Beaten by 14 oz – Damson, Decoy

Peg 2

I had always fancied being drawn in the first three or four pegs on Damson, because every time I have followed the scales these swims seem to produce a few larger fish than the rest. Most fish in Damson seem to be around 1 lb to 2 lb, but the odd larger one seems to come from these, at the car park end. But I had never drawn there...until this match, which took started in blazing sunshine and flat calm surface; frankly I didn't particularly like the look of my swim, which had a bit of a scum on it.

Fourteen fished, and Peg 1 was left out, as it is the narrowest swim, and peg 2 is about 18 metres to the far bank reeds, though I didn’t expect I would have to fish there, as there are almost always fish within three sections of the bank.

By the end there was a tiny ripple at our end of Damson.

A good start

I started – as I guess everybody else did – fishing the margins, which extend abut four feet, dropping from a few inches to about two feet, before hurtling down quickly to seven feet in the space of about a metre. I had a great start, with several fish of 1 lb and a two-pounder immediately, on a 6mm expander, and 15 minutes after the start I had 10 lb in my net.

Mick Ramm and I were in the same class
 at St Peter's School in the 1950s, in Wisbech.

Of course things started to slow a little, and in the next hour I tried shallow with a banded pellet, and tried corn, to try to improve my catch rate, but sport was only steady, and not frantic. Fish to about 4 lb kept coming into the margin to my right, which was only inches deep, but wouldn’t look at a bait. The best area seemed to be about three feet from the bank in two feet of water. Cat meat took the odd fish, but corn seemed better.

At 12.15 Martin went for a third net, and shortly afterwards Terry Tribe followed him. I estimated I had 40 lb in the first net and about 10 lb in the second one, at that time. Eventually, about an hour later I went for a third net, unsure how much I really has because it’s difficult to estimate accurately when you’re catching smallish fish. I had 38 lb on my clicker but thought I might have forgotten to click some fish.

Peter Spriggs with probably the best fish
of the day, around 9 lb. Peter has had a
 200 lb weight on Damson lake in the past.

When I got back I really struggled for a fish, so went out to my longer swim, which I had set up a rig for earlier, at two-and-a-half sections, in about seven feet of water. I plumbed to the deepest line, and then drew back until the slope started, so I was about two inches shallower than the deepest spot. I put in two bait droppers of hemp and hard pellets.

The deeper swim works

Immediately I took fish to 4 lb on an expander, and after four fish I put in another bait dropper full. Four more fish came quickly, so in went another bait dropper, but I had a quick look in the side swim, which was now rested, and was surprised to find fish back feeding there. I stopped there to the end of the match, but went for a fourth net with 30 minutes left (40 lb on that clicker). So I had about 25 minutes more fishing, and took four fish, including a seven-pounder which I was playing when the match ended.

Wendy is a delight to fish with.

John was in the corner on peg 13,
which turned out to be a snag-pit.

I was first to weigh, and in fact my clicking had been very good – the nets weighed 40 lb, 38 lb, 40 lb and 11 lb – total 129 lb 15 oz. That was in the lead down to Trevor, who had three nets for 100 lb 2 oz – though he was 10 lb over. Then to Terry, on peg 15 – a swim he won from a year or two ago. 

Fishing in two feet of water with hard pellet he totalled 130 lb 13 oz, beating me by just 14 oz.

I was pretty happy, actually. Most anglers said their fish suddenly went off around 12 o’clock or 1 o’clock, but every time my swim went dead I switched to the left margin, or changed bait, and eventually fish responded.

Former Oundle star Mick Linnell
prepares to weigh his catch.

Ted Lloyd (91) flashes me a smile as his catch is weighed.
His face is not covered in flour  - it's liberal use of suncream!

I also found that feeding a few grains of corn AFTER I had dropped in was better than the other way round, though I can’t think why. But if it works, I keep doing it! However, if I had trusted my clicking I wouldn’t have had to go for a fourth net, and that would have given me several minutes extra fishing...in which time I would probably have had at least one more fish, which would have won me the match.

Terry Tribe, who had the farthest walk, sits and watches as his
nets are taken out of the water, and weighed, by Peter The Paste.

Damson is not a favourite lake of mine, as the fishing seems so simple – top three maximum – that I always think that other anglers will do better than me. But in fact I think I have framed almost every time I’ve fished it. I probably should have tried paste or hard pellet in the margin, but you can’t do everything.

The result.

Next match on Six-Island, a handicap event. Club points (and the pools) go to the weights on the day, but the three medals go to the handicap weights. The handicaps are to try to ensure that someone who doesn’t often feature has a chance of getting a medal.