Rolfslake Wednesday Open Match 4th January 2012.

 

Firstly may I wish all our visitors a Happy New Year and a big thank you to Simon and John for keeping all our visitors up to date with all the results and news down the lake.

As I drove down to the lake it was a glorious day with bright sunshine and no wind and by the time I arrived 20 minutes later it was cold ,it was windy and I was greeted with my usual Rolfslake banter so at least the year started as the last one ended. Today it was decided to have a walk off and with John having the first choice he claimed peg 19 in the big lake as it had the wind to his back making it a little bit more comfortable. Second was John Draper who chose peg 9 , Graham then chose peg 16 and Neil was on form peg 24. When my turn came I chose peg 3 in the small lake only to be told i had to fish the big lake as John had missed me so much he wanted to keep an eye on me and keep me in shouting range but I was unhappy with the late rule change, the other two anglers had chosen pegs 14 and 26 so we were set for a cold 5 hours.

The big news in today’s match happened in the third hour as the skies turned black and Graham on peg 16 went off to get his umbrella and on returning put it up and left his box to stake the brolly down only for a gust of wind to blow the umbrella into the lake together with his box which was attached, he was definitely not happy { unlucky Graham } but a lesson for us all.

Today winner John Draper.

 

In first place today was John Draper who was fishing end peg 9 just in the junction between the big and small lake, and John fished to the end of the bush to his right at a range of 10 metres. John fished on the deck using corn hook bait and was rewarded with fish to double figures although he managed to lose a few big carp as well  but after five hours returned a weight of 72-04 for a win and also take Mick Jones king of the lake which lasted for only 3 days { unlucky Mick }.

Second place Neil Riddy.

 

In second place was Neil Riddy who fished the tip today at about midway across the lake using popped up marshmallow at a depth of one inch to two feet and was into a fish after 10 minute but found it difficult to line up the fish and again like Dave managed to lose a couple but ended up with 4 carp for 33-00 and only four ounces ahead of John Bennett who ended up third with 32-12 for third place.

Just a couple of small Perch from peg 13.

 

After being forced to fish the big lake I chose peg 13 on the motorway bank, and god I have never felt so cold being in the shade with the strong wind swirling and making fishing the long line near impossible as it kept gusting one way then the other.

After about half an hour I decided I had enough of struggling with the long pole so decided to go after Mick Jones top silver weight this year of 17-00 and though I would fish maggots on my 3 metre whip to keep me busy { wrong decision }. My first bite was a roach of 4 ounces and I thought great this should be easy, but my next bite the float slipped away and when I struck it all went solid and a carp was on and after a couple of minutes the hook pulled and I was cursing to myself. Next bite was rewarded with another roach and then the float sailed away again and I struck and what surfaced was a perch of 3 and a half pound and being on the whip I could not get it under control and it broke me. The remainder of the match saw me catch perch and roach but not fast enough and I ended up catching 15-00 of perch and Mick’s top silver weight was safe until the weekend.

After only 4 days of the new year I have already fallen a point behind in my 2012 battle with John Bennett.

JOHN 1

EDDIE 0

Results

     Pos Name Peg Weight
1 John Draper 9 72-4
2 Neil Riddy 24 33-0
3 John Bennett 19 32-12
4 Barry Crawley 26 23-0
5 Eddie Taylor-Green 13 15-0(Silvers)

8 Anglers Fished

Thanks for reading Simon, John and Eddie.

Rolfslake Wednesday Open 7th December 2011

 

 

 

Another hard day down the lake, with cold temperatures and a gusty wind making it uncomfortable and a long five hours.

Firstly i would like to say a really big thanks to my web partner Simon for doing the majority of the web reports whilst i have been working around the country from Tonbridge to Newcastle and many places in between with very little free time and definitley no fishing time, so thanks buddy for your hard work keeping the regulars up to date.

John tells me that there were a few bites to be had and missed with a few big carp still making an appearance with todays winner Kev Doulton having two fish for 33lb and Mark on peg on peg 26 having one of 19-08 so the big fish are still happy to have a feed. Most of todays fish were caught on the pole and a couple on the tip although there were a few fish topping and giving liners but patience was the key.

 

Results.

Place Angler Peg Weight  
1st Kev Doulton 16 52-08 Rolfslake
2nd John Bennett 24 36-08 Rolfslake
3rd Mark 26 32-00 Rolfslake
4th Graham Ridgley 28 19-08 Rolfslake
5th Paul Jay 22 DNW Rolfslake

 

John would like me to remind you that there are two opens this weekend Saturday and Sunday if you fancy catching a carp or two.

Thanks for reading Simon, Eddie and John.

Rolfslake Wednesday Open 26th October 2011.

 

Another tough day down the lake.

Today match was a low attended match, and the 8 anglers were hoping for a better time than had been had recently as the fish at Rolfslake were not playing ball.

The story of the day was all the anglers were fishing the big lake and struggling whilst the pleasure angler in the small lake was happily bagging away. There was a tie for first place between Mick Chappel and Paul Jay both with 54-12 from pegs 9 and 16 with Mick catching 6 carp to Paul’s 5 so the fishing was far from frantic. For the rest it was a big struggle with a few opting to catch silvers to relieve the boredom { i wish i had }.

From Sunday open there will be a seperate silver fish pool to keep all the anglers busy so with all the silvers still feeding this should be interesting .

Results.

Place Angler Peg Weight  
1st Mick Chappel 9 54-12 Rolfslake
1st Paul Jay 16 54-12 Rolfslake
3rd John Draper 14 37-04 Rolfslake
4th Micheal Corsini 26 27-04 Rolfslake
5th John Bennett 18 16-00 Rolfslake
6th Eddie Taylor-Green 11 15-04 Rolfslake/ Walker Floats
7th Graham Ridgley 24 DNW  
8th Dan 13 DNW  

HMS Bennett sinks the Pirate on his return to the lake.

After being away from the lake for the last three weeks i had forgot how changable the lake has been and with a really tough match for me and John i was more than gutted to lose three carp early in the match as it got really tough for me in the last hour with only 1 carp caught and saving me my first blank ever down at Rolfs. However John also struggled but a switch to catching silvers proved decisive as he beat me with 2 carp and 10 silvers for 16-00 against my 1 carp for 15-04 so i fell another point behind with time running out fast.

The score now stands at

 

JOHN 9.5

 

EDDIE 7.5

John has asked me to remind everyone of the two weekend opens this Saturday and Sunday.

The Saturday open has a 10.30 draw fish 11.30 till 4.30.

The Sunday   open has a 9.30 draw fish 10.30 till 3.30.

Also to all our readers dont forget the clocks change this Saturday evening.

 

On a final note i would like to say congratulations to my web partner Simon and his girlfriend Gemma who have finally got engaged after meeting on a fishing down at Rolfslake some 4 years ago.

 

Simon and Gemma.

 

Until our next report thanks for reading Simon, John and Rolf.

Rolfslake update

Hot weather update. 

After spending the last week in a cold warehouse with no sight of the sun as it had no windows i was more than disapointed to hear the same problem we have been hearing all year of big fish of over 10lb being retained in keepnets during the last weekday match, which is not only breaking the rules but in my eyes is pure lazy and not ALLOWED.

It is the responsibility of the match organiser to ensure they apply the rules correctly and to safeguard the welfare of the fish which is number one priority. It is only the lake owners John and Pauline who can change any of these rules as they own the lake and fish and through hundreds of phone calls i have made to John over the years he has never once let any of his fish be in any danger through the careless actions of the anglers down the lake.

Below are a few examples of the beautiful fish that the anglers have enjoyed catching many times over and as you can see these fish range from 12lb {the size of fish being retained in nets the last week } upto to 22lb and they are too big to turn around in the nets so stay one way for hours if allowed which they are not.

It is everyones responsibilty who fishes ROLFSLAKE to ensure that fairplay in matches prevail and that the rules are abided.

Anyone who knows me and Simon will know that we will enforce the rules correctly and will not hesitate to single out anglers if this practise does not cease.

If breaking of the rules does not end then i will not be reporting results where this occurs as i feel very passionate on this subject and with the hot weather due to continue this month the fish will be harmed by this practise.

As a reminder of the main rules.

No more than 100lb of fish to be retained in any one net.

The maximum size of fish in nets has be raised to 10lb and this does not mean 10-12 and only 1 fish is allowed within ounces and a second will result in the weight being disqualified.

To match organisers the maximum amount of weight of fish in the weigh sling is 40lb not the 52lb that was tried three weeks ago.

After that there are not many other rules that harm the fish.

I hope our near 70,000 visitors to the site will forgive my rant but i will not cease in my Simons, John and Pauline and all the responsible anglers down the lake’s quest for fish welfare and fair play.

Thanks for reading Eddie.

Rolfslake final night match of the year 23rd September 2011.

 

The end of the night matches make for hard work for the anglers down on the lake.

Now firstly i would like to start off by thanking John and Pauline for allowing the anglers to fish these night matches as not only are they unique but also costly to run the lights and prepare the barbeque and they do this for the benefit of all the anglers.

Rolfslake owners John and Pauline

This is the 7th night match of the year and all the anglers have had a really good time down the lake catching alot of fish and also providing Jon Walker with the lake king on match 5, so it was no surprise to see the last night match of the year well attended.

The weather started warm and sunny turning cold as the evening went on and this affected the fishing as the weights on this match were much lower than normal. Most of the anglers except for match winner Chris Lovelock on peg 30 struggled for bites and a few of the anglers even went home early as it is hard to stay focused when it was getting cold. The story of the match was winner Chris Lovelock was fishing peg 30 by the hut and managed to line a few carp up with fish to double figures in his final weight of 104-08 for the only ton weight of the night { well done Chris}.

In second place was Gary Kelsey in the little lake on peg 34 and Gary managed to catch a few fish fishing out and down the edge as it was very difficult to see from where i was but he only ended up 1 fish off first place with his hard earned weight of 93-08. Completing the frame were Nick Williams on peg 2 next to me and Dave Howe on peg 5 who both ended up on 71-08.

I am sorry the report is brief but it was very difficult to see what was happening down the bottom end of the small lake in the dark and whenever i looked up i had the 1000 watt light beaming in my eyes which was like looking into the sun.

2o anglers fished.

Place Angler Peg Weight  
1st Chris Lovelock 30 104-08 Rolfslake
2nd Gary Kelsey 34 93-08 Rolfslake
3rd Nick Williams 2 71-08 Jinx League
3rd Dave Howe 5 71-08 Browning Crowsports
5th Neil Riddy 28 64-00 Jinx League
6th Sue Kelsey 32 63-00 Rolfslake
7th Simon Mound 14 62-12 Jinx League
8th Dai Thomas 13 62-00 Jinx League
9th Richard Doolan 8 60-00 Rolfslake
10th Dave Moore 4 57-04 Jinx League
11th Mick Chappell 10 45-00 Rolfslake
12th Eddie Taylor-Green 40 41-00 Rolfslake/ Walker Floats
12th John Bennett 16 41-00 Rolfslake Cartel
14th Marcus Burgess 38 20-00 Jinx League
15th Justin Watkins 18 19-04 Browning Crowsports
16th Paul Jay 7 12-00 Rolfslake Cartel
17th John Hague 26 11-00 Smithys

The Pirate and John share the honors in this night match.

 

As for me and John it ended with our first ever draw, with John on form peg 16 and me on dark peg 40 { one of the two pegs with no lights available }. For John it was a struggle as he could not get many fish to feed down the bush which is normally a dead cert and after trying a line out in front managed to get a few bites and after 3 hours had his first fish and after 5 hours managed to catch 3 others for his total of 41-00.

For me it was a different problem as just as the match was due to start the strap on my head torch broke and my spare was left at home on the kitchen table not very good i thought. For the rest of the match i had to hold the torch in my hand which totally messed my long fishing plan as i could not hold the long pole and the torch at the same time. After an hour i had my first fish on but playing it in the dark as i could not hold the pole torch and landing net so it managed to break me and with very few bites i was struggling but a run of three big fish in the third hour kept me interested but for the last two hours i managed to miss a few bites and lost a fish at the whistle so ended with the same as John for our first ever draw.

The score between us now stands at.

John 8.5

 

 

 

Eddie 7.5

 

With my work load now very busy between now and Christmas i expect to only be able to fish a few more times so i will have to win all the matches to win our series which has been very close all year but fished in the right fun competitive way with all the banter two people could ever take.

Until ou next report thanks for reading Simon ,Eddie and John.

 

Help for heroes charity teams of three match 17th September 2011.

 

 

Simon will post a report when he gets back.

 

 

30 Fished.

Place Angler Peg Weight
1st Neil Riddy 16 196-00
2nd Matt Wilson 35 91-08
3rd Simon Mound 28 83-08
4th Steve Granger 15 66-08
5th Colin Rayford 6 63-04
6th Steve Thorpe 32 63-00
7th Wayne Russell 34 60-00
8th Barry Testro 13 53-04
9th Ken Sawyer 14 53-00
10th Warren Kitchen 23 46-08
11th Owen Bunting 8 41-08
12th Pete Levick 4 39-12
13th Chris Lovelock 39 39-08
14th Dave Lewis 3 39-04
15th Chris Wilson 25 39-00
16th Ian Mullins 1 35-00
17th Dean Allen 7 32-08
18th Martin Heath 31 21-08
19th Chris Barnes 38 20-09
20th Keith Preston 24 14-08
21st Mick Barnes 20 12-08
22nd John Shenstone 5 12-08
23rd Tom Thorpe 22 12-00
24th Luke Barnes 9 10-00
25th Tim Becker 26 7-04
1 69 70 71 72 73 87