Fourteen of us fished this Spratts match, and I favoured the pegs three-quarters of the way down the strip lake - roughly 9 to 12 and opposite on 19 to 22. But I know that matches on all the lakes at Decoy can be won on any peg, and my peg had a nice long shallow run along my left margin. It was only about 15 inches deep, however, and proved to be my undoing.
The day was cloudy, with a cool breeze in the faces of us on the East bank, and some fish were mooning about just under the surface looking the worse for wear. That wasn't surprising, as spawning was still going on in several places. They've been spawning now for the best part of a month.
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| John Garner to my left had a very good first half of the match. I caught (and lost) fish against the small bunch of reeds in the foreground, ten metres from my platform. |
I had intended to have a look shallow, but in the facing wind I couldn't throw pellets very far, so got out my slow-sinking bomb gear, though in the event I didn't use it. I certainly should have given it a try towards the end of the match.
On the whistle I put in some expanders and hemp at ten metres and had a quick look in both shallow margins, but didn't get any signs of fish. Out to ten metres and I had five bites in the next 20 minutes, pricking two, losing two very quickly, and finally landing a 3 lb ide on corn. I persevered here for too long, but it slowly became apparent, even to my tiny brain, that the shoal had suddenly moved on.
So eventually on the slope above deep margin just off a little cut-off to my right, and I thought I had an indication immediately. So in went half-a-dozen grains of corn, plus my bait, and the immediate result was a 10 lb mirror. I spent a long time here looking for another, with some indications but no more fish, and with two hours gone had a look 10 metres away in my left margin, against a clump of reeds, in about three feet of water, above a sharp drop-off.
Immediately I had an indication, and repeated my previous action - a few grains of corn went in and a 7 lb carp came out. One more fish about 8 lb came, and I lost one, before bites dried up, but I lost one, possibly foulhooked. Meanwhile John Garner, in the corner to my left, had started really bagging, with fish after fish. But there hadn't been much action that I could see among the rest of the anglers.
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| Mick Linnell, of Fletton ex-Service fame - one of the top sides several years ago. |
My ten-metre line produced nothing more, and I eventually put in some maggots into the shallow water, as the wind, which blew into that bank, now seemed warmer.
The maggots produced a long run of action for me - about three fish landed in the next hour, all from 8 lb to 12 lb, but I also lost four or five, some of which I am sure were not foulhooked. Then John, from the fishery, came along the bank, by which time more fish had started to show - boils and tails waving. But I couldn't get a bite! He went down the line to deliver a message, telling everyone that "The fish are boiling in Mac's swim." Which they were. Thanks, John. 😍
Now if you've ever been in an escape room you will know that it's possible to get completely the wrong end of a riddle, and spend far too much time thinking you're on the right track, when you should step back and try something else. Fishing can be like that - and today it was. I spent far too much time determined to catch one of those pesky fish in 15 inches of water when I should have known, from previous experience, that for some reason it's very often impossible. I fished dead depth, way overdepth, and hung a bait off bottom, all to no avail.
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| Peter Chilblain, who has lost the peak of his cap, with his second-placed 118 lb 2 oz from Peg 20. |
I should have gone down to the deeper water nearby, gone out to 10 metres again, gone to the right deep margin, or plonked a rig out in the deep water in front of me, which eventually I did, but not before wasting the best part of an hour, and losing two or three more foulhooked. That move to my front swim, on a top two, quickly produced a 10 lb mirror on cat meat, plus a 3 lb tench and an F1.
There was now an hour to go, I put in a third net, with about 40 lb in each of the first two, and suddenly I couldn't get a bite! My own fault - I should have realised that as the fish were obviously moving around, and that some were willing to feed, if I was going to get a bite it would come quickly - within a minute or two. All I had to do was find the right line. But I messed about, putting in far too much bait, instead of trickling down bait into new swims and sitting on it for a just couple of minutes. All day I had had fish quickly in new spots, after which it was not worth flogging that area, but I stupidly carried on.
With literally two minutes left I plonked some maggots into the bare margin to my left, which I had not looked at, on just a top two. A minute later a fish boiled there, I dropped in a bunch of deads, and literally two seconds before the match ended hooked my smallest carp of the day, about 4 lb.
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| Peter (The Paste) Spriggs lifts out a net - just as the sun comes out for the first time all day. |
Several anglers told me they had waited three hours for their first bite, so it had obviously been hard. On the opposite bank John Smith was top weight with 75 lb 2 oz, which was suprising to me, as they had back wind. But when the scales came round to my bank the weights went up. Pegs 18, 20 and 24 all went over 100 lb, with Peter Spriggs on 22 weighing 79 lb 7 oz. I admitted to "perhaps 90 lb" and my eight good carp and the few 'bits' actually totalled 87 lb 10 oz.
Last man to weigh, John Garner, had many more fish than I did and I honestly thought he must have had around 200 lb. In fact he weighed 137 lb 6 oz for the win. Then I saw his fish were in fact smaller than mine, averaging perhaps 5 lb to 6 lb, taken on about 13 metres of pole to the end bank on his left, on cat meat. A very good performance. And I ended fifth...but I honestly think I should have done much better, considering that my fish, except the last one, were all between 7 lb and 12 lb.
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| John Garner, winner with 137 lb 6 oz, took most of his fish on cat meat against the end bank to his left. |
The bottom line is that I messed up badly, losing too many fish, and one, hooked properly, broke me on a light rig which I should not have been using for fish of that size, especially after landing two or three on it. I should have changed over after the first double-figure fish came in, because rigs do deteriorate with all the rasping against the hard scales of these big fish. I also didn't try paste, worms or mussel, all of which I had with me. Anything to break my focus on those fish in that swim. A good angler there would probably have won.
Next match Sunday on Willows at Decoy, which is different to all the other lakes, but I like it as there are good margins in some places. We are on Pegs 20 to 35, which include the 'fliers' on 24, 25 and 29, though I also particularly like 23, 27 and 28. But you can win from literally any peg.
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