What a match, on Cedar, Decoy

 Peg 15, Sunday, Feb 27
This morning (Monday) the smiling young lady about to announce the weather forecast started by saying: "Yesterday the sun brought spring-like weather to many parts of the UK." Not to Decoy it b****y didn't!

Even my regular homage to Peppa Pig (which I watched before leaving home) didn't spare me from the bitter blast that hit me when I opened the van door; and it never let up all day. Thankfully Gus had pegged all 19 of us on the Eastern banks of Elm and Cedar, with the howling wind over our left shoulders. But  the news that Tom Edwards, who I would back against almost any angler in the UK on a commercial fishery, had managed  just 7 lb from Peg 1 in the previous day's Winter League Final , didn't fill us with confidence. 

Bright and (very) breezy. The wind was cold and never eased up all day.

A terrible start
Still there was a job to be done from Peg 15, though Chris Saunders was on my right on 14, in the corner - the swim which won the lake the previous day. At least the sun was shining, but that didn't put the fish in a good mood - after two fishless hours fishing the pole at 10 metres, and a maggot feeder, I dropped into the margins, where I had been flicking maggots, and eventually got a bite from a 2 lb carp.

Chris Saunders took almost all his fish at 13 metres in a
small cut-out in the end bank, to his right.

I always ring my Dearly Beloved around 1 pm, just to let her know that I'm still alive, and I was able to mournfully inform her that I was cold, fed up, and had just the one fish, while Chris to my right had three...but his first two were foulhooked. As  a welcome distraction, however, both Chris and I had been able to watch Steve Tilsley -  occasionally to be known as Ivy Tilsley - in the corner of Elm, Peg 13, with his back to us, catch fish after fish.

It really was quite a performance - every time I looked up Steve, sorry, Ivy, was either playing a fish, putting one into his net, or rebaiting his hook. Then, with two hours to go, Chris hit another two or three carp, while I lost one within seconds of hooking it (probably foulhooked), and added another section to 11.5 metres, and found two carp around 2 lb each. But I was way behind Chris, whose best fish was 10 lb-plus. For a short time I managed to go out to 13 metres, but the wind soon put a stop to that...

Chris' best fish, from corner peg 14,  was around 10 lb.

A better finish
With 15 minutes to go suddenly my swim held fish - first I hit one as I lifted the rig out, but it immediately came off; then another 2 lb carp came in on maggot on  double red maggot, then a bream around 2 lb, and suddenly the black-tipped float slid under and I hit a big fish. 

Less than a minute later the match finished and I had worked out that this one was probably foulhooked. It would drift into the side, then power off almost to the next platform, before hurtling out the the middle and drifting in again. Everyone else was packing up, and ten minutes later Chris helpfully reminded me that I was probably expected to be home before midnight. Thanks, mate!

The beast came in sideways
Eventually the fish stopped wagging its great big tail and gave up, and a black shape appeared under the surface about 10 metres out. The 13 hollow elastic slowly retracted, drawing the shape slowly over my waiting landing net, sideways, and I could see the hook in its pectoral fin. I have a long-handled landing net, but it can be a problem in a high wind just feeding fish into the keepnet, so today I had chosen a shorter handle. But, wonder of wonders, I managed to bring the fish closer and closer, and netted it first time, ensuring that its head went in first.

A smiling Chris with his 28 lb 10 oz .

Even then I had a problem extracting the hook because the fish lay on that side in the net and it took me ages to turn it over and pick the hook out. There were leeches on the fish, and several in its mouth. I guess it weighed about 12 lb.

The weigh-in
I was still packing up when the scales arrived, and Ivy was being weighed in at the same time, so I couldn't get a picture of him. My fish went 26 lb 2 oz, and Chris next door weighed 28 lb 10 oz, which won him the section by default. I ended sixth on the lake, and frankly was pleased to catch anything in those conditions. Another 2 lb 9 oz and I would have won the section.

Our lake was won by Andy Gausden with 102 lb 8 oz. He  took fish at 11.5 metres, then 13 metres, and finally on the maggot feeder on that 13-metre line when the wind made it impossible for him to hold the pole. And free sandwiches and hot potatoes were waiting for us all back in HQ, courtesy of the new owner Sean, and manager Karen. They were very welcome.

Cedar result

IVY'S RED-LETTER DAY
But the real story of the day took place on Elm 13, in the corner, where Steve ended with 298 lb 4 oz - and he lost the last fish he hooked. 

Steve Tilsley- 298 lb 4 oz from Elm Peg 13.

He took a couple of fish on maggot in front of him before turning his back to the wind and fishing 13 metres to the end bank on his right. He fished a small piece of bread punch about two-and-a-half feet deep in five feet of water, a metre from the reeds, and first drop a fish took the bait.

He told me: "Every time I dropped in a fish took the bait within about ten seconds. There must have been hundreds there, mainly around 4 lb or 5 lb. I will never, ever have a day like that again as long as I live. My previous best catch was 240 lb, and I didn't think I could possible better that.  Once I started catching fish I never needed to feed anything at all."

Elm result

Next match
Not sure when m next match is, but I will be fishing with JV again on Sunday. I don't have the Winter League result - it should be on the Angling Trust website or the Match Angling Results Service on Facebook eventually. I understand that peg 11 on Six-Island won with about 167 lb, with several other 100 lb-plus weights from Horseshoe, Beastie 23 and Yew 15. Barnsley won the team event.