Another Scratcher but a good result

Snake Lake, Head Fen Fishery, peg 8

This was a strange day that started off badly – I hadn’t fished at Head Fen, near Ely, since last September. It’s about 45 minutes from my house, and when I arrived the ticket shed had been moved and I could see no sign of the sheds where the nets were kept. I addition there was a pleasure angler setting up on Snake. He had not seen the note on the ticket shed, and happily moved, especially when myself and another angler assured him that Trev’s Lake would be a better bet for pleasure fishing anyway, as it contains many different species of fish, as opposed to Snake which has only carp, is shallow, and almost always fishes hard in cold weather.

When I then asked where the nets were kept an angler told me: “You have to use your own.” Oops! A new rule! I hadn’t brought my keepnets, though I had a spare landing net in the car. So I headed back home, a bit annoyed that I hadn’t thought to double-check (though nets have been provided here for at least ten years). Then a stroke of luck. At the junction where I was turning left to go home a van was coming in from the right – had I been ten seconds earlier I would not have taken any notice of it! And I recognised Dave Priestley, an old Mucker of mine from Wisbech.

I wound down the window and he stopped and I told him of my problem; he looked at his mate and turned back to me and said he would be able to sort me some nets out! Sure enough they found some nets, left I presume by some regulars…and I was in business! So thanks to Dave and Nod.

My target today was simple – try not to come last. All the others knew the fishery like the back of their hands – they were all regulars and would know every swim. Among them was one of the best matchmen in East Anglia – Tony ‘Awesome’ Dawson, who lives at Ely and has a fearsome reputation throughout commercials in this area. So avoiding last place would be very satisfactory. Fourteen of us fished.

There was a strong bitterly-cold North-Westerly again and I prayed for a back wind. No such luck – I drew 8, which had the wind coming in from the right at an angle. And with the weather as it was I had little option but to start on the far bank, which luckily I could reach with 13 metres, while some of the others needed 14 metres. I realised after the match that it was probably the windiest and coldest swim in use that day! Imagine a capital M with another leg going up on the right – that’s the shape of Snake and we fish along the bottom bank – Peg One to 5 on the inside of the first leg and 6 to 9 down the second leg and round the corners to 28 at the end on the right, with the wind coming approximately from the right bottom corner of this page.

Now before a match I usually sort out the tops I think I might need and attach rigs, folding the tops down with a Doobry in place to stop the elastic being cut, and holding the winder in place using the piece of elastic I use as a hook-up. This saves me time thinking about what I might need, or rooting about in my box for rigs. And luckily I had had the foresight to attach a small yellow-topped Maver Invincible float to top containing purple Hydro, which I started on.

In Summer this is a prolific water, with 100 lb possible from almost any peg – fish which have grown quickly from 2 lb to an average of 4 lb, with some at 5 lb-plus. But in a rare fit of intelligence I decided to fish as if it was Winter so, with the water so cold, I simply dobbed a piece of bread punch with this rig against the far bank, where the water was about two feet, shelving down to three feet about four feet out from the bank. I looked around and nearly everybody else also seemed to be fishing the far bank as well.

In the first half-hour I had two or three obvious liners, and then struck lucky with a piece of corn, which was taken by a four-pounder, And this was the time when I realised I needed that tight Purple Hydro to stop the fish ploughing into a channel to the left or a little tuft of sedge to the right. There was no question of shipping straight back to the top two – that took a minute or two, by which time the fish had started to tire. The strong stuff stops fish from building up a head of steam, and this was what was needed today. Then it was a matter of coaxing them in by holding the pole tip low so they tend to rise to the surface.

I also lost a fish, also obviously foulhooked as it powered off along the far bank, suddenly changed direction to go the other way, came in towards me at speed, and then made off straight for the far bank again. Anyway, it came off. And it was satisfying to see Tony Dawson, through one of the channels which cut across from one arm to the next, also hit a fish which he had to follow from way on his right to way down on his left in a matter of about three seconds. The fish on here really do go!

I had already put in a few expanders and grains of corn at five sections, almost in the middle, and had a look here, which resulted in a five-pounder foulhooked in the fin – a bit of a let-down because for a moment I thought I might be able to get fish going there. But although I tried it several more times I never had another bite there.

The rest of the match saw me concentrate on the far bank, with occasional forays into the middle, and down the margins with luncheon meat, which produced nothing. Yet in Summer you can catch fish after fish from the margins after the first hour or two. With the wind from the right I held the pole across my right knee, resting against my left knee, but I had to press hard with the left hand against the wind and my left shoulder started to hurt, so I had to keep stopping. I don’t think I’ve done any permanent damage but as you get older it’s best not to take chances. And the wind was so cold that I twice stopped to take a hot drink – something I rarely do during a match, but they warmed me up sufficiently to stop me shivering.

I had a couple of fish with the bread a foot off the bottom, then a spell of liners, and in desperation came up to just ten inches deep, which surprisingly brought a lost fish within seconds then two quick fish at 4 lb or so. Over the next two hours another three fish made their way in, all at just ten inches deep, plus another couple of lost foulhookers, and with an hour to go I was wondering where my next proper bite was coming from. It was a real scratcher!

At this point the sun came out, causing a problem because it cast a shadow from the pole, and I dare not lengthen the line between pole tip and float because of fishing so close to the reeds. A longer line than the one foot I was using would have meant the fish would be in snags as soon as I struck..

In desperation I potted in some red maggot – the first feed I had used on the far bank - hoping this would take the fish down to where they felt safer. Amazingly this brought two quick fish just off bottom on a bunch of four dead reds, and with eight minutes left a final fling with bread punch just off bottom saw me net another three-pounder seconds before the whistle went. I hadn’t seen many other fish caught recently, though the angler on peg 11 had a fish on the whistle, and the angler behind me later told me he had had four fish in his last four put-ins, so perhaps they had started to feed.

Top weight to me round from peg 2 was eight fish for 33 lb and I had been determined not to underestimate my fish like I had two days earlier, so I overestimated, and with my clicker showing 35 lb for eight fish in one net and 7 lb for the other two fish I reckoned I probably had 36lb, so at least I would not come last and might be top weight on this little piece of bank. Mission Achieved!

Err, I still need to go to Specsavers! The first net was 39 lb 10 oz and the second 7 lb 8 oz. giving me 47 lb 2 oz, which was top round to peg 16, a lovely-looking swim with reeds and Irises opposite which has produced the winning weight in several of our club matches here. He had 121 lb, all on dobbed bread punch across. Dave Priestley, to the winner’s right, had 43 lb, which no-one else could top, so I picked up a brown envelope for second. Happy Days.

I now wonder whether slop would have brought the fish in to investigate. Groundbait is allowed on Decoy only in feeders, so I get out of the habit of using it. On the other hand since the fish were not really feeding, but cruising around aimlessly, it might have actually put them off. Who knows? The interesting thing was that the fish seemed to be changing their depth constantly, which is something I must bear in mind for the next match or two.

Tomorrow sees me on Yew Lake at Decoy, in a club match – this club holds all its matches midweek to allow for shift workers. The fish on this strip are a good average size, with lots in double-figures, and Pegs 10 and 21, opposite each other, are always a good bet. But knowing my current luck I will get nowhere near them, and will be facing the wind. Wish me luck!