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.