A terible start on Damson; but a good finish on Willows

Peg 11, Damson, Decoy, Sunday, Sept 26
Two matches in two days started on Damson, at Decoy, in a Fenland Rods match, on the last day of Di's tenure. We wish her well in her retirement. 

Di Band's and her partner John are on the road to retirement.
Thanks for everything over the years, Di - I know you will both miss
the buzz of getting up early every morning! We wish you all the best.

Damson has a shallow margin, which drops off very quickly, so you can fish seven feet deep on a pole's top two. And traditionally the fish feed for an hour in the shallows before slowing down. Well, that happened in this match - every single angler I spoke to had a great first hour...except me! For some reason I couldn't get any fish to feed, but on my right Peter Spriggs, on 12, started like a train fishing his usual paste.

Peter The Paste, on my right, won handsomely with 139 lb 5 oz. 

I could see some fish around 3 lb in the shallows, but as soon as I dropped in my rig baited with an expander, banded pellet or corn, they spooked. If I left the bait on the bottom, several inches overdepth, when they came back and got anywhere near my bait they appeared to see the line and spooked again. And after an hour Peter must have had well over 40 lb, while I had just four fish for less than 4 lb, on a 4mm expander.

A bait switch turns the tables
Peter was still going great guns in the margin when I made a bait switch, in about three feet of water, on the edge of the shelf, and started to get fish. That switch was amazing, with a 2 lb carp first drop. But to my left Dave and Kevin had both been landing lots of fish, as I could hear the splashing. Peter's fish slowed a little, and he found some in the deep water before coming back inside.

Good to see Matthew Lutkin back on the bank.

Anyway, I kept managing to winkle out fish mainly around 1 lb on paste and then cat meat, and at one point found some F1s right against the reeds to my right, and targetted then with corn for a few minutes. Unlike many sessions recently I found I had to leave the bait motionless, rather than to twitch it.

 Gradually I put together a decent catch, best a four-pounder, with a couple of three-pounders, and several around 2 lb, and I never had a really bad spell all afternoon. Mussel took two or three fish at the end. But Peter obviously had me beat. I estimated I might have 90 lb, in three nets, but it's difficult to estimate accurately when the fish are that sort of size.

The weigh in
Every single angler I spoke to (and that was most of them) had indeed had a flying start,. but their fish ten went off, though James Garner fished the deep water all day for 111 lb 7 oz, which led up to Peg 9, where Kevin weighed in 130 lb 9 oz. Next to me Dave Garner said he had a bad second-half, and totalled 80 lb 6 oz.

Kevin fished the deep water, and his fish were
much, much bigger than mine at Peter's.

To my absolute amazement I managed 120 lb 8 oz, which was enough for third spot, with Peter winning with 139 lb 5 oz. On Peg 1 Callum said he had 32 lb in the first hour...and weighed in a total of 33 lb 13 oz. Some others had similar stories to tell. So why couldn't I catch in that first hour? I should probably have gone into the deep water, but when the bloke next door is hammering fish out from the margin the temptation is to follow him.

THE RESULT

Peg 27, Willows, Decoy, Monday, Sept 27

Sixteen of us fished this Spratts match, with heavy rain forecast, and unfortunately the forecast was right. My peg 27 is between two small islands, and I quite fancied it, though my plans were thrown into disarray when the wind which came from the left before the start suddenly turned to come from the right. 

My peg 27 - the wind became too strong to fish out to the islands.

I still fancied fishing a spot just off some reeds to my right, and started with a small pole pot just putting in a few 4mm expanders and fishing one on the hook. The temperature had dropped considerably overnight, so I fancied the fishing would be hard.

My biggest fish must have weighed at least 14 lb.

In fact within a few minutes I had managed to land  a 5 lb common carp, which was quickly followed by a two-pounder. A third fish shot off and snagged me - I managed to get the small branch out, and unbelievable the 4mm expander was still on the hook, so it was probably foulhooked, although I hadn't thought it was. This lake, surrounded by willows, has lots of snags, all broken branches and twigs, but that's where the fish hang out!

Wet, Wet, Wet
Somewhere around this time the rain started for an hour, and it was really heavy, with wind so strong I didn't fancy even trying to put up the umbrella. I could see a few anglers from my swim, and in the next hour none of them seemed to be putting much into the keepnet - but neither did I!

After the rain I plumbed up carefully to my right, about ten feet out, and found a small drop-off, where in the next half-hour three more fish came on corn - a 4 oz roach, a 3 lb carp and another of about 5 lb. Every fish so far had come when I lifted the bait very slightly, and I plumbed up very carefully and adjusted the float by a quarter-of-an-inch at a time until I felt I had the bait just touching bottom.

Martin Parker with his biggest fish, from Peg 15.
It was well into double-figures.

Eventually the fish feed (but not a lot!)
I then set up another rig to fish in the same way in the righthand swim, and although I didn't catch fish immediately fish were obviously playing with the bait, so I carried on hoping they would eventually start to feed properly...and they did. Because of the wind I had reduced my lash - between pole tip and float - to four inches, which I felt was the best way of being able to lift the bait cleanly. The four sections of my Browning Z9 were stiff enough for me to hold the rig fairly steady most of the time - you have to make compromises.

Two or three fish on corn were followed by me switching to cat meat, and this produced a good-un of around 14 lb! I carried on, as I couldn't see anyone catching much, and another two or three around 3 lb came before the end. I thought I'd probably got 55 lb, perhaps more, all taken with the rig set to just touching bottom, and lifting to produce a bite. I didn't lose any more fish.

Trevor Cousins lifts one of his nets out. He beat me
by just 8 oz, for last frame place, and later said he
was sorry (but he didn't mean it!)

The weigh-in
End Peg Peter Harrison, on 35, was in the lead round to me with 106 lb 10 oz, with Alan Porter on 31 having 74 lb 12 oz - he told me he had his best catches in the margin. But I couldn't see either of those anglers from my swim. 

To my right Bob Barrett didn't weigh, and I totalled 67 lb 3 oz, with Wendy on my left on 26 having three fish for 17 lb 15 oz. When I looked at the sheet I saw that Peg 20 was against her name, so she possibly fished the wrong peg, particularly as 26 is usually left out, as it's quite narrow.

Peg 25 and 24 both had less than 40 lb, and in fact I was in third spot round to 15 where Martin Parker was fourth with 73 lb 13 oz, fishing out in front or to his left (usually fish are taken from the right margin on this peg). Then followed Trevor Cousins, who did me by 8 oz, and finally That Man Again, Peter Spriggs, who won with 145 lb 11 oz on paste on a top-two-plus-one on Peg 9.

Winner Peter The Paste with a lovely barbel.

 So I finished sixth, beaten for last frame place by 8 oz. But I was very happy, and rate it as probably the best match I've fished all season as I felt I'd done the swim justice. I kept wondering whether to come into the margin, but  without being able to see what others were catching I had no way of gauging whether I was doing OK  or whether I should leave the swims that were producing the odd fish and take a chance in the side.

THE RESULT

9 Peter Spriggs            145 lb 11 oz    1st
11 Trevor Cousins        67 lb 11 oz      5th
13 Mick Ramm           33 lb 14 oz
15 Martin Parker         73 lb 13 oz        4th
16 Peter Barnes          30 lb 15 oz
18 Mike Rawson        18 lb 7 oz
22 Bob Allen               54 lb 10 oz
24 Shaun Buddle         37 lb 8 oz
25 Peter Chilton           22 lb 10 oz
26 Wendy Bedford       17 lb 15 oz
27 Mac Campbell         67 lb 3 oz  
29 Bob Barrett             DNW
31 Alan Porter             74 lb 12 oz         3rd
33 Mick Raby             40 lb
34 Joe Bedford            27 lb 6 oz
35 Peter Harrison       106 lb 10 oz      2nd   

Too many fish

 Peg 12 - Kingland Small Carp Lake
This lake is not permanently pegged, and my peg was three swims up from the North-Western corner. The surface would have been flat calm before the start if it wasn't for the big carp cruising around like sharks. But I was happy, as I had seen good carp come into my margins before we started, though Kevin Lee told me that the small fish were all over his swim. I wasn't worried about that...until I dropped the first bait in!

Flat calm, but the forecast rain held away apart from a few spots.

My grain of corn had barely touched the surface before a big black shape engulfed it - fish. Dozens of them; hundreds of them. Carp from one-tenth of an ounce to half-an-ounce came out of nowhere like piranhas and attacked not only the bait, but the line and the float, which bobbed about, dived under, slid sideways, and did everything except somersaults! And it was like that all flaming day...

Floating expanders bring up fish of all sizes

A quick drop into the left margin with corn got an immediate respose from a big fish which came off immediately, and even that commotion brought in the small fish. From that moment there was no pattern to my fishing.

I tried throwing out floating expanders which had been wetted but not pumped (floating baits are allowed on this fishery), and these were also attacked - though occasionally a better fish could be seen trying to get its share. And about an hour after the start I did manage to dob a ten-pounder which shot off as if foulhooked, but which eventually finished in my landing net, hooked in the mouth. It was the only one I managed to snare like that.

Winner Kevin Lee found the fish out at 11 metres, and
 didn't put any bait out there to attract the hordes.

Another plan, which worked fairly well, was to load in pots of hemp and corn, wait ten minutes, and then drop cat meat on top in the hope that there were big fish searching the bottom. The float still ducked and dived, and it was literally a case of trying to guess when a good fish had taken the bait. Strangely I never had a single really good bite with the float just disappearing and staying under - even the big fish seemed to be undecided about what to do with it.

But I did manage to catch occasional fish, from about 6 oz to 8 lb. To my right Kevin Lee latched on to the plan I should have taken up - he put out double cat meat at 11 metres without feeding anything at all. I had tried that at seven metres and picked up the odd fish, but Kevin had a good spell in mid-match doing it.

Frustrating
It was the most frustrating match I have ever fished. I kept trying to catch the bigger ones with floating pellet, but they could definitely see the pole moving above them. A pleasure angler on the lake had a field day fishing bread on a waggler - I had deliberately left my rods at home hoping for an easy day pole fishing, and I'd forgotten to bring any bread, which I then remembered often works better on the surface than smaller baits.

Because the bait - whether corn, paste or cat meat, was ragged by small fish within seconds, I rued leaving behind a tin of large luncheon meat cubes in the freezer. Dick next door gave me a handful of smaller cubes, but they didn't fare any better than the corn, which was regularly torn off in seconds.

Mike Rawson (above) came to the rescue of Kevin Lee early in the match
after Kevin broke both his top two and his landing net handle
on a big fish. That wasn't in Kevin's script, apparently!

Towards the end I found some fish around 4 lb right in the side, against the reeds, but even so it took about ten drops, and ten lost baits, before I hooked each good fish. I also rued losing an eight-pounder and a five-pounder which I had over my landing net. But we have to use the fishery's nets and mine was bigger than normal, but heavy, and I just couldn't lift those fish out in time, and they swam off again and eventually the hook pulled out.

I tried mussel, which has served me so well, but apart from the first drop, when a big fish gulped it down as it hit the surface, it was torn from the hook my the smaller fish in seconds. I had to give up on it, and worse, I kept foulhooking them.

Allan Golightly had 95 lb 3 oz for third, taking
fish on a hard pellet, which is what I should have done!

My biggest mistake
After the match had finished I had a lot of floating pellets left over and tossed them into the side, knowing they would be snapped up by the tiddlers. In fact suddenly at least two dozen big carp, all around 10 lb, appeared and started muscling in among the small fish, and scooping up the pellets - all within three feet of my platform. If I had had a rig ready I could have dropped bait right into their mouths. What a mistake!!! And it went on until all the pellets had gone. I was tearing my hair out.

Afterwards I also realised, following a remark that Allan Golightly made, that an 8mm banded pellet would probably have been my best bet - the small fish couldn't have taken that from the band. And I had a load of them in my bag.

The weigh in
Opposite, James Garner,. who I think was fishing a waggler, had 111 lb 15 oz, while to my right Kevin Lee won with 116 lb 1 oz. Allan Golightly with 95 lb 3 oz was third, including fish taken on hard pellet (!) and I was fourth with 81 lb 13 oz. Those two lost fish which I couldn't quite net could have cost me third spot.

Kevin with his biggest fish which caused broke his landing net handle.

Good news

The best sight of the day was the steps that fishery owner Richard has now installed on every swim. Previously getting to the platforms involved slipping down the grassy bank with tyres (to stop erosion) and holes ready to trip you up and pitch you in. When the grass was wet it was distinctly dodgy. Now it's easy. But I hope the vast majority of those tiddlers are eaten by their parents soon. How the angler who took 460 lb last week did it if those small hungry fish were around is beyond me.

The club pays a generous four - which meant I managed to frame.

On a roll...Yew, Decoy

 Peg 15, Friday, September 17

This bulletin is late, because on Friday, before I could put  pen to paper (or rather fingers to keyboard), the Gas Man cameth. He cameth after being summoned to investigate an offensive odour outside, right next to where gas is piped into our humble hovel.

The Gas man was very professional, and eventually proclaimed that whatever it was, it was not the smell of gas, and his equipment couldn't pick up any trace of gas. But before he went he would check our pipes and appliances. Accordingly he attached a water pressure thingy to the meter (I think that is the correct description) and dismally informed us that indeed there was a leak somewhere in the system - probably under our lounge floor. But not to worry, as our own gas man of choice would be able to dig the floor up and discover where the offending leak was.

But as a final check he would come in and turn the boiler off and on again, just in case the problem was there. In fact we had rung for the boiler to have its annual MOT only the previous week, when we discovered that our usual gas operative (must get the terms right) was enjoying a holiday in Spain, probably with Dominic Raab who, I understand, had earlier had his holiday cut short because of a problem which was probably not a gas leak.

With downcast eyes we awaited The Gas Man's verdict - it was not underground (heaven be praised) but a simple valve leak on the boiler. Our hearts soared with relief. Then, with a smile on his face, he disabled the boiler and the gas fire before turning off the gas to the property, so we have no central heating, no hobs on which to cook our meagre meals, and will have to use the immersion heater, which has not been turned on since being installed four years ago, for hot water. If it works.

Then, Hallelujah, our pet gas man arrived back from Spain, and will order a new valve, and will fix it at his earliest opportunity, which is likely to be in at least a fortnight!! Don't laugh....

The match
This followed a good run I've had recently, and when corner Peg 15 was picked out for me in this 16-entry Spratts match I was pretty pleased. I'd never fished the swim, and to be honest I would have preferred a peg on the Eastern bank, but when I trundled down to my swim I was very happy to see longish margin to the left which looked as if it might be shallow. And plumbing up showed Yes, it was a little less than three feet deep. I think it's the first time I have had a peg with a decent shallow margin on one of the four strip lakes for at least two years.

I couldn't fish right into the end bank because of reeds lying on the surface. but it didn't matter.
Yes, I know my gear looks like a builder's yard!

There was a Southerly wind, from my right into the end bank, but I didn't know whether that was a good thing, because this year so often good weights have been taken out of the wind. And I couldn't fish right into the end bank because the six-foot high reeds had ben basked about by the wind and were lying sticking out from the bank, making it impossible for me to get a rig right next to the bank.

Joe was opposite, fishing on both pole and feeder
(but not together).

The water, to be honest, looked dead, and after having five minutes in the margin with cat meat to see whether I could get an early fish, and then 15 minutes on a feeder, without any sign of fish, I went out to 11 metres with corn. I then changed to a 6mm expander, and then down to a 4mm expander, which allowed the float to trundle along into the wind, with the undertow.

To cut a long boring two hours short, this produced a missed bite, a foulhooked fish lost, and eventually a 1 lb F1. But I hadn't seen much action anywhere else.

At least there were fish in the swim
Next it was into the deep margin, where I missed a bite on corn, so at least there were fish moving. Cat meat then produced a near-10 lb common, and I was away. But to be honest I was scrapping about from swim to swim, and took one fish on cat meat in the shallow margin, and another in the deep margin, and missed two bites on corn in a small cut-out to my right, where I had to stand to see the float. Not easy.

Mike Rawson was on my right, fishing a feeder.

My brief prayers were answered
I also lost a couple of fish foulhooked, including a huge golden mirror. I had had a drop in towards the corner with corn and when the float twitched and dived I instinctively struck, thinking I had missed, but then to my horror realised I had hooked this golden beauty which briefly came up and lay on the surface before turning on its turbo-chargers and making for Joe on the far bank, opposite. My prayers were answered when the hook quickly pulled out. I really did not fancy playing that fish, which was obviously not hooked in the mouth.

Mussel works wonders
Things got better when I took two double-figure fish from the tiny cut-out, both of which took corn as it sank. So I changed to mussel, which sinks slowly and flutters down as it does so. This worked wonders and I had seven or eight more, all over 8 lb, in that last 90 minutes, from both deep and shallow margins. Unusually, I found that the fish were staying in the swim for long periods, so I didn't have to bait up before each one.

Trevor Cousins, second on Peg 11 with 81 lb 11 oz.

As has happened a lot recently I had a fish on when the match ended, which always means I am even later than usual packing away. But on Spratts matches Trevor very obligingly waits until we have largely all packed up before weighing in, so I can get pictures.

The weigh-in
It was patchy, with Peter Spriggs, one of the best anglers in the club, managing just three fish from peg 9, but Trevor two pegs away on 11 netting  81 lb 11 oz. My first net went about 40 lb, but the second one was way over our 50 lb limit. I watched as the scales went to 60 lb-plus, then back, eventually settling at 59 lb 8 oz. Eight ounces more and that net would have been disqualified! 

Mick Ramm, 45 lb 13 oz.

The last net brought my weight up to 131 lb 9 oz, which consisted of about 14 fish, and with no-one on the opposite bank managing to even beat Trevor's weight, I ended as the winner. Several fish were caught on feeder with Bob Barrett again putting an all-feeder net on the scales at 79 lb 13 oz for third. I don't know how he does it.

Bob Barrett, third with 79 lb 13 oz.

Me - top dog again. What can I say?
Modest as ever.

Peter Chilblain - 59 lb 10 oz on chick peas.

Wendy always manages to catch one of the biggest fish.
This one went almost 15 lb.

THE RESULT

30  Martin Parker          DNW (one fish)        1 Alan Porter        54 lb 8 oz
28 Mick Ramm             45 lb 13 oz                3 Bob Allan            45 lb 8 oz
26 Wendy Bedford        33 lb 10 oz                5 John Smith           52 lb 6 oz
24 Peter Harrison           66 lb                        7 Peter Barnes          DNW (nowt)
22 Shaun Buddle            68 lb 3 oz     4th      9 Peter Spriggs        17 lb (three fish)
20 Peter Chilton            59 lb 10 oz                11 Trevor Cousins     81 lb 11 oz    2nd
18 Bob Barrett              79 lb 13 oz     3rd       13 Mike Rawson       47 lb 6 oz
16 Joe Bedford             37 lb                           15 Mac Campbell       131 lb 9 oz   1st

So a satisfactory result, thanks to mussel again. Two days later we were on Kingsland Small Carp lake, which turned out to be one of the strangest matches I've ever fished (and where mussel was worse than useless).

I winkle my way to a win on Yew, Decoy

Peg 24, Sunday Sept 12
It was always going to be difficult, because at the start fish were drifting about just under the surface, which was flat calm. A South-Westerly was forecast but in fact when the breeze started it was from the North-East, which gave a ripple to the high numbers to my left, and occasionally on my swim, though Peter Spriggs in the corner Peg 16 never had any all day. Just eight of us fished (thanks to holidays, illness etc) on the even numbers from 16 to 30, on the East bank.

I would have chosen 16 back to 22, as these often tend to have an edge. but in particular Pegs 22 and 18 have a lovely long shallow margin, while my swim was boxed in with reeds and  had virtually no shallow water. For those who don't know it, Yew is a strip lake. Dave Garner on 22 - our club champion - remarked on his lovely margin and said he fancied starting there, which he did. On the Plus side I was drawn Golden Peg.

Flat calm at the start - not ideal conditions in the Summer.

My plan goes out of the window
My plan was to start on a feeder, which I did, but within five minutes John on my left was playing a big fish hooked close-in on a pole, and Dave on my right was playing a big fish hooked on a waggler in the side. I had one long, drawn-out liner obviously from a fish up in the water, and then another, which sprang the tip back and obviously moved the feeder, but this must have been another liner as there was nothing there.

So it was on to a pole earlier than I had anticipated, to my right, on a top two, in nearly six feet of water. Inches to the right of that spot my plummet had hit something just 18 inches deep and just beyond that it dropped again to five feet, with about four feet closer to the reeds, but this shelf was only inches wide. I tried it later in the match and never had a touch. Overall a horrible bottom.

Dave Garner in action, two swims away from me, using one of his waggler rods.

I am being thrashed

It took an hour or so before a 3 lb F1 took a piece of cat meat, during which time Dave had hooked another three or four fish - a tench and some double-figure carp. I was in the process of being thrashed! So it was out at 11 metres, on an expander, which brought one bite from a fish which eventually came off, possibly foulhooked. Half an hour later I came back in and in the next hour I managed a couple of good carp, around 8 lb or 9 lb, on corn over hemp, before turning in desperation to the left deep margin in front of the tall reeds, where I had been dropping corn. 

First drop on corn and I had a bite which turned out to be a foulhooked fish, which came off. I rested that having another quick look at 11 metres, with no result. So in went some dead maggots to the righthand swim, where a worm eventually took a tiny perch and then a roach.

My daughter has an aquarium with some tiny minnow-like fish in it. And I have noticed that when I feed them they always take a few seconds to actually come to the feed, and that even then some hang back for a minute or two. Previously she had some slightly larger species in there as well, and they, in particular, were always slow to approach the feed, even though the smaller fish were already feeding.

I am fairly certain that this applies to carp (probably to all species except greedy little perch), which is why I usually try to put in feed and leave it for a few minutes after the first helping before putting in my rig. So although I don't usually mention it on this blog, I often drop into another swim while waiting for the feed to take effect, and the fish to actually (hopefully) start to feed rather than drop in my rig immediately.

Mel Lutkin on 20 included a barbel or two,
and managed to go over the 50 lb limit in this net.. 

Fish just play with the bait
The maggots having not done any good I concentrated on the lefthand margin, because I had at least hooked a fish there, and definitely saw signs of fish knocking the bait around and not taking it properly. Thankfully I managed to avoid foulhooking any. It seemed all I could do was to wait until they started feeding, and with two hours left they did that!

 Three good fish around 10 lb came in three drops before there was a lull, and I went to the deep right margin. Dave was still hooking good fish, and I could see his rig was about two-and-a-half feet deep, so I tried the shallowest spot I could fish, but, as I said, with no result.

At this point I turned round to see that somehow my Number Four section had broken into two. It was on a roller, so I must have tapped it with my foot at one point, as I got off my basket. Luckily I have a broken spare at home which I have telescoped together, and which should serve until this one is mended.

I have a brainwave!
Then a 3 lb barbel came on meat, and I was getting anxious because although I had some taps all I could do was foulhook a couple - one was in the tail and after a ten-minute fish I had it over the net but of course it was swimming away from me and I missed. Soon the hook pulled out. 

Then  I had a brainwave - mussel. I had unfrozen about 15 at home, cut up three as loose feed, and followed in with a half hooked through the little round blob of gristle. This leaves the hook point showing. Sure enough first drop and I had a decent bite - a quick jerk down - which turned out to be a double-figure mirror. Three or four  more followed , all around 10 lb, and I tried the lefthand margin, and immediately had another couple. Meanwhile Dave was having another spurt and I could see some really big fish in his landing net as he unhooked them.

Dave Garner had several early fish while I was struggling.

A lucky last-five-minute fish
Back to the righthand and suddenly I couldn't get any sort of indication - it as as if the fish had all moved out. I tried lifting the mussel and also drawing it slowly along the bottom - all of which had worked earlier. Five minutes left, I was dragging it slowly along, and decided to have a final drop with corn into the left margin. So I lifted the rig out...and a big fish was on. Lucky me.

I thought at first that it was foulhooked as it shot out to the middle on my Preston yellow 17 hollow elastic, but resigned myself to the fact that taking my time and landing it was probably my best chance of a final fish. So I took my time; the match finished; and several minutes later I drew in a lovely double-figure common hooked in the mouth! I had, I think, just 14 fish in three nets.

The weigh-in                                                                  
Shaun Buddle on 28 had been catching on a 2+2 until with an hour left, some pleasure anglers on the opposite bank packed up, throwing their left-over bait into the water...and Shaun never had another bite. It might have had nothing to do with them, of course. He weighed 102 lb 8 oz.

John to my left on 26 was very happy at the start as he has done well from that swim this year, but today was not his day! He had lost that first fish, and ended with just four for 42 lb 8 oz. The first net I weighed contained that 3 lb barbel and just four carp - and it weighed 51 lb, knocked back to 50 lb.

It's so easy to go over the club's 50 lb maximum now, that I think I will have to suggest a slight relaxing of that rule at our AGM, if we manage to have one this year! I had used one tin of hemp, less than two tins of corn, a few 6mm feed pellets and those mussels.

Dave Garner with a 21 lb 4 oz beauty - Fenland Rods' best fish of the season.

That last fish wins it for me...
My total was 133 lb, however I was certain Dave had more. But No! He totalled 129 lb 8 oz, including a cracking common of 21 lb 4 oz (!) so my last carp had beaten him. Mike Rawson on 18 hadn't managed to take advantage of his lovely shallow margin and decided not to weigh his estimated 25 lb, and in the corner Peter Spriggs had struggled until the last hour, when he managed to find some fish against the reeds in the corner to his right, ending with 84 lb.

THE RESULT

So I ended as winner - the fifth win in my last 12 matches, which I am very happy about as it is generally agreed that the fishing this year has been very varied. In other words it's not a matter of lumping in bait and hauling in fish every week - it's been more a matter of winkling out odd fish during the first few hours and then hopefully adding a bonus fish or two near the end. Not sure how much the Golden Peg win will bring me, as the treasurer Kevin was not there. But it will be spent on hemp!

News on Terry
The latest news I have on Deeping angler Terry Tribe, who fishes with me in Spratts matches, is that he is off dialysis and the water retention problem seems to be lessening. He has now spent five weeks in hospital. I look forward to taking his picture as soon as he returns to the bank.

My next match is Friday, a Spratts match also on Yew, where 18 or 22 would still be my preferred spots. However, we will be using the whole lake of 30 pegs. Bring it on!

Another big miscalculation - Cedar, Decoy

 Peg 9, Thursday, Sept 9
Seventeen of us turned up for this Spratts match, all, no doubt, grateful that the temperature was due to have dropped after several days of blazing sun and not winds from Africa, though there was the possibility of thunderstorms. The water was fairly green, and at the start it was cloudy with just a light South-Westerly breeze, though this picked up during the day.

The day started dull, but the sun came out eventually. Luckily the storms stayed away.

Martin Parker was drawn the swim most of us would have picked - 26. And opposite, on 1, Mick Linnell was not too happy, though I told him that in the past there had been barbel there. My peg 9 has been a cracking peg in the Winter, but on a day like this the fish could be anywhere. There were several breaking the surface at the start - not necessarily a good sign.

It was difficult fishing from the start for most of us, and after starting on the pole at 11 metres with expanders, and changing down to a 4mm to try to get it to drag in the very slight undertow, I had managed three bites, with one fish hooked and lost after about an hour. I saw hardly a fish caught in that time.

Trevor had a bagfull almost before I started
catching fish.

A terrible first hour
In the next hour I managed a 3 lb bream on a top three, followed by two tiny perch and a roach when I immediately changed to a worm. Meanwhile Peter Spriggs, opposite, had caught a fish or two, and Trevor, on my right, had had two or three fishing shallow. Fish were still turning, but unless they came close it was not possible to see them properly. But Trevor is a master of this method, and today told me that he had a couple dropping it in front of a bow-wave.

My left margin was very shallow right next to the bank, and I ignored this as I thought I would see some sign if the fish came in. So it was down to the deep margin, where I managed to hook and lose a couple more, probably foulhooked.  Then I hooked a fish properly and after two minutes I was down to a top two when it suddenly shot under the platform and  snagged the keepnet. Fish Gone! 

A quick walk up to my mate John on 12 brought the information that he had 'only' two carp and a barbel. Looked like I was way behind, as Trevor and Peter had both had another fish or two.

Next two hours not much better!
Then I had a five-pounder on corn first drop on a top three and foulhooked another on cat meat which I saw. It was about 8 lb and I had it over the net three times, but couldn't guide it in and eventually it pulled off. I was really chinkered about that. Eventually a four-pounder stuck. Then the cloud moved away and for an hour it was like being in an oven. I applied skin cream - especially to the backs of my hands, which catch the sun wherever it is.

Three hours gone and I had about 12 lb and I then had a bad spell (!) made worse by seeing Trevor taking fish shallow on a top-two-plus-two. I had tried this, but never had a take. Peter, opposite, had half-a-dozen fish. I managed to foulhook another couple which both came off.

Wendy caught 35 lb 11 oz on a feeder, which surprised
me as the water seemed very dead.

To my left ninety-something-year-old Joe then had four fish on a feeder and I seriously considered changing. The undertow I had found out at 11 metres now seemed to have vanished, although there was a much stronger wind now. The left margin seemed almost devoid of fish - even the little roach which had been hitting my float had vanished.

But then, with  90 minutes left  I saw Trevor take a fish in the side. So I had my first look in the right margin. The bottom was all higgledy-piggledy so I put in a few grains of corn a few feet from the bank, just above the deepest part of the swim, and dropped in a rig. First cast and I was playing an eight-pounder. Safely landed I put in some hemp and next cast briefly hit another, which came off.

Fish!
The next hour saw the fish start to feed, and I landed four or five around 4 lb on cat meat, which seemed to work better than corn. Some came just up the slope, and a couple in the deep water. But they insisted on playing with the bait for a  long time before taking it. In fact they looked like roach messing about with it - I just had to sit tight and be patient.

Another couple came off, though I did land one about 10 lb hooked on the outside of the mouth - the worst place to hook a fish, I have found. Then, with 15 minutes left and an estimated 35 lb in my first net I managed to hook another double-figure fish which fought strongly on the 17 hollow Preston yellow elastic but ended up in my second keepnet. I do like this elastic, provided the nearby anglers, and snags, are not too close. It stretches well at the start but powers up nicely when you use the puller.

My net which I had estimated at 35 lb - it weighed in at 58 lb 12 oz!
That cost me third spot.

Not my match...
Five minutes left and I hooked another big one and the shout went up to end the match, so I shouted "Fish On". That was met with much merriment and guffaws from my mates, as the shout had come from the match behind us. To be fair they had started their match with a whistle!

Three minutes later our match finished and I shouted "Fish still on", met with another fit of giggling along the bank. Five minutes later and my shout of "Fish In" was met with absolute silence - but I know that they were all thinking "Bugga! I wish it had got off!" I would have....

The weigh-in
Mick Linnell on 1 weighed in 38 lb 6 oz - every fish a barbel. Then Mick Raby had 42 lb 5 oz, most from very very close in - that made me realise that I hadn't tried down in front of the platform, or to the side, where sometimes you can find fish sheltering on  a difficult day.

Down to Trevor who had 93 lb 14 oz, and whose best spell was shallow on a top-two-plus-two with a red banded pellet. Then down to me.

I was admitting to 55 lb, and my second net , with the last two fish, went 18 lb 13 oz. But when I came to lift my '35 lb ' net I couldn't! Mick Raby helped - and as it went on the scales Trevor cast me a warning glance. It went 58 lb  12 oz. How did that happen? 

My old school pay Mick Ramm - we both went to St Peter's
School in Wisbech 70 years ago!

How did that happen?

Perhaps I was in a parallel universe for a time, where clickers are not available.

Perhaps someone had come up behind me and reverse clicked fish for a time.

Perhaps I'm just an idiot!

The rest of the weigh-in
So I was credited with 68 lb 13 oz, which was second from the nine anglers on that bank. Then round to Peg 14, where Peter Chilton had three nets...and managed to surpass my mistake, with 59 lb 4 oz in one net, cut back to 50 lb. Had he gone 60 lb then, under our club rules, that net would have been disqualified. Peter was credited, at the end, with 113 lb 12 oz, for the win - taken on baked beans (honest).

I held third place up to Peter Harrison on 24, who totalled 72 lb 12 oz. That gave him third spot - but if my nets had all counted I would have been third, of course. Not the first time it has happened, unfortunately. Martin Parker ran me close from corner peg 26 with 66 lb 1 oz, and I ended fourth. 

Mike Rawson with 25 lb 7 oz from Peg 4.

There were some good legs on display!

Peter Chilblain (sorry, Chilton) hot-footed it to first place in the windy corner Peg 14 using baked beans.

My next match is Sunday, on Yew, on the East bank. Only eight have signed up, so I expect we will fish alternate swims. I'd prefer to be drawn on 16 up to 22, but what do I know?

THE RESULT

26 Martin Parker            66 lb 1 oz      5th              1 Mick Linnell            38 lb 6 oz
24 Peter Harrison           72 lb 12 oz    3rd               3 Mick Raby            42 lb 5 oz
22 Alan Porter                20 lb 2 oz                         4 Mick Rawson        25 lb 7 oz
21 John Garner              10 lb                                  6 Wendy Bedford        35 lb 11 oz
19 Peter Spriggs            41 lb 9 oz                          7 Trevor Cousins         93 lb 14 oz    2nd
18 Bob Barrett              29 lb                                  9 Mac Campbell         68 lb 13 oz      4th
16 Peter Barnes            12 lb 11 oz                        10 Joe Bedford            27 lb 1 oz
14 Peter Chilton          113 lb 12 oz      1st             12 John Smith           22 lb 5 oz
                                                                               13 Mick Ramm          46 lb 8 oz

I make mistakes on Magpie, Rookery Fishery, Pidley

Peg 1, Sunday, September 5
Lots of oohs and aahs when this peg was drawn for me in this Fenland Rods match. It's in a corner and rated as one of the better pegs, but really comes into its own in the Winter because it's one of the few swims which has lillies. Then it's often a case of hanging punch bread near the lillies and just waiting for a take. Still, I wasn't complaining, though had I had a choice I would have picked Peg 13, which has been doing very well recently.

Holidays (remember them?) had depleted our turn-out, reducing it to just nine, so we used all the odd numbers from 1, round to 17 on the far side of the lake, and generously paid three places. Peg 1 faces roughly South-West, so on this banks we had the sun in front of us once it had come out just after the start of the match. And it was hot, with no wind  - I actually stopped partway through to apply sun cream. In September.

Hot and windless all day, and the water looked dead.

A fish on, first cast
I could reach the lillies at 13 metres, so started there, within a few inches of them, with a banded wafter fished about two feet deep. Within seconds I had a take. My elastic was a tight purple hydro, and I hung on for all I was worth and ten seconds later I felt the fish moving slowly away from the lillies. I immediately started pushing the pole behind me and I prepared to break it down, still under great pressure, when the hook pulled out!

Well, after that I obviously kept fishing shallow to the lillies, then a little away from them, then closer to me, and in open water. I fished like that for another 45 minutes and never had another take! I didn't put in any feed pellets as the water was flat calm, the sun brilliantly bright, and the only place I saw fish moving was in the lillies themselves. I don't think they would have been attracted by pellets dropping in - more likely they would have scarpered.

John Smith, who ended second, had a five-pounder on his first cast.

I try a worm
So, an hour gone and I decided to go back to the van and get a tube of pellet wagglers  heavier than I had in my box, to cast to reeds on the far side, about 22 metres away. I was just in time to see Callum lose a fish which looked as if it might have been a carp. He said he had a few small fish on worm. So after I got back I put in some cloud groundbait and dropped a worm in over the top in the right margin.

Actually there was a lovely cut-out about 18 inches deep to my right, then a nice shelf about two feet, and it then dropped down to three feet. I decided to try the two-foot shelf first.

Nothing on a waggler
Sure enough  small perch obliged, and in the next half hour another four or five came in. Then a carp of 3 lb, and a little later another of about 4 lb. The match was almost half over, and I had a few casts with the pellet waggler shallow, but nothing happened. So I decided to take a chance and swap over to quarter-inch cubes of luncheon meat on the pole. And in the next hour I had about four more carp, next 5 lb.

I also lost two or three fish foulhooked, even though I was waiting for what looked like proper takes. But I had to sort of hang the bait off bottom, as there were a lot of snags, and I lost six hooks on them. Once I was snagged on something immoveable just six inches under the surface. What was that all about?

Allan Golightly shows the stamp of carp in Rookery Fishery.
And the fish are in super condition and fight like tigers.

I also cut a quarter-inch cube of luncheon meat in half, as I had the feeling the fish were almost playing with the bait as I was getting indications which never came to a proper bite. In fact this immediately took two or three of those fish.

Trouble at t'mill

All morning rubbish had been drifting into my corner - lily pads, reeds, sticks, leaves and a sort of dust on the surface which gradually built up into a layer of scum. In fact as I played the fish these bits and bobs kept attaching themselves to my line, and sometimes as I was about to net the fish the flapping in front of their faces saw them start charging away again.

Now the scum was thick, and had stopped right over the spot where I had been catching fish. I changed to a grain of corn to try to get it through the scum, but even if it did, the line wouldn't always follow. If I could get it through in the right spot I sometimes had another fish, and picking out the smallest grains also definitely helped.  When the scum receded for a moment I dropped in to the 18-inch swim and had a fish immediately, but then the scum covered it again. Annoyingly, fish were moving underneath it now.

I had been catching on the second shelf, where the biggest line of scum built up.
The best spot had been in front of the little cut-out, near the corner of the reeds.

I eventually try the left margin
Putting on a heavy bait like cat meat to get through it simply didn't bring a bite, and I was nervous about getting repeatedly snagged on the bottom. Nor did going out into the deepest water a few feet farther out. I kept thinking about changing to the left, deep, margin but every time I prepared to switch I would get a good bite or a fish, which went up to 5 lb, and in any case the sun had been in an awkward position for fishing to the left. I suppose I had about 13 carp when, with 20 minutes left, I eventually made the switch to the left margin, where there wasn't much floating rubbish. 

To be honest I hadn't baited it properly, so just threw in a handful of luncheon meat, followed it with my rig and started to think about working out what the bottom was like. To my amazement the float shot straight under and a big fish shot out to the lillies 13 metres away and came off - almost certainly foulhooked, and the hook was straightened.

I dropped straight back with the cat meat rig and a three-pounder took the bait, and ended in one of my three nets (three nets is the rule here). Then there was a lull, and I quickly changed the hook on the luncheon meat rig...and promptly hooked a four-pounder. Then a two-pounder obliged. Then the match finished. Why on earth hadn't I looked there earlier?

Winner Peter Spriggs with 114 lb 1 oz. Note the artificial turf on all the swims.
Note, also, the lovely clear water in front of him!

The weigh-in
The sun was really blazing now, and I was first to weigh. My three nets went 68 lb 10 oz, and Callum thought that might be enough to win. In fact that was a fair assessment, as it was top weight on out bank up to Peg 11, round the corner. I decided to follow the scales rather than pack up, in the hope that a little later it would be cooler. As we walked round I looked enviously at the rubbish-free 

!water in each successive swim.

Then round to John Smith on 13 who pipped me by 2 lb 2 oz, having had a five-pounder on his first drop, and then waited for hours for his next fish. Then round to the last two, who were now in blessed shade cast by the trees behind them. The difference was incredible - it was actually really nice here, out of the sun, and I started to cool down rapidly.

Peter Spriggs, who is a always a danger, had walked it on peg 15, fishing the deep margins and totalling 114 lb 1 oz. I didn't ask him what he's used as bait, but since his nickname is Peter The Paste I had a good guess. He told me that in the last 15 minutes he had hooked six fish, and lost every one of them! So I finished third. And by the time I got back to my swim it was not as hot in the sun while I packed up.

Conclusions
I blame the sun, which must have addled my brain. I was so certain that the fishing would be hard that once I had a carp I was satisfied with catching just one every 20 minutes or so. I should have looked in the other swims I had plumbed up - out at 13 metres near the lillies on the bottom, and particularly in the left margin. Also I did not try the side, right in front of me against the piling which ran across the front of my swim, even though I have had fish right beside it in several other swims.

I should have been prepared, once the scum became really difficult, to ignore that swim until I was certain it was my only hope of catching fish. As Bryan Lakey used to tell me: "Mac, fish have fins!" I believe I might even have won, if I'd made the switch at the right time.

Next match on Cedar on Decoy on Thursday. I'm happy anywhere, but hopefully the weather will be cooler.