Every year John Garner arranges an invitation match on Six-Island, for his friends, old and new, and this year 19 of us fished. I was happy with peg 15, where Callum won our club match a couple of weeks ago, especially since the wind would be down towards that corner. However, things changed a bit when we could all see fish occasionally swirling and crashing about in the reeds near the car park, spawning.
Down at peg 15 things soon started to hot up, with massive splashes along my lefthand bank, towards the corner, and opposite in the margins of the island. That went on for at least five hours! My first thought, obviously, was to start fishing in open water.
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| Not much wind at the start in our little corner. |
At the start there was hardly any wind, and Dick Warrener on my right, and myself, found it hard going. I took an F1 of about 1 lb on a 6mm expander fished well out, and then saw Kev Beavis on 18 land a couple of fish. But it was a long time before Dick had his first carp, fishing in the margins with a pellet.
I still didn't fancy going anywhere near the spawning fish, so tried a corn skin shallow. There weren't many fish showing on the top, but when I saw what looked like two or three together I plonked my bait in front of them and within a second the elastic had stretched. It all happened so fast that I assumed it was a fish foulhooked, but No! A four-pounder was hooked in the mouth.
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| I thought I had taken a video of fish spawning in the corner, but must have got it wrong. 👎 Debris soon accumulated along the bank for a metre out. |
Halfway through, and the pegs around 18 now had some ripple, but it wasn't coming down to us. But Dick now started to find fish in the side, mainly fishing to his left, towards me. There was one small area where fish didn't seem to be swirling - about four feet from my platform, to the right. So I used my 'special' method for the first time recently, with corn, and took a big carp. Obviously I stayed there for a time, taking half-a-dozen more, and putting in just a little hemp and half-a-dozen grains of corn at a time. I then had a terrible spell where fish came off, including two obviously foulhooked.
After losing several fish I had a look just to my left, on the short top, away from the bank, but where there were clouds of mud coming up. Nothing! I reckon the fish were super-sensitive because of the spawning, and managed to avoid my rig. Around this time I saw Kev Beavis on 20 landing more fish, as did Shaun McKenna on 17, round the corner to my left, while Dick was also taking fish steadily. I though he was beating me.
Back to the right margin, still only feet from the platform, and more fish came, though they sometimes took a lot of persuading, one or two more came off and once, when I netted an eight-pounder there were two fish in my landing net! Only the second time that has ever happened to me. I had seen that mine was a mirror, so I shouted out that I'd got two, and put the slightly-smaller common back. Funnily enough I hadn't seen the other fish swim in, and didn't see it until I lifted the net...
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| Dick Warrener's best fish must have been at least 10 lb. |
When bites slowed there I tried way out to the left, where Callum had had most of his fish in the previous match there, but never had a bite. I couldn't get in close to the bank at all, as debris and reeds had piled up against the bank for a good metre out. Fish were still swirling in the rubbish, and I was sure I'd get carp in the deeper water about four feet out, especially as the wind was now giving me a ripple there, but never had a touch.
One ten-pounder, hooked in the right margin, played a trick on me. I thought I had it beaten and broke down to the top two, whereupon it made a play for my nets. We engaged in a tug-of-war for about a minute, which ended with it coming out from the nets twice, but then managing to get round the righthand net and hooking the hook into it. Fish lost...and I might have said a naughty word, very quietly. I was fuming, because it was entirely my own fault.
I had clicked about 35 lb in my first two nets (fishing to a 50 lb maximum) when I put in the third with half an hour to go. I'd not been at all confident at the start, so had put in only two. Now it's strange how many times getting up and putting in a third net results in a long blank spell after a really good spell. But not today! I had a seven-pounder within two or three minutes, and two more followed in the next 20 minutes. That's not fantastic when the fish are feeding well, but today was obviously proving quite difficult for everyone, and I fancied I was now doing as well as I possibly could.
Literally four minutes to go and I hit a big fish. After a couple of very powerful runs I had it in the landing net, using the short top, which I have found brilliant. But it was very heavy, and I had a job pulling the net in. The fish was thrashing about - always a problem when you land a fish quickly - and though I strained every muscle trying to keep the net high, suddenly it actually jumped over the rim. It was definitely at least 15 lb, and probably bigger.
The fish was still hooked, and made a powerful run towards Shaun McKenna 25 yards away. I gritted my teeth and stuck the pole tip under the water, and everything held. I had a short Number three attached, and that allowed me to use the puller with that section still attached - another massive advantage of using the short top.
The fish came straight back into the net, and lay still. I had to swing the net round to my right, into the bank, and slowly reach down to grab the net itself. Up onto my lap, and disaster!
I had seen a small hole, about half-an-inch across, earlier, and now the fish had its mouth just in that hole. I wasn't bothered...until it suddenly thrashed its tail and with a split second had glided through the hole and plopped back down the front of the platform. For a second I thought I could push the pole, through the hole and perhaps land it, but the rig had broken, and the hole in the net was now a lot bigger...
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| Good to see Kev Beavis on the bank. He weighed 99 lb 9 oz on peg 20. |
Dick had a spare net with him, but there was only a minute left and by the time I'd screwed it on I had only seconds left. Even so, I do believe that given a few more seconds I would have had another fish, as suddenly the air seemed warmer, and I was 'in the zone'. But I didn't.
Dave Garner, one of our most consistent anglers, on 2, had a bad day - 12 bites and just three fish, for 20 lb 2 oz. Shaun Buddle took the lead on 3 with 83 lb 6 oz, but Peter Spriggs, fishing to the side bank on 9, had 119 lb 2 oz. I was surprised that some of the others hadn't had 100 lb-plus, and was amazed when Dick weighed in only 68 lb 15 oz, as I was sure he'd got twice that amount. It seemed that every time I looked up either he or Steve Engledow, on the next peg, was playing a fish!
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| Organiser John Garner with 64 lb 5 oz on peg 8. |
I ended second, and either of my two lost fish would have won me the match. C'est la guerre.
Definitely a match for me on Elm 1-12 on Sunday, and back to Six-Island on Monday, complete with my spare landing net. Looks like being a North or North-Easterly again, and I would pick around 7-9 on Elm and 8 round to 15 on Six-Island, or 18 or 19.
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| Steve Engledow and Dick Warrener next door had a good battle - 15 oz between them! |
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Trevor Cousins, third after taking just two fish shallow in the first two hours. THE RESULT 2 Dave Garner 20 lb 2 oz 3 Shaun Buddle 83 lb 6 oz 4 Callum Judge 45 lb 10 oz 6 Bob Allen 54 lb 1 oz 8 John Garner 64 lb 5 oz 9 Peter Spriggs 119 lb 2 oz 1st 10 James Garner 73 lb 8 oz 11 Mel Lutkin 55 lb 12 oz 12 Roland Butcher 56 lb 5 oz 13 Steve Engledow 68 lb 14 Dick Warrener 68 lb 15 oz 15 Mac Campbell 113 lb 6 oz 2nd 17 Shaun McKenna 92 lb 5 oz 5th 18 Wendy Bedford DNW 19 Mick Rawson DNW 20 Kevin Beavis 99 lb 9 oz 4th 22 Trevor Cousins 110 lb 4 oz 3rd 24 Allan Golightly 58 lb 25 Joe Bedford DNW |
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