Not many fish, but quality, on Yew.

 Peg 19, Friday, Apr 26
I don't believe it!

This year the Fates have been conspiring against me, refusing to allow my natural talent at catching fish to bloom properly. They've been directing me to barren areas of water, where the fish (if there are any) know I'm coming and have a plan ready to tease me - knocking the bait, flicking the line, or just buggering off. 

Now Lidle have joined in. Went in Saturday, put 24 tins of Freshona into the trolley, ambled along to the check-out and: "You can't have all them. Twelve tins only!" Honestly. You could have knocked me down with a pole float. Had to put 12 tins back on the shelf.

Now that's doubly strange, because the last two weeks our local Aldi has not had any normal-sized tins of sweetcorn. Normally they have hundreds, all stacked so beautifully that I can't resist taking a few as I pass, even if I've got loads at home. Last week there wasn't a grain in the place; this week they had those tiny, preposterously-expensive tins, all containing small, sweet grains, each one hand-picked and lovingly placed, individually, into a tin by someone on about £1,000 an hour. But no normal-sized tins (again).

So Lidle it was, for sweetcorn, otherwise the carp at Decoy would be on a special diet of cat-meat-only, lovingly supplied week after week by Chris Saunders and Roy Whincup. 

However, has there been a run on sweetcorn by anglers? Will Lidle be issuing Sweetcorn Ration Books? I've not seen anything about it on the news. Or have the managers of our local supermarkets all taken up fishing? No matter, I won't let the carp at Decoy down - I'll souce some sweetcorn from somewhere each week, whatever it takes...

Canned sweetcorn - the new gold?

The Match

Now to the Spratts match - ten of us only (but quality anglers) on Yew lake, all on the East bank, where the end pegs from about 16 to 21 had flat calm water at the start and hardly any raspberry ripple at all, while the early pegs had some all day. Our Fenland Rods match there 12 days ago saw pegs 25, 26 and 27 taking the first three places and they were where I would have chosen. But peg 19 was my home for the day, and I had Trevor Cousins on my right, so I was probably going to have something to watch if my fish didn't play ball.

The weather was cool, with a Northerly wind, but we were able to cast right across if we wished, and that was how I started - a small Method feeder with an orange wafter. Trevor fished similarly, though I learned afterwards that he baited with dead maggot. While I waited for a bite I catapluted casters out to 13 metres, hoping to catch something shallow later.

Our end was flat calm almost from start to finish.

Fish on the feeder

Second cast and the rod wrapped round with a fish which took several minutes to land - so long I thought it must have been hooked on the noutside of the lip. But no - it was hooked normally, and weighed about 8 lb. Not long after, I hit another fish, kept the rod low as usual - this brought the fish up to the top, where it splashed, and seconds later came off! Very unusual. Some time after that another eight-pounder came in, and aftter a long biteless spell I went out shallow, with banded caster.

There were definitely fish near the surface, and I had a couple of touches and one good-looking bite, but no fish. I gave it about 45 minutes before going out to 13 metres with corn, on the bottom. Not a touch after more than half-an-hour. By this time I think Trevor had had two fish on his feeder, possibly three.

Dave sets the pace
To our left Dave Hobbs on 21 had had a couple of fish on a feeder, and by now had had three or four fish on a pole, fishing just inside the corner of the reeds lining  the bank - his peg had a nice little cut-out. I hadn't got much of a cut-back, so had to fish alongside the reeds, in about seven feet of water. There was a tiny ledge a foot shallower, but I never had a fish there.

Trevor had two or three fish early, on the feeder and maggot.

Trevor had tried in the margin, and did so two or three times but never had a fish there, and  after trying to mug fish for a long time he went back on the feeder, while I tried my luck in the deep margin. I had a bite quite quickly, on cat meat, and hit the next fish, which must have been 12 lb. But bites were few and far between, and it took ages to get another, around 10 lb.

Then I got some big ripple - unfortunately it came from a big ol' carp splashing about as Trevor battled to land it!

Lost fish (again)
At one time I lost two fish, both foulhooked, as I came back with a scale. It was obvious that they were swimming well off bottom most of the time, though both of those bites looked like proper ones - the float diving down at speed, which usually denotes a proper bite.

I went on to my special method which told me that there were fish in the swim from time to time - I would get several touches and then go half-an-hour with no indications at all. I kept trying the right margin, with not a touch. However, persisting with cat meat did bring two more fish in the next couple of hours (in between I tried the feeder and the long pole line but had nothing there).

Meanwhile Dave Hobbs had had several more - I estimated he had at least 14 or 15 fish, and Trevor had five more on the feeder I think, then two more mugging with pellet in the last hour. I thought about going out with caster at that time, but decided to stay inside.

Lightbulb moment!
I'd been getting what looked like bites, but sort of hesitant. And with seven minutes to go (I looked at the watch I have hanging on the tray lid) I decided to move the bulk shot on my pole rig down from about two feet from the bait to about 10 inches away. Blow me - seconds after dropping the rig in, baited with cat meat, I had the most beautiful lift bite. I knew it could be a liner, but had to take the risk, and I struck! Fish on, and it wasn't foulhiooked...then I realised what had been happening.

I've been watching the terrific Guru underwater videos, showing how bream in ferry Meadows, take the bait. The last one showed a bream picking up the feedered bait, on a 50 cm (18-inch tail. It put its headdown, sucked the maggot bait off the bottom, tilted itself back up, and swam about for nearly 30 seconds with the bait in its mouth before registering a bite on the rod.

 Dave Hobbs with one of his barbel, taken very close in.

What was happening underwater
I reckon the carp in my swim, which I realised had been off bottom, had been going down, picking up the bait, and rather than dashing off with it, had been rising up off bottom, not moving far, and ejecting the bait a few seconds later.

 But after that last fish - around 10 lb - there was no more time to get another.  I had ended with just seven carp, while Trevor had nine, and Dave Hobbs a bagful.

The weigh in

Trevor and I were surprised when the higher-numbered pegs, in the ripple, had really struggled. Neil Pass was the first good weight - 86 lb 11 oz off peg 24 - taken mainly on sweetcorn in the deep margins.  Then down to Dave Hobbs, with Trevor having said, as we packed up, that he must have 150 lb, and I agreed. But no - some of those fish, which we had assumed were good carp, were in fact barbel, taken on maggot. And Dave ended with 86 lb 3 oz - done by 8 ounces!

Mike Rawson's biggest fish was well into double-figures.

My seven beautiful fish went 73 lb 6 oz, and when Trevor put his fish into the weigh bag I saw that they weren't as big as mine, and they totalled 57 lb 3 oz.

In corner peg 16 Dick Warrener had about four fish for 30 lb 7 oz. That swim can be brilliant, but I've had it a couple of times and really struggled, especially on the pole. Dick had managed to catch on a feeder. A very frustrating day for him, in flat calm. So I ended third, and was happy with that.

Next match Sunday on Lou's lake, with the forecast not encouraging, and rain definite. Lou's has nice margins, so even if I don't get fancied peg 6 I will enjoy it.

Winner Neil Paas - 86 lb 112 oz, taken mainly on a top 2 plus one
in the deep margin, to his right, on peg 24, using corn.

THE RESULT

16 Dick Warrener      30 lb 7 oz  

18 Trevor Cousins     57 lb 34 oz      4th

19 Mac Campbell      73 lb 6 oz        3rd

21 Dave Hobbs          86 lb 3 oz        2nd

22 Bob Allen                8 lb 10 oz

24 Neil Paas               86 lb 11 oz       1st

25 ike Rawson            21 lb

27 Bob Barrett            38 lb

28 John Smith             14 lb 11 oz

30 John Garmer          17 lb 8 oz