Wet and horrible, but we all catch fish on Damson

 Peg 7, Wed, Apr 6
Oh, what a grey day! It was raining as I drove to Decoy, and raining at the draw (though not a lot!) Sorry. Forgive me being whimsical... 

                                Oh, what a grey day!               

Then it stopped as we tackled up, and started again soon after the start, and it rained hard, solidly, for two hours, right into our faces. But there was a bright spot, when Mick Ramm (or Michael as I knew him when we were aged about 7 and went to St Peter's Junior school in Wisbech), turned up to fish for the first time in over a year, sporting a brand new gleaming hip (not that he actually showed us). Great to see him back on the bank.

On the other hand we were missing Peter Barnes, in hospital having chemo for blood cancer and having trouble with his spine. Not good, but his message to me on Facebook was upbeat. We miss you, mate.

The head wind gave us a massive Raspberry Ripple (much rougher than it looks here).

Twelve of us fished this Spratts match on Damson, and I started with a shallow rig and banded 6mm pellet. Three fish around 1 lb each in the first five minutes obliged, then nothing. Damson is like that - promises you so much then withdraws the offer - I remember a few girls like that...

I had a lovely-looking left margin. By the way that's Trevor Cousins playing a carp hooked on a
 bomb and sweetcorn, with no feed being put in. (That's my smart blue van in the background)

Anyway, next to me Trevor Cousins, who had decided to fish a bomb in the nasty head wind, saw what I had done and put out a shallow rig of his own. A roach on his banded pellet was all he had and he packed that in quickly and went back on the bomb. Meanwhile I couldn't believe that the fish had done what they always do and buggered off (I think that's the correct piscatorial term) and I stayed fishing shallow for another 15 minutes before changing to a deeper rig with corn fished in about three feet of water on the edge of the drop-off.

I find fish on corn
The corn brought a few fish F1s between 1 lb and 2 lb, with one having a strange blueish sheen which I assume must have been part of a recent stocking.  I got a lot of bites which I missed; Trevor said they were roach but I'm not so sure, as sometimes they changed into a proper pull-under and it was always a carp or F1. I also occasionally had a bite and found the sweetcorn gone - I'm sure they are F1s. Maggot did, though, take some roach and perch, and I soon packed that in. 

Trevor now had the occasional fish on his running line, but I think I had more, and was quite enjoying it, even in the rain. A couple of quick looks in the deep water produced not even a liner. At one point he had a look on the pole, taking two fish in two drops, but then they moved away, probably to watch something on telly.

Shaun nets a better fish in the sun, after he had performed his wet cabaret act.

Shaun's cabaret
On my right Shaun Buddle started in the deep water, and an hour after the rain had started he performed his slapstick comedy routine. 

He had his hoodie pulled over his head, and eventually decided he ought to pull his jacket hood over his head, forgetting that it had been exposed to heavy rain for an hour. So he pulled it up, and sure enough it had filled with water which cascaded over his head and down his neck, necessitating a return to his van for a dry-off and another, dry jacket. But unsportingly he didn't tell me what he was going to do, so I didn't get a  picture.

Trevor catches on the bomb
When the rain stopped, my swim went from slow to dire, but Trevor started catching on his bomb and sweetcorn cast right over to the far side, about 50 yards. I struggled on taking about one 2 lb fish every 20 minutes, while Trevor pulled ahead of me. I should have grabbed my rod then, but didn't, cos I'm stupid. Then the sun came out and made it difficult to see the float in the lefthand margin in the rough water.

Trevor - 62 lb 5 oz. He always combs his hair before
I take his picture!

I could catch only by dragging the bait along the bottom several inches overdepth - fishing off or just touching bottom never brought a fish. I also tried cat meat, unsuccessfully.

Bagging on the bomb!
Eventually, with about 90 minutes left, I put out my own bomb and corn and had a lovely brilliant-red goldfish first cast. Then another five or six fish around 2 lb quite quickly. Then, after seeing Shaun take a fish from his margin, I compounded my error by putting down the rod and trying the pole again in the margins. This did, in fact, bring a few fish, but not as fast as the bomb. I kept hoping they would make a last-gasp charge but presentation was so difficult in the head wind and it never happened. To make things worse Trevor had a good last 20 minutes. I went back on the bomb with about six minutes left and had one immediately. Doh!

Bob Barrett was fourth. All the fish we caught
were about this size - the big ones never showed up.

The weigh in

By now it was dry, and warmer (isn't it always?). Peter Chilton on 1 was first to weigh - 92 lb 13 oz of fish taken on a top two in the deep water right in front of him on a hard pellet; he said he couldn't catch to the left or right, only in that front spot. He led down to Trevor who totalled 62 lb 5 oz, only about 10 lb ahead of my 52 lb 13 oz. If only I had changed to the bomb and hour earlier I am sure I would have ended ahead of him.

I was third down to Bob Barrett, who had six fish in his first six casts on a feeder in the side, after which they went AWOL, but he had 56 lb 3 oz. The winner was Peter Harrison on 12, who had fish on a pellet feeder and ended taking carp on cat meat in the margins on a pole. Both his nets went fractionally over the club's 50 lb limit, and he ended with 100lb. That left me fifth, but I know I should have fished better and come third.

Mick Ramm, complete with new hip, waits for the scalesmen -
his first time on the bank for over a year

So ended a match fished in rotten weather with the forecast much better for this weekend, when I am fishing with JV on Six-Island on Sunday. I will have cat meat ready, and with the warmer weather I expect it to take fish, except that the forecast is for the winds to swing round from the current Westerlies to SSE, which they never like. It means that 10 to 14 may be a little sheltered, and I'd be happy with them - not for my comfort, but because they can fish  reasonably if the wind is from that direction.

Good news
The new owners have been doing a lot of work, cutting back some of the larger bankside bushes which dump so many dead leaves into the water, lillies on Horseshoe, and reeds on Four-Island, and  repairing dodgy platforms. Sean Riley told me he is to dredge Yew lake around October time, and attend to the undercut banks. Oak lake will follow.

Peter Harrison won with 100 lb.

THE RESULT

1 Peter Chilblain       92 lb 13 oz   2nd

2 John Smith             36 lb 1 oz

3 Mick Rawson        25 lb 4 oz

4 Peter Spriggs         44 lb 1 oz  

5 Neil Pass               35 lb 3 oz

6 Trevor Cousins      62 lb 5 oz     3rd

7 Mac Campbell       52 lb 13 oz 

8 Shaun Buddle        43 lb 15 oz

9 John Garner           33 lb 9 oz

10 Bob Barrett          56 lb 3 oz    4th

11 Mick Ramm         45 lb 5 oz

12 Peter Harrison   100 lb            1st