Lessons Learnt - Lakeview Serpent Peg 6

The previous nights prep centred around praying the BBC weather would change and thinking of popping to Tescos to buy rubber gloves to avoid 'blue hand' syndrome the next day.

Lazy start resulted in arriving after 10am. Thoughts that all the match lakes would be taken were soon removed at the owners Dad and his Grandson who said I could fish either Serpent (match booked had moved to Marina) or Lagoon but no nets. Decided half the fun of Lakeview was the nets in option so off to Serpent I did go.

Weather cold, on went the quilted suit, hooded top and woolly hat - I was prepared.

Peg 6 - up went the brollie and tied to a tree. Wind rising.

Bait - half a bag of 3mm pellets, dusted with green groundbait and about 1/4 of a tin of corn at most.

Fished the other side. Second put in, skimmer half pound and then a carp 2lb and then another carp the same. That is basically how it continued. It rained a bit, it was only ever about 4 degrees. But the fish came one after the other. All on corn, all the other side. Cupped in every two fish half a small cup of bait. No corn went it at all except the hook bait.



First fish of the day before the camera went.


Owners father explained that all lakes have had new fish either moved around or stocked. Weights for matches would support this.

Fished 11.15am until 5.45pm - so just over 6 hours. Matches here are usually 6 hours. Ended with 70lb plus, but no pictures apart from the skimmer as batteries went. Festival had done em. Oh well there is a ton waiting to be had in summer if this is March. Shooting fish in a barrel, but you still need to aim.

Lesson learnt

1. Lakeview has been restocked
2. Corn works
3. Stick at it and keep it simple - no distractions only a coffee at the cafe meant focus. Stick with one bait that works.

Roll on summer. Best weight for Nicholls.

Nottingham Festival Day 3 - 29th March Lakeview Harbour

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY COME BACK ANOTHER DAY!


After low weights the previous day, a forecast of pouring rain and cold temperatures , plus all lakes being hit hard the previous day at Lakeview by matches and pleasure anglers - we - the fishermen of MTC - having thought long and hard about it, watched weather forecast, surfed the internet, prayed, bored the chief in the pub and talked rubbish on the tram - decided on, wait for it - yes - Lakeview!

Harbour for shelter, its unknown fish stocks, our reluctance to fish it previously. It looked dead, fishless, biteless and many would argue pointless! I might as well, right! we must be mad etc etc



Thats how its done.


Nico had a carp almost first put in on pellet. Pressure was on. Was this the bag up day?

Nicholls needed to come in the top 2 to be crowned champ.

PC started as ever confident - put in eventually after a Red Indian style dance with brollie to the fish Gods. What followed was? Nothing, rig too short, down the middle nothing, other side nothing, maggot nothing, pellet nothing, more brollie dancing nothing and corn nothing. In one word nothing.

Nicholls carp second put in on corn, then a tench and then caught a fish every 40 minutes or so for a bag of 19lb. Slow, blue hands cold, wet, windy, White Acres revisited.

Nico tried hard, really hard - if he was a striker he had a 100% record of chances to goals. One bite, first put in and one carp! It must have drove him mad - why wasn't he catching? End peg might have been the reason, boxed into a corner, nowhere to turn, up against the ropes and doing down.

Do we ever learn?



PCs net for Day Three - you will have to look closely




Nico one bite and resulting fish.



Weighting in another solid performance - PC 'Are those what we are after - if I'd only known!'



20lb and the winning weight by a long way.




Nico not sour. Champ for now Nicholls.



Nicholls 8 points 42lb
Nico 6 points 15lb
Papa Chav 4 points 7lb

Nottingham Festival Day 2 - 28th March Lakeview Serpent

Nico and Papa Chav focus on the task

It was the morning before curry and beers, but it was as if we had already had them. After a reasonable day at Sherwood where the standard was set and with Nico 3 points in the bag, but a fourth section down, it was all to play for. The weather was cold, 2 degrees in the van as we approached the Vale of Belvoir. It didn't look good and as it turned out it wasn't. Serpent lake selected, pegs 11, 12 and 13 unlucky for some!

Pole to the far side, maggot and pellet. We must get a few. Nicholls and Nico confident - carp nets in. And then! Nothing!

Early carp for Nicholls, odd skimmers and roach across the team. Nicholls had a few more small carp.



Nico and PC weight in

Blokes opposite were bagging on - corn. So why not fish corn? We continued on pellet and maggot. A few bits here and there. Nicholls changed to corn for the last two hours and surprisingly a few small carp and a barbel followed, together with a few lost fish and it was obvious that corn over pellets was the game - but as ever too little too late.



Nico's 2.5lb of hard earned silvers.




The brave face says it all!



Papa Chav's first victory over Nico - 3.5lb of bits and the odd carp.






Only thing that PC had to land - if only it was alive!



That is a little more like it!



Barbel bonus put it beyond doubt. Barbel however in shock after PC approaches



Winning net 12lb - but poor for Lakeview

Nottingham Festival Day 1 - 27th March Sherwood Lake

The Nottm Festival had been much anticipated and for some proved to be a decent weekends angling....for others not so.

Arriving at Sherwood lake with a hangover and 5 hours sleep isnt always condusive to a good days sport. However, the rain had stopped earlier in the week, the blue sky had visibly lifted everyones spirits although the temperature remained the lower end of the spectrum.

All anglers adopting pole as their main line of attack on Sherwood Lake roadside pegs. Nicholls Snr christening a classic pole the Technium. Still looks the business and puts pole twice its costs to shame.

In all three went and within a couple of hours it was close between Jnr and Nico but no carp showing as the water temp was still low.




Maggots came out and skimmers / ide and roach making up the most of the catches. As time drifted by never to return, increasingly one large fish might do it.

Nicholls to his credit stuck to cause and snagged a small mirror but Nicholson was swinging silvers in with increasing regularity - close again at Sherwood. To my right Nicholls Snr was perhaps once again wondering why hed drove 100 miles to watch a pole float....it wasnt moving much. Lakeview would be his cup final....

A gust of wind from the gods took the Exage of the pole rest and suddenly i was going to be £55 lighter and needing options for the next two days....in true cub scout tradition Nicholls provided a couple of tops for Lakeview ( god bless the electrical tape) but today at sherwood was going to be waggler....up it went and the catch rate actually increased!!! Pole pah....



At the close of play all anglers had a few in the net and the banter was again top drawer. With enough maggots to swarm a small country it was onwards and upwards to lakeview....Nicholsons bogey venue and so it was to prove again....

MTC Nottingham Festival

Monkey Tennis Cup March 27th-29th 2010

Saturday 27th - Sherwood
Sunday 28th - Lakeview
Sunday 28th - Lincolnshire Poacher
Monday 29th - Portland

Rules - each day based on weight
3 points for 1st
2 points for 2nd
1 point for 3rd

Bill Oddie and Spring watch - Sherwood Cavendish 21st March 2010

6.32am A bloody text message after only 4 hours sleep awakes me. 'Just moved K car. Madness. 1 degree.'. Well the writing was on the wall from that point. Dragged myself out of bed and poked my eyes open. Flasks filled, enough tackled to land moby dick placed in tiny car, de-iced windscreen! and off I went.


Which of the seven dwarfs are you?


20 Minutes later - 'Where are you?' - ' I'm outside Next!' - 'where?' - 'by Comet etc' - 'oh ok, I'm going down the lane, I bet there's a match on'. If he touched lead it would have turned to gold this morning. Mystic Nico got it right. Match on every lake. The shaking head as I rolled up was all I needed to know.



Cavendish was the only option, sun was out, it was warm, yes warm. Next to the tree lucky peg 13 for Nico. Fish slapped a hello on the surface of the water as we set up, but the other side at a safe uncatchable distance. Set up, jumpers for goal post and mole hill mud for ground bait. Just enough to fill a few pot holes, over feed the fish and throw 1kg in the hedge at the end. Pellet on hook at 10 metres, skimmer, skimmer, skimmer, skimmer looks like I'm gonna be a winner!

Nico nothing, Nico nothing, Nico nothing.


Spot the Finch competition


Then as if by magic Nico was visited by a small talking Finch, God of Sherwood, he cheeped and churped, he was fed a maggot and left. Nico for his good deed got a rudd and then another. The Finch God of Sherwood returned, another maggot, Dr Bloody Dolitte made a friend and caught another fish. Wedding and stag doo banter prevailed. Peasant popped in - imagine if he had fed that - a carp might have prevailed - peasant God of the Carp at Sherwood! Bored.


Nico looking positively towards a session on Cavendish - someone hold him back!

Rudd, very odd skimmer and roach then followed for both. Nico had a few in quick succession by the tree. Both ending up with 10-15 fish each. Scratching all the way, red maggot best bait with a few on pellet. Over night frost killed it. Got colder as the day went on. Slow but good to be out. Weather reasonable just limited fish. 30lb in week from peg 13? How is it done?



Festival next weekend, feed that Sherwood God the Finch for good weather and a few fish. Things can only get better. Roll on Saturday. Early night, limit the expectations, maggot, pellet, no mole hill mud and silvers will be mine.

Lakeview Practice

Fished Canal from 10am-2pm. Sunny but surprisingly cold. Water very cold and only one other angler on the lake.



Lake shallow and has lost water. Lad who collected the money said it was leaking into Harbour and they were aiming to drain and restock, however this might now be next year. Grand reopening this year with a free days fishing for pleasure anglers.

Fished far side, second put in with single red maggot. Nice 1lb skimmer, third put in a roach and fourth a small carp 1lb. Here we go, bag up on the cards. Then small roach, odd skimmers, lost a carp, small roach, skimmer.

Then decided after an hour or so of roach mania to hit down the track. Another small carp, roach and then another small carp, followed by you guest it more roach. All on maggot.

Tried pellets nothing, but no confidence in them as they were cheap ones from Hucknall tackle shop.

Bloke opposite had a few carp looked to be on pellet or corn and was sitting it out for bites.

Fished 80% of the session down the middle to try and find 3ft depth. Perhaps a mistake and opposite side was a better option.



Ended with between 10-15lb of fish. Ok steady but enjoyable. Good to get the kit out. Need to get some decent hookers for festival. Perhaps a bit of captain and worm/casters. On the positive side glad to catch. Been before to Sherwood, Makins and Lakeview this time of year and caught a lot less.

Still only the 13th March and we need the next two weeks to keep mild for water to warm up.

Will be an interesting match in two weeks. He who gets the carp will win the day!

Plenty to go at. Lakeview so many pegs and nets as well.

Mad for it, practice make perfect.