Commercial Matchman: Mr Frosty pays another visit to Oak, Decoy (and Open)

Peg 18, Sunday, Jan 5
Yet again I started the morning by scraping frost off the windscreen of the van, any expectations of a bumper day in the Spring sunshine gradually dipping. But Spring is definitely here - I was boosted by seeing a row of yellow daffodils alongside a wall in the village of Little Raveley, on the way to Decoy. And for your delight I attach a (not very good) picture of snowdrops no more than 50 yards from my house...

Half of the lake was calm

The car park was well full, with a practice Open for the Winter League Final being fished on Lous, Damson, Elm and Cedar. The anglers who had come from Peterborough said they hadn't seen any frost, so perhaps the fishery had escaped it? Not at all - the platforms still in the shade were white, and the light Northerly breeze was definitely cool. Fourteen of us fished on the Eastern bank of Oak in this JV club match, 15 to 30 with the wind into us from the right. My end of the lake was flat calm all day, but there was a good ripple towards the high numbers.

Flat calm all day. Andy Leathers is in the red jacket, fishing the next lake over - Cedar.

For the second match in succession I had Peter Harrison on my right, while Ernie Lowbridge was on my left on 19. Peter and I started on bomb and bread cast to the far side, about 40 metres, but Ernie was the first in action, on the long pole, after about 40 minutes. He played the fish for a minute or two before the line went slack - foulhooked. Minutes later Peter and I, both biteless, with not even a liner, changed to pole.

How sad am I?
I'd taken about half a pint of casters off my old maggots, and had been catapulting them out to 13 metres. In fact while I was on the bomb I amused myself by picking them out, one by one, and putting them into a maggot tin of water. How sad was that|?

Ernie lost another fish foulhooked, and then I had a bite on four maggots on a size 12 at 13 metres on the pole. I had a problem taking it apart, so I had to gingerly push it all back well over Yew lake, behind us, to get down to the top two. Thankfully the fish didn't fight hard - it was a 2 lb-plus ide. I never had another problem with the pole.

Peter Harrison plays one of his carp to the net on Peg 17 (16 was not in).

A carp!
Soon after that I had a 12 lb mirror on the four maggots, over the loose-fed casters and maggots, and almost next drop hooked another which came off after a few seconds, probably foulhooked. Peter, meanwhile had had a good carp and soon added a second fish. Time to look in the deep water in front of me, where the three-foot margin suddenly dropped down, vertically, to five feet, and I got a definite bite there, on a bunch of maggots.

If that bite had been from a roach I would have expected more, but no more came, so I suspected a cruising carp, and I wasted half an hour there; Peter also had a look in his deep margin, with no bites that I am aware of. Then time stood still, and for the next two and a half hours I had not a bite on pole or bomb, though some time in that interminable period Ernie took a fish on feeder.

The day wasn't particularly cold, and I fished the whole match without having to put on my Imax jacket, thanks to the sun, which shone most of the day.

Out of the blue...
I'd seen only two other fish taken in the few swims to my left, so things looked black. The higher-numbered swims still had ripple, and I idly suspected that things might be a bit better up there. Peter had another fish, I think (or was I dreaming it?). Then out of the blue, the tip of my feeder rod shot back and I was attached to a fish, which had taken the double frozen sweetcorn cast well over to the far bank. It was another mirror, around 10 lb.

While we struggled Ian Frith was finding fish in the high numbers.

No more came and I had time to look across at the legend that is Andy Leathers, on peg 14 on Cedar. He was now fishing in the left margin, then in the corner, then out again - clearly struggling. He told me afterwards that his seven carp came early ion. At one point the wind changed and became mch colder, but soon afterwards it died and it became very pleasant.

Fifteen minutes left, and Peter had a fish on his long pole. I watched him re-bait, and when I saw him thumbing something into the top of his pole pot I was sure he was fishing, and feeding, with maggot. So I did the same, starting a new swim to the right of where I had been because the bright sun, low in the sky, made it difficult to see a float in front of me. Five minutes later the float slid under and another big carp was on. This was a common, and it fought twice as hard as the mirrors. But it ended in my net.

Three cracking mirror carp for 32 lb 13 oz for Jim Regan, who won
that section by a triple default! 👍.

Peter had another fish before the end and ended with six fish - three carp, an ide, and two F1s. I had three carp and one ide. And while we packed up the conditions were perfect - really warm. Sod's Law!

The weigh-in
I missed Dave Parson weighing in on end peg 30. He had 77 lb 3 oz, taken on bomb and pellet cast about three-quarters of the way over. Next door on 29 Ian Frith ran him close, with 74 lb 12 oz on a pole, while on Peg 28 Chris Saunders' 42 lb 2 oz was sufficient to win a golden coin from Roy Whincup. They took the first three places, with Jim Regan on 27 ending fifth with 32 lb 13 oz and taking that end section by triple default!

Chris Saunders - third on the day.

After those four, things took a right dive - Steve Tilsley never had a bite in the next swim, and up to me the best weight was Lee Kendall's two fish for 16 lb. I thought I might have 30 lb, but my fish took the scales to 34 lb 6 oz, However I knew Peter had six fish though he said he didn't think he could beat me, and with 29 lb 8 oz he was right. So I ended fourth overall and won that end five-peg section, which was probably as good as I could have expected. Happy days.

My next match will be on Friday, or Sunday when we are on Elm lake, but with more frost forecast I expect to perhaps be only fishing for a bite. Still, someone has to win.

Chris proudly displays his hard-won golden coin...

The Open
The Open was won on Cedar peg 26, in the corner - Alan Oakes dobbed off the bottom alongside the reeds on the end bank for a magnificent 198 lb 15 oz. Peg 26 is one of the 'special' pegs on the complex that can produce really spectacular catches (even I have won from it). I'm not sure why it so often seems to be so much better than Peg 1, opposite. The light wind was blowing into it on Sunday, though, which would have helped.

THE RESULTS