I just miss out - Damson, Decoy

Peg 9

 This was the Fenland Rods’ final match of the season – the Les Bedford Memorial Cup match, in remembrance of Les who died on the bank a year ago. We had a minute’s silence before the draw, which seemed very appropriate, and not at all morbid. Les was a cheerful character, and I am sure we all hoped that the club had, in various ways, contributed a little to his fulfilling life. Then – as all anglers will understand – we all put on our competitive hats, and pulled up our hoods to lessen the effects of the biting wind.

The wind was never strong, but it was very cold at the start of the match.
By the end things had calmed down and it was quite enjoyable.

After a cold night we were confronted by this very cold light Westerly head wind on our bank (pegs 1 to 13). As I walked to my peg I saw that the first three or four swims had a bit of shelter thanks to the high bank opposite, and that the end three pegs round the corner 14 to 16 had a side wind, forecast to swing round behind them later, and a nice sunny bank, while I had a tree to my left which shielded me from the sun for the first few hours. But that’s not an excuse!

A happy James Garner finished in fourth place, 1 lb 12 oz ahead
of me, with all his fish taken on his favourite bait - cat meat.

Everyone found the fishing hard

The fishing was hard, though I started well, with a 4mm pellet, fished at four pole sections. Potting in half-a-dozen pellets via a small pole pot, I took three carp to 2 lb in the first 20 minutes. The water here is about seven feet deep and I used a 1 gm Tuff-Eye float, dotted down to a dimple, though it was difficult to see the bites in the strengthening ripple.  Apparently James, on 6. had a good fish first drop in on cat meat.  

But then my fish disappeared and I came in closer, still in deep water, where I had been flicking in 6 mm pellets, and took two fish in two casts on a 0.5 gm rig. Then no more. And the rest of the day was similar. I would go out to four sections, and pot in a tiny amount of pellet and hemp, and get one fish, before having to move. And I’d not get another bite for half an hour.

Halfway through the match I walked up to John on 4, who said he had 4 lb but Dave Garner, to his left, had several fish on cat meat, casting all over his swim with cat meat. Mel Lutkin, next to me on 8, said he had 25 lb, so I was well behind on about 12 lb by this time. Then the wind got up, and the temperature seemed to drop for a time before slowly rising. The rest of the day was actually quite pleasant.

I nearly put up a feeder rod

Dave Garner, third, took this double-figure mirror
on cat meat...and broke his rod landing it!

Callum to my right then had about four fish on a feeder cast to the island opposite, and I could see 88-year-old Joe on 16 playing fish on a feeder, so I thought of changing. However, before I did that I went out to six sections, putting in a few frozen grains of sweetcorn, and immediately had a 3 lb carp on a single grain. Freezing the sweetcorn makes it soft, and I fancy it’s more attractive to fish when the water is this cold. It would certainly waft around more than a hard grain.

I spent the rest of the match alternating between four and six sections, still with sweetcorn, and put a fish into the net approximately once every 15 minutes, best 5 lb, but most around 1 lb 8 oz.

Cat meat didn’t work

After seeing Callum hit three quick fish on cat meat at three sections I tried the same for 15 minutes, without result. Then in the last hour Mel to my left also had three fish at three sections on what looked like cat meat (I learned later it was paste) so I had another go. Altogether I probably tried cat meat for 45 minutes, hoping for better fish, without getting a single knock. Afterwards I suspected I would probably have had a fish or two on my other rigs, which would have lifted me into the frame.

Mel Lutkin - second from the swim next
to mine, with 50 lb 12 oz.

The weigh-in

 I had been able to see the anglers to my right all day, and thought I had done OK, but had little idea of what had been caught in the pegs to my left. I was admitting to 40 lb, and by the time the scales got to Mel I could see John Garner on 3 already had over 50 lb. Since I  had only one net in my maximum possible was 50 lb, so I knew I had not won. Mel also weighed over 50 lb, and my fish went 42 lb exactly, for fifth place.

Kevin Lee fished cat meat or corn, and included
 barbel in his 36 lb 15 oz. from peg 11.

However, this beat all the six to my right, and since it had been a really interesting day’s fishing, with every fish requiring real hard work and concentration, I was well happy. I lost just three fish all day, and several of those I landed were hooked on the outside of the mouth, showing how finicky the fish were.

John Garner on Peg 3 ended as the winner, and  has won the club’s handicap match as well, so has the Les Bedford trophy, the extra £50 with it, and the handicap gold medal to come. He was also on the Golden Peg...and pushed my trolley back while I took some pictures. Thanks, John. A good day's work!

My plan for the next match

My next match is on the same lake, with Spratts. And for once I have the rudiments of a plan...assuming the wind allows it: one deep rig at three sections to one side with 4mm pellet; another at four to six sections with corn; a cat meat rig ready in case; and a shallow-water margin rig for top two. However, Mel said that he couldn’t get a bite on cat meat, but that fish would bite on paste in the same swim, so perhaps they prefer the softer paste to the harder cat meat. I have paste with me, so will bear that in mind.

Our oldest member Joe Bedford (brother of Les whose memorial match this was).
I think Joe is 88 - but he has the enthusiasm of a 30-year-old!

The result - the sort of weights we can expect now
 that temperatures are dipping below freezing at night.

I didn’t try the shallow margins on Sunday because I thought it impossible that fish would be that close in, in that cold wind. But John Smith told me he had several bites (which he missed) in the margins in the first few minutes, so there must have been fish there. I should have tried it at some time during the match, if only for five minutes.

Finally, Tony Nisbet said that, like me, he had to dot his float down to a pimple and induce bites by moving it ever so slightly, to get fish – as I had. At one time fish seemed to come off bottom and I took two about four inches off bottom, as well as missing some liners. But having three inches of line dragging bottom, and virtually dragging it ever so slowly into their mouths, took almost all my fish. I suspect it will be the same on Wednesday, with the water very cold, and frost overnight.