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.