This coming Sunday see's the start of my clubs winter series matches.
Being a bit (alright alot) out of practice I thought I better have an afternoons fishing at the same time as the match will be, I have also found a supplier of 4mm ringer expander pellets and just had to try them.

Arrived at the water at 2.30pm, 4 pleasure anglers all in noted pegs had managed 5 tench and a bream between them since 9am, two blokes fishing a singles knockout match ended up with 7lb and 6lb of mainly small perch.
Great, top notch match practice conditions!!!!!!

I then picked a peg that I had never heard of ever winning a match.
Set up the 11m pole, a top three with 7 elastic to a duel bung with 4 elastic, very small pole float taking 4 x no8 and 2x no 9 shot, 3.1 main line (0.12) 2lb hooklength (0.9) and a size 16 mustad longpoint barbless maggot.

At about 2.50pm I cupped in a mix of 4mm hard pellets that I had soaked, a few 6mm and 4mm ringer expander pellets and a handfull of red maggot.
The first bite came at 3pm, a small perch to double red maggot.
This was followed by about 10 rudd.
At about 3.30 I put on a 4mm hook pellet.
BANG, TWANG, DAMN
Something took it, took out most of my elastic, then pulled free, aleast I got the whole rig back!
During the next hour I landed a 6lb bream and three at about 5lb + a shed load of small rudd roch and perch.
At 4.30 the wife rang to remind me that we were going to a bbq at 5pm!!!!!!!! Time to pack up.

Now, between 23 to 25lb of fish in an hour and forty minutes fishing on a hard day is a good session and I was very pleased.
The rig and presentation worked a treat, the match winning bream love the hard 4mm pellet mix and the new 4mm hook pellets (I have had very good results using the 6mm while pleasure fishing but feel they may be too big during the hardest part of the day).
A nice confidence boost indeed.

I just hope the fish respond on the day as they can be very cadgey on match days due to 30 odd anglers pinging bait in at once.
Its about time that I framed again, last year I drew reg hot pegs twice in a row and completley mucked up everything I tried.

[ 01. September 2004, 04:57 PM: Message edited by: RUDD ]

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Always fun to catch some fish and a confidence booster can't hurt.

Give them (other anglers) hell when the matches start.

Hi mate, ringers are a top pellet but try fishing it over a couple of balls of swimstim groundbait and I promise you will catch more bream, try feeding 3mm pellet as loose feed and away you go.
Used pellet paste the other day after scalding 3mm green swimstim pellets and making a paste and had 60lb of bream in 3 hours on a hard water. Believe me bream love swimstim and without too much of a scrap add a lot of weight in a match.
Gary

Swimstim 3mm pellets are in my pellet mix along with streker coarse fish 4mm(used at fish farms), 2mm high betain, 2mm fishmeal, 4mm fishmeal, 4mm vde carp, 4mm vde carp strawberry, csl pellets, and micro pellets.
As there are so many attractants in that lot it has never let me down.

I will see if the local tackle shop has any swimstim groundbait.
Trouble is the venue does not usually respond very well to broundbait except in the winter when you need a bit of colour to get anything feeding.

Nice going Rudd .......... but should you be revealing how you did so well PRIOR to your match ???!

To tell you the truth, I was happy to catch some fish, I was even happier to be fishing.

The reason I fish the winter series is that as the nights draw in, evening sessions get shorter until they are non existant. I do fish in the dark but do not enjoy it as I cannot see anything!
Due to family commitments I cannot have a nice day session at the weekend. If I do get out at the weekend is is only for a few hours.
The missus does not mind me fishing the occasional match.
On a matchday (normally a Sunday) I leave the house at 7.30am, get to Nacton between 7.45 - 8am and have a bit of a social until 8.30 when the draw is made.
I then have until 10am to set up and more chat to anglers in my area.
The match kicks off at 10am until 3pm.
Five hours of pure angling (unless I draw a netsman peg when any carp, barbel or fish over 4lb have to be weighed and released).
Packing up and weighting takes about half an hour.
Then its back to the car park for the results / payout. By now its 4pm, I get home at 4.30pm
Put gear away, have shower then up the road to the inlaws for Sunday roast at 5pm.

Its just nice to get out of the house for a whole day and be able to talk to club members and fish for five hours.
I like to do as well as I can during the match but I get more enjoyment out of being there and taking part than framing.
If I do frame I consider it a bonus.
My only aims during a match are not to blank or come last!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have caught a whole years worth in one go.