A good match for me, but a big setback after the match - Six-Islands, Decoy

Peg 4

Sixteen of us fished the second Spratts match of the season, and I was not unhappy with Peg 4. It has an island in front at about 12 metres, and can produce good weights. I've always done well off it, and in addition I remembered that it had won the lake in the Winter League final – Andy Geldart fished it, I believe. On that day the pegs from 4 round to the corner definitely had the edge over those at the car park end (1 to 3 and 18 to 24). Today the strong wind was blowing almost straight into my bank, which did make me wonder whether it would be too cold to catch much, as at the start the wind was quite cool.

Peg 4 - the strong wind was almost straight into the bank all day.

Indeed the wind made fishing a bit difficult – I had to lay my pole tops on the ground, and the wind kept blowing the pole sections around as I lay them down before assembling it. So I decided to start on a maggot feeder, which produced just a couple of tiny liners but no fish. I would have liked to cast it to the edge of the island, but strands of nylon hanging there told me that the bushes were overhanging, so that was out.

Terry Tribe on Golden peg was on 6, to my left, but I fancied Peter Harrison on 17, on the bank opposite on my right to do well – there are several options in that swim – to the island, or to the gap towards me. I have noticed that it always seems to produce a good weight, and the only time I fished it I won off it. It has nice margins, particularly to the left.

A fish for Peter from the margin

Then I saw Peter Chilton, opposite on 13 net a fish, and watched as he went bank into his margin. If fish were prepared to feed in the margins, then that was going to be my next move. I expected barbel in the margin to my right – it’s deeper here than in the open water – so I potted in 50 or so maggots and followed it up with a half-gram Drennan Tuff-Eye float with two white maggots. Very quickly I had a bite, which turned out to be a 2 lb F1 foulhooked in the tail, so I shallowed up by six inches and dropped in again.

Mick Linnell shows his best fish - several
10 lb-plus fish were taken during the day.

A quick bite saw a 3 lb F1 in the net, but then nothing for several minutes. So I added a section, spread the shot, and laid in the rig flat on the surface. Within three seconds I had a bite from a big fish. I was on 13 Hollo elastic, and it stretched to the island but eventually came in – a mirror of about 11 lb.

I spent the next couple of hours fishing off bottom, continually adjusting the depth and shotting, and added another double-figure fish foulhooked in the pectoral fin, and two or three more F1s and a 7 lb mirror. Peter Harrison on 17 was catching occasional fish on paste, having moved to his left margin from down the track, so I wondered whether I should go down that route and try paste, but decided for the moment to carry on with maggot. I was putting in several dozen at a time in a big pot, which seemed better than trickle feeding.

In the lulls I tried over to the island at 11.5 metres, for a single perch, but nothing else, and I couldn’t see much else being caught, so tried at four sections, slightly to my right, with a 1 gram Tuff-Eye. in water that was still six inches shallower than the margin, with maggot, and then corn, over hemp and pellet, but nothing! In addition with the wind coming in almost straight, it was blowing the float right underneath my pole, and I couldn't switch to my left because of the sun glinting off the water.

Suddenly fish from the left margin

Peter The Paste struggled on Peg 25 but
included these three mirrors in his 29 lb 5 oz.

A drop into the left margin brought a fish first cast, and a couple more F1s, all off bottom, plus a big fish foulhooked and lost on corn (the only time I tried it) , and another double-figure fish which I had almost in the net once before it pulled off the size 18 hook.

With two hours to go I put in a second net, with about 45 lb in the first. The fishery rule is three nets split equally, but Spratts have a rule that we aim for 50 lb maximum, but will allow up to 60 lb absolute maximum, and the fishery seem happy with that.

The wind get cooler

At that point, with two hours to go, the wind which had been a little warmer for a time, suddenly became colder, and bites stopped. In desperation I dropped in the open water swim, laying on several inches (to try something different) and had a 5 lb carp first drop, but nothing else. Then with 45 minutes left I had two fish in two casts from the left margin on maggot, and one more from the right, on three maggots, all off bottom.

I had been using live maggots, having forgotten to take the dead ones out of the freezer, and suspect that dead ones, which sink more slowly than live ones, might have been better.

A late last-hour flurry in the margins helped Terry Tribe, on
Peg 6, to   left, to a total weight of 38 lb 10 oz, and third place.

The weigh in

I was second to weigh and my nets went around 48 lb and 17 lb for a final total of 65 lb 10 oz. The consensus was that I had probably won. But Terry on my left had had a late burst and I thought he may have overtaken me. However he must have struggled during the main part of the match as he weighed 38 lb 10 oz. It seemed everybody had struggled, and with Peter Harrison on 45 lb 8 oz for second spot I ended as the winner, with Terry third.

The pegs at the car park end had not fished well at all, with Martin Parker on 24 (which tends to be a good peg) having just one carp while Ted on his right, also DNWd.

The result. As in the Winter League final the far end fished best.

Like an iced lolly?

During the match Wendy Bedford, who fishes most of our matches, had a walk round with Joe Bedford, brother of Wendy’s husband who died 18 months ago, and as they walked past she said: “Like an iced lolly?” I knew she couldn’t have said that, so asked her twice what she had said. It was: “Looks a nice trolley!”

Indeed it is (was) – a motorised Preston which saves me a lot of work as I can push it into my new van up a ramp without having to unload it after a match.

UNFORTUNATELY I have completely knackered it (I think that’s the correct engineering term) by not switching the motor off when I put it into the van after this match. The trolley was loaded so the wheels would not turn, but the motor kept trying. Three hours later when I went to take it out there was a smell of burning and the motor is burnt out, and the control box appears to be kaput. Ruined.

Just six fish for me - Oak Lake, Decoy

Peg 5

The forecast for this 14-entry Spratts club match was high winds, and Trevor put us all down one side of Oak Lake, which filled that side as we had been told by the fishery that Peg 8 had a problem with the platform. The wind, which was cool all day, was roughly over our backs, veering a little either way at times. 

In the Winter League Final two weeks earlier four of the top five weights came from 11, 13 and roughly opposite on 20 and 22, so I would have liked pegs anywhere from 11 to 15. There were two discs in the hat when I drew – 13 and 5...and of course I drew (need I say).

Terry Tribe on 3 was the best of the low numbers.

I started on a feeder with maggot and then a pop up and although I had small liners on and off all the time I never had a fish. So it was out to the 13-metre line on the pole with maggot, which was not difficult with back wind. An hour passed with nothing, but Martin on my right had a couple of fish there, best around 6 lb by the look of it.

Suddenly, out of the blue, I had a bite and landed a carp around 2 lb, and shortly afterwards a 2 lb ide. Martin then out out a waggler, to the far side, and first cast had another good carp. I then saw ninety-two year old Ted on Peg 1 packing up and I went up to help him load his gear into the car. He was cold and hadn’t had a bite. By the time I got back Martin had had another fish on waggler!

Then a  7lb fish came on maggot to a bomb cast right across, giving me a drop-back bite. Now Peter and Bob, to my left on 6 and 7, started to catch occasional fish in the margin on paste. I have some wonderful paste, made to my recipe, but...I hadn't brought it with me. So on went a piece of cat meat. I tried that for half an hour, but never had a touch. But when Bob had two quick fish on a cage feeder I cast one out right across and first time a 10 lb mirror came in eventually. This also gave me a drop-back.

Peter Barnes - smiling even in the rain.

Then – nothing. So I went back on the pole at 13 metres and suddenly saw two fish hump in the waves. Then a bite which I missed – probably a liner; then a pricked fish; then a good fish which turned out to be another double-figure carp, which took two live red maggots. Peter on my left had a barbel on paste in the margin, so I put in some dwead maggot and a little hemp as I know barbel love that combination, but not today!

At this point the wind suddenly became colder and my action was over for the day except for another ide an hour before the end. But Bob on 7, had several more good fish and had obviously done well in our area. He had to wait a long time for bites, though.

The weigh-in

I weighed 34 lb 5 oz, which turned out to be ninth. The top two weights came from the far end, as I had expected, with Trevor on 13 winning with 124 lb 9 oz, most caught on a Middy maggot feeder with maggot cast well across to within a few feet of the far bank. He said he had to wait a long time for every bite. In the corner on 15 Peter Harrison was second with 78 lb 13 oz, all but one taken on pole fished to the end bank. Bob ended third – a good performance on that swim, with Terry Tribe on 3 fourth.

Trevor Cousins - an easy winner with 124 lb 9 oz.

Runner-up Peter Harrison, 78 lb 13 oz.

Mark Parnell's best fish was around 13 lb.

The (wet) result sheet.

My soggy bottom

My new wheelchair ramp system was great – the loaded trolley pushed straight into the back of my van. But I had left the drivers door open, and the rain had started by now, and was blowing straight in. It was only after I had followed the scales around that I realised the door was open and my seat cover was very wet. It’s plastic, not material, and foolishly I sat in it thinking it wouldn’t matter. Seconds later I realised it had permeated right through and I had a soggy bottom until I got home!

Next match probably Tuesday on Six Island, where the wind will determine which swims fish best.

I fish moving water for a change - Old Nene, March

For the first time for several years I paid a trip to the Old Nene in March. Mike and I had permission to sit on one of the moorings. The water was moving nicely, but very clear, and the sun was shining with no wind.

About 4 lb in three hours. My best roach was foulhooked!

Sport was very slow - we managed only three or four fish in the first hour, on a pole with 3 elastic,  loose feeding with hemp and pinkie, and fishing mainly pinkie on the hook. I was putting in some of each via a small pole pot, and the hemp was sinking quickly, while the pinkies travelled several metres downstream, so effectively I was baiting two spots.

The fish were no more than 1 oz to start with, so I tried for half an hour with hemp on the hook, for just one 2 oz roach. But then sport got gradually better and I began to catch tiny roach and rudd - no more than half an ounce - from about eight metres downstream. the best fish was a 4 oz roach, foulhooked in the dorsal fin.I also managed half a dozen small bream, which took a single hook maggot.

The rig
The rig was a 4x12 Drennan Tuff-Eye with a black tip so I could see it against the white reflection of the sky. Shotting was a string of No 13s, and the best way of getting bites was to lay the rig out downstream and hold it back hard against the current. Bites came when the bait was perhaps eight inches off bottom and the float at half-cock. Trotting through wasn't as productive, and if I went overdepth I hooked twigs and rubbish.

I didn't miss a bite, but I did have a couple of fish drop off. It was good to fish moving water - reminded me of when I used to fish the Trent in the 1960s and 1970s.

We packed up after three hours
Mike was catching fewer fish, using a whip, but they were bigger than mine. Then the wind started to blow cold and spots of rain fell, and we packed up after three hours. Mike had about 20 fish for 2 lb and I had around 50 for almost 4 lb (estimated weights). He said it was the worst catch he'd had this year, and he's fished it several times, taking roach to almost 1 lb only a few days earlier.

Mike had about 20 fish - blame the crap
photographer for the fact that you can't
see most of them.

I have problems 
Worst time for me was taking my gear the few yards up the bank. My hormone treatment has definitely weakened me and I felt really groggy by the time I'd got it to the top, despite the fact that there were steps and a handrail.

After resting for a few minutes  I realised I needed to go to the toilet. Thankfully the lovely lady who owned the mooring let me use hers and I felt much better afterwards. Even so It must have taken almost 45 minutes in all for me to get my gear up to my trolley, run it 100 yards to my van, and load it in.

I was OK by the time I arrived home, but I will have to think very seriously about going to a venue in future where there are no toilet facilities. The banks here along the river were absolutely sodden and you could see that some of the normal spots used by anglers had almost fallen into the water. It's not as easy as you might have gathered from newspaper reports.