A good start to this Spratts match on Cedar, for me - I didn't get peg 24! I had it last Summer, and was walloped by Peter Harrison on 22. Peter's peg had reeds both sides, while peg 24 is mainly bare bank . I fancied that in daytime the tall reeds offered enough cover to give the bigger carp confidence to feed, with the deepest water being less than two metres out here. Even better, I was drawn on peg 22 myself this time (and only a short walk), while Peter was on 24. Time would tell whether my reading was right, and whether I could reverse the roles.
Looking back, this was a pretty straightforward match for me. I didn't catch all the time, but on the other hand I didn't have any really silly moments, like losing big fish at the net, or tripping over and falling on my pole. For me that's success....
Fourteen of us fished, and it was good to see Bob Barrett back in action after his heart attack. Seeing Bob with rod in hand after his problems makes you realise that there are some things in life more important than fishing.
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| Peg 22 is a swim which fishes itself. Some fish came from the deep water on the right next to the corner. But the best area was right inside that, in the shallow water only inches from the bankside reeds. |
By now Dave Hobbs, opposite, had a fish which I fancied was taken fishing shallow. That was my next port of call - caster shallow. But I never had a touch. The fish I could see were all solitary, and swimming quite fast, and they all turned away when I dropped the caster neat them. Fairly early on there was splashing to my left and I think I heard Peter Harrison say: "It's foulhooked" to someone.
Down on corner peg 14 Trevor Cousins had calm water, sheltered from the Northerly wind by the high bank. He told me afterwards he could see the fish pretty well, and while some were on their own, there were enough swimming in twos or three for him to be able to mug them. He took 50 minutes to get his first one, then took three in three drops. He carried on mugging occasional fish until the wind changed and put a ripple on, and the sun went in, when he could no longer see them.
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| Dave Hobbs had a couple up in the water in the first half of the match. |
This fish didn't stretch the elastic right out, but it was impossible to get it up. Two or three minutes must have gone by before I saw the reason - it was a 2 lb barbel. I hoped there would be more around. No - next fish was a 1 lb F1. Then a small bream, and then a 1 lb ide. Five different species and still no carp!
After another roach or two a bunch of three maggots was taken almost as soon as it hit the sirface - by an 8 lb carp. Then came a perch - the seventh different species. After that only a 2 lb bream came in before bites tailed off and I had a look inside.
That went well - I found a carp in the deep swim I had baited, then another in the left margin, and after two or three carp on cat meat or mussel from each swim I had a look in the shallow water right against the reeds on my right, on a top two. That brought three or four fish to 8 lb on corn, and I had to bait with hemp and micros, and a few casters, before every fish or I never had even a liner. With an hour to go, and about 35 lb clicked for each of the first two nets, I started on the third.
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| Bob Allen on peg 7 plays a carp (very carefully, as bites were hard to come by). |
Nothing for it but to carry on, and suddenly a 2 lb bream came in from the left margin. Mussel tempted the smallest carp of the day, about 5 lb, and with literally seconds left I hooked a better fish. I shouted the obligatory "Fish On" and fancied I heard a groan from someone. I landed that four or five minutes after the match ended - about 7 lb and VERY welcome. Dave Hobbs opposite on 5, I knew, had had several fish, and I assumed he had probably beaten me.
It was noticeable that fish started coming past in pairs and threes in the last hour, and I did pick up the shallow rig with caster on, just once - the fish didn't even look at it!
I thought I had at least 80 lb, but had little idea what everyone else had, though I'd seen Bob Allen land two or three fish quickly at one time, and he's been doing well recently. Although I didn't know it, Roy Whitwell on peg 3 had 35 lb in the first hour, but he then really struggled, ending with only 52 lb 6 oz.
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| Trevor Cousins - worthy winner, yet again - with 125 lb 8 oz. |
Our bank had better weights, with Trevor in corner peg 14 putting 125 lb 8 oz on the scales - 75 lb of them taken mugging before the wind blew up, with several around 10 lb. That was probably going to win - I guessed only Neil Paass on 26 was the person most likely to beat that. Shaun Buddle also had three nets, but with only one fish in his last net he ended with 88 lb 1 oz.
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| Neil Paas prepares to take fish back after the weighing. Trevor is on the scales - he is our organiser, secretary, treasurer, gofer, and weigher-in. We are all very lucky to have him. |
Although I was third, with the two top weights in the corners, I realised afterwards that, yet again, I hadn't tried a change of bait - worms and expanders left at home (!), a bunch of deads towards the end, and paste left in the bag. So 6/10. Next match probably Sunday on Yew, which has been fishing hard. I wouldn't mind another match where I didn't have to walk far from the van. 😀
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