Guest Blog by Freddie Holding
Recently, I was up at Chard Reservoir for a team match. I have drawn peg 17 in the forest and with not fishing the venue before, I wasn’t sure how good the peg would be. After chatting to a few people, I found it was a good area. In a match two weeks ago it was won on the whip in the peg next to me with 55lb. Naturally, this would be my plan of attack. I also set up the Cadence 11ft Feeder #2 at 25m, this was just past a drop-off where I had around 7ft of water.
As the ALL IN was called the Cadence CP200 Whip sprung into action, seeing a steady stream of perch averaging 4oz coming to my hand. But with the lack of ripple over the water coupled with the bright sun, they soon pushed off this line. This became apparent for everyone, and that meant it was time for the feeder rod.
At the start of the match I had put 10 large Edge Feeder fulls on this line in the hope the skimmers would settle, of which they did! The next 30 minutes resulted in 6 skimmers in the net, averaging 1lb 8oz with a bigger fish of about 2lb +. From here the match became a struggle. Not only for me but the anglers around me and by speaking to my teammates on the phone it was apparent that the reservoir wasn’t responding too well to the weather.
With the fishing becoming more challenging, it meant that every fish counted. The soft CR10 11ft #2 Feeder rod helped to keep the skimmers from bumping, and the Edge Sinking Mono gave confidence. With fishing over a ledge and the fact the odd big carp were up for grabs meant I went slightly heavier than usual. With the 8lb Sinking Mono, I knew I had a fighting chance if I happened to hook a decent fish.
As the match wore on, the skimmers kept coming, not fast by any means, but I was catching a few. Getting runs of two or three fish until they backed out of the swim. By this time, the whip had completely died. The fish just didn’t want to be in that shallow water, and it just wasn’t an option to stay on it. By alternating between worm, maggot, and corn, I kept picking up fish. The only issue was people around me were doing the same and I became aware that a few anglers around me were level with me. My head stayed down trying to get fish in the net.
Before I knew it, the match had finished. Although a very hot day, it was an enjoyable one. I had managed to compile around 18 skimmers and a few whip fish for 24lb. This gave me a 2nd in section which I was more than pleased with considering the standard of anglers on show.
The Edge Terminal Tackle helped me to fine everything down to gain a few more bites while still having the strength to deal with any big fish that might have showed themselves. All in all, a highly enjoyable match and I shall definitely return to this fabulous venue!
