MATCH NEWS Early catch signals win
Packington’s famed Scarecrow Point pegs came good on the waggler
EVERY fishery has noted pegs, and at Warwickshire water Packington Somers the pegs in the early 40s on Molands Mere are the prime real estate. So, when fishery manager John Burchell drew it in the final round of the venue’s Winter League, many thought it was all over.
Known as Scarecrow Point, these few pegs are hot draws for a bag of carp and F1s. Boasting plenty of features and a good depth of water, the swims have won more matches than most, and John added another triumph to that tally with 68-4-0 from peg 44.
He went for a waggler attack casting to the far bank and only a tricky side wind and the chance of a big net of F1s from one of the other lakes could scupper his plans…
At the peg
“I know most of the pegs at Packington and have fished peg 44 plenty of times. In winter, the carp and F1s are close to the island in around 3ft of water, so rod-and-line tactics dominate. However, there are F1s to be caught from the margins in the last hour, so that played a part in my plan,” says John.
“Even though the wind was a pain, blowing from right to left, I was confident that I’d be able to fish the waggler over to the island, aiming for a gap in the reeds.
The ideal start
“If I can catch a fish within 30 minutes of
the start on the waggler, then the method will work all day. I netted my first carp after 25 minutes on an 8mm hard banded pellet and set myself a target of catching 10 carp.
“Given the strong wind, it was soon apparent that I’d get a window of around 30 seconds after casting to get a bite before the float began to drift through the swim. By putting the bait 10ins overdepth, I managed to slow any movement down, fishing a 5g loaded crystal waggler.
Being patient
“Even though I wasn’t getting many bites, I was kept busy, constantly winding in and recasting the float looking for an instant bite. My hope was that the carp would see the pellet falling alongside the loosefeed and take it immediately but bites were finicky. Despite this, I continued to pick off the odd fish, never really bagging, but as each one was of a good size I was happy enough.
A look in the edge
“Although it’s not really the time of year to catch in the margins, at Packington the edge swim is vital – especially if there are F1s. Provided they feed, you can soon amass 30lb-40lb of them in an hour.
“I’d been feeding maggots and a few micro pellets at 7m down the edge in 4ft of water, which was around three yards out from the bank, but it never really got going here. Two F1s were all I had to show for my efforts.
The weigh-in
“I got a feeling that there weren’t many F1s caught and 60lb or 70lb might be good. I was fishing to win my section for the overall league standings and was confident of having done that. With seven carp and seven F1s in the net, I was reckoning on 60lb-plus and possibly a place in the overall top six. My 68-4-0 was enough to win the whole thing and get me that section win.
Who won overall?
“When the results were totted up, the overall league win and £1,000 in cash went to West Midlands venue regular Lee Richards with a super 11-point score.”
RESULT: 1 J Burchell, Packington, 68-4-0; 2 J Newton, Smithy’s Angling, 61-11-0; 3 J Shirley, Solihull Angling Centre, 60-6-0; 4 C Horsley, Burt Baits, 48-10-0. FINAL LEAGUE: 1 L Richards, 11pts; 2 C Horsley, 18;
3 J Shirley, 19; 4 S Whittaker, 20.