I seems a long time ago, and I've been away, but Yes, I Remember It Well! The hottest day of the year - 29 in the shade and goodness knows what in the sun; it must have been nearly 50. It was the Fenland Rods drawn pairs match, and although I didn't realise it until afterwards, I was in a section of five on the main bank and two on the island (which is where I would have liked to be myself, 'cos they tend to be very consistent).
But I had an Ace up my sleeve - a plan! Based on Ben Townsend's videos on fishing meat, it involved fishing meat for 20 minutes on any piece of hard bottom I could find away from the margins; then shallow with occasional drops back onto the meat swim, which I would feed lightly but consistently, to get the now-suicidal carp lining up.
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| My peg 11 had a little shelter from the sun for the first hour, but after that it was hotter than a hot frying pan of oil on the hottest fire in Hell (apologies to Baldrick and Black Adder). |
My partner was Callum Judge, on peg 4. He's had some good results lately, but optimist that I am, I couldn't see us beating Kev Lee on 34, on the island, and Peter Spriggs on 2, who had been drawn together. Still a day's fishing is better than, well, almost anything else!!! Isn't it?
I found a hardish bottom a few metres out, to one side, and after the allotted 20 minutes hadn't had a bite, which was hardly surprising in the heat. The wind was only light, and never really came over our swims - though the ducks compensated by thrashing around from time to time. So it should have then been out, shallow. I had casters with me, and duly put some out - close to the side!!! Plan B was in operation already.
The trouble was that Kev Beavis had told me that the match the previous day had been won on here with about 260 lb fishing shallow, and another 170 lb was taken from around peg 8 using casters in the margins. The water looked so dead that I simply hadn't got any confidence in fishing long while I could see the occasional fish moving around close in. Fish were also spawning to my left.
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| Almost opposite me on the island, Kevin Lee was amusing himself on peg 34 catching little fish like this! |
On my right Allan Golightly hooked four fish in the first 13 minutes, landing two, all from the deep margin. So that was where I fed my casters, to the left - not in the shallow water, but over about four feet, fishing a banded caster from 12 to 18 inches deep. And I had nothing!
After an hour I had a look with cat meat in the deep margin to the right, because I thought Allan was probably using cat meat - he told me afterwards he was on pellet(!) Eventually a 2 lb F1 came in, and at that time John Smith and Martin, to my left on 13 and 14, also said they had one fish each. Then a cube of luncheon meat took a 4 lb carp from the same swim.
Two hours gone - two fish. Opposite I saw Kev Lee landing a carp, but I was too concentrated on my own swim to see him catch any more. If I had looked up more often I would eventually have seen him bagging from peg 34 (regarded as the second-best or third-best swim on the lake in Summer and Winter).
I concentrated back on the meat swim, adding hemp, and now started to get bites, and in the next hour took about four or five carp. Liners showed that fish were moving there, and since they came every time I put in a few cubes I knew they were at least interested in the bait. But debris - twigs and floating reeds - which was drifting slowly over from the island started to pile up in the nice-looking shallow margin each side of the platform, and put paid to fishing there. It also kept knocking my float out of position in the meat swim, and I started to get reet fed oop.
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| Nice to have Kevin Beavis back again as a guest, and he can still catch fish, as well as bowl to County level;. |
Literally a minute before the end I hooked another good fish, and after 20 seconds it pulled off, and before I could recast the match ended. I wondered whether it might have cost me something? What was really annoying was that about five minutes before the end the debris had started to drift away from the shallow margins, where I (and many others on my bank, no doubt), had hoped to find some of those last-ditch monsters.
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| End of the match and debris which had covered my margin swim (and others nearby) was drifting back out! |
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| Mike Rawson (left), in a sensible hat which shades his neck, watches the weigh-in. |
On end peg 14 Martin Parker had found fish on a slow-sink bomb. It's a method we used when practicing on Makins Fishery a few years ago, and I know Bob Barret uses it on Decoy. Martin totalled 46 lb 9 oz, most of which came towards the end I think. John had 37 lb 15 oz, and I wasn't sure what I had. We follow the fishery rule of three nets with the catch split, and it's lovely no to have to use a clicker. though I had four nets with me, and four more in the van, in case of a huge catch.
I had about 16 fish, including a 4 oz rudd, for 82 lb 13 oz, and was surprised that Allan Golightly, who I thought, by the amount of splashing in his swim, had me well beaten, had only 39 lb 8 oz. I say "only", but in that heat every fish landed was a real success in my book; after all we are only club anglers.
Round to Callum, and he really backed me up by having 98 lb 11 oz, taken very close in. Peter Spriggs had 73 lb 7 oz, and clearly the result would hang on what the four anglers on the island had, because Peter's partner was Kevin on 34.
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| Callum, my partner, did me proud by taking runner-up spot. |
At this point we found out the complete section draw - I, John and Martin, were with the island four, and I had come second to Kevin. Meanwhile Callum had topped the rest of the main bank, so we had three points. Kevin had topped my section, but his partner Peter had come second on the main bank; total also three points but with a better total weight. Well done Kev and Peter for the win. And well done Callum for securing second place for us. Third was the pairing of Dave Garner and Shaun Buddle.
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| Pairs result - the team totals are on the far right. |
Actually, well done everybody for surviving the day!!
Next match next week on Beastie, Decoy. I expect to have a few casters with me, so look out, carp! I'm on a caster roll...
Latest Spratts match result on Damson also below...
Individual results on Magpie
2 Peter Spriggs 73 lb 7 oz 4th
4 Callum Judge 98 lb 11 oz (nice one!) 2nd
5 Kevin Beavis 51 lb 8 oz
7 Mike Rawson 19 lb 12 oz
8 Dave Garner 55 lb 14 oz
10 Allan Golightly 39 lb 8 oz
11 Mac Campbell 82 lb 13 oz 3rd
13 John Smith 37 lb 15 oz
14 Martin Parker 46 lb 9 oz
28 Shaun Buddle 64 lb 7 oz
30 Dave Hobbs 61 lb 8 oz
32 Dick Warrener 15 lb 8 oz (fished 31)
34 Kevin Lee 172 lb and a few ounces (Mel's got the results sheet) 1st
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