Still scraping around, on Six-Island

 Peg 11, Sunday, Nov 20
I can't remember the last time I ever drew a peg I really wanted in a match. Perhaps it's never happened before - if it has the memory has passed me by. But on Sunday - WOW. In the pre-match banter, when we ask each other where we fancy drawing, I'd told several that I fancied peg 11. I've won there before, it has a great right margin with a bunch of irises and reeds, and it has a big reputation in the Winter. Then it stuck to my fingers!

A racing start for Peter
Now the anti-climax - I didn't catch many fish. Peter Harrison on my left on 12 had a fish in the first minute, on a pole, while I was still adjusting the bomb and feeder I'd cast out. Then he had two or three more quick fish before I changed. I went out to about ten metres with corn, but by the time I had my first fish, of 5 lb, on a 4mm expander, Peter must have had six or seven. Then his swim slowed right down and eventually he went on a feeder - only to get a fish on within seconds of the first cast landing near his litle island. 

Peter Harrison's first fish - no more than a minute after the match started.

I tried  a bomb with bread and then a wafter, but nothing happened except that I definitely hit a fish which came off after about three seconds. So I went back on the pole, where a bunch of maggots brought some obvious roach tugs as they sank, so I refrained from putting maggots in.

A perch on corn
I struggled all day. It was warm and windy - too windy for me to get any sort of decent presentation to the left of my platform, so I stuck it out on the long pole, managing to foulhook a couple which came off, before eventually landing one foulhooked in the fin - that was about 8 lb. So into the deep margin I went (my rig, that is - not me!) only to get a 1 oz perch...on corn! Big fish kept splashing around all over that end of the lake, taunting us.

My lovely right margin held this bunch of reeds and irises.
Unfortunately old, strong iris stems overhung the front.

In that deep margin I put in my special rig, which will normally show me if there are fish there, and there weren't. I suspected that there were, but that they were finely tuned to the fact that there was line hanging down, and kept away.

Two in double-figures
Peter kept on landing occasional fish while I switched between expander and corn and scraped together a total of four more, two of which were thankfully well over 10 lb, and lost another couple of foulhookers. Opposite I could see Ernie Lowbridge landing a few fish, but Dave Parsons in the corner seemed to be struggling like me. That swim next to the reeds looked so inviting all day, but I had only two there. 

By the end I had six carp plus that tiny perch, and thought I had probably 50 lb, but guessed that Peter had three times as many fish as me, and he probably had over 100 lb.

I missed Ernie weighing in, but next door on peg 9
Dave Parsons had thgis catch of 30 lb 9 oz.

The weigh in
The other end of the lake weighed in first, and Lee Kendall told me that hardly any carp over 2 lb had been landed. Top weight there was Tony Evans on 24 with 34 lb 5 oz. But once the scales came round the corner to peg 4 it was a different story. On 4 Eddie McIlroy had 63 lb 10 oz, and on 8 Ernie Lowbridge totalled 85 lb 11 oz, to lead.

I was surprised that my fish went 57 lb 13 oz, but even more surprised when Peter's catch went just 71 lb 7 oz. He had a lot more fish than me, but they were smaller. The next two pegs, away from our end of the lake, were not good - Roy Whincup didn't even weigh. So I ended fourth and won my section by default. Lowest winning section weight was Gus Gausden with 13 lb, so you can see how difficult it was at the other end of the lake. But I have to say the sections were very well decided.

Peter Harrison's second-placed 71 lb 7 oz catch.

Marks out of ten
Very disappointed - I give myself 4. I should have tried the heavier rig, which might have picked up more of the light undertow against the wind, and dragged the expanded along the bottom. I should certainly have dumped some hemp and bait into the right shallow margin an hour before the end - at the end I dropped in the little bait I had left and am sure there was a cloud there a little later.

I could have put in dead maggots just to my left - it wouldn't have harmed the swims I was fishing. And I should have opened the cat meat sachets I had with me, as sometimes those very small pieces of meat will take fish when corn won't. And I never tried bread on the pole!

Addenbrookes calls this week, so I have no idea when I will be back. But as General McArthur promised: " I Shall Return." It took him two years, but I hope to be on the bank well before then...

THE RESULT

The sections are denoted by the coloured squares.