Category: Match Reports

Rolfslake comes back to form in this weeks midweek match.

Todays match was going to be larger than normall as there were a few of the Matchfishingscene website anglers practising for their three day match on Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week.

The weather today was sunny with a fairly strong wind blowing from the small to the big to the small lake and with the pleasure anglers all catching from the  car park bank signs were good that the fish were going to have a go. Today after a strong campaign i managed to get my way and have pegs 3 and 39 included in the draw as the lake was black with fish in this area so hopefully i would be lucky and get my favourite peg. As the anglers lined up at the draw and one by one drew their pegs i had not heard peg three called so could this be the day i thought that i showed John how good this peg was then for the bad news from Neil Riddy, Eddie peg 3 is still in the bag but so is peg 16 so you have a 50-50 chance of drawing it. As i put my hand in I usually dont draw the first peg my hand touches but today i did and after pulling the peg out i could not believe it when i opened my hand and saw peg 16 I was GUTTED much to the guys amusement.

Anyway the story of today was in the big lake the pleasure anglers were bagging on pegs 19 round to pegs 24 with most of them fishing the bomb to the middle fishing either boilies, meat or corn so thet were all happy ,and with the anglers on peg 18, 14 ,28 and 32 all enjoying action signs were good for a big weight today. In the small lake John told me that it was a slow start for most with plenty of fish being lost especially for Neil Riddy on peg 3 who lost over 20 fish fishing close to the bush in the corner but he was also catching a few so signs were good.

As the day got later and the sun went down the fish responded to the feed and there were plenty of big fish caught between 5 and 7 pm which is normally the way in these midweek matches.

In first place today was Mr 200lb aka Mark Newbold who was fishing peg 7 in the small lake next to John. Mark continued his good run of form at the lake by fishing straight out at between 7-9 metres fishing his favoured paste hookbait but unlike the rest of the anglers who feed heavy Mark has a cautious approach of feeding sparingly to only bring a few fish into the peg at a time which results in less lost fish.

Mark caught big fish to near 19lb ,in fact Mark had 3 18lb fish in a good run of doubles which resulted in his board weight being over 160lb ,and at the end of 5 hours caught 294-04 to win todays match and also claim the peg king for peg 7 {well done Mark }.

In second place was Paul Jay who has yet to draw a bad peg this year and today was no different as he pulled out peg 18 on the motorway bank in the big lake. Paul fished at a range of 10 metres feeding heavy but used his favourite 8mm banded and donkey choker 11mm pellet to catch fish to 16lb both out in front and down the edge ,but also lost lots of fish as i was sure he had over 200lb but in the end only had 184-00 but was well clear of third place.

Completing the frame was lake owner John Bennett who was fishing next to Mark on peg 6 in the small lake. John was not only struggling with catch fish early on but was also suffering from a bad back and neck having to turn around so much witnessing Marks big fish. John eventually got the fish lined up fishing down the slope towards peg 5 and by using big balls of paste hookbait caught fish to 19lb in his final weight of 146-12.

Spare a thought  for Mark who was well chuffed on winning todays match but when i informed him he was only 7lb off being king of the lake he went home a very sad angler.

Dont worry Mark there is always next week to be king of Rolfs.

Results .

15 fished.

Pirate ship sinks after hitting the Bennett iceberg.

As for my battle against John for a change we both had even pegs which was John on 6 and i was on 16 and my day started badly as when i was walking to my peg I fell down a hole carrying all my gear much to Paul’s amusement but not mine { but he did carry my gear to to peg 16 as i hurt my ankle thanks Paul }.

We both struggled to catch early on and lost lots of fish  but in the end the bites could not come fast enough but my winning run came to an end with John catching 146-12 to my 110-08 so gained another point in our seasons battle {well done John }.

The main bait today for most anglers was paste and i expect the weights to get even bigger as the next month goes by.

The score between me and John now stands at :

John 3

Eddie 2

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

Now for something different.

Johns grandson Daniel recently visited Dreamlakes in France and spent a week targeting the massive carp and catfish that these four lakes hold, and he asked me to show five of the fish that he caught during his stay.

Dreamlakes in France.

Daniel with a catfish of 17-08

Daniels mirror carp of 25-05

Daniel with a common of 34-03

A grass carp of 28-00

Daniel with a fantastic common of 41-08

And finally.

A fantastic mirror of 46-08

As you can see Daniel had a fantastic week even though it fished quite hard, and as Rolfslake.com supports all fisheries we have added the website address if any of our visitors to our website would like to know more about this fantastic big fish fishery i will include the website address.

www.dreamlakes.com

Rolfslake switches on for Boxmore Sports and Social Club .

Today Rolfslake welcomed Boxmore sports and social club down to the lake for their regular annual visit and for a change the fish were willing to have a go. The weather today was sunny but very windy which it made difficult at times for the anglers who were fishing the pole.

The 16 anglers were spaced around both the small and big lake with the ones in the small lake having a bit of choice in choosing their pegs, and i was more than happy to see at long last that my favourite peg 3 was in today as it would show John what the anglers had been missing recently.

John tells me the story of today was that all of the anglers enjoyed carp action from all pegs with the lowest weight today was 50lb and there were plenty of big doubles caught with Stuart Twine on peg 32 having 11 doubles on the board before the weigh-in.

In first place today was Roy Miller who was on car park bank peg 26, and Roy started on the tip caught a few carp then switched to the waggler and caught a few more but when Roy switched to a short line his catching increased by using meat as hookbait feeding pellet . Roy managed to keep the fish coming and after 5 hours put 243-08 on the scales to win the match and claim the peg king off John Bennet { double well done Roy }.

In second place was Richard Furham fishing motorway bank peg 16, and Richard managed to catch fishing mainly the bush to his left and he also caught fish to double figures in his weight of 174-02 and continued the run of frames this peg has produced recently.

Completing the frame was Ken Smith who was fishing yesterdays winning peg 18 and John tells me that Ken caught most of his fish fishing down the edge to his left both long and short to record his weight of 170-08 and the second big weight off this peg this weekend.

But what of PEG 3 i hear you ask.

Well today it had Del Smith fishing it and after catching his first small fish of 20lb off it the peg got stronger as the match went and in the end Del recorded 166-12 to prove my point that the corners do hold plenty of fish on them {well done Del}.

Ps Del also claimed the peg king for peg 3.

Results.

16 fishing the match.

John and Pauline would like to thank all the anglers and hopes to see them again soon.

Thanks for reading Simon, Eddie and John.

Another tough day at the office for the anglers in Rolfslake’s Wednesday Open.

Mick Jones fails in world record attempt to draw peg 10 five matches in a row.

The anglers turned up for todays midweek open faced with the prospect of it raining as the dark clouds had gathered around the lake which some people thought was Neil Riddys black magic sorcery in being able only draw flyer pegs.

With the draw being called I for a change was pressured into drawing first as I always draw last and to my disappointment drew peg 2 as it was as near as i was going to get to my favouite peg 3. Paul Jay who never draws a bad peg was on 38 in the small lake, Mark Newbold who never catches less than 200lb was on 34 his travelling partner Andy Raymond was on 8 John Bennett was near to me on 4 and Neil Riddy had drawn bum peg 32 so he told us, so at least he had a short walk from the car.

As the match started the fishing was slow for most except Kev Doulton who managed to sneak a few fish in early but also suffered a smashed top kit in playing one of Rolfslake’s monsters. Mark, Andy and Neil were also into fish early but for the rest of us it was a struggle and it was made worse when it started to rain. After about an hour with no fish action i was going to start to give John his usual serving of abuse but all i could see was a box with no John as he had gone for a walk but not before throwing 4 bags of pellet down the edge hoping to draw in some fish.

For the rest of the match the bites were few and far between except for the feature pegs ,and Rolfslake again reminded us of how difficult this fish stuffed lake can be at times.

The winner today was Andy Raymond who was fishing red hot peg 8 between the small and the big lake and Andy fished both the far bank but mostly the big bush to his left and he found out just how strong the fish fight on this peg as he lost quite a few as his elastic was the wrong grade for this peg. Andy fished paste feeding pellet just to the edge of the bush and was rewarded with a great mixed bag which included chub to just over 5lb bream ,roach and of course carp in his winning weight of 156-08 { well done Andy }.

Todays winner Andy Raymond .

In hot pursuit of Andy was Mark Newbold on peg 34, and Mark fished the rope to start with with little success but managed to find to a 10-11 metre line straight out in front where the fish were happy to feed and Mark managed to catch a 20lb common { his first 20lb carp at Rolfs and his first 20lb in a match }. Mark told me he also caught his fish on paste feeding pellet and if it were not for a fish he bumped off at the net Mark would of been celebrating victory and not Andy. After 5 hours Mark put 145-08 of small carp and bream on the scales to record another frame and his first weight under 200lb this year.

2nd place Mark Newbold.

Completing the frame yes you guessed it was Neil Riddy who today found himself the only one fishing the big lake amongst the pleasure anglers, but Neil made no mistake as he fished a long 10 metre line in line with peg 9. Neil used his favoured 8mm banded pellet feeding pellet and if it were not for a lost 20lb+ fish which was hooked in the fin but gave him a couple of chances to net and could of been landed by Andy on peg 8 at one stage, he also could of won todays match but ended with 132-08.

Osprey's Neil Riddy.

Results.

10 fishing.

Not even the deep sea salvage team could raise HMS Bennett after another shot from the Pirates cannons.

The pirate ship ready for the next match.

As for my match against John we both had a tough day being roached out in the corner of the small lake, and as i reminded him to leave peg 4 out which he replied watch what a good angler can do on it today he certainly showed me in this match . We both caught a couple of doubles early but after that it was tough with John fishing down the right edge but only catching roach and 3 small carp on corn, and I had 2 doubles and 5 small carp and 4 bream fishing paste.

A lesson learned today was on peg 2 i fished to peg 3 but instead of fishing the shallow water i fished down the ledge with lots of liners. In the last hour i fished my paste float 3 inches overdepth so the float was at an angle and every bite i had was a lift bite as the float layed flat which resulted in a fish or lost fish in the bush.

The score between John and myself stands at.

Lake owner John Bennett.

John 2

As Rolfslake staged its first night match of the year an eager bunch of anglers were waiting at the draw ready for a chance to get one of the big weights that these matches normally bring, but the carp had other ideas as usual. After a heated debate about the pegs to be used in during this match the anglers drew their pegs and went off to set up and make their pegs safe for fishing in the dark.

This evening was warm with rain expected at about 10 am but that did not put off the club, open regulars and carp anglers sat around the lake but it did turn colder at about 9pm. These night matches start in normal light conditions but at around 9.30 John turns on the floodlight set up around the big and small lake and it certainly makes a difference but not if you are looking directly in line with one of these 1000 watt lights as it feels as if you are looking into the sun.

As the whistle sounded there was not the normal fish catching activity that happens when these matches start but with a few anglers opting to use the waggler and bomb in the small lake they were rewarded with a few fish to start with using big banded pellet feeding pellet over the top. As the evening got darker the wind died which made it harder for those on the big lake but around 11 o’clock i could see a few fish being caught and even my inside line on peg 10 started to yeald a few bites so all was not lost. From behind me i could hear a few weights being called so the guys in the small lake were catching a few lumps but it was not frantic by any stretch of the imagination.

The best thing about this match was that John had drawn peg 28 and not one of the flyers that he normally does so he was going to work hard to put a weight together so it meant a quiet night for me and also our pegs were evenly matched for a change.

The winner of tonights match was Rolfslake regular Neil Riddy who was drawn on red hot peg 8 in the junction between the small and big lake and Neil opted to fish by the bush and the middle of the gap and was rewarded with big fish to nearly 20lb but in the last hour on lowering his bait in to the water his pole float shot away and he missed the bite. He tried this again and the same thing happened but this time he got the carp in the net and by shallowing his rig to about 2-3 feet he managed to catch shallow for the remainder of the match using 8mm drilled pellet feeding pellet for his weight of 152-12 ( well done Neil ).

First and second today Neil Riddy and Paul Jay.

Hot on Neils heels was master fish loser Paul Jay on peg 34 who loses 4 fish to every one he catches but still managed to keep himself busy fishing at a range of 5-6 metres straight out in front using his favoured banded 8mm pellet feeding by pole cup and who also caught big fish to 18lb in his weight of 131-04 to continue his good framing run down the lake.

Completing the frame was Micheal Corsini who was watched on by his mum ,and Micheal who was fishing by Neil on peg 7 also suffered lots of lost fish on his 9 metre line but as the match went on he managed to settle into his catching rythm and ended with last ton of the night with 104-00.

After the weigh-in the anglers were treated to a lovely bbq supplied by Pauline and John ( thanks ) and the anglers left the lake at about 3am or the anglers staying for Saturdays match slept down the lake.

Just a quick thanks to John , Pauline and Paul who it takes a lot of time and effort to set up these night matches, with setting up lights ,cables and food for the benefit of our visiting anglers, and also to make Rolfslake unique in fishing under flood lights and for them to have a different experience down the lake.

Results .

18 fishing the match.

 HMS Bennett sunk by the pirates big cannons.

The pirate ship in dock awaiting its next battle.

After taking a battering from John in my last two matches down the lake ,i managed to return to some type of form down on peg 10. After having my 6 metre line fizzing for the first two hours with plenty of foulhooked fish ,i abandoned this to fish long down the edge to my left and was rewarded with 6 carp for 66-08 plus two roach for my total of 67-00 all caught on paste even though it is not really paste time at the moment.

John however struggled on peg 28 which is strange as there are usually a few fish on this peg but eventually John caught a few on the end of the left bush fishing donkey choker 11mm banded pellet but happily for me fell one fish behind to end up with 58-12 and currently the season battle between me and lake owner John stands at :

Eddie 1

John 2

Until our next report tight lines Simon, Eddie and John.