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Cuttle Mill A new one for the BCAC and what a coup! The opportunity of fishing Cuttle at night and in the close season is one that doesn’t come up very often so expect some big weights from this top Midlands day ticket water. Hundreds of 20s and fish to upper 30s mean it will be high weights that win but the fishing can be technical. Only 3 rods per pair allowed. www.cuttle-mill.com   CURRENT MOON moon phases Pre-Match Cuttle has for a long time been one of the best day ticket venues in the Midlands and this picturesque water near the Belfry doesn’t usually allow night fishing. Add to the fact that it is an awesome 20s and 30s water  and you can see why Cuttle was a very popular event this year. At 3 acres it’s going to be very cosy and only three rods per team will be allowed but that will not detract from the action. We’re expecting great things from Cuttle and it’s a privilege for the BCAC and it’s competitors to step on the grounds there. Make no mistake though, the Cuttle fish are cute. Most are over 20lbs with loads of 30s present, and this event will sort the tacticians out from the also rans as the fish have seen a lot of new methods developed there over the years. One team to specifically look out for are twice team event winners for Mainline and local boys Roy Russell and Lee Collings who are no strangers to success. It won’t be plain sailing though as there are some very capable Cuttle regulars on the list who could show the others the way to go. Match Report Three acre a Cuttle Mill is one of the Midlands most historic venues and it was a privilege to be allowed onto it’s banks with the BCAC. Due to it’s size the event was always going to be tactical and the Cuttle Carp have seen a lot over the years so despite being allowed to fish at night it would still not be a walk over. First Blood went to Gary Scothern and Mick Coxon in the fancied Pontoon swim with a 16.08 followed by Mark Johnson and David Pendegrass with a fantastic 26.10 mirror from peg 1. The rest of the lake fell quiet so by 6pm on the first day only two pairs had troubled the marshals. With the night session quickly approaching the carp began to show around the lake and a hectic night was expected. The action did not materialize with only a handful of carp being banked through the hours of darkness and by 7am Scothern / Coxon had pushed their total to 51.02 followed Joe Hubble / Phil Bury in peg 2 with 43.03. Running a close third were the Fox pairing of Seamus McSpadden and Scott Day with three carp for 42.09. It was close, and with the large fish that reside in Cuttle anything could happen and the balance of power could change very quickly. The rest of the day was a washout but it didn’t keep the anglers away from the fish especially Johnson / Pendegrass in peg 1. They notched up three more carp to put them in second place on 67.13 going into the 7pm score check. Third were McSpadden / Day on 65.03 but in first again from the pontoon were Scothern / Coxon on 86.15. The battle for a semi place was becoming a very close thing with five pairs only needing one carp to push them in to a top three position. The sun disappeared, darkness fell and the carp started gracing the nets all around the lake as on night two the battle truly commenced. Expectations were confirmed. We were in for a tight finish. By 7am Hubble / Bury had taken up the top spot with eight carp to 150.12 followed by Jamie Simpson and Jason Allaway tucked away in a quiet corner on 135.02 . Holding on to third place were Ross Crowder and Chris Skelt on 120.15 but only just. With the next four pairs still only a few pounds behind the leaders the remaining few hours had everyone hopping from foot to foot. Hubble / Bury cemented their place with another carp putting them firmly ahead of the game on 162.03 before drama struck. The pontoon pairing of Scothern and Coxon had a take, and with only 11lb to beat to get a place in the semi they carefully played the carp only to find on netting that it was foul hooked in the tail and was not to count. The guy’s fell back in their chairs reflecting on what could have been. At the final hooter it was Hubble / Bury that had taken the match with 162.03 followed by Simpson / Allaway in second on 135.02 and third was Crowder / Skelt on 134.05. Place Pairing Weight lb:oz Team   1 Joe Hubble / Phil Bury 162.03 2 Jamie Simpson / Jason Allaway 135.02 3 Ross Crowder / Chris Skelt 134.05 4 Shaun McSpadden / Scott Day 117.03 Fox 5 Gary Scothern / Mick Coxon 109.1 6 Mark Johnson / David Pendegrass 91.15 7 Stuart Leighton / Andrew Lees 73.06 8 Lee Collings / Roy Russell 70.15 Mainline 9 Nigel Harris / Les Bowers 45.04 Rigmarole 2 10 Paul Armes / Paul Horobin 39.04 12 John Bowman / Martyn Walker DNS 12 Daniel Atkinson / Sam Robins DNS