A Dream start

9th November 2020

Matthew Forshaw makes the perfect start to his winter ticket, with a brace of magnificent thirties – what a way to go!

We are sure many anglers out there will have winter plans already setup for their angling. Having missed the best part of spring due to the first UK lockdown, we know many anglers will be looking to catch up on lost time throughout the colder months.

November often sees the start of winter tickets and for Matthew Forshaw this was exactly the case. Having eyed up a particular venue for some time, he was finally offered the chance to have a dabble this winter. He wasted absolutely no time and got off the mark on his very first session!

Armed with Pink Mulbz Pop-Ups & The Krill Active, Matthew was set for a good session!

Matthew continues the story:

“I arrived at the lake, full of anticipation as it was my first on my new water, one I planned on fishing through this coming winter. It was around midday on a Sunday and I had a good look around. After a few laps there wasn’t much to go on, in fact, I didn’t see any signs of fish at all. So, I decided to set up in a swim on the back of the wind, as it just felt right with the weather conditions at the time.

“Once in the swim I had a good lead about and found a lovely clearing in the weed not too far out. The spot was big enough for two rods, so I clipped them up and got my two Hinge Stiff rigs on the dance floor, armed with pink Mulbz pop-ups.

“With the rods out, it was time to get some bait out. I chose The Krill Active in 16mm, and I proceeded to deposit around 3kg over my rods before sitting back in anticipation of some action.

“The first night passed by with no fish, but I did get a few liners, so decided to leave the rods till at least midday, and then re-do them for the night ahead. At 11.30am a good friend came down to see me, and after a few cups of tea, he was about to leave, when out of nowhere my right-hand rod pulled up slowly, and I was into my first fish.

“The fish buried itself into a weed bed and eventually, when I got her free there was a big clump of weed over her head which made the rest of the fight a bit easier. I managed to get her in the net and straight away I could tell it was a good fish, and a stunner too. On the scales she went, 30lb 2oz, the first time that particular fish had been over the 30lb mark, which made it even better. We got some lovely picture’s and slipped her back.

“I got the rods ready and re did them for the night ahead, again I topped the spot up with another kilo of The Krill Active. I sat back feeling happy with the first fish under my belt but also hopeful of another chance.

“In the hours of darkness my left-hand rod was away and after a really long and hard fight I slipped the fish in the net. I couldn’t believe it, I had another big mirror, which was very suprising as the lake is full of commons.

“The fish went 32lb 4oz and I was blown away with how the first session had gone. It was a lovely old character with purple colours running through it, certainly one of the original fish. I got the rods back out but had no more fish after that one, but I couldn’t care less. What a way to start in a new water.”