April the 18th, 15 fished. A Wythall Royal British Legion contest today, at the prolific Hillview Fisheries, and for this event we had booked canals 3 and 4. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the modern commercial fishery, these canals are recognisable as such in width and depth alone. Any barge that was placed on to such a body of water would be – to use a technical term – “pretty fucked”, with no adequate space to manoeuvre, or even to perform a three-point turn. If you booked such a vessel on one of these canals for a middle class weekend jolly with friends, it would be a pretty demo ..read more

Back to Bleadon today, and the beautiful Shiplate Farm, for the final round of Tony’s four day festival. After three hard-fought contests, Phil Southgate was out on his own with an excellent score of nine points, followed closely behind by Joe Wood and Eddie Swann, both on eleven points. I sat in a group of three anglers on a score of thirteen, so being rational, it would be highly improbable that I could win the event from this position. Still, if I fished a decent contest, a framing place was a sound possibility. Ooooooooh shiny thing!As is customary for The Cider Cup, the draw was made on t ..read more

A jolly outing to Bridgwater today, for the third of four contests in our annual Somerset September festival. If you missed my blog covering the first two days’ fishing, please click on the following link https://deepshallowblog.com/2019/09/05/shiplate-farm-days-1-and-2-of-festival/ Before we arrived in cider country, I predicted that this competition would be won or lost at The Sedges, but considering this now, I think it highly unlikely that the winner of The Cider Cup could be confirmed as early as day three. What I will stand by though, is my belief that the trophy could be lost at The Sed ..read more

Our annual pilgrimage to Somerset this weekend, for Tony Corbett’s four match mini-festival – and a welcome break from Brexit, Back-stop, Boris and several other inglorious B’s. For a few days, at least. This would be my first visit to cider country since an ill-fated trip in June, where I suffered an extreme case of reverse-Midas, as everything I touched turned miraculously into faeces. Aside from parting company with hundreds of pounds worth of fishing apparatus – an impressive list including two top kits, a number 4 section, an accessory bar and my entire collection of pole-mounted pots – I ..read more

July the 28th, 16 fished. A Wythall Royal British Legion AC contest today, at Woodland View fishery, in rural Worcestershire. For this, the seventh club match of the season, we would be fishing Ghost. I always look forward to matches on this pool because it is, in my opinion, one of the very best in the midlands. Ghost – no smoking, please!I hoped that my win at Ockeridge on Saturday would prepare me well for this contest, especially with both the fishing and stamp of fish being similar at each venue. Tactically, a simple contest of short pole, shallow and edges ought to be the order of the da ..read more

July the 27th, 11 fished. A rare outing with Rolls-Royce Angling Club this week, at the prolific Ockeridge Lakes in Worcestershire. This would be the first contest of a much-anticipated weekend double-header – and a welcome spell on the bank after a “dry” month since moving north of the border. I had been really looking forward to seeing my old work colleagues, and felt sure they would still be buzzing after their victory in The Lucas National (see ‘Packington Somers, Lucas National’ and ‘Lower Park, Lucas National’ for previous years’ blogs.) Until recent times, we were always placed last or ..read more

May the 19th, 17 fished. A good turn out of seventeen anglers today for this Wythall Royal British Legion contest, held at Woodland View fishery in Worcestershire. For this match we would be spread over sibling waters Hay and Barley; a pair of pools we book year-upon-year as they consistently provide us with excellent sport. Greeny, antennae sticking out of his hat, preparing to peg out Hay and Barley… Personal circumstances mean that I have dropped off the blogging a little of late, but after being inundated with two messages urging me to continue deep-shallow, I thought I should give the pub ..read more

March the 10th, 14 fished. A healthy turn out of fourteen anglers today, for this Hall Green Home Guard contest – and after last month’s bluster-fest at Alvechurch Fisheries we decided to venture just a few miles up the road, to the gustier-still Lower Park. A venue often referred to as “Blower Park” due to the extraordinary winds that whip through the fishery. For today’s contest we would be fishing Abbey Pool – often referred to as “Slabbey Pool” due to the piles of housebricks, rocks and chunks of concrete present in the margins. Rumour has it that all of this building detritus came about w ..read more

February the 14th, 27 fished. A trip to Lower Park today, for the Senile and Shirkers’ Thursday Open – and it would be fair to presume that a number of the anglers attending this contest might be classed as “experienced.” In fact, being just forty years of age, I believe I only received an invite to fish for the following reasons: 1. To weigh in. 2. Because some of the anglers (or “fishing fossils” as they are commonly known) might get a mention in the blog. 3. To bring the average age down by a couple of years. 4. Because I’m a practicing first-aider, so could be called upon to perform CPR at ..read more

December the 2nd, 18 fished. A good turn out of eighteen anglers today, for this Hall Green Home Guard AC Christmas contest, a number bolstered by five fishermen who had taken up the opportunity to come along as guests. Under normal club rules non-members are not allowed, but with this fixture falling outwith the regular season we decided to give our members the option to bring along a friend, for a taste of what the club is all about and to offer the option of joining next season. Usually the Home Guard’s December contest is a “fur and feather” affair, with each angler recieving a small gift ..read more