LAKE FOUR Makins Fishery sponsored by Tackle Guru
28 FEBRUARY 2024
From arrival at the venue and up until around midday, competitors thought they had the wrong day as it was dry, and although overcast and cloudy with a brisk SW wind, reasonably pleasant. Then we were all brought back to earth as the rain commenced and continued in various forms (from drizzle to moderate) right through the remainder of the match and the weigh-in. Combined with the wind it was most unpleasant for anglers on pegs 2 to 13 However, despite the weather, the “sell-out” match fished quite well, with ten weighing in. Prizes were paid to the top two, then default winners from each bank (pegs 2-13 & 17-25). Matt Gaetto, drawing 23 and sheltered from the weather, was only one peg away from his previous outing on the lake and made it two successive wins with an excellent weight of 105-09. He started on the pellet feeder to take six carp in the first two hours before switching to pole and pellet (at 14 metres in only four and a half feet of water) to catch a mix of carp and F1s for the rest of the match. The next five weights were all from the opposite bank, where anglers faced the wind and rain, which inevitably influenced their tactics, as all caught fishing the method feeder. The only pegs with a dearth of fish were the end (albeit the shallower ones), as all others appeared to catch in the deeper water.
Clive Oliver led the field with 63-14, a mix of carp and bream, from peg 6 to take second place, followed by Gaz Kitch (who had the same peg, 11, as in the previous week) with 49-10. Gaz won his bank prize. The other leading weights were John Lack (peg 4) with 44-04, Ricky Arms (8) with 40-12, and Peter Stockwin (9) with 25-09.
The winner of the other bank was Allan Neale (peg 21) who scooped the prize with 19-10.The photos of the winner is an archive shot (due to the heavy rain throughout the weigh-in), and my thanks to Matt and Clive for covering until I was able to catch up with them for the last few weighs.
For the next couple of weeks, I have booked Lakes Three and Four, and if necessary, will split the match over the two lakes, which will hopefully avoid further “sell-outs”. Hopefully, this will cover us until the mud dries up and we can return to Lake Two.
NB. Nisa Opens are held every Wednesday on Phase One at Makins Fishery (see Facebook "Nisa - midweek open matches" to book a place).
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