Two matches in two days on Six-Island and Yew (Decoy)

Peg 16, Six-Island, Friday, June17
This was that forecasted heatwave day, fished in bright sunshine; but a stiff cool wind made it just a warm Summer's day. Unfortunately for me that wind was over my right shoulder, giving me and Trevor Cousins, fishing 14 on the righthand bank, very little ripple. It didn't bother Trevor, as his main tactic was always going to be mugging the big fish you could see swimming aimlessly around just under the surface. 

The high banks behind and to my right gave me a fairly calm surface.
But I always prefer to have a bit of Raspberry Ripple. (Don't we all?)

However, the wind was blowing right into the far corner along the Northern bank, towards corner Peg 9,  and I guessed that that could scupper our chances of winning. For once I was right!

First cast Trevor mugged a fish that looked to me to be about 6 lb as he landed it. But I didn't see him get any more in the next half-hour. During that time I tried fishing just a single grain of corn down the track and then across to the island on 13 metres. The wind made perfect presentation impossible, though about 90 minutes after the start I somehow foulhooked a carp about 5 lb in the tail, but managed to land it.

I could see Bob Barrett on 12 catching fish on a
feeder. He ended with 62 lb 13 oz.

I concentrate on presentation
After that I concentrated on presentation close-in rather than trying to fish long, and eventually hooked a small F1 down in the left margin, where it was almost as deep as in the middle. I also had a look in the shallower margin farther along, hoping that one of the 'proper' carp that occasionally swirled there might have a go, but they didn't. All the time big mirrors and commons were swimming about in threes or fours, but not actually spawning, that I could see.

The next three hours I spent fishing as delicately as I could in the left margin, feeding literally two or three grains of corn at a time, for the F1s, and they came slowly, with fish to 3 lb, plus a few roach. The bites were tiny, and I ended up using my special method. I don't think I would have seen most of the bites unless I had. The bankside grass was blowing across my field of vision a lot of the time, making it very difficult and |I had to really concentrate. 

Alternating two swims
I had just one F1 from the longer shallower swim. After an hour or two I also put the occasional grain of corn into a new swim in front of me, on a top two, and  then alternated between these two swims, taking fish from both. I couldn't see Dick to my left nor Trevor catching a lot, so I kept doing that, taking the odd F1 until the last 40 minutes, when I looked in the shallower right margin as I could no longer see the big fish swimming about. To me that nearly always signals that they might come in and start feeding.

Shaun Buddle framed YET AGAIN in second place
 with 87 lb 3 oz from Peg 8.

First drop I had a 3 lb F1, and then decided I simply had to catch a better fish, so put on a mussel. Sure enough after five minutes I was playing a ten-pounder, and a few minutes after that was playing another the same size. Both ended up in my keepnet, and then the match finished.

The weigh-in
I caught up with the scales just in time to see Peter Spriggs, on Peg 6, weigh in the winning catch of 157 lb 7 oz, taken about six feet out from the bank on prawn. The wind here was strong, and as I had thought, put a lovely wave on the surface. 

Two swims to his left (the even numbers were used all round this part of the lake) Shaun Buddle was second with 87 lb 3 oz, and with Peg 10 not used, Bob Barrett  on the opposite bank was third with 62 lb 13 oz taken on a feeder from Peg 12.

Trevor had found six fish mugging, and added a few more to total 44 lb 8 oz, and my catch, thanks to those two late big fish, gave me 60 lb 12 oz for fourth place. I was very happy with that from a swim out of the wind.

Peter Spriggs, way ahead of everyone else with 157 lb 7 oz.

THE RESULT

1 John Garner         31 lb 3 oz

3 Alan Porter          30 lb 4 oz

4 Bob Allen            33 lb 13 oz

6 Peter Spriggs      157 lb 7 oz    1st

8 Shaun Buddle       87 lb 3 oz    2nd

12 Bob Barrett         62 lb 13 oz  3rd

14 Trevor Cousins   44 lb 8 oz

16 Mac Campbell    60 lb 12 oz   4th

18 Dick Warrener    20 lb 2 oz

20 Peter Chilton       27 lb 3 oz

22 Joe Bedford         13 lb 5 oz

24 Martin Parker      49 lb 4 oz

Peg 16, Yew, Saturday, June 18
It was the dreaded Peg 16 again for this waggler-only match. The wind had changed overnight from South-Westerly to North, meaning that Peg 16, in the corner of this strip lake, was flat calm, while the other swims, at least from 20 to 30, had at least some wind on them. That left me and Dick Warrener on 18 in the doldrums. With Kevin Lee recovering from a fall and Mike Rawson slowly recovering from a stroke, that left just eight of us on the bank (and I hadn't been looking forward to fishing this match anyway so it might as well have been just seven!)

Corner Peg 16 - flat as a pancake. Dick's swim on 18 wasn't much better.

An early start

Because wagglers are apparently easier to set up than poles the match started at 9.30 and was due to finish at 3.30. Of course I was behind (as always) and by 9.30 I had just two of my three waggler rods ready, but started anyway casting a pellet waggler fished at 18 inches deep over to the dozens of big fish that were swimming around like sharks, with their dorsal fins just showing.

I know they were big because they were also swimming around in front of me in threes and fours, and did that for five hours. In that time I eventually managed to drop the lassoed pellet on my rig in front of a pod of four, one of which smashed into the float and, to my eternal surprised, I found myself playing a four-pounder. hooked in the mouth. 

Dick Warrener managed to magic out three nice carp.

A kingfisher the most exciting moment

Next drop, and within ten seconds something hooked itself. It charged off and kept charging, and was probably two swims away when the hook pulled, with the fish well on its way to Bedford. 😒 In the next four hours there was just one notable incident which I remember - a kingfisher flashed out from the reeds to my right and shot over to the anglers on Oak lake. 

Frankly I was bored stiff, as without a pole I knew I couldn't present a bait delicately enough for the smaller fish like roach and F1s to take a bait in these conditions. And every now and then the rain started. I felt I honestly needed luck to catch a fish, and I hate leaving it all to luck! But I did fish really hard. Honest.

Callum Judge on Peg 20 found two early fish on cat meat fishing just beyond his rod tip.

Casters

With two hours to go and just the one fish in my net I started to throw casters out in front of me and to my left margin, where I had repeatedly put in my rig and cat meat, which had repeatedly been ignored by any fish that might have swum past. The casters had been riddled off that morning and the previous morning, from the maggots in my fridge, and to my delight most of them were sinkers. It seemed a pity to waste them, so into the water they went.

Three fish in total for Callum, weighing 25 lb 15 oz.

I had earlier also got up and put together my third waggler, a lighter rig baited with corn, which felt better.  Several times I came up with weed on the hook, and twice I pulled in a length of nylon, one of which was attached to a twig. Then, with about an hour left, things suddenly changed. 

Things change

From going around in threes and fours, the fish were swimming past on their own, and more slowly than earlier. That is a sure sign that they have finished whatever they were doing together and will, at some point, start looking for food. I also started getting liners, especially in the swim in front of me. Putting the casters in kept these liners coming, and I tried coming a few inches off bottom. The liners stopped, so I came shallower. Still no more liners. But when I went back down on the bottom the liners started again.

It was then I realised that they weren't liners, but fish knocking the bait. Twenty minutes left and I felt I had a chance of catching another fish or two. Dick, next to me, had two on cat meat dropped in beside the marginal reeds. Then I hit a fish in the margin which came off immediately.

Martin Parker - fourth with 29 lb 13 oz. He's had a poor 
season by his standards, but his results improved in
these two difficult matches.

Snagged!!!

 A minute or two after that I hit a fish from the other swim! But it was staying in the same place, kicking like mad, and not moving away sideways. Almost as if I was playing it through a drainpipe. Then it came off, and I am sure there is a length of nylon down there that the fish had been snagged on.  Bother!

Five minutes left and I looked up to see Dick playing something. A look back to my float and I was just in time to see it dancing along under the surface before diving.  I struck, and this one stuck - a double-figure mirror. I landed it, re-baited, dropped back...and within three seconds the match ended. I thought I would almost certainly come last.

The weigh-in

Dave Garner on 28 had about a dozen, fishing well out, but they were small and totalled 30 lb 13 oz. Most of the others had about three fish, but Mel Lutkin on 24 had seven on paste, for a winning 38 lb 2 oz. 

Mel Lutkin with his winning catch of 38 lb 2 oz, all taken on paste. How did he do that???

I did come last, and will think seriously about fishing a waggler-only match again.  The lack of wind on the water did for me, I think, but a pole might have helped, and would certainly have offered me more options. After all, you've got to enjoy it, haven't you?

THE RESULT

Next match is on Willows on Sunday; then Beastie on Monday. and Please Can I Have a Ripple - Raspberry or not?