I fish a poor match – Beastie Lake, Decoy

Just eight of us turned up to fish the Sunday Open, with about 15 of the regulars either at Whiteacres or fishing the Match This qualifier at the Glebe.

I drew peg 30 – a swim with a very good reputation, in fact I was told that a huge weight came there recently, by an angler who fished a top two in the little bay to the left of the platform. That was my undoing!

I started on The Method cast about a third of the way to the island. The North-Easterly wind was quite fierce and blowing in to me from the right, and I decided that any fish were likely to be fairly close so after 15 minutes without a take or liner I changed to pole with maggot over maggot, pellet and hemp just to the right, where the water is deep right against the bank, and immediately started to catch bream around 2 lb. I also put some corn out at four sections in front of me, which was as far as I could comfortably fish, and even then I had to rest the pole on my spray bar.

I waste time targeting big carp

After 50 minutes, with 25 lb in the net I had a quick look out on the longer line, and a 3 lb tench obliged on the first drop-in. But with no more takes in the next ten minutes I went back to the right margin. Things were slow, so instead of working the swim back up  I had a look with cat meat in the bay, hoping for big fish. However, although I knew that there were carp there, because of liners, all I had in the next 30 minutes was one bream. So I went to the far corner of the bay with corn, and immediately caught about seven F1s. Then they went off and I wasted a lot more time with cat meat in the bay.

With two hours left I still had only about 60 lb, so I went back to the right margin. In retrospect I should have stayed there earlier, with another rig for the shallow part of the swim, over to the right, and another for farther out, to target the fish when they backed off. And then I should have kept feeding the F1 swim to my left.  But I kept trying the bay, with absolutely nothing to show for it. I’ve had big carp there before and could not believe I couldn’t catch them again. Although a decent carp or two came in, plus some late barbel, all from the right margin,  I finished with 92 lb 15 oz...and I was more than 7 lb over in one net. So actually I had caught 100 lb-plus.

Fifth, but I should have done better

I ended fifth of the eight, won with 165 lb on peg 22. But I forget to take my mobile with me, so I don’t have even a picture of the result. I believe I could certainly have been at least second  (136 lb) if I had followed the golden rule – keep putting fish in the net!

Next match probably Tuesday at Frazer’s, Ely, then it’s Decoy again on Thursday in a club match on Beastie.