Andy Spreadbury's Fishing Blog

Tuesday 16th.June 2020 Paddlesworth, Pollard, peg32 12.00 Another complete re-think after last week's session. The issue on the lake at the moment is the weed. Although I have complete confidence in Ryan's wafters, I think they are unsuitable to use where weed is present. Consequently, I have gone for pop-up presentations on all three rods.  Peg 32. Are there any fish in it?... Apparently not. Now I have never been a fan of Ronnie rigs, successful as they are. I can't abide all that ironmongery. I much prefer my tried and tested Stiff Hinge rig. I have had so many fish on these in the past I don't need to worry about confidence in them. I tie them very short, using the stripped back coating of the braid as the 'hinge'. Putty on the Albright knot acts as ballast. Stiff Hinge Rig. Tests at the end of the session showed the whole lot collapsing in a heap instead of straightening out nicely as shown in the videos! All three baits are on the same mark. Five wra

Tuesday 9th. June 2020 Paddlesworth Pollard, peg 36 (The 'W') 13.00 So-called because the mark is at 9½ wraps at the 'W'. I came with empty bowels and a new approach (see my previous post of 9th. June). I had a complete re-think and decided to go back to square one and start again. The 'W' peg. The mark is to the right of the two depressions formed by the W. My previous captures on Pollard had been during the autumn and winter, fishing at between 12 and 18 wraps. This put my baits into relatively deep water - 14 feet plus. I began the post-lockdown trying to emulate what I had found to be successful in the past, but found these tactics unsuitable.  My focus now is on fishing shallow water up to ten feet deep and this corresponds with margin fishing (mostly). Plumbing reveals the following: I had a thorough plumb of the peg at the end of the session (in the pouring rain!) The entire area goes down to 17 feet so the mark is on a distinctive plate

Wednesday, 3rd.June 2020 Paddlesworth, Pollard, Peg 40 (The End Peg) 14.00 At the end of last week's session, I packed the car and walked up to the top end to scope things out. It's relatively shallow at this end although still fourteen feet out in the middle. With the sudden influx of members after the long lay-off I suspected the carp were subject to angling pressure and might seek the remoter areas of the lake. The top end is one such remote place. There is only one peg on the far side near this part of the lake, down to the left, leaving a considerable area of unfished water in front of The End Peg. I passed by this peg often last summer but never had the chance to fish it so this is my first go. Peg 40 - The End Peg The swim at the end of the lake. When they're here, they're here. When they're not... There is a big area of shallows on which you can see the bottom, against the right-hand tree-line. It then suddenly drops into deeper water; it is