Dandys Ford Fishery, Romsey.

[TF_Stevie H]

Hi guys,

Got a match in a few weeks on Dandys Ford. Never been there and can’t seem to get much info about the place with regards to the match weights etc.

It seems to me from their website that 1 lake holds some carp into doubles and the other 2 lakes have small carp/mixed fish. We are on all 3 lakes.

Any info on how to approach a match there would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance,

Steve

[basshallParticipant]

hi if you ring jhon on 07889314929 he will help you he lives there all the best

[TF_Stevie H]

Thanks mate,

Will give him a bell 🙂

[TF_cormorant]

stevie h
there are three lakes at dandy’s ford.
lodge lake, snake lake and the match lake.
you need to know which lake you are fishing.
once you know which lake contact someone like selfey for the latest info.
i have not fished there for a while but hope to go this week.
you will probably be on match lake so you will need pole, waggler and feeder with you.
the match lake has been extended this year to about 23 pegs.
for baits i suggest pellets, sweetcorn, meat, maggots and a few worms – they all catch on their day.
matches are regularly won with over 100 lbs and the fishery provides it’s own keepnets although you must dip your landing net before you go to your peg.
john is most helpful with advice and there is a clubhouse/cafe serving drinks, snacks, meals etc.(great breakfasts!!!)
best of luck,
cormorant.

[TF_Stevie H]

Cormorant,

Thanks mate, we are fishing a 48 peg match….6 teams of 8 so I guess amongst us we will be spread over all three lakes.

It seems from what I read that lodge has a few lumps in it. I guess that match and the canal lake are pretty much the same, is that correct?

I will get in touch with John for some latest info. I am going to try to get down for a practice in the next couple of weeks myself.

Cheers

Steve

[TF_paulcarpenter]

its a top notch venue, you will feel very welcome there and they do a smashing breakfast and cakes. lodge lake has loads of big big fish match lake is awesome fishing you have loads of room on there.

[TF_cormorant]

stevie H
thanks, and yes it look as if you will be spread across all three lakes as there are only just over 50 pegs in all.
10 pegs on snake lake, 23 on match ( i think) and about 20 on lodge.
biggest fish are in lodge, lots of fish in match and snake to get to grips with.
lodge has carp, bream, chub,barbel, roach, perch to go for with the best carp about 20 lbs by now.
cormoranats ac had a club match there yesterday and if i can get the results etc i’ll let you have all the details.
cheers,
cormorant

[TF_Stevie H]

Brilliant Cormorant,

I would appreciate that mate if you can get the results.

Again, cheers for the gen.

Steve

[TF_cormorant]

stevie h

7-angler match on the match lake sunday produced a winning weight of just under 300 pounds from peg 12 with two 180 lbs-plus from pegs 14 and 18. 😮 😮 😮
there was a 150 plus, 100 plus and two 80 lbs plus weights for the others.
hope this helps.
cheers
cormorant 😉

[TF_kingfisher]

Hi Stevie H,
I spoke to cormorant today who told me you are after the results of yesterdays match. Having fished it myself the results were:-

1st – Peg 12 with 297-14 (no it’s not a typo!)
2nd – Peg 14 with 185-04
3rd – Peg 18 with 179-10
4th – Peg 6 with 150-06
5th – Peg 20 with 108-00
6th – Peg 23 with 83-10

Before you get too excited, this was a small club match fished over 6 hours on the Match Lake with plenty of room for everybody, but shows the potential. Looking at the amount of pegs for your match, virtually all will be in, so don’t expect these sorts of weights, but you should still need 100lbs+ to frame.

All the top weights were caught pole fishing shallow (note – minimum hooklength allowed is 12″) with either pellet or meat, and consist of carp up to 8lb (but the average is 1 1/2lb – 2lb) with good size skimmers (average 1 1/4lb), small barbel (up to 2lb) and small roach and chub also. If it stays mild, nothing will change but if it goes colder you can catch on the feeder (note – method feeders are banned) to the island if you have a chuck, waggler deep shallow to full depth, and pole fished to depth.

To fish shallow just keep pinging pellets little and often, lifting and dropping through it. Be aware though the fish are very spooky with a pole over their heads, especially when it’s bright and sunny, so might pay to long line it keeping the pole away from your feed. You can fish the wagg shallow but you’ll miss more bites than you hit.

Most pegs on Match Lake are capable of a ton plus but it can be hard on pegs 8 – 11 and 15 – 17 with pressure on the lake.

The Canal lake has 10 pegs with a lower stocking density, although John the owner is gradually introducing more fish. It’s quite deep with the favoured pegs being towards the lodge end. 40 – 50lb is a good weight on here.

The main lake (Lodge Lake) doesn’t usually host matches and holds the biggest fish on the complex. There are plenty of double figure carp, good sized crucians and big roach and bream to be caught. Feeder or pole to the islands, with wagg if necessary should produce the goods. Pellet wagg works if it’s mild enough. Depending on how it reacts to the unusual pressure for this lake, a ton plus is possible.

The only baits I would take personally would be pellet (hard and expanders), meat or corn. If you are fishing for points in a team situation then maggot will get bites off everything but you’ll need to be catching carp to do well, so you’ll probably get bitted out.

As already mentioned, do yourself a favour and get there early for the breakfast, it’s about as good as it gets!!

Have a good’un and let us know how it went.

[TF_Stevie H]

Kingfisher,

Thanks for the gen mate, I really appreciate it.

Its always good to know these rules about methods/hookengths/keepnets etc. As I had no idea about them until now.

What size hard pellet are you using shallow?? 6mm and pinging 6mm or smaller?

I will let you know how we get on mate.

Cheers

Steve

[TF_kingfisher]

No problem mate.

Personally, I feed and fish the same, which is banded 6mm Sonubaits Fin Perfects or Tigerfish.

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