My run ends at last - Magpie, Pidley

Peg 7

It had to happen, and in a 28-entry match like this – the Over 60s – the chances are that I wouldn’t pick up anything, after nine matches when I had. And that's what happened. But I wasn’t unhappy with Peg 7, as I’d had a quick pleasure session on it a few weeks earlier, and caught a few early in the day.

I had Chris Saunders, a regular at Pidley, on my left on 8. The wind was pretty strong, in from our right front, but I started in the margin, with luncheon meat, half expecting fish to be there at the start – I was wrong. In the first hour I saw Chris take one out at about four sections, so I went out to three sections with expander and nabbed two fish. With two hours gone I put in maggot and took three more, all around 4 lb, and at that point I was probably ahead of both Chris and Vic German, who was on my right on 6.

My home for the day - Peg 7. Most of my fish came from the corner
of the reeds on the left, fishing with the wind.

I start to fall behind

Chris then started finding fish, in the deep water, about five feet,  on cat meat, and so did I – just over the margins. But although I was getting odd touches I took a fish only about every 20 minutes. However, I could hear Chris landing fish more frequently. I tried right down beside the front of the platform area, where I had caught on the pleasure session, but never had a touch.

An important  summit meeting on Peg 6 before the match. Well, they
 must have been talking about summit important!

Eventually I had a look to the right, but it was difficult fishing into that wind, though I did get a liner. So I persevered near a bunch of reeds and eventually, on cat meat, a fish hooked itself – a beautiful 5 lb golden mirror.

Pete Holland, on Peg 3, led right round to Peg 23.

One more fish came from the right margin, and then a switch back to the left deep margin saw me lose a big fish, and then hook another about 4 lb, which I was playing when the match ended. Like some of the others this was hooked on the outside of the lip – they take some landing when that happens. In the last 40 minutes Vic, on my right, had a really good spell taking about six  fish from the margin right against the grass, and I knew he had overtaken me.

The weigh-in

I estimated I had about 15 fish, and that Chris had about 25. I fact he said he had 22. It had clearly been a difficult day for most, as I hadn’t seen many landed opposite, on the island. But I was surprised, even so, when my  54 lb 4 oz was last on the sheet, weighing from 1. Pete Holland was leading with 128 lb  from Peg 3.

Chris weighed 82 lb 12 oz, and was top weight round to Peg 23, where Roy Whincup took 127 lb for the win. Peg 26 was third and Peg 1 fourth, with Chris fifth.

The weighing at these matches is so efficient. This is Clive Cole on Peg 11.

As I had guessed, Vic German on my right had overtaken me with that last-hour spurt, ending with 63 lb. But I wasn’t too downhearted, as 7 wasn’t one of the particularly favoured pegs, and the others are nearly all regulars on this water, whereas I fish it only occasionally. I felt I hadn’t disgraced myself, and finished about halfway down the field.

Saturday sees me fish Decoy, on Six-Island, but the weather doesn’t look good – wet and windy. However, I don’t mind that. It means that some of the others are half beaten before they start, and that gives me incentive to try harder.

Twenty-eight fished...but two failed to turn up!