A very good day on Six-Island, Decoy

Peg 11, Monday, June 5
Back to Six-Island  for a Spratts match, still in a North-Easterly, but with heavy cloud cover. I was happy to see the pegs I wouldn't have picked being drawn for others - the ones nearest to the car park, most of which which haven't fished particularly well recently. Then "Peter Spriggs - 15" (followed by an exaggerated "oohh" from the assembled company)! I immediately made him favourite because in the last two matches I have fished on this lake, 15 has won once and come second once (me); and Peter is on a roll.

Then "Mac Campbell - 11". It's a peg I've never fished, but this Winter several matches were won from there, and the far bank from pegs 10 to 14 has always been favoured; funnily enough peg 15 is often left out, as it's sort of tucked away behind an island and can be sheltered when the rest have a blow on them. But I remembered Ken Wade, former captain of Peterborough AA, saying that 11 has good margins, so I was happy. Final act before we went to the lake was to draw the Golden Peg - No 15, Peter Spriggs. A bigger "OOOOOH".

No wind at our end of the lake, but I'm not complaining!

I had half a tin of hemp with me (I freeze all leftover bait) but before I put my tackle together I left my peg and went back to the van for another tin, because I knew that if I waited until I was fishing and needed some more, I probably wouldn't bother! In the event I was glad I did.

No wind

My end of the lake was calm at the start, with the wind blowing past the 20s and rippling the water round to 13, where Dave Hobbs sat.  That calm water meant that I could see occasional carp cruising along, and I opted to try mugging them at the start, even though I'm terrible at it. Second drop I put the hair-rigged corn skin towards a movement on the surface 11 metres out, which looked like it might be more than one fish, and a second later the elastic was streaming out. Believe me I was more surprised than the carp...but as I unshipped the first two sections (there's a high bank along these pegs) the fish came off.

Still, buoyed up by that part-success, and seeing Dave Hobbs also fishing shallow, I carried on mugging for about half an hour without a single take! On 15 I saw Peter Spriggs playing a good fish, and saw he was fishing about four sections out. However fish were moving near the platform to my left so I had a drop in there. Quickly I hooked another fish, and that, too, came off. After another long session in the same spot I came back towards me, where the water was about 18 inches deeper, still in the margin, and had a 1 lb F1. An hour gone, and the water still felt dead, but at least I was off the mark.

    

A good carp for John Smith in the first few
minutes from peg 4, but he struggled after that.

I look for the hard bottom

I had plumbed up in front of me and could feel that the bed was fairly hard out to about three sections, and then it became softer. So after another fruitless look in the left margin I went out to the edge of the hard bottom, with corn, and just sprinkling in half-a-dozen grains over a little hemp. It took about ten minutes, but eventually I had a plump 2 lb F1, then another (both foulhooked), followed by a 'proper' carp about 6 lb which came in really quickly on the short top.

Back to the left margin in the deeper water and first drop another six-pounder took the bait. As soon as bites dropped off here I went back to the front swim, and over the next couple of hours added some more F1s and better carp, all on corn - expander didn't get a single bite.

A little over wo hours to go and I estimated I had 40 lb-plus, and Dave, who was struggling, said I was doing as well as anybody. But Trevor Cousins was on 22, where he had finished third in Dave Garner's invitation match earlier in the month, and it always gives you confidence to go back to a swim where you've had a good catch.

I move towards the irises
Our end of the lake was still calm, the wind was cold, and the bites had all been a bit 'iffy', so I wasn't now expecting  to get a huge catch. I just plodded on and decided to have a look in the right margin, where there was a big bed of yellow flag irises. Now I have always felt that fish don't hang around irises like they do reeds, so I dropped in a heavier rig with a piece of cat meat, over a little hemp, more in hope than anticipation.

But first drop the float jigged and then pulled under and I was playing a 10 lb-plus common carp. It was a real beauty - golden and deep in the body and it ended in my net. Probably nearer 15 lb. Next drop came another big carp. then nothing so I tried a mussel, and this worked! In the next hour or so I had probably six or seven more all over 5 lb, all on mussel.

John Garner was opposite me on peg 8. His best
 carp, surprisingly, were smaller than most of mine.

The fish were back!
When that swim died I tried corn in the left margin and had another, plus more F1s. Half an hour later I went back to the right and the fish came back to the hemp and mussel, and were now stirring up mud close to the bank, in the shallow water. Forty-five minutes to go and I had over 100 lb, and had to put in a fourth net, having an estimated 36 lb in each of the first three, and I know I tend to under-estimate. That meant getting up, moving one net on to a bankstick and sticking it in the platform's scaffold pipe, and putting in the new net.

That seemed to knock everything on the head - no bites and no sign of fish in the swim. Whereas previously I could see liners, now there was nothing. Of course I moved to the left margin which produced two small F1s. Back to the right margin for the last 15 minutes and at last another 7 lb carp came in. But what should have been a purple patch definitely ended as an anti-climax.

Still with his hood up to beat the cold wind, Neil Paas
couldn't resist the opportunity to plonk that magnificent
Nottingham Forest cap on top! He had 75 lb 8 oz for third.

In contrast Trevor on 22 told me later that he'd had around 50 lb in that last hour. My messing about with the net put the fish down, I am sure. By the end I had foulhooked only those first two F1s, and lost only the first two fish, which was very satisfying. I was also pleased that most came in much more quickly than they would have done a year ago, before I had my session with Ben Townsend.

The weigh in

First two to weigh, on pegs 2 and 3, which can be a bite dire, were 58 lb to Mick Ramm and 75 lb to Neil Paas. That set me thinking that a lot of fish had been caught. But round the corner, where I would have expected weights to get bigger, they didn't. Top from 4 to 9 was Shaun Buddle with 58 lb 8 oz. Shaun has been catching a lot of fish recently, so it must have been difficult.

 

Overweight...again!
I was first on my bank to weigh in, and my nets went 37 lb, 43 lb, 52 lb (!) and 9 lb - total after the big net was knocked back to 50 lb was 139 lb 5 oz. A good day's fishing, but it wasn't over yet.

Man Of The Match
Dave Hobbs had really struggled on peg 13, to my left, for only 17 lb 10 oz, and Peter Spriggs on 15 had just 67 lb 13 oz, which actually finished fourth. Round to Trevor Cousins, who is a danger in every match he fishes, and that last-hour spurt in the margins had taken his catch to 92 lb 15 oz for second place, leaving me as the winner. But we all applauded 93-year-old Joe Bedford (94 next month) on 20, who had 59 lb for fifth spot. Man Of The Match? Certainly, in my book.

My next match is a pairs on Magpie lake, Rookery Farm Fishery, Pidley. If I had to pick a peg I'd say anywhere on the island, but I love the whole lake especially in Summer - great platform areas and the fishery have cut margins into almost every peg, so you can fish up to reeds. Luncheon meat is allowed here, and that will probably be my first line of attack. Really looking forward to it! 

Nearly 94 and still catching fish every week. Joe Bedford had
a good last hour on the feeder, which boosted him to fifth place with  59 lb.

THE RESULT

2 Mick Ramm                 58 lb 6 oz
3 Neil Paas                     75 lb 8 oz          3rd
4 John Smith                  46 lb 9 oz
6 Shaun Buddle              58 lb 8 oz
8 Bob Barrett                  14 lb 12 oz
9 Mike Rawson              17 lb 7 oz
11 Mac Campbell         139 lb 5 oz          1st
13 Dave Hobbs               17 lb 10 oz
15 Peter Spriggs             67 lb 13 oz        4th
17 Wendy Bedford         21 lb 7 oz
18 John Garner              42 lb 8 oz
20 Joe Bedford               59 lb
22 Trevor Cousins          92 lb 15 oz        2nd
25 Bob Allen                  44 lb 3 oz