In an earlier life, when I was a semi-pro comedian, I was a member of two concert parties. One consisted of me as compere/comedian, with a singer/dancer, a superb guitarist who sang Slim Whitman songs, and a fantastic whistler. Honestly, he used to bring the house down.
The other concert party was more sedate, led by Mr Gray who offered funny recitations, and a selection of singers, one of whom was 'Arry 'Arvey. He always finished with "The Foggy, Foggy Dew", a song about a young farmhand who went out with his girlfriend in Winter, and who took her back to bed '...just to save her from the foggy, foggy dew.' As you do!
Sunday was like that - way below freezing with thick fog, frost covering the fields, and one car off the road, as I drove to Whittlesey for the JV Open on Beastie Lake at Decoy, with 14 entered. Even through the fog, though, we could see ice covering half the lake, and as the water level was very high some of the lads were despatched to check which areas might be fishable. My peg was on the spit, with what little breeze there was coming in from the right.
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| The scene that greeted us, when the fog had lifted for a few minutes. |
I had forgotten to bring maggots with me, so bought a pint from the shop, big juicy red ones.
When we started there was a lot of ice, moving back and forth in front of me. Terry Tribe to my left on 15 made an exploratory feeder cast towards the island and found his line cut through the cat ice OK. So when the match started, I went out with a feeder...but although it went through the ice, the line didn't. I retrieved the feeder bouncing across the ice. Clearly the temperature was still below freezing, so I made a shorter cast, where there was a gap. Nothing there, so it was on to the pole at four sections.
It would have been near impossible to see a float at 13 metres, which is where I would normally have started, and in any case there was ice there at the start. So I dribbled maggots in and fished with a single maggot on an 18. Nothing was being caught on the spit (pegs 9 to 17).
Then, after about 75 minutes, the float dived under and I was attached to something big. I added sections and gritted my teeth as the fish threatened to pull off. Then I realised it was foulhooked, as it was staying on the same line, rather than swimming around a bit. I let the elastic (about a 12 I think) do the work and several dodgy minutes later, with the pole held low, the elastic slowly brought the fish towards my waiting net.
I gently lifted the pole just a little and, sure enough, a tail broke the surface. Now normally a fish hooked in the tail will thrash about and take elastic, going out then drifting in again, then repeating it. But for once the Gods were smiling on me and when I thought the head might be over the net I lifted. And there is was, nestling in the bottom of the net. The first time I've ever landed a tail-hooked big carp first time.
It weighed about 8 lb and the anglers on the spit all groaned. (I couldn't hear it but I know what they were thinking). A little while later Chris Saunders on 9, who hadn't had a bite, had a walk round the lake, returning with the news that Chris Baldwin on 22 had two big carp and an F1 feedering to the island with pop-ups, for about 21 lb. There were a couple of other anglers who had carp, also. He said that Roy Whincup on peg 30 had not had a fish.
In fact, although he didn't know it, just after he left Roy, Roy had a bite on his maggot feeder and landed a 12 lb carp, later adding an F1 and a skimmer. Now there came just the odd breath of breeze and it became very, very cold. Terry and I were the ones facing whatever wind there was, and I started shivering, despite wearing six layers. I guess Terry was also feeling the bitter bite in the wind.
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| The fog persisted all day, gradually getting worse as we weighed in. |
Meanwhile back on the spit, and after I had fished the feeder for another 90 minutes (the ice had now cleared) we all came in the margins for the last couple of hours, looking for roach and hopefully a bonus fish. We all caught roach, but no bonuses. Of course the ice melting must have lowered the water temperature even more, so we didn't expect a lot. My big juicy maggots were actually too big for the roach, and I missed a lot of bites. Pinkies, I am sure, would have given me a lot more.
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| Peg 4 - 7 lb 13 oz, led round to my peg 17. The top three weights were from 22 to 30. It was the first proper Winter match of the year for us all. |
My carp and about 20 roach went 9 lb 8 oz, enough for fourth. JV pay three, plus three sections, and I won my section, which included winning peg 22, by default. Well done to Chris Baldwin, who apparently couldn't add to his early catch, and won with 21 lb 11 oz, with Roy Whincup on 30 pipping Ian Frith on 24 by 11 oz to come second on 17 lb 12 oz.
As we walked back to the cars Terry Tribe congratulated me: "Spawny Git." he muttered as he walked past. With mates like that who needs enemies?
Next match will probably be the first of the Pidley Individual Winter Leagues. Why I entered, with anglers of the calibre of Mark Pollard there, I can't imagine.
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