A good draw, and I frame again - Elm. Decoy

Peg 10
I had hardly set foot on the Decoy car park before Fenland Rods angler Bob Allen assailed me: “Has Di rung you?”
“No.”

“She should have done.”

“Why.”

“To tell you that we’ve caught the oldest fish in the complex.”

“How would she know that?”

“It was wearing a hearing aid!”

 Well, it was quite funny at the time. It was the way he told it...! And it refers to the fact that two weeks previously, on Willows, one of John Smith’s hearing aids had been hooked off his ear by a swishing hook, and ended up in the lake. To those of you interested in the technicalities I apologise for not asking for the pattern and size of the hook, nor the bait!

 I don’t suppose it will be the last comic comment directed to me on the matter (I also wear two). But I won’t be mentioning it in the columns again. DEAFinitely not. Now I can hear you shouting: “HEAR, HEAR.”

 The start proper
And so on to the 12 members who fished our annual handicap match on the strip lake Elm, in a cold, blustery Northerly wind. The handicaps are set according to the positions in last season’s Club Championship, with Tony Nisbet scratch, as he won, and the rest of us added percentages of our weight in this match.

I wrote earlier that I fancied Peg 9, as it has Winter form, and although it’s not yet winter proper I would have expected the fish to start shoaling up a little. This was born out by the previous Thursday’s match on Beastie, when weights ranged from 135 lb to 8 lb. In the absence of Peg 9 being allotted to me then 10, 11 or 12 would be fine, I wrote.

The step down to the platform slowed me up a lot when setting up
 and packing up, but the fishing  made up for it. There wasn't much
 sun, and it became quite cold because the sun hardly shone all day.

Pleased with my draw

Anyway, Peg 9 went early to Mel Lutkin, who has a very good record in this particular match, and 12, in the corner, went to Kev Lee, who I made one of the favourites, because I expected it to be sheltered, being at the North end behind a big bank. But when Peg 10 came out for me I was pretty pleased.

A very strange state of affairs
Strangely, when we got to our pegs Kev pointed out to me that the first half-dozen pegs were in the North wind, with ripple blowing left to right, as you would expect. But at our end the ripple was right to left; and in the middle it was fairly calm.

I don’t think we’d ever seen anything quite like that before. Something to do with the local geography, no doubt. I was more handicapped by the 18-inch drop-down to the platform, which meant endless scrabbling about getting things down and climbing back up and then having to stand (not easy as you get older). But for a change I was ready for the start.

The match
I decided to start with a bomb and pop-up, to see if any ‘mug’ fish could be tempted, so I cast about a third out, the opposite bank being occupied by another match. After 15 minutes I’d not had a bite, so moved on to my main plan – expander well out. I went to 13 metres, and could fish reasonably well in the wind, but although the float looked perfect, and I could move it either way if necessary, 20 minutes went by without a bite. Then the wind started getting a bit too gusty, and the pole was being blown almost out of my hands. 

The left margin. I ignored the three-foot deep swim
right against the bank, but only two carp came
from the deeper water next to the bush.

I’d put maggots down in the left deep margin, so had a look there. Several tentative bites came, and eventually a small roach came in. I hoped bigger fish would come, but after a good 40 minutes still nothing had happened except the odd missed twitch. Not even a single maggot would tempt any more roach. However, by this time Mel, on my right, had had a couple of good fish on cat meat. I thought he was using a bomb, but in fact he was using a waggler, about 7 or 8 metres out – I couldn’t see it because of reeds. 

Next for me was a look with corn in the deep right margin next to the reeds, but that didn’t produce a bite either. So after another quick look at 13 metres I came in to a new top-two-plus-two swim. First drop in with an expander and a 3 lb carp came in. Eureka! I concentrated on that swim, but no more came, so I switched to feeding maggot, baiting with a bunch of four live ones and a dead one to keep them on.
It must have taken 45 minutes for the next carp – about 8 lb. But by this time Mel had five or six good fish. I was well behind. However I plodded on with maggot and got a quick couple of carp some time later. There were now less than three hours to go, and I estimated Mel had 10 fish, and I had four.

To my left Dave Garner was struggling on a waggler, and he had only about two fish. 

The right margin. It looked really fishy, but
I never had a single fish from it.

Quick bursts of fish
Suddenly I had three fish one after the other, and noticed that Mel was also catching in quick bursts of two or three at a time. I kept adjusting the depth and shotting and found the best arrangement was to have about one inch over depth, so the wind could drag the bait along. Then I would stop it for a moment, and often it went when the float started moving again. Putting a grain of corn on didn’t work, as the wind wouldn’t drag the bait, and the float just dragged under. So I stuck to maggot, feeding hard pellet and live maggots as they are heavier than dead ones.

I didn’t want to use the bait dropper to put in the bait, as I felt that it would concentrate the fish in too small a space, and with the strong wind, which kept changing direction, it wasn’t always easy to hold the rig in exactly the right spot, especially when it suddenly turned to blow into our faces. One fish was a barbel, the rest carp, of which one was the most beautiful shimmering golden mirror you have ever seen (well, you would if you had seen it, but there’s no photograph – see below for the reason).

A quick look with a cat meat rig, baited with cat meat, did bring one mirror – the biggest of the day at about 12 lb. But no more. A couple of quick bursts of fish around 6 lb on maggot saw me with about 60 lb with 40 minutes to go, and bites had dried up. I’d lost two big fish, possibly foulhooked – but then, one I hooked, which I landed, I had been convinced was foulhooked – and it wasn’t.

I try the margin again
On the opposite bank anglers were catching in their margins, and I felt I had to try there. In went 6mm hard pellets, corn, a few maggots, and half-a-dozen lumps of cat meat into the left margin, and two fish came quite quickly – about 5 lb each. At the same time Mel had another quick brace.

Every bite I had – even on the meat – was very slow and tentative; not a single sharp pull down. With ten minutes left and no more on the meat I went out to the 2+2 swim again, put in a load of maggots, corn and pellet, and was rewarded with an eight-pounder, which I had just landed when the horn went to end the match.

Yes, we have a loud horn which even John Smith would be able to hear (at least if he was wearing his hearing aids. You know what they are like – here today, hearing aid gone tomorrow!) 

The weigh-in and an apology
I started to pack up, but halfway through, as the weigh-in started, I had to go back to the van to get the handicap match folder, as I am responsible for working out the weights. To my astonishment the weighers-in (Kev and Dick) were racing along the line, and by the time I caught them up they were almost down to my swim. Things weren’t made any better by the fact that in scrambling back, while packing up, I had cramp in the back of one of my thighs and, unable to stand, had to spend a couple of minutes rubbing it and then managing to stand without it starting again, which was lucky, as I had thought I would have to shout for help.

The reason the weighers-in were going so fast was that there weren’t many fish to weigh. Top weight in the first six pegs was 24 lb 15 oz, to reigning Club Champion Tony Nisbet. I started to make a note of the weights and work out the final handicap positions, which is why there are no photographs of handsome fish and even handsomer catchers-of-fish.

Bob Allen and Joe Bedford had only one fish each, which shows how hard it was at that end.

I am beaten
After the first six weighs weights started to get better, as the results show. I knew I could beat the two 50 lb-plus weights on 7 and 8, but when Mel weighed 92 lb 13 I knew I was beaten. My fish weighed 83 lb 11 oz, which was enough to beat Dave Garner, who had just six bites and four fish for 28 lb 5 oz, and Kev in the corner. He had had a bad first half, but when he switched to fishing long to the end bank, into a little cut-out, he found barbel willing to feed, and weighed 57 lb 13 oz for fourth on the day. So I ended as runner-up.

Handicap results
I work everything out in decimals, as it’s easier, and convert the ounces to decimals of a pound (I have a list) before adding the percentages. I needed to work out the top four for the payout, though only three get medals, at our annual presentation (if there is one this year).

Stupid Boy!
The low eights in the early numbers meant they were well out of the running, but I had to do a double check on Allan Golightly and Dick Warriner, as their final weights were only a couple of pounds apart. My check showed that Allan was ahead, and I had him down as second behind Mel, only to realise I’d forgotten my own weight, which put me ahead of him.

So after finishing second in the match I also finished second in the final Handicap result, meaning I will have to present myself with a medal, and hang it round my own neck. How embarrassing.

I didn’t take a picture of the results, either, so here they are: 


Peg                                                      Pos    H’cap pos

1 Wendy Bedford          15 lb 6 oz
2 Bob Allen                   3 lb
3 Callum Judge              8 lb 15 oz

4 John Smith                  15 lb 10 oz

5 Tony Nisbet                 24 lb 15 oz

6 Joe Bedford                3 lb 3 oz

7 Allan Golightly            57 lb 14 oz     3        3

8 Dick Warriner              53 lb 13 oz              4

9 Mel Lutkin                   92 lb 13 oz     1        1

10 Mac Campbell           83 lb 11 oz     2        2

11 Dave Garner              28 lb 5 oz

12 Kevin Lee                   57 lb 13 oz    4

We’re back on Elm on Friday, but with warmer breezes forecast I doubt if it will be as poor at the top end as it was Sunday. They seemed to be catching a lot more on the opposite bank close-in, and we will probably have anglers on the bank. But I still fancy 9, and opposite on 16.

A match I should have won - Beastie, Decoy

Fourteen of us fished this midweek Spratts match, and there are several pegs on Beastie that I particularly like, so I was hoping for one of those. Before Trevor made the draws for us Rob Allan asked me which pegs I didn't want, and stupidly I told him - 20 to 24, even though they had a back wind. As soon as I said it I suspected I was tempting fate..

The forecast was for cold winds, so because it would be a sudden drop in temperature I fancied those with back wind on the spit - particularly 9 and 13, plus my favourite 18, and also 4, 5 and 8 which, although they looked like having a facing South-Westerly, have form. Also, of course, 29 and 30, which are the most sheltered pegs on the lake, and would have back wind.

Trevor does the draw and Rob Allen
makes a note (some of us forget).

The draw
First out was Trevor - Peg 13. One I would  have really liked already gone. And in quick succession the others came spilling out - Rob Allan got 18, Mick Ramm 9, and Mick Linnell 8 in the corner. Alan Porter was given 5, and Martin Parker 29. My dreaded peg 24 was still in, and I gave a sigh of relief when it went to Mick Rawson. But it's a good feeder peg and I thought he might get a few fish there.

The call came: "Mac Campbell" - I waited for a peg in the 20 s to come out, but There Is A God - it was 30!! No-one is ever unhappy with 30, and Terry Tribe had been telling me he caught his biggest-ever carp the previous Saturday there - all 19 lb 15 oz of it! He said he couldn't catch from the deep right margin, and wasted over three hours there before switching to his left and ending with 60 lb-plus.

So down to the swim, and I wondered whether my elation was misplaced, as it was flat calm, the only ripple being from a couple of swimming ducks. On the other hand the water was not cold, and in fact the temperature seemed to be going up. But I wasn't optimistic and put in only one keepnet.

I had taken my stiff margin pole to the swim but didn't put it together, which I regretted at the end of the match. I started the match by potting in dead maggot round to my left near the reeds, hoping for possible barbel or carp, but started fishing out at 11.5 metres with a 4mm expander, with just a few potted in with a cup on my pole tip. I was pleased to find an undertow right to left against the wind.

The scene that greeted me on Peg 30. The only ripples were
from two ducks having swimming lessons.

Oh Dear
Within a minute I had an 8 oz bream, and next drop hit a big fish. I played it for a minute or two, and when it came to the surface I could see it was a carp around 8 lb. I was preparing to net it when the hook pulled out (!). I said: "Oh dear". Ten minutes later the same thing happened! I didn't see that fish, but it felt really heavy. A short time later, with no more bites I put in some expanders and corn and turned my attention to the maggot swim. That brought four or five fish - the biggest being a perch of 3 oz.

Eventually I dropped in a little way away from that swim and hit a carp of 3 lb, which ended in my net. So I concentrated there for 20 minutes, but had only the occasional liner - at least there were carp there.
Changing to cat meat brought me a good bite which I missed, and then I hit another big fish, which came off after a few seconds accompanied by two huge scales ending near mt bank. That encouraged me to concentrate in that swim with cat meat for the next 45 minutes, but nothing came.

Two hours gone and I had 3 lb in my net, so it was back out to 11.5 metres with expander, and then corn, which brought my first good carp at 5 lb. I put in a little more bait and, with the excuse of resting my swim, wandered up to Martin Parker on 29. He had just had his first bite, from a 10 lb carp, on a feeder.

I went back, and immediately had another carp, 8 lb,  on corn, and then lost another biggie, the hook pulling out. Carp 4 v Mac 2. Another look to the left brought nothing, then a couple of drops at 11.5 metres brought two more bream. It was time to look in the right margin, which had done so badly for Terry. 

This could have been a picture of former Vets
National Champion Martin Parker with his catch
 - but he was missing when his catch was weighed.

The right margin
In went just a few grains of corn, and within 30 seconds I was playing a big fish, which had taken a single grain. The rig I was using was a delicate antenna, which had served me so well in the waggler match - I had now fished it top and bottom. That brought three or four more big fish, the best of which we weighed at 13 lb 13 oz, but several others came adrift. Around this time the rain started - while I was playing a fish (of course), but it was never heavy.

An inch was golden
Cat meat took a couple of thise fish, but corn brought quicker bites, and I found that fishing the corn JUST off bottom was miles better than laying on. That inch was golden. And the delicate float showed me when the corn was off bottom, so I could get it right every time.

Bites stopped eventually and I wasted half an hour there before a switch to a new swim in front of me on a top two also brought immediate results on corn, with four or five more, all around 8 lb to 10 lb.  But, oh dear (again), with half an hour to go a big fish hooked on hollow 13 elastic suddenly shot off as if someone had applied a lighted match to its backside. It bottomed the elastic out and the rig pinged back minus the hook and minus the antenna of the float. It was ruined.

So I had to change, but had no other float like that with me (nor at home). Luckily the 1gm Cralluso float I had on a stronger elastic worked like a charm, even though it was meant for fishing cat meat.So two more big fish came there, necessitating a third net to be put in,  and with ten minutes to go, after a lull, I turned back to the right. That ten minutes brought me two fish around 5 lb each before the match ended.

Peter The Paste with his 92 lb 7 oz catch
from Peg 23. He was fourth,

I didn't think Martin had as many fish as me, and I couldn't see anyone else, except that the angler on 14 (who turned out to be John Garner) had only two nets in. Later he told me that with 40 minutes to go he had 7 lb, but ended with 49 lb - some going!

I have a good grope
My packing up, which is always the part I hate because it creases my back, was not too bad as this is a nice level swim and platform. But I was held up for a short time when one of my accessory arms, used to keep the side tray away from my box (so my landing net can lay there) dropped in the water. There was nothing for it but to take off my fleece and hoodie, and roll up my shirt sleeve and grope around near the platform. Amazingly I managed to find the offending arm, so I was a happy bunny.

The weigh in
Tackle back at the van and I wandered round with phone in hand to the spit, where Peter Harrison had weighed in 101 lb; but Bob Barrett on Peg 4, was admitting to 130 lb. I knew I hadn't got 30 lb in my last net, so I couldn't win. 

Alan Porter is our newest member, but
he's pushing his luck, having had some good 
catches in his last few matches!

Peter The Paste on 23 had  92 lb of big fish, but Mike next door had already gone - I will have to find out what happened there. Martin had 58 lb of big fish, and told me he started catching when he saw me fishing out on a top two - his margins produced nothing. I weighed  116 lb 15 oz, but I must have lost at least 10 big fish which pulled off. I don't think any, except the one which left me a scale, were foulhooked, but you can't always be sure.

Round to the Eastern bank, and Bob Barrett had five big fish on a shortish pole and then out a feeder out into the open water for the rest of his  130 lb 2 oz - he is a real whizz on that feeder. Alan Porter next door  had 92 lb and then the size of fish weighed in became much smaller - Terry (32 lb) and Mick Linnell on 8 (13 lb 12 oz) both suffered. So I ended second.

Conclusion
I should have had a look in the right margin earlier, and I should have changed swims mush more quickly when the carp went.

Just two of the fish I had lost would probably have won me the match, and I played some of them for several minutes. I have no idea why they came off. I should have tried the stiff margin pole as the fish don't fight as much on that. I even lost fish using Kamasan Animal hooks, and there's no question of their bending out on a big fish. The Guru Kaizans, which I use a lot of, are a slightly thinner wire gauge and  MAY bend out a little, but I don't think so.

Bob Barrett with his winning  130 lb 2 oz catch from Peg 4. He is
in  the middle of a terrific run of form, and weilds that feeder rod like a magic wand.

The elastics I used ranged from 13 hollow up to 20 bungee, and In fact I got on better with the heavier elastics, even though top matchmen nearly always recommend lighter elastics so the fish (theoretically) use up energy on the first charge out of the swim. But has anyone told the fish that? It seems to me that the lighter elastic makes it easier for the fish to get up speed. And with the cooler weather of late the water holds more oxygen than it did in the Summer. I am sure that makes a difference.

You know what this is.

Interestingly the pegs on the back of the spit which I fancied at the start didn't produce. 

Next match
Next match Elm at Decoy, and we will be taking up all 12 pegs on the Western bank, with a strong North-Westerly forecast so it should be slightly over our backs. Maggots down the shelf for possible barbel will probably be a starter tactic; and probably an early cast with bomb. I should really have a waggler ready for fishing down the middle, especially if there's an undertow, but I love my pole.

It looks like being several degrees colder by then, so I don't expect big weights...if I have 40 lb with an hour to go I will probably be happy. Favourite peg there now the weather is cooler is probably 9, two-thirds of the way down, so 9 to 12 would suit me. But at this time of year anything can happen.

For my own reference here are the weights in peg order:

4    Bob Barrett,        130 lb 2 oz     1st

5     Alan Porter,       92 lb 1 oz

7    Terry Tribe,        32 lb 15 oz

8    Mick Linnell,     13 lb 12 oz

9    Mick Ramm,      15 lb 10 oz

11  Peter Barnes,      20 lb 8 oz

13  Trevor Cousins,  50 lb

14 John Garner,        49 lb 4 oz

16 Peter Harrison,    101 lb           3rd

18 Bob Allan,              9 lb 9 oz

23 Peter Spriggs,       92 lb 7 oz    4th

24 Mike Rawson,       DNW

29 Martin Parker,       58 lb 2 oz

30 Mac The Knife,   116 lb 15 oz 2nd

A better result than I dared hope for - Cedar, Decoy

NOTE: The template from blogger.com has altered and I've found it difficult to position text and pictures. Hopefully, in the fullness of time, all will be well. (But I wouldn't hold your breath!)

Peg 20

Thirteen of us fished this Fenland Rods Waggler-only match, on pegs 14 to 26, the Eastern bank of this strip lake.  

 I was not looking forward to the match, as I hardly ever fish waggler now - this would be only the fourth time in the last four years - all of them in this annual event. The rule is that it was rod-and-line only, all floats to be fixed at the bottom only, and the vote on the morning was for pole cups to be banned, so all bait had to be out in by hand or catapult. But several of the others regularly fish the waggler, so I knew I was outclassed. Peter Spriggs, fishing as a guest, was in my court - he actually bought a waggler especially for this match, as he hadn't got a suitable one.

The wind stayed at roughly the same strength all day, setting
up a good undertow which enabled me to search my swims.

I would have picked the higher numbers, given a chance, but my platform was nice and level with the bank, and the margins looked fine, so I was happy with peg 20. The hot favourite was obviously Dave Garner, former club champion, who only ever fishes a waggler, and he was on 15, next to the corner, and was on the smaller Golden Peg (we stop when £100 is reached, and start another).

The wind was North-Easterly, over our back from the right, and I had three rods made up. One was a heavy Power Waggler which I didn't actually use. The others were a short Pellet Waggler, and a light Method Feeder rod. This was the one I started on; after catapulting corn out towards the middle I dropped in the side with a very light long-stemmed antenna float baited with corn.

Dick Warriner with a fish typical of what we were 
all catching on the day. And boy, did they fight!

Stupidly I started baiting to my left, only to soon realise that there was an undertow to the right, so I sort of kept moving the baited area that way. Twenty minutes saw just one dip of the float which I missed (probably a liner) and I went out on the longer line. This was with a 3-Swan Ivan Marks waggler, and it flew out with no trouble at all, the bulk easily picking up the undertow and slowly moving the bait into the wind. But 20 minutes later all I had had was some liners, caused by fish near the surface hitting the sunk line.

Still fishless after 90 minutes
A change to using a proper pellet waggler was called for and I started catapulting 6mm pellets out, and baited with a banded 6mm pellet. I fished hard for three-quarters of an hour and had two or three missed bites, probably liners, and just one hooked fish which came off. Things didn't seem right - I had fished all depths from 12 inches down to the full depth. Ninety minutes had gone and I was fishless, but Dick, on my left, had two carp fishing well out with cat meat.

Banded pellet takes fish
So I changed back to the big waggler, baited with a banded pellet (something I rarely use), and eventually took two carp of 3 lb and 5 lb. Then a lull, and Dick took two more - I was behind again. A change to a 6mm expander brought a fish of 7 lb and another. Then a piece of cat meat brought one more - about 8 lb. But when I looked on my clicker it said 14 lb, and I was sure I'd forgotten to click one, and couldn't remember how big it was.

Halfway though the match,and I had another look inside, with corn, intending to use the third rod at about five metres with cat meat as my final throw of the dice. The deepest part of the swim was about six feet from the bank, and the undertow was most pronounced here. Fish slowly started to come on this inside line to corn - good fish from 6 lb to 10 lb-plus. Some came in quite quickly, but others screamed off taking line, and one went dangerously close to Dick's swim, so he lifted out his rig for a minute. Later in the match I was able to repay the compliment, when he shouted to warn me of a probably foulhooker close to me.

I start to catch fish
I was starting to make up ground on Dick, and Allan, to my right, but playing these fish on the short, light feeder rod, was murder - my arm ached and my back hurt terribly. Hooking fish at distance, which is what you'd normally do with a feeder rod, means that by the time they approach your bank they have probably used a lot of energy; hooking them under the rod tip often means they are fresh, and make a dash for the margins.

Allan Golightly in action on Peg 19. The North-Easterly wind had a little bite to it.

In addition with a pole I can hold the pole steady and let the elastic keep in contact with the fish and do the playing for me. With a rod you have to keep adjusting the pressure all the time. And I really needed one with more backbone - at times the rod was bent double. Anyway, I found it hard work.

 My routine now, as I had only one swim on the go, was to throw in two handfulls of 6mm pellet, wait until they had sunk, then follow it up with half-a-dozen grains of corn, and immediately drop my rig in over the top.

Allan Golightly with a cracking common.

I get a tangle

At one point the float somehow got into a tangle and I had to cut the line and re-tie it below the float, using a double grinner, which never lets me down, though in the wind it was a bit dodgy tying it. Now the rig had a knot above the float when I had tied on the rig; another knot under the float; and two loops because I was using one of the Guru ready-whipped hooks. 

Kevin Lee struggled in corner peg 14.

As I was playing the next fish I was so worried about something giving that I promised myself I'd re-tie the whole rig. But when it held I decided to keep using it - so may times you can re-make a rig exactly, and then regret it because it doesn't work.

Memories of Ireland 
I remember fishing the Sealink Classic at Trory, on Loch Erne, and having an absolute field day taking bream on a big waggler cast into the wind from one of the stone-built piers on the loch. I was probably easily leading the section with 20 lb after an hour, and while I was unhooking a bream the head wind blew the float into a crevice in the stones and I couldn't get it out. I had to put on another float, and re-shot it...and never had another fish! Lesson learned.

The knots hold!
Back to Cedar, and the fish kept coming (and still the rig held) and I stopped the first net at 38 lb, making an allowance for the fish I thought I'd missed. I had only five in my second net for almost 50 lb and started on the third net with about 80 minutes to go. Three or four fish came quickly, and with half-an-hour left I thought I would need a fourth net. I had one on cat meat, but the rest on corn, which I felt they were taking better. But suddenly they seemed to leave. 

I had had to keep experimenting with the shotting and depth all day - sometimes putting all the shot under the float, sometimes just touching bottom, and at other times laying on several inches. Now, with ten minutes left, I put the rig at least a foot overdepth, with shot just off bottom, and first drop in I left the rig start to drag the bait, and the float dragged under.

John Smith's biggest fish was the biggest caught 
by a club member this season - 14 lb 15 oz.

A big fish shot out, making the reel clutch scream, then it flew back to the margins, where I had a job holding it out. When the match ended ten minutes later I was still playing it. Ten minutes after that it came in, and my back was killing me. It was a big mirror - my best fish of the day - and we later weighed it at 13 lb 13 oz.

The weigh-in
I missed the first weighs, as I was even later packing up than usual, thanks to the big fish. But I was amazed when Rob Allan, two to my left, who I had seen landing two or three fish, weighed in only 33 lb. Then Dick, who had been beating me at the start, weighed 44 lb. I had been concentrating on my own swim, but had assumed he would have had quite a lot more, as he had started so well.

Top weight was Mel in the corner, peg 26, with 86 lb 1 oz, but I was sure I had more than that, and estimated I had 40 lb-plus in each net. That was correct - all around 45 lb, and I totalled 135 lb 4 oz.

Now down to Allan Golightly, and as I had seen him land about four big fish I thought he might, also, have a big weight. Not really - he weighed 39 lb 9 oz, but John Smith, on the next peg, had 94 lb 2 oz. 

Apparently Dave Garner had fish fight from the off, fishing well out with cat meat or paste, and he smashed it with 171 lb 10 oz for a marvellous win. Like me, Kev Lee in the corner had a bad start with just one tench in the first hour, and totalled 72 lb 13 oz for fifth, leaving me as runner-up.

Winner Dave Garner - 171 lb 10 oz.

And he had lots like this...

Final thoughts
I was might pleased to get second. I really had entered with no confidence at all, but once I had the big waggler sitting pretty out there at 20 metres I felt quite at home. However, not being able to use pole cups to bait made me realise just how accurate these are. 

A mixed bag of results...but Dave Garner dominated yet again.

And in the end I felt I had done right to concentrate on presentation on the inside line, where I could bait accurately. I could do with a strong, light, waggler rod. The pellet waggler was OK, but it's a bit short. I've still got a match waggler rod at home, but that was never meant to handle big carp. 

Next match on Beastie on Thursday - but the forecast is for things to get colder on Wednesday night, and I was told that 32 lb won the match there Sunday. So I am looking at using maggot and worm, and fishing as though it's Winter.

Cold and hard on Willows, Decoy

Peg 16

Fifteen of us fished this Spratts mid-week match, from 15 to 35, and I fancied any of the following pegs which were included – 15, 24, 25, 27, 29, 31, 13, 34 and 35, with 25 the best-known flier on the complex.

With just two pegs to be drawn and John Smith and myself still waiting, peg 25 was still in the bag, together with 16. Then: “Mac Campbell, 16!”

I didn’t fancy it, largely because it’s next to 15 (as you would imagine) which is a well-known peg on Willows. Still, I had a job to do, and I know, from speaking to anglers after matches, that more often than not they catch on peg 16 fishing down the track, at about 8 metres.

Sixteen metres wide, but the wind was too strong to fish that length.

A run-away trolley

First setback was coming down the bank with my loaded trolley. It’s fairly steep, and although I aimed it across the path it ran away from me, with me still hanging on to the handles, hit the far edge of the path, swung back, and turned over, spilling everything onto the grass. I was still running behind it and somehow managed to run past my box on the ground, round the rest of the stuff, missing the trolley itself, and keep on my feet. I managed to avoid falling over and,  with the lake looming, ran in a graceful ark along the edge of the water, towards an astonished Peter Barnes sitting on Peg 13, and finished still on my feet.

Trevor, next to me, found barbel on a feeder.

Looking back I was very lucky not to at least trip and break an arm or leg. But the only damaged transpired after I got home – a strap holding the battery in has broken.

So it was down to Peg 16, with a North-easterly blowing in from the front right. I was horrified to find that I had left all my expander pellets behind, so concentrated on corn, at two-plus-three with a 0.5 gram Drennan Tuff-Eye float. Within a minute of the match starting Peter Spriggs, to my right on 22, was playing a near-double-figure fish, and Trevor on my right on 18, had a small fish first drop.

Martin Parker on my left on 15 also started well, with several reasonable fish in the first hour.

A terrible start

But I couldn’t find anything and a look in the margins with maggot brought me just three small perch. However, once a ripple appeared I did manage to catch a fish an F1 about 1lb, and a 3 lb common. Trevor hadn’t had much else on a pole and after seeing Terry Tribe on 20 catch on a feeder he also put one up, casting to the far bank.

Peter The Paste weighed in 20 lb 15 oz after
 landing that big carp in the first two minutes!

From then on to the end of the match he kept hooking the occasional barbel there, and I had the occasional 1 lb F1 – about one every ten minutes. A look out to 13 metres kept me about three metres short of the far bank, but I had four or five F1s there, all around 1 lb. If the wind had dropped a little I would have gone back to the van and used the extra extrension to 14.5 metres, which would probably have been better.

I was now getting indications on every cast, but they rarely developed into a proper bite, and the only fish I hit were after I had waited for at least three seconds after the float disappeared before striking. I used all sorts of shotting patterns, even to the extent of putting shot on the bottom and laying on ten inches, but the hit rate didn’t improve. I had to drag the bait along to get a bite of any sort. I definitely now had the impression that it was a difficult day for everybody, and that a quick switch overnight to the North-Easterly wind was probably the main cause.

 Accuracy was a 'must'

Ted (92) with his biggest carp,
taken on a feeder down the edge.  

I alternated between the two swims, putting in about 8 grains of corn at a time in a tosspot. I had to get the bait right over the loose feed to get a bite. At around 2pm the wind started to get really cold, and it was like fishing in Winter. I decided to carry on putting fish in the net rather than try a feeder, but Martin had a very good last half hour, adding about three more good fish. I tried cat meat, but never had a knock.

Last-minute change works wonders

The last half hour had brought me only one fish, and I had about 25 in total. Then with three minutes left (I looked at my watch) and at a loss knowing what to do I decided to do what has brought me fish in the winter previously...why didn’t I think of it before???

I pushed my bulk shot down to within about four inches of the hook. I dropped it back and 15 seconds later the float went under and I hit another 1 lb F1. Drop in again – and another fish straight away. And the match ended. I am convinced that if I’d done that earlier I would have had a lot more fish. I don’t know why it worked, but it certainly did.

 

John Garner's third-placed catch was only
 1 oz behind Trevor Cousins' runner-up catch.

The weigh-in

Round the back of the lake, from 27 onwards, the anglers had back wind and it felt ten degrees warmer. Alan Porter on 35 was first to weigh, with 42 lb 9 oz, but Peter Harrison on 34 had 68 lb 10 oz, which in fact won. When I asked him what bait he’d used he said; “Everything I had with me.” Next was DNW Rawson, and then John Garner on 48 lb 13 oz for third.

John has a million-to-one incident On 25 John Smith had had a rotten day – the wind here was  very cold and stiff, and a freak occurrence took  place. He was fishing a waggler, cast over his right shoulder, and at that moment a gust of wind blew the line behind his ear, hooking his hearing aid and pulling it out of his ear. It carried on, described a lovely dive into the lake about eight metres out, and disappeared – apparently hearing aids can’t swim. Obviously that unsettled John – as it would me, if that had happened to me - but he stuck it out to the end. I said: HE STUCK IT OUT TO THE END. He totalled 36 lb 2 oz.

John (minus one hearing aid) with a barbel from Peg 25.

Round to Peter, who could add only 10 lb to his first big fish and weighed  20 lb 15 oz. Trevor weighed in 48 lb 14 oz for second, I totalled 36 lb 7 oz  (obviously my fish were all a little over 1 lb), and Martin on 15 was fourth with 43 lb 10 oz.

The winner - Peter Harrison with 68 lb 10 oz.

The result of a tight match.

I should have done better

So I ended sixth on a very difficult day, but if I’d made the switch earlier I am sure I could have done better. And I didn’t get any of the bonus carp or barbel that most of the others caught.

Next match on Cedar, which is a rod-and-line-waggler-only match. I’m not really set up for it, but will rig up a pellet waggler rod and one of my feeder rods. However, I don’t expect to do any good, as several of the others regularly fish waggler. Then next Thursday it’s Beastie, which I love as a match can be won anywhere, though I prefer some pegs more than others. Give me 18 and I will be happy.

Dave is on for the treble - Kingsland Small Carp Lake

 Superb service from a local garage meant that my poorly-sick little van is now healthy, with a new clutch, so I could fish this weekend after all, and 13 of us turned up for this Fenland Rods club match, on a near flat-calm lake with sun most of the day. There was actually a good South-Westerly breeze, but the trees around the lake meant we were sheltered from it, and there was no ripple.

Peg 1 was placed at the first corner, up to 7, then 8 and 9  on the end bank, with 10 to 16 down the North bank and 17 on its own. I wanted to avoid Peg 7, but fancied any of the three other corners, as I've always done well in them. In fact I realised after all our pegs had been drawn for us that they were all left out anyway, and Peg 2 wasn't drawn. That was fine with me as I though it made a more interesting match, with no obvious fliers.

First peg drawn for for Wendy, who took Peg 7. The one I didn't fancy. Then, eventually: "Mac Campbell"; and Peg 5 was drawn out of the bag. I had Dave Garner to the left, and Kev Lee to his left, so I would be able to watch them. Dick Warriner was on my right.

Almost flat calm. I would have liked a good, solid reed bed to fish to.

Although there was no ripple there was enough wind to blow over my back, and push the surface along. Not ideal for surface fishing, but I had some soaked expanders with me.

I had my main pole, and a spare, strong one about 40 years old, as there are some big fish here, and they are usually turbo-charged. Anyway, I was talking to Dick at the next swim when the shout went up to start the match, and by the time I had got back to my swim Dave was already playing a carp on his waggler! Perhaps they would be willing to feed...

A terrible start
I started out at about 8 metres, as Dave and Kev did, using corn or a 6mm expander, but had no bites. Yet Dave had more fish. A look inside brought me three 4 oz carp and, I remembered that when I had read my blog that this had happened before, and the bigger fish were a few feet farther out. I made the switch, which eventually brought a three-pounder. Almost an hour gone, and I was already 25 lb behind.

From that moment I stayed mainly near the margins, a few feet out,. and changed to cat meat, because I could see both Dave and Kev using it. And in the next hour I managed more bites, and about three fish. Gradually things got better, and halfway through the match I had about 35 lb. I had bite after bite on meat or corn  - most were liners, but even when I hooked a fish in the mouth I lost a load, which just came off. I know that some I lost were properly hooked as I had dropped a bait right into their mouths as they came for the floating expanders. Interestingly when I put on a worm I got nothing - not even liners. That proved to me that the liners were caused by fish interested in the bait.

Opposite I could see Tony slapping, and obviously looking for fish near the surface (floating baits are allowed here), but I didn't see him catching much. We have a club rule of 50 lb maximum, and Dave picked up his third net when I had just one fish in my second net. 

Dave ploughed ahead of us all
From then on Dave kept catching fish, and as the afternoon wore on Kev seemed to increase his catch rate. And although I was still landing some fish - and still losing lots - with the best around 7 lb. Dick on my right also seemed to be thrashing me, and I was clearly out of the running, barring a miracle. Two fish broke me - I played them for a minute or two, and then they suddenly charged off. I changed to using the old, stiff pole, which seemed a little better, but then a fish did the same thing on that one!

Dave Garner, fishing his favourite waggler, ended with five nets and a winning 218 lb 15 oz.

The last hour saw sport get better and better, though I still had to feed before every fish. Dave got a fourth net, I got a third, and less than an hour later Dave fetched a fifth! My cat meat was somehow being knocked off the hook within a minute or so. Afterwards some anglers said that it was small carp doing it, but I don't think that was correct in my case as I never had a small fish after the first three. However, luncheon meat lasted longer on the hook, and I had a good spell on it.

A problem
The main nets at Kingsland are rectangular and you can get the large landing net inside; but the spare nets are round, and it's impossible to get the landing net inside. After twice spending a fair time gingerly persuading fish to roll out of the landing net into my third, round, net,  I went to my van and took out a small landing net I keep there as a spare. Then I could transfer the fish from the large one to the smaller one and empty it into the round net. That  landing net was dry and I haven't used it this season, so there was no possibility of contamination.

Dick had also now got four nets - he had to walk round the lake for his fourth, which lost him a few minutes. Then 15 minutes from the end he started to pack up, because he goes round with the scales. That probably cost him a place.

Dick  Warriner with his 134 lb 7 oz, for fourth place.

The weigh-in
Kevin on Peg 3 had four nets in use , but was over in three of them, and couldn't get a fifth as all the spares we had been given were used. His total was 196 lb 12 oz, and I was told he'd dropped about 20 lb.

Next was Dave Garner, who had a magnificent 218 lb 15 oz. Whether Kev would have had enough to beat him I'm not sure. I had estimated my first net at 42 lb, the second at 43 lb, and the last at possible 50 lb. In fact the last one went 56 lb-plus! The others were 49 lb 7 oz and 52 lb. My total was 149 lb 7 oz, with 8 lb-plus dropped.

I suspected that the loss of that 8 lb could make a difference when they weighed Dick. But in fact he totalled 134 lb 7 oz - it's probable  that losing time fetching a net and then packing up early cost him my third place.

Dave's magnificent treble
The opposite bank didn't produce as many fish, and Dave deservedly won. He has already been a winner in the Pairs match, and has won the Club Cup. If he wins the Club Championship, which he looks like doing with five wins and four seconds, he will have done something no-one else has ever done. 

The South bank dominated the weights.

Losing fish

I am fairly sure that of all the fish I lost - more than I landed - only two were foulhooked. Other anglers lost a lot, so I don't know what else I could have done. The only answer might have been to use weaker elastic, in the hope that the fish didn't react so much to being hooked. A lot were hooked on the outside of the lip, and John, Opposite, said that when he put on floating bread he could see fish coming to the bait and deliberately knocking it until it came off the hook.

I guess that's one of the great attractions of the sport - we'll never know everything.

PS. The system used for laying out these pages has just changed, so there my be annoying gaps until I get used to it.

Are the fish well fed-up? Decoy, Elm

 My van is poorly-sick, requiring a new clutch, so the angling world is missing my pathetic performances On The Bank. That reminds me that I haven't yet received an invitation to appear on that exulted programme, though I did see John Arthur catch a new Decoy record of 426 lb or something, last week in the UK Championships...perhaps I will wait a little longer for that telephone call.

So Spratts had to manage without me for their match on Elm, and it looks as if the constant inflow of feed from matches on the Strips at Decoy is having an effect, with much lower weights than on might expect in this period of settled weather.

Anyway, here's the result - won by Farmer Harrison in the corner on Peg 24 with 115 lb 9 oz taken on maggot and corn at 8 metres, with the best fish around 8 lb. Bob Barrett, who is having a good run, 

Personally I'd rather go to a match won with 100 lb that one where I have to catch 300 lb to win. But I worry a little for the fish.

Peter The Paste came in third, only one fish behind Bob with 93 lb 5 oz from close-in on Peg 9, with former Div 4 National Champion Terry tribe on 7 fourth with 86 lb 5 oz, also fishing close in, with paste and meat (probably not together).

The result. Good to see Ted (92) is back with us.

Unfortunately my little van will have to remain in hospital until next week, so I will be missing the Fenland Rods match on Kingsland Small Carp Lake (that's the lake which is small, not the carp) on Sunday. But I hope to be sitting listening to the wind on the Willows next Wednesday.

PS. Blogspot are changing the set-up of their blog pages, and as you can see, with some lines set in a little, I have not yet worked out how to master everything. It's typical - mending something that ain't broke. Not like my van, which is broke, and missing me...😞

Result on Cedar, Decoy

I couldn't fish this Spratts match, but I have the result, and surprisingly the West bank (1-13) completely dominated. Perhaps it was a cold Westerly that put those on the East bank at a disadvantage. I can't remember one bank ever dominating a match on the strip lakes like this.

The winner was Peter  Spriggs, on Peg 1, at the car Park end, who fished paste close in for 165 lb 6 oz. Bob Barrett on 7 fished the method that has brought him a lot of fish recently - a feeder close in - and was runner-up with 142 lb 5 oz.

Trevor Cousins was third on 11 with 140 lb 14 oz, fishing corn over micros close in, with Peter Harrison completing the framing places with 138 lb 13 oz, also fishing corn at top two plus two.
Here's the full result, in Peg order: 1 to 13 on West bank, with 14 back to 26 on East bank.

1 Peter Spriggs,      165 lb 6 oz
3 John Smith,           70 lb 3 oz
5 Peter Harrison    138 lb 13 oz
7 Bob Barrett,         142 lb 5 oz
9 S Engledow,           42 lb 4 oz
11 Trevor Cousins, 140 lb 14 oz
13 Mark Parnell,     137 lb 9 oz

14 Peter Barnes,         72 lb 7 oz
16 Mick Ramm,          31 lb 8 oz
18 Bob Allen,            40 lb 13 oz
20 Terry Tribe,           81 lb 13 oz
22 Martin Parker,           DNW
24 Mick Rawson,           DNW
26 A Porter,                 34 lb 4 oz.