First Fisho Of The Year!
My first Fishomania qualifier of the year yesterday and was up early to make the 100-mile trip to Weston Pools. I was really looking forward to this one as the fishing is so good over there. I drew peg 17 on Jack’s which is a good peg on a lovely lake, but realistically only an outside chance of qualifying if it was a low-weight day. It’s heaving with quality silvers, however, so always a good day’s sport on the cards.
My peg’s also noted for barbel, so I was praying I’d get amongst them. Sadly I never saw a single barbel all day! They chose not to feed as even Adam Richards on the aerator wasn’t catching them. Apparently there’s also a big lily bed in my peg, but that’s clearly not sprung up yet either!
I ended up having a fantastic day catching 86lb to win the lake and get the section prize. Half my weight was quality silvers; mostly big dog roach, a few chub, hybrids, skimmers, two ide and two gudgeon, fishing maggots short and casters long. The rest of the catch was over a dozen F1s and two nice carp. I managed to mug eight or nine of them with a 16m long-line rig flicked towards the willows, plus a couple short and two small F1s down the side. It was sadly too clear and too early in the year to plunder the margins like I hoped. Makes a really nice change seeing so many quality species all in one lake and they look stunning in the clear water.
Well done Warren Jennings who blitzed the match with over 150lb from Canal. 90lb was needed to frame, so I wasn’t too far off the chasing pack. It was nice to get a bit of petrol money back and I really wish the venue was nearer as the sport is brilliant.
My 2022 farmer’s tan has already started, too!