I've obviously lost my touch, on Yew and Cedar

 Peg 23, Yew Lake, Sunday, July 30
Happy with peg 23 in this Fenland Rods match, though the wind was pretty fierce, and into our faces. And yet again I had a terrible start. My opening gambit was hard pellet on 2+3, which was the farthest out I could fish in the wind, and I gave myself ten minutes, after which I would change swim if I hadn't had a bite - something Lee Kerry advocated on a recent video.

The rotten wind was always in our face - sometimes from the left and
sometimes from the right. But at least it didn't rain.

Well, I definitely had indications very soon - lots of them, and they didn't look like liners, so I stayed there, and stayed there, and kept there for over an hour, with more dive-unders and not a fish to show for it. A switch to the margin saw not a touch, so it was back out, and two F1s came in eventually, and then a big fish hooked which came off at the net.

Three fish in three hours!
A 4 lb mirror snaffled a piece of corn in the margin, and with three hours gone that was all I had - three fish for 8 lb. I wandered up to John Smith on29, who had four fish, while Dave Garner on 28 had six on his waggler. Both Kevin Lee and Allen Golightly, though, were really struggling, so I felt a bit better. I trudged back, and as soon as I got back, having rested the swim (!) a nice carp came from the margin on corn. 

Mike Rawson on 22 playing his first fish on the pole.

Success. That fish must have been around 10 lb!

That was followed by an occasional fish on mussel, and three of those were barbel, best nearly 4 lb. Sport got better slowly, and I finished with some good fish to 10 lb in the deep margin to my left, with about five in the last half-hour, but several more came off. By the end I had lost 11 fish, every one imprinted on my mind, and I suppose some might have been foulhooked, because almost half of the fish I did land were hooked on the outside of the mouth.

I was too late packing up to snap winner Dave Garner,
so here's Mike's catch.

Wondering whether my 17 hollow elastic was too strong I had changed it for a 13 solid, which did feel better, even though some fish still came off. In the strong wind it was a bit nerve-wracking lifting the pole prior to netting, as the wind buffeted the elastic.

Mussel off bottom best
Towards the end I actually fished my mussel a few inches off bottom, and that gave me the best spell I had all day. To my right Mike Rawson lost a fish on the feeder, but landed four or five good fish in the second half. I estimated I had 70 lb and had no idea what anyone else had, as I couldn't see them. I assumed Dave Garner, fishing with just one big shot two inches from the hook, and baiting with cat meat (his usual tactic with a waggler) would have added to his early tally.

Winner on the Waggler

Indeed, Dave Garner led down to me with 147 lb 10, with every fish taken on mussel on the waggler. Kevin Lee on 26 also topped the ton. I had 86 lb 4 oz, but there were two more 100 lb-plus weights from Peter Spriggs, who had been fantastically consistent in our matches, and Callum Judge on corner peg 16, who also can't stop catching fish. So I finished fifth, out of ten, wondering why so many fish came off which didn't appear to be foulhooked; however I wasn't the only one - almost every angler I spoke to had lost several. 

Marks out of ten
I think I probably deserved 6/10, because I lost so many. However I was pleased that I didn't hang around for too long when a swim stopped giving me bites, and I tried fishing off bottom with mussel, which paid off for a short time. Cat meat gave me that 4 lb barbel, so I switched for a time, but never had another bite on it. I probably stayed in that swim too long, though, because I know barbel tend to band together. 

Next match on Cedar on Wednesday, when any peg near the car park would suit me. Preferably corner peg 26.

THE RESULT

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Peg 24, Cedar

Happy, again with Cedar 24, which has a lovely-looking margin to the right - bare bank for several metres. The wind was again very strong from the front, mainly from the left, but towards the end it swivelled about a bit, and frankly it was quite cold at times on our bank. Fifteen fished, with golden peg going to Neil Paas on corner peg 13, which looks nice, but I thought was probably at the wrong end of the lake.

Before we started Martin Parker, next to me on 26, and I checked his motorised trolley, which has a problem. We found that his battery was OK on my trolley, and after the match we tested his switch on my trolley and that worked, so his problem must be with the motor.

The wind became quite strong, but it rained for only a few minutes in
the middle of the match. That bush on my left was a nuisance!

Deceiving

That long right margin of mine was deceiving - very bobbly, and I found only one flattish area, on a top three. There was a bush to my left, and though I tried plumbing up the other side of the bush, the shallow margin was very narrow and with the strong wind it wasn't a viable proposition, as I woulod have had to stand or put my pole through the bush.

I started again on hard pellet out on 2+2, which brought a lot of indications bit no fish. A drop into the right margin, four feet deep, where I had been flicking casters, brought a 4 lb carp first time! Soon after that I dropped in and had a lovely bite as the float immediately sailed under - and that turned out to be a foulhooked fish which came off. 

Then I sat frustrated as I couldn't get another bite in that spot. Bringing the corn right into the side, in about three feet of water brought lots of bites, and one roach. A change to worm saw two tiny F1s come in - about 6 oz each. I wonder if there has been a stocking there recently?

Peter racing away

To my right Peter Harrison started catching fish, but the tall reeds between us (unfortunately too far away for me to fish near them) meant I couldn't see where he was fishing. I could see his landing net handle pointed towards the sky as he emptied yet another fish into the keepnet, though!

Bob Barret on the opposite bank found some cracking
fish on a feeder or bomb dropped under that bush to his left.

The margin swim was snaggy - three times I found myself solid on the bottom resulting in my getting out my long hook and probing on the bottom to free the rig. Three times I got it back attached to a large, rotting, piece of wood. There has obviously been a tree or bush there and I was hooking its decaying roots or fallen branches. Rooting about on the bottom must have put the fish down, although I have known it bring them in, in the past.

Fish in the deep water

So I had to go into the deep water on a top two, and the next three fish I landed were all foulhooked on mussel - including a 3 lb bream hooked on the side of the face, which hurtled out of the water when hooked and made two more jumps like a sea trout. One of the carp was about 6 lb and hooked in the tail, but it eventually finished in my net. So I had four fish, and only one hooked properly...

I eventually found an occasional fish in the deep water on a top two in front of me, on mussel, including one which I landed very quickly on my short top and 14-16 elastic. But as soon as I had the fish, in the net, in my lap, it wanr manic and turned over a couple of times, like an eel, wrapping my rig round itself. The upshot was that it broke the hooklength, and when I had put another hooklength on and dropped back the fish, which had been lining up for a short period, were gone.

John Garner, on peg 8, with a handsome friend!

I tried the feeder down the edge, because I could see Bob Barrett on peg 6 on the opposite bank catching fish like that. I used a red pellet, but should have persevered longer, I feel.

A good last half-hour

Then I had a spell of hooking fish and losing them and the last half hour saw three fish from the deep left margin. Most came to mussel, with one on cat meat, which also turned out to be foulhooked. I was playing a 6 lb carp when the match ended, and had counted six big fish lost. Yet again I wasn't the only one - I suspect the changeable weather has meant that they are finicky at the moment.

By the end of the match the wind had suddenly,died down, giving a lovely light ripple, and it was much warmer. That happens so often...

Trevor Cousins checks his weight. I didn't take a picture of him with his fish because he couldn't find his comb.

I said I had 40 lb and in fact had 48 lb 6 oz. Peter Harrison, on my right, won with 160 lb 11 oz, mainly on cat meat in the deep margins. I was convinced that the absence of reeds in my swim meant that the fish were more confident feeding near some sort of cover, but it could be that I fished crap! 

Dave Hobbs was third with 117 lb 2 oz from peg 20.

Peter Spriggs on 1 was second, with Dave Hobbs on 20 and Trevor Cousins on 18 completing the top four, with Martin on 26 fifth. So four or the five top weights came from our windy bank, and I was in the middle of them.

Marks out of ten

I feel I should have done much better - 3/10 and falling!!! I should have gone back out to the hard pellet swim more often, because perhaps the fish were more confident feeding away from my bare bank, closer to the middle. If the weather had been hot I think that margin would have produced. I'm in a bad spell at the moment; perhaps my next match on Crow lake at Pidley will see me fish a bit better. 

The winner! Peter Harrison, next to me on 22, with 160 lb 1 oz on cat meat.

THE RESULT

East bank                                                                 West bank       

26 Martin Parker            82 lb 3 oz       5th                1 Peter Spriggs               143 lb 6 oz        2nd

24 Mac Campbell          48 lb 6 oz                             3 Bob Allen                      80 lb 1 oz

22 Peter Harrison           160 lb 1 oz    1st                5 Shaun Buddle           Had to go home

20 Dave Hobbs              117 lb 2 oz    3rd                 6 Bob Barrett                    81 lb 5 oz

18 Trevor Cousins         114 lb 4 oz    4th                  8 John Garner                   73 lb 11 oz

16 Mike Rawson             26 lb 9 oz                          10 Wendy Bedford               36 lb 2 oz

14 Joe Bedford                16 lb 12 oz                        11 Mick Ramm                   29 lb 10 oz

                                                                                  12 Neil Paas                        59 lb 4 oz