Viaduct spring league, rnd 2

Nice leisurely start today, and Judith came along with the promise of a day say in the sun, we picked Chris fox up at 7.50 and got to the Toby inn carvery in whitchurch village for the 8am opening time, breakfast is pretty much standard every time , so a steady 4.35 on the rixster scale, and we stilled managed to get to the fishery by 9.15,
Drew somewhere towards the end of queue and I pulled out 59, so so much for a day in the sun then, it's one of the few swims where it's shaded all day,
And withy he sun out it was going to be a good day for mugging a few, but due to the shade it's impossible to spot them until they are right on top of you.
So the mugging rig was assembled, along with a meat rig for 5 mtrs, a margin rig for pellet under the trees to my left, a pellet rig for on the deck at 14 mtrs, I also plumbed out by the aerator which is 17.5 mtrs and was surprised to find it over a foot shallower than the surrounding area, so I set a rig for that aswell, I never set up a shallow wag and that was probably a big mistake as it transpired, but I normally do ok mugging with the pole, but today was going to turn out to be different.
Also drawing next to my travelling partner meant  the writing was on the wall, even though he has been catching a few in recent matches be can be the grim reaper when it to carp catching. Before the start I had a quick chat with Clive barrow  who was  on 62,   he drew this peg the day before and fished for silvers, but did suffer some carp problems, so it may be ok.

All in and I fed all swims with relevant baits and began on pellet at 14mtrs, 30minutes in and not a bite, then I had a skimmer (4oz), but apart from a briefly fouled carp that was my only action from this line,
Andy (the white ginger  heron)power was stood up opposite on 69 swinging his shallow wag at fish as they swam by,

 from that side of the lake it's easy to spot fish due to the light and background reflection, but  our bank it's nigh on impossible, but Andy was catching steadily from start to finish, luckily he wasn't in my section.
I had Phil Hardwick on 57 who has been doing well down here , so it was going to be a difficult section to win, and with one of the Welsh wonders in the shape of rich aherne on 56 , and with Chris aswell, it was going to be a tough but fair section.
It soon became apparent that the fish didn't appreciate the pole waving about any where  near them, Chris followed andy,s lead and started to get odd fish on the wag, but the fish didn't seem to want to come into the shade where I was, I could see fish to my left the other side of the rope, and out beyond the shade in  front of me , but well beyond pole length, I did manage one on the mugger and lost another, but  it wasn't happening , so two hours to go and I set up a wag, still couldn't get a bite, Andy opposite was still slaying it, but Chris had all but stopped getting bites, I did hook one in the tail winding in which I duly netted, (ha ha ) and I did get one properly, I also had  two bite s out by the aerator, one 3lb bream and a smallish carp. Last hour saw a few turn up down the edge , but not in the numbers than can show up in this peg.

But the last hour saw me catch three more down here and lose a couple of foul hooked fish, Phil was having a Bit   of a mare, losing a few fish in a nasty snag under the trees to my left,

As  I thought it was a tough but fair section with rich on 56 coming top with over 80lb, and Chris next with just over 70, so third in section, not good but not a serious blow out, It may need it to be my dropper LOL, Andy won the lake with over 320lb but was still only second, crazy.  well done to aiden  boriuk on 123 who had 344lb , just look at the top twenty weights, there probably isn't a venue in the country capable of doing these sort of weights across three lakes., You got to take you had off to the long family ( steve,  mat and helen) for running and maintaining such and incredible fishery.

Overall weigh sheets below