"A blind man could catch fish there," said Tony Evans after he had found out where I was pegged. "Ah, but could a deaf one?" asked someone (I can't remember who). But even I could pick up on the fact that peg 15, in the corner, was (or at least could be) a good draw.
I'd never fished that swim before, but Andy Gausden put me right. "It's 14 metres to the corner, and 16 along the bank," he told me. Now since I had deliberately left my 14-metre section at home, in an effort to slim everything down, that deflated me a bit. But I had brought my half-butts with me, and in fact once I was down at the swim I found that 13 metres of my Browning Z12 plus the half-butt could get me into the corner.
There were eight of us JV club anglers on Yew, and another eight on Oak, all pegged on the West bank, to give us back wind, and which allowed us to cast across to the far side.
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| That cutout to my left will be a great place for fish in Summer, at about three feet deep. The corner is surprisingly deep - six feet only a few feet out, and only a little shallower next to the reeds. |
With the water clearing, and the wind feeling cold, I put in a bit of hemp and some 6mm pellets out at about ten metres with the pole, but started on the hybrid feeder, with a red pellet. To my right, Peter Harrison started on the pole well out. My first cast went right across, close to the platform on 17, and I had a liner. Second cast and the rod whipped round and something big clumped along the far bank.
These strips are about 40 metres across, and Peter Harrison was two swims away - pehaps 25 metres, and I shouted a warning the the fish was kiting his way. He said nothing, so I shouted a bit louder and eventually he said something., Then I could see why he hadn't looke up - he must have been playing a fish on the pole, because sudenly I saw him swing in a huge scale.
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| Think I didn't get this quite right. Peter Harrison seems to be missing! |
That fish on my line eventually came closer to me, although it went into the marginal reeds to my right. But somehow it stayed attached and ended in my net - all 12 lb of it. But the red pellet was lost out of the band, so on went a 6mm Choc Orange Bandum Wafter. Next cast another fish came in, and Peter changed to a feeder. From that moment onwards my match was pretty simple - roughly every 15 minutes I would get a fish.
Lee Kendall, three anglers to my right, had told me his tactics - a Method feeder to the far-bank platform with pellet; a maggot feeder to the far-bank reeds; and a bomb to the middle or three-quarters of the way across. So I had a maggot feeder already made up, and the Preston ICS system allowed me to change to a bomb in seconds if I wanted to.
However, every time I was about to reach for the maggot feeder, the rod would wrench round and a fish would be on. So I stayed on the hybrid feeder up until the last hour. Meanwhile Peter had started catching in what I thought was a small feeder, with a longish drop of about 16 inches, cast about halfway across. In fact he told me afterwards that it was a bomb, with bread. He caught at roughly the same speed as I did, though occasionally I would see him get two fish very quickly, so I guessed he was ahead of me.
At one point I had a quick look on the pole in the cut-out to my left, where there was about three feet of water. But I never had a touch, so spent only five minutes there and it was back on the feeder. Twice my hook, when cast right to the far-bank reeds, was covered in weed, so I came back a little, which was better, and also tempted a 2 lb tench. Casting into the far corner of peg 16, opposite, was a bit better, and I had four fish fairly quickly there.
With an hour to go I had about 14 carp from 6 lb to 12 lb, having not lost a single fish. I put that down to the ten-foot Guru N-Guage rod, not to my skill. The rod is so soft that it seemed that most of the fish hardly, realised they were hooked, and came in close to the bank very quickly. At that point I found it a bit hairy, as the rod bent double and it felt as if I was going to pull out of the fish any second. But no - I landed every one. Once I had got used to the action I had every confidence in it.
But bites slowed a little and with 40 minutes to go I had a look in the corner with a pole and corn. I dropped in without putting in any feed, and immediately had a bite, which I missed. After that happened twice more I realised they were liners, so put in a few grains of corn, into almost six feet of water two metres from the corner. The result was a bite and foulhooked eight-pounder, which I landed.
Back in, and this time the hooked fish was hooked in the mouth. To be honest I proably should have put on a float with a thicker stem, as the sun and the reflections of the reeds made it difficult to see the thin-tipped Malman float, But two more fish came in before the match ended, at which point I was unhooking an eight-pounder. I estimated I had 18 carp and the tench.
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| Sorry - got to Ernie Lowbridge after he had put his best fish back! |
"He said 150 lb" said Lee, and I replied: "I've not got that."
Lee was top weight in the first five pegs with 96 lb 10 oz. I knew he had had some carp, because I'd been able to see him strike and land fish. I would then watch to see how far across he was casting - it was usually well over. Contrast that with Peter Harrison, casting halfway, who then told me that he had been using a bomb and bread. I had bread with me, and had had every intention of using it, but hadn't thought of trying it as a change bait (bread is allowed on Decoy from November to March inclusive).
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| The winner - Peter Harison with 180 lb 15 oz. The carp in Yew lake must average around 8 lb, with lots in double figures. |
Anyway, as I had suspected, Peter Harrison weighed in 180 lb 15 oz, and I knew I was well beaten. My fish weighed 145 lb 12 oz for second place on the lake. Oak fished quite badly in comparison, won by Tony Evans on 9 with 82 lb 3 oz. The club paid the winner on each lake plus sections, by default, so I ended with a section win, and was very pleased with that. In that company a section win gives some bragging rights (I don't have much to brag about, normally).
I give myself 8. I know that Peter, and several of the others, would have had more from my swim, but I felt that I had fished it OK - at least I hadn't cocked it up completely. I should have tried bread, and should have cast to the far corner before I did. But I guess nobody fished the perfect match - we are all human.
Next match on Elm with Spratts on Friday, and Elm again with JV on Sunday. Not sure how to approach it at this time of year. But I will definitely have bread with me, and I have got three feeder rods ready with hybrid feeder, maggot feeder and bomb. However I hanker after another couple of N-Guage rods. I really did enjoy that day using mine.
THE RESULTS
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| Oak lake - two sections of four. |
Yew lake fished much better.
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