Good to be back, on Horseshoe, at Float Fish Farm

 Peg With Decoy still largely iced over or JV match was cancelled, but Lee Kendall organised a knock-up on Float Fish Farm, on Horseshoe and Two-Island, and 13 of us fished. Before the draw some of us amused ourselves feeding the scores of carp which were hanging around the food van - the odd one of which looked to be into double-figures.

                                                            Hope the video works

All the lakes I saw were free of ice, probably because they are deeper than those at Decoy, and there's a bit more shelter. I had fished Float Fish Farm only once before, so was not surprised by the drive down - it would make an excellent set for a film crew wanting to film typical World War 1 action of soldiers marching along muddy, potholed tracks. But that was my only moan, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that Horseshoe Lake, where I was Peg 5, had a line of evergreens behind us, giving protection from the wind, and enabling us to fish in absolute comfort. There were six of us on this lake.

Nice flat bank, and plenty of grass, although it looks muddy in this picture.

Chris Saunders was on my left, peg 4, and he has already written, in Facebook, that he could have swiped me round the head with an 8-metre length of pole. Thankfully I gave him no reason to do that, but I did remark that since were were likely to be casting bombs to the far bank, which was  about 50 metres away there was every chance that a hooked carp could kite straight through our swims.

Chris Saunders, on Peg 4, had his first fish after about an hour.

Our first fish
Like Chris, I started on a bomb and bread. About an hour in he hooked, and landed, a carp about 4 lb, and then added another. I hadn't had a bite so eventually changed to hair-rigged double corn, which I had frozen so it became light and mushy. Five minutes later I hooked a carp which immediately threatened to charge through Chris' swim. I held it a bit hard and the hook pulled out. But just a few minutes later another carp took the bait and after a very spirited fight it ended in my net - a beautiful golden mirror about 5 lb.

These golden fish bare typically called ghosties, but I remember that when the term first came into our vocabulary it meant that the fish had a sort of skull-shaped mark on its skull. Whatever you call them these light-coloured carp always fight harder than the brown ones. Chris then told me that on his left Ernie Lowbridge had already caught a few carp, on the bomb. To our right, round the corner, Peter Harrison had had two or three early carp on the bomb, while to his right it looked as if Andy Gausden had caught on both bomb and pole.

Into the net goes another one...

Around this time Chris added another two or three carp, and to my right Gus Gausden,who was fishing only a pole, added an ide of 2 lb-plus to his net of perchlets and roachlets. There followed about 90 minutes during which my only excitement was watching a buzzard hovering over the trees in front of us, mobbed half-heartedly by a lone seagull. The tail was rounded at the end, distinguishing it from the many red kites we see, which have a forked tail.

A couple more carp came to Chris, and then another to me on corn, but this one did a proper job fouling Chris' line, and he sportingly wound in and walked up to me to release his hook from my line, enabling me to land the four-pounder. Not long after that Chris hooked a fish which he said was probably in my swim. By this time I had gone onto the pole, so needed only to lift the rig out, and Chris soon had the carp under control. Pellets at eight metres on my pole saw not a bite, and when I changed to maggot I had just one bite, which I missed. Corn at 13 metres did no better, so I reverted to bread on the bomb.

A cracking net of Winter carp for Ernie Lowbridge.

With 45 minutes to go I landed another mirror carp about 4 lb, with Chris taking one about the same time. Then, with eight minutes left. he cast out his bomb and bread, to about eight metres short of the far bank...and within 30 seconds another carp was hooked. I said that at that rate he'd time to catch two or three more! But he didn't. So ended my second match on Float Fish Farm.

The weigh in
Ernie was first to weigh - a magnificent 108 lb 8 oz of carp, all taken on a straight bomb with popped-up bread on a four-inch hooklength cast towards the reeds on the end bank, but only about halfway across the lake.

Chris' eight fish weighed 31 lb 13 oz, all taken on hair-rigged bread and the bomb, and my three went 14 lb 1 oz. 

Gus put his fish back after showing them to me - probably 5 lb of 'bits', but pointed out that had the match been run under the old World Championship rules, when each fish was worth points, he would probably have won, as he probably had 50 or 60. Us old men like to dream a little!!

A real mixed bag for runner-up Andy Gausden.

Andy must have worked hard

Round the corner Pete Harrison pipped Chis, with his 32 lb 5 oz of carp on bomb and bread, which I assumed would be second on the lake. But No! On his right Andy Gausden had fished a great match, taking four carp on the bomb and bread and managing to add, between them, good roach, big perch, and some ide, all on maggot at 13 metres. So he was runner-up with 37 lb 15 oz. He told me that first few  pegs were often best, particularly the lowest numbers, so I didn't feel too bad after that.

The other lake fished patchily. I was told before the match that the better weights would come from the anglers able to cast to the island, but I don't know whether that was the case.

It was good to be back after a fortnight away, and my next match was due to be Wednesday at the Pidley Pensioners, but yet another opticians appointment has clobbered that on the head, So it may be Friday at the Old Codgers on Decoy, or if not, then Sunday on Oak at Decoy with JV.

THE RESULTS