Not a happy bunny

Six-islands Lake, Decoy, peg 20

This was a club match, with 11 fishing, and I would have preferred pegs 4 round to 14, which were forecast to have a ripple in a Westerly wind. But I wasn’t unhappy with 20, as it’s the peg where I won a Decoy Winter League this Winter, and when I got to my peg I remembered exactly where I had had my fish. At the start my swim was almost flat calm, and the sun was shining – not ideal in Winter. But I was still optimistic.

Calm water and sunshine at the start - the wind picked up gradually.

Unfortunately I couldn’t repeat any sort of success. I started at 11.5 metres on pellet over micros to the end of the island, but hooked just one fish in the first hour which came unstuck after one second.  I stuck it our here for nothing for another hour, also trying corn, and eventually coming in to the inside of the island, and getting a few roach on maggot. I then tried maggot in my first swim, for some roach and then a 2 lb F1 – but no more came.

The rest of the match was spent working my way round four swims, mainly with maggot, bites were spasmodic, and apart from a couple of perch every fish was a roach, best about 6 oz. The other two swims were down the track and into deepish water on a top-two plus one. Mick, to my right on 18, started catching fish very close in, and I could see he was almost four feet deep. However my bank had fallen in, giving a horrible bumpy margin and I had to go farther out to find the deeper water, but there was no feature to fish near, like a quick drop-off or reeds, so I had to just watch Mick pick up about seven carp in the last couple of hours.

The result - not brilliant but the water is still very cold.

Wind became a nuisance

The wind had started changing around – one minute from the right and next from the left; and one huge gust blew me into the island, snagged my rig, and I had to pull for a break and concentrate on closer swims for the next hour, just catching a few roach. Then the sky became overcast and it became much colder. Half-an-hour from the end I tried pellet again, at 11.5 metres, and foulhooked another 2 lb F1.

Bob, second with 42 lb 3 oz

Trevor - with 64 lb 8 oz on corn.

I weighed exactly 10 lb, next to last. Rob Allen, on my left, managed just four knocks on a feeder for three fish weighing 8 lb 7 oz. The windy section had fished a bit better, and Trevor, our organiser, won on peg 13 with 64 lb 8 oz on corn - and he was over the 50 lb limit in one net! Bob was on peg 9 – a peg I would love, as there are so many options (good margin to the right, shallow in the corner, the end bank within 13 metres, and an aerator 25 yards away in front) but have only drawn about twice in 20 years! Interestingly Peter, on 11, had nothing after three hours and tried cat meat in desperation, taking carp and the odd barbel for 34 lb 7 oz. I hadn’t had the nerve to try it! But I still believe that there weren’t as many fish willing to feed in our stretch of the lake at the car park end.

Mick thrashed me next door
 (we went to junior school together).

Peter's catch, taken on catmeat, which
included some barbel.

Next match may be an Open this weekend,but I haven’t decided which day is most convenient.