I scrape into an unexpected second place - Lous, Decoy

Peg 15

Fifteen of us fished this Spratts match, so with just 15 pegs on Lous there were no spare pegs. I drew the one peg I wouldn’t have chosen – peg 15. It’s narrow, in a corner, with reeds about 11 metres in front, and reeds along the right hand side, which some almost right up to the platform. Peg 14 to the left is opposite the end of the reeds, and the angler here can also  cast right across to the far bank some 25 metres away. There wasn’t much wind, and the water in my swim looked dead – a bit scummy, with fish weaving in and out of the reeds just below the surface, presumably nearing spawning time.

To cap it all, Peg 15 was drawn as the Golden Peg, so a rollover was almost certain, with pegs 6 and 7 favourites in my mind to produce good weights. Honestly I half expected to be sitting there a half time with an empty net. Peter Spriggs, who drew this in a Summer match last year (or it may have been the year before) said he could get a bite only beside the platform of Peg 14...but that was out for me today.

No wind, flat calm, and very, very hot. I didn't fancy my Peg 15.

However, first drop in with a 6mm expander, fished shallow and dropped in front of a fish, saw a two-pounder come in fairly easily on the grey Hydro. Second attempt at mugging a cruising fish was also successful...but the fish shot into the far side reeds and snagged me. I got the rig back and changed it on to a tight 13 Hollo. Next drop in, a fish was hooked and it ploughed into the reeds on the right hand side. Me 1; Fish 2.

                                                     I struggle for the first three hours.

Peter Barnes struggled next to
the winner. He had mainly reeds
in his margin swims.

Then I couldn’t get a take from any of the hundreds of fish which came through the swim, from left to right, making for the reeds. Eventually I gave up and went out to about 7 metres in the open water. I fished here for half an hour with expander without a bite. So into the margin, and a 2 lb carp obliged on corn from the left. After another long wait two 8 oz crucians came from a spot a foot or so from the reeds on the right, on corm on a top two. The a 2 lb carp from the left again, and after two hours I reckoned I had about 7 lb.

Halfway through the match Callum came down to see Wendy, his mother, and asked how much I had. I told him 10 lb. But a little while later I put on a piece of meat and managed another fish from the left, on a top two. Meanwhile Terry Tribe, on my left, had two or three times my weight, taking fish on a straight bomb, and also some near the reeds opposite, on hard pellet, fished shallow, and also fished near the bottom. He said later he had to lift the bait to get a bite. Then he started fishing in the margin, and picked up occasional fish there.

Things gradually get better

Trevor took most of his fish mugging.

My sport gradually picked up, provided I fed and followed it immediately with my rig. Meat worked best on the righthand swim, which was a few inches deeper than the left, where corn seemed better. At one point I hit a 10 lb fish, which I clearly saw on the surface. I broke down to my top two, which had purple Hydro, but couldn’t stop the fish suddenly turning and shooting into the reeds on my right. I lost about three more fish like that. Even my Middy 18-20 solid wouldn’t hold them all.

Now although fish were still swimming around the reeds some were coming out and then dropping down, giving me liners. But my Special Method was able to avoid striking until I had a proper bite, and I missed hardly any of those, even though sometimes they took two or three minutes to develop. Like the previous Sunday, carp were definitely playing with the bait, and often I simply had to lift the rig out and drop it in again, hoping a fish would take the bait as it hit bottom. A couple of 1 lb crucians muscled in, and just one F1.

                                                           

Peter Spriggs was third from Peg 9.

The bait had to be moving

Sport came in spurts, mainly 3 lb fish with the odd five pounder and not a single one took a static bait on the bottom – they all took either on the drop or when the bait was moved. Ten minutes from the end another big fish took me into the reeds and I lost the rig. With no more than six minutes left I switched to my corn rig, put a piece of meat on, and a five-pounder came in. Another quick drop-in and a three –pounder came in.

                 

A good ending

Another half-hour and I reckon I would have added 40 lb! But inevitably the shout went up to end the match. So a good ending from a swim I really, really did not fancy. I fed mainly coen and pellet, and think I should have potted in hemp when I started to catch fish with two hours to go. But I didn’t!

I had seen Martin Parker fishing long, presumably shallow, so assumed he had a lot of fish. John on 6 had been for a third net with 90 minutes to go, and Mick Linnell on 13 had had early fish. I assumed I would probably be nearly last.

But following the scales I realised that almost everybody had struggled. Trevor had hardly anything on peg 4 at 12 o’clock, but had then switched to mugging moving fish and finished with 68 lb. John easily won, with the majority of his fish coming from the left of his platform, next to  a small stretch bank without reeds, which is what I think you need when fish about to spawn are monopolising the reeds.  Next door Wendy was only a couple of fish away from nicking third spot, taking all her 61 lb on a feeder, mostly put in not far out.

Wendy - seventh with 61 lb 3 oz.

 John Smith, an easy winner with 136 lb 2 oz.

I was certain Terry Tribe had beaten me, but he weighed 62 lb 7 oz. I fancy his fish were slightly smaller than mine, as I was sure he had more  fish than me.  I reckoned I had about 40 lb in one net and 36 in the other; in fact they went 43 lb and 33 lb and I finished with 77 lb for an unexpected second spot. Happy Days.

Sunday sees John Garner’s annual Cancer Charity match on Six-Island. I am guessing that if the conditions are like todday’s the last couple of hours will again decide the match, but after the heat today I would not be surprised if the fish have actually spawned by then. If there’s a good wind weights could be really high – apparently Peg 4 won this lake in the Fish O’ Mania qualifier with over 200 lb. I would not mind Peg 4 or 17 – they both give several options. And of course Peg 18  would be nice. Pegs 24 and 25 are usually good, also, and my other choice would be 9.