I am an "Also Ran" on Willows, Decoy

Willows, Decoy, peg 35

I’ve fished peg 35 just once before, probably about 15 years ago. I can’t remember what I caught...so it obviously wasn’t that memorable! But it has produced some good catches in matches over the years, though I fancy it fishes best in Winter. It wasn’t Wintry today – hardly a breath of wind, so the surface was flat calm. And to my surprise, when I plumbed up ,the deepest part, about a third of the way over, was three-and-a-half feet deep, shallowing up to three feet as I went across.

Clouds of mud were being stirred up all day...but that was deceiving, as I found the fishing very difficult. Fourteen of us fished, with 25 always the best-rated swim, and 15 and 24 nor far behind...though I personally like 28 and 30 (because I’ve won from them).

Flatt as a pancake, and muddy. Peg 35 on Willows.

I had Trevor next to me, who vowed to fish shallow all day...and he did, starting on a waggler, catching a few fish, then casting it into the far-side reeds and losing it, then changing to a jigger. From then on he worked hard...and beat me. ‘Nuff said. I hit a fish in the left margin on corn, on the first drop-in, which came off; next was a bream which felt the same except that this one stuck. Then a big brown goldfish, then nothing. So out to six metres, where I had potted corn and hemp, but nothing there. So i put in some dead maggots next to the platform on my right, and hit two barbel immediately.

Terry Tribe is back to his
normal sparkling form after
being given a new knee.

Pattern? What pattern?

The pattern of the rest of the day...err, didn’t follow any pattern. I alternated the three swims, taking the odd fish from each. The highlights were a succession of small perch on the dead maggot, followed by a 10 lb mirror which somehow I managed to land on my size 18 Preston 478 hook – luckily it didn’t tear off, just plodded around. I also managed to lose two big carp, one of which I saw, and a 3 lb barbel foulhooked in the fin – it came towards the net several times but because it was foulhooked I couldn’t steer it properly. Anyway it eventually came off.

It wasn’t until the final hour that I managed to catch consistently, when some carp to 3 lb and the odd F1 and bream came from the long swim on corn at the rate of about one every five minutes. The bites were some of the tiniest I have ever experienced, and several fish were hooked on the outside of the mouth, telling me that the fish were just playing with the bait. It was noticeable that the smaller grains produced the best bites.

John (2nd) with a big mirror.

John, on 30, went for a third net (or it might have been his fourth) while I was still on my first. So I knew I was never going to win. I was given a weight of 88 lb 6 oz, in fifth spot though it wasn’t until I was sitting with John later having a mug of tea that I realised it should have been 78 lb 6 oz.

"You taking my picture?" Winner Peter
gives me the evil eye!

The barbel are in super condition
and getting bigger. Concentration
is required when handling them.
Peter Barnes concentrates!

Winner was Peter Harrison on 15 with 186 lb 2 oz, all but one taken on the pellet feeder over the far side with a banded 8mm pellet. He is an absolute whizz on that feeder. Peg 15 has always been a rated swim on Willows, but you’ve still got to catch ‘em! John was second on 159 lb 11 oz with Peter The Paste third, after having hooked and landed a catapult which he didn’t try to weigh – our eagle-eyed scalesmen would have spotted that if he had. Not much gets past them!

Bob had the nerve to put this beauty in his net...

So Trevor, on my left, beat me by 10 lb, and I made one big error. I had my feeder rod ready, but didn’t use it as the day was so still and the water so shallow I felt it would spook any fish nearby. I was probably wrong! But a nice, interesting day’s fishing, when every single fish had to be worked for.