Things are getting better - Cedar Lake, Decoy

This was the third Spratts match of the year, and 14 of us fished on this strip lake, with seven on odd numbers 1 to 13 down one side, and seven evens from 14 to 26 opposite. Pegs around 1 to 6 and opposite on 22 to 26 have had an edge all winter, so I was a little disappointed to draw 18, facing the cool wind. Still, I had a job to do.

I plumbed up at 13 metres, expecting fish to be well out as it felt cold, plus a couple of margin rigs, though immediately to my left the bank had fallen in and I had to go out two metres from the bank to find what I thought might be a food trap.

First cast, though, was on a small Method feeder with maggot, and within two minutes of casting out I was into a 3 lb mirror, safely landed. But ten or 12 minutes after re-casting I hadn’t had another bite (though several liners) and I decided to have a quick look in the margin to my right, on a top two, where I had been throwing maggots every couple of minutes. My reasoning is that even if I don’t catch a fish at least everything will be set up for later, and I get an idea of what the bottom is like.

I feed mainly 6mm pellets in the margin

First drop in here and an F1 obliged, but then nothing, though I suspected roach were hitting the line, and I foulhooked a tiny roach and a tiny gudgeon.. So after 15 minutes I went to the left hand swim, where I had been throwing 6mm pellets and corn. I had a quick pleasure session at Fields End in the week, to experiment, and it seemed sensible to use 6mm pellets there to loose feed, as it’s quite deep. That gave me a lot of confidence, as I had ended with around 100 lb of mainly carp after feeding 6mm, rather then the 4mm I would normally use early season.

Anyway, first drop in with a 6mm expander brought a 5 lb carp...but then no more. A shift back to the right, right against the reeds, saw another fish or two, and I alternated between the two swims for an hour or so, having put on my waterproof Goretex jacket because the wind was now quite cold, and directly in the face of anglers on my bank. Cat meat also worked well, taking six or seven fish.

Peter Spriggs - for a change he caught
nothing on his favourite bait - paste.

The inevitable poor spell mid-match

I had clicked 40 lb after about two-and-a-half hours of the match, and decided to start on my second net. But then I struggled for at least two hours, adding just an F1 on corn from the left and another on pellet on my first drop onto a new 8mm swim in front of me, but no more there. It seemed to me that everyone had a poor spell at that time. With about 90 minutes left I actually stopped fishing and had a hot drink while I thought about what to do, and had a session fishing shallow, as fish were occasionally swirling just under the surface, but within two minutes the wind had increased and the fish had gone.

Anxious to make something happen I started a new swim five metres to the left against some reeds. I had seen Mark Ramm, opposite, catch five quite quickly fishing against reeds, where I guessed the water would be deeper, the reeds preventing bank collapse. In went about 15 grains of corn, followed by my rig, and immediately I was playing a 5 lb carp.

Runner-up John Garner - though these are
carp and F1s the majority of his fish were
barbel - difficult to estimate their weight.

Worm works well

Having learned from the early part of the match that the fish seemed to want feed, but were spooked when one was hooked,  I put in some bait and went to the right margin, where a barbel obliged on maggot. Back to the left, then right, then left, and I had a fish each time. There were now about 40 minutes left, and realising that there were barbel there which weren’t taking the bait properly, I had another brainwave – try a big dendra.

This brought immediate results, with carp to 6 lb and barbel to 5 lb. One barbel, foulhooked in the pectoral fin, weeded me well to the left. I had to walk up and have a prod with my special hook, and the fish came out, only to then dive through a feed bed under my feet. It went under by at least four feet, and I could just still see my float. Miraculously it came out, only to repeat the performance twice more before I was finally able to net it. That 30-minute spell on worm had added over 30 lb.

With 40 lb on my clicker for the second net there were just 20 minutes to go, and fetching a third net would have cost me at least eight minutes, so I decided to carry on, risking going over. A 2 lb barbel went into the right net, and then...a 10 lb carp was next. I had to decide which net to put it in, and decided on the first one – although I had clicked 40 lb I tend to underestmate the weight of fish, and I find barbel particularly difficult to get right. I was certain I would then be well over in that net.

An anxious-looking me. Some of my
barbel must have been almost 5 lb.

I learn that John has three nets

So into the first net it went, and with seconds to go I added a 2 lb barbel, which I put in the second net. John Smith, to my right, had had a couple of good spells, landing three or four fish quickly, but I had been working so hard and concentrating on my swim that I had no idea if he had beaten me. I hadn’t heard anyone drive up for a third net, but as we were packing up John told me that John Garner, on 26, had three nets, so I guessed I would not win.

I took a long time to pack up (as always), partly because I had six rigs to pack away, having used all of them and caught on five – I use different rigs for maggots and cat meat in each swim, so I missed seeing a big barbel estimated at 7 lb and a 13 lb carp taken from the opposite bank. I was in time to see our organiser Trevor weigh a lovely golden common around 10 lb taken just before the match ended.

Robert Allen, who writes the weights, has
the most beautiful writing! The weights
were well spread on Cedar. 

The moment of truth

Trevor weighed 62 lb 10 oz, with John, on my right, taking 39 lb 11 oz.  A peek at the weigh sheet showed me that Terry Tribe leading, with 69 lb 14 oz. My second net was fist to be weighed and it went 47 lb 3 oz, so I then knew I had probably put my last carp into the correct net – it would have taken me way over had I put it in this one. Then to my first net, which to my surprise (and delight) weighed 50 lb 8 oz – knocked back to 50 lb.

John Garner on 26 said that although he had three nets they were mainly barbel, and he doubted whether he could make 100 lb. In fact his first two weighed 38 lb each, so he needed 21 lb to beat me...and his third net went 16 lb, giving me the win. Weights were close, though – third was 69 lb 14 oz, followed by 69 lb 8 oz and 69 lb 4 oz, then 68 lb 5 oz – a day when one lost 2 lb barbel was important.

CONCLUSIONS

I was actually very pleased with how I fished. I’ve been reading the fishing magazines recently, and a feature by Alan Scotthorne in which he recommended feeding marginal swims little but often - every two minutes - ingrained itself on my mind. I also switched swims more quickly than I often do, and even changed elastics a couple of times when they didn’t feel right playing fish. Often I might have thought about it but not done anything.

I have been experimenting with lighter elastics  - down to 10 or 12 rather than 16 or above – and have not lost any fish on them, though I think the fish take slightly longer to land. If you’ve got someone fishing at the next peg they are mainly out of the question, but I quite like the feel of the lighter elastics.

So my first win of the year – after horrendous Winter League results I wondered if I would ever have a good catch again. Three club matches since the league finished, and a fifth, a third and now a first. Happy Bunny! I hope to fish a match this weekend, then it’s Beastie Lake on Thursday.Pegs 2, 8, 9, or 13 will do me fine, plus my favourite 18.

My first frame of the year – Six Island, Decoy

The forecast for this Spratts club match was for sun early, then cloud with a steady WSW wind, and possible showers. In the event there was no rain, and the forecast was correct. I would have liked a peg facing the wind, which was cool but not bitterly cold – so 25 and 1 round to 9 would have suited me. In the event I pulled 12 out of the bag, giving me a back/side wind from the left and between the two islands in front of 11 and 13.

Unfortunately both those pegs were taken, so I had to content my self with open water. Rather than start on a feeder, as I would have done if I’d had a feature to cast to, I started on pole at 13 metres. Sport was slow (actually non-existent) all round, but then Peter Harrison to my left hooked a carp on feeder after about 45 minutes, and soon I managed a 4 lb mirror on a 4mm expander.

Peg 12 is between the two islands.

There’s a high bank behind these pegs 10 to 15, and it’s awkward pushing the pole back up the bank. In fact it must have taken ten minutes before I managed to get another nugget of micros back into the swim, and I had to use the big pot to do that. I tried to use the short butt to protect the end section from the bank, but eventually decided to take it off and to break down. A long time later I managed a roach on pellet, had one or two more tiny knocks, and decided to start another swim at five sections, about 8.5 metres.

A bait dropper got the maggots down to the bottom

I put in maggots with a bait-dropper as there was a definite tow against the wind, and had half an hour here catching roach – nice ones around 2 oz or 3 oz, hoping that carp would come in. Eventually I hooked a better fish...and it came off. Then, slowly, things picked up and a 6 lb carp and a smaller F1 took my four maggots.

Opposite, on peg 7, John Garner had had an early fish on the feeder, then a long blank spell at about 9 metres, then two fish from his margins. Then he started catching fish at 9 metres, and I watched as he baited his hook, to try to see what he was using. I thought I saw him push his hands together and then bring them apart – and I guessed (correctly,  John told me afterwards) that he was using a baiting needle with cat meat.

My lovely 10 lb golden mirror.

A change to a small piece of meat, from a sachet, brought a fish within seconds, but this also came off. So I changed to a heavier rig with a size 12 Animal hook, and tried again. This brought two or three F1s. With a couple of hours to go I had a look inside, where I had been throwing in some micros and corn, and first drop saw me hook, and land, a beautiful 10 lb golden mirror. Peter, to my left, was catching the very occasional fish on feeder, and Mick, to my right, eventually found some fish casting a feeder towards the end bank to his right, in peg 10.

Runner-up John Garner.

The margins produced...

For the rest of the match I concentrated down my deep margin swim  to the right, taking another three or four F1s and a couple of smaller carp, and a final look to the left margin saw three more F1s on corn, even though I had not put any bait there. The F1s were nearly all 3 lb or 4 lb – really good weight-builders, and they brought me to an estimated 50 lb. I estimated John, opposite had at least 80 lb.

The weigh-in

Peter Spriggs, on peg 1, had 108 lb 12 oz to win. His took his fish at 8 metres and 11 metres on Paste and expander. John, opposite me, had 91 lb 7 oz, and although he had a look in the margins towards the end, never took another fish there.  Amazingly I was third with 52 lb 10 oz. So my first frame of the year! You can see that the weights were then quite close, so those last three F1s from the unbaited swim really boosted me.

The result (obviously!)

In the margin I used my special little method and that told me that when I had a quick look early on in the margin there appeared to be no fish there. But later, even though I wasn’t getting proper bites, I could tell that there were fish there, swimming around. Later still, towards the end, when I started catching, the fish were playing with the bait but not taking it properly, and I had to wait for a second or two before striking when I got a proper indication. Nearly all the fish had the hook inside the mouth, which led me to believe that they were sucking it in and blowing it out, and if I was lucky I struck when it was inside!

Peg 18 can be a flier, but Rob there apparently struggled until the last 45 minutes, when he took almost all of his 35 lb 3 oz - a lesson in sticking it out to the end.

First club match of the new season – Oak Lake, Decoy

A very strong, bitterly-cold wind greeted the 12 of us (actually 11 because Terry Tribe had to come late)  and we decided to all fish with our backs to it, on pegs 1 to 15 on Oak. I drew 15 – the longest walk – but it was sheltered a little by the high end bank.

Like almost everybody else I started on a feeder, and with nothing after half an hour was about to change but then Mick, on 14, landed a carp around 4 lb, on a small Method feeder with maggot – like I was using. So I gave it another half-hour and was rewarded with a 2 lb carp. After a lull I tried the near margins and the end bank to my left, without a bite. Two hours had gone and I decided to fish as the majority of the best Winter League regulars would have done – on a long pole, putting in maggot and a few pieces of corn with a bait dropper because it was impossible to tell where loose-feed might end up, in the strong wind..

Winner Peter Harrison, 51 lb 1 oz.

Terry Tribe, third, 27 lb 5 oz

I found 11 metres not too difficult in the wind, with pellet, and a change to maggot brought a 5 lb mirror. In the next hour I took two smaller fish, and then during a foray to the reed-lined end bank, managed to foulhook a 2 lb carp on maggot. I immediately switched to hanging a bait off bottom, but had no bites. Another quick look on the feeder was followed by concentrating on the long pole, and a four-pounder and two smaller fish came to corn even though I had not baited for over an hour.

Then a lull and with half an hour to go a switch to a lighter rig with maggot brought a three-pounder. To my right Mick had seven fish on a feeder, while on 13 Peter did not have a bite until 3.45 pm, when he managed to hook three fish and land one in the last 15 minutes!

John Garner - three fish for 26 lb 14 oz.

Bigger fish to our right

At the weigh-in Mick and I were surprised to see how big the fish were to our right. John Garner had just three for 26 lb 14 oz, while Terry Tribe had four for 27 lb 5 oz. Winner was Peter Harrison on his favourite Method with micros, baiting with maggot or corn. He had about ten fish for 51 lb 1 oz. Runner-up was Trevor on peg 3; he took three fish in three casts about 90 minutes after the start from the middle of the strip, and two-and-a-half hours later had four in four casts from the far side, totalling 39 lb 8 oz.

Peter Barnes cast out before the match started to clip up, and foulhooked a carp. In the match itself he never had a fish! It’s a funny old game...

Smaller fish at our end

My eight fish went 25 lb 1 oz, for fifth, while Mick next door had seven for 22 lb 7 oz and sixth. Afterwards Trevor told me Andy Geldart had had my peg 15 in the Winter League final, and had caught just one fish for about 3 kg. I checked, and pegs 15 and 13 on Oak had the two lowest weights on the whole complex in that match, which made me feel a little better. I really didn’t think I had done too badly, and that confirmed it. Not sure when my next match is - but next Tuesday is definite.

Best area was opposite the bird hide.

Not a good day for me - Fraser's Fishery

I knew as soon as I drew peg 12 on Mark’s Lake out of the bag that I would be lucky to do well. It’s a corner peg and one of the few not to have a feature of some sort out in the open water. I remembered that a couple of years ago, when I fished a club match, Fraser had said it was a very good  Summer peg. All fifteen of us were on the 15 peg Mark’s Lake, and there was bright sun all day, the water was ice-cold (the temperature had dropped to near-freezing overnight) and the swims at our end of the lake were flat calm all day – horrible conditions.

My swim at the end. The island is out of bounds from this peg.

.

I had a look down the margins with pellet at the start, then tried the deep water five sections out with pellet and then maggot, and then switched to fishing shallow with maggot – all without a sign of a bite. Eventually I managed to foulhook a 1 lb carp in the dorsal fin on pellet in the margins, but added only one three-pounder on maggot a little farther from the bank, on the down shelf.

Yet another win for Joanne.

Two more carp came on the last 45 minutes, to double fluoro pinkie fished a half depth in the margins, and that was my lot! I knew I was well down the field as I had seen Joanne Banks on Peg 8 catch fish early on, while two to my right, the angler on Peg 10 had occasional fish all day, fishing shallow to the island, using maggot towards the end of the match. I knew that Robert Edmondson, a regular here, was on Peg 2, which gave him the option of fishing to the island, and in fact he was second, although I couldn’t see him.

Joanne told me she fished long, towards the metal erections which Fraser has put in to give more features. She took fish on corn and pellet, catching some on the bottom and others a couple of feet off bottom, and weighed 39 lb 12 oz. A class act.

My 8 lb 6 oz was nowhere, but I wasn’t at all disheartened. The really annoying thing was that although we had no ripple, the wind was a nuisance, and blew floating debris into my swim all day. I had to keep lifting my rig out to avoid it. But that’s fishing, and one day I will draw a flier...

The result. Note that I wasn't last!

Fantastic fishing - Field's End Fishery

Saturday saw me have a rare pleasure session, and I chose to go to Field’s End Fishery, in Doddington, near Chatteris. I fished The Pool, which was presumably an irrigation reservoir about 80 yards across. The water is clearer than most commercials, and drops down quite deep.

Four carp around 3 lb came to expander in the first two hours on a top-two plus two, and I lost three foulhooked. I then tried shallow with banded pellet, and in the next two hours had a great time, landing about 25 ide all around 3 lb, and a 3 lb carp, ending up 11 metres out. Then the wind got up, and sport slowed, so I changed to a top two with corn. The first three drop-ins saw carp of around 8 lb, 9 lb and 10 lb come in!

I walked up to a pleasure angler to my left and had a 15-minute conversation. He was catching smaller ide on a pellet waggler. I went back, intending to catch two more fish and then pack up. Two fish came quickly, and I packed up all my rigs apart from the top-two rig.

I dropped in again, hooked another carp, and in the next 45 minutes landed a round 70 lb of carp between 3 lb and 6 lb. No nets are allowed, but I reckon I had between 180 lb and 200 lb of fish. A wonderful day. Such a pity the owners do not allow any matches to be fished.