Match weights at the popular Messingham Sands complex near Scunthorpe are steadily improving as the springtime weather sets in.
This is probably the best time of the year for competitive matches at Messingham Sands. It is possible to win with all-silverfish weights, all-carp weights, or a mixture of both, meaning that everyone is in with a chance of making the frame.
The Drennan Silverfish Spring League was held on Tripp Lake on Saturday and saw Carl Swetnam take an excellent win with a 78lb mixed bag of skimmers, roach, crucians, F1s and ide. He fished dead maggots over groundbait at four metres and really didn’t know what was coming next!
Carl managed a relatively carp-free day, unlike the second placed man who landed 24 in between his 51lb of skimmers, ide and F1s!
The following day Carl made it a double using the same tactics in the Tripp Winter League match. He topped up his silverfish this time with half a dozen Carp to weigh in an excellent 107lb. This was just ahead of Luke Harrison on 98lb who also fished maggots close in on pole.
It is noticeable that most of the carp weights from the deeper lakes are falling to up in the water tactics. Both Terry Holmes and Phil Deitch won matches on the Swan Pond with 80lb+ weights of carp by fishing 11mm pellets shallow on a waggler. Pleasure anglers are also finding that surface fished baits are scoring really well on all of the day ticket lakes.
Drennan Silverfish Spring League, Tripp Lake, Saturday
1 Carl Swetnam, Rotherham 78-12
2 Kevin Johnson, Messingham 51-13
3 Steve Ellis, Scunthorpe 49-00
4 Luke Harrison, Crowle 45-05
Tripp Lake Winter League, Sunday
1 Carl Swetnam, Rotherham 107-09
2 Luke Harrison, Crowle 98-03
3 Kevin Johnson, Messingham 80-13
4 Terry Gardener, Hull 68-10
Sunday Open, Swan Pond
1 Paul Seed, Grimsby 72-13
2 Paul Yates, Grimsby 42-13
3 Steve Blundell, Hull 40-13
4 Bernard Hook, Grimsby 38-10
Tuesday Open, Swan Pond
1 Terry Holmes, Ulceby 86-01
2 Graham Buckley, Scunthorpe 51-07
3 John Alderson, Scunthorpe 50-15
4 Ken Pacey, Gainsborough 43-00
Wednesday Open, Swan Pond
1 Phil Deitch, Grimsby 83-04
2 Kyle Hartley, Scunthorpe 70-04
3 Rob Thompson, Grimsby 42-09
4 Don Hudson, Scunthorpe 37-08
Thursday Open, Tripp Lake
1 Les Waldron, Grimsby 55-13
2 Stewart Buckley, Scunthorpe 53-15
3 Pete Maddison, Winterton 46-05
4 Terry Holmes, Ulceby 42-01
Friday Open, Islands Lake
1 Ken Pacey, Gainsborough 60-12
2 Dave Chapman, Doncaster 60-00
3 Phil Chapman, Doncaster 50-14
4 Mark Westerman, Grimsby 42-14
Visit www.messinghamsands.co.uk to learn more about this great fishery.