A 'ton' for me on Elm; and F1s on Six-Island

 A bit late with this Spratts match on Elm. The trouble is that I'm now retired, and you never get a day off! And there's lots of gardening to do. Slugs or something have eaten all my kale seedlings so I've had to buy plants. But the rain seems to have suited my potatoes and courgettes. And the optician who tested my eyes says I have better than 20/20 vision. Not sure how I can be better than perfect, but there you are!

A longish walk to peg 13 on Elm saw me settled in the corner for the day, with John Garner opposite on 12. Roy Whitwell had been on 14 a day or too earlier and he said that had a lovely margin to the right, which would be to my left. Sure enough it was still there when I arrived, though plumbing up revealed that it was horribly bumpy. However I decided that I would have a quick look there when the match started, after putting in a few delicacies at 2+2 a bit to the right. because the warm wind was quite strong, from the left, but giving a lovely big Raspberry Ripple.

A big warm wind blowing down to my end. Nice.

There was less than three feet depth next to platform 14 (which was vacant) and soon after dropping in corn I hooked a fish, certainly foulhooked, which suddenly remembered it had an urgent appointment in Peterborough, turned on the turbo chargers, and waved me goodbye. A bit later a nice F1 came from that spot, and I fancied I had another knock or two, so I stayed in that margin for far too long, catching another F1 close to me on a top two, before realising that John Garner had started catching carp close to the end bank.

To the end bank
I went out to my baited swim and had a definite bite, but soon moved out at 13 metres to the end bank. That brought two nice big carp quite quickly. It was hard work in the wind so I had a look down in the deep margin to my right, a couple of mtres out. Sure enough I started getting bites on corn, and carp to 5 lb came in. Cat meat brought the occasional better fish, but they were never ravenous.

Lost!
One big fish gave me a bit of a runaround, and after a time it came towards the net. But a wag of its tail saw it slide past, and towards my keepnet. It slewed away from that and came into the bare bank on my right, and appeared beaten, as it lay on its side. 

Another little spurt, before I could move the landing net, saw it glide toward the reeds on my right, but I wasn't worried. Then suddenly the line went tight. It had snagged me a foot or two from the reeds, probably on a root. A little twitch, and it was gone. My long hook got me the rig back, though. I was to regret that loss later.

No more than 15 minutes before the end I had a look in the left margin again, just on a top two, and had a big F1 and two 8 lb carp, and lost another. I should have gone there earlier, of course. But at least I had my rig all ready plumbed up, so I did that right!

John Garner with onbe of his best mirrors.

The weigh in
Roy Whitwell, who could catch fish anywhere, started with  124 lb 12 oz from peg 2. I wasn't surprised, as he's so good, and conditions were almost perfect. On peg 8 Neil Paas took the lead with 154 lb 5 oz, all from close in on the pole. Then John Garner on corner peg 13 weighed in. He went 6 lb over in his first net, ending with 132 lb 2 oz, which I thought was about my weight.

I also went over in one net, by  about 5 lb, but ended with 136 lb 6 oz, putting me second, and John Garner must heve been rueing that 6 lb over weight on one net. For myself, I assume I must have missed clicking a big fish. 

 Kevin Lee with four big friends. 

Last to weigh, on peg 21, Kevin Lee totalled  143 lb 15 oz, pushing me down to third place. But that lost 5 lb on the scales, plus that lost fish that I nearly landed, would undoubtedly have given me second place.

Marks out of ten
I stayed far too long in the left margin at the start, and missed going back there with 90 minutes to go, just to have a look. But I was putting fish in the net, so I can't be too hard on myself. I caught on corn and cat meat, but didn't try paste, which was a mistake. Probably worth 7/10.

THE RESULT

East bank                                                       West bank

                                                                  2 Roy Whitwell     124 lb 12 oz       

21 Kevin Lee         143 lb 15 oz    2nd     4 Bob Barrett        65 lb 15 oz

19 Mike Rawson     34 lb 14 oz                6 Dave Hobbs        28 lb

17 Trevor Cousins     71 lb 8 oz                8 Neil Pasas        154 lb 5 oz        1st

15 Graham Ward        21 lb 8 oz             10 Mick Ramm    21 lb 14 oz

13 Mac Campbell     136 lb 6 oz    3rd   12 John Garner     132 lb 2 oz        4th 

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Peg 12, Six-Island, Decoy, Mon, June 1

Normally I would run (or hobble quickly) to peg 12, but on this day the wind was forecast to be SW, which would be back wind. And everyone knows how I love a Raspberry Ripple. Sure enough the wind was hacking down to the car park, and into the Northern bank, pegs 4 to 9.

Still, I had a job to do, and I had Neil Paas immdiately on my left. The trouble with leaving pegs vacant in a match is that you often can't see what they are doing, and you can't chat to them (at least I can't, with my hearing). So I was pleased to have Neil within spying distance, as he has been catching so well lately.

Neil Paas on 14 lands an early fish. We had back wind and  got
very little ripple all day - not ideal when the fish were finicky.

This is my favourite of the 11 lakes at Decoy, so I sort of expected to catch something early on. But I soon realised that it was going to be hard, as nobody had much early on. I had some really soft jelly pellets with me, given to me by Dick Warrener a few weeks ago, and I had a VERY intersting experience with them.

The very interesting lesson
First drop out at 2+3 and I lost a fish. Then I had a little knock which I couldn't strike at, and when I brought the rig back the pellet was gone. Next drop the same thing happened. And the next; and the next; and the next. They must have been F1s taking the pellet from the hook, as the bites were so delicate. So I learned something, and will try it again, because I now knew that fish were definitely interested in those soft pellets, and those knocks were not liners.

A proper pellet brought one fish, but hard pellet didn't get a bite. With fish on the surface I tried shallow, but never had a touch. So it was into the margins with corn for most of the rest of the match.

Neil had an F1 or two early on, and now I had a couple, but it took ages to get the bites. All came from the left margin - the right margin saw me hook a big fish which came off, possibly foulhooked. I also bumped two or three fish.

All F1s
The F1s were all 2 lb-plus, apart from one 5 lb common carp, and I had only about ten fish in my net with 20 minutes to go. Then suddenly I started getting bites more quickly and in that last 20 minutes I had four F1s and lost a really big fish, which I played for two or three minutes before, unaccountably, the 7 lb hook length broke for no apparent reason. It broke just above the hook, so perhaps it had rubbed on the hard lips of the fish, which looked to be over 10 lb when it came to the surface.

Graham Ward on peg 4 had F1s.

To my right Peter Harrison had had a few F1s from the end bank to the right of his peg 10, and he said that in that last 20 minutes he had 16 lb of F1s in his second net. I had clicked 35 lb.

The weigh in
Trevor started, with 50 lb from peg 3, and the weights opposite me, in the wind, from peg 4 to 9, seemed to be a bit better than Neil and I had. Top two were Rod Melnyk on 8 and Kev Lee on 9, both over 60 lb. Peter Harrison on corner peg 10 on my bank had 52 lb 2 oz, and I had 40 lb 5 oz. all except one being F1s. 

Rod Melnyk, on the bank opposite
me also had mainly F1s.

I was amazed when Neil weighed in just 28 lb 9 oz, and he said, as I had guessed, that he had fished big baits for carp all day, but all his fish were F1s.

The weights got better then, and John Smith on 24 weighed in 102 lb 10 oz for a good win. His fish were all big carp, taken mainly from his right margin, one of which he landeed after the whistle. And it was noticeable that as the scales went round towards the high numbers more and more big carp were in the keepnets.

John Smith with one of the
best carp from his 102 lb 10 oz!

Marks out of ten
I finished nowhere, but actually I really enjoyed the match, fishing for just one fish at a time. And I give myself 8/10, because I think I had a decent weight from that swim on that day. Pity about that one big lost fish though! It shows how important that last half hour is, though - you must have rigs ready, set at the right depth, and a spare as well. My next match is Sunday on Yew, with the corners probably favourite.

THE RESULT

3 Trevor Cousins            50 lb

4 Graham Ward           47 lb 5 oz

6 John Garner            16 lb 2 oz

8 Rod Melnyk             66 lb 9 oz        4th

9 Kevin Lee                63 lb 3 oz        5th

10 Peter Harrison      52 lb 2 oz

12 Mac Campbell       40 lb 8 oz

13 Neil Paas                28 lb 9 oz

15 Mick Ramm           15 lb 10 oz

17 Martin Parker        49 lb 11 oz

18 Roy Whitwell        73 lb              3rd

20 Bob Walker          40 lb 6 oz

22 Peter Spriggs         86 lb 15 oz    2nd

24 John Smith          102 lb 10 oz    1st

25 Mike Rawson        58 lb 11 oz

Over £450 raised for Cancer Research at Decoy

John Garner's annual invitation match at Decoy, with £60 to the person who guessed nearest to the winning weight, had an amazing result on Six-Island Lake.

Bright sunshine greeted us as we drew from
John Garner's bag, and it was hot all day.

Karen Gracey at Decoy donated the £60 to the nearest guesser, and the 13 competitors raised £408 for Cancer Research from friends who made the guesses at £1 per guess.  The match was fished in bright sunshine with little wind, and temperatures did get quite high.

The match was won by Neil Paas on peg 26 with 141 lb 10 oz. He caught mainly F1s slowly, but steadily during the morning, but sport picked up in the last 90 minutes, with carp from the margins.

T-shirts for the winners

John had a Cancer Research T-shirt to give to the winner, and another for the correct guesser. Neil was presented with his T-shirt and John drove home to Whittlesey and went through the sheets filled in by the donors, to find the Winning Weight. Incredibly it had been submitted by Neil himself, at 141 lb 15 oz! What are the chances? Neil promptly gave the £60 back to John, so the total going to the charity will be £468.

A disaster for me
Well done, Neil. But it was a bit of a disaster for me on peg 3. I'd managed a few nice F1s, plus an 8 lb common carp foulhooked in the tail, all on corn in the margins. Them with 90 minutes to go big carp started showing themselves near the side and apparently dropping down on to my baited swims either side. I couldn't get bites but was certain they were going to feed.

I put casters and hemp out just a little farther than I had been fishing to the left, on a top four, fully expecting that any time now the big carp would feed. First drop with cat meat and I had a good bite from a big fish, which stripped many yards of elastic out.

I held the fish, expecting it to slowly come back, but it felt heavy, and it just didn't come back. I'm certain it wasn't foulhooked, though. I dipped my pole tip under the surface and hung on, and the pressure didn't get any less. Slowly the fish kited round in front of me, and suddenly I realised it had snagged me solidly, somewhere near the bottom, next to the island.

Roy Whitwell plays a fish on peg 18.   

Whoosh
Hoping to pull it free by altering the direction of pull, I added section Number Five and was just reaching behind me for section Number Six when...whoosh...the top four shot out of my Number Five and hurtled over to the island. The tip laid against the reeds and the pole, well out of reach floated for 20 minutes during which time the tiny breeze wafted it round until it was level with the island. Then it slowly sank!

I didn't fancy playing double-figure carp on just a top two and short Number Three, especially since at the moment all the fish are so frisky, so I decided to pack up (only the third time I have ever done that in my life). While I was taking stuff back to the van Neil said he had clicked 82 lb, but he was now landing fish after fish.

Trevor Cousins mugged every one of his fish for
108 lb 9 oz and second place. This was one
of his double-figure carp.

My fish go back   
I had clicked 40 lb, but when I picked up the net to upend it and put the fish back I could hardly lift it - it felt like almost 50 lb. I nipped in to John Smith's house for a cuppa and went back for the weigh-in.

Neil said he'd had a great last 90 minutes, and when I saw the weights I reckoned I would have framed if I could have kept on fishing for that last 90 minutes, because 50 lb in my net at 2.30 pm was actually pretty good, and I felt certain that the big fish were coming on to feed. Oh well, there's always next time. 

I had a spare Number 3 and 4 at home (thank goodness). I've also got a broken 3 and a broken 4, which I have taken to Pete in the Tackle and Bates shop. They are difficult to get for my Xitan, so I hope I don't do that again!

Finally, although John thanked the anglers for supporting him and raising what is a good amount of money for the charity, I thank him, on behalf of of the anglers, for organising this most delightful match.

Peter Spriggs - 72 lb 14 oz.

Neil with some of his 141 lb 10 oz.

THE RESULT

3 Mac Campbell     DNW 😒
4 Allan Golightly    5 lb 13 oz         11th
6 John Garner         48 lb 1 oz           9th
7 Callum Judge       81 lb 13 oz        4th
9 Dave Garner         65 lb 7 oz          7th
10 Mike Rawson     70 lb                   6th
12 Kevin Beavis      39 lb 3 oz          10th
15 Kevin Lee           54 lb 7 oz           8th
17 Trevor Cousins  108 lb 9 oz    2nd
18 Roy Whitwell       95 lb 6 oz    3rd
22 Peter Spriggs        72 lb 14 oz       5th
24 Roland Butcher        DNW
25 Neil Paas            141 lb 10 oz   1st

I manage to catch some fish on Kingsland

Peg 2, Kingsland Small lake, Sun, May 18
Just nine of us were able to fish our Fenland Rods event on the small carp lake at Kingsland. Some of the platforms are obviously new, they are now numbered, and all have concrete steps down to them. Even so I have to take extra care going up and down them; but I was able to take my time setting up, and was ready well before the start, helped by the fact that I deliberately left my rods behind, intending to stick with the pole and enjoy myself.

I've been having some poor results recently but I love Kingsland, and was really looking forward to this match.

I was drawn on peg 2, Number One having been left out because it's close to the bank of reeds which is now running along about 12 metres in front of peg 17 on the end bank. I would have liked peg 1, but perhaps it would have been so good it would have been unfair. The lake appears to be about four feet deep maximum, and there was an occasional mid-sized carp visible before the start. However, even in the bright sun I saw only a couple more until the last hour.

Hot, with no wind, but fish still fed. This platform is obviously new. Note that
the reeds appear to have noved out from the end bank (or some have been cut).

Cat meat then maggots

As always I put out cat meat, to about 2+2, with no bait (this can attract small fish) and was surprised not to get a touch. Eventually I started throwing out maggots and fishing shallow, and bumped a couple of nice fish, causing me to change to a 13 hollow elastic. That brought me some small rudd, and one carp about 2 oz. So I fished the same swim at full depth, and it appeared that there were carp underneath the rudd as I had fish of 2 lb and 3 lb. 

But then I had only the occasional small rudd. So after nearly two hours I had about 6 lb in my net. But opposite on peg 15 Roy Whitwell was now landing fish after fish - every time I looked up his elastic was out. Two pegs to his left Kevin Lee had also landed some fish, fishing about three sections out. I then saw him fishing the margins, so I tried my left margin, putting in hemp and some groundbait with a few grains of corn.

That immediately produced carp around 2 lb and I had a good run for an hour or more on cat meat, all fighting like absolute demons, and taking me far too long to land them. Later I found out that Kevin had, in fact, had only two tiny carp, on paste, from the margins, and had gone back to 2+2 with cat meat, where he had all his fish. Roy was still bagging, and it was obvious they would beat me as they had already got a big start on me.

The sun now was really hot, with hardly any wind, and I started to enjoy it - sun has been a bit of a novelty recently.

A better fish
To rest the left margin I dropped on on a top two, to my right margin close to the platform, where there was a big drop-off about 12 inches deep, and the best fish of the day came there - about 7 lb, to a mussel. It felt really heavy during the short fight, and when I came to take the hook out it had thrashed about so much that it appeared to be lassoed around the body, and it took me a minute or two to untangle it. I never did see whether it was hooked in the mouth, as by that time the hook had come out.

I probably spent too long to the right (although it also produced a fish of 5 lb) and when I went back to the left sport had slowed. Out to the long line, and all I did was foulhook a carp that came off. Now I also started losing fish from both margins - I probably lost 25 or 30 , some of which, I am sure, were properly hooked. But I kept putting the occasional fish in the net, best no more than 3 lb, while to my right Mike Rawson seemed to be catching better fish than me, on meat out at 2+2. 

Shallow and short for a time
Then I started to see fish swimming along near the margins, and I started feeding maggots to the left margin, hoping the carp might come shallow. In fact they did, and I hooked and landed  four or five before hitting a bigger fish that gave me a real run-around. I started to get fed up playing it (Roy told me afterwards that he was so frustrated that he started hitting fish and immediately stripping the elastic right back with the side puller, risking pulling out. At the end he said his arm really ached). My big fish suddenly made for the little cut out to my right where there was a bit of rubbish sticking up; and it snagged me!

A minute later it was still visible, flapping about on the surface, so I gingerly made my way up past the building site I had created with my gear, and went up the bank to get my 12-foot long hook. But by the time I had fished about in the water with it the fish had gone and I got back my rig minus the size 16 hook. Back in the shallow swim and the fish had now gone.

A better finish
The last 30 minutes was better, in fact I started a third net, just to see what I could catch. Corn in the right margin was the method now, and I had about nine fish which weighed 17 lb, still losing the odd one. I am sure hemp got the fish feeding; and if they hadn't fought so hard I could have had a lot more. I can't remember fish of that size fighting so hard - they must be getting ready to spawn. 

Dave Garner had 69 lb 8 oz on a waggler.

The weigh in

I was first to weigh - 91 lb 3 oz, which I thought would be well down the list, as there are clearly a lot of carp  in the lake, and conditions were not bad. But I was slow packing away in the heat and I didn't catch up with the scales until they were weighing Roy.  A look at the sheet made me blink in astonishment - I was in fact top on my bank. But Kevin had weighed 180 lb, with every fish taken on cat meat. Roy totalled 144 lb 13 oz, although losing 6 lb over two of his nets as the limit on Kingsland is 50 lb. And when last man Dave Garner weighed 69 lb 8 oz I realised I had done much better than I thought, and was third overall.

Marks out of ten
It sounds strange, but I haven't been used to aiming for big catches recently, and it was a bit of a surprise that I was getting a lot of touches at times. Lots were liners, but on the whole I managed to wait intil I sensed that the fish had taken the bait properly. So although a better angler would have had nore fish, I give myself 7/10, and will be more positive in the weeks to come. I perhaps should have used bugger lumps of cat meat - most were taken on the small lumps from the Co-op cat meat satchets, but na big lump did work well when I put one on. 

I should have gone into my magin much earlier - a lesson I must remember from now on. Interestingly the two best fish came in more quickly than the two-pounders. So if I'd managed to find the better fish I could have ended with double my weight.

Dick Warrener

Good to see Dick Warrener come down to watch the weigh in - he's been experimenting by trying to cut his finger nails with an electric saw. The experiment was not a success. But he hopes to be back on the bank in the next couple of weeks.

My next match is Friday on Elm at Decoy, with temperatures forecast to be up to 28. No idea how I will fish.  I'd like the East bank around peg 15 or 16.

MUSSELS
Just seen a photograph of frozen cooked mussels on Facebook posted by Woodside Fishery (wherever that is), stating that mussels are banned, that lots of them in the water may rot, and stating that uncooked mussels may hold bacteria harmful to freshwater fisheries.

Now any fishery can make whatever rules it likes, but I have never heard of anyone putting in large numbers of mussels as loose-feed, as that obviously reduces your chances of a fish taking your bait. I tend to fish half a mussel and just put in the other half, as do all the anglers I know, with many not putting in any mussls at all.

In addition, who would want to fish with uncooked mussels when cooked are so easily available from Tescos, and so much firmer? Did the fishery realise that the photo was of cooked mussels?

THE RESULT

John Garner's match is May 24th!

 Just a note, before I write my blog about Fenland Rods' match at Kingsland, about John Garner's invitation. It is this coming Sunday, May 24, NOT as on my original list. That was compiled 18 months ago and the expected date was May 31st, but obviously John had to alter it. I have announced this a couple of times at the draw, but it's easy to forget to alter your calendar several hours later when you get home.It's on Six-Island, with forecasted temperatures of 28C, so take your sun-cream.

A hat-trick of failures

Peg 13, Jenny's, Tunnel Barn Farm
This was a 60-entry match at Tunnel Barn Farm, near Warwick, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Maggot Drowners internet angling forum, of which I am a member. And it was good to put faces to several of the members I had never met. I stopped over at a B&B the previous night, at a farmhouse I had stayed at before, with Martin Parker. I prefer B&Bs to hotels, as I can always tuck my van away behind something, so it can't be seen from the road. In this case you just have to avoid the chickens!

A Hobbit house
The place is like a Hobbbit house - built in the 1640s (the barn I parked near was built even earlier), with ceilings so low I doubt whether Peter Crouch could stand up straight in any of them, and doorways not much over five feet high. I bumped my head just once coming downstairs. In addition the floor boards are obviously all original - thick oak, with knotholes everywhere (no carpets in the bedroom), and they creak in places. Quite memorable...unlike the match.

The match
I had a long conversation with one angler on Canal lake the previous day. He had 88 lb on maggots fishing shallow, which is what most of the competitors would have been expecting, as the place is full of F1s. So, armed with four pints of maggots I drove to my peg on Jenneys, which is the lake I would have chosen as I've done well twice there in the past.

A local who is a very good angler spoke to me before the start, at which point a little breeze started blowing towards me, across the corner where I was pegged, giving me a little ripple. We both agreed that it was a good sign. Then the match began, and for an hour I never saw a fish caught. The breeze was quite cold, but I fed maggots out to the middle for two hours, in which time I had one F1 from my left margin on luncheon meat. I don't think the angler on my right had a fish.

The lake here was 13 metres across, so obviously I tried the far margin without a bite. Then it was on to the shallow swim...and there was nothing there! Slowly I realised that when the wind died down and the surface was flat calm I was gettng small liners, so the fish were obviously in my left margin, where there were reeds. But when the ripple came all liners stopped. The right margin was bare bank and horribly bobbly, and I never had a bite there.

Last hour was best
In the last two hours I had two or three F1s from the left margin on maggot, then went long to the next platform on the right where there was a small bunch of reeds, and had two or three there. I ended with seven F1s, a 3 lb carp, a small bream and a tiny perch for 20 lb, which was almost last on the lake, and the angler on my right had 14 lb for plumb last. 

I'm sure the cold wind, light thought it was, blowing straight into my margins, put the fish off. A match to forget.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Spratts match, Willows, Decoy, Wed, May 6
I couldn't fish this match. Kev Lee won it with 165 lb 4 oz from peg 21, taking carp to 12 lb on cat meat, paste and mussels, from the margins. John Garner was second with 83 lb 7 oz, best fish 14 lb, also on cat meat and paste close in. Bob Walker, peg 25, was third, fishing cat meat, paste and corn, best fish 8 lb.

THE RESULT

1 Peter Harrison            71 lb 10 oz
3 Roy Whitwell             70 lb
5 Graham Ward             11 lb 10 oz
7 Mike Rawson             29 lb 12 oz
9 Peter Spriggs              68 lb 12 oz
11 Neil Paas                  75 lb 12 oz      4th
13 Trevor Cousins         22 lb
15 Dave Hobbs              30 lb 5 oz
17 Mick Ramm                5 lb 4 oz
19 Bob Barrett               42 lb 3 oz
21 Kevin Lee               165 lb 4 oz        1st
23 John Garner              83 lb 7 oz        2nd
25 Bob Walker              81 lb 6 oz         3rd

  0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Peg 9, Horseshoe, Decoy

Peg 9, with the wind cutting across from the right.

A Fenland Rods match, and Stinky in the shop said that earlier that morning the first three pegs had been black with fish. But I couldn't draw there, could I? No - pegs roughly from 6 round to 10 were right in the strong, cold NE wind, so of course I drew 9. which can be brilliant. BUT I had accidentally left my rods behind, and the margins here are so short, which matters not in Summer when the big carp come close in, but today was not Summer!

Again, this won't take long. 😞 Before the match started I had to go back to the van for an extra jumper, as it was bitterly cold in the wind. I found that my margins rolled down quickly from the bank, effectively giving me well over four feet at the bottom, though I found a small flat area near peg 8's platform (which was unoccupied) about three feet deep. But this meant fishing into the strong wind, which is never easy.

Only a few minutes in, and Dave Garner is playing a fish on his waggler rod.

                 How about that, then?                

A good start
I started on corn out at eight metres, in over five feet of water, and had a tench; then an F1; then a carassio, all very quickly. On my right Dave Garner had three nice carp on meat also quickly. Then bites stopped for both of us.

Meanwhile Kevin Lee on my left had a fish on feeder, then a carp or two in his left margin, then he started catching out at about eight metres, where he had four feet of water, while I had well over five feet on the same line, and couldn't get a bite.

Foulhooked?
In the next three or four hours I hooked a couple of fish in the left margin which were probably foulhooked, as they both came off; then with an hour to go a small carp took a bunch of maggots on the drop near platform 9. Facing the wind made it feel like Winter as the wind hurtled across the corner, and I eventually had to turn back and fish to my left.

With 20 minutes to go I hooked three carp out at eight metres on cat meat, losing two, which I clearly saw - one was about 6 lb and the other over 10 lb. I managed to land just one, about 6 lb.

  A good un for Allan Golightly, third
with 67 lb 1 oz from peg 1.

Thrashed!

Kevin, on my left,  had thrashed me with 75 lb, while the match was won by Roy Whitwell on peg 4, fishing  up to 2+2 out on a pole, and ending with 109 lb 2 oz. He had doubted the wisdom of pegging swim 14, as it's usually left out because of excessive lilly beds. But today round that side of the lake the temperature must have been at least 10 degrees warmer than in my corner, no lillies were showing except across the far side, and I wished I was there!

Mel Lutkin's 15 lb carp takes
the lead in our Big-Fish
competition.

Mike Rawson - 56 lb 9 oz.

 

I weighed in 17 lb 1 oz, for almost last, though yet again I beat the angler on my right, Dave Garner, who was next to last. Another match for me to forget.

Roy Whitwell used three nets.
It was like the Bahamas
on his side of the lake!

Roy took most of his fish
on the pole.



 

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Peg 3, Yew, Decoy

Yet again a strong Northerly put a big Raspberry Ripple on our lake. I would have wanted a peg towards the far end, or either of the two corner pegs 1 or 30...and I got peg 3. Roy Whitwell on 5 didn't fancy our chances of having a good catch, particularly since the far end was calm, sheltered by the end bank, and that half of the lake caught the wind much less than our end. The fish don't like  that cold wind on their backs at the moment. And it must be playing havoc with their spawning preparations.

I wad looked at the forecast and was in full Winter gear, wit thermal underwear and lots of layers, so I didn't feel really cold, but I put up my umbrella to my left, just in case the rain came as it had at home the previous day, when the temperature must have fallen ten degrees in ten seconds when the rain came. I can't ever remember seeing such a dramatic change in the weather. My fingers were numb in seconds.

There are still a few ide in the lake.

The match
A fish first cast for me! An F1 took a white wafter on my hybrid feeder, but it was almost three hours before I got my second... That was a carassio on a full Method feeder. The third fish was a 6 lb carp on a maggot feeder. To my left Roy Whitwell, "The Wizard with his Wod", had five fish halfway through, but added several very late on a pole in the margins. I also added some late on a pole in the margins - tiny perch and roach, followed by roach on maggots on a hybrid feeder.

Down towards the other end they had a lot of fish, including some close-in during that last hour. The threatened thunderstorms never arrived although it rained a few times, and the wind calmed down just as the match ended (as it does!).

Mick Ramm had one fish, 9 lb 4 oz, 
which was foulhooked in the last
half-hour!

On peg 30 I could see John Garner fishing really hard, taking one fish in his right margin and a few others fishing very long to his end bank. On my right Graham Ward, fishing mainly a feeder, had one carp in the last half hour.

It's Kevin again
The match was won by Kevin Lee on peg 15, fishing cat meat on 2+2 and then in his margins. Put Kevin on a peg where there are big carp and he always does the business. The top four spots went to the end four pegs on our bank, I finished with 10 lb 4 oz, and YET AGAIN beat the angler on my right, who this time came last.

Peter Harrison watches the 
scales as they weigh his
88 lb 13 oz, for third place.

Trevor Cousins managed to mug
 five big carp in his 91 lb 7 oz
second-placed catch.

My next match is on Sunday on Kingsland small lake, with Fenland Rods. The new rules ban luncheon meat, and state that if there are fewer than 13 pegs booked they must be used consecutively, which will obviously apply on Sunday. I'm not bothered - I will fish any peg quite happily, even peg 1 which our club so often leaves out because there are reeds there. The forecast is for temperatures to rise. Yippee.

THE RESULT

East bank                                            West bank

30 John Garner     49 lb 13 oz        1 Graham Ward        8 lb 9 oz    
28 Bob Walker    22 lb 14 oz        3 Mac Campbell     10 lb 4 oz     
26 Bob Barrett      22 lb 5 oz         5 Roy Whitwell     28 lb 13 oz
24 Neil Paas        50 lb 7 oz           7 Mick Ramm        9 lb 3 oz
                                                       9 Peter Harrison  88 lb 13 oz    3rd
20 Peter Spriggs    24 lb 13 oz     11 Trevor Cousins    91 lb 7 oz 2nd
                                                     13 Dave Hobbs       58 lb 11 oz  4th
16 Mike Rawson   DNW             15 Kevin Lee        115 lb 3 oz    1st

  

Catching up

I've catching up to do after being away playing bowls at Potters' Five Lakes complex. For the third time in a row Margaret and myself reached the semi-finals, only to be beaten by the overall winners. But yet again we will be invited to enter December's  event to qualify for the Champion of Champions final, played at Hopton during the World Championship in January. The chances of our getting there are probably quite low!

I've also spent many hours tinkering with my new motorised trolley, and I think, that with Mike Rawson's help (he has a similar model) I'm ready to use it in anger. My next match is on Friday at Tunnel Barn Farm, Warwickshire, in a Maggot Drowner's 25th anniversary event, with 62 competing.

Incidentally, I now have my old motorised trolley for sale, which stopped working a week ago. It's a Preston barrow modified by the addition of a second-hand Powacaddy golf trolley. I've had it tested, and it just needs a new Speed Control box (cost £70). If anyone is interested in it at £100, get in touch.

Magpie peg 9, Sunday, Apr 25

Blazing sun all day, with virtually no wind, greeted us.

This was a Fenland Rods match held in extreme heat ten days ago. I had a good start with an 8 lb carp and an F1 on luncheon meat at 8 metres in the first 20 minutes, but then things got hard. On my right Roy Whitwell had an early fish on the feeder, and another two or three, until all bites dried up. When he eventually had another I went back to my van and took out my feder rod. By the time I'd got back, baited up, and cast to the island, Roy had had three more! I had one quite quickly; Callum on my left had one, and then all bites stopped again.

Roy Whitwell's first fish (probably the first taken in the match).

Caster fished shallow at 11.5 metres saw me hook six fish in an hour, but I landed only three. Then another came from the meat swim, and two late on on meat in the left margin. And that was my lot. Roy had some from his margin in the last hour and I finished up being well beaten on what had been a difficult day for everybody.

Callum beat me by 2 lb thanks to a last-minute carp landed after the whistle. 😡😡

The weigh in
The pegs from 3 to 11 took the top places, with Roy Whitwell wining with 83 lb 7 oz, and my eight fish going 32 lb 1 oz for fifth (beaten by Callum who had a last-minute carp which he landed after the whistle). The sudden boost in temperature that day must have been the reason for the relatively-poor sport (over 300 lb had won from peg 16 ten days earlier, with 100 lb bags common).

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Here are two Spratts results from matches I was unable to fish:

Beastie, Mon, April 20:

3 Dave Hobbs            67 lb 15 oz

4 Trevor Cousins        35 lb 4 oz

5 Roy Whitwell          84 lb 8 oz        4th

7 Rod Melnyk            17 lb 15 oz

13 Graham Ward        32 lb 9 oz

15 Neil Paas               48 lb 14 oz

17 Mick Ramm            9 lb 8 oz

18 Peter Spriggs       102 lb 12 oz    2nd

21 Mike Rawson        33 lb 13 oz

22 Bob Walker            37 lb 6 oz

23 Peter Harrison        140 lb 4 oz    1st

24 Kevin Lee            93 lb 11 oz      5th

29 John Garner        94 lb 13 oz      3rd   

Peter Harrison took mainly F1s and a few carp on 2+2 with meat. Peter Spriggs also had mainly F1s, and skimmers, close-in on paste and meat (not together).  John Garner also fished close in with meat and paste, taking F1s, and carp to 8 lb.

Oak, Tues, April 28

The match started in sun, and as soon as the whistle went a bitterly-cold wind blew up. Peter Harrison won from peg 1 with just eight carp, best 14 lb, weighing 80 lb 5 oz, on pole and meat against the end bank.

Roy 'The Wizard' Whitwell was second with 79 lb 1 oz from peg 9, taking his fish on his favourite feeder and wafter and then on pole at 2+2 with meat.

Peter Spriggs was third from peg 30, opposite Peter Harrison, with 62 lb 7 oz, taking carp to 12 lb close in on meat and paste.

Neil Paas tried a different aproach, using mussel, and apparently targetting  mallard. He failed, but one managed to pull off halfway along Yew, which was strange because the match was on Oak.