Two days in the wind at Magpie and on Beastie

 Peg 2, Magpie, Wed, Feb 21

With rain forecasted for the first few hours, I was one of the lucky (!) ones (again) to get it in my face in this Pidley Pensioners match on Elm Magpie and Raven. The wind was into me from the left, and as it grew stronger the rain kept falling. It was bitterly cold, as well. It didn't help that the battery on my trolley, which I hadn't charged for  couple of weeks, was flat!

On my right, no-one was on peg 1, but after the match I saw it had been drawn by Paul Abbott. As I had been unloading my van before the start I had noticed that a white van which was near me suddenly drove away, and I wondered why. Now I realised - Paul had parked, walked down to peg 1, seen the conditions, and decided not to fish...and I can't blame him!

Peter picked out wet and windy peg 2 for me!

A decision
At my peg I had a decision to make - put on my side tray, or put up the umbrella?  I wouldn't normally put up an umbrella, as I have perfectly good waterproofs, but this was exceptional. The umbrella won. It didn't shelter me completely from the stinging rain, but it kept some off my face, and kept most of my gear dry. I had to utilise one of the storm guides, by screwing an extending bankstick into the ground, and fixing the other end to the umbrella. Then I started fishing.

Lots of umbrellas were put up, and later the gusts became really fierce.

This won't take long - two hours after the start I had caught two carp about 2 lb each, on a bomb, one on bread and one on corn, cast across to the far side or to the bridge. At this point I walked up to Allan Golightly on 5, who had one tiny perch. He had now taken down his umbrella, because the wind was so strong. And back at my peg I had a problem - I have an extending umbrella arm on the box, and the wind had loosened this, and was pulling the extension out, so the umbrella now leaned well over.

A second erection
It took me probably 20 minutes to take everything down, including the three guy ropes, and erect it all  again. The wind had also broken the thick, strong wire holding the storm guide in, but I found some wire and did a hasty repair. I was feeling decidedly chinkered, but had a look, on a pole,  in the right margin, where to my surprise I quickly had three F1s on corn.

Across from me on peg 36 Vic German had found fish very early on, and was catching steadily on a pole fished right across to his far bank, near the bridge. 

Fish close in
When bites dried up in my swim, and the wind kept blowing the pole over the bank, I went to the left margin on a top two. This was now facing the wind, and I could get much better presentation, though my wet hands were very cold. Here, fishing first corn and then maggot, off the bottom, I found about 15 F1s. If I tried fishing on the bottom against the reeds I often picked up weed or twigs - and in any case the fish needed the bait off bottom. The fish were messing about with the bait and many times the float dipped slightly, and if I struck at that I missed. So I had to leave the float to go under and stay under.

 Although the rain stopped an hour or two before the finish the wind picked up, and several times I had to lean out and hold the umbrella pole steady. And when the match finished the wind, of course, started to die right away! I believe that is The Law Of Sod.

The weigh in 
I was first to weigh - 36 lb 2 oz, which I was happy with when Allan didn't weigh. But later I saw that a lot had weighed in more than that, which tempered my enthusiasm somewhat! But most didn't have that nasty wind. I didn't fancy taking any photographs, as I just wanted to pack up and get in the warm.

Magpie was won on peg 25 - Pat Neale with 105 lb 12 oz - which looked to me as if it was facing right into the wind, but Ron Clark, on 24 had told me, before the match, that it seemed to be a backish wind there. So perhaps things weren't absolutely wicked there, after all; the wind does funny things. Raven was won with 69 lb 6 oz on peg 12, which I would hve thought was also facing the wind.

I finished 11th out of 16 on my lake.

Marks out of  ten
I actually enjoyed the second half of the match, and wished I had started on the pole earlier. But the rain and wind picked up before the start and I couldn't have fished far out, and I hadn't expected to find fish so close to the bank.Still, I give myself 7/10 because I thought I fished it OK once I went on to the pole. Next match the following Sunday on Beastie, the ay after the Winter League final, on Decoy.

THE RESULTS

Magpie 1-22

Magpie 23-36

Raven 1-22

Raven 23-28

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Peg 8, Beastie, Sun, Feb 25

The ice on my windscreen was so hard I couldn't scrape it off, and had to use de-icer (which I dislike doing). Then I was lucky enough (again!) to have the wind in my face at the start of this JV club match...but my swim, somehow, was calm, with the nearest ripple far out of reach with a pole. However, later the wind  moved round to where it was forecast to come - ENE over my right shoulder, and it was biting, even though my swim was still calm most of the time. Those poor souls Carl White and Eddie McIlroy, who I could see on the back of the spit, now facing the wind on pegs 13 and 9, must have been frizzed to the bone.

To be honest nobody, including me, fancied these swims anyway. For weeks the best weights on Beastie have been in the main basin, and mainly from 14 round to about 23. But after the wind had moved, at least the high bank behind me gave plenty of shelter, although it was biting. This peg used to be a brilliant tench peg, but I haven't caught a tench from the lake for years. Where do they go to?

No ripple at the start, and even when the wind swung round I still got hardly any!

A hazard

The steps are a hazard if you're my age, so I took my time. But I was mighty glad we weren't fishing on Oak, where work has just finished sheeting the margins to prevent bank erosion, and where new platforms have been put in. I've seen a picture of the mud that the Winter League Final anglers had to negotiate there, and it was HORRENDOUS - almost up to the tops of the trolley wheels, and it's fair bet that some anglers left their wellie boots sticking in the mud as they fell over.

I'm surprised the Angling Trust didn't move that section, at least, on to Willows, or even to another fishery. It really was unbelievable - not the fault of the fishery, who tried to start the work in October, but who were handicapped by the weather from the start. At least it's now finished, with new platforms all the way along. But nobody will want to fish from those banks for months. Sean, the fishery owner is considering putting down bark to make it navigable, but will have to wait until the weather hardens it. Rather his decision than mine.

The water is clearing

Back to my match, and  the water was clearer than it has been recently, and when the sun shone I thought I would be able to see any carp moving near the surface, but in fact saw only two all day. In the Winter League final Horseshoe was won by John Arthur, who said he could see carp moving three feet down!

On my corner peg 8 I started dobbing around with bread, but moved to maggots fished deeper when I had no touches, and eventually a small roach came from the swim out to my left. After taking a few more roach, and some gudgeon - all just off bottom - I started a second swim to the right. Then a 1 lb bream came from the lefthand swim, and another from the right. If I laid on the bottom (my rig, not me) I'd almost always bring back a twig or leaf, so I fished most of the time just off bottom, or up to eight inches above it.

Dave Parson won my section with 18 lb 1 oz, with the help
 of that big ole mirror carp.

That brought another bream and three F1s, plus a few more 'bits'. But at no time did I feel that I was going to catch a load, or even two fish in successive casts. The first big carp that swam through, was moving a bit too quickly for me to grab my mugging rig. But the second one obligingly drifted around for a minute or two, and I was able to drop a piece of slowly-sinking frozen corn in front of it three times. And three times that fish completely ignored it! That's been the story of my life.

I'd not see Carl or Eddie catch much, and I bet they were even more pleased to hear the match end that I was.

The weigh in

These anglers are all better than I am, so I was pleased that my 10 lb 12 oz was not last in the first four weighs. In fact if Dave Parsons hadn't had a near-10 lb carp in his 18 lb 1 oz (which won the section) I would have been second. 

Rob Goodson won the last section with 21 lb 2 oz from peg
29, managing to find some fish on the bomb cast to the aerator
and then on a pole in his right margin. 

As we all rather expected, the best weights (top six came from these seven swims) came from 15 to 23. The exception was poor Ivy Tilsley, on 18, which is a bit of a specialist swim - can be brilliant in Summer, but dodgy in Winter. He was so cold he packed up early, but still stayed and weighed. Lee Kendall won peg 17. taking mainly F1s on pole no more than about five metres out, and maggot ,for his 56 lb 12 oz. I understand he fed the best part of four pints (which I suppose you can do, even in Winter, if you're getting bites). I got through about half a pint. Sean Buddle, third on peg 22, took all his fish on bomb and bread cast to the island.

Marks out of ten

As so often happens you needed to be in the wind to have the best chance of catching fish,  and I wasn't. But I thought I fished a tidy match in the circumstances, making changes when I needed to make something happen, and not just sitting there hoping the fish would start feeding. So I give myself 9/10, as I don't think I could have done any better.

Next match Wednesday on Jay and Raven at Pidley. I'm not bothered where I get so long as I have a good wave or ripple. In Summer you often need to fish long on both lakes, but at this time of year that far bank (even if you can reach it) is often non-productive, even for the best anglers, and fishing down the track or in the margin is often your best chance. I will just concentrate on presentation, with maggots my probably banker bait, but with 4mm expanders if I start catching the odd carp.

THE RESULT