I find barbel alley – Decoy, Elm

 Elm Lake, Decoy, peg 8

Twelve of us in this club match, so we used the 12 swims along the Western bank  and, given a choice, I reckoned the higher I picked the number the better. In the event I picked out peg 8, and was happy with that. And while I was tackling up John Garner told me he had fished this swim two days earlier and bagged up, starting at 7 metres and coming into a small shallow area to the left late on.

I found not only the  shallow area just to the left of the platform, but that the bank was well undercut there – a good sign if the fish were willing to feed in 18 inches of water. But I started out at about  7 metres – no point in listening to other anglers if you don’t take into account what they tell you.

 

Hot, calm, cloudy and humid. My shallow swim was about two feet
 to the left of the platform right against the bank.

The day was very calm, with showers forecast, and incredibly humid – very uncomfortable while we were moving about. But at least we started in the dry, and within 15 minutes I had three carp for about 6 lb in the net on an expander. Then everything died. After an hour I felt I had to look in the shallow margin – and threw in some pellet; but I also put dead maggots down at the bottom of the shelf, which was no more than three feet from the bank.

A couple of F1s came from the shallows on pellet, but I eventually had to try the maggot swim. Here I found the occasional barbel, and as the day wore on I found that feeding with a bait dropper here brought barbel in quickly. Alternating between the shallows and this deep swim I had about 42 lb in three hours and started on the second net. The odd look at the seven-metre swim brought just tiny liners, though at one point I tried shallow for 30 minutes, without result.

Big fish close in

Swinging a piece of cat meat under the undercut immediately brought a bite from a big fish which dashed out towards the middle, leaped a foot clear of the water, and threw the hook. It was a common of at least 10 lb. I tried again and this time a near-10 lb common stuck and was placed in the second net. No more there, so I moved out to the maggot swim and took about ten barbel one after the other, by which time the heavens had opened for about 20 minutes. I had my umbrella up, but Peter Harrison, to my right, stuck it out in his waterproofs.

Peter had started well on a pellet feeder cast right across, using corn or banded pellet, then had a lean spell, but now started catching again, and I wondered whether I should have used a feeder earlier, to test the water as it were.

 

Peter Spriggs had some cracking carp.

Barbel after barbel – hard work!

I was putting fish into the net at this point, and Peter Spriggs, to my  left, was catching fish at the same rate...but his were 5 lb to 10 lb carp, compared to my 2 lb to 4 lb barbel...and he was landing them in half the time, and a couple weeded me in the side and came off.  I knew he would be on paste, and considered changing bait, but decided that putting fish into the net was sensible. Even though I knew he was beating me. I dropped into the shallows occasionally, but the fish seemed to be moving in and out, and it wasn’t often that their moving in coincided with my fishing there – however I did manage three or four carp to 4 lb there.

At one point I ‘wasted’ a good ten minutes landing a 10 lb mirror hooked in the tail, during which time Peter landed three properly hooked! Then it started to rain heavily again, but I was glad I had the umbrella up, even though it interfered slightly with my landing the fish,  as I wear spectacles and rain on them is a real handicap.

John Garner's fish from the corner peg 12.
As we started weighing in the sun came out!

With 30 minutes to go and 42 lb in the second net I went for a third...though Peter had already been for a fourth net, and Bob Allan, to my left, had gone for a third much earlier. As I walked to the car I was dismayed to see several of the other with three nets out. My hearing is so bad I hadn’t heard any of the car engines as they drove to get their nets. But, Hey-Ho, no use crying over spilt milk. The walk to the car was slow  – in wellies with waterproofs through a very hot, humid atmosphere, with no wind.

A bonus (in fact two!)

So, back on the peg with a little over 20 minutes to go, my first fish was a mirror of about 14 lb, taken on cat meat  in the right hand margin which I had baited with corn just before I left. More bait went in there, and a  drop in the shallow swim to the left immediately brought a common of 10 lb, also to cat meat. I had time, after landing these, for one more drop in, to the right, which brought a 2 lb F1. Then it was match over...

My last three fish, best around 14 lb.

The weigh-in

Ted (90) was on Golden Peg 1, with three nets, and weighed 100 lb 1 oz. I doubt I shall be able to catch 100 lb when I’m that age! Then came Terry Tribe, who has just had a new knee, which still slows him up a little – and he had a previous appointment and didn’t start fishing until 12.15 pm, but still managed 80 lb.

Then John Smith had 99 lb 6 oz – he won his National section many years ago on the Welland while his wife, Judy, was giving birth to their son. He points out that his 7 lb-plus winning weight was a few ounces more than Judy produced!!!

My travelling companion to all Vets Nationals, Martin Parker, weighed 121 lb 15 oz, and I thought it very unlikely I would beat that. Peter Harrison on my immediate right weighed 99 lb 11 oz in two nets and was 10 lb over in one. Then to me...oh dear – 57 lb in the first net, cut back to 50 lb. I guessed I had thrown away the chance of beating Martin. The second net was 48 lb, and the last three fish weighed, as I had guessed, 26 lb.  I was the leader to date. Just. With 124 lb.

The result - eight over 99 lb.

Peter next to me won handsomely with 176 lb 1 oz taken at the bottom of the shelf, with John Garner in the corner peg 12 weighing 106 lb 1 oz, mainly from the end bank at about 10 metres. So I ended second, which I was pleased with. But I suspect the swim was good enough for a better angler to have won from there.