MFS - Rookery Waters, Pidley, 19th July 2014

I've been here before.. oh yeah, last year, same peg!
A MFS match at Rookery Waters in Pidley that is turning into an annual event.

This is the second year we have descended on the little village of Pidley.

I got to the Mad Cat Pub for our breakfast around 7:30am to be greeted by a few of the lads, most who had traveled up the day before and camped in Neilio's back garden or sourced a local hotel.  I obviously missed a good night as there were a few bleary eyes and croaky voices...

A quick breakfast in the pub and the short drive to the fishery.  Rookery Waters is going through an expansion with a new lake being dug and a tackle shop being built on-site.  Access to Magpie lake has been improved with a road available to drop off your gear.

The Draw
Orderly queue and hands in to the plastic bag with the milk carton tops for our pegs... Peg 23 came out for me... the same peg that I had drawn the previous year.  Funny enough, Ricky also drew the same peg as he fished last year.  Mark drew his favourite area with Peg number 8.

So whose company would I have the pleasure of during the day?  Herbie on one side and Shedders, aka Spiderman on the other.  So we all had to have a quid or 'squid' on the result.  Baz also jumped in on the action teasing me with the quid I'd lost to him at How End, so another one on the pound list.

The Set-Up
Having seen the peg last year I knew what my tactics would be.  Here is the set-up on the day:
  • Method Feeder to the pallet opposite
  • Top 2 + 2 at full depth
  • Top 2 + 2 shallow
  • Left hand margin rig
Simple bait list, pellets (4mm and 6mm), Skrill Micro's for the method, Sweetcorn and dead reds.

The All-In
Straight out on the method feeder to grab some early fish from the far bank with regular feeding of the short line ahead of me.  Grabbing some early fish never happened, in fact after an hour I wondering if there were any fish in the lake.  Herbie next to me was getting fish using a slow sinking pellet waggler and while I couldn't see Shedders next door I could hear him landing fish after fish...

A quick look at full depth on the line in front of me, it was clear that the fish were shallow, so changing over to the shallow rig I eventually landed my first fish, a cracking roach... Roach and Rudd followed  while I waited for the carp to show up.

New Pellets from Marukyu, thanks Shedders ;-)
I spent 2 hours fishing shallow and went through 4 pints of 4mm pellets eventually getting through the silver fish to connect with the carp.  A couple of lumps came out shallow too but I'd find out at the weigh in that I underestimated the weights in my first two keepnets.

I ran out of 4mm pellets, so started to feed some corn shallow.  Hooking a large angry ghost carp it took me round the back of my keepnets under the pallet and smashed the rig and float up.  A new set up needed so back on the method while I rigged up another shallow set-up.

Typical, while setting up the method line came alive so I took a couple of fish from the far bank and was now faced with a dilemma... do I continue shallow or stay on the method?  I decided to go back to shallow which was probably the wrong decision as my feeding pattern had been disrupted.

A quick look in the margins resulted in one fish, so with the final hour looming I decided to go back on the method.  It was a fish a chuck and I started my 3rd net to see what I would land in the last hour.

The all-out was called.  Initially I felt I had around 90-100lb of fish but when I pulled the first net I would quickly re-estimate...

The Result
83lb odd, section 4th, beating Herbie and Mark (taking the lead in our mini competition), but getting battered by Shedders who had 130lb odd... My other pound bet with Baz resulted in a loss as Baz weighted in 88lb.

Conclusion
A better result than the previous year.  I had really underestimated the weight in the first two nets as there was only 20lb of fish in each.  The finally net, the hour on the method produced 43lb of fish...  I should have gone over to the method sooner.

My margin line didn't produce.  I had even tried shallow but the fish where ignoring the bait, preferring to burrow in the reeds for pellets and corn that hadn't gone in the water.

A great day, well done to Andy G who won with a massive net of fish for 230lb!  Thanks to Neil for organising the match again... roll on next year.

More Pictures...

My adopted fishing father... after a hair cut... tell me who did it Herbs and we will get revenge ;-)

Shedders, neighbour for the day and squill pellet supplier

Merce in fine smiling form

Ricky, maggots in the margin on the same peg as last year..

Brolley up, Brolley down....

How do you fit your gear in that car Ash?

The Match Organiser, top job Neil!

Baz with my pound from How End, could I get it back?

Daddy May, no more words needed...

On his favourite swim... would it produce the goods?

Very steamy lense....

Lense was steaming up in the heat.. Prof Col

"Mother.......", king of the keepnet clicker!

3rd String Carlos??? Cheeky... so your picture is last ;-)

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