2019 - Wigston AC Mick Holohan memorial match 29th December

The Mick Holohan memorial match is a must do in the match calendar as its always the last match of the year plus its for a great cause and the great bloke it states .
The match was switched to the canalised section at Aylestone as the South Wigston canal had current poor form but that hopefully should be short lived.

The meeting place for this days great event is the Manor Restaurant for a hearty breakfast and massive chat with all the expectant piscatorials .

Tom Pringle , Chris Marks and Joe Oakes the Wigston table

The draw and my hand stuck to PEG1 ..........end peg , surely a winner !?!?!?!

To my right was the confluence of the natural Soar with the canal in the background

To my left was COLMIC SOAR TACKLE rod Chris Close

The match:

Well i could have not tried any harder as i left no option unturned as i tried repeatedly to extract a bonus or two or more fish out of my peg. I tried laying on , holding back at 3/4 across over bait dropper deads and worm , feeder far side , feeder near side, running and holding back. All for 1-2 which was a pitiful return for a hard days concentration .

Good friend Chris Close was so unlucky to drop a Bream and catch a Pike on worm . Past the bridge on pegs 3 and 4 the fishing faired better , much better , in fact a different world better , in fact the days 1st and 2nd places out of a field of some 46 anglers !



John Borkway on peg 3 had an outstanding catch of fish for 9-5 for 2nd place individual including this stripey of 3-7 !!!

His overall catch included further stripeys and roach

COLMIC WIGSTON AC Tom Pringle was the days top man on peg 4 with 11-1 including 4 stripeys and a skimmer and back up of roach

Paul Taylor with a 3rd place with 7-1

Back to the Manor Restaurant and beer and hard luck stories .

Paul Taylor ...........never away from the coin ......3rd on the day with 7-1

Top dog Tom Pringle ...........did he buy a round !?

Great day for the BROWNING BENNETTS quartet ........anybody seen Paul Greensmith ?

Scores on the boards

Well , simply a marvellous day organised by COLMIC UK manager Adam Nurse and his team. The weights were spectacular in parts and below average in others but that is fishing as there are no guarantees .

2019 - Aylestone River Friday 27th December

Took advantage of decent weather (at least no rain) to get a practice in ready for Sundays WIGSTON AC match switched from the canal because of poor form at the moment .


Early morning decided look at the Dog Kennels end of the match course and found there to be quite a few fish topping which bode well for the days work .

I decided to fish opposite the new development at the St Andrews FC car park . Previously the peg was covered in trees hanging out in the water but its still wide enough to fish 13 meters and further the left at least 14.5 metres .

However i decided to fish 3/4 over just where the river slowed down and it appeared it was free from snags .

I have set up a various amount of gear : Pole feeder , 2gr bolo on 8 metres whip , top5 long line 5 BB stick , 3gr EXNER-Delta flat float  , MAS-CL 0.75gr on a top 5 .

I cannot go into too much detail but i ended up with 11roach for about 3.5lb . Its expected the river will be at least 3 inches down by Sunday so with no over night frosts it will be perfect .

40 plus anglers on this match on Sunday and expect Bream , Big perch and maybe Chub and Carp to play a part in the top returns . Plenty of Roach , Skimmers and Dace to be add .

2019 - Knock up at Heron and Grebe , Wolvey (Next to Makins ) 22nd Dec

MASsive Mark Millington invited a several of us to this fabulous lake complex at Wolvey for a days Winter Silvers bashing ........... it didn't let us down !
The complex consists of three lakes and we fished the middle one and recent results on this complex realised upto 40 lb of silvers ............excited or what !!
Well the previous two days had seen some really heavy rain with localised flooding on the rivers . These lakes took the extra water well yet we were unsure whether it would fish , well the first 30 minutes took care of that uncertainty as all anglers caught well and did for the rest of the match .



I drew peg 1 and fished whip at 6m in 7' water on a 1gr float with two pole rigs of 2.0gr and 1.0gr floats . I used a very fluffy mix of Sensas GG Fine , with blackened (TRACIX) bag of Surface . Also in the mix went 0.25 pt of dead pinkies . Hook bait was maggot and Pinkie.

Mark Millington giving us the form guide of the pool

Mick with lake owner

End of the day and its been bites all day as i have bagged up on Roach , Rudd , Skimmers and Perch . Lost probably the largest Perch i have ever hooked , estimated over 3lb .......pinged the hook just before the landing net .

Top 3 were ...........

 1st with 29lb

Mark Russell on peg 4 with 28lb

Mark Millington 3rd with 19lb

Brilliant complex and it was Silver soup everywhere ...............MAS DAY OUT !?

2019 - COLMIC WIGSTON AC Fur and Feather on the GUC - 15th December

How cruel can weather be to fishing matches when the controlling club (WIGSTON AC) put so much effort into the day . The day was cold , windy in parts but the day started right with breakfast at the Manor Restaurant and that all important draw ........in you go !

Crow Mills 24 stuck to my hand and i was pleased , very pleased with that as that was the section that performed the best last year . However later my expectations were to be extinguished !



Wigston AC doing what they do best .........organising great matches .

Breakfast and draw ........love this expectancy amongst everyone .

The queue of eager onlookers

A scene from my peg 24 on CROW MILLS , a very still scene which matched my result today , very still , very nothing !

Great for Simon Harper on my right taking the car park section with 0.5 ounces (2 roach)
To my LEFT  was P. Pountney who half way through the match connected with a lump taken from the reeds opposite on peg 25 only for it to come off half way over . Confirmed as a Perch of approx 1.5lb which would have given him a chance of 3rd/4th on the day .......... was gutted for him !

Match over , very forgettable day as far as catch returns were concerned  - in the warmth back in the Manor Restaurant  . Mick chatting with Simon Harper who was to my right on peg 23 - I suggested to Simon he might have won his section ..........he did not believe it , but he had !

Rob Biddell

The Prizes table

Stalwart of the Wigston AC and COLMIC UK manager Adam Nurse announcing his displeasure in the days return however the organising of the Wigston AC more than makes up for it .

Phil Tirrel in the coin , again !

Results read out and Peter Jayes of Likely Lads and Toilet fluid fame had won the day , 4lb something.

This is Crow Mills return ...........Big shame but well done to Perry Hubbard and Simon Harper for the only 2 to weigh in with 13 DNW's .