A good day but...

Magpie Lake, Rookery Waters, Pidley, peg 2

This was a club match and the main talk before the match was that peg 11 had won the previous two matches, with weights approaching 200 lb. Considering the fish run mainly to 4 lb, with not much over that weight, it shows the calibre of the locals who fish here. But I was not unhappy with peg 2...in fact I wasn’t bothered where I fished as for me it’s a day’s fishing with the bonus of having friends nearby. And I was on the £100 Golden Peg.

However, putting my competitor’s hat on, I was worried that Tony had drawn peg 11, and he has proved to be one of the most adaptable anglers in the club during his two years with us. A quick word with Alex from the shop and I decided to do what he suggested, and I what I had already virtually decided on, which was to start near the lillies and come inside later.

So a pot of pellets went out near the lillies, at 11 metres, where odd fish were moving, and within five minutes I had hooked a good one, which promptly pulled off. I strongly suspected it was been foulhooked. So I put in a few more pellets and indeed fish started moving under the surface, so on went a shallow rig with an expander. This brought some tentative bites, and one fish around 3 lb which hooked itself, so I put on a rig with band for hard pellet.

Over the next 45 minutes, with me feeding loose pellet, I landed about five more and then the wind changed to come more sideways and there was a lull. I took advantage of this lull to have a look inside, and soon had one fish in the margins, which were about four feet deep, on a small cube of luncheon meat. It ssemed there were fish there, but I decided to leave it for a moment but keep feeding meat while I looked in the lefthand margin – with no result. So it was back out on the shallow rig for two more fish and then another look in the righthand margin.

This brought regular carp to 4 lb for the next three or four hours, mainly on a small cube of luncheon meat, with odd fish on my heavier cat meat rig. But they never came quickly – each fish had to be worked for. At one point, though, I had three bites on the drop, and lost all three in less than five minutes! I actually believe I should have fed more meat – I got through just fewer than two tines of meat in the whole match, and half a tin of hemp and a few pellets. However, I did put in some of the bait with a bait-dropper, to discourage fish from coming up in the water.

With an hour to go I dumped a pint of dead reds near the left margin, but had no bites. To check the float shotting I dropped the rig in the deeper water farther out, with six dead maggots, and hit a 4 lb fish immediately! But nothing over the dead maggots. So back to the righthand margin, and still odd fish came – I wasn’t sure what weight I’d got as here you use three nets and distribute the fish equally, and I guessed that I had about nine good fish in each net, averaging just under 3 lb.

Then, with 30 minutes left I fed the right margin and dropped my rig into the left margin with meat (which I had not fed there) and hit a fish within a second or two; next drop-in was the same and for 25 minutes I had fish after fish, though they took a bit of landing. With five minutes left I hit another...and lost it. Then, unaccountably, the swim dried and I had no more bites in the last three minutes. That actually cost me the match!

I had seven tops out, so wound them up and sorted out my bait try (I freeze any left-over bait) and the weigh-in had already started. I wandered up to the scales, leaving my gear still to be packed at my peg, because I like to watch the weigh-ins. Tony had weighed in 110 lb 13 oz, and Les, next to him on 10, had 100 lb – a great performance. The next three swims saw 67 lb top, so they were still top up to me. My first net went 39 lb; second one 39 lb 6 oz, and I needed 32 lb 7 oz to equal Tony. Lots of murmerings as the onlookers worked it out, and my last net went...31 lb 15 oz! I was 8 oz behind.

I went round to see the last three weigh, and Wendy, on 34, had 68 lb – all on a feeder down the side. A great performance which we were all delighted with. Kevin, next door, has won the club championship more times than anybody else, and his peg 35 is a consistent one on this lake.But he managed around 45 lb, catching only three of four fish on the inside. So Wendy, Les’ wife, was fourth!

So that lost fish cost me £100 but I had a good day. I should have tried a larger piece of luncheon meat on the hook – I had some with me – and think I probably underfed. But I was pleased to catch a few fish shallow on banded pellet, as I’m not good on this method, and have booked a day with John Whincup, in August, to improve.

A Grumble
When I started matchfishing virtually all the competitors used to assemble at the end, when the results were announced and the pools money paid out. Now it seems most club anglers have to dash home to their wives or to have their bread and jam at an appointed time, before the pay-out if they haven’t won anything; and anyone who wants to know the results has to find the person who has the sheet (if he hasn’t already left).

Why? If that’s so important why go matchfishing – why not go pleasure fishing so they can pack up when they wish? I must say that at many of the bigger matches this tends not to occur, and anglers do go back and watch the pay-outs, and the results are at least available.

Personally I think it’s a discourtesy to dash off home without congratulating the winner with a round of applause – but even our organiser does it, and I know that I am regarded as being strange because I like to see the results and discuss them (as we used to) before going home. And I know it’s widespread because when I ask other anglers who won such-and-such a match they were in, half of them can’t be certain of the weight, who caught it, the peg number, or the method used.

I once did a feature with a Bedfordshire club (sorry guys, I can’t remember the name) who even had a small ceremony at the draw – each member’s name was called out, he came forward and drew, and his peg number was announced. So everybody knew before they went to the bankside, where everybody else was drawn. I’d like to see that as well.

Anyway, by the time I had packed my gear in this match almost everybody had gone home so I didn’t photograph the final result (I know I should have done it on the bank immediately the weigh-in finished, but I was discussing fishing!) I’m always almost last to pack up, and the weigh-in always starts in this club before I’ve got half my gear away. I have an Octbox, which means a few minutes extra taking down the back and dealing with the side tray, and putting on the handles and wheel, so I will never be fast.

I had seven tops out in this match – left margin, right margin (different depth), heavier cat meat rig, long line full depth, five-metre line, and two shallow rigs. And these obviously take a fair time to put away. I know a lot fish with only a couple of pole rigs, or they start packing away 15 minutes before the end, but I dont believe that the timetable for packing up should be dictated by the angler who does it the fastest.

I fish with another club who deliberately don’t hurry to start the weigh-in, and that’s great. However, I’d still like to see that final little five-minute ceremony when everyone gathers to see and discuss the result. And it would improve their knowledge...and results... no end.