Match practice-does it work?

[chefster]

Today i went to Toft farm carp lake ,as its the last chance i,ll get before the Bucko MD 4-a-side,i wanted to work out a plan,for Saturday...Went with my fishing "partner" Bad H ,and to cut a long story short,we absolutely shedded up on pole and meat at 2+2,Bad H,shedded as well on several methods....the thing is,instead of brimming with confidence,i,m now questioning,whether its a false sense of acheivement ,as there were only 4 anglers on our end of the lake -who knows ,does practicing work or does it lead you into a false sense of security and it all goes out of the window come match day??Chef

 

[peter crabtree]

Let's face it Chef, the commotion caused by the "what peg's that mate?" bank stompers with barrows ( including me ) then the nets going in all round. Practice casting and plumbing up all add to a situation where the fish (seemingly) know things are not usual.
Then comes the whistle and bait starts raining in.

Practicing on a quiet day you're bound to do well innit.....

 

[chefster]

Let's face it Chef, the commotion caused by the "what peg's that mate?" bank stompers with barrows ( including me ) then the nets going in all round. Practice casting and plumbing up all add to a situation where the fish (seemingly) know things are not usual.
Then comes the whistle and bait starts raining in.

Practicing on a quiet day you're bound to do well innit.....

Absolutely what i was thinking,at least ive got some rig patterns to re-make,knowing depths etc..i hope i get an island peg actually,then fish method all day,mind you its one of those venues with more fish than waterand anyone of 55 pegs can winGaz

 

[markv]

Not for me really. I think it's good to get an idea of depths / species etc if you don't know the venue, or even to practice methods you're not confident with, but as to being anywhere close to match conditions, no chance.

Much easier when a match isn't on.

Even I can catch out on my own ! To give a good example. just a few years ago I popped down to Evesham midweek a few timesand was catchhing pretty well, thinking I was sussing it out. Couldn't understand what all the struggle was about in the qualifiers lol. Totally, totally different in matches. I always used to say, they KNOW it's Saturday, or sunday.

Only fished Tofts Carp once pleasuring it, as I call it. once. Fish a chuck. Got bored with it. Not saying it's always like that for me pleasure fishing, no way, but definitely it's easier. Can't do it like that in matches.

Gives you (i mean me) a false sense of ability. Take what you catch pleasuring, or practising if thats what you're doing and divide it by at least 2, maybe 5 lol.

 

[steph mckenzie]

Ask yourself this question ..... would you have felt better if you had turned up and struggled to catch. It must almost be impossible to turn up on a practice session and replicate what is going to happen on the match day. Putting the effort in will pay off in other ways though.

If you are Match Fishing and holding your own, then you are already a very competent angler who is probably quite confident in their abilities to fish and fish well.

Where the practice does come in to play is that you are willing to put the time in (not all anglers can be bothered) and as has been mentioned already, you can find out the depths, fish stocks, preferred baits, methods etc etc.

I'm sure that on the day you will turn up and fish it with as much confidence and experience without even having to think to much about it, you'll probably think more about it after the match has finished.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Let's face it Chef, the commotion caused by the "what peg's that mate?" bank stompers with barrows ( including me ) then the nets going in all round. Practice casting and plumbing up all add to a situation where the fish (seemingly) know things are not usual.
Then comes the whistle and bait starts raining in.

Practicing on a quiet day you're bound to do well innit.....

I totally agree with Simon, especially on those venues that have boardwalks around them, Clattercote for example.

Go there to practice (assuming there is water in it) and you will catch well on almost any method.

On matchday morning there will be maybe 40 or 50 anglers clod-hopping along the boards making a heck of a noise while most of the target fish 'leg it' out past normal casting distance for most anglers.

On other venues, eg Willow or Gold Valley it is not so bad seeing as they are smaller than Clattercote and let's face it, the fish are pretty much "tame" there anyway.

I would still use my practice time wisely though, not so much as to gauge winning or framing weights but more to test new rigs, different baits or methods and also to get a much better idea of the depths around the venue.

 

[chefster]

I think basically, its obviously not going to fish its nuts off,but it will need a 100 lb or there abouts to frame,but it is a team match so its more about winning the section....i think i,ve found a winning bait combo and worked out a plan,it just depends on the day,rigs will be sorted and set to correct depths etc to save time on the day......and a lot of the guesswork has been taken out.....The fish have finished spawning so should be hungry!!! thanks for the input guys,cheers Gaz