Majors Lakes Newsletter

Quarter Four 2013

(In conjunction with Country Sports)

THE END OF ANOTHER YEAR AT MAJORS LAKES

The early part of this year really did not lend itself to us anglers. With almost as much rain again at the start of this year as last year, the strong winds at times and the very cold and changeable climate fishing was made incredibly difficult.

In saying this however it would seem we were not the only club to suffer in 2013. Most other clubs also suffered with poor catches, especially silverfish, with the general consensus of those we spoke suffering like us, and we believe it is almost certainly down to the extreme weather changes throughout the year.

Luckily as expected the silverfish did turn back on again around mid April and gave many members fantastic bags of fish.

THANK YOU

Thank you to John Osmer for his regular contributions to our newsletter. To all of the members that have sent me photos of their catches to post on Facebook, and to all those that have added comments to our Facebook page.

Thanks to Stephen Attwood, Keely and all at Country Sports who have supported us so well throughout the year.

Thanks to our three bailiffs Mark, Steven and Colin who work so hard throughout the year, and for everything they do behind the scenes that goes unrecognised to keep our lake looking the way it does.

Thanks to Maidstone Signs for donating all of the signage we have around our Majors lakes and at Wall End Carp Fishery.

Thanks to Stuart Baker of Fat Fish Floats for the floats he kindly donated as prizes.

Thank you to all of the members that fished our very first charity match. It is because of your support we managed to raise £210.00 for Marie Curie Cancer Care. An excellent result, I hope you all agree.

And of course, many thanks to all of the members that turn out to every work-party, without you things would take so much longer to get done, it really is appreciated. You know who you are. So this brings my 2013 ramblings to an end, thanks for reading the newsletters, and I look forward to seeing you all once again in 2014.

2013 MATCH RESULTS QUARTER FOUR

MATCH WINNER FOR OCTOBER 2013

1st PLACE. Allan Withers WEIGHT. 3lb 01oz

2nd PLACE. Derek Shields WEIGHT. 2lb 08oz

WINNER FOR NOVEMBER 2013

1st PLACE. Colin Chapman WEIGHT. 1lb 0oz

2nd PLACE. Ian Bedford WEIGHT. 0lb 4oz

MATCH WINNER FOR DECEMBER 2013

1st PLACE. Ian Bedford WEIGHT. 9lb 13oz

2nd PLACE. Everybody? WEIGHT. 0oz

2013 MATCH RESULTS

ANGLERS / POINTS / POINTS / POINTS / POINTS / POINTS / POINTS / TOTAL / ADJUSTED
NAME,DATE AND / MATCH 7 / MATCH 8 / MATCH 9 / MATCH 10 / MATCH 11 / MATCH 12 / POINTS / POSITIONS
MATCH POINTS / 21.07.13 / 18.08.13 / 15.09.13 / 13.10.13 / 10.11.13 / 08.12.13 / 2013
1 / ALLAN WITHERS / 18 / 16 / 18 / 20 / 13 / 18 / 181 / 1
2 / COLIN CHAPMAN / 0 / 20 / 17 / 17 / 20 / 18 / 169 / 2
3 / IAN BEDFORD / 14 / 9 / 0 / 17 / 18 / 20 / 156 / 3
4 / PETER CURD / 20 / 18 / 17 / 0 / 10 / 0 / 148 / 4
5 / STEVEN REDDING / 15 / 15 / 13 / 10 / 10 / 18 / 148 / 4
6 / MIKE ANDREWS JNR / 16 / 12 / 20 / 15 / 10 / 0 / 145 / 5
7 / RICHARD JONES / 9 / 8 / 13 / 10 / 17 / 18 / 145 / 5
8 / IVAN NOAKES / 10 / 8 / 15 / 13 / 14 / 18 / 138 / 6
9 / MIKE ANDREWS SNR / 17 / 10 / 0 / 12 / 17 / 18 / 131 / 7
10 / DEREK SHIELDS / 0 / 11 / 14 / 18 / 0 / 18 / 125 / 8
11 / MICKY PETTENGEL / 11 / 8 / 11 / 15 / 0 / 0 / 111 / 9
12 / JOHN OSMER / 8 / 8 / 11 / 10 / 13 / 18 / 104 / 10
13 / MARK SMITH / 12 / 17 / 11 / 11 / 0 / 0 / 100 / 11
14 / MARK WHYATT / 0 / 14 / 0 / 0 / 13 / 0 / 96 / 12
15 / ANTONY FORD / 13 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 17 / 18 / 76 / 13
16 / STEVE TAYLOR / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 18 / 37 / 14
17 / LUKE ETHERIDGE / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 31 / 15
18 / STUART BAKER / 0 / 15 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 28 / 16
19 / MARK HELPS / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 25 / 17
20 / TONY TAYLOR / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 10 / 0 / 10 / 18
21 / JOHN TAYLOR / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 10 / 0 / 10 / 18

ALLAN WITHERS THE OVERALL MATCH WINNER FOR 2013

Majors Lakes coarse fish – an occasional series featuring the species found in the lake. (Written by John Osmer)

PERCH (Perca Fluviatilis).

British record: 6 lb 3 oz (2011 and 2012)

Largest Majors specimen caught to date:??

An unmistakeably handsome fish, the perch is deep bodied with a hump back, but what makes it totally individual is its spiny dorsal fin which looks like a sail when erect. It has 6 or 7 vertical black stripes on its olive back and red/orange anal and pectoral fins.

It is a voracious predator and has large eyes and large mouth that really means business. From a very young age perch will tackle prey of a size approaching their own bulk. They tend to bottom feed on worms and other invertebrates, but as they get larger they progress to small fish; gudgeon, roach, minnows, etc. They are reputed to be cannibalistic, even eating their own fry.

Perch like to patrol weedy areas using their stripes as camouflage. They are basically sight feeders, hence the large eyes. They quickly spot movement and will often tail smaller hooked fish to the bank only veering off when the net comes into sight.

They are a shoaling fish, tending to shoal in groups of a similar size and age. Baits include maggot and worm, lures and spinners can also be used. Recently decent catches have been made using ledgered prawn.

One thing to remember when perch fishing is always have a decent disgorger handy – they are notorious for swallowing the bait!

A USEFUL ARTICLE ON POLE ELASTICS

When we start talking about pole fishing, there are loads of different items that spring to mind, many of which might seem confusing to the novice angler……elastics, bushes, bungs, connectors, pull bungs, stora bungs, locking bushes, internal, external, hydro, hollow, solid, latex, dacron, lubricant it just goes on! In this article, we hope to explain about different kinds of elastics, what they’re all about, and when/where to use them!

Elastics…

To fish the pole, you need to thread elastic through the top two or three sections to act as a shock absorber. You can be easily baffled with the wide range of elastics that are available nowadays. Elastics range from a really fine number one ‘knicker elastic’ to really heavy versions of 25+ ‘bull rope’.

Solid…

Solid elastics were the very first kind on the market, and at one point, were the only elastic available. Many anglers still favour solid elastics for all kinds of fishing. It’s available in all sizes from a number 1 right up to 25. The basic ruling for solid elastic is the bigger the fish, the heavier the elastic, although big fish can still be landed on light elastics. Most companies still manufacture solid elastic, and it’s probably the cheapest kind of elastic that is now available at around £1.99 for 5 metres.

Solid elastic is excellent for ‘small fish’ on natural venues, such as rivers, canals and lakes, where anything from a number 2 to 6 is required. In the very light sizes, 2 and 3, you can get away with threading the elastic though just the top two sections of a match kit. I personally prefer to thread all my elastics through a full match top three, as you can set the elastic a little tighter so its almost ‘pinging’ back into the pole, but the long length of elastic still allows this to be very soft so you don’t bump fish. Also, you stand a much greater chance of landing a larger bonus fish with the elastic through a full top three, as there is a hell of a lot of stretch over this length, therefore you will very rarely get bottomed out and broke, even with light hooklink. This can be a massive advantage on canal matches where you might just hook that match winning chub or big perch on your small fish rig!

Solid elastic also comes into play when fishing for big fish up to snags. In these kinds of situations, you need to hook the fish and pull! Solid elastic through a short section of pole will allow you to drag the fish away and out of the snags, but you will still have some forgivingness in your elastic to stop you ripping the hook out. The short length of elastic will prevent the fish from bolting off into the snag however, as there is only a certain amount of stretch.

Latex…

Latex is a fairly recent craze with anglers, and is basically untreated solid elastic, in a very natural form, with no dyes or preservatives added to it. This leads to white elastic that is very soft and forgiving, and usually has a little more stretch in it than normal solid elastic. There are several brands of latex now on the market; it’s hard to distinguish the difference between any of them to be honest! Like solid elastic, it’s available from the lightest number 1 right up to a 20.

Many anglers favour latex as it offers a much smoother and more forgiving action than solid elastic, but doesn’t stretch as far as hollow elastic, meaning fish can be landed on the top two or three sections of pole. Latex is a very reasonable price, at around £2.99 for a spool of 5m, another reason for its popularity.

Like solid elastic, latex is used for a variety of fishing. When fishing for tiny fish on canals, a number 1 latex will ensure no fish are bumped, and that they do0nt splash around on the surface, spooking other fish. It is also extensively used in the sizes between 5 and 10 for small carp and f1’s on commercials, especially in winter, when anglers are looking to land everything they hook. Then, there are anglers like Steve Ringer, who have used latex really successfully for catching carp of all sizes from all venues! The softness means it’s great for hooking carp, as they will swim straight out of the swim, but you then have the advantages of solid elastic when you need to get their heads up at the net!

As latex is white in all sizes, it’s a good idea to mark on the actual size so you don’t get them muddled up. In the lighter sizes, you can put say three dots of tip-ex on the tip for a number three, or just write the number neatly on the end of the top kit. If you’re really, really posh, you can even wrap some masking tape around and write the size on that!

Hydro-elastic…

Hydro-elastic was the turning point in pole elastics, and started a new revolution with pole fishing. One of the first anglers to use hydro was Simon Gould, at venues like Gold Valley, up to 12 years ago. Daiwa then started to market the elastic, and first brought out two sizes, white hydro…6-10, and black hydro…12-16. Now, we have a variety of sizes available from Diawa, Blue 5-8, white 6-10, grey 10-14, black 12-16, red 16-20, and brown 20+++.

Hydro elastic is made up of hollow elastic that is soft and very forgiving. There is a really natural soft inner core, which is hollowed out and has liquid lubricant inside, hence the name…Hydro. The liquid helps the elastic to retract back into the pole, and aids you when playing fish ads you can ‘pump’ the elastic to help it retract, and gives a generally smooth, controllable fish playing action to the elastic.

Another big feature of hydro elastic is its strength and its life span. You will find it incredibly hard to actually break any size of hydro with your hands, and it last absolutely ages! It should last at least a year, even if it’s used extensively. Some people say they have had it last up to three years! Many moan about the price of this elastic…£14.99, but if it’s lasting all that time, you’re probably saving money, as you may change normal elastic 4 times or more in a year!

Hydro has been used on all venues, but it is really suited to commercials. The lighter blue and white sizes are ideal for small carp, f1’s, skimmers and silver fish, you can land just about anything on white hydro! Then the grey has a brilliant reputation for shallow fishing for all sizes of carp. Black hydro is well suited to bigger fish, 5lb and above, as well as margin fishing, and can help you land fish quicker when they’re really having it! Then there’s red hydro, we’re talking proper elastic now, big fish, lumps, margin fishing, getting them out fast. Brown hydro, 20+++ is used extensively by bungee jumpers. It’s real powerful stuff. You’re talking hard fighting, big fish, snags, where you need to pull a bit, maybe at places like Drayton. I’ve never used brown, and it’s the most recent addition to the collection, I might take some to Florida with me for my Great White Shark rigs though!