I wasn't happy to see Phil Sellars on our lake on peg 7 when I got there. Phil is probably the best paste angler I have ever seen and he always frames fishing this bait on the new lakes. He has the method and paste mix well and truly sussed, and when everybody else can't catch 140lb-plus shallow or on the Method feeder, he is very difficult to beat. He fishes paste exclusively 12m out going up the bar, and also down the edge. Infact I would rather fish against William Raison or Alan Scotthorne on these lakes than Phil! I also had another 'paste head' opposite me in the form of Greg Norris. If it was a paste day these two would be hard to beat on our lake. Paste is not one of my strong points so I tend to avoid it at all costs, and too my cost sometimes! Paste is so good on these three square lakes because the fish find it so quickly without much feed around it. Pellet tends to see too many liners.
Why does the wind always change or drop when the match finishes?!
I had just enough time to set up a 9ft wand with a 20g Method, a 5m rig for corn or expanders and two edge rigs. One was reasonably tight in in about 18ins of water just above the margin cliff face, while the other was at the base of the cliff face in 3ft, because word here was that the fish had moved down the shelf in the recent colder weather. I was soon into action on the Method at about 14.5m but bites were few and far between and despite ringing the changes with groundbait or pellets around the frame, and maggots and pellets on the hook, I was struggling. I even tried chucking a peg down into the corner banking itself and this produced just a couple of liners. By now Phil was edging ahead of the rest of the lake and I realised the only way to beat him would be to catch closer than him. I had considered putting up a long pole but that 20mph wind was now coming across me and so it was deemed a no go. I reverted to the edge but the 18ins deep saw no action whatsoever. The locals were right, the fish had moved further down the shelf and so I fed here and went back out on the feeder for five minutes.
The 3ft line started to produce a few fish but only in spells and there were a few liners in this depth too. One of the problems on these lakes is that you have only one margin swim because the rule is you can only do gardening in your peg to the right hand side, the left hand side is too overgrown to get tight in. I had a few tries at 5m but to no avail, the wind was blowing even a heavy rig towards the bank. I had to resign myself to another battering by the paste lads, as Phil went on to come third overall with 131lb, with Greg taking the section by default with 105lb. I recorded a disappointing 70lb exactly, but to be fair the two other lads on our bank, who have been framing recently, didn't fare much better with 69lb and 73lb each. I did partially get the methods right because Dean Smith won the match with 151lb down the edge on pellet on Beech, and Chris Hall was second on the feeder from Sycamore.
Next year I might have to try and learn how to fish this doughy stuff which comes off the hook when you strike!
Match Result
1. D Smith 151lb Beech 22
3. C Hall 132lb Sycamore 26
3. P Sellars 131lb Ash 10
4. T Watson 108lb Beech 15
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