This was a weekend club match, which took place on a very sunny, hot, day, though with a little bit of a cooling Westerly breeze. This lake in shaped like a capital L and peg 14 is on the bottom bank, one in from the corner of the L. I once took 175 lb from it, and have always had a soft spot for this swim, so was fairly happy with my draw, except that it was one of the pegs with very little ripple on it – the wind was mainly over my left shoulder across to peg 9 in the corner on the bank opposite to me, to my right. Got it?
Peg 1 here is top right corner of the L, with 4 in the inside corner, along to 9, then 10 to 15 along the botttom bank to the corner and 16 to 23 up the left hand bank, and 24 and 25 at the top end near the car park. Aerators were working around 23 and between 9 and 10, and I believe that helped on the day. But I was nowhere near one, and started on the bomb with corn with nothing, then at four pole sections in the deepest water, around four feet, still without a bite, then I put in some dead maggots at four sections to my left, near the margin, where there was a small hole, and found odd little carp and F 1s and a barbel or two which fought like demons.
My right hand margin was shallower and I opted to go out a metre into the deeper water, where I did manage to snare the odd carp on corn or dead maggots. I alternated between these two swims with just the very odd fish, including an 8 lb carp from the right which never took more than 2 feet of elastic from my pole tip but eventually ended in my landing net. Next drop in a fish screamed out to the right and I had to add sections...and it turned out to be a turbo-charged 2 lb F1.
Then came the roach, which seemed to prefer cat meat – as as happened at Lou’s. And I got very frustrated at having to keep replacing the cat meat which often lasted only seconds on the hook – despite the fact that it was original Coshida, which is very firm, and I had kept it in a cool bag with ice packs until I started using it. Occasionally a carp would take it, but the roach were amazingly persistent. At one time I tried the absolute margin on my left, which was about 14 inches deep, with a top two. Fish came in and swirled but nothing took my bait. Frustration!
I watched three anglers go for their third nets but my hopes that the final two hours would prove productive was wrong – I managed just 18 lb in my second net which I started at 2 o’clock.
At the weigh-in Dave on 7, who always uses a waggler, won yet again – he’s almost unbeatable this season – with 108 lb, all from the deepest water a few metres out on cat meat, followed by Matt in the corner over to my right with 107 lb, while Peter (who won the special handicap event attached to this match) took 90 lb. They had a bit of wind and were closer to the aerator at that end than me. Mel, on 24 at the top, also close to an aerator, was fourth. I was surprised to end eighth with 62 lb 6 oz.
There were a couple of things I should have tried - prawns, which would have defeated the most determined of roach and a bunch of worms, which may have tempted the carp, which I know were in my swims within seconds of feeding as I recognised the line bites they gave. I had prawns with me in the cool bag, and I breed my own worms, so goodness knows why I forgot to put some in a container before I left home - it takes only seconds to get dozens of them! That's the difference between me and a really good angler who leaves nothing to chance.
I think it may have been an advantage to be near the aerators and in the wind – but I’m not complaining (though non match-anglers may think I am). You’ve still got to catch the fish, and the best matchmen are those who take advantage of any luck coming their way. In that respect it’s like poker, which I play online. Get a bit of luck and keep the advantage it gives you. That’s what matchfishing entails; always has; always will. And – despite what some people may insist – we all get a bit of luck sometimes. Whether it’s a lucky fish or a good draw on the day.
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