Christmas Eve on the Beastie

Peg 9, Sunday, Dec 24
Well, would you Christmas Eve it? Another good peg (literally, since JV use clothes pegs) stuck to my fingers - 9 on Beastie, with half of the field going to Willows. I've always liked Beastie peg 9, and I've never fished it without framing. Famous Last Words!

To be fair, the back of the spit, where Shaun Coaten and I were drawn, is something of an unknown quantity in the Winter - it can be great or ungreat (if there is such a word). But at least we had back-gale, from the left, while those on the early pegs, facing into the wind, could hardly hold a top two! And it was mild as well. And I had some advice from Tony Evans beforehand. What could possibly go wrong?

The bomb bombed...
This won't take long. I started on bomb and bread cast across and to the right, opposite where Tony reminded me there used to be a tree. Shaun, to my right on 12, also started on a bomb. I had two big liners, but no fish and after 40 minutes tried to have a look across the channel under the bridge, to the reeds, with corn (being positive, you see.) It was possible to present a bait reasonably on a pole for about 40 seconds, sometimes, before the wind hurled me round to the right, as if I was on a waltzer. Shaun also changed to a pole at about the same time, also fishless I believe.

Peg 9. The fierce wind was blowing over the bridge, making it impossible to properly
present a bait to the reed bed on the other side of the bridge.

I did eventually manage to foulhook a gudgeon! But after another 40 minutes I had to admit defeat, and went out in front of me at about 10 metres on corn and expander. That brought absolutely nothing. So I had a look with maggot and first drop a roach took the bait. Then a gudgeon, then another gudgeon, then another sudgeon...

It was enjoyable, but with the match now almost halfway through I had to catch something bigger. A move on a top two in front of me saw more roach, but at least they were approaching 1 oz each! Then something bigger, which turned out to be a foulhooked F1 of 1 lb. That encouraged me to stay there for too long, with no more F1s. So out to 10 metres, and soon a 2 lb bream came in, which encouraged me to stay there too long...

Last half-hour was best
Back in the side and it was tiny perch, roach or gudgeon on the maggot, and I tried putting on white maggots (lesson learned from last week) for bream. With half an hour to go I suddenly had a couple of 2 lb bream, and then hit a REALLY big fish which took me round under the bridge. I never felt that the pole would break, but eventually that fish came off. Soon another decent fish stretched out the 13 hollow elastic, but that came off as well, and one more bream of 1 lb came in before the match ended.

Earlier I fancied I had a knock when I went out with corn on a top four to my right, close to the reeds. I was still trying to stay positive, and aiming for carp, rather than roach. I stayed there too long, but had the feeling that there were carp there. Afterwards I realised I should have switched to maggot, as it seemed that everyone on Beastie had used it almost all day.

Shaun Coaten's 29 lb 10 oz ogf F1s and 'bits' from peg 12.
Blame the blurring on me, wind, and bad light!!

The weigh-in.

I weighed in 13 lb 8 oz, which was last on the lake. Shaun Coaten said he had about 10 lb of 'bits' and 20 lb of F1s, and indeed he was almost spot on - 29 lb 10 oz, all taken on a top two on the corner of the reed bed to his right. Peg 9 doesn't have reeds like that, and in that wind fishing to the nearest easily-reached reed bed, about eight metres to my right, made no sense, since I wouldn't have been able to see the float properly in the poor light and wind.

Eddie McIlroy was top weight up to us - he was in the wind on 5 and fished the maggot feeder about 8 metres out, for 59 lb 10 oz. Ernie Lowbridge  on 24 won Beastie with 84 lb 12 oz - not sure how he fished. Tony Evans won Willows from peg 19, fishing not far out, with maggot, with the wind, ie to his right, with wind from his left.

Marks out of ten
Although I was last on the lake I am not yet properly clued up for fishing maggot , so I give myself a generous 6. I don't think that I could have won from peg 9, though doubtless most of the others would have had more than me. At least I fished positively for the first half of the match, and managed to weigh in, while just that one biggest lost fish (which might have been foulhooked) would have taken me over 20 lb - the fish in this area can be very big indeed.

Next match on Sunday, with the exact lake unknown. Looking forward to it, but I have to get maggots first, since I think the shop on site will be closed. I'm not expecting sport to be very good, no matter how mild it is, but I will be at least able to use the shiny new 10-foot N-Guage feeder rod my daughter and son-in-law bought me for Christmas. What's not to like?

THE RESULT

Beastie (tie for section win)

Willows