VENUE FILE ANGLER FILE

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1 VENUE DRUMMONDS DUB Location: Upton Bishop, Rosson-Wye, Herefordshire Day tickets: 8 Contact: Andy Neal of Wales takes up the story of his 'international' challenge, where he pits his pellet attack against the roach approach of England's Steve Barraclough. Who will come out on top for their country? ANGLER STEVE BARRACLOUGH Age: 28 Lives: Tickhill, South Yorkshire Sponsors: Frenzee, Bait-Tech, Ultimate Barnsley Blacks Pole: Frenzee Precision P1 666 Contrasting baits to target contrasting species but which will come out on top? 54 November 2011 Pole Fishing p54-58_pf_11_head2head.indd 1 21/09/ :00

2 Battle Of The ANGLER ANDY NEAL Age: 31 Lives: Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, South Wales Sponsors: Frenzee, Bait-Tech Pole: Frenzee Precision P1 666 Pole Fishing November p54-58_pf_11_head2head.indd 2 21/09/ :01

Not a bad start for Andy! Strong winds mean the rigs have to err on the heavier side. As the session progresses, Steve starts panning more and more quality fish of his own.

D rummonds Dub, or Hartleton Lake as the locals know it, near Ross-on-Wye, is a large, old, estatetype lake.

The sport is nothing ng short of brilliant and, with stunning ning scenery, who wouldn t want to fish it?

The bit I love is that there are few carp and the ones that are present are big old fish that rarely figure in matches.

This is a real shame because it would comfortably hold 40 to 50 pegs and the quality of the fishing would make it a sellout!

3 Not a bad start for Andy! Strong winds mean the rigs have to err on the heavier side. As the session progresses, Steve starts panning more and more quality fish of his own. While Andy pots in pellets, Steve launches the first of 12 big balls of groundbait! Can Andy's pellets beat Steve's 'natural' baits? D rummonds Dub, or Hartleton Lake as the locals know it, near Ross-on-Wye, is a large, old, estatetype lake. Although I don t get to fish here a lot, I always take my chances when they arrive, such is the class of the fishing. The sport is nothing ng short of brilliant and, with stunning ning scenery, who wouldn t want to fish it? Although it doesn t host many matches, the ones that are here are often won with 30lb-plus of skimmers, big tench and roach. The bit I love is that there are few carp and the ones that are present are big old fish that rarely figure in matches. The lake is well known in the local area but, surprisingly, there are no consistent open matches here. This is a real shame because it would comfortably hold 40 to 50 pegs and the quality of the fishing would make it a sellout! While my previous visits here have been dominated by skimmers and bonus tench, I m sure you could compete with quality roach too. Quite simply, the place is lifting with them! The matches are always won on pellets and this, I m sure, is because of the amount of roach attacking all other baits, even fishmeal groundbait! I wondered just what the roach potential was and if they could compete with a net of skimmers. I was discussing this with my good pal and Frenzee colleague Steve Barraclough when it dawned on us both: Let s find out! In the weeks leading up to this joint exploratory trip, the usual banter kicked in. I noticed that the more I mentioned it, the more he fancied his chances. Before I knew it we had talked our way into a war, and the obligatory 1 coin was up for grabs. Would Wales (me!) storm out and steal the spoils from the ever-dominant English or would George (AKA Steve) slay the dragon on his own turf? BEFORE I KNEW IT WE HAD TALKED OUR WAY INTO A WAR, AND THE OBLIGATORY 1 COIN WAS UP FOR GRABS. ENGLAND V WALES The big day arrives and we meet at the fishery. Having done several laps of the lake to try to find somewhere out of the gale-force wind, we settle on pegs 20 and 21. This cunning plan is very short lived because, by the time we get our tackle out, the wind has swung right round and is now ripping across us from left to right! Undeterred, we carry on setting up. This may be a problem because I know that the further out I fish, the more chance I will have of catching skimmers. Steve also realises this and prays for more wind. There is no way I m going to suggest moving, so I will just have to man up and get on with it! ANDY S PELLET ATTACK As this is a three-hour sprint, I intend to make one main swim work and build on it. I m using a pellet-only approach and my rigs are varied in size from 0.4g to 1g due to the conditions changing all the time. With pellets I like to fish as close to dead depth as possible because the fish tend to suck in and eject them quickly. Quite simply, you won t see a lot of the bites if you lay lots of line on the deck. This differs from worm fishing, for example because, generally, once a fish picks up the bait, it won t let go of it so quickly, so you can effectively fish more overdepth and slow the rig if it s towing through the swim. Plumbing up I ve found five and a half feet at 13 metres and only an inch less at 11 metres, which is ideal for skimmers. STEVE S NATURAL-BAIT ATTACK My adversary s approach is slightly different because he intends to feed a lot of groundbait containing casters and a bit of joker (he kept that quiet!) at 11 metres. He will also feed a caster-and-worm line at five metres. He has two main rigs for the long pole one for decking various 56 November 2011 Pole Fishing p54-58_pf_11_head2head.indd 3 21/09/ :01

Pellets, pellets and more pellets for Andy! Steve feeds darkened-off VDE G5 groundbait plus casters and joker at 11 metres. Andy makes sure to feed some 4mms along with his micros.

ALL OF A SUDDEN THE BALL IS WELL baits and the other for AND TRULY IN fishing bloodworm just MY COURT AND off bottom.

4g Frenzee FS5 float on 0.12mm Vertex main line with a 0.09mm hooklength of the same material. This rig has a thin fibre tip and will be used if it s hard and bites need to be induced.

The FP600 has a more buoyant, hollow tip in case I need to drag a little line on the deck. All the rigs have been made up on the same diameter lines and coupled with nice, soft No6 elastic.

To this he adds 250ml of joker and half a pint of casters. He also has a couple of pints of casters and some worms for the short line. His hook baits will be caster, maggot or bloodworm.

At the all-in I pot in a big ball of micros containing a few 4mms at 13 metres.

Steve, on the other hand, starts by launching the first of 12 cannonballs of groundbait at 11 metres. He then cups in two jokerrich balls over the top to give him a target area to focus the fish over.

Immediately Steve is catching small roach every drop. I don t mind admitting that I fear the worst as he starts shouting abuse while his catch rate grows!

He s becoming louder and I m starting to wonder what I have done. Then a bite! A missed bite, but still a bite! This shuts Steve up slightly as I rebait with another 4mm expander and ship out.

4 Pellets, pellets and more pellets for Andy! Steve feeds darkened-off VDE G5 groundbait plus casters and joker at 11 metres. Andy makes sure to feed some 4mms along with his micros. Further top-ups are done with a new Frenzee Soft Pot. It clips onto the pole securely without damaging it. Perfect for feeding regular balls of squeezed pellets. ALL OF A SUDDEN THE BALL IS WELL baits and the other for AND TRULY IN fishing bloodworm just MY COURT AND off bottom. A third rig IT'S MY TURN TO is assembled for the DISH OUT SOME short pole and designed BANTER! for fishing casters on the drop at varying depths. ANDY'S RIGS My lightest rig is a 0.4g Frenzee FS5 float on 0.12mm Vertex main line with a 0.09mm hooklength of the same material. This rig has a thin fibre tip and will be used if it s hard and bites need to be induced. A light rig will often attract the most positive bites if you can present it properly. With this in mind I also set up a 0.6g and 1g Frenzee FP600 for poorer conditions. The FP600 has a more buoyant, hollow tip in case I need to drag a little line on the deck. All the rigs have been made up on the same diameter lines and coupled with nice, soft No6 elastic. FEEDING THEORIES Steve has mixed up a bag of VDE G5 groundbait with a little brown crumb plus a touch of black dye to darken the mix slightly. To this he adds 250ml of joker and half a pint of casters. He also has a couple of pints of casters and some worms for the short line. His hook baits will be caster, maggot or bloodworm. My pellet approach involves a bag of Bait-Tech Premium Micro and 4mm feed pellets. These are soaked to soften them to accompany my 4mm and 6mm Bait-Tech Xpand hooker pellets. THE ALL-IN! At the all-in I pot in a big ball of micros containing a few 4mms at 13 metres. I also sprinkle a few 4mms on another line away from this area in an attempt to get me a quick bite while the other swim settles. Steve, on the other hand, starts by launching the first of 12 cannonballs of groundbait at 11 metres. He then cups in two jokerrich balls over the top to give him a target area to focus the fish over. He also immediately starts loose feeding casters over his shorter line. We bait our hooks me with a 4mm pellet and Steve with a single large bloodworm and the game is well and truly under way. Immediately Steve is catching small roach every drop. I don t mind admitting that I fear the worst as he starts shouting abuse while his catch rate grows! All the time I am working my bait over the sparsely fed swim just hoping for an indication. He has 1lb now and things aren t looking good for me. He s becoming louder and I m starting to wonder what I have done. Then a bite! A missed bite, but still a bite! This shuts Steve up slightly as I rebait with another 4mm expander and ship out. No more indications lead me to think this is because I have only fed a tiny amount here, so I swap to my main swim. A few minutes pass before the float dips. A firm lift sees substantial resistance. Skimmer on! Or is it? While gently shipping back, all I can think is: Don t lose it because it could cancel out Steve s small fish in one go! As I grab my top kit and lift I just can t believe it when a 4lb tench pops up result! It looks so immaculate that I have to hold it up so Steve can have a good look. I won t repeat what he says but let s just say he thinks I m lucky! With the pressure off I ship back out and lay the rig in. A quick glance at the northern one confirms that he is now starting to hit his stride and is into a rhythm of catching, shipping and still feeding his short caster line (don t tell him this but it s quite impressive to watch!). What concerns me are the signs that his fish are starting to get bigger. Minutes later and without feeding any more, my float dips again and I m into my first skimmer. The fish here can go to 4lb but tend to be in the 1lb to 2lb bracket. This is a typical Drummonds' skimmer at just over 1lb and a very welcome sight. All of a sudden the ball is well and truly in my court and it s my turn to dish out some banter. And Steve s reply?: You ve set me up here! I suppose there s always an excuse. Back to the fishing and they seem to have moved in over the bed of pellets as bites become more regular. I started on the light rig but am now changing to the heavier 0.6g rig for more control in the gusting wind. Steve, at this point, is still catching but comments on how he may need to come short as he quite simply won t be able to compete with the size of the fish I m getting. He needs to start catching proper stampers on casters and worms to make a match of this. The switch pays off immediately as, although his 11m swim was solid, the shorter line sees him catching 4oz to 6oz fish very regularly. The odd bigger roach and even the odd skimmer, perch and eel put in an appearance it s amazing what you can catch fishing six inches off the bottom on a single caster! Pole Fishing November p54-58_pf_11_head2head.indd 4 21/09/ :01

I make the decision to get it done because time is of the essence, so I cup in another big ball of micros and 4mms.

5 "Have that boyo!" That's 1-0 to Wales! By this time the wind is really ripping and holding a 13m pole is becoming impossible (much to Steve s amusement). This is going to be difficult because e I m now going to have to re-feed somewhere closer. Will they come shorter? I make the decision to get it done because time is of the essence, so I cup in another big ball of micros and 4mms. Ten minutes with no bites has me starting to twitch as Steve puts more and more fish in his net. My float finally starts to move and before long I m thankfully catching skimmers again. Topping up is the hard part because in the past I have always found it best to ping 4mm pellets over the top, but today this is definitely putting them off. Instead, I m feeding small balls of micros via a Frenzee Soft Pot and fishing it out, catching two or three fish on every feed. Steve is into a rhythm of feeding casters and laying his rig in to get his hook bait falling with his loose feed. This is working a treat and he starts to look like a windmill as he s catching that fast! LAST-HOUR SCRAMBLE With an hour to go, Steve is SOON HE IS PLAYING A LARGE SKIMMER OF HIS OWN NOT WHAT I WANTED AT ALL! THE CATCH-UP IS ON! admitting to 10lb (ahem!) so I admit to 12lb. Realistically I think you can stick another 10lb on each weight! Suddenly, all hell breaks loose as the venue starts to tow severely. The wind and tow is really affecting things. I try swapping to my heaviest 1g rig but this is getting me nowhere. Steve also comments that his presentation is dreadful and he now has to feed two metres above where he is catching! My bites have stopped, which gets me thinking about how much of my feed is being taken out of the swim by the tow. I decide to switch and put a big squeezed handful of micros in. This is a gamble but I have to do something because Steve is gaining ground rapidly. This works a treat and switching back to the 0.6g rig sees me line a few fish up before a lull in bites tells me that I need to re-feed. With 20 minutes to go, a momentary drop in wind gets Steve s attention as he grabs his long-pole rig. This goes out with a piece of dendrabaena on the hook and I m thinking that he is admitting defeat by doing this. What I haven t gambled on is the fact that he has seen a few blows over his groundbait and has gone out to see if the skimmers have rocked up! Soon he is playing a large skimmer of his own not what I wanted at all! On shipping back out another soon follows. The catch-up is on! With tow still making life hell for pellet fishing, Steve has an opportunity to steal the gold. This he grabs with both hands as several STEVE'S RIGS Steve's rigs are also made up on Frenzee Vertex line: 0.12mm main line to a 0.08mm hooklength. His floats are Frenzee FS5s for 11 metres for fishing hard on the deck, along with a slim, carrotshaped FS7 float for lifting and lowering bloodworm to help induce bites. A carbonstemmed, plastic-tipped FS3 is his choice for casters at five metres as this is perfect for catching through the layers and presenting a falling bait, mimicking his loose feed. skimmers fall in quick succession before the all-out is called. THE RESULT What an unbelievable three hours fishing we have both had! Steve has caught 175 fish while I haven t had anywhere near that number but my fish have averaged over 1lb. While he is still moaning that he has been tucked up, I know it is close. We reach for our nets for the allimportant catch shot and weigh-in. Steve s bag is easily 30lb. His was a brilliant display of fishing with a cracking net of fish to show for it: roach to nearly 1lb, skimmers and three snakes! I am a touch nervous getting my net out as I think it s gonna be a tight finish. A quick lift sees me with 40lb-plus, however, and the cameraman confirms that the dragon has indeed spanked the three lions! The golden nugget and, more importantly, the bragging rights are mine but, being the gent that I am, I don t rub it in much! It has been a great experiment and one we have both learnt a lot from. Pellets may have won on this occasion but we both agree that you can t ignore the roach. As the weather gets colder and the pellet attack slows, the roach will definitely win you plenty of cash, that s for sure! Next time I will give Steve a chance to win his money back. I suppose he will have to pick the venue but I won t be giving up the mighty 1 easily; it seems far too happy here in South Wales! A big thumbs up for Andy's pellet attack, but Steve wasn't too far behind with his natural baits. 58 November 2011 Pole Fishing p54-58_pf_11_head2head.indd 5 21/09/ :02

RIG ever... PERCH. The best

RIG ever... PERCH. The best The best PERCH RIG ever... Top specialist Neil Wayte has been enjoying great sport with big perch this winter and we ve persuaded him to reveal the rig that s been doing the business. ANGLER FACT FILE