Sean Anderson

This would have been funnier still if you'd both been at spots where you couldn't quite see each other ... and some decent strength line on ... good ol' tug-o-war match.

I'm not tying the loop at (main line) the end, that's how they come. Perhaps someone has used these types of rig with a method feeder.... With the bigger rigs, it's less of a problem as they have the attached swivel.

Another question in regards the use of feeders. When using an inline feeder, what methods do you use to set the space between the feeder and the hook? The image examples (see below) that I have seen on the net all show hair rigs that have a swivel on them. The hair rigs that I have and use, don't have a swivel on them, the end carries a simple loop. http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=gx5O6Pgi

Thanks for the replies. Thankfully, I am sure that I would be in everyone's good books as I typically use a free-sliding method feeder on 12lb line, connected to a hair rig that's 7lb line (always lighter than the main line) ... in theory, the hair rig would be what snaps and the swivel saves my feeder leaving the fish with only the hook (not good, but better than a weight as well) and in the even that for some reason the hair rig survive and my main line should snap, the fish gets the same, plus a little more line (depending on where it snaps) and I lose a feeder to the murky depths. Much to my releif, I am yet to see any signs of a fish dragging a weight around, but I have seen a duck with it! Luckily for the duck we managed to capture it (it was a limited to it's movement by the line) and though obviously stressed out we remove the hook, the weight and a great deal of line before carefully releasing the bird.

I've just spotted a venue that I wouldn't mind trying, but their "house rules" have raised a question for me. "No bolt rigs and method feeders" First, correct me if I am wrong ... a bolt feeder is just an in-line ledger weight, right? Would we assume by the rule, that it would be okay to use a swim feeder or a standard ledgger? I was wondering why it didn't just say "no ledgering", but I assume that they're aiming to ban the use of "in-line" methods and therefore the use of any rigs that are considered "death rigs" ... Any thoughts to this, would be appreciated.

Ouch! That's gotta make you think, the next time your ledger's hooked up a tree!

If you're reel disappears into the murky depths and you have to retrieve it by pulling in 100+ yards of line, that's go to be one serious "please let there be a knot" moments to save you from the disappointment of pulling in a 'loose end'. I can see why you'd consider jumping in ... but I wouldn't fancy fumbling around in the silt at the bottom of 10' deep canal bank ... let alone some places where I've fished where the depths are a lot, lot more, even at the bank. We have a lot of old gravel pits here and they're damn deep. Luckily the most common place where I go is no more than 12-18" at bankside ... otherwise, I'd be buying new snips every week. Always dropping them and no matter where they land, they seem to bounce into the water. I keep thinking that I must get a clip and some string so that I can attach them to my tackle box. I do have one reel with quite a shallow spool and have thought that some of the carp are going to rip all of the line from the reel ... fortunately, the line is becoming too twisted to use and will be replaced this week.

Obviously, the finer the line, the easier it is to tie it on to the spool for which I use an 'Arbor Knot' (link below) With heavier line, I find that the knot slips round the spool and I spend ages getting nowhere, fast. When this happens I usually put a little sticky over the top of the line just to stop the slippage. Of course, I only usually find this happens when I am on the bank and don't have any tape with me ... the last resort becomes to cut a bit off a price label from something in my box (or from the muchies I've taken for the day) and that seems to do the trick nicely. Wouldn't it be nice if the manufacturers put something in the middle of the spool for you to clip your line to ... ideally one of those little holes like they have on a mobile phone so that you can thread it through and tie a knot. How to tie an "Arbor Knot" (animated)

Thanks for the reply and all the information. Being new to the idea of a match it all helps and has (along with the other comments) given me a good heads up on where I should start ... and I can't wait to have a crack. I don't expect to win straight off, in fact I don't really expect to win for some time ... I'm not that arrogant. Interesting to read about the tactics that the experienced anglers may adopt, as I hadn't considered that at all. When I get myself in and have the first go, I'll be sure to post my thoughts back on here. Maybe others will be interested to know how the "new boy" gets on.

I've not been yet, but am very tempted. The following image shows which lakes are which. The four which are open to day tickets on the bank would be Mallard, Coot, Swan and the Car Park lakes. "Elson" is the one where you have to book in advance. Roman is off-limits as that's the syndicate lake.

Many thanks for the comments so far. I will indeed speak with the bailiff when she comes round next as first port of call then I guess to the club secretary and see what goes from there. Does anynoe know what sort of entry fee/prize situation is likely to be? ... I presume it's not all about the "ego" at the end of the day.

I have a few questions about match fishing. What's the best way to enter, I presume speaking to the bailiff? I've never seen matches advertised, other than the sign on the gate to inform anglers when the lake is reserved. Do they typically have an entrance fee and how much it's likely to be? Do they have a prize/trophy? Am I likely to face any "equipment" issues? I see that most match anglers use poles and have more stuff than my local tackle shop. Do they limit on techniques, etc? Again, I've only seen them on poles ... I presume that any style within the rules of the club/venue are okay for a match. Would they usually limit to one rod, or two? I know that I would need to get two keepnets (upto 2lb and over 2lb) for the place that I am thinking of. I don't have keepnets, we just catch/release keeping count/weight as we go along ... for a little friendly fun. I've seen these guys turn out with a "van load" of gear ... which is going to make me look like a complete rank amateur, but at the location where I frequent, I think that I have a good understanding of the water. When there has been a small match (~8 pegs), I've fished the other end of the lake and heard them announcing weights at the end ... somewhere around 75-100lb for the winner and I would be quite confident that in the same time span, fishing the way that I do (hence the question about equipment and methods) I could haul a catch of a similar weight. Also, if there's any matchmen amongst you ... I wonder if would it be typical to target for quantity or weight. I could catch skimmers (roach/bream to 2lb) all day and build a weight steadily or target the bigger fish (8lb+ carp), which are going to take longer to catch and then the time to land? Any help appreciated.

I find that somewhat suprising ... I know that if a location carried carp, they'd be on top of my list of what to target. I wonder what else is in the lake that the club fishermen were aiming for. In what area is this place? I ask, as we do travel around for a little variety and are always on the lookout for goo dplaces to try.

I think that the one you are referring to is different ... you mean the one by the big fly-over, where they waterski in the summer? That's definitely Ransom Road Gravel Pit and I've never fished it. Between that and the roundabout (on the left, if you leave the A45 towards town) is a section of the river that's nicknamed the Dead Arm (it's literally a dead end) which is usually swamped with lillies, as you'll see from the Google map - has a good reputation for pike fishing. Anyway, I digress ... to get to Cresent Lake you would get off the A45 at the fly-over and turn out towards Bedford and it hides behind the industrial estate. Based on what I have heard, the "town" fishing in Northampton is suffering from fish-theft, by in the influx of Eastern Europeans, which could explain the lack of action in Cresent Lake. As you will have seen from my other post, we tend to head a little way out of town for some decent fishing. Stanwick seems a logical location and we quite often go to a place out near Daventry, off the A5.

Stanwick Lakes Website Two rod ticket prices are £6 for the day and £12 for 24 hours. Concessionary tickets are £3.50 and £7.00 respectively. Add an extra £1 for another rod. They have a carp specimen lake called "Elson's Lake" which is £10 per day and £15 for 24hrs and needs to be pre-booked as there are only 12 pegs available. Reading the site it all sounds really good (a 100 pegs across the five available lakes; one lake is syndicate only), but you can't always believe everything that you read, can you. Just been reading the forum off their website and there are some pretty reasonable counts of fish and some decent weight carp in there ... nearing 40lb in some cases. As a fellow Northamptonian, where do you normally fish?