To be honest I had put all thought of fishing on Wednesday out of my mind after seeing, on my mobile, Whats App messages giving me the news that one of our Cancer Exercise class had died.
Val had been going every Tuesday, as I do, for probably three years, and you'd never have known there was anything wrong with her. She was a real live-wire, sparky, and seemed exceptionally fit doing the exercises and circuit training. And after Tuesday's class we all adjourned to the coffe shop to drink a toast to a brave lady, who knew that her cancers were terminal (she had several), but was always so happy and alive. Three months ago she went in for a six-week intensive course of chemo, and that was the last time I saw her.
I wondered about fishing the next day, but was too upset to contemplate it...until that coffee meeting. As we chatted about Val refusing to allow the cancer to stop her doing anything, I changed my mind, and decided I would go (a sort of personal homage to her bravery). So here's what happened...
It's months and months since I fished one of these Over-60s matches at Pidley, so I knew I would be struggling against those who fish it week after week. I drew 13 Raven, though I would have preferred Crow. I've fished Raven only three times in the four or five years it's been dug, and Chris Saunders, in the cafe, told me he had 14, which he didn't fancy. The end bank from 12 to 17 are probably the least rated allround. Roy Whincup always draws last, and as Chris and I tackled up Roy turned up in his car - the poor sod had drawn 12!
It's a bit over 14 metres to the far bank, but I fancied fishing over there for practice. So after putting in some maggots and groundbait to the left margin, over I went, with a banded pellet in about 18 inches of water a couple of metres from the far bank, using my short tops, and got liners immediately. After I had cad-potted in a few pellets, or catapulted some in, fish would start swirling, thought not immediately - they left it for a minute or two, which was very strange since the pellets were definitely sinking!
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| Roy Whincup had a good first half on peg 12, to my left. |
Our local news bulletins have been consistently reporting that this was the hottest day of the year. That's absolute rubbish - it wasn't cold, but in hot, sunny weather I always slarr suncream on my arms and face, and today I didn't need any at all. It was just pleasantly warm, but what wind there was was in my face, so I couldn't loose-feed casters by hand as I had hoped.
After half an hour a 1 lb F1 took the pellet in the 18-inch swim across, and then a 5 lb mirror foulhooked itself in the stomach, but that, too, ended in my net. Eventually! A long time after that another F1 came to a shallow rig. I went as shallow as about six inches, at which point the liners stopped. Going back to 14 inches they started again, but no more fish, though I had lost four or five, almost certainly foulhooked. Over two hours had now elapsed.
Top my left Roy Whincup had latched on to several nice carp fishing cat meat in the margins, but Chris, to my right, had had hardly a fish. Satisfied that I wasn't going to hook any more across, I changed to the margins. Nothing on maggot! Back out to the 20-inch swim with luncheon meat and first drop a 6 lb carp came in, but then never a touch. So it was back again into the margins.
Now I started to get the odd liner, after feeding just a little hemp and caster, and suddenly cat meat produced an eight-pounder. From then on I concentrated on both margins, though the left was better, and a change to mussel saw six or seven more nice carp come in. In that last hour there was a lot of splashing from Chris' swim, but Roy had a bad spell. In the last three hours he had, he told me, just two F1s and two carp.
I lost several more in that last spell, but afterwards it appeared everyone on Raven had the same trouble. I had obviously been beaten both sides, but at least I had a respectable weight. Lifting the bait just half an inch seemed the only way of enticing a bite, otherwise it was just a matter of waiting.
After landing a near-double-figure fish in my nice 18-inch landing net (which makes them easier to unhook) I put on a 20-inch Drennan, because if that big fish had flapped as I lifted the small net out by its grab bar, it would have gone straight back. I was pleased I did, as the next couple were also 8 lb-plus, and very lively!
Roy's 73 lb 10 oz included fish to almost 10 lb.
The weigh in
Round to us, Mick Mister on peg 1 had 112 lb, and in fact that won the lake. Roy weighed 73 lb 10 oz, but didn't think it eould be enough to beat Chris, with whom he had a £1 wager. I was pleased enough with my 56 lb 12 oz, after having had such a slow start, but indeed Chris had beaten Roy with his 79 lb 10 oz, and in fact won that eight-man section. He had a lot more fish than me, but fewer big ones. I came nowhere, but was nowhere near last as I had feared,
Crow lake was won, yet agin, by the inimitable Pete Holland, who is in unbeatable form at the moment, with 220 lb 10 oz.
I was actually very pleased with how I fished across for the first three hours or so, though a change bait in the margins would have been a good move. In particular I should perhaps have put in some dead maggots. Otherwise I felt I had given myself a chance of overtaking both Chris and Roy.
Next match Friday on Damson, where I did OK last time there with 157 lb for second place. I will be hoping that casters do the business again, and keep the fish in the shallows for the whole six hours. Oh, and I would like a peg on the far end bank. Pretty Please...
THE RESULTS
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Raven 1-22 |
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| Crow 1-13 |
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