I blow it - Cedar, Decoy

 Peg 13, Monday, July 5
For the second match in a row the Golden Peg was drawn for me, and for the second match in a row I didn't come anywhere near winning. Peg 13 is in the Northern corner of the strip lake, Cedar. I was very happy with it. We had back wind on our bank, so we didn't have any ripple at the start, though as the wind got up there was some, later.

Trevor draws, and Shaun records where we are to sit.

...and this was my home for the day. The best spot was just in front of the pipes.

The first half hour was spent fishing to the corner, in about four feet of water, at about 6 metres, and resulted in a small roach. Then two more, and a 3 lb F1, which tempted me to concentrate there for the next hour or so, without any more fish in the net, though there were persistent signs of fish around my rig. Then out to 11.5 metres, with a soft pellet, and corn, but two hours after the start I still had just those four fish. I couldn't see much else being caught.

Things are slow
I persisted out at 11.5 metres and in the next couple of hours managed half-a-dozen fish to 6 lb, but mainly around 3 lb. I also pricked a few, definitely foulhooked. To my right John Garner had now started catching some on about four sections, and opposite, Mick Ramm had had four or five fish. But all-round, so far as I could see, things were quite slow.

Trevor with a golden carp. Who's a pretty boy then?

I had a quick look in the right margin, but never had a touch. I was catching a fish perhaps every 15 minutes, but steadily, but I decided, with two hours left, to put in a load of dead maggots on the end of the pipes which were on my left, where there was about five feet of depth. The pipes move water between the strips in times of heavy rain. I dropped in with a very light rig I had assembled for fishing a shallow margin, if I had found one. I slid the float up the line, but the two tiny shot took ages to sink the bunch of deads I had as bait. Not ideal.

New swim gives me some fish
BUT first drop, and a barbel of 4 lb was hooked. Then another of 2 lb, and then a 6 lb carp Success! But no, it took ages to get the next fish, a 2 lb F1. To be honest that was the time I should have changed over to a more positive rig, and also set up the right margin so I could swap between them. But my brain had frozen. So I stumbled along, getting a fish every 20 minutes, not working out that every time I hooked one it spooked the others. Even so I could have alternated between that near swim and my 11.5 metres, where I had left fish feeding (albeit slowly).

John Garner, on my right, prepares to weigh. He had
a lot less than I had guessed, but still finished third.

At one point I slid the tiny float down to a two-foot depth, put in maggots, dropped in, and immediately hooked a big fish. I am certain it wasn't foulhooked, and it felt very big indeed But after ten minutes, just as I thought I had it under control on the top two, having pulled the 20 elastic right back to tighten it, the fish swam into my keepnets and snagged  me. Of course it had gone.

I lose a second big fish
Back in, now more shallow, so I went deep again, and took another couple of fish, best 6 lb. With five minutes left, I hooked another very big fish. Again I am sure it wasn't foulhooked - you can often tell when you hook it; and it didn't display any of the characteristics of being foulhooked, like the line waggling from side to side, or the fish changing direction suddenly.

The match ended and I was still playing it. Five minutes later the hook pulled. I am afraid I said a naughty word! John Garner now had a lot more fish than me, and I guessed he had approaching 100 lb, though he had slowed after a brief good spell.

Peter "Chilblain" Chilton with a 15-pounder.

The weigh in
Interesting to see Bob Barret weighed 57 lb 1 oz, all taken on a feeder dropped into his margin, and it was four hours before he had his first fish! Trevor Cousins had managed to mug three fish, but couldn't catch shallow, and he weighed 60 lb 8 oz, beaten by John Garner with 63 lb 6 oz. My estimate of his weight was way out, because his fish turned out to be much smaller than I had imagined. But my, how they fought1

My estimated 50 lb turned out to be 58 lb 5 oz. But our weights were all eclipsed by the last two to be weighed, at the car park end. Peter Harrison on 24 had 102 lb 13 oz fishing top two plus two, while Peter Spriggs in the corner on 26 weighed a magnificent 175 lb 11 oz for the win. The previous day that peg was nearly last in our club match, but Peter is an exceptional angler.

Peter Harrison - third with 102 lb 13 oz.

I finished fifth, but was kicking myself when I looked back, Frankly I fished like an idiot. I should have targetted both margins earlier; but even when I did start catching fish I am certain I should have had a lot, lot more if I had rested the near swim occasionally and gone out to the long swim. One more fish would have put me third, and if I had landed the two big ones I might have been pushing the runner-up. 

Yet another Peter - Peter "The Paste" Spriggs with part of his winning 175 lb 11 oz.

I didn't fish positively at all - partly because recently the fishing has been so difficult, with weights much lower than previous years. I, and a lot of others, think that the fish have suffered from having such a long spawning period. Even now there are splashings in the margins, as if the fish think they ought to be spawning yet again. 

THE RESULT

26 Peter Spriggs        175 lb 11 oz        1st           1 Alan Porter         49 lb 8 oz
24 Peter Harrison        102 lb 13 oz      2nd         3 Bob Barrett          57 lb 1 oz

22 Mike Rawson        DNW                                 5 Mick Linnell        25 lb 14 o

20 Peter Barnes         34 lb 6 oz                           7 Trevor Cousins    60 lb 8 oz     4th

18 Shaun Buddle        45 lb 15 oz                        9 Peter Chilton        53 lb

16 Martin Parker        48 lb 4 oz                         11 John Garner       63 lb 6 oz    3rd

14 Mick Ramm          48 lb 10 oz                       13 Mac Campbell     58 lb 5 oz

Not sure when my next match will be