Another scratcher, but at least I caught – Magpie, Pidley

Peg 9

Eighteen of us fished this Over 60s match, and Will Hadley, who was on Peg 5, said that when he’d fished 8 a few days earlier fish were rising at about 13 metres in front of 9 and 10. So i started dobbing bread there on a pole, with no result at all. The water was flat calm and I couldn’t see anyone else catching early on, either.

Calm and not cold - but the fish were finicky. The reeds are about 25 metres away.

After a long time I had a look with maggot and in the next 45 minutes took three or four roach and rudd to 6 oz. But eventually I decided I must have a look with waggler to the reeds opposite, and that’s when the debacle started...

There wasn’t really enough line on the spool to allow me to cast a small waggler right across, and after a few casts I decided I must put on more line. So I broke off the end line, tied on another 80 metres or so of 4 lb line, re-attached a slightly heavier float, and had another go. First cast with bread fished two feet deep a 2 lb carp came in. Success. But next cast the float wouldn’t fly out. I checked and the knot I had used to join the two lines was protruding from the spool – I had forgotten to tuck it down on the bottom of the spool.

Winner Mick Cox with part of his 55 lb  12 oz catch.

My main action came on the bank!

Nothing for it but to walk up to Mick Cox on peg 11 to my left, drop the business end on the grass, and walk back past my peg, paying out line, right up to David Gayford on 7, until the offending knot was free. I tucked it well down, wound in, and started again. That took ten minutes and concluded most of my action in the first three hours!

No more carp came on the waggler -  only a small roach to maggot. Mick Cox now had a fish or two on bomb and bread, casting about halfway to the island, so I went back to my maggot swim and a few roach came, then three carp to 4 lb on a single red maggot. That was my lot, but Mick had suddenly started to catch more fish , and was going like a train as the match ended.

The weigh-in

I weighed 16 lb 12 oz, without losing any, and was satisfied with that when I saw that both Chris Saunders on 2 and Will Hadley on 7 had failed to break 18 lb. But on my left Mick Cox weighed 55 lb 12 oz to take the win. He’d ended by casting bomb and bread  into open water well out towards the ropes, and Trevor Watson on his left on 13 was third with 40 lb 12 oz taken on a 13-metre pole, mainly on maggot. The favoured pegs in the bay (25 to 27) and 34 and 36 didn’t produce.

The result., with several DNWs.

I ended eighth, and was satisfied that at least I hadn’t embarrassed myself (except for the mess over my waggler gear). Not sure when my next match will be.

More fish on bread (but not enough) - Jay Lake, Pidley

Peg 11

Eighteen of us fished this Pidley Pensioners match on Wednesday on Jay, and Will Hadley, who had drawn Peg 13, told me he didn’t fancy my peg 11, which was on the corner facing away from the road! Adam Playford had had it recently and struggled to 20 lb. But Will said he didn’t fancy his peg or those to its left, either.

My swim before the match. I couldn't catch across in front of me, though.

 A light breeze was coming into my face from the right, but I was able to fish at 14.5 metres. To my right on 9 was Chris Saunders, and I reckoned I would have some idea of how I was doing by keeping an eye on him, as he’s one of the best regulars on this fishery.

Will Hadley on 13 had a really good start. His fish went to around 4 lb,
and he won the 18-pegger with 48 lb 4 oz, taken on bread and maggot.

I started dobbing bread straight across at about two feet, over the shallow water,  with no result in the first 45 minutes, and eventually switched round to my left, which was a bit awkward. By this time Will, round the corner to my left, had already had several fish on bread, fishing across. He told me later that he lost several on bread early on..

Suddenly I had a bite to my left, under the far bank, and landed a carp over 2 lb. It took me the next hour to land three more to 3 lb, and I started to flick maggots in at three sections in the deep water, ready to switch if I needed to. I couldn’t get a bite right in front of me. Will was still hooking fish, and I stopped to watch how he baited up. It looked to me as if he was using two maggots now (he told me afterwards that he was).

I pull out of a good-un

So I came into the three-section swim in front of me, fishing two maggots, and managed two tiny perch. Then, suddenly, out of the blue, I hooked a much better fish. I’m not sure whether it was foulhooked, as it gave me a real run around and the hook pulled out.  

Vic German was the only one to challenge Will. He
weighed in 39 lb 10 oz from peg 32.

Brian Yorke, who has a great record here, 
third on 26 lb 4 oz from peg 19.

No more fish came there, so I went back out long on maggot, and then bread, and after about another hour I hit another fish which turned out to be a three-pounder hooked in the tail, but it ended up in my net. Chris seemed to be struggling badly, fishing long and then short and then three-quarters of the way across. But Will was still catching the occasional fish across, though not as fast as before.

With an hour to go Will seemed to stop catching completely, and I concentrated on the maggot swim at three sections, where I hooked another good fish only to see the hook ping out as it was almost in the net. However, two smaller fish around 1 lb 8 oz came to maggot before the match ended.

The weigh-in

I was sixth to weigh, and was surprised to see that my 19 lb 6 oz was top. Chris has really struggled on 9, and managed just 7 lb 8 oz. But as I had guessed, Will won handsomely with 48 lb 4 oz. He told me lost half-a-dozen on bread before switching to maggot, but his fish slowly went off, and the last hour brought very little.

The rest of the catches varied from DNW to around 26 lb, apart from Vic German on 32, who was runner-up with 39 lb 10 oz. Brian Yorke was third on 19 with 26 lb 4 oz, with Roy Whincup fourth with 25 lb 2 oz; Roy did not fish long, but his catch was boosted by an eight-pounder hooked in the tail!!

Roy Whincup had a tussle with this
eight-pounder hooked in the tail. 

The result - the early pegs did not fish very well. But
it made for a tight match.

I was eighth overall, and since all the others are regular, and I'm not,  and I was not far off fourth place, I was quite happy. Next time I would have more confidence in a maggot swim, and may concentrate on it earlier.

 Next match probably Frasers on Tuesday.

I dob bread for carp - Mark's Lake, Frasers, Ely

FIRSTLY an update on my cancer for my mates. The prostate cancer seems to be held in check, with a PSA reading of less than 0.04, which is good. The consultant thinks he will take me off my hormone treatment in six months time, which will (eventually) bring an end to the hot flushes which I get about every two hours (except when I'm fishing, which is strange).

The thyroglobulin count of 2.6 shows, I think, that the thyroid cancer on the lungs is still active, but the consultant says he is not worried about that (!) as I've had no symptoms yet. He's likely to give me another scan to check, when I see him in June.

Now to the really important stuff...

Peg 15

Thirteen of us fished this Over 60s Open on Mark’s Lake, and I suspected my peg 15 was a noted one in the summer, when the fish come close, into the shallow water. But I thought that today they would be hugging the features – the island, and the crates put in towards the far end of the lake to give the fish an area to hang around. So I started dobbing bread at about 18 inches deep at 13 metres against the reeds lining the island.

Like a millpond to start, but later I had trouble with wind. The island was 13 metres away.

Nothing happened for a time and then in came a fish around 2 lb on a 9 mm punch bread. But I could see pegs 10 and 11, to the right of the island, catching fish. A quick look in the deep water with maggot, where I had been throwing some maggot, produced not even a bite, so it was back to the island, and I increased the depth to fish just off bottom. In the next 90 minutes I managed to hook six more fish.

However, there’s a fence behind pegs 13, 14 and 15 which meant I had to break my pole down at about 9 metres, and two good fish came off while I was struggling to take it apart. When there’s an angry carp pulling out elastic it can be the devil’s own job to get the thing apart, and it certainly was  today.

This was the angler I could see catching on Peg 5 - Steve
Leaman, who was runner-up with 35 lb 2 oz.

                                                                                   Problems with the sun

Then, with four fish in the keepnet there was a blank spell for about an hour. At this time the wind got up, blowing down into me, and the sun was right in my eyes. I started holding the pole across my thighs with the right hand, and putting my left hand out in front to shield the sun, but at times I needed both hands to hold the pole against the wind, so it was all a bit hairy.

I did get one or two half-hearted bites that I couldn’t strike at, and assumed they were liners. Then another fish was hooked, but lost as I broke down the pole, but two more came in, on a smaller 4mm piece of bread punch. Another fish was lost, and then in the last half hour two more came in – the best two of the day, around 4 lb and 5 lb. But I knew I had been well beaten, probably by an angler in around peg 5, who had been fishing long, and by pegs 10 and 11, who had both caught fish against then island.

Roger Danson included a near-5 lb barbel from Peg 10.

The angler to my right didn’t go out to the island, but managed about four fish in the deep water on maggot, and I saw that Robert Edmondson to my right on 13 had a fish or two on a feeder cast to the island. He’s a good matchman, and told me later that indeed these pegs 13 to 15 are best in the summer.

The weigh-in

The angler I had seen fishing long to a crate was Steve Leaman, who weighed in 35 lb 2 oz. He told me he was picking up a motorised trolley this week, from the same person who made up one for me a month ago! Then round to Joanna, who has a great record on these lakes, but she didn’t weight; Fraser struggled to 15 lb 8 oz, but the two on the island both had fish – Roger Danson had 34 lb 4 oz on a waggler for third, and John Millard won on 11 with 46 lb 2 oz, on bread pellet and corn..

John Millard, winner with 46 lb 2 oz.

The result.

I was happy with my 23 lb 12 oz, for fourth place, which would have been more if I hadn’t lost four good fish. I’m not sure when else I could have done to break the pole down. The only alternative was to take off each section at a time, which I will perhaps try next time. So although I didn't frame I was satisfied, considering the others are all regulars. Perhaps, though, I should have tried maggot or pellet for a few minutes.

A nice end to the year – Emily’s Lake, Frasers

Peg 16.

New Year’s Eve, and I decided to fish the Tuesday Pensioners match at Frasers – I fished half a dozen last winter. It’s an early start in pitch darkness for me, at 7 am, with an 8 am draw and fishing 9-2, so I can drive back in the light.

Peg 16 stuck to my fingers, and Fraser said it was a good draw – mind you he told the bloke in front of me that his was, as well! I’ve never fished the peg, but I know from looking at results that it is at the end that tends to produce the better weights – from 16 round to about peg 4, where I framed in a match last year. Thirteen of us fished.

A beautiful December day

The day was just beautiful – not cold, and the water like a millpond at the start. Fraser was on 15 to my right, so I thought I would be able to get some idea of how to fish by watching him, as he’s the owner and knows every swim. I started dobbing a piece of 4mm bread punch over to the far side at 13 metres, and soon managed to hook a trailing bunch of twigs and dead reed, which eventually pulled free.

Like a millpond! My fish came at 13 metres roughly in a line to Andy Keel (white cap) on Peg 2.

I could see most anglers fishing well over, so persevered for half an hour for nothing. A fish turned in the middle of the lake to my left (the next swim, 1, was not pegged) so I dobbed the bread in there more in hope than expectation. To my amazement the pimple of a float top suddenly plopped under, and a 2 lb carp was attached.

I have a purple patch

I persevered here and three or four more fish came in the next 40 minutes. The angler on 2 had started on maggot but changed to bread fished right across after not getting a bite. Then he, also, tried coming away from the far bank and hooked a the odd carp – all around 2 lb – but my rate increased and I had a lovely purple patch for half an hour when I was getting a fish every drop in. I’d put no bait in at all, so there must have been a pod of fish hanging  about  - when they went off I went down to three feet and found them again immediately. In that time I had just one fish get away. The rest took longer to land than I would have liked - with the water so clear they kept shying away from the landing net.

By about 11.15 I had an estimated 35 lb to 40 lb, best fish over 3 lb, while the angler on 2 (Andy Keel) probably had 15 lb. But suddenly a light breeze got up, blowing over my back towards Peg 2, and three fish later I couldn’t get a bite. Andy, however, upped his catch rate and within an hour had overtaken me. In that hour I kept dobbing bread, even though I couldn’t get a bite, as Fraser was struggling badly, and had caught only about three fish, on maggot. The anglers to his right didn’t seem to have caught much, either.

The winner, Andy Keel, with  part of his 69 lb 2 oz catch.
all taken on bread shallow.

I did notice that Andy had a bigger piece of bread than I had been using, so I tried using a larger piece of flake, but it made no difference, and the smaller punch had worked earlier, so I simply had to assume that the wind had blown the pod of carp away from my swim.

I then tried fishing maggot tripping the bottom where I had been catching, and hooked a carp immediately, but it came off the tiny 18 hook. I changed up to a big size 16, but no more came. Fishing shallow with maggot and catapulting maggots in produced one roach which came off; and still Andy carried on catching! I had yet another look shallow with bread but the result was the same as before - not a single touch.

Two late fish on maggot

With 20 minutes left I went out again with a single maggot on the bottom, catapulting maggots over the top, and in two drops caught two more carp. But the last 15 minutes produced no more bites. Andy stopped catching  in the middle about this time, so he dobbed his bread over to the far side and immediately had three carp, all around 2 lb. So it seemed that the fish were definitely moving.

The weigh in

As I had suspected, most anglers struggled for a bite, and top weight from peg 10 up to me was 8 lb 12 oz. Fraser to my right weighed in just 5 lb 2 oz, and my fish went 43 lb 8 oz. 

The result - a friendly fishery, where everyone
is just known by their first name or a nickname.

Before I weighed The Vicar (can’t remember his real name) said he tipped me to win when I drew 16, but I assured him that peg 2 had more than I did. And when that angler weighed he put 69 lb 2 oz on the scales – a very good performance in my book. He told me he was using a 10 mm bread punch, so I will have to get something similar in future – not because it was necessarily better on the day, but it might be on another day. He also said that, as I had thought, he’d lost several fish. He was getting them in much faster than I was, and that’s a risk you take when you hurry them in.

Round the bend, Peg 4 was third in the match with 12 lb, with an 11 lb next to him. But five anglers did not weigh – typical Winter fishing on a stillwater.

I was pleased with my second place, as all the other were regulars on the fishery. Not sure when my next match will be – probably this weekend on Decoy.