Things are coming together on Oak, Decoy

 Peg 11, Thursday, May 18
My 96-year-old grandmother started walking 10 kilometres a day a fortnight ago. I think that's marvellous at her age.

She is probably about halfway to Torquay by now...

Oh, I am feeling whimsical after a match which ended well for me. Fifteen of us started in the cold Southerly wind for this Spratts match, and I had to put on my Goretex jacket. But I made an interesting discovery on peg 11, which was in the area I would have picked, though I favoured the Eastern bank opposite. As I plumbed out to 13 metres the water became deeper, especially to my right.

Now on the four strip lakes at Decoy the deepest water is always close in, with it getting slightly shallower as you plumb out. But on this occasion is was definitely suddenly almost a foot deeper once I got well out, which could explain why this area - approximately 9 to 11 and opposite on 20 to 22 - often fishes well, especially in Winter.

The day started cold, so I went out long to try to find the ripple. 

One fish on banded pellet

So of course I started out there on a 6mm banded pellet, flicking casters to my left margin in the right-to-left Southerly wind. I started to get liners almost immediately and eventually hooked, and landed a 10 lb mirror carp, which was foulhooked. No more fish came from there, but Wendy on peg 21 landed a couple of early carp on her feeder.

Fish were occasionally breaking the surface so I tried a banded caster fished shallow out on the long pole. Again I managed to catapult casters out with my left hand while holding the pole with my right arm (something I have previously found very difficult) but in 20 minutes I never had a touch, so I gave this up and came in to the deep water out on a top two.

Another on corn
Again, some tiny bites were forthcoming  on corn and half an hour later another ten-pounder came in. But things didn't seem right, and I had a look in the left margin earlier than I had intended to after seeing some whirls made by fish under the surface. The water about a metre from the bank was less than 18 inches deep, so I went  out another metre, in about two-and-a-half feet.

Wendy Bedford, fishing peg 21, had a couple of fish early
on her feeder. Brother-in-law Joe, though, beat her by 10 lb.

Two on caster
Sure enough four casters on the hook took two good fish. Then back to the top two with corn over hemp and a big fish was hooked. I didn't see it for about two minutes, but using the technique Ben Townsend taught me last year I had it in the net soon after that - all 15 lb of it! Spratts fish to a 50 lb limit, so I put it in my second net.

The match was now halfway through and the weather was definitely warmer, so I took off the Goretex jacket and a fleece, and I was still warm. I hadn't seen much action around me, so I felt I was still in the mix.

More on dead maggots

But the bright sun and the light wind, not giving much ripple, seemed to put the fish down, and I started yet another swim with dead maggots in the right margin. Fish soon came in, and were stirring mud up next to the bank. Inevitably I was tempted to try there, but soon logic prevailed and I went out to the slightly deeper water. Over the years I've wasted hour after hour trying to catch those fish I could see waving their tails at me close in, and it's never worked properly. I've ALWAYS eventually gone out deeper and caught them, though usually too late..

Mick Rammfound 40 lb 14 oz from peg 18 on the opposite bank.

Immediately I had fish on eight dead reds, which came in quickly (the fish, not the maggots) on one of my new short tops, and Matrix 16-18 elastic. And they were all good fish - smallest 6 lb, one of 8 lb and others around 10 lb. I kept switching to the left margin, which I produced one more fish, and also to the top-two swim, where double corn took three or four.

Once I hit a really big fish which drifted lazily to the surface as I hooked it, and I could see it was around 15 lb, hooked in the mouth as I could see my corn on the outside of its lip. It must have been a vey light hookhold, though, as seconds later the fish came off.

A good last 20 minutes
A quick look in the right shallow margin brought another big fish foulhooked, about 10 lb, so I never tried that close to the bank again. Then with 25 minutes left I had used three nets and had to walk up to the van for a fourth (I have been taking only three nets the last few months, but have now put four in the bag). Around this time Dave Hobbs, to my right, landed two or three fish, but I wasn't sure how many he had had earlier.

I sat down again with 20 minutes to go and in that time hooked three more big fish on a bunch of dead maggots, over dead reds and hemp, landing the last one literally seconds after the match ended, giving me a total of 16.

Trevor Cousins - big fish in his 54 lb 5 oz.

I had tried cat meat once, without getting a bite, and didn't put mussel on the hook, even though I had some with me, because I felt that I was doing OK as I was. In fact most of the fish took the bait within about 20 seconds of it hitting bottom, and sometimes as it hit bottom. I found that fishing just touching bottom was best, and some came as I pulled the bait along.

Not a lot of bait
Altogether I got through a tin of hemp, a tin of corn, half a pint of casters loose-fed, and about a pint of dead maggots. I again got the impression that casters not only attracted carp, but kept them in the swim for longer than other baits. And I was happy that I was getting the fish in more quickly than I used to. It's not a question of dragging them in, more a gentle persuasion. I wish it worked with my wife!!

The weigh-in
Weights were quite low in the early pegs, with Trevor Cousins leading down to me with 54 lb 5 oz on peg 5. My 16 fish went 150 lb 4 oz. Opposite, Martin Parker broke the 100 lb mark with 109 lb 1 oz on peg 24, with most of his fish coming close in near the platform to his left. And Peter Harrison on 28, who started with cat meat at 11 metres and then came in to the margin with maggots, ended with 128 lb 1 oz, leaving me as the very happy winner.

Me with four fish for 40 lb-plus. My16 fish averaged over 9 lb 6 oz.

Martin Parker - third with 109 lb 1 oz. We will be travelling up
together to the Veterans National on Partridge Lakes, Warrington, in July.

Neil Paas, complete with Nottingham Forest cap,  did well to come fourth
 with 76 lb 8 oz from corner  peg 30, where the water was calm for much of the day.

Next match Sunday on Six-Islands, where we have pegs 12 to 25. The wind is forecast to be NE again, so it wouldn't surprise me if it is difficult. Pegs 12 round to 17 may have the most ripple, so that's my pick.

THE RESULT

                            East bank                                                                       West bank

30 Neil Paas                76 lb 8 oz        4th   

28 Peter Harrison     128 lb 15 oz       2nd                          3 Dick Warrener       19 lb 14 oz

26 John Smith            40 lb 6 oz                                          5 Trevor Cousins      54 lb 5 oz

24 Martin Parker      109 lb 1 oz        3rd                            7 Peter Spriggs         34 lb 8 oz

22 Shaun Buddle        31 lb 8 oz                                         9 Dave Hobbs           47 lb 5 oz

21 Wendy Bedford     30 lb                                                11 Mac Campbell     150 lb 4 oz       1st

18 Mick Ramm          40 lb 14 oz                                      13 Bob Allen               57 lb 7 oz

16 Joe Bedford          40 lb 3 oz                                        15 Bob Barrett            37 lb 1 oz