A blistering finish, but not enough to frame - Elm, Decoy

 

Peg 20
Only 12 of us fished this Spratts match, which meant we could all fish on the East bank, from pegs 13 to 24, which gave us all back wind, and with rain forecast we were all happy. In fact what rain fell was only light, though it lasted for the final four hours, and my tackle was drenched by the end.

Oh, what a grey day! The rain was only light, but the wind was cool.

I was not happy with my draw , though - I would have liked 13 to 18, opposite where the better weights came from last Sunday. But, Hey Ho, it's still a day's fishing. And although the wind was cool, I fancied that perhaps some fish would feed.

Not at the start they didn't - at least not for me.I started at 11.5 metres with expander, and that produced nothing, so I went to the left deep margin, fishing maggot over caster and hemp, and hoping for barbel. I managed a small bream, and then a roach, and then a foulhooked 3 lb barbel, which I landed.  

A look back on the long line brought another small bream, and I wasted a bit more time there. I was hoping to leave the right margin until later, but felt I had to have a look there with maggot over caster, but that produced nothing. Then I lost a fish in the left margin, almost certainly another foulhooked barbel.

Mick Linnell, on my left, plays a barbel hooked in the margin.

Two hours gone and I had 4 lb, but Mick Linnell, on my left, had a big carp on a Method feeder cast to the far bank. Then he had another and I put a banjo feeder out there with hair-rigged sweetcorn. Two liners resulted, and meanwhile Mick had two more big carp. To my right Bob Barrett, who has had some very good results recently fishing a feeder, was struggling.

 .

I concentrated on the left margin, and eventually two more barbel and a 3 lb carp took my maggot bait. But sport was slow, and Mick had another couple of fish on the feeder. Halfway through, and I had about 18 lb.

I experimented with my shotting, and eventually found some fish putting about ten inches of line on the bottom, and a No 8 shot also on the bottom to stop the drag in the undertow. With an hour left my clicker showed 24 lb, and by now Mick had started catching fish in the margin, though when sport slowed he went on the feeder and immediately had another good carp - probably around 7 lb.

My right margin, where I found fish
 against the reed stumps.

A purple patch - too late
 A move to a swim at top-two-plus-one , which I had baited with sweetcorn, brought two carp, about 3 lb and 7 lb. And with just 30 minutes left I had another look down the right margin, with a bunch of five live maggots. This produced one of the best short sessions I've ever had. No sooner had the bait hit bottom than the float slipped under and I found myself playing a barbel. Every single time the bait hit bottom a fish took it immediately - just as if someone had flicked a switch.

The barbel ranged from 2 lb to 3 lb 8 oz, and I hooked seven and landed six. But they take so long to land! In the middle I hooked a 4 lb carp and, thinking it was another barbel, applied monstrous pressure - and it came to the net in ten seconds flat!

I was unhooking a barbel when the match ended, and I sat ruing the fact that I hadn't looked there earlier. Also, if those barbel had been carp of 6 lb or even 8 lb I am sure I would have landed them in half the time.

Mick Linnell's bag of carp and barbel.

Peter Barnes shows his catch in the rain.

Mick  Linnell's change to pole for a time saw him hit barbel immediately, and totalled 70 lb 8 oz, which was top in the first six pegs. I was second in that stretch with 51 lb 2 oz. But farther down the line weights went up. Peter Harrison caught all day, on feeder and top-two-plus-two on Peg 16, opposite the famous Winter Peg 9. His weight was 195 lb 2 oz...and he went 12 lb over in his four nets. Next to him on 17 Trevor Cousins fished a feeder across, with double sweetcorn for 124 lb 13 oz.

Runner-up Trevor Cousins, 124 lb 13 oz, Peg 17.

Peter Harrison's best fish went 16 lb 1 oz.

The four top weights came from pegs 14, 15, 16 and 17, which was roughly where I thought the match would be won. Terrific fishing in what was a cool ENE wind. What a magnificent fishery Decoy is. I ended seventh, which, looking back, I was pretty happy with from that peg - and it could have been so much better if I had changed swim earlier.

A beautiful golden mirror and a pretty pink common
for third-placed Terry Tribe, taken on a pellet feeder.

Results:
Peg
24     Mick Rawson        24 lb
23    Mick Ramm          6 lb 15 oz
22    Alan Porter          50 lb
21     Mick Linnell        70 lb 8 oz
20     Mac Campbell     51 lb 2 oz
19     Bob Barrett          22 lb 10 oz
18    Peter Barnes          29 lb 6 oz
17    Trevor Cousins     124 lb 13 oz
16     Peter Harrison       195 lb 2 oz
15    Peter Spriggs      78 lb 6 oz
14    Terry Tribe          86 lb 15 oz     
13     Bob Allen           53 lb 3 oz

My next definite match is Saturday next week on Beastie Lake at Decoy, but I may fish the Over 60s on Rookery, on Magpie Lake. That gets very patchy when the weather cools, but sitting on those huge platforms, with artificial covering which doesn't get muddy, is a joy.