Decoy Open - windy and cold

Beastie Lake, Decoy, peg 24

Lots of snow on Wednesday, followed by rain, meant that the water was cooled down even more than it had been. Just nine turned out for this Saturday Open on Beastie, but they included some class anglers – including Stuart Bracey, Nigel Baxter and Danny Carlton, all of whom are regular framers here.

I must admit peg 24 has form, but I couldn’t master it! I had a viscious, cold back wind that rocked me about on my basket at times and kept blowing my pole sections off the rollers – poor Nigel Baxter on 17 had it almost dead on from his right and I remember fishing on that peg, next to Nigel, in similar weather a couple of years ago (though not quite so cold), when it was impossible for either of us to fish more than two sections of a pole. Today Nigel said afterwards that he had to fish feeder all day, and he must have been frozen.

I started on a bomb with maggot and got several small twitches that never developed into proper bites. Then it was out to 11 metres on the pole with a 4mm expander, but after two hours I hadn’t got a fish. So I came into top-two-plus-two, where I had found a nice slope which was about four inches shallower at the top than on the bottom – and the tow was taking the float from deep water to shallow, which is always the best way.

In went a bait dropper of dead maggot, with maggot on the hook, dragging the bottom, and eventually got a bite from a roach. Ten minutes later in came an ide of over 1 lb. Things were looking up, as I hadn’t seen the anglers on either side catch a fish. Then I saw the angler on my left unhooking something, but couldn’t see how big it was. He was alternating between his near pole swim and another at about 11 metres and a feeder, so I suspected he was struggling.

Roach!

Two or three more roach came off as I broke down the pole – it’s always a problem when catching small fish at distance, especially in a strong wind. Then a bite on the drop persuaded me to shallow up by a foot, which brought some more roach – all around 2-3 oz. Shallowing up further brought some more roach, and I was catching one about every five minutes, always hoping that a carp or more ide would muscle in, but none did.

With about 30 roach in my net I went down on the bottom for the last half-hour and immediately picked up another ide and  just two or three more roach, losing some more as I unshipped. My elastic was the lightest I had – a 6-8 – and although something like a 3 or 4 would have been better for the roach I wouldn’t fancy my chances of landing a big carp on that elastic in that wind. A Catch-22 situation.

The weigh-in

The angler on my left had 7 lb 7 oz, so I was pleased to total 8 lb 4 oz, and the angler on my right had picked up two good F1s on a Method feeder in the last half-hour to add to a single bream plus a few roach, for 11 lb.

Danny Carlton on 29 had fished for roach all day, and took 18 lb 5 oz of them, fishing a long line, which I will do next time if I start cacthing small roach. He would have won if Stuart Bracy on 12 hadn’t foulhooked a double-figure carp near the end of the match, adding it to some bits on the pole and three F1s on the Method, and winning with 20 lb 4 oz. Nigel Baxter was third with mainly small bream on a groundbait feeder with maggot. When I asked him if he’d cast to the island he said: “I caught them from all over the swim.”

 

The result

Winter League prospects

So a difficult day but I felt I hadn’t disgraced myself, and with the next individual Winter League next Sunday possibly not fishing much better, given the forecast of more snow, I am prepared to look at catching more of those roach if necessary. It’s on six different lakes, with section points counting, and anything could happen. Someone will probably get a big weight, possibly on the favoured pegs on Elm, around 9 and opposite around 16, though the prevailing westerlies blow onto that bank and it can be horribly cold if you get snow or rain in your face.  The first three or four pegs on Damson could be sheltered if we get the same wind, though the carp here are of a smaller average size than all the other lakes, but it could produce a surprise.

Lous 6 will be a favoured peg, fishing into the corner with a feeder. Six-Island I don’t fancy in this weather as it’s the shallowest of the lakes. But Horseshoe, although open to the Westerlies, can fish consistently in the Winter, especially in the higher numbers where the underwater lillies are densest. Finally there’s Beastie, which can produce a winning weight from anywhere, with 26, 29 and 30 possibly the favourite spots if there’s a raging gale.

A good peg, but difficult on the day

Jay Lake, Pidley, peg 2

There were 28 in this Christmas Open, on Jay and Magpie, and peg 2 was probably the one that most anglers would have chosen, as it has good recent form, producing a 99 lb winning weight before the snows and always producing fish. I was able to reach the far bank with 13 metres plus a half butt, but the stiff wind from left to right meant I struggled to fish across all day. Note that this was 13 Browning Metres (which are invariably accurate!).

First drop-in with bread punch off the bottom (called dobbing thoughh I have no idea why) saw a 4 oz carp, and in the next 10 or 15 minutes fish of 2 lb and 3 lb came in. I had to have six feet of line between pole tip and float, to allow for the gusty wind. Then, unaccountably, I got nothing – not even a liner. I had strolled up to peg 6, Dennis Page, the angler on my left, before the match started and it definitely seemed slightly calmer there – indeed two pegs to his left the water was flat calm, sheltered by the end bank; so I guessed I might struggle.

Odd fish

I fed a few maggots down the side of my platform, and took a couple of small perch, then hit a 4 lb carp which eventually pulled off. Back out to the far bank saw nothing until I changed to double maggot, which brought a 4 lb carp first put-in; then nothing. Eventually I fed some maggots and hemp out in the deep water at four sections and hit a 3 lb carp first drop-in; then nothing.

It was impossible to get right over to the far bank with six feet of line, so gradually I reduced the length down to a foot, which meant that I could often get only a few seconds of perfect presentation before a gust blew the pole round. By this time I had put in a few maggots, though one more fish came to bread. Then, an hour later, another to maggots in the deep water. The whole match was spent going from one swim to another, and going across when the wind abated slightly.

Me with my meagre haul.

Magpie result.

My seven decent fish and a few perch weighed 17 lb 7 oz, while Dennis, who in fact hooked a fish before I even realised the match had started, and had a good first half, and a steady second half, fishing right across with bread then maggot, weighed 89 lb 9 oz for the lake win.

Then it was back to the cafe for free refreshments and a free draw, again with the winner picking a prize blind out of the bucket; this was highlighted by Shaun Coaten, who had DNWd and had gone home (don’t know why) winning the top prize when Simon Godfrey picked it out of the bucket for him. No justice in the world!!

Conclusion

I was obviously disappointed. But while a better angler than myself would have had more fish, I don’t think I was capable of getting much more, as I felt I hadn’t done anything stupid, and that if the fish had been there in any quantity I would have caught some. And this was reinforced when I saw that the ‘flier’ peg 2 on Magpie  produded a DNW.  At this time of year fish definitely move around in blocks...which is what make things exciting – you never know where the fish will be!

PS. The forecast was for ‘mild,’ but I don’t know where they got that from. By the end of the match I was shivering with cold. I suppose compared with the North Pole it might have been considered ‘mild.’

The other half of Jay.

My half of Jay.

Bah - humbug

Magpie Lake, Pidley, peg 24

Not much Christmas cheer forthcoming from the carp in this match. To be fair, it fished pretty much as most of us thought it would, with everyone fishing for a bite, and almost half of us failing even that! Of the 20 who fished, 11 caught a fish. I was not one of them!

The previous evening was the first for 10 days which had not seen frost, so any ice that had been left would have thawed and dropped the water temperature even further. The surface was flat calm with no wind, and didn't look inviting.  However, around pegs 1 and 2, where there are lillies, anglers reported that the water was black with carp. And Alan Owen on 2 kept up his extraordinary run of performances here at Rookery Fishery by winning with 51 lb 1 oz. From where I sat I saw him catch a five-pounder and some smaller ones fairly early on, but the fish obviously slowed down.  Opposite me John Belshaw sat the first half of the match on peg 36 (the old 38) with not a fish, but then hit three fairly quickly, of which one weeded him and came off.

Then a couple of spurts, including four fish in the last hour, saw him take another six or seven on bread punch fished two feet deep - the method that caught the majority of carp, and the one that is likely to win here while the water stays cold. I was in open water and never had a bite on pinkie, bread or a pop-up on leger. You needed to be near an underwater feature to get a bite - so the lillies near the entrance dominated the match.

My peg 24. The winner is in red - in the far distance across the bridge, on peg 2. Second was on 36, just out of picture,
 to the right of the bridge, facing the blue aerator.

I had to fish with my 12-metre Browning Sting because two sections of my 16-metre Browning Z12 were being renovated by Will Hadley, who brought them to the match for me to pick up, but who advised me not to use them on the day as the resin would not have completely dried. And although I fished long on this same peg last Winter to come second in an Open I don't think it made any difference on this day - the fish were hanging around lillies and wouldn't move away.

Chris Saunders, 3rd with 20 lb 7 oz.

John Belshaw, 2nd with 36 lb 5 oz.

We had all brought as prize, and afterwards we retired to the cafe for a drink and food, but the winner didn’t get his pick of the prizes – he had to pick a ticket from the bucket stating which prize he had won. I was, obviously, one of the last to pick...and I finished with a bottle of whisky, one of the best prizes there. I like this system!

The result.

My next match is probably the Christmas Open on Sat, Dec 23, and after another couple of mild days with no frost at night, and hopefully given a warmish wind, it should fish much better. The match is on Magpie and Jay, and I will have my 16-metre pole ready for action – it will almost certainly be needed on Jay.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible

The Winter League arranged for Sunday, Dec 10 on Decoy,  was cancelled on the Saturday - a good decision by Tony Evans. The snow started here in my village at 6 am on Sunday morning and stopped at 2 pm - travelling would have been a nightmare for myself and all the competitors coming from anywhere farther inland. The new date is Jan 14.

I had actually intended to have a session on Decoy, and was all packed ready to go...until I went outside and realised how much snow there was and how cold it was. And my normal route to Whittlesey is via back roads which would have had hardly any traffic on them, and certainly no gritters. So I watched the Man City v Man U match instead - the way City players hassled their opponents reminded me of Billy Bremner of Leeds, who must have struck fear into attackers when they saw him bearing down on them.

The view from my front door at 8 am on the Sunday morning.

No fishing for me this weekend (Dec 16/17), with my next scheduled match the Winter League on Jan 7, but I hope to get out over the Christmas period. I watched the weigh-in on Jay Lake at Pidley on Wednesday last week, and a lot of anglers struggled to make 10 lb. The winning weight was 99 lb on bread punch fished right across at 14 metres from peg 2. That's hard work in weather this cold.

Next to last, but not downhearted

Horseshoe, Decoy, peg 11

Not a lot to report on this fairly calm day, the catches being down because the water is so cold. I put a block of frozen maggots in lake water to thaw and they were still frozen 45 minutes later! Thjis was the Sunday Open, and 11 of us fished. Being realistic, I would be happy no being last in this sort of company.

As Tony Evans had told me, this peg is not as deep as peg 7, where I fished in the Winter League, but I'm not certain that accounted for my lack of fish. Forty minutes on a feeder with maggot brought two tiny liners, so it was down the side, in a hole under the tree to my left, where I eventually found a roach or two on maggot.

I lose a big fish
But they were never going to win anything, so I went out to five sections, where once again it was roach on maggot until, halfway through the match, I hit a big fish. I had just changed my hook down from a 14 to a PR22 size 16 - a very fine-wire hook. Two minutes after hooking the fish, which almost pulled my light elastic into peg 13, the hook pulled off. I though about it and realised the line, about 0.16mm, was probably too thick for the tiny spade.

So it was back to a 'normal' strong size 16 and eventually, after a long spell with just odd roach I came into the side and started catching them fairly quickly on a single maggot, hoping carp would arrive; but they didn't. Meanwhile Tony Evan, two swims to my right, had also been concentrating on roach on maggot, but the odd F1 had muscled in, so he was way ahead of me. Then, with 75 minutes left, I tried out at 13 metres, got two bites which I missed (probably roach), then I hit a good fish which came off,  and then caught my first F1 around 2 lb, on two live red maggots..

After 15 minutes fishless I came back to five sections and got another F1. Then back out for a bream, back in for a 2 lb tench, then back out for two bream over 1 lb each. In the last 15 minutes Tony managed, after a long fight, to net a carp approaching 10 lb, and two more net fish, which boosted his total no end!

The result.

Simon Godfrey,  third on peg 5,
 fished maggot.

My two F1s, one tench , three bream and two or three pounds of roach weighed 13 lb 9 oz, which was not last! So success of a kind. Jimmy Brooks won on 19 feeding corn in a toss pot at 13 metres. He told me he fed just two or three grains at a time and fished with corn all day. And he put back a 6 lb pike, which I think should probably have been counted as we are not fishing to Angling Trust rules, but fishery rules. And I doubt whether pike are mentioned.

Stabilising an umbrella

I have recently seen forums about umbrellas in high winds. I've never found anything better than the little gizmos which slip onto the end of an umbrella rib and screw into a bankstick. But I can't remember what they are called.

Here are a couple of pictures to show them. Because my umbrella is a Preston Flat Back the ribs are too thick to take the gizmo, so I have wired mine on using thick, plastic-coated garden wire.

The bank stick must be extending. Screw the stick into the ground to below the gizmo; unclip the centre portion; slide it up to the gizmo and screw the centre portion of the bankstick (the female thread) over the gizmo's male thread; adjust the tension, and clip the centre in place. I have one on each side of my umbrella.

The gizmo wired to a thick Flat Back rib.

The bankstick in place.

There's nothing better for stopping the umbrella from moving in a high wind, provided you also have the normal umbrella rope in place and also pin the Flat Back down by the two D-rings provided on the material. I just wish I could find out what they are called!

No Xmas cheer for me

Cedar Lake, Decoy, peg 4

This was our annual Spratts Christmas match, with big prizes. I’ve fished it for about 15 years and never yet done any good! Today was no exception...

There were 13 of us, so we fished the 13 pegs on the left-hand (Western) bank of Cedar, which gave us a very slight back wind from the left – handy because it was a very strong, bitterly-cold NNW, and the chill factor was forecasted to be around 1 Degree. It felt a lot colder.

 I fancied pegs 1 or 2 as this strip lake tends to fish better at the car park end, but at this time of year anything can happen. The far end pegs, from about 10 onwards, had shelter from the wind and the surface was quite calm, in contrast to the rest of the lake, which had a big ripple on it and made it quite impossible to fish much beyond 10 metres.

Don't be fooled by the blue sky - it was bitterly cold.

Uneventful

My match was pretty uneventful – half an hour on a small groundbait feeder with maggot across the far side brought just a few taps and nudges; then 20 minutes trotting down the side with maggot in the huge undertow didn’t bring a sign of a bite. I tried putting a pole out to five sections (about 7 metres), but came inside when the wind got up, to four sections; and after an hour fishing here with maggot over maggot and hemp an 8 lb mirror obligingly took the bait.

Mick Raby on my left had had three or four fish out at 9 metres, but was having to sink the end metre of his pole to hold it reasonably still; and Bob, on peg 2, had had a quick burst of action on his feeder-fished maggot across the far side, which included a fish into double-figures. I tried feeder again, but still no joy and eventually decided I had to try a longer pole.

So it was out to six sections (10 metres or so) where I found it difficult to feed and fish via a toss-pot, so put in some maggots with a big cup, went out with a bunch of maggots...and had a 3 lb mirror within seconds. But no more. So back to the four sections, where I could present a bait perfectly, but no more fish there. I even tried a 3 gm rig, which actually set wonderfully stablein the gusting wind, but didn’t bring any bites.

Corn worked for Mick

 Meanwhile, Bob had had another couple of spurts on his feeder – two or three fish very quickly, and Mick, on my left, had also picked up another three or four fish. I found out later he was fishing corn. I did try it and should perhaps have tried it for longer.

My last fish was on a feeder - a 2 lb F1 was on the end when I wound in! Bob had three fish really quickly just before the end, while  Mick had a last throw of the dice on feeder and took two really big fish in the last few minutes. Down at the far end I later found that Mick Linnell had also had a good spell in the last hour on a feeder thrown over to the far bank. But my three carp and four tiny suicidal roach which weighed about 1 oz between them,  were my measly offering to the Christmas Match gods – 13 lb 3 oz which was enough for seventh place, winning me a £50 Benwick Sports voucher.

Good old Ted

Good old (well he is 89) Ted on peg 1 was first to weigh in – 23 lb 15 oz on a feeder cast to the aerator. Just turning up for this match in these conditions makes him a hero in my book. Bob won with 43 lb 10 oz  and Mick, next to me, was second – so a good hammering for Yours Truly. And it got worse when I found that Peter Barnes had, for the second match in a row on the strips, caught on waggler fished past the middle. I had a rod on the bank, all ready to fish an 8 gm waggler, and didn’t even try it. I had found that past my four-section line the tow seemed to peter out, but Peter said that once he had sunk his line he found the tow, and it tripped his bait along the bottom nicely. So it was probably a case of Operator Error...but the cold numbs my brain as well as my hands. That’s my excuse.

I have taken to using the narrow bait boxes in Winter so I can have a
large selection of baits handy...otherwise I forget what I have brought!

The result.

PS. Mick Linnell has politely pointed out to me that though he did fish for Peterborough in the National he spent 15 years with the all-conquering Oundle squad before moving to Stamford Welland. A very experienced angler, who is still winning matches. 

PPS. The calm water at the far end didn’t appear to have given the anglers there any advantage, though it was a touch warmer.

PPPS.  John Garner had one sucked maggot five minutes from the end!!

Chuffed!

Horseshoe Lake, Decoy, peg 7

Alarm for 5.30 am, take my pills, load up the car because I can’t eat for  at least half-an-hour after taking the pills, check I’ve got enought bait, have egg on toast whilewatching a recording of Match Of The Day, put on layer after layer of seathshirts...I’m now ready and rarin’ to go!

This was the second round of the Tony Evan-organised Winter League with temperatures in the wind forecast to drop below zero, and my usual target was to not come last on my lake. The lakes are to be: Horseshoe, Six-Island, Beastie, Damson, and Elm (in plave ofg the originally-advertised Willows). The Great and the Good are there, with Chris Barley drawing one of the really-fancied pegs, Elm 9.

There’s no obvious feature that seems to attract fish to this area, as Elm is a simple strip lake, but these pegs three-quarters of the way from the car park seem to hold more fish than other areas of the strips, especially on Elm. And when you put an angler of Chris Barley’s ability on a good peg it’s odds-on he’ll do well.

The wind was blowing down from the West, though it had more north in it than had been forecast, so it was quite cold, stiff, and into our faces from the left on pegs 1 to 9. Peg 5 has quite a good reputation, as has 13, but on a day like this, with cold clear water and sun, anything could happen. In fact pegs 5 and 7 are shaded from the sun by bushes behind us, so we didn’t feel its warmth at all.

I started with a small feeder holding groundbait and dead maggot with live maggot on the hook and had two small roach in the first half-hour, the second of which dropped off as I picked up the landing net – the rule here is to net all fish, though a lot of small roach are swung  in to prevent what happened to me!

Bream!

Out to five sections where it’s well over 6ft deep, after outting in some 4mm pellets (I had managed to leave all my micros at home) and a small bream took a 4mm expander. Then I lost a foulhooked fish which left me with a scale. About 75 minutes after the start I had a look in the deep water near the side where I had put in some live maggots, and almost immediately hit a 2 lb barbel. I had allowed the bait to drift into the side of a big drop-off, hoping the fish would gather there.

In fact they seemed to be a little farther out, and over the next couple of hours I managed a few F1s to 3 lb, some bream to 2 lb,  and the odd ‘proper’ carp, all on maggot after I had put in a bait-dropped of them because I wasn’t sure where my loose-fed maggots were ending up. Incidentally I fed live maggots because they are heavier than dead ones, and I hoped they stayed in the swim better. All those fish came  fishing several inches overdepth. A look back on my original swim brought no knocks at all and presentation there was becoming difficult because of the wind.

The angler on my right on peg 5 had several bream fishing well out during my early blank session, and now he, like me, had to abandon his long line permanently because the wind had got up. At four sections he was now catching bream steadily, and then I saw some bigger fish came – he was obviously well ahead of me. The angler on my left seemed to be trying several different swims, on feeder and pole, so presumably was struggling – but with my hood up and turned away from the very cold wind, it was difficult to keep track of him.

A beautiful carp

The fish would take a bait only if I dragged it slowly to one side, but odd ones came provided I kept putting in a few maggots. However I wasn’t sure whether the blank spells were because the flashing of hooked fish was upsetting other fish, or whether they were actually backing off. Usually I get a feeling about what is happening under the surface, but today it was just a case of pldding on provided I was getting an occasional fish. In retrospect I should have tried a rig in the deeper water a couple of metres farther out, but when you’re catching odd fish it’s difficult to make that decision.

With about 20 lb in the net I tried a rig to fish just tripping bottom, with two Number 11s four inches from the hook, as when the wind died a little there appeared to be a tow. When I managed to pick this tow up I caught fish, one of which was the most beautiful sparkling bronze common carp of about 10 lb in immaculate condition. In the last 30 minutes three or four more big F1s came in, all on maggot, and I really felt I was starting to bag when the shout went up for the end. Altogether I had foulhooked, and lost, just two fish, and was left with a scale on the hook each time.

The angler on Peg 5 had 63 lb 2 oz and I was surprised that the first two, on pegs 1 and 3, had really struggled. The angler on my left had 29 lb, so I was pretty chuffed to finish second in my section – a better result than I could have hoped for in this sort of company.

The results are below – Chris Barley showed his class with an incredible 189 lb, fishing long, to win. He was asked what bait he used and apparently replied: “It wouldn’t have mattered what bait I used – the fish were just there.” What he could have added – but didn’t – was: “But you’ve still got to catch’em”. And land ‘em!

This was typical Winter fishing, with some lakes much harder than others, and fish holing up in some stretches. The fact that so many fish were caught shows the level of skill these anglers have. Next one in two weeks, and I have our last midweek club match with Spratts on Cedar this week. The forecast is for it to be very cold again. Several times I've had less than 10 lb in this match!

My lake sheet was very faint – so here are the weights (my section in bold):

Peg 1     11 lb 6 oz

Peg 3     3 lb 4 oz

Peg 5     63 lb 2oz

Peg 7     49 lb

Peg 9     29 lb 3 oz

Peg 11   22 lb 3 oz

Peg 13   65 lb 5 oz

Peg 15   14 lb 11 oz

Peg 17   20 lb 11 oz

Peg 19   56 lb 9 oz

Damson

 

Elm

Beastie

Six-Island

 

The overall results, with the 13 section winners (some by default).

The winner!

Friday, Nov 25

The winner of the Fenland Rods Championship was revealed at our Christmas dinner last night - and after coming in the top three for the past four or five years Dave Garner finally picked up the cup. A popular win...and he did it by just one point!

Dave Garner with the cup he so richly deserves.

Yours Truly was that point behind, but to be honest I was just as happy for Dave to win. He doesn't own a pole and fishes waggler all the time and after knocking on the door for so long he thoroughly deserved to open it at last. The championship is based on the best ten results from our 22 matches.

There's a lesson there for all of us - where there are big fish around the waggler can score. I'm not sure how he does it, but he does...year after year. Well done indeed Dave.

Five fish...for 37 lb

Tuesday, Nov 21^st

Oak Lake, Decoy, peg 9

Peg 9 for me – and it was drawn out as the Golden Peg, to the inevitable cries of: “Rollover!”  See if I care!

There were just nine of us, all pegged on the West bank with a stiff breeze over our right shoulders, giving us a fairly smooth surface on our side of the lake, and it was overcast and cool but not really cold. Actually the water looked good, except that when I had a look behind me at Cedar, with the wind blowing into that bank it looked really very nice indeed with a good wave on. I was happy with peg 9, which was almost down to the bird hide – and because we were all on one bank we could cast right across, which most anglers did at the start.

First I put in a small pot of pellets and a few grains of corn at 11.5 metres. At the start it was reasonable easy to fish at 13 metres, but I was being circumspect (!) in baiting up a section short. So immediately on to a hair-rigged piece of corn with a straight bomb cast across, and I got a lot of liners but no fish.

Lots of changes

First change after half an hour with no fish was to put on a pop-up, still with no fish. Meanhile Peter next to me had a good carp on a feeder. After about 90 minutes I took off the quickstop hook and fixed a straight hook on, with dead maggot – still no fish, and Peter had another. A quick look on the pole line, which I had been pinging pellets  over, did not even bring a touch.

Next change was to put on a feeder, just as Peter had his third, and because I had some soaked micro pellets I put those in the feeeder. Still nothing, as Peter landed his fourth. So some groundbait was mixed and put in the feeder, with some dead maggots, but still no result. The final change, made more in hope than expectation was to put some live maggots on the hook, with a dead on the point...and as I twitched the bait back I felt a fish take it – strike – fish on! Just as Peter hooked his fifth. That fish of mine was almost 10 lb, but I was way behind Peter.

The next hour saw three more around 6 lb each, and after the fourth one I fancied looking at the pole line – and immediately a big fish gave me a bite – it was around 12 lb, and gave a fantastic fight on grey Hydro (I know!). It came in sideways but I don’t know if it was foulhooked or whether the line had caught round its fin because the hook fell out in the net. Probably hooked properly I think. Peter Spriggs, on the other side of me, landed a fish on the pole at the same time, and Peter on my right was also playing a fish.

Peter's last fish had its mouth in a strange place...

No more

The last two hours passed with no more bites, but Peter Parlett upped his score to ten. The wind had got harder and it was quite difficult for a time to fish at 11.5 metres, but I’m satisfied that presentation was OK.  However, I couldn’t detect any undertow, which was surprising in that stiff wind, and neither could I get the rig to drift properly with the wind – it seemed they were cancelling each other out. There was a slight undertow in the deep water in the side, where I fished maggot two or three times without any result at all.

As you can see, the catches were well down on what you might expect from Oak, but there had been several overnight frosts so the water was cold. Bob on peg 1 had one fish, Martin two, Mick one, Trevor three, Mick in the corner two, Peter on my left five or six...with Peter winning next to me with 48 lb. I had 37 lb 3 oz for third. But it was Peter Barnes who showed us all how it might have been won – fishing an 8 gram waggler three-quarters across with maggot or soft pellet for 44 lb and second, and he lost a big one in a snag a little way out from the bank - probably an old tree root. He said he allowed his gear to drift with the wind, which makes sense when I realised that all four of my feeder-caught fish came as, or just after, I twitched the bait along the bottom.

The result. Peter Barnes was on 13 I think. And I was third!
You can't get the staff you know...

And of course,as my ‘mates’ were not slow in reminding me,  it was a rollover...

Next match is the Drennan Winter League organised by Tony Evans on Sunday. He's already told us on Facebook (which I have just joined) the exact pegs to be fished, and all the five-man sections. Now there's a real proper match organiser!!

Only nine fish, but a good day

Wednesday, Nov 16th

Magpie Lake, Pidley, peg 21

The lake has been re-numbered, with peg 16 taken out;  so I was on the old peg 22 and this sequence continues round the lake to the island. I understand a new peg has been inserted after the old 35 (which is now 34) and the final peg 38 is now 36. Got it? Peg 21 is sort of the first peg in the bay proper, with the far bank about 30 metres away, but no lillies within reach.

This was the regular Over 60s; 20 fished; and there was not a breath of wind, while the day was murky and overcast. With no ripple it was likely that the fish would be well out and I imagine everybody will have started on long pole or possibly a straight lead. The biggest nuisance in my swim was ducks and a big moorhen, which sent ripples across the swim on and off all day.

 

My swim looking across to  new peg 27.

I didn’t take a feeder rod, as I rarely use one here – so I just determined to enjoy myself on the pole. I toss-potted a few hard pellets in and first drop-in at 11-metres plus a half-butt saw the Tuff Eye float sink and a 3 lb carp come in on a 4mm expander. Another came soon afterwards, then I pricked one. In the next 90 minutes I caught three more. The float was dotted right down and the bites were so tiny the float sometimes just shivered without going under.

I foulhooked a very big fish which showed me its tail and fins a couple of times as it rolled along just under the surface, obviously not realising it was hooked. I gently pulled it in with the pole tip under the surface, down to the top two, hoping to net it before it realised what was happening, but the hook pulled out.

Five fish halfway through

Halfway through the match I had five fish and Ken Gammon, on my right on 19 (the old 20, which has some form) also had five. It got so dark I changed the orange tip in the float for a yellow one, which showed up a bit better against the black reflection. Then things went very quiet and I managed just three more carp, losing three of which at least one was foulhooked as a scale remained on the hook. They probably all were.

A small bream came when I tried maggot, and several looks down the inside did not result in a touch of any kind. But I kept getting liners on 4mm and even a 2mm expander. I tried a small piece of worm and a piece of corn, neither of which produced even a liner – then next drop-in a pellet brought back liners. So I am convinced that the fish were actually knocking the pellet.

I land a foulhooked five-pounder

One of the fish I landed after some hairy moments on Preston 13 Hollo elastic was a lovely bronze 5 lb common hooked in the side of the pectoral fin, which makes me certain that fish were cruising along the bottom but not really interested in food. All-round it was obviously going to be hard – the two anglers in the bay to my left were John Belshaw and Ron Clark, who was second in the Raven match two weeks ago,  and neither weighed in.

The fish here are in great condition.

Ken Gammon weighed 43 lb 2 oz for second, which I thought was a very good performance on that peg in the narrows, even though it has fished well all summer. In the winter on Magpie you are looking for a deep-water feature away from the bank – like lilly pads or the reeds in front of pegs 7 to 9 (approx). Ken had neither.

My eight carp and small bream weighed 26 lb 10 oz which at first I was disappointed with because I knew the fish had been there on and off all day, expecially after I had put a few pellets in. But on reflection, when I see where the top weights came from, I was happy with seventh place. Top weight was only 47 lb 2 oz from peg 1 by Alan Owen, who won the Raven match two weeks ago.

The result

Conclusion

OK, I had liners, but that at least shows the fish were around and keeps you interested. However the float had to be dotted down to a pimple for the bites to show, and in that murk I was glad that with spectacles I have very good eyesight. All-round I think I did a fair job in the circumstances, and if all those fish had stuck I could have won.

PS. Just remembered it wasn't a little bream - it was a roach!

The best laid plans...work eventually!

Monday, November 13th

Damson Lake, Decoy, peg 5

Boy was it cold! The hourly forecast I looked at before leaving home said that mid-match the temperature would be 2 degrees ‘But Feels Like Freezing.’ And it did. Just as we were going to our pegs Ted drew up – the 89-year-old had overslept, jumped out of bed (well probably shuffled at his age), driven as fast as he dare along the frost-covered Fenland roads and arrived in time to start, but having had no breakfast. He then got peg 11 – the longest walk...perhaps it was not going to be his day!

There were now 10 of us and we fished the nearest pegs, opposite the high bank, with the Northerly wind from right to left putting a big ripple on the water – biggest at peg 1, falling away a little towards the end pegs. I fancied Peg 1 as I have noticed, on every match I’ve fished on here that the low numbers, where it’s narrowest, have produced a few  bigger fish – 3 lb-plus as compared with the 10 oz to 1 lb stamp which comprise the majority of fish. But it was not drawn, and Mick Linell had peg 2 – a good angler on a decent peg, but the overnight frost might turn things topsy-turvey I thought.

I had peg 5, and decided to fish banded pellet in the margins and at three sections, where the depth fell to about 7 feet, loosefeeding hard pellet – this is the tactic John, at the fishery, has recommended to me a couple of times, using the margin rig farther out if the fish come up in the water. The plan looked like working when I had a fish in the margins, about 18 inches deep, first drop-in. Another came a few minutes later, then...nothing.

A change of plan

After another 25 minutes consistently feeding both swims but getting just one more fish near the side I turned to Plan B – fishing normally with expander on a half-gram Tuff Eye float. Meanwhile Peter, on my right, was fishing four sections with paste and catching fish of 1 lb-plus steadily, while Trevor, to my left had also had two early fish but now sat biteless.

Another 75 minutes fishing three sections with expander brought about three small fish and my right hand was aching with the cold. So I had a short break, and a hot Bovril, and a walk up to my mate John on peg 7. He had around 6 lb in the first hour, but hadn’t had a bite for ages and was seriously thinking of going home because his hands were so cold. Peter told me afterwards that at this point he had around 20 lb in his net.

Plan C works better

So back to my peg and I had a re-think and because the water was so rough I wasn’t sure where my bait was landing in the seven feet of water; so I put in a bait dropper of pellet and hempseed. This seemed to work after a fashion and in the next hour I added another five or six fish, all around 1 lb, while Trevor, on my left also had a few fish. By this time the wind seemed a little warmer and didn’t have the bite it had earlier – and John decided to carry on!

 

My two favourite floats - the Tuff Eye has four
different coloured interchangeable tips; the
Maver Invincible has a spring eye with the line
going through the body. I use the smaller
 Invincibles for most of my margin work.

Plan D in operation

I felt that the rig wasn’t fishing properly, and couldn’t put my finger on the problem. So, wondering if a more positive approach would work I got up and went to my holdall and took out a top with a 1 gm Tuff Eye attached which I had used the previous day. I slid the bulk down to a foot from the bait and slid the two Number 12 shot down to within four inches and baited with a 6 mm expander. This definitely worked better and I added three or fish quickly; then a lull.

Plan E

My final fling, with an hour to go,  was to put out a bait-dropper of pellet and hempseed to four sections, where the depth was only about two inches deeper than I had been fishing. For a start it didn’t work. But I started adjusting the depth by half-an-inch at a time and suddenly started getting bites. The float was dotted right down so that the pellet on the bottom dragged the float under, and I held it back by lifting the pole just an inch, when the weight of the nylon lifted the float back top the surface. But bites were slow in coming, and I felt certain the fish were there.

Then I did what I should have thought about earlier and changed from a 6mm expander to a 4mm – the change was miraculous. Now the float could drag the bait along the bottom without going under. I very slowly tripped the rig through the swim and started getting a bite every put-in.

 

The result

I had to mark the pole section I was holding to get the rig in exactly the same spot, because if I didn’t I just hooked leaves. But it brought results, I don’t think I missed a bite,  and the last 40 minutes or so must have seen me land 15 or 16 fish, the best 2 lb. I had been really ‘in the zone’ for that last period and hadn’t even looked at Peter or Trevor, but they told me afterwards they were almost fishless in the last couple of hours.

My Theory

I believe the fish were hanging almost on the bottom, not moving, and not hungry, and not willing to move to take a bait. But if the expander was dribbled along right past them then some fish would take a peck more out of instinct than hunger. The fact that I hooked about three on the side of the head makes me certain this was what was happening. But the float had to be dotted right down as the fish weren’t moving. On more than one occasion I struck at what I thought might possibly have been a movement and had a fish every time.

Second place

Mick weighed in 43 lb 2 oz and had at least one good fish approaching 8 lb.  That was a good performance considering the conditions in the first half of the match. I was mighty pleased to see my fish weigh 27 lb 2 oz, and surprised that Peter weighed in only 24 lb 7 oz for third after having been so far ahead of me earlier.

                                        

Good old Ted was fourth – you can’t keep a good man down. What a remarkable man he is!

A good result for me!

Sunday, November 12

Elm Lake, Decoy, peg 7

This was the first of the Tony Evans-organised Individual Winter League, held on Elm, Cedar, Willows, Beastie and Four-Island – a total of 64 fished, and the points are awarded for sections of five.  My ambition was not to finish last on my lake.

My draw put me between two of the big names – Jon Whincup was on my left on peg 9, and Barry Mason on my right on peg 6. There was a nasty, strong cold wind coming from the left but at least it was slighly over my left shoulder, so although it was cold on our side of the lake the anglers opposite must have been freezing.

Putting the world to rights before the match.

The sections

Tony has done the sections brilliantly – rather than just taking the first five pegs then the next five etc he has worked his way down, on both banks, from the end. So the first section of five had two on my bank and the nearest three opposite – very fair because the strips tend to fish better towards one end or the other. But that did mean that both Jon and Barry were in my section, together with the nearest two anglers opposite.

My swim - with Jon Whincup tackling upon peg 9.

I started fishing well out because as the weather gets colder that’s usually the best plan – it’s not unusual for very few fish to be caught in the margins here at this time of year, even though the deepest run on the strips is just a top-two out and there’s not much in the way of shallow margins on many pegs. Mine had a small shallow ledge to the right but the left dropped right down to five feet immediately.

Problem wind

I found before the match started that I could easily fish at 13 metres but, as usual, decided to start a section short of that in case the wind got up harder...and it did. With a vengeance.  Before the match started I had to alter my starting spot  to 10 metres plus a half-butt. I now find the half-butts invaluable as they not only protect the section but make it more comfortable to handle and offer the option to push out that extra 18 inches at will.

So I put in just a few pellets, pieces of corn and hemp at 10 metres, and some pellets down into the deepwater to my left, and started on a 4mm expander at 10 metres with a o.5 gm Tuff Eye. For 90 minutes all I got was a couple of possible knocks, and I was about to have a look on the inside line, where I had been drip-feeding pellets, when I got a proper bite and hit a big fish. Seconds later the 5 lb hooklength broke. I have no idea why – probably caught on the dorsal fin. I tend to use hooklengths only in the winter on Decoy, as there’s always the chance of hitting a double-figure fish (or worse, foulhooking one) and much prefer the comfort of fishing straight-through.

So on went a size 16 PR478 hook, and next drop-in I hooked, and landed, a 4 lb mirror. Fifteen minutes later, having not had another bite, I had a look inside on a piece of corn and immediately hooked, and landed, a 6 lb common. Cracked it!!!

Err, as usual I hadn’t. No more bites and the wind started to get really nasty. Barry had been on a feeder or straight bomb for some time but I then saw him hook a fish on long pole – probably 11.5 metres. And we now both had trouble with gusts blowing the pole right round almost parallel with the bank. Jon and the angler to his left, though, didn’t seem to have as much ripple and afterwards Barry agreed that the wind was not as fierce towards that end, thanks to the partial shelter of the end bank. The angler opposite the peg to my left, had some big fish which looked like eight-pounders, early on, fishing long. But the angler opposite Barry was struggling.

The rest of my day was spent trying desperately to get some sort of decent presentation on the long pole as I never has another touch inside or on the shallow ledge. Three more mirrors, all around 3 lb, came in the next couple of hours, plus two bream around 8 oz, but the only fish in the last hour were a couple more bream. All came to 6mm expander except the last two bream, which came to maggot when I came in to 8.5 metres and started another line 45 minutes from the end, when it was impossible to fish properly at 10 metres.

The weigh-in

I was fourth to weigh on my bank . My fish totalled 23 lb 13 oz and I was amazed to see I was top down to me. But Jon, who I could not see properly because of a bush between us, weighed 108 lb and Joe Cole, to his left, took 110 lb, for the top two on the lake. The two anglers opposite were third and fourth. However Jon won my section, the angler nearly opposite him was second, and I managed third. I were Reet Chuffed!

I see Jon won the lake from peg 9 in last year’s series, and these pegs three-quarters of the way down the strips do tend to have an edge – though Cedar’s top two weights came from the two end opposite the car park – pegs 1 and 26. Cedar is the one strip, out of the four, which can fish best towards that end in all weathers.

Conclusion

There is no doubt, as you can see from the weights, which I have typed out below, that the lake fished best down towards the Northern end. So I had an advantage over Barry and the anglers to his right...but you’ve still got to catch them. And third in section is a big bonus for me, from a field which included a lot of big names. It suggests I can, at least, make the anglers around me work to beat me. That’s all I ask.

Not sure when all the dates are – they are supposed to be on Facebook, which I have registered for, but I can’t make head nor tail of how to find them. I suppose time will tell.

Elm weights – Pegs 1 and 24 at the car park. Blank shows the peg was not fished. 

My section is in bold.

Peg        Weight (lb-oz)                   Peg        Weight

24                                                         1             

23           3-07                                       2                6-07

22           2-03                                       3

21                                                         4               18-00

20           19-14                                     5

19           22-00                                     6               19-10

18                                                         7               23-13

17           72-10                                     8             

16           76-14                                     9              108-00

15                                                          10           110-10

14           62-14                                     11          

13           13-13                                     12              29-10

Pre Winter League

Thursday, Nov 11.
The Tony Evans Winter League starts Sunday (alternate weeks) and the bottom line is that I know I will probably be the worst angler there.

It's not false modesty - while I don't know who has entered I fully expect it will include locals like Jon Whincup, Barry Mason, Kevin Wadge, Steve and Martyn Freeman, Nigel Baxter, and a host of other Decoy regulars. And I expect anglers from other parts of the country looking to practice for the Winter League Final, half of which is held on Decoy. Previous Winter Opens these have included people like Lee Kerry and Andy Geldart.

So my simple target is to not finish last on whichever lake I am pegged on. If I can manage that, just once, I will be very happy.

Before any match I always attach to some pole tops the rigs I am most likely to need; this takes away any decisions as to what to use if I am unsure. And because I have an Octbox, which takes time to get ready, it saves valuable time setting up. So I've got about 10 possible rigs attached - 0.5 gm, 0.75 gm and 1 gm Drennan Tuff Eyes, some tied all-through and others with lighter hooklengths attached, three small Maver Invincibles for close-in work, up to about 4 ft deep, and a couple of stronger full-length rigs for cat meat if the bigger fish start showing. Plus a couple of shallow rigs just in case. And some spare tops with assorted elastics.

I expect to use maggots, expanders and sweetcorn on the hook though I have worms as well. I will have three leger rods made up, but I may not use them. The good thing is that, surrounded by good anglers, I can see whether they are picking fish up on a feeder or leger. You learn a lot from these matches, even if you are hammered.

But whatever happens I am determined to enjoy it!

I can't manage even 1 lb!

Monday, November 6, 2017

Six-Island Lake, Decoy, peg 22

This was the day after the first frost of the Winter, and although the sun had already burned off the rime, when I left home the temperature was still below freezing. None of the 14 of us expected to catch much as Six-Island is the shallowest of the lakes here.

In these conditions – bright with not much wind - the fish can be anywhere so I sat down on peg 22 with an open mind, starting first on maggot with a small cage feeder near the big island to my right. After half an hour I’d had three or four liners, so things looked good. But no fish, so I looked at my two main pole lines – top two plus one in deep water near the reeds and top two plus three in the deepest water I could find. An hour on these lines with maggot produced one tiny liner near the reeds but Ted, on 24 to my left had already had a good carp, as had Trevor opposite on 2. So I decided to have a look towards the island on my left at 13 metres plus a half butt, where I had been pinging hard pellets.

There’s a high bank behind along this side which means you either have to break the pole down or push it right up the bank. I decided to break it down, which is always awkward, but when I hadn’t had a touch after 20 minutes I gave it a rest. So it was back to the two main lines, and I started putting in a few pellets. Trevor then landed his second carp and lost another.

A fish!

The match was halfway through before I got a bite on 4mm expander in the longer swim, and I bent down to pick up my landing net...only to realise I hadn’t put it together! The net was still on the bank, with no handle. So I clambered over my pole sections, walked the fish a few yards along the bank, picked up the net and landed a crucian a little under 1 lb. Thank goodness it wasn’t a ten-pound carp! Trevor opposite was highly amused an promised he’d read this blog to see if I confessed to being a berk...I do.

Another?

About an hour after that episode I had another bite in the nearside swim, and the elastic streamed out. It’s my favourite Middy 22-24, but although sound (I had checked it) it’s old and a bit stretchy so I quickly added two more sections. The fish made for the aerator on my left and I had to dip the pole tip under the surface. The fish slowed, and stopped. Now the problem with lowering the tip underwater is that you can’t see where the fish is heading, and when I lifted the pole I was horrified to see the fish had turned and made straight for one of the reed beds floating in the margins. It was solid. I got the float back, but not the fish.

Afterwards I reasoned that it was probably a foulhooked barbel. Which was no consolation at all. So back to the fishing, and after beefing up the elastic for the inside swim an hour went by with no fuerther bites. To relieve the boredom I walked up to Peter Baker, on my right, and photographed him landing an 8 lb carp on waggler – his fifth carp.

Peter playing his fifth carp.

 

"What are you doing taking my picture?"

Safely into the net.

Final fling

My final fling was to go out at 13 metres-plus to the big island to my right, after positioning the pole roller halfway up the bank and shipping it up and down the bank in one piece. It’s murder on the arms, but I persisted for nearly half an hour. I didn’t put any bait in, as I really had no idea what depth the fish were in, so I dotted around the various depths hoping that one fish would give its location away. But with no sign I eventually gave up, had another look near the other island, and then put the rest of my dead maggots into the near swim. I was rewarded by...a half-ounce perch ten minutes from time.

The weigh-in

I gleaned a few bit of information as I watched the weigh-in. Mick on 4 had got all his fish on the smallest pieces of sweetcorn he could find, which reminds me I must buy some small times of Jolly Green Giant Niblets, as these are smaller than the standard size and very useful in Winter. Terry, who won with 40 lb 8 oz on peg 14  had gelatined his 4mm expanders (or they might have been 3mm as they looked quite small) and had all his fish on them. I was gelatining pellets 15 years ago,  but the Bag-Em ones I use don’t really seem to need it; however I am going to do a few again as you never know if there’s a difference in the way they behave underwater.

Bob was third with 31 lb 1 oz.

Winner Terry, 40 lb 8 oz.

Peter Baker’s swim was either a bit shallower than mine or he was fishing his expander off bottom, which made me think that the fish were indeed cruising around slowly just off bottom. I had tried just off bottom, so  I can only shrug my shoulders and say I didn’t do anything stupid. John on 9 had a big fish first drop-in in the deep water and then had a short good spell just before the end of the match in slightly shallower water, which goes to show you can never give up on days like this.

The one silver lining is that I wasn't last, as Martin didn't weigh in. I don't know whether he caught anything, but as Kevin Ashurst told me many years ago: "If you haven't weighed you haven't catched." So I wasn't last!!!

The result. I wasn't last!!!

Sunday see me fish the first of the Tony Evans Winter League matches on Decoy. I'm told that 70 have entered - all will be better than me, but if a village football team gets the chance to play against a Premier Division side, they are not likely to turn it down, are they?