Fifth, but happy with that - Yew, Decoy

Peg 7

Another hot day on Yew, which I think is the most difficult of the four strips. The wind was mainly South-Westerly, which gives the far end and the far bank a bit of a ripple, and I would have liked any peg past 9 or 10, down to 15, then 16 back to 20 or 21 on the far bank, as these often have an edge. The far bank pegs would have been preferable for me because of the wind. So when 7 stuck to my fingers and I had seen the lake I suspected that my main aim would be to be top of the four pegs down to me – 1, 3, 5 and me on 7. And with Trevor on 3 that would not be easy.

Hot with the over my back, so not much ripple most of the time in my swim.

Fish were moving around under the surface, swimming quickly often in twos and threes, which looked as if they were preparing to spawn. So while I threw 4mm pellets into the deep margin to my left I started fishing shallow at 9 metres with an expander, over a pot of corn and pellet. This produced nothing after about 20 minutes so I had a look on the bottom in 9 metres, still with nothing. A quick look down the deep margin and I was back fishing corn at 9 metres.

About an hour after the start I had a bite from a 1 lb F1, then half-an-hour later I hit a good fish which came off.  Meanwhile Martin Parker, on my right, had not had a fish, but Peter Spriggs on my left had had a good carp and lost another, fishing the deep margin. Beyond him Peter Harrison was catching steadily fishing shallow well out. I learned later that he was fishing maggot.

Wendy's last two fish weighed over 20 lb between them.

Wendy loves that feeder

I could see Wendy opposite catching occasional fish using her corn topped with red jelly pellet and casting a feeder alongside the margins – a tactic that really works for her.

I looked at my watch at 20 minutes past one and I still had the one fish. I had had a couple of tries 9 metres to my left in the shallow margin, but never had a touch. I had also had about 45 minutes fishing banded pellet shallow at 11 metres, still without a touch. So it was down to the deep margin with cat meat and eventually a near-10 lb carp took the bait and finished in my net.

Somewhere around this time John on 16 went for a third net, and a little after that Peter Harrison did, too. Peter Spriggs was now catching occasional good fish, mainly from the deep margins.

I finish with an F1 and just eight carp

Martin included barbel in his 40 lb 6 oz.

The rest of the match saw me concentrate on the cat meat swim, and every ten minutes or so I would hit a fish – unfortunately five of them came off, of which probably four were foulhooked and one was hooked somewhere near the mouth and I almost had it in the net three times, but eventually the hook pinged. Peter was now catching the occasional fish, and Martin’s swim perked up in the last 90 minutes.

I managed, however, to land seven more good carp to double-figures and was playing one when the match ended. The fact that I wasn’t getting liners early on made me think that the fish suddenly became mildly interested in feeding around 2 o’clock and that the foulhooked fish had been messing about with the bait. All except one came when I lifted or moved the bait. One came from the right margin.

The weigh-in

Ted Lloyd on 1 had two bites; Trevor on 3 had just eight. Martin had made a last-hour sprint to 40 lb 6 oz, and my F1 and eight carp weighed 66 lb 3 oz.

My weigh-in was accompanied by broad smiles from the assembled company – apparently I was Golden Peg, though I hadn’t realised. And it was obvious I would not win. That weight also just beat Peter to my left. Then the weights got better, as I had suspected might happen.

John with a big barbel from the corner peg

...and a double-figure common carp.

Peter Harrison weighed 110 lb 5 oz of assorted species and sizes including ide; and this was top weight round to John on 16, who pipped Peter by 1 lb. Then to Bob Allen on 20, who took most of his fish on paste, in the deep margin, and pipped John by just 2 oz, giving him the win. Several of the carp being weighed along  here were well in double-figures, and some of the barbel were 4 lb-plus.

A huge smile from Bob who included several double-figure
carp in his winning bag of 111 lb 8 oz - 2 oz ahead of John Smith.

Bob Barrett also had several double-figure
carp in his fourth-placed 91 lb 10 oz net.

Mike Rawson did well to take this catch
of 33 lb 15 oz  from Peg 30.

Next to weigh was Bob Barret on 22 with 91 lb 10 oz for fourth, and as we walked back towards the car park the weights fell away, with Wendy best of the rest on that bank on 59 lb 12 oz – an excellent catch from there. 

So I was fifth and actually top in the first half of the lake – the car park end. I was well satisfied with that in the end.My eight carp had averaged over 8 lb, with the best at least 12 lb. The fish have grown big in Yew.

The result on a hot day.