Match Pool

 See Giles Cochrane's tactics below.....

The match pools has 31 comfortable concrete pegs, and the pole, waggler, feeder or ledger will catch you fish on this water.

It is stocked with carp to an average of about 6-7lb and plenty of double figures. This pool boasts a five hour match record of 246lbs in Febuary 2003.

Stocked with mirrors, commons, bream, rudd and perch, it is a anglers haven.

 Giles' Tactics

By Giles Cochrane

Match lake pegs 1 – 12 / 23 - 30

General Approach. April to October

Most of the pegs on this bank respond well to chopped worm and caster on the long pole but a good tip here is to include maggots into the mix. The bigger carp definitely prefer the maggot and double maggot fished dead depth will account for some of the bigger fish. Better not to chop the worm too fine and include caster and maggot at a ratio of about 3:1 with the worm. Keep a look out for fizzing in the peg which means that the carp have come off the bottom to feed. Try small pieces of worm and single caster at half depth too get over this problem. Feed with kinder pot at all times and avoid dumping in bait to get the fish fizzing.

 Individual pegs

 Peg one is a good margin peg but the most likelihood of a carp or two will be to your right about ten metres down the bank. Some barbel and chub too from the same line and this peg responds well to the worm and caster. The swim to your left is not as productive but it is possible to put a good weight of chub together from here. A deeper hole to your right at eight meters gives you the opportunity to search this shelf for carp on the deck with either worm and caster or meat and corn. This feature is straight out and in front but slightly to you right.

Pegs 3 and 5 have a large population of chub at certain times throughout the year and a maggot feeder is a good bet for them. Don’t ignore the margin to your left on 3 but the swim to the right can be a problem with sunken roots so better to leave that line well alone or fish short of the tree.

Peg 6, 7 and 8 are all open water pegs but each has the potential for throwing up a good weight of carp from the margin. Meat and corn is always a good bet but caster and worm is better for putting a mixed bag together. It is better to go for what is in the peg and the chub weigh about a pound but can go to 2.5lb

Open water pegs all have the capability to catch a lot of fish on the straight lead and hair rigged meat approach which wins a significant amount of matches at Docklow. Fish with a running lead and strong hook length  (Diameter .20 – 6lb minimum) and a size 14 hook tied with a knotless knot. Loose feed meat through a catapult and the secret is to keep feeding regularly. Three to four tins of meat should be enough for a five hour match.

Pegs 9, 10, 11 and 12 all have an island chuck so maggot feeder or straight lead will be a good option here. Don’t forget the margins especially if you have some room but the last two hours is when you should really be trying the inside lines as they can often be unproductive until the end. The fish here can be big so sensible gear is required which means nothing less than diameter .18 on rigs. Loose feed rather than pot in bait and fish for one fish at a time. It is no good dumping bait in as you get far too many fish in the pegs. The pegs in the bowl are all margin pegs and it pays to just target carp here from the start. The fish are big and you do not need many of them but the tactics used for the previous pegs will all be worth trying on pegs 14 -21.

The pegs running from 23 to 27 al have the potential for big weights from the open water and again long pole at 12.5 -14 metres is a good area to start off. The peg at the end of the lake; number 30 is a good peg for carp and some anglers tend to fish waggler to the staging at 20 metres. The problem with this method is that the fish will kite to the staging and a number of fish are usually lost throughout the match. A better option is to fish the straight lead with hair rigged corn or meat and loose feed over the top. There is no need to cast too tight to the staging as the fish tend to move about a fair bit during the course of a match.

 Three Doubles all caught at the same time - summer 2009. Left to right Sandra Sayer 12lb Stan Davies 11lb Paul Sayer 10lb