Wet, Wet, Wet, on Cedar

 Peg 7, Cedar, Sunday, March 11
Very late in posting this, as it took me days to dry everything out. It was raining when I went out to the van to drive to the JV match, raining all the way to Decoy, raining at the start, raining all day, raining at the end, raining while weighing in, and raining on the return journey home. As I drove through Ramsey St Mary I saw a light on in a garage, and as I drove by I could see in the main door. There was someone inside obviously working, on something that looked suspiciously like an ark. Them old Fen Boys have an instinct for this sort of thing!

I was pretty chinkered after the draw - for the umpteenth match in a row I managed to end up with the wind in my face on Cedar while half the others, on Elm, had it behind them. How do I do it? Anyway, I managed to get my umbrella up, in a fashion, but the North-Easterly was cold and the rain was,err, wet.

Too wet to get my phone out to take a picture of my swim. It was mainly water anyway, but with a bush fairly close to me on the right which meant I had not a lot of margin on that side.

The match itself was forgettable. I couldn't be bothered to get a rod out of the bag, because at the start fishing at 13 metres was definitely on, because the wind wasn't too strong. One foulhooked carp of 5 lb taken at 11.5 metres on corn started me off. Then followed a couple of fishless hours during which I had a look in the left margin and the right margin. But soon the wind blew harder and beat upon that umbrella, but it fell not!

However the left margin was now out for me, as it meant facing the wind, so the right margin prevailed and with an hour to go I had added two more carp and two bream. I was difficult, because the only place I could get a bite was under the bush, which I managed to hook only once. Meanwhile, behind me facing West, Pete Molesworth had found carp on corn in his margin, and to his left I saw Ivy Tilsley netting a fish or two towards the end.

An umbrellaless Ian Frith - winner on peg 1 with 115 lb 5 oz.

With 30 minutes left I started a new swim at 2+3 and first drop a 3 lb bream came in. I was certain more would follow, but they had gone (if they had ever arrived)! I never had another bite, and by the end I was hoping that I would soon feel I'd had enough. To my right three anglers had sat all day with no umbrella...and they all beat me.

The weigh in
Wet! And there was now an inch or two of water lying on much of the bank. Ian Frith on 1 had 115 lb 15 oz to win the lake, with several taken on feeder early on and most of the rest of long pole dotted around in front of him. On 3 Ron Cuthbert was second with 98 lb 12 oz on a pole. I had a measly 23 lb 6 oz - last on the lake, but I was successful, at least, in surviving that horrible, horrible day. And some consolation is that I was in the middle of the bottom three on the lake.

Pete Molesworth - second on Elm 19 with 82 lb 11 oz.

Ivy (Sorry - Steve) Tilsley had a good finish on Elm on the pole mainly on maggot, to win with 114 lb 7 oz. And I give myself 7/10 for not making any reall gaffes. I thought I fished a tidy match...in the circumstances. 

Next match Six-Island with Spratts, on Friday, where I hope there's not as much mud, though I know that from 23 down to 16 can be really muddy even in a normal Winter. Looking forward to that, hoping I get in the main bowl, round the corner. 

PS I checked my rod bag on Thursday, ready for the Spratts match, only to find an inch of water in the bottom. How did that get there?  I never even unzipped it for the Cedar match...

THE RESULT

Cedar

Elm (they had back wind!)