Venue: Lindholme Lakes
Lake / Peg: Benny’s, Peg 53
Match: Sunday Open
Time: 10:30 – 16:00
Weight: 15lb 1oz
Baits
Micros, groundbait, 6mm pellets, 8mm pellets, selection of wafters.
Tactics
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Method feeder at 20–22m
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Method feeder down the margins
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Bomb at 20–22m
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Bomb in the margins
The Session
I started the match on the method feeder, fishing straight out at around 20–22 metres. The swim felt right, but bites were slow to materialise. I had a few liners early on, yet only managed one fish in the first 90 minutes, which immediately set the tone for the day.
I tried the bomb on the same line, hoping to nick a quicker response, but that failed to produce anything. With the open water proving hard work, I turned my attention to the margins.
The margins had been fed earlier and, although I hadn’t seen any clear signs of fish, I felt it was worth a look. That switch paid off with a solid F1 of around 4lb, confirming there were fish willing to feed if put under the right pressure.
After that, persistence on the longer line finally paid dividends. Staying straight out on the feeder resulted in a run of five skimmers, followed by a cracking F1 of around 6lb 8oz — easily the standout fish of the match.
The session ended with two F1s and six skimmers, for a final weight of 15lb 1oz.
What I’d Do Differently
Bites were slow throughout, and in hindsight I’m confident this came down to a poor bomb feeding strategy.
Rather than feeding pellets consistently and matching the hookbait to what was going in, I relied too heavily on colourful wafters to try and attract bites. On a tough day like this, that was probably the wrong approach.
A better strategy would have been:
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Regular, consistent feeding of 6mm pellets
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Matching the hatch with an 8mm pellet on the band
That level of consistency would likely have encouraged more confident feeding and helped convert liners into proper bites.
Lesson learnt.