A video helps me catch on Lou's Lake.

 Peg 8, Lou's, Decoy
Ten of us, all waterproofed up against high winds and rain to come, sat sitting on Lou's Lake like gnomes, waiting for the match to start,  while I mulled over what Dave Garner had said earlier. Basically it was that he didn't fancy peg 6, because there wasn't much room between that platform and peg 7 to the right.

What I found so amusing (though, to be honest, also understandable) was that peg 6 on Lous Lake, Decoy, has probably won more big matches in the last few years than any other peg in the whole of the UK! It's the sort of swim match anglers dream about. It's the ultimate Flier! The left margin is fine - plenty of cover in the form of a big reed bed, and the only time I fished the peg I won it on the pole fishing there.

BUT the huge weights are more often taken by anglers fishing a feeder or bomb across to the far bank, or the corner, while means making an accurate cast of over 50 yards. That tactic has won the last two Winter League finals, as well as other big-money events. And Dave's problem was that he fishes only with rods and normal wagglers - I've never seen him with a feeder rod and doubt if he has one.

The draw team - Callum (left) holds the tin of names; John prepares to write down the
draw; Mel takes his number out of the bag and shows it to the assembled company (ie: us 
scruffy anglers); and finally he deposits his balls into Allan Golightly's hands.

Not that Dave doesn't know what he is doing, because he most certainly does - he's won our club championship in the past and is rarely out of the frame. And actually, I was glad that he had that swim, armed with only float rods and little wagglers, because it stopped anyone else casting into the shoals of carp that inhabit that corner 50 yards away, where there's also always the chance of landing your tackle in the reeds and losing the lot.

So what did I think of my home for the day? I'd seem Zak Worby take bream and carp from the aerator 25 years away on the opposite bank, in a Winter League, for second place when I was on peg 10 (the match was won by Mark Sawyer on peg 6). And today I was quite happy to cast a feeder over to that aerator, though in fact I started on the pole, because I reasoned that the wind, which was blowing fiercely into my face from the right, would increase later and I might as well have a quick look on the pole line early on.

Lots of wind, some sun, and the rain was to follow. Actually I welcomed the rain because
we've had so little lately and my beetroot and runner beans could do with plenty.

Peg 5 was vacant, as were 12 to 15, with Kevin Lee sitting on end peg 11, round the corner to my right, where the water was calm. I thought he might struggle, until the wind dropped and in the bright sunlight I could see dozens of carp, just under the surface, over the far side, all drifting towards that end on the lake peg 15, when I suspected that at some point in the day they would drift back towards Kevin, who was quite capable of  filling a few nets, as he has done many times.

A nightmare start
To my right on 9, also facing the wind, sat Dave Hobbs, and on my left Callum Judge on 7 who, like me, started on the pole. I had bites on 2+2 immediately, on a hard pellet, but soon realised that having potted in some pellets and hemp and corn, it had brought in roach, which were a nightmare, and pulled my pellet and corn baits about while hardly ever actually eating them. I actually foulhooked a good fish second cast, which came off, but wasted the next 45 minutes trying to find another, without success.

Five minutes after the start I turned round to see Dave Garner on
 peg 6 already playing a big carp on his waggler rod.

Fish on the feeder

Next I saw Callum, now on the feeder, take a couple of fish and I changed over, casting to the aerator, about ten feet from the far bank, with a hybrid feeder, micros, and an 8mm Robin Red pellet. That quickly brought five small carp, best 3 lb, immediately, and after the inevitable lull I looked in the right margin, with a pole, just to get a feel of what it was like. Unfortunately I'd already put some corn in there and the roach were having a field day, making me wish I'd brought some maggots with me, as a couple of the roach came in at 6 oz, though I missed almost every other bite.

Back on the feeder and a couple more fish came in, but halfway through the match I had only about 20 lb, while Callum had started to hammer fish on the pole line and must have had around 50 lb. Dave Hobbs, though, appeared to be really struggling, though I think he had had a couple of small carp. But I followed Callum again and went out on the pole.

Callum really bagging
Now Callum was drawing ahead of me minute by minute, while I could find no more than a couple of small F1s on my long pole line, which was now out to top two plus three as the wind wasn't too bad. And at this point I remembered something that Ben Townsend had said in a recent video while fishing on Float Fish Farm admittedly in in colder weather: "See which way hooked fish swim, and that's where the majority of your fish will be."

Callum nets yet another fish on his feeder rig on peg 6. Note that the wind was
 so strong it has tilted the bank and water downwards at an angle!

My fish hooked on the feeder had all immediately swum left, and most had, in fact, probably gone into Callum's swim - when you hook fish 25 yards away and you're only four metres away from the next angler, it takes only a couple of seconds for a fish to shoot sideways and cause havoc. Luckily only one fish fouled his gear slightly, and that came off with no harm done. 

So, applying that logic to the pole swim I went out, using mussel, with no bait put in, just a couple of metres to the left  of where I had been fishing, towards Callum, and voila the fish were there!

In the next couple of hours I would take perhaps three fish to 4 lb from that swim, then switch to the right margin for one or two more, before going out again - all without putting in any loosefeed. The swim directly in front of me produced not a single carp - but two metres to the left and I would get a fish, eventually.

Here's comes the rain
The black skies emptied on us a couple of time, with no chance of having an umbrella up, and then the sun would come out, the temperature would rocket, and I'd have to undo my waterproof jacket, before zipping it up for the next shower. And the fish stayed around, come rain or shine.

Gradually I began to catch up Callum, and a good spell in the side saw fish to 7 lb come out, all on mussel, as corn still got lots of little pulls from roach. The carp were, in fact, messing about with the mussel as well, but eventually one would virtually hook itself. All very enjoyable. 

Dave Hobbs, on my right, struggled all day, but found a few carp towards the end of the match.

I hadn't lost a fish, except that very first one foulhooked, until ten minutes from time, when I lost three in a row before landing the last one which I was still playing when the match ended - the biggest of the day at 8 lb. Dave Hobbs had found a few fish towards the end, and though Callum's catch rate had slowed, I guessed he was still well ahead of me, and that he probably had 150 lb...an estimate which was about as good as the estimates I have been making recently - in other words carp  crap!

Dave Garner had a few bigger fish in his 69 lb 4 oz catch on cat meat.

The weigh in
As usual I took so long packing away the various baits I had taken and not used, and taking the back off my seat that I missed the first four weighing in, but was amazed when I saw that the best weight was only 35 lb from John Smith on 2. I had really fancied those pegs, which had a backish wind, but still had ripple.

Next, Dave Garner took the lead with 69 lb 4 oz, taken on his waggler and double cat meat, though he had lost a fish or two. And so to Callum, whose estimated 150 lb (by me) actually went...98 lb 4 oz.

Then the scales came to me. I had clicked 35 lb in my first two nets with just four fish in the third net. The first two went (hangs head in shame) 45 lb and 48 lb, with 17 lb in the last net - total 110 lb 10 oz. But Kevin Lee, last to weigh, had four nets in, for 153 lb 6 oz and was declared the winner. He is just so good if there are carp anywhere near him. Well done, again, Kevin. You make it look so easy... And the results sheet showed that I'd got at least one estimate correct - I was second. 😁

Callum's third-placed catch of 98 lb 4 oz, taken on mussel.

Me, with one of my 35 lb-clicked nets, one of which weighed 48 lb!

Dick Warrener continued a good recent run with 80 lb 13 oz for fourth.

Kevin Lee - yet another win, with 153 lb 6 oz. He's our club's version of Dynamo The Magician.

So all the best weights came from the end bank and the righthand bank, which is pretty unusual for this lake. As we get older we realise that we know even less than we thought we did!

Marks out of ten

I was pleased I had the feeder rod ready, and actually used it. The only bad "mistake" I made was putting in feed before I fished the two pole swims, but I learned from that, and put in feed later, mainly hemp and a few 6mm pellets (which gave the roach less to mess about with) only when I knew the better fish were in the swim. I tried the margins sooner than I often do, which seems to be important now, despite all the "experts" in magazines and videos saying they should be left until the last two hours. In addition I had reasonably-correct elastics on (mainly Matrix 16-18) and lost only those three fish at the end. So I give myself a fairly generous 8/10 for "trying harder"

Next day would be a Spratts match on Willows, and if the wild wind stayed in the same quarter a lot of us in the first dozen pegs would have back wind, though I remember John Smith winning one match there last season somewhere around 20. But peg 25 on Willows is another huge flier, and if it was in, whoever was there would be a massive favourite.

THE RESULT