Some undeserved luck for me on Beastie

Peg 17, Beastie, Sun, Apr 5

I fancy Roy Whincup tut-tutted and shook his head when he saw I had drawn peg 17, on the spit, in this JV club match. Roy had sat there on Friday and won the lake with a little over 100 lb, but he was good enough to tell me how he had fished - a feeder to the aerator then into the left margin. Next thing, when I am at my peg, Roy walks down to me - he had drawn next door on 18, next to the bridge.

The wind was already strong, but Roy said it had been worse than that on Friday (a day when Lee Kendall lost three Number fours, two of which were blown in). During the day it did get distinctly stronger, coming from the front/right, and it was very difficult to get decent presentation on a pole rig to the right.

A bit rough for those of us facing the wind!

I started on a maggot feeder towards the aerator, and within a few minutes a plump 2 lb F1 was nestling in my net; I had chosen to use the small net because of the wind. In the next hour just two gudgeon came to that tactic, so I had a look on the pole, using a 1.5 gram rig. I gave up fishing to the right very quickly, and had a look in the left margin, where it was about five feet deep, but with a nice hard bottom two metres out.

Two bream

That margin swim brought two bream and and a 3 lb F1 in the next hour, but then I went almost three hours, fishing a small piece of cat meat or a grain of corn, with nothing except two gudgeon, foulhooked on the cat meat! I also went on the feeder, with a hybrid and wafter without result - not even a liner.  However I was sure that there were fish around as every few minutes when I was on the pole the float would dip, and even in the big waves I was sure it was a bite, or a liner.

I was using short tops, which definitely stiffened the pole in the wind, and I made a mental note of that for future reference. 

A swim farther out

I'd seen Roy catch on both feeder and pole, fishing to his right margin, where I fancied there was just a little shelter from the very worst of the wind. To my left Peter Harrison had struggled, but then he had three or four fish fairly quickly, fishing farther out than I had been doing. So I had a look out at four sections, and first drop with a small piece of cat meat (in silver sachets from the Co-op), the float slid under and I was playing a common about 9 lb.

 I hadn't bothered to add the short Number Four, and actually ended holding just the short top to land the fish. With five feet of rig it wasn't ideal, but I got away with it. I didn't fancy moving to get my short top out of my holdall in the wind, as it was so easy to dislodge the gear behind me, which was wedged down to stop anything blowing away, so I carried on regardless (now there's a good name for a film!)

I try a bigger piece of cat meat

No more came from that swim, though, so I went into the left margin again. But I was never sure exactly where my hemp and corn was finishing up, as the wind was so strong. Still, I fancied I could see occasional movement on the float, and I wondered if the wind was creating an undercurrent  next to the bank and moving my bait around.  So in something approaching desperation I put on a really big piece of cat meat, sure that this would hold bottom, though not confident at all, and Wad'y'know, I had a bite!

That turned out to be another carp, about 8 lb, and now there were just about ten minutes left. On went another big piece of cat meat and I missed what looked like a good bite even before it hit bottom. Next drop saw another bite and another good fish on; seconds later the match ended. 

It was several minutes before that fish was in the net, played on 14-16 Matrix Slik, and its tail was hanging over the edge as I pulled the net in. It must have been at least 12 lb.

The weigh in

Playing that fish had made me even later than usual packing my stuff away, and I had no idea what anyone had weighed when they weighed me (or rather my fish) at 39 lb 12 oz. Then Roy told me he had over 70 lb. And it wasn't until the money was paid out that I found I had won my five-peg section by default, as Roy ended second and I had beaten Peter Harrison (pleased  about that) and the two to Roy's right. Kev Bell won the lake from peg 30 with 78 lb 15 oz.

Nine fished Horseshoe, won by Ian Frith on 13, fishing to the bank on his right! That's unusual, as it's a very short stretch of bank, but peg 12 wasn't it. He used casters and took all but three of his fish there. Chris Saunders weighed two carp for 25 lb 13 oz, and the biggest was weighed at 17 lb 13 oz!

Marks out of ten

I was pleased, afterwards, as although I finished well down the list, I feel that anyything won in a JV match is a feather in my proverbial cap. But later I realised that I was lucky in that I hadn't thought about the underwater turbulance enough. I could have used paste, and I should certainly have tried heavier lumps of cat meat earlier. I didn't try worm, either, nor a bunch of maggots - anything would have been worth trying. I did try mussel, which was probably too light, and it never brought me a bite.

My excuse is that in these high winds, when the platform is over the water, it takes time to stand, turn round, and carefully walk back, over pole sections, landing net handles, and assorted bags, to get stuff, and it wasn't possible for me to have everything with easy reach. But at least I had two rods made up, and several top kits, so I had done my best before the match started to give myself several options.

Bearing in mind the conditions I have to give myself 5/10, and say I was lucky to look around and pick up that first big lump of cat meat. But everybody has luck at some time (even when it's perhaps not deserved). Next match Friday on Cedar when I think I will concentrate on my short tops sgain (though I always have a few long tops with me as well).

Dastardly Damson!

Peg 8, Damson, Wed, Apr 2
What rotten weather we can get in the UK.  The forecast was for mild 4mph winds strengthening to 7mph in the afternoon. But at the draw it was a really cold wind that greeted us, and Dick Warrener and myself agreed it was around 10 mph; by the end of the match it was sunny and quite hot. No wonder the fish are confused.

With 14 of us fishing this Spratts match the peg we all fancied was 14, on the end bank sheltered from the NW wind, and that fell to Dick. I was drawn peg 8, and didn't really know what it might be like. In fact it was s-l-o-w at the start, except that Neil Paas on 6 had four on a feeder cast to the far bank, in the first half hour. My bait was icy cold when I touched it.

It was too cold to take pictures at the start - but
this is what it looked like by the finish!

Slowly I realised that with the wind putting a nice ripple on pegs 6 down to 1, my swim had hardly any ripple, unless I cast towards the far bank about 60 yards away, while pegs 10, 11 and 12 had a cast to the island.

Usually on Damson there are fish to be caught in the shallow margins, but not today. It took me half an hour to get one, to my right, on maggot. Then things slowed up (!). I tried a hybrid and corn towards the far bank; then a bomb; then it was back on the pole, which produced several tiny roach and one carp from the deep water. which was, surprisingly, only six feet deep. 

By halfway I had four fish on the pole; then the sun came out and small carp started basking in the reeds to my right - sunning themselves, but not interested in any food. To rub it in, Dick now took off his jacket and sat there, happy in the sun while most of the rest of us still had our hoods up.

Four more small carp came on corn in the margins. By now the sun was really hot, and more fish came to the surface, lying there immovable. I had two bites in the last five minutes, both missed.  A terrible day by Decoy's standards, but what do you expect at this time of year?

Dick worked hard on small fish for
his winning 42 lb 15 oz.

The weigh in
I thought that with eight fish I'd not done bad, and later realised that seven carp and F1s was probably as much as anybody else had caught from the margins. The first three pegs all had over 20 lb, and I can't put that down to the ripple - they are three of the best in the club. 

Trevor Cousins in fact mugged all of his 24 lb 9 oz, except for one roach, on a long pole in the last two hours. With reeds opposite at about 16 metres he could see fish just under the surface in their reflection, which I couldn't - but he managed top catch them on pellet shallow (which I sure I wouldn't have been able to). I weighed in 13 lb 11 oz for ninth, but Dick whupped us all with 42 lb 15 oz, and he lost some time walking about when his back started to play up. Well done, Dick - a hard-fought win for you.

Next match on Beastie on Sunday, which is my last with JV club as Fenland Rods begin their season the next Sunday. The water must still be cold, though Friday saw some decent weights from Beastie with one over 100 lb. If we don't get a frost it might not be too bad. But wind is forecast from storm Dave; nothing new there, then!

THE RESULT

1 Peter Spriggs            27 lb 15 oz        2nd
2 Trevor Cousins        24 lb 9 oz           3rd
3 Roy Whitwell           24 lb                  4th
4 Peter Chilton            19 lb 13 oz
5 Graham Ward        DNW
6 Neil Paas                 21 lb 5 oz
7 Mick Ramm              4 lb 3 oz
8 Mac Campbell         13 lb 11 oz
9 Mike Rawson          DNW
10 Peter Harrison       19 lb 13 oz
11 Martin Parker     DNW
12 Bob Walker          21 lb 11 oz
13 Bob Barrett            7 lb 13 oz
14 Dick Warrener      42 lb 15 oz            1st

A right royal thrashing on Cedar

Peg 5, Cedar, Sun, Mar 29

Ten of us were on Cedar in this JV club match, and nine on Elm. The wind was yet again quite strong and cold, but mercifully over our right shoulders, though we had rain halfway through. I started on a maggot feeder cast to the far side, and had one or two liners. But after about 25 minutes, with Dan Pettigrew on my right having one on feeder, I changed to a hybrid feeder with a hard pellet; then a yellow wafter; then a pink one.. 

Yet again cold, dull, and very windy.

After three hours Chris Saunders on my left had had one carp on the pole, and Dan had had half-a-dozen or so; and I had had a few roach on pole and maggot (as had Chris), but no sign of anything better.

Dan Pettigrew lands his first carp.

 I was casting my feeder right to the far bank, which is where Dan had been casting, and then a shorter cast brought a 5 lb carp on an orange wafter. Later a near-3 lb bream came from the deep margin to my left on pole, and that was my last fish, though I hooked a lost a good fish ten minutes from the end on my hybrid feeder.

Chris Saunders plays the first of his two carp.

Dan Pettigrew with part of his
second-placed 84 lb 19 oz catch..

In the last hour Chris had another carp, on cat meat on pole, and ended with just those two. Meanwhile Dan had been picking up the occasional carp and I reckoned he had about 12. He never had a good spell, and was having to wait for 20 minutes for most of his takes; sometimes giving up and trying the pole, though he never had a fish on it.

On corner peg 13 Roy Whitwell found three carp on a hard pellet, and a change to an orange wafter brought more, though he had a long blank spell when someone in the match on Oak started walking up and down the bank, and then decided to pack up two hours from the end. Roy never had a fish while that was going on, but he ended with a winning 90 lb 6 oz, with Dan second on 84 lb 10 oz, and my 8 lb 14 oz was next to last.

  Roy Whitwell took all of his  winning   
90 lb 6 oz catch on the feeder.

The verdict

This happens at this time of year - the carp are still gathered in some spots, and I don't think I fished badly. The lesson is that if you do start finding fish, don't do anything rash; Dan was patient and thoroughly deserved his second spot. Well done, Dan, and winner Roy.  The Elm result is also below.

My next match is on Thursday on Damson, where fish might be in the shallow margins in numbers if the weather has been warm enough. Otherwise it's out on a top two or beyond, into eight feet of water. 

A bitterly cold Six-Island

Peg 13, Six-Island
Wednesday was the day when the wind blew, it was bitterly cold, and we had hail. Twelve of us fished this Spratts club match, and just three of the swims would have wind into the faces of the poor sods who were pegged there. Of course I was one of them, though it was the swim I'd had on Sunday, so everyone assumed I knew how to extract fish from it. I didn't, of course. BUT I was drawn as Golden Peg - much good that would do me, I thought..

Peg 13 is in the bottom bowl, which is always a likely good draw, though the longest walk. I left the umbrella in my van because with the NW wind into that bank from the left, at about 45 degrees, it would have been no help at all, even if I could get it up. So I set up a feeder rod, plus a 1gm float for  2+3, and a heavier margin float for cat meat.

The day was dull, though we had a very occasional flash of susnshine, but I was swaying about so much in the wind I didn't fancy getting any pictures in focus, so the phone stayed on my side tray all day.

Peter has an early fish
I put out a little hemp and casters to 2+3 and immediately went onto the feeder, and within minutes Peter Spriggs,to my right on 11, had a carp on his feeder rod. I gave it 25 minutes, with just two tiny liners, and tried the pole. That was interesting - with wind from the left the most comfortable position was facing to the right (obviously) because it was REALLY cold. But within half an hour the gusts had increased, and were hitting my pole absolutely sideways on, swinging it about, so I had to give that swim up.

It was easier fishing in front of me, or facing directly into the wind - I could hold the pole much better. But I knew I couldn't keep that up for many minutes because of the cold, so after another fruitless look on the feeder I came back to 2+2 on the pole, to the right. Nothing on expander or corn or double corn (which I hoped wopuld stay still in the turbulence). Not a touch. And then we welcomed hail for a few uncomfortable minutes. 

I had heavier rigs with me, to combat the wind, but I honestly believe that if there were fish down there interested in the bait I would have seen at least one bite or liner. So I didn't change. But I did have a look in the right margin, without feeling that it would produce...and it didn't.

Peter has more fish 😒
Three-and-a-half hours had gone and I was biteless. I'd seen Peter catch two carp out at about 2+2 (in fact when I walked up to him he said he had a total of four, so my goose was already cooked). To my left John Garner on 15 had lost three carp foulhooked, fishing to the corner; later he had a walk to get warm and said he had landed one about 8 lb.

Now I had another look on cat meat in the cut-out to my right, where I had had four fish on Sunday. The surface was really rough, and I think there was an undertow caused by water hitting the bank, and I wasn't really sure where casters would finish up. So I put in just half-a-dozen lumps of cat meat as well, hoping they would stay in the swim, and dropped in my rig. Nothing for 15 minutes, but then I started feeding a little more heavily with corn and hard pellet. 

Fish on; fish off
Within thirty seconds I had a bite; fish on; fish off; and a scale came fluttering back to me. But at least I knew now that there were carp down there, in about two feet of water. Soon after, I had another bite - not a dive-away, but the float seemed to move sideways. I struck and a big fish was on.

I was using my smaller, 18-inch net because the bigger Drennan 20-inch net is so difficult to hand in strong winds - the wind catches the net as you put it over the water. That was a wise move on my part; as was the decision to use short tops for this margin swim, with strong elastic. I chose the Matrix Slik 18-20 red, and it handled that big fish beautifully in the wind.

Within a minute the fish was circling my net, but I had to be certain of getting the head in first, of course. It was over the net but before I could lift it, the fish - around 10 lb - was blown just past it. I lifted the pole hoping to get it to drift back towards me, but it splashed on the surface, facing away from me, and I had to let it do another circuit so it went in headfirst, which it did.

Fouhooked? Not this one!
I mention this because afterwards Roy Whitwell, opposite on 5, said he thought I had foulhooked some of my fish. I can see why - a fish splashing while facing away from me probably looked as though it was hooked in the tail. And yes, I did catch more - four good carp, one of which was foulhooked in the pectoral fish (the only one foulhooked), followed by an F1. All took cat meat in roughly the same spot, which I could reach on the short top and short Number Three (though I added the Number Four to fish). I also lost one more.

Tuned in

The bites were all a bit 'iffy', but I felt I was tuned in to them, and had enough confidence to strike when I felt something was not normal, even though I couldn't describe exactly how the float had behaved. Then there was a lull, and I tried in the slightly deeper water, with no luck. But moving a metre towards the bush brought me another plump, hard-fighting F1. 

With 20 minutes to go I was a bit nervous going any closer to the bush, as its roots are obviously in the water, but I tried it, and had one more bite, which resulted in another fish almost 10 lb. I had to grit my teeth after hooking it, but using the technique taught to me by Ben Townsend I quickly had it under control But did take my time  actually getting it in to the net, as the wind was still so strong. That went into my second net, and was quickly followed by another F1.

I was hoping for another, with ten minutes left, but it never came, and I assumed that although I had about 35 lb in the first net and 12 lb in the second net, Peter Spriggs on 11 would have had more fish in the afternoon, and would definitely beat me. And of course I expected that the anglers with a kinder wind, behind them, would also have lots of fish. I wasn't unhappy to hear the final shout, as concentrating in cold like that is very wearing.

The weigh in

I didn't see much of the weigh in. I had three rigs (one was a light one for the margin which I didn't use)  to pack away, plus the rod and a load of baits - expanders, hard pellets, casters, hemp, corn and dead maggots to take home and re-freeze (I always do this).

Leaving my trolley halfway to the van I turned round and followed the scales back to my peg. On the way I was asked what I had, and I said possibly 50 lb. "You'll need that, as Graham Ward had 48 lb" said Roy Whitwell. I was surprised that was the biggest weight so far. Graham was on the opposite bank on peg 8 and I hadn't seen him catch anything, mainly because I was concentrating on my own swim! 

Peter Spriggs had weighed 37 lb 13 oz, so he had obviously had a difficult afternoon; and I weighed 50 lb 15 oz to lead the match. But pegs 17 to 25 were yet to weigh, and I expected fish to have come from there. In fact Trevor Cousins was top of those swims with 25 lb 3 oz from peg 24 and I was left as the winner. Graham Ward spoke to me as were were loading up and reminded me I was on the Golden Peg, which I had forgotten about. So extra shekels were paid out to me.

Marks out of ten

I'd give anybody 9/10 for just sticking it out in the face of that wind. Using cat meat definitely stopped the bait swinging about too much in the undertows. I perhaps should have tried sweetcorn in the margins (that's what Graham used for his 48 lb 1 oz) but didn't because I thought it would be a bit light. The best thing was that I didn't give up, though after three hours I definitely felt like going home. So I give myself 9.5 out of ten. I had a good peg and eventually, after foulhooking that first fish, had enough confidence to fish it hard. 

I realised eventually that I hadn't plumbed up that margin properly, and I felt that it started to get deeper farther along towards the bush. It was difficult to tell because it could have been the swell taking the float down. But next time in that swim I will plumb it better at the start. Next match is Sunday on Elm and probably Cedar; Then Thursday on Damson, where it will be interesting to see whether fish will come into the shallows, because the water there must be quite cold.

THE RESULT

6 Roy Whitwell               32 lb 8 oz        4th

8 Graham Ward               48 lb 1 oz        2nd

9 Mick Ramm                  6 lb 10 oz

11 Peter Spriggs             37 lb 13 oz      3rd

13 Mac Campbell           50 lb 15 oz       1st

15 John Garner               17 lb 1 oz

17 Bob Walker                  8 lb  

18 Dave Hobbs                DNW

20 Bob Barrett                  13 lb 9 oz

22 Peter Harrison               9 lb 5 oz

24 Trevor Cousins            25 lb 3 oz

25 Kevin Lee                      8 lb 2 oz 

The fish are moving about on Six Islands, Decoy

Just got to show you the Bargain Of The Winter. In December my local M&B store were selling off viola plants at 20p for 12. None were in flower, of course, and they looked a bit manky, so I lashed out and bought one pack. Last of the Big Spenders, that's me. Now, three months later, and transplanted to a big old pot that held something that had died (can't remember what), they are looking just splendid. So here's a picture, and a few others, of the plants that lift my heart on murky days when the wind is biting. 

Twenty-pence worth of violas!

Pansies which survived the Winter.

Violas planted October!

An assortment

Peg 13, Six-Island
Roy Whincup looked at me in envy when I showed him my peg - 13 on Six-Island. Yet another flier! Very happy with that, and it was warm enough for me to leave my Imax jacket in the van when I trundled my trolley down, beside Four Islands, to the swim. The wind was very light, which meant that what ripple did come was only small. But the water felt sort of dead. Others in this JV match were on Horseshoe.

I had wondered whether to take my short tops or the long ones, as the depth here is rarely above four feet; in the end I compromised by putting in five short tops with assorted elastics. These would be for fishing the margins. I get nervous fishing short tops out at 10 metres or more if they have heavy elastics in (14 upwards) because a big lump can bottom you out in no time (especially if foulhooked), and that is when poles get broken. I've never broken my pole on a fish in 30 years of fishing commercials containing carp, and I don't want to start now.

Feeder then pole
So after putting out a small Method feeder for a couple of casts, and seeing Ernie get an early fish on the pole, I went tout to 13 metres, with 14-16 Matrix Slik through a long top. Much good that did me! Hardly anything was being caught, though on my left Ernie Lowbridge had two or three more F1s, and then mugged a big carp, while opposite me on peg 6 Ian Frith (who is better than I will ever be) had a few fish  out at 14 metres.

No matter if I couldn't catch - I could watch Ian Frith!

I hit one fish briefly on a 6mm pellet over micros; probably foulhooked. Then I tried in both margins. By now I think every angler I could see had looked in the margins, which is unusual because they are usually left for at least the first half of the match; so I knew everyone was probably struggling.

On to 4mm expander
I was certainly struggling - halfway through the match all I had was two small roach on maggot in the deep margin to my right. And now Ernie started to catch one or two more. So I started another line at 2+3, towards Ernie when the water was an inch or two shallower. I know that it gets shallower as you go left towards corner peg 15, and several big fish were splashing along that bank. Perhaps they were in the shallower water, I reasoned.

I put a 4mm expander on the hook. In all honesty they were not the best - they had been frozen and thawed several times, were small and soft,  and I had taken them to loosefeed, expecting to fish 6mm expanders. But I picked out one I managed to get onto the 16 hook (I should have used size 18), and first drop hooked, and landed, a very welcome 2 lb F1.

They came to the feed
I spent the next 90 minutes managing to catch five more F1s, all on the 4mm expander, while the 6mm never brought a bite. Meanwhile Ernie was catching some, and he told me later he had to feed EVERY cast to bring a bite. I also got that impression, but stupidly I didn't keep doing it. I just couldn't believe that, on a day when bites were so difficult to get, they wanted feed. 

Opposite, Ian Frith also moved to a new swim and started to catch, still in the deeper water. And Ernie also shouted out to someone that he had just mugged a fish; several had come by in the first half iof the match, all moving right to left towards the shallower water.

Mugging and dobbing
It's worth spelling out, here, the difference between mugging and dobbing. Mugging is targetting moving fish, when a shallow rig is dropped in, often with no shot down the line, in front of a moving fish.

Dobbing is fishing shallow, usually with a conventional rig, and usually a distance, and hanging a bait above the bottom (perhaps even in midwater) and waiting for a bite. In the depths of winter bread (if allowed) is a favoured bait, and no loose feed is used. If maggots are used on the hook a few may be pinged out; but the idea of that is to attract fish only, not to try to get them feeding. The hope is that one unsupecting fish will be curious, swim past, and absent-mindedly suck in your bait, which happens surprisingly often. Unfortunately in my Winter swims the fish are TOO absent-minded, and just swim past!

Into the margins (too late)
Ninety minutes to go and, after landing the sixth F1, I felt I had to look in the shallow margins. There are hardly any reeds in the side at peg 13 - it's mainly bare bank, which is not ideal on a windless day when the probablility is that the fish need cover to move into shallow water. But I put in some dead maggots to the right, and sure enough eventually I saw light clouds of mud come up. So I dropped in  metre from the ban, using the short top with heavy elastic (around 20), which I needed as there's a bush in the margin there. 

First fish was a 3lb F1 on cat meat, followed by a 7 lb common carp. Then another big fish came off, and I should have tried the left margin but went back to the right. Several minutes went by without a bite and I was about to move when I saw mud coming up right against the bank. Shallowing up with cat meat to 18 inches brought another F1, and a little later back at 2.5 feet, I landed another 7 lb carp.

The bush between me an Ernie obscured my view while we were fishing. So I
 stretched my legs for a minute, camera in hand, so see him enjoying himself!  😔

The last few minutes passed without any more fish. I really should have moved, whenever I hooked a fish, to the left margin. But I was sure fish were there; however there's a big difference between fish being there and being sufficiently confident to feed. 

A move to the left margin would, I am sure, have given me a chance to keep catching. I kept looking at the angler to my right on 11, but saw him catch only on small fish on a pole and one carp, late on, on a feeder. There was a bush between me and Ernie, so I couldn't see exactly what he was using or how he was fishing. He told me later his baits were pellet or corn.

The weigh in
That was when Ernie told me had had to feed every drop in, while Ian Frith told me later that he, like me, had caught on 4mm pellet (both hard and expanders). Ian was top weight to me with 71 lb 9 oz, but the weights fell away badly to his left. Eddie McIlroy on favoured beg 8 had 12 lb 6 oz while Peter Harrison in the corner did not weigh! I was told later he had a roach.

Opposite Peter Harrison was Peter Molesworth, and I had seen him fishing hard all day, mainly out at 14 metres or more, targetting the end bank. A good second half had seen him end with 52 lb 13 oz, but the angler on 11 did not weigh.

Ernie - 83 lb 1 oz on a difficult day.

My fish went 32 lb 6 oz, but Ernie had 83 lb 1 oz to win, with Dan Pettigrew on peg 25 second on 81 lb 7 oz. That end has not fished well all Winter, but did start to produce last Friday. So I ended 8th, and felt that I had not disgraced myself, but have to admit the peg was better than that, and I should have had a proper look in the margins earlier. 

Horseshoe produced three weights over 100 lb, won on peg 13 by Andy Kew with 45 lb on a feeder cast to the aerator followed by the rest after he had seen the marginal reeds to his left shaking. He went in there on a pole, a metre out, but I'm not sure what bait he used.  I'm back on Six-Islands on Wednesday, but the forecast is for high winds, so in some swims long poles may not be fishable. 

I trap bream, barbel and carp on Elm (and some mice)

Oh, those meeces. Steve Tilsley has been baring his soul on Facebook after mice apparently ate nearly everything in his garage, his car, and his garden. The only thing they didn't eat was his pole...and he's not been catching much on that anyway. 

So I thought I'd bring to his attention (and to that of anyone else who has had mice in their midst) the best mouse traps I've ever found. They work EVERY TIME and have three huge advantages over the old type. 1) To release the (dead) offender just hold the trap over the bin and press the back; the mouse falls straight down. 2) Baiting the trap doesn't involve any possible chance that your fingers could be damaged; the bait is is a small cup which is taken out from the bottom of the trap, baited up, and then screwed back into the bottom (you can  see the  yellow bait in the picture). 3) To set the trap put it down and press the back lever. That's all - it sets automatically.

And because the bait is IN the little cup the little mouse has to climb up to it and put its little head down to lick it out. BANG. Job done. I don't know the name of the trap - it's made in China, and they come 12 in a box. Go on the internet and look for the packaging. 10/10.

Trevor Cousins thought he was being amusing when he said he'd pull out peg 1 for me in my first Spratts match of the season, on Elm. He'd read my last blog and saw that was the one peg I wanted to avoid. So in went his hand, into the bag, had a rustle around, and his sticky fingers brought out... peg 1. Lots of laughter from the other 15 blokes  I used to consider as mates! I might mave moaned a bit.

Peg 1, Elm
Then someone said that peg 1 had won the Friday Old, Codgers match with 100 lb. Then Roy Whitwell said yes, it had - but hthe winner was casting to the far bank with a feeder for most of his fish, and I couldn't do that today because...Roy Whitwell would be sitting there. So I had to make do with what has been called by others 'the worst peg on the complex.' 

Then, blow me, when I got to the swim, pegs 1 and opposite on 24 were almost flat calm, and the sun was shining, while a couple of pegs down a lovely big wave was being churned up by the stiff South-Westerly wind. And everyone knows how I love a piece of raspberry ripple, especially in the sun.

Sun and calm water - not a good combination. That's Roy Whitwell sitting opposite.
My main swim was in the reflection of the aerator at nearly 13 metres.

Early bites on a feeder
I earmarked four pole swims - out at 13 metres towards the aerator; a shallow swim at 2+3 next to the end bank on my right; a simple 2+3 in front of me; and the deep water two metres from the bank to my left, where I remembered I had caught fish previously on this peg. 

But first I started on the feeder with three dead red maggots in a hybrid feeder with micros, cast to the middle. That made a nasty splash so after ten minutes without a knock I changed it for a medium-sized Method feeder, the Preston ICS system meaning it took only secons to change. That entered the water with a nice small 'plop.'

A big fish. Wey-hey
First cast and I had a bite, hooked what seemed like a small fish, and two seconds later it came off. Second cast and I hit a bigger fish which also came off immediately. Third cast and a big fish threatened to take me round the post holding the aerator; I hung on, gritted my teeth, and mercifully the fish missed the post. Several minutes later I landed a beautiful 9 lb common carp, best of the day. Off the mark! And I changed the 18-inch landing net for a larger 20-inch model, because in that wind getting it into the net had been a bit hairy.

Next fish was a chunky 3 lb F1, and then I had a long spell with nothing. Opposite me Roy couldn't get even a liner, and eventually, at exactly the same time, we tried the pole. I went out to almost 13 metres where I had put in sicros and corn, fishing a flattish area a little shallower than the deepest spot, hoping that there wouldn't be as much silt there. With a 0.75 Tuff-Eye float and corn on the hook I had a fish fairly quickly - a 2 lb bream.

I kept looking longingly to my left, where they all had a lovely Raspberry Ripple.

Hemp and caster
Then came a 2 lb barbel on the corn, and immediately I started putting in hemp and casters, which I know barbel love. I probably wasn't going to do any good catching just barbel, but a) they are better than nothing, and b) they are very active fish, and if they started to root around for the casters it could attract carp. The water was still almost flat calm, but putting bait out was difficult as the wind blew my pole around as I shipped it out in my big pot.

I changed the hook bait to a bunch of five dead red maggots on the size 12 hook. I hooked one up the hook,one through the blunt end, two through the middle, and one through the pointy end. It ended looking absolutely horrible - a mess - because I've seen what maggots hooked all through the blunt end look like. They are quite un-natural. Mine looked like a bit like small ragged piece of meat.

A mixed bag
Anyway, that bait worked for me. I foulhooked a barbel, being left with a tiny silver scale. Then I landed a three or four carp around 5 lb, plus a 4 lb barbel, and another two bream. I had to fish three or four inches overdepth and gently pull the bait towards me, wait 30 seconds, and pulll it another few inches until the float was only a pimple on the surface. Bites saw it only just disappear - they were tiny bites indeed. After a dead spell I had a look in the other three pole swims and never had a touch of any kind; nor anything back on the feeder.

 So it was back to the pole, where I hooked a huge bream which shot straight out of the water and promptly threw the hook. One more bream came from the original swim, and I went into the deeper water just two metres to the left, having changed the orange tip which showed up against the reflection of the aerator for a black one now I was fishing in open water.

That move saw another bream, about 4 lb, and two smallish carp in the last half hour. I estimated I had between 50 lb and 60 lb - more than I had expected when I sat down. I had seen an occasional fish landed by the anglers to my left on the opposite bank, and had no real idea whether my catch was good or bad. But I was happy.

     Bob Barrett - 29 lb 15 oz, from peg 18.     

The weigh in
I had four rigs to put away, plus the rod, and it was slow because there's a small step down to the platform here, and I have to be so careful when stepping down. So  I hadn't put everything away when the scales came to me, as first to weigh. The first net went 43 lb and the last three fish, in my second net, weighed 13 lb - totalling 57 lb 11 oz. I then put my trolley into the van and  missed the first half of the weigh in.

When I caught them up on the opposite bank I saw why I had missed so many weighs -  the catches were quite small, and I was actually winning! Then came Peter Spriggs, who won Spratts' first match last week...and today he did the same.  He caught 91 lb 2 oz from peg16 and won again, taking his fish mainly on 2+3 on cat meat in front of him. Very well done, Pete the Meat.

Peter Spriggs won with a cracking catch on
a difficult day - 91 lb  2 oz, on cat meat.

No-one else beat me, so I ended second and the other top-five weights came from the last few pegs on my bank, in the wind. I noted that the carp I saw being weighed tended to be bigger than mine were - typically averaging around 7 lb. 

Marks out of ten
I sort of scrapped around, never managing to get two carp quickly. And I am certain that the hemp and caster kept fish interested. Most of my fish came within minutes of putting in bait, which was quite hard work in the wind. Even so I used less than a pint of casters, and less than a tin of hemp, which was probably about right on a day when the fish were never queueing up to be caught. I give myself 9/10.

I perhaps should have tried mussel in the main swim, as it's a soft bait and I got the impression that the fish were feeding only half-heartedly, perhaps feeling the the bait before actually holding it between their lips. Every fish was hooked very lightly in the lip. Roy Whitwell opposite had three on a pole for 20 lb 12 oz, and I was chuffed to beat him.

Next two matches are on Six-Island or Four Island, and I am trying to decide whether I should start on my short tops on Six-Island as it's quite shallow. But will there be enough elastic if I hook double-figure fish? If the forecast is correct the water should be a lot warmer after several days of sun, so big weights could be on the cards. However Trevor has slyly suggested that if I say I don't want the pegs 21 and 23 in Wednesday's match, which are narrow, opposite islands, or 24 or 25, then he will again manage to ensure they are the ones I get.

OK - I don't want pegs 6 to 14!

THE RESULT

24 Roy Whitwell      20 lb 12 oz         1 Mac Campbell    57 lb 1 oz       2nd
22 Martin Parker      22 lb 8 oz           3 Dave Hobbs        DNW
21 Peter Harrison     37 lb 8 oz           4 Trevor Cousins    32 lb 15 oz
19 Kevin Lee            25 lb 12 oz         6 Neil Paas             24 lb 8 oz
18 Bob Barrett          29 lb 15 oz          7 John Garner        21 lb 8 oz
16 Peter Spriggs       91 lb 2 oz    1st    9 Mike Rawson     22 lb   
15 Graham Ward     44 lb 13 oz  5th    10 Dick Warrener    44 lb 15 oz  4th
13  Mick Ramm      27 lb 8 oz              12 Bob Walker         45 lb 7 oz    3rd

Big fish on Oak in a big wind

Peg 10, Oak, Decoy, Sun Mar 15
Some sun at last, as I drove to this match, and several partridges flew across in front of me - the first I have seen this year, though pheasants have been numerous. Happy with Oak peg 10, which Roy Whincup described as 'the flier' when I drew it. Half of this JV match were on Oak and half on Yew, and Roy had given us the West banks, which meant that the howling wind was slightly at our backs. And yes, I had to agree that Oak 10 can be be a flier, it's roughly opposite pegs 20 and 21, which have won so many matches on Decoy.

Biggest handicap was the wind
But the wind made things so difficult. It's a long time since I fished in such conditions, and within an hour or two it increased so much that I could feel it getting under my box and lifting me up slightly. You had to anchor everything down, and wedge any unused pole sections securely. And because it was also quite cold I wasn't surprised that after almost 45 minutes of my fishing the pole at 2+3 I hadn't had a fish and I'd seen only one fish caught, somewhere to my left.

When the sun came out at the start, before the wind was at its worst,
the conditions were almost tolerable. Here's Peter Harrison in action.

So it was on to the feeder just as Peter Harrison, on my left, changed from feeder to pole. And he caught a nice carp! Then the angler on my right had one, and it was well over an hour after the start when I had my first wrap-round. That turned out to be a near-5 lb golden common which fought like a tiger. But at least I had a fish.

Somewhat unprepared for a bite
The next couple of hours saw me take four carp around 8 lb on my hybrid feeder with hair-rigged sweetcorn. I had to leave the rig in for 20-plus minutes most of the time, and one came while I was unprepared. I had to get up to grab some pole sections before they were blown in, and thought that while I was off my box I'd have a pee. I'd just unzipped my trousers when I saw my rod being pulled right round...the pee would have to wait! 

That fish came in, so no harm done. I might try that again instead of pouring out some coffee!

But in the meantime Peter Harrison, having had a couple more fish on the feeder, suddenly had a purple patch on the pole - three big carp in about 20 minutes, and a fourth one was lost. He was well out at about 2+4, and (I don't know how he was managing to hold his pole out in that wind; perhaps it's slightly thinner than my Browning Xitan).

If this video works you can see just how the wind was rattling the top lid of my side tray. And later the wind was worse.

Just one on mussel
Peter took another two or three on the pole while I managed just one, on mussel, on 2+2. Cat meat, which has been catching carp here recently, didn't bring me a fish, though I thought I had one or two touches. 

The 2 gm float with heavy wire stem, looked great in the waves, which now reminded me of what it used to be like fishing the Great Ouse Relief Channel. And I was sure the presentation was OK - I could hold the rig steady, or just left it go with the fierce undertow left to right. Then the rain started - steady but not heavy, and the temperature dropped again.

Ten minutes left and...
Ten minutes before the end I hit another good fish on feeder which I played to within a few metres of the bank before the hook pulled out! When the whistle went I picked up the rod, wound in a few turns...and promptly found myself playing another big fish, which also came off very quickly. So carp were obviously now gathering in that area. And Sod's Law dictated that now the wind had started to drop. I ended with six, and Peter had nine, with all his pole-caaught fish on cat meat. The angler on my right had three.

The weigh in
It was still raining as we weighed in, and I wasn't going to ask anyone to pose with their fish - I think after the battering we had taken we all wanted to get back into our vehicles and peruse the results. The first three anglers, I am told, never had a bite or a liner between them. Andy Mitchell had 63 lb, and Roy Whitwell on peg 8 had eight, I think, mainly on a medium-sized Method feeder with various-coloured pellets, for 76 lb 10 oz.

The three fish caught by angler on my right weighed 35 lb 11 oz  and my six went 48 lb 12 oz, which was sixth out of ten; Peter Harrison's nine went 82 lb 7 oz and he was second on the lake, won by Matt Martin on corner peg 15. This was his first match with JV, and he had three on the pole and nine on a hybrid feeder and dead reds, for a total on 108 lb 4 oz; well done indeed, Matt.

Marks out of ten
If I'd landed that fish which came off I would have proably had around 60 lb, so I can't beat myself up about not winning from a 'flier.; I'm actually happy I managed to get a respectable weight in those conditions, with those good anglers, so I award myself an easy 7/10.

Yew lake fished not quite so well. My next match is Tuesday on Elm, and the only peg I'd like to miss is peg 1, which can be poor, but on Decoy anything can happen. I have got used to fishing the feeder this Winter, which has often been the only viable method to use, so I have a lot more confidence in it even though I prefer the pole.