A cool wind greeted the 12 of us who turned up for this Spratts match, and I was happy enough with my peg, facing the Westerly wind. So often I've been back-wind with calm water while those on the opposite bank of the strips have had a lovely Raspberry Ripple. I was to somewhat regret that later, though, as the wind blew stronger and colder and I had to don my Goretex jacket (and if I'd had a jumper in the van I would have put that on as well).
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| Looks lovely. But the headwind soon increased to a mere gale! |
Fish On...three seconds later...Fish Off, and the rig came back with the hook, but minus the band! Afterwards I thought the fish must have picked up the wafter without getting the hook, and simply pulled it off. But next cast when the rod wrapped round the fish stayed on - a 5 lb carp. Next cast and the rod went round almost before I'd put the rod on the rest, How do they do that with a Method feeder with the bait in the micros? Anyway, that one stuck, and in the next 45 minutes I had two more.
At that point my clicker showed 18 lb, and bites stopped, so after giving it another 30 minutes I picked up the pole, having to cut the lash between float and pole tip down to about three inches because of the head wind. Opposite me, Dick Warrener, basking in the sun, had soon gone on to a feeder and I saw him land a couple. Now he, also, changed over again to pole. And first drop down at 8 metres with a banded pellet on a 1 gm float rig, I foulhooked a fish which came off. That's one reason I tend not to use a banded pellet rig on a pole. But I kept with it and next drop a 2 lb F1 came in.
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| Dick Warrener strains as a big fish hurtles away. But Dick won...eventually. |
Then another pause and I went over to another rig, with corn for some more small F1s and a 3 lb common. I'd been dropping corn into the deep water to my right. The wind had been moving around - soemtimes right into my face, and sometimes from the right or the left. Now it had settled, for a time, into a Southerly, from the left, but still a little in my face. At this point I put on my jacket, but was still cold.
The corn, fished on the bottom, brought three nice bream, best over 3 lb, but no carp. It was time for a look in the left margin, just out of the deep water. To my surprise I immediately had a missed bite and then a small carp. There were still a couple of hours to go, and I put in some hemp and cat meat, and sure enough the fish liked it. Unfortunately they gave me mostly liners, and I hooked and lost about four, but landed another four.
Then another foulhooked fish - I thought. It made two strong runs towards the next platform, but then it came back andafter a couple of minutes when it just sulked deep down, it came up - a double-figure mirror.The next one played me for several minutes, and I never got it off bottom - definitely foulhooked, and then the hook pinged. I think that was probably a 'double' as well.
At times the wind died away a little, and calm water appeared on the opposite bank, and I could see signs of fish just under the surface. Trevor Cousins, who had been trying to mug fish when he could, had three carp in about 20 minutes, and if the wind had stayed like that I don't doubt he would have had more, but it blew up again, and basically also meant that I could fish only close to my near bank, because good presentation was almost impossible otherwise. Even then it was difficult fishing into the wind because it was so strong, and it was pushing the rig towards the bank. A two-inch lash was necessary to hold the bait somewhere in position.
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| Martin had some good'uns from 13 (see below). |
On went a mussel, and I had a sort of repetition of the first cast of the day. I would get a bite, strike, and definitely feel a fish, but wouldn't make contact. Yet the mussel, which is fairly fragile, would still be on. Even stranger, it happened with corn, with the corn coming back sort of crushed and cut about, but still on the hook. Obviously being held in the fish's mouth. Dick, on peg 7 now had a good spell on the pole and I saw him land a few which looked like 'proper' carp.
More liners, and I fished corn, and meat, off bottom, yet had hardly a touch, and certainly no fish. An hour to go, and a change to corn in the left margin, laid on several inches, brought two good carp, while cat meat brought two more, the right margin not, now, producing even a bite, Those four fish went into my second net, with 38 lb clicked on the first, and those four adding perhaps 28 lb - I admitted to possibly 65 lb.
I'd had six rigs ready to use, and had used four. I even had a shallow rig ready, but the wind made it pointless; and I had a heavier rig (which I didn't use) ready for fishing the 8 metre line. (Why didn't I pick that up?) Packing those away took time, and I caught up with the scales after they had weighed in the six on the opposite bank, where Kevin Lee led with 72 lb 11 oz. He couldn't catch in his margin, taking all his fish farther out, mainly on cat meat. Dick Warrener had managed to beat Trevor Cousins on the next peg, and was currently second on 67 lb 15 oz.
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| John Garner with a mirror we weighed at 14 lb 8 oz. |
Martin Parker, my travelling mate to Vets Nationals, had a real Senior Moment at the start - he'd drawn peg 14, in the corner on the East bank, but went to peg 13, in the corner on the West bank. When it was pointed out at the weighing-in, he said he'd had a brainstorm. And in case anybody querried that, I pointed out that Martin definitely has a brain - the Surgeons confirmed that when they removed a tumour which was pressing on it, in January. On a serious note, Martin said that after the op he has never felt better! Anyway he has been fishing better since then, and today had 60 lb 6 oz. A remarkable operation! (Club match, and no question of disqualification. We are just glad Martin is still able to fish).
My '38 lb' net went 47 lb (!) and the second net 30 lb - total 78 lb 4 oz, which held me in second place to the end. I was happy with that, even though Dace Hobbs had saved the Golden Peg for the lads,since just one of those several lost carp could have won me the match. Trevor told me had had just seven carp mugging them, but he could only do it when the wind died away a little and he could see bow waces of fish moving just under the surface, as the water was well-coloured. It simply wasn't worth trying shallow, I felt, in that very difficult head wind..
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| Bob Allen was on peg 26. Towards the end, when the wind went to the South his sheltered swim didn't have much ripple, but the wind made still made presentation difficult - a lethal combination. |
Afterwards I realised I hadn't tried paste or worm, and that I should probably have use much heavier rigs in that wind, which at it strongest was VERY strong. I should have started on a 2 gm, and should probably have used similar-sized rigs in the margin. I've actually got a big old Topper Haskins float carrying about 6AA shot rigged up in my box which I put together specifically for peg 18 on Beastie in a strong Southerly, when the wind is blowing under the bridge.
However I made a good choice to start on the feeder, which I don't often do, and I made several changes quite quickly instead of having just another cast or two, which I am prone to do. So all-round not a disaster, though I was surprised to end as runner-up, just 7 lb short of winning. So I think I'm worth 6/10. My 11th frame in a row. Only small club matches, but some very good anglers among them.
Next match Sunday on Six-Island. With Westerlies forecast I'd obviously fancy the end of the main bowl - say pegs 7 or 8 round to 14 or 14. Yet 24 and 25 at the car park end are always possible winning pegs. If I knew what was going to happen I would be called Mystic Mac!
Think you've undersold yourself again !!
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