I pick my bogey peg, but have a storming finish (again) on Six-Island

 Peg 22, Tuesday, Oct 17

The inevitable start to my day...

I didn't actually pick my bogey peg myself - it was drawn for me. I have had a look back at my results, and actually sometimes I have done well on that peg - even won. But it's was the last peg I would have picked in this 12-entry Spratts match - it's in open water, and I have had some bad results there.  I would almost always opt for a peg in the other end of the lake, from about 6 to 15, except in Winter, when the car park end can be best. 

My swim, facing North-East, where the wind came from a lot of the time

However when I got to my swim the water level was well up, giving around two feet at the front of the platform, and the water had a nice amount of colour. I like this time of year, when the water starts clearing and you know you will probably not need 200 lb to win.

Ooops, I forgot my landing net

When I got to the swim I also realised I had left both my landing net heads behind, but Mike Rawson on 25 lent me the spare he carries. I normally have a third net in my van, but had to empty the van recently and never put the net back, though there's a spare handle in it. I liked Mike's net - it's got a lifting bar which was very useful when lifting the net with a fish in it.

There used to be a big clump of floating reeds to the left on this swim, which used to be a bit of a holding spot, though I remember losing fish in it.  That has now gone, and the bank is bare, with no reeds to fish to, unless you go out to 16 metres, which I have in the past, to the island on the left, or about 14 metres to the island on the right, which wasn't practical on this occasion because of the low sun.

    The left margin - by the end the fish had come right    
into the side into only 14 inches of water.

The wind was forecast to be Easterly, which would put it in my face, though the trees opposite give some protection. But already there was a ripple at the other end of the lake, though it was probably very cold there, as the wind had a bit of a bite to it. I started on a hybrid feeder, using my new ten-foot  Guru N-Guage rod with a brigtht orange wafter, cast only about a third of the way across.

A good start on feeder
First cast had been out there about two minutes and the tip wrapped round and a 2 lb F1, which really fought with some power, came in. Next cast in came a 1 lb F1, and next cast a two-pounder. Fifteen minutes gone and I had about 5 lb in my net.

I saw Peter Harrison, way over to my right on peg 15, playing what was obviously a big fish on a pole. It took a time for him to unship the back half, and he looked to be down to about four sections. Next time I looked, only a minute later, he was attending to his rig. I didn't think he could have landed a big one in that time, so asumed it had been a foulhooked fish that came off.

On to the pole
I had two more ten-minutes casts on the feeder with only tiny liners, so that went up the bank and out came the pole. I had intended, assuming that the cold wind would put the fish off, fishing dead maggots at about ten metres towards the island, where I had found a flat area that seemed fairly firm. But after having had the three fish I decided to start closer in, on a top three, with corn. 

To my right Wendy Bedford had a fish fairly early on, on her feeder.

It took a long time for me to get a fish, but I had some liners, and then something stuck - a 5 lb carp foulhooked in the fin, but I landed it, and they all count! More liners came after I had put some corn and hemp in, so I had to assume that the fish were coming to the bait, and carried on, hoping they would decide to feed properly eventually. And eventually they did, sort of...

Lost fish
In came an occasional F1 and a 3 lb common carp, and then the float slowly drifted under, I struck, and it felt like the bottom. Then the bottom moved off slowly; then the bottom charged off like a train and there was that horrible moment when you know what is going to happen. And it did! Whoosh, there was a slight pause, and the elastic came slithering back into the pole.

That was the first of several more similar incidents in the next 90 minutes - all foulhooked fish which came off (one broke the 7 lb hooklemgth), but a couple of F1s came in, none of them foulhooked. It still seemed as if fish were at least coming to the bait, which was encouraging.

The right margin was fishable once the sun had 
moved round, but never produced a fish.

Then, because the water was clearing, I had a look in another swim, in about three feet of water ten metres to my left. That brought what looked like proper bites, but no fish, and I suspected they were roach, but I did hook one bigger fish, which was also foulhooked and came off. So back out to the front swim with dead maggots on the hook, and indeed this took a roach and a gudgeon.

I was happy, though, to have the small fish feeding, as I think that carp are often influenced by seeing other fish wolfing down food, and may decide to have a go themselves, and that's what happened here. A few more F1s came, some only 6 oz,  and a couple of carp, best 5 lb, on mussel and two or three more foulhooked and lost. The wind had been difficult - first from the right, then the left, and then straight in, but at one point it seemed to die away for a time, and I had a look with my special method.

Special method to my aid
I dropped a rig with corn a little closer to the margin than I had been fishing, and immediately the float dived and I was into a 6 lb carp, hooked properly. But LITERALLY as I unhooked that fish the wind started again, much fiercer, which made it impossible for me to fish that rig properly. So it was back out, and again just the ocasional F1 came in on mussel and, annoyingly, a couple of foul-hooked carp which I almost had in the net before they pulled off.

The right margin close to the platform was now fishable as the sun had moved round, but although I had one liner there it never produced a fish.

I wrote in the last blog that I thought that anyone with 40 lb in their net with a hour to go might win, and at this point I think I had about 35 lb. One more F1 came in the next 30 minutes, from the far left swim, and then the wind died back quite a lot. I immediately went back to my special method, and foulhooked and lost another carp, but at least I knew they were down there as I had liners. Then, with about 20 minutes left, I came in very close to the bank, in only about 14 inches of water, because I fancied I saw a shape moving there.

This was Wendy's best fish - about 8 lb.   

Big fish in the side
In went a rig, several inches overdepth, because I think that when they are in shallow water fish become very aware of line dropping vertically just above the bait. The float started moving under and then away from me, and it looked a bit like a liner, but when it disappeared completely I struck, and a 12 lb carp surfaced and made off, with my elastic following. That was a lovely common, hooked in the mouth, which went into my second net, and I dropped back, just a couple of feet farther out, using the special method rig, intending to drag the bait towards the bank if I didn't get a bite. But I did, very quickly.

This fish was about 8 lb, and ended in my net. One more drop with mussel and again a fish about 12 lb surfaced when I struck and happily this one also ended in my net. Using the short top definitely makes them fight less, provided you can persuade the fish into the landing net, rather than trying to haul it in. For the second match in a row I honestly reckon I would have had 50 lb in the next hour if the match hadn't finished.

    Peter Spriggs was on peg 6, in the windy part of the lake.    

The weigh in
Dick Warrener was first to weigh, on peg 3. I had had a walk up to him mid-match and he had one carp. But he said that an hour after I went he tried the method I had showed him on Sunday, and he ended with 54 lb, knocked back to 50 lb. So he was happy that he'd caught using that rig for the first time.

Round the corner the wind was stronger and colder, and Peter Spriggs (who hadn't, for once, drawn the Golden Peg) struggled, on peg 6, to 58 lb 6 oz, which topped that bank. Opposite, John Smith on 11 hadn't been able to fish to the irises on his right, a natural fish-holding area, because the wind had been so strong, and he ended with just 39 lb 13 oz.

But on his left Shaun Buddle had managed to fish mussel to his right, under the bush on peg 13, to win with 131 lb 9 oz. On his left Peter Harrison on 15 ended with 70 lb 5 oz, which was in second spot. Then round the corner to 17, where Trevor Cousins had been facing the wind, and said that the island in front of him had lessened the wind slightly, but he was still very cold, However his 73 lb 7 oz, taken mainly on corn on a pole was now in second spot.

Peter Harrison - pipped by 2 oz for third spot. Oh dear. 😁

My first net weighed in a 38 lb 8 oz, and the second net, which contained just my last three fish, weighed in at 31 lb 15 oz, total 70 lb 7 oz, pipping  Peter Harrison by just 2 oz and giving me third place. I also wrote last week that some might be fishless - that wasn't the case, and considering how cold the wind was the lake fished well. Mike Rawson didn't weigh in, but he did have an 8 lb carp, and a smaller fish I believe.

Marks out of ten

I thought afterwards that I had done well from a peg I hadn't fancied, and although I had foulhooked and lost about ten big fish, at least I had brought them in by my feeding. I would typically feed a little hemp, micos, a few 6mm pellets, and just a few grains of corn - enough, I hoped, to get the carp scooping it up, but not enough to fill them. After feeding I would have a look in another swim for about a minute, or have a cup of coffee, to allow all the feed to get to the bottom, hopefully avoiding liners, then drop into the fed swim, together with about four more grains of corn in the small cad pot. That seemed to at least get me bites, even if a lot were 'just' F1s.

Shaun Buddle smashed it with 131 lb 9 oz, mainly on mussel, on peg 13.

I was happy with third place, just one fish off second, while it was won in the area I had fancied. So I award myself a record 9/10. But I expect the wheels will come off on Sunday, when we fish the final Fenland Rods match of the season, the cup in memory of Les Bedford, who died at Decoy. It's being fished on his favourite Damson Lake. Anyone who has fished Damson knows that it is an enigma, and always a challenge. But there's got to be a winner... 

The winner could come from anywhere, but I fancy the far end corner peg 13, which might be difficult as at the time of writing there were only 12 down to fish!!

THE RESULT

3 Dick Warrener         50 lb

4 Bob Barrett              24 lb 4 oz

6 Peter Spriggs            58 lb 6 oz

8 Bob Allen                 37 lb 6 oz

11 John Smith             39 lb 13 oz

13 Shaun Buddle       131 lb 9 oz      1st

15 Peter Harrison        70 lb 5 oz      4th

17 Trevor Cousins       73 lb 7 oz      2nd

18 Joe Bedford            23 lb 13 oz

20 Wendy Bedford       24 lb 3 oz

22 Mac Campbell         70 lb 7 oz      3rd

25 Mike Rawson           DNW