I did 'OK' (spoiler - I didn't win) - Beastie, Decoy

 Peg 25
When the wind blows cold at the draw, and starts getting colder, almost everyone hopes for back wind, especially if possible rain is forecast. So when Terry Tribe prayed for Peg 30, which was sheltered from the cold South-Westerly, and actually got it drawn for him, he was a Happy Bunny. The other 12 of us in this Spratts match envied him...

My Peg 25 was also back-ish wind, but you are not allowed to cast to the island from there, and at this time of year the carp tend to gravitate towards the island, where they remain until the Spring. But there were fish swirling near the bank when I got there, and a patch of calm water which extended for about ten metres. So it had possibilities. Also, the wind appeared to be a little warmer now.

Peg 25. The wind was blowing into the far bank from the right.

I caught roach, but not quickly enough
To cut a long story short, a quick look on all my pole swims was unproductive. Then a banjo feeder with a Pop-Up, and then a while Chocolate Bandum, also brought me Zilch. A change to maggot brought a 4 oz bream, and I then spent an enjoyable 45 minutes catching small roach from the margins on maggot on a light elastic and pole. But although I was getting a bite immediately the bait sank to their level, I was missing a lot of them. Eventually I decided that 4 lb an hour was never going to be any good, especially as I could see Trevor on Peg 3 oppsosite catching on a feeder cast to the island.

So it was back to maggot on the feeder, cast about 35 metres, which over the next hour brought a 2lb F1 and another of 3 lb. The next hour was spent fruitlessly trying the margins with corn, for carp, and a long line at 11 metres, with pellet and corn, and my target had now gone from winning to being top of the four pegs on my bank - 21, 22, 24, and my peg 25 (Martin Parker having had to move from 23 to 21).

This 12 lb mirror, taken at 11 metres on a grain of corn was most welcome!

Yippee - a big carp
With less than two hours remaining I decided I had to concentrate on the long line, and messing about with the depth on my 1gm Tuff Eye float brought two or three bream, best 2 lb. Fishing several inches overdepth then brought a carp on corn first drop - and what a carp. I must have weighed 12 lb, and in the very clear water (I could see a foot below the surface) it put up a huge fight, constantly turning away from the landing net when I thought I had it safely netted.

Following that, another carp of 4 lb came in, and some more bream. I found that laying on almost a foot was best. But the problems got worse - leaves and rubbish on the surface were moving back and forth, and snagging the float and line. And shipping out often meant that the hook caught in a leaf.

Terry Tribe's fourth-placed catch of 39 lb 6 oz on feeder.

Bugga the wind!
Rain started to fall, though not really heavily, and then the wind started playing tricks - it was blowing from the right, but at times a gust came from the left, and blew me round in my seat; then it turned round and hit me the other way. Very strange. Presentation for more than 30 seconds became impossible, though I still had another couple of small bream.

Half an hour to go and I lost another carp, which felt big. Then the wind became so bad I simply couldn't fish the long line. I spent the last half hour trying in the margins with corn and cat meat for one more big fish, but never had a touch.

The weigh-in
I knew Trevor had several fish, and I'd seen Terry Tribe get some by also casting tight ot the island. but Peter Harrison on Peg 4 was first to weight. By feedering tight to the island with a hard pellet he took 89 lb 15 oz for the win. Peg 18, my favourite, had produced 62 lb for Allan Porter. You are not allowed to cast to the island from 18, but he took his fish, late in the match,. by putting a feeder to the far side of the deep channel under the bridge.

Trevor's best fish was this magnificent common carp,
which we weighed at 18 lb 2 oz!

I weighed 30 lb 9 oz, which was more than the other three pegs on my bank together, and was satisfied with that, as the other three had the island to cast to.

Bob Barrett, amazingly, on 29 didn't weigh, but Terry Tribe beat me with 39 lb 6 oz on 30, using a Wafter on a Method feeder. Last to weigh was Trevor, with 71 lb 13 oz, also on a Wafter, which was second. So I ended fifth. I was particularly pleased with because I felt that I had got as much from my swim, especially in the last couple of hours, as I could have done.

Next match - not sure. I will have a cast around to see what the forecast is for this weekend before I commit myself. But Decoy calls next Thursday, on Six-Island. We were told that Diane was pumping water out of Six-Island recently, and I know it can become very wet and soggy, so we may be asked to change. No problem, as I'm happy anywhere.

Weights are starting to fall, but Decoy rarely fails to produce a decent match.

Allan wins the Cup - Damson, Decoy

 Peg 4
The last Fenland Rods match of the season is - and is likely to be for some time - the Les Bedford Memorial Cup. It commemorates Les' life and his influence on the club during the years he fished with us. It's two years since he died on the banks of Elm Lake while the rest of us waited respectfully while two ambulance crews and the helicopter of the Air Ambulance battled, in vain, to save his life.

It was a sobering time, but a crumb of comfort was that Les died doing one of the things he loved best - fishing with his mates, though he was also a very good bowls player. He was on oxygen for a year before that, but still managed to catch plenty of fish in our matches. And it's a great joy to us that his widow, Wendy, still fishes with us.

 The local Oddfellows offered the club a cup in Les' memory, plus £50, to be competed for annually. And 14 of us turned up to remember Les and his unfailing courtesy and smiles, even when he was still attached to his oxygen tank. Of course the competitiveness never leaves us, does it? And I hoped for Peg 1, which would be sheltered from the forecasted strong South-Westerly by a high bank...while the aerator in that swim offers a great feature for the fish to gravitate towards. Theoretically!

Peg 1, which I (and lots of others) would have liked...but didn't get!

Mel does the honours with the draw.

The draw

Our Handicap Cup winner Mel Lutkin dived into the draw bag for us, and shouted out: "Peg Four" when my name was called. Oh, well, anywhere in the first four would suit me, with perhaps a little more shelter than the rest, and I have noticed that the bigger fish - to 5 lb-plus - tend to come from that end of the lake.

It was not until only one ball was left in the bag that we knew who Peg 1 was going to - the only man left, Allan Golightly. Allan has had a good two seasons, and I guessed he could do well from there. 

Before the match started two anglers had to move. Dennis Sambridge, on 14, found water over part of his platform and moved to 15. Mike Rawson on 7 found his platform had even more water on it, so moved to 16. Very sensible, as  it's so easy to make a mistake and end up in the water.

Fish!
I had two basic options - margins, or the deep water, which starts about ten feet from the side and drops to more than seven feet. 

My home for the day - Peg 4. Note that I prop
my holdall up on my trolley handle so I don't have
to keep bending down to pack and unpack my pole gear.

My first drop in the side into about 18 inches of water with a 4mm expander saw a fish take  straightaway...but it came off. A minute later I hooked another of 1 lb which ended in my net. Ten minutes later I had another. Twenty minutes after that I added a third. They were going off already!

To my right Rob Allen had a fish or two in the deep water fishing a top two, and to his right Peter Spriggs also found some carp that looked to be 2 lb-plus, fishing about four sections.

I decided I would out into the deep water if they got a long way ahead of me, but their catch rate dropped, and to my left Dick Warriner seemed to be catching fish on the inside. So I stayed there, though fishing to the left was now very difficult because of the strong left-to-right wind.

For the next hour it seemed that everybody was struggling, the wind had increased, and I added only another couple of fish. But I was getting liners, or missed bites - who knows? Maggot brought three tiny roach and a 2 lb carp, but I decided against putting too many maggots in the swim, hoping for barbel, as in earlier matches this hadn't worked.

Halfway and I have 13 lb
Halfway through the six-hour (actually five-and-three-quarter-hour) match and I had about seven fish for around 13 lb.I had tried the deep water on a top two, with expander, corn, and cat meat, over pellet and hemp put in via a bait dropper, but never had a touch. But I gradually started getting fish in the margins, from about two feet of water, and then from four feet, about a metre farther out, on the edge of the drop-off, on corn. 

Joe Bedford, elder brother of Les, was seventh
with 32 lb 2 oz - at the age of 90 (I think).

The best rig  was my 'Special Method' which can allow me to fish dead depth, even on a bumpy bottom (which this was). Lifting the bait half an inch (no more) often brought a bite, though I missed nine out of ten. Dragging the bait also brought a fish or two.  It was hard, and I concentrated like mad. However, that one fish out of ten 'bites' that I hooked kept something going into my keepnet. Most were hooked on the outside of the lip, convincing me that the 'bites' I missed were not liners caused by fish hitting the line, but from fishing nosing the bait.

During the next two hours I kept adding the occasional fish, mainly from 2 lb to 3 lb, but eventually felt I had to go long again, so I went out to four sections, where the water was actually about four inches shallower than at the bottom of the steep shelf.

A slight problem
I had re-made my favourite 1gm rig, as I had been using the original for several weeks. But I couldn't get the shotting exactly right - either there was too much tip showing, or not enough. That may have had something to do with the undertow, which seemed to come and go. 

Peter Spriggs - third with 54 lb 9 oz,
 all taken on four or five sections of pole
in the deep water.

However, this rig, baited with corn, did tempt half-a-dozen or more carp, the best up to 4 lb, plus a five-pounder foulhooked near the tail, which took me a long time to land. Another, which felt even bigger, came off after several minutes. I also pricked a couple more as I lifted out or struck at a bite.

Rain!
Back to the inside to rest the long swim, and a couple more fish came in, then back long, with half an hour to go, on corn. In the high wind expander wasn't working, while corn, being heavier, gave me more confidence that I was fishing positively. Two quick fish came, and I was playing the second as the rain started. 

The downpour became heavier as I landed this fish and once it was in the net I had to stand up and leave the platform to get my waterproof Imax jacket on. The zip is never easy, and it must have taken me five minutes to get comfortable and start fishing again, in heavy rain now. In fact it was so heavy I couldn't see the float properly.

The last ten minutes
The last ten minutes, when I had thought I would be able to get another fish or two, as they had been biting well, flew by leaving me fishless, and cold. That was a bit of a downer - as was the start of the packing up, as I - and probably every other angler - had left my brolly in the van, and bags and holdalls were drenched.

Sod's Law reigns (geddit?)
Of course, by the time I had done the bulk of the packing up, and the weighing-in started, the rain had eased to a slight drizzle. Sod's Law...

I estimated I had 60 lb, but had no idea whether this would be any good - Peter Spriggs seemed to have had bigger fish than me early on, but he'd had a torrid middle of the match. 

Allan Golightly weighed
61 lb 9 oz, from Peg 1, to win the 
Les Bedford Memorial Cup.

A surprise

Dick, next to me on Peg 3, said that Pegs 1 and 2 had caught a lot of fish. Allan Golightly on 1 weighed in 61 lb 9 oz. It then appeared, from anglers watching, that they thought this was very good - I had assumed that some weights in the higher pegs would probably be considerably more than this, so that surprised me. On 2 Joe Bedford - Les' elder brother and now aged 90 - didn't have as many as Dick had assumed. He weighed 32 lb 2 oz, beaten by 14 oz by Dick himself.

The result - a well-deserved win for Allan Golightly.

I was next, and for a change my fish weighed slightly less than I had estimated - just 58 lb 9 oz, which held second place right to the end. Bob on my right guessed I might have 80 lb - strange how we all seem to imagine that other anglers have more than they do. It's just the same for me! I thought he had 50 lb or more, but he weighed little more than half that...

Peter Spriggs on Peg 6 was only a couple of fish behind me, and while I rued the fish I had lost, I know he had also lost some foulhooked.

So Allan won - a popular win - and was presented with the cup and the £25 winning gift from the Oddfellows by Les' widow Wendy. I was just as pleased as if I had won, because Allan lives in my village, and is a great club member, hardly ever missing a match.

Allan receives the cup from clubmate Wendy Bedford,
wife of Les Bedford, in whose memory the cup was given. 

My Grafham expedition
I mentioned a trip to Grafham in the last blog. It took place and I never had a pull. But having spent hours sorting through my flyfishing gear after a long break from fishing the fly, I intend to try again, probably from the bank at Elinor, Northants. 

Next match is on Beastie at Decoy on We4dnesday. The forecast is not too bad, with a South-Westerly and up to 15% chance of rain during match times. Pegs 29 and 30 would give the best of everything - fliers and a back wind - but I would still pick 18, given the chance.

Should have done better - Horseshoe Lake, Decoy

 Peg 1
I blame the cramp. It had me leaping out of bed all night like a demented frog, and  I never got more than 30 minutes uninterrupted sleep. Funny thing was I felt fine at the match, and was happy with Peg 1. It can produce good weights in the Summer, and although the results I have seen in Winter from Horseshoe tend to show the first four pegs as not being too good, there are a lot of options on Peg 1.

But my brain must have been in a low gear because I never got started properly - I had intended to fish waggler if I got back wind (which I did) but somehow I left the float I had the rod shotted up for at home. So I had to choose another, adjust the shotting, and then it took me ages to work out what was happening - I couldn't get the float to come to the surface.

A light back wind meant no ripple on the first few pegs.

It took me ages to realise that this swim is very deep - eight feet or more, perhaps the deepest swim on the complex. Anyway, by the time I had it set up the match had started, and I hadn't even assembled my pole tops. Then Terry Tribe walked back to the car for his umbrella, and gaily announced that Mick had already landed a ten-pounder.

Mick? Which Mick? We've got three  fishing today, And at the end of the match I looked carefully at all three Mick's catches and couldn't find a double-figure fish. Terry then sort of pointed to Peter Spriggs and asked: "Did I say Mick?" Yes, Terry, you did. I know Peter would have been facing the water (presumably) as you walked behind him, but methinks a call to Specsavers is on the cards!

The match
Back to the match and eventually, almost 20 minutes after everyone else had started, I got underway. I last fished this peg about 15 years ago, and there was a lily bed to the left, which is not there now. So I had a guess at where it might have ended, and started at 10 metres towards a lily bed in the middle. My trusty 1gm Tuff Eye float now had a bright yellow tip, to show up against the brown reflections of bushes on the far side. Despite the rain we've had the water was much clearer than it was only two weeks ago.

John Garner, on my left, waited for over
four-and-a-half hours for his first fish. He ended with
five weighing 31 lb 8 oz.

After a short fishless spell at ten metres I had a quick look in the margin to my right, against the reeds, with corn over half-a-dozen grains. Nothing. So back to the main swim, with the intention of moving round to the right, where the water was about three inches shallower, as my second swim. Then a 3 lb barbel took my corn and I was underway. I put in some maggots with a bait dropper, hoping for more barbel, but none came. An F1 took a bunch of maggots half an hour later, and a small roach, which prompted me to go back to corn.

Things are slow
It took me nearly two  hours to add three more F1s, one of which was on the waggler, at the rate of one every 30 minutes. At this point John Garner to my left was still fishless, but Callum on his left had six fish on a pole. Another hour went by and I had forgotten about the intended second long swim, but fancied I saw a tiny liner while fishing the margin swim to my right. Now becoming desperate I wondered if the fish, perhaps, preferred to feed in the deeper water, so I went a little farther out and a little longer to my right.

Callum on Peg 3 had six fish early on and
weighed 35 lb 12 oz for seventh.

In went a some hemp and corn, and I dropped in over the top. Within 15 seconds I was playing a 7 lb common, which didn't fight particularly well, and ended in my net. It was as cold as ice. Next drop saw a six-pounder come in. but then no more. I probably should have had a go on the feeder, but my brain was not working to its maximum capacity.

Alternating the two swims
It slowly dawned on me that the flashing when a fish was hooked was probably disturbing other fish, so I went long again, and had another F1; then back to the other swim, about ten feet from the marginal reeds. I slowly added fish by alternating the swims, mainly by dragging the bait very slowly. But the bites took a long time to develop. I'm certain that the ones I missed were not liners- the fish were just very cagey. Perhaps a small length of worm would have tempted them in the clear water, but I forgot to try.

Cat meat took an F1 from the right-hand swim, and the rest - F1s and carp to 6 lb -  came to corn, mainly from that right-handed swim, with the exception of another small F1 on expander. I lost just one fish.

Mick Ramm and I went to junior school together  
in Wisbech in the 1940s. Neither of us look our age...

With an hour to go I put an eight-pounder in the net from the swim towards the reeds, but in the final hour I added only one more fish, also about 8 lb. John on my left, meanwhile, had his first fish with 85 minutes left, and ended with five, all on a top two.

The end - and my big mistake
When the match finished I kept the unused hemp, cat meat and expanders to freeze and use again (as I always do) but there was a handful of corn unused and some dampened micros. I threw these in down to a small patch of lillies on my right, where the water is about 18 inches deep.

Five minutes later the lillies were shaking, as fish had come in to sweep up the food on the bottom. In water that shallow and that clear I hadn't imagined that it would have been worth fishing the margins. And I am sure I would have had more fish if I had. Stupid. And I had never fished the second long swim, either. What was I thinking of?

I blame the cramp!

Terry Tribe weighs in his third-placed 56 lb 2 oz.

The weigh-in
I was first to weigh, and had no idea what most of the others had been catching. But several remarked that I had two nets in, so it gradually dawned on me that I hadn't done too badly. My fish weighed 60 lb 6 oz, and that led right round to Trevor Cousins on 16, who won with 78 lb 2 oz - five F1s on a 10-metre pole and the rest on a feeder baited with a Washter cast tight to the far-side reeds.

That win produced some elation from the others, and I realised I had forgotten that I was Golden Peg. Same thing happened the previous week when I was Golden Peg (again) and came third. They must love it when I get it.

Of the 14 anglers fishing no fewer than ten weighed in the between 30 lb and 40 lb. I finished second, and honestly believe that I had the opportunity to win in that last hour, if only I had had a look in the shallow margins - a lovely bunch of reeds to the left and lillies down to my right.

Terry displays the golden coin wrenched from the  reluctant fist of a smiling Martin Parker.
It's what makes life worth living.

I'm fishing from a boat at Graham on Friday. Not sure if sweetcorn is allowed! And next match is on Damson on Sunday - The Les Bedford Memorial Cup. Les died at decoy, and Damson was his favourite lake.

Mike Rawson with fish! Lots of them...

Winner Trevor Cousins from Peg 16 - 78 lb 2 oz.

                              

The result of a tight, difficult match.

A fish-for-fish battle with Dave - Willows, Decoy

Peg 31
Eleven of us – a depleted field – fished this Fenland  Rods match on the temperamental Willows lake. We had been given Pegs 16 to 35.

We adopted a system our club has used before. Each angler selected a peg to be put in the draw. Then our names were drawn, and a peg number. It works pretty well, but it did result in four pegs together, from 22 to 25, and three together from 29 to 31, with Joe Bedford on his own round the corner on 34.

To be honest I would have preferred almost any peg other than 31, because in my mind it is likely , always, to be outfished by 29 and 30. There’s a hole between those two pegs, right under the bank, and I’ve won from both pegs, at this time of year, by fishing in that hole. But Mike Rawson on 29 and Dave Garner on 30 never found it – and there’s no guarantee, of course, that it would have held any fish. In addition 29 is regarded as a ‘flier’, fishing just off the island with feeder or pole.

My swim - flat calm all day. Peg 25 is behind the small island.

However, 31 is in the back of the lake, which often produces the best weights. And conditions were very pleasant – hardly a breath of wind and a flat calm surface. My  target now was just to beat 29 and 30.

A slow start
There’s no obvious feature on 31, except fishing to the platform on 32. I found a little hole towards that platform, about eight metres out from the bank and started fishing there on an 10-metre pole and expander, without a touch. A switch to out in front of me with corn didn’t bring anything, either. Then Dave on 30 landed a double-figure fish on his normal waggler set-up and cat meat.

Dave Garner next to me plays a double-figure carp.

I hadn’t intended to fish cat meat as early in the match as this, but felt I had to make the change. Within five minutes the float dipped and I landed a 2 lb F1, after a kerfuffle because I had forgotten to put up my landing net! Never done that before.

Dave then landed another big fish and I landed another two-pounder, after having messed about with the shotting from just touching bottom to dragging several inches of line along and inducing a bite. In fact from then on every fish I had came to that tactic – lifting the bait never brought any reaction, but dragging the rig slowly until the float was down level with the surface, and then lifting it slightly to move the bait, occasionally brought a bite.

We catch fish together
Next fish was almost 10 lb, and  then I had another. Strangely, from that moment, several times  Dave and I, after having waited for ages for a bite, found ourselves playing fish at the same time. It was as if fish were swimming round together.

 An early fish safely in the net.

There was a terrible lull in the middle, for about an hour-and-a-half when we couldn’t catch, and about this time Bob Allen walked round – fishless on Peg 23, but he said that Peter Spriggs, on the end peg on the opposite side of the lake, 16, had about 60 lb. He also suggested I fish to the platform on 32, which I had already plumbed up for. So in went hemp and casters, hoping for barbel.

Yet another good-un falls for Dave's magic cat meat.

In fact I had only two tiny twitches there, though there was excitement at one point when a huge cloud of mud came out from under the platform. So fish were interested, but not hungry, presumably. I’m right-handed, and it’s awkward fishing along the bank to the right, so after half an hour I gave up.

Nothing thing in the margin

I had to try the margin, but that was also fishless, and a switch to corn fished on the 10-metre line eventually brought some more F1s, and a 4 lb mirror. Back to cat meat, and two more good fish came in, over 7 lb, and one or two smaller fish – all tempted by dragging the bait. I found it best to put in loose-fed corn (not a lot) which seemed to bring fish in, and gave me tiny liners even if I didn’t get a proper bite. In fact most of my bites came from about three feet farther out or closer in than I had put the loose-feed – not right on it.

 With an hour to go, after another slow spell,  I had to have another look in the margin, fishing a bunch of maggots over maggots, hemp and corn. I actually briefly (about half a second) hooked something big, which came off, almost certainly foulhooked.  Dave hadn’t had a bite in the margin.

Not many fish, but they weighed nearly 50 lb.

In the last half-hour Dave landed no fewer than four fish on cat meat, fishing just off the end of his rod with meat – two barbel and two carp, and with minutes to spare I landed my last fish – a 4 lb mirror, on meat.

I wasn’t sure what Dave had, but I estimated my catch at between 50 lb and 60 lb, and thought Dave had more. It had been a pleasant day, not cold for the time of year. The sort of day when, like Winter, every fish had to be fished for separately, if you get my meaning. There was no question of cracking  the method and getting two fish quickly.

The weigh-in
I had seen 90-year-old Joe on 34 land four fish on a feeder, and that was probably all he had – as he weighed 11 lb 12 oz. My fish went 67 lb 10 oz, and I was surprised that Dave totalled just 49 lb 5 oz. I had heard splashing at times, but hadn’t looked up, and assumed it was Dave landing fish; in fact it was probably fish jumping in the lake.

Runner-up Kev Lee had 92 lb 12 oz.

So round to flier 25, where John Smith, who had lost a hearing aid there a couple of weeks ago, had an eight-pounder first cast then not much else until the last half-hour, when he found some fish close to the island at six metres. He totalled 39 lb 11 oz. I fancied all the pegs from 22 to 25, and they all weighed in, with Bob Allen finding Peg 23 very snaggy, but catching 21 lb 13 oz, all taken in the second half of the match, and I believe most were barbel.

Peter The Paste - winner with 151 lb 15 oz.
Peter was fishing as a guest but he intends
 to join the club as a full member next season. 

On 22, Mel Lutkin found 32 lb 14 oz, but the top two weights came from 18, where Kev Lee found fish in his right margin with meat (couldn’t catch a  fish to his left) for 92 lb 12 oz. And Peter Spriggs,  fishing as a guest, after taking a fish on top-two-plus-two moved to his left margin, with paste, and never looked back. His winning weight was 151 lb 15 oz.

The full result (positions 1 to 3 marked for our points system).

I ended third, and was pleased with that, because it looked as if our half of the lake was the most difficult.

Next match Horseshoe on Tuesday. I love Horseshoe, as the early and late pegs have some of the best margins on the complex, and the banks are nice and level. I’m not bothered where I draw, though the wind, forecast for SSW up to 19 mph, is likely to be blowing into pegs 9 round  to 20. But if it’s not cold and it doesn’t rain too much  I’m happy to face the wind.

Was my journey really necessary? Jay, Pidley

 Peg 19
I hadn't fished Jay for a long time, but with a North-Easterly forecast, with rain later, I fancied a back wind. So, drive in to the car park, dip nets using the new Matrix net dip bag; leave it to drain; mask on; and up to the shop for the draw. Tim, standing behind the counter, drew me 19 - Back Wind! Yippee. I was so pleased I nipped into the cafe for a mug of tea. I know how to celebrate in style!

Tim draws for me - and a picture ensures I can remember what peg I'm on!

So I drove to my peg in plenty of time and it was fairly calm, with a ripple up the arm to my left, from peg 20 upwards. To my  right on 18 was Derek Hayes (though I thought it was Brian York, and I probably called him Brian several times). And we both started across, at 13 metres.

To be honest that was virtually the sum total of my excitement. I fished bread punch, moving from mid-depth to the bottom, in about two-and-a-half-feet of water, and hit my first fish after an hour. It came off. Half an hour later I managed to land one of about 1 lb 8 oz. meanwhile Derek had also lost one, and landed one about 5 lb.

Peg 19, giving me a nice back wind and plenty of room...but not much in the way of fish! 

I get liners

Then I had a spell of about 90 minutes when I would get a liner every five minutes. Most were slow dips, but six times the float shot under. On each occasion I lifted, felt nothing, and the bread was still on. It seemed that if the bait was on the bottom I had liners, but when I lifted in shallower they stopped. A couple of times I tried resting the swim and fished maggot just in front of the platform for half-a-dozen tiny perch; I also tried expander at the bottom of the far shelf, which never brought a single touch.

Then, an hour before the end I hit another fish on bread which I played for about three minutes. It was clearly foulhooked and never came within several yards of the net before eventually the hook pulled out. Derek then landed another carp around 5lb.

To my left Ray Poolman (Raymondo) on 21 had one carp on a Method feeder, and the angler to his left had two. Things were dire. But at least when it rained it was back wind for me.

John Pratt still fishing matches at 90,  had 33 lb 8 oz.

The weigh in
Will Hadley, who hadn't weighed in on Peg 16, told me, as the scales came round, that Alan Owen had weighed 95 lb 9 oz on Peg 11. I was astonished, but he explained that it's regarded as the best Winter peg on the lake - back wind on the South-Western end, into which the wind was blowing.

I took the opportunity to photograph John Pratt on 45, who weighed 33 lb 8 oz - at the age of 90! (But don't say I told you how old he is). 

If you haven't weighed...
Derek next to me totalled 10 lb 6 oz for his two carp, and for my carp and perch I was given 2 lb - and that was generous. Most of those who didn't weigh had a carp or two, but I dislike not weighing (I think it's a bit of an insult to the others), and will normally only do it if it is inconveniencing the weighers-in in heavy rain. After all, as Kevin Ashurst says: "If you haven't weighed, you haven't catched." I came no-where.

Runner-up Vic German, with 77 lb 14 oz on bread.

Interesting that Vic German, behind me on 42, had carp at 13 metres (but holding his 14-metre section) on bread, but could catch only with the bread one inch off bottom. Like me, he had liners when it was on bottom, but they stopped when he put it six inches off bottom. So he increased the depth one inch at a time until he started hooking them. He took 77 lb 14 oz for second place.

On Peg 13 Roy Whincup fished cat meat at towp-two-plus-one all day. His first fish came ten minutes after the start and he then waited for three-and-a-half hours for his next one. But he caught enough for 48 lb 1 oz and fourth place. I hadn't tried cat meat, but as Roy said, it's the time of year when you think about giving it up. Still, the waiting game worked for him.

I'm committed to the 14-match Winter League at Pidley, and have a horrible feeling that if it fishes like it did this time, I could be in bottom place time after time.

The result, with pegs 11, 42, 28, 13 and 5 taking the top places.

My next match is Sunday on Willows at Decoy. We're on Pegs 16 to 35, and I'd like 23, 24, 25, 27 or 29, with 33 as a second-choice.

A bonus for me, and I frame in the rain - Damson, Decoy

Peg 6

 I would have liked any of the first four pegs, or one of the two on the far end bank (14 and 15), in this 14-entry Spratts match. But peg 1 was reserved for 92-year-old Ted if he turned up. The early pegs went elsewhere, and Trevor drew 15 – I believe he’s won from there before. I certainly remember Terry Tribe winning a Winter match from it. Peter Harrison had Peg 2, which I thought he would probably frame from, and Terry Tribe had 4. 

A picture of Trevor's car. Also our draw - names then Peg Number.

No matter – peg 6 was my home for the day. And my peg was also drawn out as Golden Peg, to a chorus of “Rollover.” I don’t care – stick and stones and all that...and miracles do happen. 

There was not much wind at the start, but it soon picked up, and was cold enough for me to have to put on my padded Imax jacket.

A terrible start

 John at the fishery told me to fish half depth with banded pellet, and after a quick drop-in with cat meat in the deep water on top-two-plus-one (which brought nothing) that is what I did. But I never had a take. I know I didn’t do it for long enough, but on my left Alan Porter had three fish on a feeder and then started catching in the margins.

 Meanwhile Mick Ramm, on my right, had had a good carp on his first drop, also in the shallower water. So I changed to more conventional fishing, and took a quick 1 lb carp on expander in the margin. Then the wheels came off. One hour gone and I had 1 lb, while Alan must have been in double-figures already. 

Overcast but calm...at the start. The wind and rain soon came, though.

The second  hour saw me with just three more. Two hours gone and I had 4 lb.

 Still the fish proved elusive, but while Alan seemed to have come to a halt I made up a little leeway, with about five more fish, in the shallow water. Then I made the move to the deep water, just over a top two length, where there’s about seven feet. A fish first drop on sweetcorn gave me hope, but only the odd fish came. Then I made what was probably a mistake – after having two or three fish quickly I potted in casters...and the bites stopped completely! I’ve never known casters put carp off before, but that’s what happened.

 Two hours to go and I had less than 20 lb, while Martin Parker, two to my right, had really started to motor in the deep water on what looked like a top two.

Martin Parker, on Peg 8, was catching 
fish while I could hardly get a bite.

 I concentrate

 I decided to do what had worked two days previously, on Beastie – potting in about eight pieces of corn and fishing right over the top, concentrating hard. Slowly it started to bring bites, but found I needed to pick a medium-sized piece. The larger grains brought little knocks, but the fish wouldn’t give a proper bite, and the really small ones brought roach. 

The 1gm rig with a 16 hook was set so it was several inches over depth and I laid it out flat, allowing it to sink in an ark. If the fish didn’t take as it hit bottom, inching the bait along the bottom brought the occasional bite, from fish which were now all over 2 lb, though I lost the biggest at 5 lb after seeing it plainly. As the previous week, I could see fish twitching the float, so even though it might have taken me ten minutes to hook a fish, I knew they were still down there.

 My spare rig was invaluable

I was helped by the fact that while I could fish with the 1gm rig and catch fish, if I wanted to experiment with the presentation I took up my spare 0.5 gm rig, leaving the 1gm the same. This helped a lot, as if the 0.5 rig didn’t work I just reverted to the 1gm. However, in the last half-hour I tried fishing dead depth with the 0.5 rig (which hadn’t worked earlier) and found that, suddenly, the fish would respond to a quick lift of no more than one inch.

 I had enough confidence to change the 1gm to this set-up and it worked a treat, and my catch rate increased a little, with the odd four-pounder among the two-pounders.

My best fish, landed ten minutes after the match ended.

A last-minute bonus

Five minutes to go and I lifted the bait, and the float shot straight under. This was a heavier fish, and I was still playing it when the match ended. It was a full ten minutes later before I was able to bring it to the surface, and it was a good fish. I thought it must be foulhooked or hooked in the nose, as every time I slid it towards the net it was able to veer sideways, and miss the net. When I finally landed it, it was in fact hooked in the lip. All 12 lb of it! A nice bonus. 

But it put me even further behind in my packing up than usual. I estimated I had something over 50 lb.

 

The weigh-in

 Packing up was not enjoyable, as it was now raining fairly hard. I’d put up the umbrella earlier, but you have to take it down eventually. Then it eased off a little, just as the weighing-in started. Ted hadn’t turned up, and Peter Harrison set the target with 65 lb 12 oz on peg 2. Terry Tribe beat that, on 4, with 69 lb 7 oz, having caught just one fish in the last two hours, when I had had my best spell. It’s a Funny Old Game. 

John Garner lifts out his catch.

 At that point Bob Allen put a damper on us all when he announced that Trevor, on 15, had four nets in! Definitely a Golden Peg rollover then.  That lucky last-minute 12-pounder boosted my catch to 66 lb 10 oz, pipping Peter’s weight, and making me feel guilty...but Not A Lot!

Martin, as I had expected, well beat me with 86 lb 7 oz, and indeed Trevor, fishing as John at the fishery had advised – banded pellet at half depth – won handsomely with 146 lb 13 oz. So I finished fourth, and was actually very happy, considering I had been beaten only by Trevor, who is better than me, plus a former Vets National Champion, and a former Division Four National Champion.

Winner Trevor got it absolutely right, fishing off
 the bottom with banded pellet on a top two all day.

 Result:

 Peg

2      Peter Harrison       65 lb 12 oz  

3      John Smith           39 lb 3 oz 

4      Terry Tribe           96 lb 7 oz

5      Alan Porter           DNW 

6      Mac Campbell     66 lb 10 oz

7      Mick Ramm        24 lb 

8      Martin Parker      86 lb 7 oz 

9      Mike Rawson      31 lb 14 oz

10    Mick Raby          33 lb 13 oz

11    Bob Allen           27 lb 8 oz 

12    Bob Barrett         28 lb 12 oz 

13    John Garner        39 lb 3 oz 

14    Peter Barnes        DNW 

15    Trevor Cousins    146 lb 13 oz 

Wednesday sees me on Jay at Pidley, where I will genuinely be aiming not to come last, as the match will consist of anglers who fish there regularly, whereas I haven’t fished there for a year or more.

No rain, please...

Cold, windy and horrible, but I enjoyed it – Beastie, Decoy

Peg 12
Match fishermen, whether they realise it or not, are always looking for an ‘edge’ – something they do better than most others. With some, it’s disciplined feeding; with others it’s landing big fish quickly; with others it’s being willing to make changes quickly, rather than sitting there wondering if they should change.

My edge (I think) is being able to see the tiniest trembles on a float, showing that something is interested. It’s not just having decent eyesight, even with spectacles. It’s also having a sixth sense when something is happening down there, and having the confidence to go with your instinct. Well, that came into play today, in the last two hours.

The match
After several last-minute drop-outs, for family reasons, our Fenland Rods match ended with 11 anglers and, for better or worse, I selected the pegs to fish (we were given 1 to 17). The back of the ‘Spit’ can fish differently to the main lake – sometimes better, sometimes worse. But I put three pegs on there, wondering whether I was doing the right thing. Well, Peg 12 was drawn for me, so I would find out.

After the match - the wind had gone, but minutes later the rain started again.

The weather
The weather was not kind – a strong, cold wind blowing into the faces of most, while the three of us on Pegs 9, 12 and 13 had it over our left shoulders, but it was still cold; some rain was likely. I started as long as I dare, at 11.5 metres with 4mm expander and soon had an 8 oz bream. A short time later I foulhooked a 3 lb common carp, which ended in my keepnet. But then the fish shut up shop.

The right margin had a nice bed of reeds protruding out into the lake, and I bait-droppered some maggots down there, as there was a huge tow against the wind. For ages nothing happened, then in quick succession two 1 lb bream and a 2 lb tench came in, on maggot. I tried for more bream with worm, but was surprised not to get a touch. Two hours gone and I had 7 lb.

Tony Nisbet, on 13, then told me he had just two fish, and the Number Three section of his pole had blown in.  I offered a short Number Three I carry with me, but it was not a fit. Allan Golightly and Mick Rawson had rakes with them and left them with Tony. More of that at the end...

Sport is very slow
Behind me Kevin Lee had three good carp, fishing in the big ripple down the edge. But he must have been cold. I had a look to my left, into the wind, towards the next platform, and first drop had a bite which I missed; next drop the same; then a 3 lb F1 came in. Cracked it!

Nope – I persevered there for the next 45 minutes and apart from one missed bite the fish appeared to have gone. Nothing long; so I went unto the right margin, which produced two more bream and one small F1. These came to a very light 4x12 rig laid well on with a shot on bottom, and allowed to drag in the tow.

I tried a banjo feeder for half an hour, with hair-rigged sweetcorn and had one big wrap-round, but I had had to clip up to get next to the reeds opposite, and a very big fish broke me. Tony said he’d had the same thing happen to him. I tried again for two casts but then put the feeder rod away. Four hours gone and I now had about 13 lb or 14 lb.

The last two hours
Kevin had had more good carp, and it looked as if I was going to be thrashed. So I reverted to what I am best at – perfect presentation. That meant starting on two sections because of the wind.

One reason I love the
Tuff-Eye is that it comes
with four different-coloured
interchangeable tips.

I took a 0.5 gm Drennan Tuff Eye – which I use most of the time – and put the bulk about a foot above the bait. A single, medium-sized piece of sweetcorn was bait. I have no idea what the hook was, but it was a size 14 and looked OK to me! The weight of the corn would take the float right down to surface level, so I fished it with three-quarters-of-an inch  of the top showing.

With a small pot on the pole I potted in about right grains, waited a few seconds for them to sink in the four feet of water, and slowly lowered my bait down in among them - not laying it out flat. First drop and the float slid under just as the bait hit bottom – a 3 lb F1.

I fished like that for the next two hours, giving the swim an occasional rest by dropping in to another swim, same depth, to my left, which yielded two fish. Every seven or eight minutes I’d hook a fish, mainly F1s to 3 lb, and a couple of 2 lb bream, but also a 3 lb common and an eight-pounder.

The important bit
BUT my edge here was that once I had the depth exactly right – just touching bottom (which meant half an inch or so overdepth to allow for any curve in the line caused by the undertow),  although the fish were very reluctant to take the bait properly, I could see the tiniest waverings of the float caused by fish around the bait, even in the wind.

I suspect that a lot of the touches were fish swimming around and not actually touching the bait, but the power of their fins was sufficient to move the line. So I was able to keep my interest, knowing that fish were still down there. Then I would just very gently tighten the line to the rig so it dragged one way or the other, but only a tiny amount, so the tip dropped down almost level with the surface. I didn’t seem to matter whether I went with the wind or the tow – a fish would eventually take the bait.

Behind me, on 15, facing the wind,
Kevin Lee had 80 lb 8 oz for second,
taken on a pole mainly in the margins.

I had only two bites lifting the bait, which is unusual, as I have found that lifting is generally best for carp, and dragging better for roach. And when the fish seemed to have gone I moved out no more than ten inches, in about one inch of deeper water, and found them again. Bites never came quickly, but I enjoyed trying to get the fish to have a go.

Half an hour before the end the rain, which had been on and off all day, really started to fall, and I put up my umbrella. Unfortunately in the time it took me to do that everything was soaked. But at least I was dry from then on, and a magnificent rainbow was in front of me.

One minute before the end of the match I hooked another very big fish but this came off just before the foghorn went to end the match (even I can hear that, now).

The weigh-in
Of course, no sooner had the match ended than the wind died away, the rain stopped and for a short time it was a nice Autumn afternoon. Then as the scales approached me, the rain started again, and by the time everything had been packed on the trolley we were all drenched.

On Peg 14 Mike Rawson had bigger
fish than me, and weighed 33 lb 12 oz,
taken on a feeder.

Pegs 4 and 5 are rated highly, and with James Garner on 4, I wasn’t surprised to see him in the lead with 86 lb 1 oz. But his father, Dave Garner on 5, had a surprisingly-low weight of 28 lb 1 oz (he hardly ever fails to frame and is our favourite to win the Club Championship).

Biggest fish of our season
To my left I was told Matthew Lutkin had a very big fish, but unfortunately it was returned before I could get a picture. At 15 lb 11 oz it takes the lead in our club’s Big-Fish competition, and is unlikely to be beaten this year. But that made up more than half his weight of 27 lb 6 oz.

I estimated I had something over 50 lb – but I hadn’t bothered to click the last few fish, to save time. So I was very happy to get 70 lb 8 oz, though Kevin Lee on 15, behind me, beat that with 80 lb 8 oz for second. I ended third, and really enjoyed that last two hours, when  I did what I think I am best at.

And a big bonus for me was Allan Golightly taking my rods and some other bit and pieces back after he had packed up, so I didn’t have to make another journey in the downpour. Really appreciated that.

Sport was patchy, as you would expect now the winds are colder.

The minor miracle

Tony used the rakes at the end of the match to try to get his Number Three back. I’ve done this more than once, as have others, and I’ve never seen a successful attempt. For fifteen minutes Tony hurled out the two-side rake and gingerly inched it back by pulling the rope.

When I went up to him – a huge surprise. He’d got a Number Three section out but it wasn’t his! He hadn’t tried it, and was more intent on looking for his own. And, amazingly, he suddenly shouted out: “Got it!” He had actually managed to bring his section to the bank, undamaged...

How he did it I can’t imagine. I doubt if he can, either. Anyway, it must have felt as if he had won the pools when he finally got it to the bank.

My next match is Monday on Damson at Decoy, then Wednesday on Jay at Rookery Fishery, Pidley. I am well out of touch with this fishery, so don’t expect to frame, unless I get a sheltered swim and can fish 14.5 metres to the far bank. Even then I’ll need a lot of luck to beat the local regulars.

I draw a ‘flier’, but... Magpie, Rookery Fishery, Pidley

Peg 33
Thirty-four of us fished the Over 60s on Magpie, which meant all except two pegs were taken. It’s so quick and easy now – park; dip nets; mask on; up to the shop; hand over money; and a peg is drawn for you. Then you can go straight to your peg. Good old Tim drew me 33 – a good ‘un. Then into the socially-distanced cafe for a tea while I consider my good fortune. But all the others were regular, while I am just an occasional visitor – a bit like the skylark.

The previous Thursday I had had a look at the end of the match on Magpie, talking with the angler on Peg 5, who had 126 lb. But he said that 33 and 34, on the island opposite, had a lot more. Indeed they had – they weighed 190 lb-plus. BUT the water was flat calm. And you need 16 metres on Peg 33 to get to the small island in front of it.

That willow opposite was overhanging, so a pole would have been
the only way of putting a bait very close to the bank, where fish
were moving. PS. The water was actually level (!), and this was taken
after the match, when the wind had died right down.

Today, at the match, there was a strong wind across my swim, and the ones to its left, so although I had a full 16 metres of Browning pole with me it was going to be impossible to use it all. And with an overhanging willow on the island waggler and feeder were never going to get close enough. That was annoying. because fish were moving under the surface just to the left of the tree.

I mention having a Browning pole (the Z12 you ask) because the stated length is accurate, unlike several other makes, who add up the different section lengths to come to a final figure, ignoring the overlapping ferrules. I measured my previous 14-metre pole, from a well-known make, at 12.75 metres!

A fish on immediately
Thirteen metres was the longest I could fish properly, but I started at 11.5 metres, to take account of the fact that the wind might increase as soon as the match started – which it did! Within two minutes, fishing a 4mm expander, and putting in only eight more with a pole-tipped pot, I had a carp on. Unfortunately it came adrift, and I spent the best part of the next hour trying, unsuccessfully, to hook another.

Ron Clarke, on my left, had two on a top-two-plus-two, so I had a look in the deeper water on a top three. Nothing there. A quick look in the margins also drew a blank. So in went a bait dropper of maggot and hemp, and I had several bites on a bunch of maggots, but as I hit nothing I had to assume they were roach. A change to expander eventually brought a carp, which came off after two seconds.

Eventually I went back to the long line and hooked three, with the bait just drifting along the bottom, but lost one. Two in the net.

Even the weigh-in is Socially-Distanced. Here
James German stands and waits for Dave Lack
to put his catch into the waiting weigh bag.

At this point Ron put out a Method feeder to the point of the island and first cast – I swear the feeder had not even hit bottom – he had a wrap-round and brought in a five-pounder. But he had no more. After a long blank spell I put out a bomb and corn to the other point of the island, and then to the open water, but had just liners.

Luncheon meat works
A change to luncheon meat on the long line brought three more carp, averaging 3 lb to 4 lb, and I saw small indications time after time – the fish were milling around off bottom, but I didn’t fish for them properly off bottom, which I should have done. I had bread with me and should have used it, hanging mid-water. I am an idiot.

Tony Watling shows his runner-up catch of 
93 lb 13 oz. Note the artificial covering at
the platform, keeping it free from mud.

Forty minutes before the end the wind abated a little and I went out to 13 metres, and hooked four more on luncheon meat, landing three, one of which was foulhooked in the fin, and losing the last one five minutes before the end. If only I could have fished long all day... And to rub it in, within two minutes of the match ending the wind dropped. By the time we had packed up it was no more than a gentle breeze.

I wasn't the only one struggling

To my right Ken Gammon on rated Peg 34 also struggled, catching just four. Ron on my left ended with seven for 35 lb 6 oz and my eight weighed 30 lb 8 oz – not enough to frame, but in fact it put me 15^th. I felt I had not disgraced myself, and had I landed the six lost fish (some of which were possibly foulhooked) I would have been somewhere near fourth place.

Brian York on 25 won with 100 lb 2 oz fishing long on bread punch, with Tony Watling Snr on 28 second with 93 lb 13 oz, taken on 2+2 with maggot. He told me afterwards that he thinks he would have had more on bread punch fished shallow, but hadn’t yet started bringing bread with him – but he will from now on.

The full result - a struggle for most.

My plans
I’m booked to go back to Rookery, on Jay lake, next Wednesday, and have booked into the 14-match Winter League on Rookery this Winter. I will be totally outclassed by a bunch of regular Open Matchmen, including Mark Pollard, Tony Evans, Tom Edwards, Jimmy Brooks, Josh Pace, Stuart Bracey and a load more. Stupid of me, but it’s what I do...

Saturday sees me on Decoy, on Beastie (we have pegs 1-20, and give me any of these please – 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 17, or 18), and Monday at Decoy again, on Damson. Busy times are ahead.