Saturday 2nd July 2022 Junior Pairs Match Harbourbridge Lakes Fees: £5.00 Draw 14:30 Start: 15:30 Finish: 19:00 Always one of my favourite events on the calendar, although I am a little disappointed that more juniors are not booked into this fun match.
At the time of writing there are just six juniors are down to fish. With over twenty junior names on my mailing list, this could be an epic match, and we could use two lakes to make it even more fun.
Of course, the way things stand means that no one goes away empty handed. (Providing the medals turn up again).
Low turn out aside, I’m sure those that fish will have a good day.
There are no points for this match and the silverfish weights will not count towards the championship.
The Match Lake at Harbourbridge now contains a good head of silverfish. This means that, if the Carp are not feeding (They are always feeding!), then juniors will have some smaller fish with which to bulk out their final weight.
The match will be carried out the same as last year with the pairs being drawn DURING the event and revealed at the end. Oh, the drama! Having said that, I have considered doing the draw at the start? Let me know your thoughts on this in the comments please…
Bait: The usual bait requirements really. 2mm pellet and/or ground bait for the feeder. You can feed the micros with a pole if you have one. 4mm pellets to feed and for a banded hook bait. 6 & 8mm pellets for an alternative hook bait. You will definitely need maggots for the silverfish, although sweetcorn may pick out the larger fish. (Feed maggots, fish corn on the hook). I would be tempted to take some 6mm luncheon meat cubes. (If you do not have a cutter, ask). They are a little expensive but, worms (Dendrobenas) could make a good bait for better fish.
Methods: Obviously the feeder is going to score big for the Carp throughout the day, particularly on the pegs with better features. Use pellets or groundbait on the feeder, or a mixture of the two (50/50). Hook bait will not really matter too much so use what you feel most confident using. On certain pegs, the feeder works well in the margin later in the day. So, small amounts (feeder sized) of bait thrown along the margin could pay off later.
Whip/Pole: Being more efficient, the whip or pole will score big numbers for the smaller species. But the question is, will it be enough? A good idea will be to feed a whip/pole line with pellets and/or maggots whilst you are fishing on the feeder, then go onto that line if the feeder does not work.
Pellet Waggler: The Match Lake is one of those venues that can respond extremely well to the good old pellet waggler. On the right day…
The weather is forecast for a brisk South Westerly wind. One end of the lake (The far end) will be less affected by the wind than the other. This means that you may be able to get away with fishing shallow, IF the fish are up in the water. The wind has been in the south westerly direction for a number of days now so the wind may be blowing some the larger fish up to the car park end. As usual, it’s all in the draw when it comes to your chances. But it’s down to you when it comes to how much you catch. The breezy conditions may make waggler fishing tricky, but if you sink your line well, you should be able to make it work.
A couple of updates for the Senior/Junior Pairs match on Ash Lake at Todber Manor James Oram is now partnering Chris Ward, and I believe that Josiah Wells-Parkes has asked Si Wagner to be his partner for the day. This leaves just two spaces left. So if you want to fish, get a partner and get booked in! Fees for this event will be £28 per pair. (£12 for the adult, £6.00 for the Junior, and £5.00 each for the junior fees.)
Could I ask you all to post a review of your experiences with DDAS Juniors on Facebook please. Reviews really help to encourage new juniors to join and will help to raise our profile too.
Many thanks,
Juniors Sec…