Dorset Shield Round 4 And Winter League Update

Dorset Shield Round 4

So yesterday was my first match as a sponsored angler and it was Round 4 of the Dorset Shield hosted by Blandford Angling.

The Shield is all about 5 Angling Clubs getting together for 5 matches and battling it out for the trophy. Each Club has 4 members in the team and each individual is in a section. 4 sections of 5 anglers with a 1st and 2nd payout and an overall winner payout. I've really enjoyed fishing it this year on the river and I like to think I've done well against some good anglers.

Before the match I found out as much info as I could before hand and all I managed to get was "one end is 10-12' and the other is 4-5'!". I knew instantly that I needed to draw between pegs 1 and 8, but the draw gods were against me and I ended up with peg 12. 

Walking the field, which felt like an eternity, I soon realised I was against some good anglers and I soon got chatting and having a laugh with them. Reaching my peg I unloaded my trolley and set up my box, side tray, roost and then mixed my groundbait. Next out was the pole rollers, keepnet out and landing net and bait bag. Not knowing the depths and with the river flowing a tad more the usual I set up a 3.0gm Drennan Trio to hold back in the flow. Mainline was Matrix Power Micron (2lb b/s) to a Power Micron hooklength (1lb) and a Matrix size 20 Silver Barbed hook. The plummet, at 13m, hit the deck and I could of cried! Peg 11 shouted to me "is that all the depth you have?" to which I replied yes. TO be honest, I thought he was going to jump in but he looked up and said "low weights down this end today then" and he wasn't wrong. I set up a slightly shorter line for bread punch as well as frost overnight may have made things harder so I kept this as my emergency line should I need it.

With 2 rigs set up I prepared my bait, Hemp, Castor, Maggot and Pinkie sorted and time for my groundbait. I used Sonubait Super Crumb River which is a new mix from them. It is a fine mix but heavy and sticky to enable you to pack it with hemp, castor or any other particles and get it down quickly. I have been having great success with this in my winter league as I will explain below.

To kick off my swim I cupped in 2 tennis ball sized balls off just grounbait and then fished a single white maggot on the hook. I caught 5 fish quickly around 1-3oz's then everything went dead. I picked off one more fish after an hour and not a touch for the remainder of the match at 13m. I loosefed some hemp to create a noise and to try bring fish in but it failed. I fed my crumb line then had a coffee and ran through my options. I left the 13m and concentrated on the punch. The punch rig was the same only in 1,5gm. Same lines and hook. The Power Micron is superb with it being so soft and supple and low diameter I have total faith with it no matter what I am fishing for, The Silver hook is perfect for punch and small single hook baits like Pinkie, maggot and castor. Ideal match hook and great when the waters has a tinge of colour to it.

D Section was won with 5oz's and my team mate grabbed our only decent points with 2nd and 4oz's. I weighed in with 7oz in Section C for 3rd. 2nd was 9oz and our section winner had 12oz from peg 11. I'm not sure on the weight for the other sections but the rest of my team finished 3rd in their sections.

Though results leave us (Stalbridge) in 5th (out of the 5 teams) and to stand any chance of winning the trophy we must win our sections in 2 weeks and hope other results go our way. Last round is at Sturminster. Full of Skimbobs, Roach, Perch and big Bream! Looking forward to a interesting final round!

Peg 12 at Blandford. Lovely looking peg, just a shame it had no depth.

Stalbridge Angling Society Winter League

This is my first proper go at this league and I am loving it. Ok so a few fixture's have been re-arranged but I can't complain. We have 2 more matches to fish and one of those is this coming Sunday at Kings Mill. Pegging is up stream and on the Mill Pool but if numbers drop it will be on the pool. 

Things are looking good for this league at the moment as I am currently 2nd and I have won the Dave Chant Memorial Trophy :) So that trophy along with last years winter league Christmas match means 2 trophies in 2 winter leagues with the chance of winning the league title and the Dorset Shield for a 2014/2015 Winter Treble! Winning the treble or league and memorial double would be a huge boost especially after picking up sponsorship just over 2 weeks ago. That would be a great first report to send up to Matrix HQ! 

No huge weights yet but I will push forward and make sure I don't go down without a fight. I'm going to work bloody hard to bring home that League title. It starts this weekend!

All to play for. 2 Frames and beating 1st will secure the title.

I'm fishing well and it's down to preparing well and being organised on the bank. I never use the same rig twice, same with hooklengths, fresh bait from work, advice from fellow anglers and my bosses help me lots and help my role in the shop too. I'm happy and to be honest it is the happiest I have ever been. It's all down to one thing....

FISHING!!

Matrix Tackle, Check It Out!

This blog is about Matrix, a new British tackle brand that has looked at the market and come up with some smart, affordable and exceptional quality tackle to help you and I catch more fish.

Looking at the market, Matrix wanted to come up with fresh new idea's that could freshen up the shelves of tackle stores. They have produced everything from hooks right the way through to luggage and it comes in simple yet eye catching packaging.

The list of products is big and if you don't see any of the product in your local store I will be amazed. 

Hooks

Matrix have designed a range of hooks to cater for everything. Be it hair rigging on a method feeder, banding pellets, fishing for commercial silvers and of course bagging up for carp! These have all been manufactured to high standard and all have needle sharp points.

Line

The Matrix Power Micron line is exceptional for pole rigs and hook lengths. Minimal stretch, soft and supple, well packaged and at a reasonable price. They have also produced a quick sinking feeder mono and a braid.

Pole Floats

A big range of pole floats have been produced that are strong and robust. Floats for Silver fish, floats for carp, big baits, small baits, shallow fishing and edge fishing. There is a float for every situation in the range.

Elastics

2 choices of Elastics from Matrix. Hollow and Solids.The hollow range has 4 strengths Ranging from 8 right up to 14. Sold in 3m lengths, these are affordable and they take some beating. The solid range has more choice and comes in 6m lengths. They range from the new number 2 through to number 18. 

Seat Boxes

Matrix have developed some cracking boxes. The Superbox 1 and the Superbox 1 Silver Edition are superbly built and great value for money. These are the 2 biggest boxes in range and come with a sliding footplate and round telescopic legs. Also in the range are the Match Master, Match Master Pole and Match Master Feeder boxes. These come with a folding footplate and round legs. All the boxes are modular so you can add and subtract draws, winder trays etc.

Rods & Reels

A large range of rods have been made to suit any situation. Method feeder fishing for carp with a Carpmaster, fishing a large water with the Horizon Feeder can all be done with the rods available. All built to the highest standards and thoroughly tested, all the rods will stand up to the tasks given.

Reels have been made to suit the rods and all look stunning. The Horizon feeder reel build to cast distances with ease thanks to its spool and the Ultron range are small and compact front drag reels that fit brilliantly on the Carpmaster rods as does the Reflex 4000. Coming out soon is another reel, Super Feeder 5500!

Evolution System

The Evolution system is something I have total faith in. I think it's the best thing to hit the shelves in a while. It allows you to change from fishing a pellet feeder to a method feeder without cutting any line. Also you can out on a lead clip which will allow you to fish with a feeder or a lead in seconds. All this is because of the evolution system. A simple groove in the back of the pellet and method feeders that allows you to remove them. You can fish 4 methods on 1 rod. Below, is the link to the 30 minute video of the Evolution System and how its used. Just click on the link to view.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omVIiCNvvZ4

Matrix have made great Tackle since they started and I can't wait to see what they have lined up in 2015. Strong, reliable, affordable, quality gear.

"The Choice Of Champions"

Fresh Thinking, only from Matrix.

To View Matrix Products please click on the link: www.fishmatrix.co.uk

To Buy Matrix Products please click on the link: www.tackleuk.co.uk

Todber Manor & Brick Yard Farm, Matches And A Total Shock

Todber Manor

So for my first sessions of 2015 began with a trip to Todber Manor's Bottom White Post Lake on Sunday. I made set up a line on the pole and I also set up the tip rod.

Pole line was at 5 sections feeding softened micro pellet through a small toss pot and fishing dead red maggots. I fed a golf ball size to kick start and was soon having indications on the float. Started off catching Skimmers around the 6oz mark and, eventually the carp moved in. The carp were around 4 to 5lbs and they put a nice fight on Matrix 8 Hollow elastic.

The Rigs: Matrix 0.13mm Power Micron main line to Matrix 0.11mm Power Micron hook length and a size 20 carp bagger hook. The float was one of my own home made pencil floats taking 4 number 8 stotz in a simple strung bulk.

My tip rod was set up for the far bank where I would pop up bread on a straight lead. I made 4", 6" and 8" hook lengths to a 20 Matrix carp rigger hook with a Matrix Super Stop with a 3/4" hair to house 2-3 bread disks. 

The Rod & Reel: Matrix 9' Carpmaster fitted with a Matrix Ultron 3000 reel.

I finished up with roughly 50lbs of Carp and silvers which was a good result considering others struggled.

Brick Yard Farm

On Monday I went out to Brick Yard Farm to target Silvers on bread. The water was high and clear and I knew bread would work well.

Pole only setup with 2 match kits fitted with Matrix Number 4 Solid elastic in its vibrant orange colour. I set up 2 rigs purely because the lake holds Carp that are fed on bread often so it was a backup just in case of being broken.

I used a 4x14 Drennan Roach float fishing in 4-5' of water with a stung bulk of number 8 shot and 2 number 11 droppers 8" from the hook. The Roach and Rudd are in there number so I knew I would be in for a good days sport.

I fed a golf ball of liquidised bread and fished small punch on the hook which was a Matrix Silver Barbless size 20. A new hook by Matrix that is perfect for punch with it's fine wire and sharp point.Catching plenty of small fish I scaled up in bait size to a medium punch and fed bread through a toss pot. Feeding regularly with the toss pot had me catching some quality Roach and Rudd and even the odd bonus small Carp!

The Rig: 4x14 Drennan Roach, Matrix 0.11mm Power Micron Main line and 0.09mm Power Micron hook length to a Silver Barbless Size 20 hook.

Elastic: Matrix Solid 4 set to just creep back inside the pole.

Roughly 8-10lbs of Roach, Rudd and Carp all caught on Bread Punch

Matches

I now have 2 matches confirmed, re-arranged from 2014 due to high Rivers. This coming Sunday is Stalbridge Angling Winter League Round 4 on the Stour then on the 25th its the North Dorset Shield, again, on the Stour at either Blandford or Sturminster.

A Total Shock

So today I received a call. Not a call asking if we had sea bait or if we had something in stock, oh no. The one of the owner passed me over to the Matrix Rep who then asked if I would liked to be SPONSORED!! Something I really wasn't expecting. I stood there in shock thinking it was a wind up be then realising that the rep was serious. I have always wondered what it would be like to be sponsored in some way by a company and when things get rolling it's going to feel so strange. 

The rep explained that because I have ordered a fair few Matrix products that it would be good for me to have a sponsorship as they will be out on view for people to see.The strange thing is that on Sunday I was talking to a few guys that asked about the gear I was using and I said how good the Matrix gear is and how smart it all looks as well as its durability. 2 days later I am sponsored by them. CRAZY!!!

So My Life In Angling reel-ly is awesome right now. I great job, a sport I love and now SPONSORSHIP!

Matrix Tackle is all very smart looking and affordable. It's strong, easy to use and all new. Another thing, IT'S BRITISH!!! If you haven't seen any of the products then you should take the time to view them.

Fresh Thinking From Matrix! Click the link below to view the official website and to see the products.

Official Matrix Website: www.fishmatrix.co.uk

Official Matrix YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/ifishmatrix

To purchase Matrix products please visit the TackleUk online store by clicking on the link below

TackleUk Official Online Store: www.tackleuk.co.uk