Stippevent 2018 - Twente Canal, Lonnekerbrug 

The Stippevent this year is on the Twente Canal at Lonnekerbrug in Enschede. There are 75 pegs so the match is well supported. 

Every angler goes home with a prize and a full belly.

The draw is in a cafe and the results are on the bank after the match after we have had a BBQ - one of the highlights of the day.

I drew peg 62 opposite the Zwaaikom basin. For company I had on old friend Glen Nixon to my left. I've known Glen since the mid-eighties when we fixed the RAF Germany leagues together - we fished a lot in Germany back then. Sad that those days have now gone.

Six anglers who paid didn't show - probably due to the bitterly cold wind - so 69 fished the match.

Plenty of food for the anglers after the match - perfect!

This event is a pole only match and bloodworm and joker are banned. The payout is 25€ every three pegs, so even if you are in a bad area you can still get your entry money back.

Groundbait today was Zammataro Roach & Skimmers Natur mixed with some Zammataro coriander. I have mixed up 1 bag with about 1 kg of Marcel VDE Black Earth. A few casters and chopped worms go into the initial feed which was just 3 balls of groundbait - two hard and one soft. All fed accurately with the pole cup. 

Bait today was hemp, casters, worms, pinkies and maggots. You don't need a lot of bait on these cold days but you still have to fed to get the fish going. 

Two pegs to my left they were catching a few Roach

I set up 3 rigs - one for short on the tins, and two for long at 11.5 m. 

Short on the tins I use a top 3 which is 4.5 m long. Float on this rig is a Drennan AS5 0.8 g with an olivette and two droppers. Hook is a size 16 Kamasan B512 to 0.10 mm bottom - Perch are the main target on this line so mostly I'll be using a small piece of worm on the hook.

The two rigs for 11.5 m are both Preston Inter Carbon carbon-stemmed floats. One is 1.5 g with a bulk and three droppers. The other os 1.25 g with a bulk about 80 cm from the hook and a string of light droppers - this lets the hookbait fall through the water slowly when held to a tight line to the pole tip. Lay the rig out parallel to the bank.

Hooks are both Kamasan B511 size 16 and hook-lengths are both 0.09 mm Reflo Power. Main line on all rigs is Reflo Power 0.13 mm. Reflo Power is a bit thicker than it says on the spool but it works very well and I have great confidence in it.

Depth next to the bank was about 3.2 m and out at 11 m about 3.6 m. I found no shelves or holes and the bottom appeared to be snag-free.

Everyone trying to get the best out of their peg.

After the initial feed of groundbait I fed hemp over the top every few minutes - just 8-10 grains to make a noise on the surface of the water. I also use a small bait dropper to put chopped worm and casters right on the bottom with the groundbait. I think the bait dropper worked really well today. 

I have found on the Twente Canal that there is not a massive head of fish and they need to be drawn to your feed. Constant feeding is the only way to draw fish into your swim quickly. If the anglers each site of you are not feeding regularly, then you will get the fish to you quicker.

On many sessions I have not caught for up to 4 hours and then it's almost one fish after the other - they are lined up waiting to be caught, you just have to be patient and keep feeding until they arrive. 

Yours truly concentrating hard for the next bite. It was very cold with a biting wind - connecting to every bite was vitally important. Contantly moving the bait and constant feeding were the key even on such a cold day.

The bonus Rudd on a worm head (2 cm long and fat) fished just off bottom was the tactic that made the difference for my today. Keeping the worm away from the Gobies and constantly lifting and lowering the bait to induce bites from the fish. If you fished a bait on or very close to the bottom you caught a very small Goby - horrible things. 

My winning catch this year - the head of a worm was the downfall for those big Rudd!

In the end I put 3,700 grams on the scales and was very pleased with the way I fished. Second best weight was from last years winner Udo Boll with 2,080 grams.

The prize giving was a great success and everyone went home happy. 

Some of the anglers with some of the groundbait prizes from Michael Zammataro. We are extremely grateful for Michael's support.

Here are the results for the Stippevent 2022:

Stippevent 2018 Ergebnisse.pdf (31.41KB)

Stippevent 2018 Ergebnisse.pdf (31.41KB)

I was very happy to win this popular annual event - and to pocket the 150€ winners envelope!

Roger presented me with the winners prize and I'm looking forward to the match next year already. 

It was nice to win another match, but I only fish 2 or 3 matches each year now. I prefer to choose my own swim, and use the valuable time I have off from work to have enjoyable days catching fish - just for fun. 

Tight lines,
Steve