A success of sorts...

Lous‘s Lake, Decoy, Peg 6

Three weeks off the bank for me , thanks to  a week in Tenerife followed, on the day we returned, by the snows and then a hospital appointment. So I was rarin’ to go fishing. I expect to be going back to Addenbrookes soon for an op of some kind, so if the blogs dry up suddenly without warning  you’ll know the reason.

This was the regular Saturday Open, but only four of us turned up – the reason possibly being Mothering  Sunday weekend (with compulsory shopping on the Saturday) and the nearby Rookery Farm Fishery at Pidley’s  penultimate Saturday qualifier for their two-day Winter Festival final in two weeks. But we had a pleasant surprise when owner Diane said the day’ fishing would be on her...a nice gesture. Thanks, Diane. This meant that the four entries of £25 would all go in prizes.

The road to Decoy was awash  with water, which was laying on the fields, so organiser Dannie suggested we move to Lous, as the bank beside the strips was likely to be really muddy. We agreed, and we also agreed on a walk-off – in which I was lucky enough to draw Number 1. Now Peg 6 has been the flier on here, but it normally means a long feeder cast to the reeds in the corner – and feedering is not my strong point. There was a stiff south-westerly breeze from the right, and the day was overcast, but very mild for the time of year.

Peg 6 on Lou's - one of the few noted flier at Decoy. But it's a long chuck to the corner. And it doesn't always produce.

I had to pick 6, didn’t I? If not, local Dannie, who had draw out Number 2, would have picked it! Anyway, I decided to sit it out as long as I felt comfortable, on the feeder with a hair-rigged 8mm Robin Red pellet. However for the first few minutes I had a look at an 8-metre line on the pole, and picked up a 1 lb bream first cast on a 4mm expander, followed by a roach and two more small roach which dropped off. Then I turned round and saw Dannie, on 10, behind me, landing a fish on a small cage feeder, probably with maggot.

My hand was forced

I felt my hand was forced, so put out my pellet feeder with a Robin Red pellet to the far corner – a long chuck! Two casts there and, after 20 minutes, I went to a nearer spot on the far bank, where I had been catapulting some loose pellets. After another 20 minutes I had a bite which turned out to be the most beautiful 4 lb common you ever did see! Scale-perfect and fin-perfect, and a lovely deep bronze, it looked almost like a long wild carp. And it was on steroids, probably because the cold water was full of oxygen. My arm really hurt as I netted it.

Twenty-five minutes later  another carp, of about 3 lb, came from the corner, and soon I cleverly managed to become snagged over there on an underwater obstruction, and lost the hook. So as Dannie had gone onto the pole, and was presumably struggling on the feeder,  I thought I’d try the eight-meter pole line again – and started getting bites immediately on expander over micros and hemp, with a few hard 4mm in the mix as well. Two or three bream were followed by a couple of carp, and then I hit one which took me all over the swim on my grey hydro elastic, before coming off. Almost certainly foulhooked.

Fish in the margins!

I’d been throwing some maggots out to my right, into the teeth of the wind, so they landed no more than two metres from the bank. I put a little more feed out to my eight-metre swim and more in hope than expectation I dropped a rig with two maggots into the side swim. A bream obliged immediately , then some smaller ones about 4 oz and I was wondering whether I should go back to the longer swim when a carp took the bait.

I don’t know whether this was foulhooked, but I do know it was well over 5 lb as I briefly saw it...then the hook pulled out. Another carp, of 3 lb, came from there and I fed again and went out in front of me again.

Calamity!

Another carp of 2 lb came to pellet, then I hit something else big, which took a long time to land on the grey hydro, but it was worth it – almost 10 lb in the net! Then came a smaller fish, then on the next one the hook pulled off the line. How can that happen? Two good fish and it decides to come unwhipped... Then two more foulhooked, and I turned to the side swim.

This was worse – five carp in five casts all pulled out; all probably foulhooked by the way they swam. I came off bottom at 6 inches, 12 inches and 18 inches and never had a bite. As soon as I dragged bottom in the stiff wind I got bites, but also the foulhookers. So I had a quick look again with a pop-up on the feeder while I surveyed the situation – but had no fish, just a liner.

The answer

I carefully adjusted to fish dead depth in the 8-metre swim and went back on the pole. An inch was golden. And once I had it right I lost no more. But now there were only 40 minutes left and I estimated I had 30 lb. However I took a couple of bream and two more smallish carp, and with 10 minutes left an eight-pounder came in, on a 6mm expander, which was now working better than the smaller ones.

PS On the Maggot-drowners forum which I am a member of, some insist that it's impossible to fish dead-depth because the bottom is never like a billiard table. That's why I look for a very gradual slope, so I can drift into the spot where the bait just touches bottom. It's not rocket science! But you do need a very sensitive set-up, and I am lucky that even with spectacles I have good eyesight and can see the tiniest quiver of the float, which warns me to look out for a proper bite in the next few seconds.

Talk about last-gasp

 My watch now showed 3.30pm, the finishing time, but a glance behind showed Dannie was still fishing. So I dropped in again and within seconds hooked another carp, and almost immediately thought I heard a shout.  A few seconds later I turned round and the other three were packing up. I’d seen Dannie land the occasional fish I assumed were carp, so also assumed he had won...but I played that fish carefully. It eventually came to the net at about 6 lb, and went into my second net.

 

The result - a very narrow win for me.

The weigh-in

Michael, on peg 2, had fished at Decoy before, but never been in an Open here. He weighed in 13 lb 9 oz. I was thankful I had put my last fish in a second net, as they weighed 51 lb. Had it gone into the first net I would have been cut back to 50 lb. Then came Dannie, who said it would be close – and it was, as his fish weighed 50 lb 4 oz.  And Stuart on peg 13 had 20 lb. So although there were only four  I can say I won – and the £60 in my back pocket was the proof.

Reflections

Dannie and I spoke afterwards and we both said that when we started catching fish close in the assumed the carp were moving in the milder weather.  He took mainly roach close in, but had all his carp, except the first one on feeder, from open water not too far out. I’m now very much looking forward to a match on Tuesday on Oak, just hoping the banks will have dried out a bit. With a bit of luck the fish, which have tended to be out at 13.5 metres or more, will be willing to come close-in to the bottom of the shelf just a couple of metres, or less, from the bank.

Dannie - who regularly finishes in the
frame at Decoy. 

Me with friend!

For the record (and to remind myself) I am currently fishing mainly size 16 hooks to a 0.12mm hook length. But I don’t use loops, as so often then can look untidy and alter the angle of the line, as well as being easy to see underwater. So I tie a 12-inch length of nylon to the main line using a grinner knot, which allows the line to hand perfectly straight. In addition, because  of the fact that with this knot no piece of nylon is pulling across another I believe it’s the strongest knot available. To this I whip the hook. It’s much neater than using loops, which I can never get apart quickly anyway!

Although I will probably start the next match on grey hydro and the size 9 elastic in my close-in top, I am happier with stronger elastic so will be ready to put any successful rig onto Preston size 13 Hollo if the fish take too long to land. As a general rule I prefer the stronger elastics as I think it stops these carp getting up a big head of steam when first hooked.