I’ve had a frustrating time of late chasing Kamasan Matchman of the Year points but I had a lovely day’s fishing recently in the Rushmore League at Gold Valley, netting 71lb of skimmers for fifth overall, using Sonu S pellet feed pellets.

At the start on Gold Lake, pegged on the Canal Bank, I potted in two big pots of soaked 2mm S Pellets, then picked up the catty and loosefed 6mm soaked, softened Fin Perfect feed pellets over the top.

I kicked off fishing for carp without success and after an hour-and-a-quarter picked up the pole rig for my S pellet line and went over it with a 4mm Fin Perfect expander.

The float buried within 15 seconds and that was the start of a lovely couple of hours’ fishing, bringing literally a skimmer every put-in.
I finished up with 71lb for fifth, with a 73lb fourth and a 76lb – both carp weights – taking third place. There were two 100lb carp nets for first and second. Despite missing out on Kamasan points, I enjoyed the day thoroughly.

I was fortunate because it was a very windy day yet where I drew the wind was of my back and it was flat calm at 14.5 metres on the pole line where I plundered the skimmers.

I used a Preston Slip original number eight elastic through my Pullakit and chose a 4 x 16 Preston Inter 4 float, with a wire stem, for the seven-foot-deep peg. The main line was Preston Powerline in 0.13mm diameter with a .10mm hooklength of the same, with a size 18 PR21 hook finishing it off.

I incorporated a strung bulk of five number eight shot, two-and-a-half feet from the hook, with two number 10s, a foot apart, to the hook.
The previous day I had won a match at Willow Park when I guested for a team. I drew on a little lake and when I walked to my peg the wind was straight in my face and gale force.

I was feeling under the weather as I had a bad cold, but I set up a waggler rod as it was a float-only league. I put on a 4AAA straight peacock waggler with a good bit showing, and fished a 6mm banded hair-rigged Sonu Fin Perfect pellet a foot overdepth. Casting as hard as I could, I only sent the float out 20 metres and my 6mm feed pellets were only going 14 to 16 metres maximum.

I had to constantly wind as the float was pushed in towards me, but the first bite, when it came, resulted in a 10lb carp.
I went on to catch another carp, 5 F1s and three bream for a total weight of 37lb – good enough to win my lake and the match!