First Open Match

[northern eye]

Fished my first open match on Sunday. It was an enjoyable day and all the methods and tactics I have been working on over the past few months could finally be put to the test in a proper match situation. About 30 attended and a few of the 'big boys' were there because nearby Woodlands had no open matches on. I drew a bit of a bad peg, an area of the lake I have never fished before and it was like a bird cage so any casting was going to be difficult. Opted for simple tactics. Maggots, dead maggots and casters for the pole rigs and banded pellet for the feeder rig. I fed 4 pole swims - two down the middle, one margin and one at 11 metres. The feeder would be reserved for casting to the island. Had a slow start whilst the guy next to me was pulling them out from the rat holes but, lack of a 16 metre pole meant I had to stick it out in my chosen swims although I did switch to feeder and cast as close to the island as possible but had no joy. After the first hour my pole swims came alive I started pulling in lovely big roach and ide and some large skimmers. This continued for the next two hours, not a fish a chuck but steady bites and all fish were landed, neatly. The mid-match reports around the lake were that carp were showing at the top end, where I usually fish. Anyway, in the last hour, everything died. Not a fish in sight and I tried everything, even starting off a couple of new swims but to no avail. At the final whistle I knew I had not placed but it was a brilliant day, and a real buzz. Four hours of constant fishing is quite intense as you cant take your eye of the ball at all so I sat back, had an enjoyable smoke and waited for the weigh-in. Scales tipped just over 10 pounds so was pleased with that for a bag of silvers on a hard day. Winning weight was 28 pounds and the top places were the lucky few who got the carp in their nets. Really looking forward to the next match now and hopefully a better peg might bring results.

[BoldBear]

Made the best out of a bad peg but still weighed in a very respectable weight.
Well done.

[northern eye]

Thanks Keith. I've been planning on entering a match for a while now and saw the notice in the tackle shop on Saturday. Was going to that venue on Sunday anyway so thought, why not enter the open and see what happens. It was a great day, all the lads were good crack and the weight was OK. Going to enter a few more now and after a bit more practice maybe enter a bigger match at Woodlands or The Oaks and see how I get on.