It was a Christmas miracle - Magpie 33, on the island, stuck to my fingers. The peg everyone would have picked. "It's black with fish" said Alex in the shop. "Just tap in maggots at 13 metres". Which is what I did. It was the annual "bring a prize" Over 60s Christmas event, on Magpie and Jay, and Magpie has been fishing better.
Peg 33 is a lovely-looking swim, with an island at about 20 metres, though I remembered that recently Rob Heath, on my left today, had taken 25 lb from it, while Ben Townsend had had over 100 lb on peg 34. So catching fish wasn't certain.
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| Peg 33 - with a cracking new, large, metal platform. |
My little size 16 hook with two reds did attract a liner or two; then I hit a fish, as I lifted the rig out to lay it in again. That came off after a few seconds, probably foulhooked. In the next three hours I lost three more, one of which I saw, and it didn't appear to be foulhooked before it came off. I played another for several minutes without ever seeing it before that also waved me goodbye. I had learned a lesson from Sunday, and had some white maggots as well (though a fat lot of good they did me!)
I had a second swim at 10 metres a little to my right, which I fed and fished with 4mm expanders. Everything there looked great, and I felt confident that if there were fish there I would get bites, but although I looked in that swim several times I had just one tiny knock, and the expander wasn't touched.
Chris went on to a bomb at one time and caught a fish, and I think he had a couple on a pole. I added the 14.5 metre section to move out farther under the overhanging tree, but never had even a liner there. A couple of small roach dropped off my hook, and then Rob had a couple of carp on his pole. With an hour to go, I lost another carp! I had 13 hollow elastic in and in desperation changed it to a short top with 10-12 elastic.
Rob had a great spell with four in about 15 minutes and Chris on 34 also had three or four, which looked to be four or five poounds each. My float refused to go under. Then, with 45 minutes left I managed to land a half-ounce perch! Soon after, I hooked a carp and it must have been nearly 15 minutes before it came near to my net. I could see it a couple of feet down in the clear water, and that meant it could also see my net! But eventually that was where it landed up... Phew.
As I lifted the net out I realised it was a big one - around 10 lb! I couldn't see the hook in its mouth - the line was lying underneath the fish. With some difficulty I turned the fish in the net, and there was my hook - in the mesh of the net! I think it must have been hooked in the side of the mouth, but into my waiting keepnet that beautiful, immaculate common carp slid.
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| Rob Heath took most of his 31 lb 7 oz catch in the last hour. |
Ten minutes later I hooked another carp, and this took almost as long to land on the 16 hook to 5 lb line and the piddly little 10-12 elastic. And this one, also, was a common around 10 lb, hooked definitely in the mouth. A minute later the match finished, and I was left wondering why I couldn't catch just a little earlier.
I knew I had been banjoed, but I wasn't despondent, as I thought I had fished it OK. I think that four of the five I lost were almost certainly foulhooked, and the other one might have been, because when I dipped the pole tip to the surface the fish didn't slowly rise to the top as most carp will.
Rob had eight or nine fish for his 31 lb 7 oz, and my carp and perch went 19 lb 12 oz. Chris had about nine fish for 34 lb 14 oz, and although he had brought a prize, he went straight home and never came to the presentations. Out of 15 I finished 11th.
Top weight on Magpie was Tony (Moana) McGreagor with 109 lb 4 oz from 36, a peg which has been poor recently. How cruel - I'm sure he only moans occasionally! Second was Will Hadley on 2 (another area whioch had not been rated), who fished 16 metres with a long swinging lash to drop his bait into the far margin. He has a brilliant record in these matches, and it's not the first time he has caught fish like that. he had 98 lb 4 oz.
Jay didn't fish as well, won on corner peg 38 by Tom Neal with 69 lb 4 oz. I've seen a report that two cars were driven across the bridge before the end - surely only acceptable in an emergency?
Actually I felt I had been quite disciplined, tapping in just a few maggots all day and hoping the fish would start feeding, with the pellet swim as a back-up. I had a few quick dips into the margins, but with water as clear as that I didn't expect to get any bites. Rob spent some time there, I know. So I give myself eight out of ten, 'cos I didn't do anything stupid, and the 13 hollow should have been OK to land those earlier lost fish if they had been hooked properly.
Next match is Christmas Eve at Decoy (which is actually closed until Jan 4th) as JVAC fish there every Sunday during the year and will be allowed to access the lakes. The staff have started to work on the strips, having put fish from the stock pond into Elm, and I understand they intend to put the fish from Oak into the stock pond while they work on Oak (the rain isn't helping!) Our match will probably be on Six-Island and another lake, as at the time of writing 18 have signed up.
Have good Winterval Yuletide Holiday vacation festive season. Sod it - have a good Christmas everybody! 🎅🎅🎅
THE RESULT
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| Magpie 1-23 |
Magpie 24-36 
Jay 1-22 
Jay 23-47
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