this was to stop the reed strewn corners running away with the match.
The skimmers and tench refused to feed in numbers and it was left wide open for the guys fishing maggot to plunder the greatly overpopulated rudd shoals.  There rudd are tiny and you really need to get your head down to make a good bag.  It was all down to the lake draw however, Spitfire holds a much bigger head of rudd and that's where the weights were recorded.  Again Allan Foster was on top form netting up to 14 rudd a minute to build a decent weight and take victory, He did it in such good form too, there were literally thousands of the silver blades in his net. 
Chris Clark and Chris Smith were putting plenty in the net too, again armed with plenty of maggots they were unstoppable. I was a bit upset to hear that the solhampton lads were ill prepared for the silvers and failed to bring maggots in their armoury this was due to someone forgetting to mention that carp only counted as a pound. I did tell Burgess twice but he has been so busy it slipped his mind.
Having said that they just got on with the job, guess that I will make a point of telling all next time to save this happening again.

1st...............Allan Foster...............spit 21.................47lb 03oz
2nd..............Chris Clarke..............spit 16.................34lb 08oz
3rd...............Chris Smith...............spit 15.................32lb 10oz

It has been quite peggy of late on here but the morning saw a good blow on the water which put a bit of colour in to it.  Maybe this was just what it needed, but I suspected the usual pegs to produce, they seem to have settled in a few areas. 
The draw was a little late because some of the lads couldn't get breakfasts in the digs early enough but it finally got off and the on fire peg 21 was the first peg to come out.  Matt Stanhope drew this flier and he got some stick putting pressure on him to do well, another good peg, 20 was drawn by Chris Smith but Steve Pretty was sitting well in it on peg 10 on the road side.
I drew peg 26, not good by any standards but it occasionally throws a weight up, I wouldn't want to be any further round than 24 on that bank.  I started off on the usual tactics pole at 13m with a back up line of 6m for later. It didn't take me long to realise that it was not going to happen in my peg today, I just have the knack of reading the place now.  I could see Steve Pretty catching on peg 10 but Matt was struggling early on but he was messing about on the method feeder, he was going over the fish as they tend to be close in there.  It was a while before he realised and dropped on the pole to start catching immediately, could he have made a big blunder with the time wasted on the method?  One thing for sure they just were not in my peg, I tried pellet wag, method and every conceivable method and bait without success.  With 2 hours remaining I had 5 stockies in my net and at the end I managed a couple more and 3 average sized lumps while loosing 3 proper crocodiles. 
It just wasn't my festival but hey that's fishing for you, you need that luck in the bag as well as skills at fishing.
The matches were run on a section points basis and it was looking pretty good for a few and would be a pretty tight result.  The prize money was quite good too, and it was boosted by Steve Leggate the owner who gave us back £40 from the pegging money towards the overall prize fund. I just added this as an extra prize which would be welcomed by anyone finishing 4th.

At the end of the festival there were a few with grins, a few with frowns but plenty with sore heads from the boozing and living it up. They are all a good set of lads and I enjoyed their company and look forward to next years event.
Unfortunately Tony Brown was taken ill on his way home and was taken to hospital, Tony has a heart condition and it was worrying to hear the bad news. 
I just hope that everything is fine and he is back to full health soon, I am sure all the other lads would be sending the same message. Get well soon mate, your a gem.

1st....................Steve Pretty...................................................peg 10..................74lb 12oz
2nd...................Matt (never coming here again) Stanhope.........peg 21...................69lb 10oz
3rd....................Chris Smith...................................................peg 20...................64lb 15oz

OVERALL POSITIONS

1st on 2 points with an overall weight of 83lb 01oz.............Chris Clarke
2nd on 2 points with an overall weight of 79lb 08oz............Carl Sweatnam
3rd on 3 points with an overall weight of 94lb 09oz.............Steve Pretty
4th on 3 points with an overall weight of 66lb 08oz.............Shaun Moss

The previous match was pretty much a success on here so we decided to have another go. This time the lake was overfull we had to make a couple of pegs and put in the ones we normally would not.  We knew some pegs would hold plenty of carp so again we made it silvers only but this time carp would count as a pound only just to make it fair. 
The match kicked off well with plenty of fish being caught early on, I had a couple of the big skimmers on pellet and was crossing my fingers they would return.  About half way through the match it all of a sudden just died a death and no one was getting bites at all.  I put this down to a rise in air pressure, that usually causes this kind of thing.  It was just the odd fish for the rest of the match, I even went for carp in the last hour just to get a few bites, I nailed 5 that would have gone 30lb plus for a steady 5lb but as it happened I didn't need them.

1st................Steve Gregory...........peg11.................29lb 14oz
2nd...............Steve Pretty..............peg 12................21lb 06oz
3rd................Allan Foster..............peg 7..................20lb 04oz
4th................Chris Smith..............peg 3..................16lb 05oz
5th................Andy Gaunt..............peg 2..................15lb
6th................Shane Spafford.........peg 8...................13lb 04oz

We decided to have a match on this lake just for a change from carp albeit there are plenty in here but silvers were the target today.  It seemed like a long time since I fished for silvers but I was as eager as ever to get going and hopefully have a good days fishing.  We drew out and Steve Pretty drew the point that everyone wanted, so much water to go at there and endless opportunities.  As we got under way it was apparent that we were going to have a few fish, they were having a good chomp even though they were small a bite a chuck.  I started off shallow with maggot while feeding a long line with pellet for the skimmers.  After a good hour catching shallow they backed off a bit so I had a drop on my long line, immediate response and a pound and half skimmer in the net. This was closely followed by a couple more before I went back to the shallow rig.  By this time the wind had stopped completely and the sun was beaming down, not ideal conditions at all.  I heard Steve Pretty moaning that he had hooked a carp and it was taking him all over on the light gear.  He managed to land it and boosted his weight with a carp that turned out to be 5lb 14oz.  The fishing was very good even though the conditions were against us and at the end of the match I was pleased with my result considering.  It actually turned out that Steve's carp won him the match, without that we would have been on identical weights.
1st..........Steve Pretty..........39lb 13oz
2nd.........Steve Gregory........33lb 15oz
3rd..........Shane Spafford......29lb 07oz
4th..........Alan Treadwell.......22lb 01oz
5th..........Alan .....................17lb 09oz
6th..........Shaun Moss..........17lb 03oz

It was the first time I had ever seen this place, I had been told it was quite good by a few friends and as I got an invite to fish the match it would be rude not too.  The standard of angler fishing was very good and just 2 youngsters tagging along, well it didn't turn out that way.  Young Ted Wheeler grabbed a lift to the venue from the cafe with me and I told him how I would approach it from the little info I had.  I told him to stick to the top 2 in front and down the margins with pellet/paste and go for it.  This he did in style and was duly battering the adults both sides, in fact he was giving Andy Bradshaw some verbal as well as a battering.  He really shone throughout the match playing the fish very confidently and fully in control the whole time. 
I was starting to get a bit worried too, it looked as if he was going to win outright at one point.  I can't tell you just how well the little guy fished, he is only 11 years old and my youngest sponsored angler. 
I on the other hand was having a mare, I fished to the island because it was solid with carp backs out of the water and all that.  Unfortunately they were not in a feeding mood and all I could do was foul hook them with the odd mouth hooked fish.  I decided to leave them alone after a good spell loosing foul hookers one after another, it's not fair to the fish.  I then went to the margin swim and weeded out a few more before the end and biting my nails hoping Ted hadn't beat me, that would have been in the national newspapers trust me.

A summary of the fishery, fantastic venue with quality fish that are hard fighting and well looked after, the experience was great and I will definately be returning here.

1st..........Steve Gregory..........peg 3...........89lb 11oz
2nd.........John Dawson...........peg 1...........80lb 11oz
3rd..........Ted Wheeler............peg 8...........79lb 02oz
4th..........Chris Bray..............peg 15..........77lb 01oz
5th..........Ady Hogg...............peg 17..........68lb
6th..........Dean Atkin.............peg 21..........65lb 02oz

I was certain I knew where the winner would come from today, I was so confident I stuck my head out yesterday and said either 21 or 22 peg.  There has been lots of fish in the area for ages and when Shaun drew it today I said "you will win it" and he didn't let me down.
I drew peg 1, that is awesome when the fish are in that bay but kiss of death if they are not.  Just my luck, they were not there today and all I could do was watch as others all around the lake caught steadily.. I can't complain, I have had more than my fair share of winning on here and it was won by my travelling partner which was a bonus. 
With the tickets being £30 each it had a mixed reaction but even though 5 didn't turn up for different reasons we still had 21 fishing.  I was paying just top 3 and the payout would be £250, £175 and £100, not a bad pick up really.  The weather was hit and miss but the rain mainly held off most of the day just leaving the usual wind that always blows its head off there.
I was hoping for a late run to get me out of jail but it never happened, but that's just fishing for you and with a telescoped number 4 section I am glad in a way the lumps didn't turn up.
The weigh in was awaited with eagerness by the anglers and onlookers and went as follows.
1st.......Shaun Moss...........................peg 21........93lb 12oz
2nd......Brian Baxter............................peg 5..........73lb 07oz
3rd.......Matt (never again) Stanhope.....peg 9..........56lb 04oz
4th......Chris Smith..............................peg 31........54lb 05oz
5th......Carl Williams............................peg 30.........53lb 07oz
6th......Big Pat....................................peg 24........49lb 10oz

The rain was predicted and it didn't let us down, it poured down most of the day making the fishing difficult to say the least. I like this lake as it seems more even than A,J's and not as peggy. At the draw I was hoping for an end peg but had to settle for peg 10, never mind at least it was only 13m to the island so that was a bonus.  I started off tight across in 10 inches of water with 6mm hook pellet over 4mm feed pellets hoping that this would be the only line I would need to fish. As it happened it only lasted a short while before it dried up, I had taken about a dozen carp but generally small stuff but had a lovely golden grass carp.  I tried the small lilly pad to my left fishing it shallow and on the deck where I managed a few more fish before that too dried up..
I had been feeding the inside to my right, the left was a no no due to the pads and I just didn't bother with it.  I took a couple of better stamp fish from the right margin before trying across again, this resulted in a foul hooked fish that I had to try and stop ploughing through a lilly pad. Ooops ! there goes another number 4 section, I had knocked it on the box leg earlier just after I had the pole blown off and put a crack in another section. Well the number 4 must have sustained some damage and gave up in style, BUT I got the top kit back and fish and all.
I started to get more signs from the right hand margin so stuck with it seeing as the fish were bigger, I had some fish on 4 red maggots and some on pellet but I was watching Dave Sweeting catching well and thought he had pissed it.
At the all out Dave weighed in 74lb off peg 1 and thought he had enough but I just managed to push him out and was only really challenged by Allan Foster from peg 24. Allan had a fantastic net of silvers, he deserved to win with these but he had to settle for 2nd and another shiny gold coin coming my way.
1st   Steve Gregory............peg 10................89lb 08oz
2nd  Allan Foster...............peg 24................81lb 04oz
3rd  Dave Sweeting............peg 1.................74lb
4th  Shaun Moss...............peg 12................49lb 12oz
5th  John Bridges..............peg 20................48lb 06oz
6th  Alan Kitson................peg 2..................46lb 10oz

4th July
The sun was enough to make it a warm sweaty match for the latest fen lake league. It is still not fishing to it's potential but surely it must get back to normal soon. I drew peg 5, it used to be a flier but it seems to have blown out over the last few months and peg 15 now seems to be the peg in form.  I had to sit and watch hundreds of carp swirling in 10 inches of water for most of the match, they just were not interested at all. Well not until the last 2 hours when I started to get a few bites. This got me out of jail as I managed to net 112lb in a short space of time.

To say the fishing was patchy was an understatement, it was all down to the draw and went exactly as we thought, hard.
On the first day we we were on Herons Mead, some good fish in there but we had been told you needed just a a hand full of pegs and the rest would struggle. This was the case and saw me sat at the top of the lake on peg 16 that no one wanted, pegs 1, 23 and 22 were the place to be.
Zak drew peg 1 and the pressure was on, but Allan Foster drew peg 22 where the big lilly pad was and he was set to upset the apple cart.
Day 2 saw Mill Road fish extremely hard, I had lots of fish in my peg (13) but they refused to feed and all I could do was foul hook and loose them 30 in total.
Day 3 was the hardest on Hill View match lake, everyone struggled and it was a battle of patience to see who would stick it out to the end, Dave Sweeting caught the best but he could reach the island with the pole on peg 22.