Post by Warden on Feb 28, 2018 9:25:06 GMT
Article I did some time ago but could not find when someone asked me about the Bubble,
There has been such an explosion of new methods over the last few years Slow sinking Bomb, Depth charges, Puller method, With lots of people trying to claim some or even all the credit for them, that one has to wonder whether they are really new or not, a lot of the article below is taken from “Bob Roberts Complete Book of Ledgering” (many thanks to Bob for giving permission for this)it does seem they have been around for many years with the man mentioned in Bob’s book winning matches as far back as the 1970’s right up to today
“Roach are undoubtedly one of the more difficult species to catch using swim feeder techniques, particularly in the warmer months. For much of the summer they are to be found feeding well off the bottom, high in the water. Most anglers turn to the pole or waggler in an attempt to catch them, but there is a method of catching them using a swim feeder which, when it works, is quite startling. I first heard of the technique through angling journalist Colin Dyson who told me about 'the deck-chair, man'. Apparently, an unknown angler had turned up to fish a match at the notoriously difficult Dam Flask Reservoir, near Sheffield, with just one rod, a deck-chair and an assortment of tackle in a carrier-bag. To every- one's amazement, he finished in second place. As he had drawn a noted peg, his performance was promptly written off as a fluke by the regulars.
The following week he turned up again, but this time he won comfortably. Unlike the previous week, he had drawn only an average peg and realistically should not have won from that position - at least, not quite so easily.
By the end of the summer series, the angler had won nearly every match that had been held on the reservoir, with nets of quality roach, all taken on the feeder, and had exasperated all who had tried to emulate him. Such events happen now and again in angling and someone will drop on a particular method that works really well on one venue, or for one season, before that angler retreats into obscurity and is never heard of again. What made the 'deck-chair man' unusual was that he chose to take his method elsewhere and export it. The mystery man turned up next at Worsborough Reservoir. It is not unusual to see three or four England international anglers competing there, even on a mid- week evening match, and the standard of the anglers there is high enough to ensure that they don't have it all their own way.
This evening, he drew a peg on the dam head and was given absolutely no chance of success at all. Unless a strong wind has blown in the direction of the dam for several days, the dam head is the last place any angler wants to be drawn.
Unperturbed, he set up his deck-chair, much to the amusement of the locals, and went about his business. Tales of his performance that night have entered local folklore, when, in spite of his supposed ineptness and lack of skill, he framed with a netful of big roach from an apparently hopeless peg and silenced his critics in the best possible way. One well known angler sat close to him with about £1500’s worth of tackle (sponsored)a lot of money in those days said to him I might as well chuck this Flipping lot(close as I dare print) in the Dam, as you can imagine with his 10 foot Sigma Wand and 15 year old ABU 506 reel,a carrier bag for the bait and bits and a folding chair Tony was not universally welcomed by the big name sponsored anglers on the Dam.
Tony Wills continues to be successful to this very day with this unusual method, which has served him well for a 3 decades or more, testament surely to the fact that the bubble is not just an overnight sensation. However, it would appear that he did not invent the idea; rather he developed his technique after watching a fellow Sheffield angler employing similar tactics on the same Dam Flask Reservoir as far back as the early 1970’s. (Tony gave me a different version of how he started fishing this method) and while he never claims to be the first to fish it he certainly is the most successful)
Probably the biggest difference between competing at Worsborough and Dam Flask lies not only in the competency of the competitors, but in the number of spectators and their discerning natures. Spectators frequently travel long distances to visit Worsborough for an opportunity to watch and learn from some of the great anglers of the Nineties. Regular competitors there include England internationals Dennis White and Alan Scotthorne (now 5 times world champion), England team manager Dick Clegg and former World Champion Tom Pickering. Twice World Champion Bob Nudd (now 4 times)is also no stranger to Worsborough. Tony’s method which was a slow sinking feeder was inspected dissected ana-lysed copied and tried by most anglers that saw it but no one could manage his success. Tony also had a great deal of success with the grape method which was a plastic/rubber grape (the kind you see at Morrisons around the fruit counters)put a swivel in the bottom , filled with water to sink slowly through the water this method was copied and became the slow sinkers of today.
As Tony got older he retired from match fishing and as no one else was able to match his success at this method it tended to be forgotten , In the meantime the great late Bernard Bryon who had developed a real dislike for this method set out to develop a method to beat it and so was borne the puller method which for many years since has been the method to beat winning most matches the north Sheffield area, until 2 years ago, a now shall we say more mature Tony Wills was talked into coming out of retirement to fish a bluebell Wood charity match at Westwood fishing the method that has served him well for so many years now on a box (to old to be getting in and out of deckchairs)he promptly set about and battered some very good puller anglers winning the match with over 40lbs of quality silvers which was a tremendous weight on a natural silvers water in April. He then continued to win several summer matches at Westwood setting a record at Westwood of 71 lb’s of silvers before settling back down to his pleasure sessions,(much to the relief of others)perhaps the success of the current slow sinking feeders is only a case of us re-inventing the wheel once again.
Tony receiving his Bluebellwood trophy with a superb net of proper fish
Chris Kendall (Hatman) beating a lot of venue experts to claim second place
There has been such an explosion of new methods over the last few years Slow sinking Bomb, Depth charges, Puller method, With lots of people trying to claim some or even all the credit for them, that one has to wonder whether they are really new or not, a lot of the article below is taken from “Bob Roberts Complete Book of Ledgering” (many thanks to Bob for giving permission for this)it does seem they have been around for many years with the man mentioned in Bob’s book winning matches as far back as the 1970’s right up to today
“Roach are undoubtedly one of the more difficult species to catch using swim feeder techniques, particularly in the warmer months. For much of the summer they are to be found feeding well off the bottom, high in the water. Most anglers turn to the pole or waggler in an attempt to catch them, but there is a method of catching them using a swim feeder which, when it works, is quite startling. I first heard of the technique through angling journalist Colin Dyson who told me about 'the deck-chair, man'. Apparently, an unknown angler had turned up to fish a match at the notoriously difficult Dam Flask Reservoir, near Sheffield, with just one rod, a deck-chair and an assortment of tackle in a carrier-bag. To every- one's amazement, he finished in second place. As he had drawn a noted peg, his performance was promptly written off as a fluke by the regulars.
The following week he turned up again, but this time he won comfortably. Unlike the previous week, he had drawn only an average peg and realistically should not have won from that position - at least, not quite so easily.
By the end of the summer series, the angler had won nearly every match that had been held on the reservoir, with nets of quality roach, all taken on the feeder, and had exasperated all who had tried to emulate him. Such events happen now and again in angling and someone will drop on a particular method that works really well on one venue, or for one season, before that angler retreats into obscurity and is never heard of again. What made the 'deck-chair man' unusual was that he chose to take his method elsewhere and export it. The mystery man turned up next at Worsborough Reservoir. It is not unusual to see three or four England international anglers competing there, even on a mid- week evening match, and the standard of the anglers there is high enough to ensure that they don't have it all their own way.
This evening, he drew a peg on the dam head and was given absolutely no chance of success at all. Unless a strong wind has blown in the direction of the dam for several days, the dam head is the last place any angler wants to be drawn.
Unperturbed, he set up his deck-chair, much to the amusement of the locals, and went about his business. Tales of his performance that night have entered local folklore, when, in spite of his supposed ineptness and lack of skill, he framed with a netful of big roach from an apparently hopeless peg and silenced his critics in the best possible way. One well known angler sat close to him with about £1500’s worth of tackle (sponsored)a lot of money in those days said to him I might as well chuck this Flipping lot(close as I dare print) in the Dam, as you can imagine with his 10 foot Sigma Wand and 15 year old ABU 506 reel,a carrier bag for the bait and bits and a folding chair Tony was not universally welcomed by the big name sponsored anglers on the Dam.
Tony Wills continues to be successful to this very day with this unusual method, which has served him well for a 3 decades or more, testament surely to the fact that the bubble is not just an overnight sensation. However, it would appear that he did not invent the idea; rather he developed his technique after watching a fellow Sheffield angler employing similar tactics on the same Dam Flask Reservoir as far back as the early 1970’s. (Tony gave me a different version of how he started fishing this method) and while he never claims to be the first to fish it he certainly is the most successful)
Probably the biggest difference between competing at Worsborough and Dam Flask lies not only in the competency of the competitors, but in the number of spectators and their discerning natures. Spectators frequently travel long distances to visit Worsborough for an opportunity to watch and learn from some of the great anglers of the Nineties. Regular competitors there include England internationals Dennis White and Alan Scotthorne (now 5 times world champion), England team manager Dick Clegg and former World Champion Tom Pickering. Twice World Champion Bob Nudd (now 4 times)is also no stranger to Worsborough. Tony’s method which was a slow sinking feeder was inspected dissected ana-lysed copied and tried by most anglers that saw it but no one could manage his success. Tony also had a great deal of success with the grape method which was a plastic/rubber grape (the kind you see at Morrisons around the fruit counters)put a swivel in the bottom , filled with water to sink slowly through the water this method was copied and became the slow sinkers of today.
As Tony got older he retired from match fishing and as no one else was able to match his success at this method it tended to be forgotten , In the meantime the great late Bernard Bryon who had developed a real dislike for this method set out to develop a method to beat it and so was borne the puller method which for many years since has been the method to beat winning most matches the north Sheffield area, until 2 years ago, a now shall we say more mature Tony Wills was talked into coming out of retirement to fish a bluebell Wood charity match at Westwood fishing the method that has served him well for so many years now on a box (to old to be getting in and out of deckchairs)he promptly set about and battered some very good puller anglers winning the match with over 40lbs of quality silvers which was a tremendous weight on a natural silvers water in April. He then continued to win several summer matches at Westwood setting a record at Westwood of 71 lb’s of silvers before settling back down to his pleasure sessions,(much to the relief of others)perhaps the success of the current slow sinking feeders is only a case of us re-inventing the wheel once again.
Tony receiving his Bluebellwood trophy with a superb net of proper fish
Chris Kendall (Hatman) beating a lot of venue experts to claim second place
