Disappointing

Cedar Lake, Decoy, peg 3

This was the fourth match in the five-match Drennan Individual Winter League, and before the draw Steve Freeman and I were talking about the pegs we fancied – I went for 1 or 26 on cedar. These are opposite each other at the car park enf o this strip lake. But I was happy with peg 3 as Cedar often  tends to fish better towards this end. The water was flat calm with a light south-easterly wind from my right.

Unfortunately when I got to my peg Jon Whincup was on my right on 1 and Martyn Freeman was on 26. Both were in my section of 5, and both are crack anglers, so I realised I was effectively fishing for third place. And I started well. After half an hourwith none of the other three of us having a fish - though the other two both lost two or three fish, probably foulhooked -  I took three carp in three put-ins on expander pellet at 11.5 metres. Then I waited for almost three hours for another one, apart from a few tiny roach on maggot at 13 metres. Another 3 lb carp came from my second swim to my right at 10 metres on maggot. And ten minutes before the end a 2 lb tench took my maggot at 14.5 metres. All day I veered from fishing  just touching bottom to a few inches off, putting in small expanders and micros to begin with, and changing to micros and maggots later.

Meanwhile the angler on my left had started to get occasional fish about halfway through the match on pellet, and the angler opposite had about four, and two four-pounders in the last half-hour, on maggot. I cannot work out why I couldn’t catch at this time.

 

My section, won with 80 lb 14 oz.

The match was won on Six-Island peg 11.

Martyn Freeman won the lake with 80 lb 14 oz fishing maggot to the end bank on his left, and never put a single piece of bait in that area, fishing various depths from the bottom to a foot or two off bottom. Jon, also, did not feed his swim next to the end bank, taking his 51 lb 13 oz about 8 inches off bottom on maggot. He told me afterwards he didn’t get a single fish from open water, where he had fed.

Beastie was the hardest of the lakes.

As always Damson fished consistently.

My 15 lb 5 oz was last on the lake, and obviously last in my section. I see that there was an 18 lb farther down the lake, and the angler opposite me was next lowest with 23 lb 6 oz, so perhaps it wasn’t just bad fishing on my part. I need a miracle in my last two matches so I can drop these five points and perhaps end up with a reasonable total. My first three brought me a respectable six points.

Willows was clear but still produced good weights.