Commercial Matchman: I ride my luck on Beastie, Decoy

Peg 29, Sunday, Feb 20
Still very windy, and just ten of us turned up to fish this JV match, with 64 fishing nine of the other ten lakes in the Open - practicing for the Angling Trust Winter League Final next Saturday; several didn't turn up, though. Andy had avoided putting any of us facing right into the wind as rain was forecast for the afternoon, and I would have quite liked 10, on the spit, or 18 next to the bridge, as it's always been lucky for me. Recently the fish have been in the early 20s, with Tom Edwards winning the previous day's Open with 127 lb from Peg 22.

However Fate deemed that 29 would be my home for the day, with the wind over my left shoulder. It's a nice flat approach to the platform and I put up my umbrella, tying it to a tree stump, and with a bank stick screwed into a storm guide it stayed rock solid all day (though the heavy rain didn't come until after we had packed up). However, that strength of wind does create problems and I was glad I had two landing net handles with me - the shorter one is so much easier to handle in a strong wind.

It doesn't look windy here...but it was! The storm guide held the umbrella rock solid.
That black speck in the distance, just to the left of the island, is Lee Kendall on Peg 18.

Like everyone else, I imagine, I concentrated on maggot and in the first hour picked up an 8 oz bream on a hybrid feeder and then a small carpish thing which may have been a carassio. I didn't see much action from the others, all of whom I could see except peg 10. But I could see Chris Saunders on 22 fishing the long pole, and thought it must be only a matter of time before he contacted carp.

Fish on the pole
A switch to the pole at nine metres, to my right to avoid going right across the wind, brought bites from roach, most of which dropped off, before a 1 lb bream obliged. When I saw that I put in some dead reds with a bait dropper, as it was impossible to work out exactly where loose-fed maggots would end up in that strong wind which was producing an undertow against it.

The next three hours saw an occasional bream come in, and I finished with several small roach, about 12 bream ranging from 8 oz to 2 lb, plus a small F1, losing one better fish which hardly moved and was probably a foulhooked carp. I saw Lee Kendall on 18 land a fish or two on a pole, and Smug on 20 land a couple on a feeder.

A scene from Fred Karno's Circus
In an effort to land a few of the roach which were blown off the hook I changed down to a lighter elastic which I have used only once before. There followed a scenario which would have delighted Fred Karno...

I hit a good bream about 2 lb, which I could see in the clear water. Suddenly it seemed to stop fighting, but the elastic slowly kept pulling out of the pole tip. I suddenly realised that it had come completely loose, and sure enough it suddenly fell completely into the water. I went to grab my landing net, but that had been blown into the lake and the end was protruding invitingly from the surface, and slowly sinking, but luckily still within reach.

Grandad - fourth with 29 lb 2 oz from Peg 30.

I grabbed the landing net and managed to lift a little of the elastic above the surface. Somehow it stayed draped over the net and the fish didn't attempt to swim away. I gingerly pulled the landing net back until I had the elastic within reach, when I grabbed it and handlined the 2 lb bream in. The elastic had perished at the puller bung end.

Last-minute flurry
I had put maggot and corn into the margins, which were deep, but although I spent a few minutes there I never had a touch. Another spell on the feeder didn't bring a bite, either. But putting bait in with the bait dropped did seem to liven the fish up each time I did it.

Ten minutes to go and bream of 1 lb and 2 lb made an appearance on the pole line, followed by a near-3 lb F1, and then I hit a big fish which came off after a minute, probably also foulhooked. Thirty seconds later the match finished, just as they had started to feed! I did at one point get my worms out, which bream love, but I haven't used them for some weeks, and when I opened the box every one was dead. Not my day!

That sinking feeling

I packed everything up, took the pole holdall and bait bag back to the van, which was nearby, then returned for the rods and umbrella. Back to the van with those and when I returned to the platform for the trolley and box I was horrified to see the net, which had been placed securely on the platform (as I thought) had been blown in. Part of it was still near the surface, and luckily it was the top ring. I threw myself onto the platform (actually slowly crawled to the edge), reached out, and was just in time to grab the top ring before it sank. I don't think any fish had escaped, but I can't be sure.

The weigh in
My fish weighed 29 lb 9 oz, of which about 23 lb was bream, and as I hadn't taken any pictures, I followed the scales to Grandad on Peg 30, about 25 yards away, to get a picture. He had stayed on a feeder all day and had caught carp and F1s, which made me wonder whether I should have done the same. I had no idea what the other weights were, but realised I hadn't come last when Grandad (real name John Hill, aged 83) ended with 29 lb 2 oz, just 7 oz behind me.

The winner

Lee told me he had weighed nearly 100 lb (he actually had 99 lb 6 oz); then Smug said he (Smug) and I had won our sections, which was a massive surprise to me. In fact the weights were pretty tight in the 20s, and I was very lucky. I wasn't surprised that Lee won - a very good angler on one of my favourite pegs. He had 30 lb on a maggot feeder and about 70 lb on a pole fished in the deep water of the channel which runs under the bridge, with the fish tending to be near the bridge itself. Peter Molesworth was second on Peg 9 with 33 lb 15 oz.

So another (underserved) pickup - I came third overall - which I was very happy with. Next Wednesday I would normally fish the Pidley Over 60s but have arranged to take an local elderly couple to the doctor's surgery, so my next match is expected to be with JV at Decoy on Sunday.

THE OPEN RESULT