What a match, on Cedar, Decoy

 Peg 15, Sunday, Feb 27
This morning (Monday) the smiling young lady about to announce the weather forecast started by saying: "Yesterday the sun brought spring-like weather to many parts of the UK." Not to Decoy it b****y didn't!

Even my regular homage to Peppa Pig (which I watched before leaving home) didn't spare me from the bitter blast that hit me when I opened the van door; and it never let up all day. Thankfully Gus had pegged all 19 of us on the Eastern banks of Elm and Cedar, with the howling wind over our left shoulders. But  the news that Tom Edwards, who I would back against almost any angler in the UK on a commercial fishery, had managed  just 7 lb from Peg 1 in the previous day's Winter League Final , didn't fill us with confidence. 

Bright and (very) breezy. The wind was cold and never eased up all day.

A terrible start
Still there was a job to be done from Peg 15, though Chris Saunders was on my right on 14, in the corner - the swim which won the lake the previous day. At least the sun was shining, but that didn't put the fish in a good mood - after two fishless hours fishing the pole at 10 metres, and a maggot feeder, I dropped into the margins, where I had been flicking maggots, and eventually got a bite from a 2 lb carp.

Chris Saunders took almost all his fish at 13 metres in a
small cut-out in the end bank, to his right.

I always ring my Dearly Beloved around 1 pm, just to let her know that I'm still alive, and I was able to mournfully inform her that I was cold, fed up, and had just the one fish, while Chris to my right had three...but his first two were foulhooked. As  a welcome distraction, however, both Chris and I had been able to watch Steve Tilsley -  occasionally to be known as Ivy Tilsley - in the corner of Elm, Peg 13, with his back to us, catch fish after fish.

It really was quite a performance - every time I looked up Steve, sorry, Ivy, was either playing a fish, putting one into his net, or rebaiting his hook. Then, with two hours to go, Chris hit another two or three carp, while I lost one within seconds of hooking it (probably foulhooked), and added another section to 11.5 metres, and found two carp around 2 lb each. But I was way behind Chris, whose best fish was 10 lb-plus. For a short time I managed to go out to 13 metres, but the wind soon put a stop to that...

Chris' best fish, from corner peg 14,  was around 10 lb.

A better finish
With 15 minutes to go suddenly my swim held fish - first I hit one as I lifted the rig out, but it immediately came off; then another 2 lb carp came in on maggot on  double red maggot, then a bream around 2 lb, and suddenly the black-tipped float slid under and I hit a big fish. 

Less than a minute later the match finished and I had worked out that this one was probably foulhooked. It would drift into the side, then power off almost to the next platform, before hurtling out the the middle and drifting in again. Everyone else was packing up, and ten minutes later Chris helpfully reminded me that I was probably expected to be home before midnight. Thanks, mate!

The beast came in sideways
Eventually the fish stopped wagging its great big tail and gave up, and a black shape appeared under the surface about 10 metres out. The 13 hollow elastic slowly retracted, drawing the shape slowly over my waiting landing net, sideways, and I could see the hook in its pectoral fin. I have a long-handled landing net, but it can be a problem in a high wind just feeding fish into the keepnet, so today I had chosen a shorter handle. But, wonder of wonders, I managed to bring the fish closer and closer, and netted it first time, ensuring that its head went in first.

A smiling Chris with his 28 lb 10 oz .

Even then I had a problem extracting the hook because the fish lay on that side in the net and it took me ages to turn it over and pick the hook out. There were leeches on the fish, and several in its mouth. I guess it weighed about 12 lb.

The weigh-in
I was still packing up when the scales arrived, and Ivy was being weighed in at the same time, so I couldn't get a picture of him. My fish went 26 lb 2 oz, and Chris next door weighed 28 lb 10 oz, which won him the section by default. I ended sixth on the lake, and frankly was pleased to catch anything in those conditions. Another 2 lb 9 oz and I would have won the section.

Our lake was won by Andy Gausden with 102 lb 8 oz. He  took fish at 11.5 metres, then 13 metres, and finally on the maggot feeder on that 13-metre line when the wind made it impossible for him to hold the pole. And free sandwiches and hot potatoes were waiting for us all back in HQ, courtesy of the new owner Sean, and manager Karen. They were very welcome.

Cedar result

IVY'S RED-LETTER DAY
But the real story of the day took place on Elm 13, in the corner, where Steve ended with 298 lb 4 oz - and he lost the last fish he hooked. 

Steve Tilsley- 298 lb 4 oz from Elm Peg 13.

He took a couple of fish on maggot in front of him before turning his back to the wind and fishing 13 metres to the end bank on his right. He fished a small piece of bread punch about two-and-a-half feet deep in five feet of water, a metre from the reeds, and first drop a fish took the bait.

He told me: "Every time I dropped in a fish took the bait within about ten seconds. There must have been hundreds there, mainly around 4 lb or 5 lb. I will never, ever have a day like that again as long as I live. My previous best catch was 240 lb, and I didn't think I could possible better that.  Once I started catching fish I never needed to feed anything at all."

Elm result

Next match
Not sure when m next match is, but I will be fishing with JV again on Sunday. I don't have the Winter League result - it should be on the Angling Trust website or the Match Angling Results Service on Facebook eventually. I understand that peg 11 on Six-Island won with about 167 lb, with several other 100 lb-plus weights from Horseshoe, Beastie 23 and Yew 15. Barnsley won the team event.

I ride my luck on Beastie, Decoy - and the full Open result

 Peg 29, Sunday, Feb 20
Still very windy, and just ten of us turned up to fish this JV match, with 64 fishing nine of the other ten lakes in the Open - practicing for the Angling Trust Winter League Final next Saturday; several didn't turn up, though. Andy had avoided putting any of us facing right into the wind as rain was forecast for the afternoon, and I would have quite liked 10, on the spit, or 18 next to the bridge, as it's always been lucky for me. Recently the fish have been in the early 20s, with Tom Edwards winning the previous day's Open with 127 lb from Peg 22.

However Fate deemed that 29 would be my home for the day, with the wind over my left shoulder. It's a nice flat approach to the platform and I put up my umbrella, tying it to a tree stump, and with a bank stick screwed into a storm guide it stayed rock solid all day (though the heavy rain didn't come until after we had packed up). However, that strength of wind does create problems and I was glad I had two landing net handles with me - the shorter one is so much easier to handle in a strong wind.

It doesn't look windy here...but it was! The storm guide held the umbrella rock solid.
That black speck in the distance, just to the left of the island,  is Lee Kendall on Peg 18.

Like everyone else, I imagine, I concentrated on maggot and in the first hour picked up an 8 oz bream on a hybrid feeder and then a small carpish thing which may have been a carassio. I didn't see much action from the others, all of whom I could see except peg 10. But I could see Chris Saunders on 22 fishing the long pole, and thought it must be only a matter of time before he contacted carp.

Fish on the pole
A switch to the pole at nine metres, to my right to avoid going right across the wind, brought bites from roach, most of which dropped off, before a 1 lb bream obliged. When I saw that I put in some dead reds with a bait dropper, as it was impossible to work out exactly where loose-fed maggots would end up in that strong wind which was producing an undertow against it.

The next three hours saw an occasional bream come in, and I finished with several small roach, about 12 bream ranging from 8 oz to 2 lb, plus a small F1, losing one better fish which hardly moved and was probably a foulhooked carp. I saw Lee Kendall on 18 land a fish or two on a pole, and Smug on 20 land a couple on a feeder.

A scene from Fred Karno's Circus
In an effort to land a few of the roach which were blown off the hook I changed down to a lighter elastic which I have used only once before. There followed a scenario which would have delighted Fred Karno...

I hit a good bream about 2 lb, which I could see in the clear water. Suddenly it seemed to stop fighting, but the elastic slowly kept pulling out of the pole tip. I suddenly realised that it had come completely loose, and sure enough it suddenly fell completely into the water. I went to grab my landing net, but that had been blown into the lake and the end was protruding invitingly from the surface, and slowly sinking, but luckily still within reach.

Grandad - fourth with 29 lb 2 oz from Peg 30.

I grabbed the landing net and managed to lift a little of the elastic above the surface. Somehow it  stayed draped over the net and the fish didn't attempt to swim away. I gingerly pulled the landing net back until I had the elastic within reach, when I grabbed it and handlined the 2 lb bream in. The elastic had perished at the puller bung end.  

Last-minute flurry
I had put maggot and corn into the margins, which were deep, but although I spent a few minutes there I never had a touch. Another spell on the feeder didn't bring a bite, either. But putting bait in with the bait dropped did seem to liven the fish up each time I did it.

Ten minutes to go and bream of 1 lb and 2 lb made an appearance on the pole line, followed by a near-3 lb F1, and then I hit a big fish which came off after a minute, probably also foulhooked. Thirty seconds later the match finished, just as they had started to feed! I did at one point get my worms out, which bream love, but I haven't used them for some weeks, and when I opened the box every one was dead. Not my day!

That sinking feeling

I packed everything up, took the pole holdall and bait bag back to the van, which was nearby, then returned for the rods and umbrella. Back to the van with those and when I returned to the platform for the trolley and box I was horrified to see the net, which had been placed securely on the platform (as I thought) had been blown in. Part of it was still near the surface, and luckily it was the top ring. I threw myself onto the platform (actually slowly crawled to the edge), reached out, and was just in time to grab the top ring before it sank. I don't think any fish had escaped, but I can't be sure.

The weigh in
My fish weighed 29 lb 9 oz, of which about 23 lb was bream, and as I hadn't taken any pictures, I followed the scales to Grandad on Peg 30, about 25 yards away, to get a picture. He had stayed on a feeder all day and had caught carp and F1s, which made me wonder whether I should have done the same. I had no idea what the other weights were, but realised I hadn't come last when Grandad (real name John Hill, aged 83) ended with 29 lb 2 oz, just 7 oz behind me.

The winner

Lee told me he had weighed nearly 100 lb (he actually had 99 lb 6 oz); then Smug said he (Smug) and I had won our sections, which was a massive surprise to me. In fact the weights were pretty tight in the 20s, and I was very lucky. I wasn't surprised that Lee won - a very good angler on one of my favourite pegs. He had 30 lb on a maggot feeder and about 70 lb on a pole fished in the deep water of the channel which runs under the bridge, with the fish tending to be near the bridge itself. Peter Molesworth was second on Peg 9 with 33 lb 15 oz.

So another (underserved) pickup - I came third overall - which I was very happy with. Next Wednesday I would normally fish the Pidley Over 60s but have arranged to take an local elderly couple to the doctor's surgery, so my next match is expected to be with JV at Decoy on Sunday.

THE OPEN RESULT

Here are the photos of the results from the nine lakes used in the Open.

 

The overall result

DAMSON

ELM (Jon Arthur's weight was 45 lb 14 oz - 18 barbel on a maggot feeder).

CEDAR

OAK

YEW

WILLOWS

LOUS

HORSESHOE

FOUR-ISLAND

I DNW on Elm - and the Open result

 Peg 1, Elm, Decoy
Blimey, that was difficult. I thought that being at the top end of the strip lake, with the wind behind and from the right, would give me a bit of shelter. Not a bit of it - the wind whistled across the field and the car park and through the gap and it was impossible for me to lay my pole sections or tops on the bank without having to wedge them to stop them blowing along the bank. All my empty bags went into the van for safe keeping, and I had to lay my umbrella in front of the trolley to stop it being pushed along.

The surface of my swim was calm, but the wind soon picked up and was wicked,
 and became very cold until an hour before the end.

Five of us in this JV match were on Elm and six on Cedar, all with back wind (though another eight or nine hadn't turned up - sensible people!).

After a couple of hours fishless Ivy Tilsley (sorry, Steve) in Peg 4
changed to a waggler and this was the result - his first fish.

The water in my swim was sheltered by the end bank and was almost flat calm for the first few feet, which was strange, considering how strong it was along the bank, but when I walked along the strip towards the higher numbers the wind seemed to be filtered a little by the tall reeds along the edge of the stock pond behind us, though the surface of the lake was really rough there.

Adam Lowbridge - third on Peg 12.

A nightmare

Whatever the reason, it was a bit of a nightmare for me - an hour on the maggot feeder produced not even a liner. Then a look with the pole to the end bank proved to be a problem, as I had to turn into the wind, and after a short time it became bitingly cold. No fish there, so back on the feeder so I could have a cup of soup, and then a long pole in front of me, which produced a half-ounce perch to maggot. Steve had a strong tow against the wind, but in my swim it was only a very slight pull.

Several of the anglers on Oak and Yew, fishing in the Open, packed up halfway through the match. I stuck it out, with no more bites until half an hour before the end when, very cold despite my heated vest, for only the second or third time in my life I started to pack up early. I was on the scales and wanted to be able to take my time packing up - Steve Tilsley, who had four fish for about 15 lb, did the same.

Kevin Wilmot - winner with 106 lb 12 oz - 
a magnificent effort in those conditions.

.

Lots of fish...
So after taking my time to pack away (which left me less drained than usual), followed by a quick trip to the toilet for me we marched down to peg 12 to start the weighing-in, which took place in a light rain. There were fish there - lots of them, in Adam Lowbridge's net. He'd taken his fish on a pole at 11 metrres, but when he had to come back to nine metres sport slowed down. Even so he weighed  83 lb 15 oz.

Lee's catch of 88 lb 8 oz was nearly all barbel.

Next door on 9, Kevin Wilmot, who used to be my boss on Match Angling Plus, had even more - 106 lb 12 oz, taken on bomb and bread, maggot feeder and maggot on the long pole. He's a very tidy angler indeed, so I wasn't surprised he won. While the wind was blowing hooley there was a strong tow against it, and Kevin caught well, but when the wind eased the tow went the other way and sport tailed off.

Next door on 7 Lee Kendall had a most extraordinary catch - 88 lb 8 oz which were nearly all barbel taken on a maggot feeder cast across to the far side. He showed me where he fished - to the platform opposite or along to the tree a few yards to the left.

Steve Nurse with 46 lb 12 oz from Cedar lake.

On Cedar the weights again increased as we went from the low numbers to the higher numbers, won by Roy Whincup who fished a feeder mainly to the middle of the lake on Peg 11, with 58 l 6 oz. A great day for some - a day to forget for me. Next match probably Sunday with JV.

THE RESULT (and the Open)

ELM

CEDAR

THE OPEN RESULTS

The Open was won by Andy Rayment on Six-Island Peg 11. He had a backish wind and caught most of his fish on maggot and pole at six metres. Damson and Lous fished very consistently but the two strip lakes used, Oak and Yew, fished much better at the far end than the car park end - as did Elm and Cedar that our club fished. In fact Yew produced third-best weight of 90 lb 10 oz in corner peg 15.

OAK

YEW

SIX-ISLAND

LOUS

DAMSON

WILLOWS

A good 'un for me on Oak, Decoy (and the Open results)

That forecast of heavy rain and gales cut down our entry to this JV match from an expected 18 to nine. But since they were nine of the best in the club I was eager to confront the challenge. However, news before the match cast a bit of a damper on me.  

Ron Cuthbert told me that Dennis Sambridge had died the previous week. Dennis had told us last year that his cancer was terminal, and that he would be lucky to see Christmas. In fact Ron told me that Dennis had turned up, only this year, to a match at Pidley; the two had breakfast together, but Dennis decided it was too cold for him and went home. Ron never saw him again.

Dennis, in his late 80s, was a lovely bloke, and a darned good angler, especially with the worms he loved using. I hope he realised he was loved and respected by the anglers he fished with. Certainly the local match scene will be the poorer for his passing.

Peg 9, Oak, Decoy
We were (thank goodness) all pegged with our back to the howling wind, and I was happy with Peg 9, though Peg 11 has been producing good catches (it's opposite where the bird hide used to be, which was always a good area). The wind was just very strong indeed at the start, so I kept it simple - a feeder rod and two pole rigs - one long, and one short.

Not too bad at the start, but the wind got stronger and colder.

I had Chris Saunders to my right - not for the first time lately - which I was glad of, as I like to be able to watch better anglers than me closely during the match. The habit of spacing everyone out has definitely slowed down that learning curve we used to benefit from when we all fished at adjoining pegs.

A 'new' tactic
I decided to start by putting in some groundbait and dead maggots via a big feeder - not the huge ones we used to use to lay down bait for bream on Earlswood and Ferry meadows, but the largest in the Preston ICS system. I've recently seen one of the Matrix Submerged videos, and was intrigued at how long the tiny particles of groundbait stay in the water after the feeder has sunk, which would also be a different tactic to what most of the anglers in this match were using - they would probably use just a maggot feeder.

So out went four feeders with a very light, dry, groundbait and dead reds. I left each one a minute, then twitched it back a foot, left it another minute, then struck the groundbait (if there was any) out. Then I changed it for a maggot feeder, which took me less than 30 seconds - the system is so good.

Barry Gibb had just three fish for his 28 lb.

I avoid all tangles
My hook length was a nine-inch length of Drennan Supplex, which is quite stiff, to keep the six-inch hooklength from tangling, and I never had a tangle all day. I cast right across to a bunch of reeds on the far side, but when I retrieved it, there was weed on the hooklength, so I came back a few feet. Within about 20 minutes the rod was almost pulled off the rest and a 4 lb common was in the net, followed 50 minutes later by another. Forty minutes after that a seven-pounder joined them.

Beside me, Chris had tried a feeder, pole and a waggler - this looked so good across the far side that I fully expected Chris to start catching, but he didn't. Then he had an ide on feeder. To our left I saw Steve Tilsley land two good carp on a feeder, and Chris said that Ian Frith, to our right on end peg 3, had had some fish on pole. I actually saw him land one.

Weighing in the rain...but none of us were singing!

I was itching to try a pole myself at 13 metres, which was still possible in the wind, but never had a bite. So back to the feeder for a carp about 4 lb, a 2 lb ide, and a better carp of 7 lb. The bites from the carp again almost took the rod off the rest, but came out of the blue, one after two minutes, and the others again taking longer. All came from about six feet from the far bank, in the deep water.

One fish lost on pole
The wind blew even harder, with some huge gusts, and with 90 minutes left Chris packed away his pole, fearing that the wind would blow the lot in. I took a chance and left mine on the rollers, then had a go myself, at 10 metres which was as long as was possible. I hooked a good fish, played it for about 30 seconds, and then it came off.

Steve Tilsley, winner with six fish for 45 lb 11 oz.

So back to the feeder. with a live red, and dead red and a flouro pinkie, and this brought a carp about 3 lb and a 2 lb F1 five minutes before the end. Chris had another late fish about 2 lb on the feeder. Whether my initial feed of a light groundbait to leave a cloud had any effect I an mot sure. Probably not, but it worked.

The weigh in
Just as the match finished a light rain started to fall - Sod's Law. Ian Frith asked me what weight I had, and I admitted to about 30 lb, which he said would probably win. Then he proceeded to put 42 lb 5 oz onto the scales!!! 😍 He could do with a trip to Specsavers...

Roy Whincup had just three fish on a feeder for 14 lb 4 oz, and Chris' fish went 4 lb 4 oz. To my suprprise mine weighed in at 43 lb 3 oz, to lead up to Steve Tilsley, who had four fish on waggler and maggot to add to those two earlier fish on bomb and popped-up bread. They totalled 45 lb 11 oz, leaving me in second place, which I was very happy with in that company. Next match probably on Decoy on Sunday, but I don't know on which lake.

Our (damp) weighing-in sheet.

Andy Rayment had some big fish in his 82 lb 12 oz.

THE OPEN

The Open fished extraordinarily well. Behind our lake Andy Rayment sat on Cedar 26, facing the wind and started like a train with eight carp in the first half-hour on bread dobbed at 14.5 metres to the end bank on his left. Sport then slowed a little, and almost fishless after the wind got up. He took the bulk of his 82 lb 12 oz in that first 90 minutes. 

Rob Goodson was also facing the wind, on Cedar  24, and took his 56 lb 8 oz in the five-foot deep margins - showing that fish will come to the side at this time of year if conditions are right.

The match was won by organiser Tony Evan on Willows 29 with 132 lb 5 oz, and there were several other weights over 100 lb from Willows, Beastie and Elm, which will show the competitors in the Angling Trust Winter League final on February 26 that there are still fish willing to feed even in atrocious weather.

Here are the results: 

BEASTIE

CEDAR (no idea what peg 20 had).

DAMSON

ELM

WILLOWS

Brought down to earth on Raven, Pidley

 Peg 25, Wednesday, Feb 2
After some decent results I was fairly confident of a good catch in the 37-entry Over 60s on Raven and Magpie, especially when Raven 25 was drawn for me. It's in the middle of a length which tends to produce consistent catches all year. Of course Life had other plans, and I (and others) were dropped down with a bump. My swim had just half-a-dozen solitary reeds within easy reaching distance, at 13 metres, with a bigger clump to the right. The wind for two days had been mild, and we all hoped it had warmed the water.

Peg 25 - my two carp came from the trees to the left at 14.5 metres. The wind was a 
little from the right and made it difficult to fish hard against the reeds to the right.

I spent the first 45 minutes dobbing bread in about two feet of water (as did most others) with just a couple of tiny liners. A switch to maggot (one red and a flouro pinkie, as recommended by Peter Carter) brought a few more liners, but halfway though the match, having also looked in the deep margins opposite, the nearside margin, the edge of the reed clump, and the deep water, I was fishless. I knew that the angler on Peg 1, behind me, had had several fish early on.

A 4-dram perch causes excitement

Ron Clark, on my right on 26, found a fish of about 1 lb on the nearside shelf, but that was all he had had. A perch of about a quarter-of-an-ounce then took my maggot bait, but then the excitement died until about an hour from the end when I added a section, giving me 14.5 metres, and tried a most-unlikely-looking swim about four feet from the bank between two trees on the opposite bank, to my left. 

Peter Carter on 22 always catches fish - he weighed 23 lb 12 oz
but was beaten to the section by Shaun Buddle on Peg 19.

There were obviously lots of snags in that swim, but amazingly first drop I had an indication which eventually turned into a proper bite, and a 4 lb mirror ended in my landing net. Three or four liners later a three-pounder followed, and then a lost fish. In that time Ron, fishing to the end of a clump of reeds, had three more fish which looked to be around 2 lb. That was the end of the match, held in quite nice conditions, with the head wind shielded by the high bank opposite us.

The weigh in
I galloped (well lolloped) over to Peg 1 with my phone at the ready, and sure enough the angler there, Mark Waring had a good catch - 64 lb 2 oz,, which was top on Raven and won the match overall. Well done indeed, Mark. I was then quite surprised to see some more reasonable catches right round the lake, even from unfancied pegs, until the scales came to the angler on my left, who had had two small carp and did not weigh.

A superb win from Mark Waring with 64 lb 2 oz on unfancied Peg 1. He
had a fish first drop on maggot on the far bank and several more early in the match.

I had 7 lb 4 oz, Ron weighed 8 lb 14 oz, and the next two weights at the end of the strip, were also reasonable - 12 lb and 22 lb. However, most weights were lower than might be expected in those mild conditions. I got the impression that the fish were hugging the reed beds and that the bare-bank swims were not as productive.

Magpie's weights were similar, headed by Will Hadley on favoured peg 36, with 59 lb 2 oz. Will has a fantastic record in these matches, and can take advantage of any edge he is given in the  form of a flier!

THE RESULTS

Raven 1-22

Raven 23-29

Magpie 1-22

Magpie 23-36

My next match in Sunday on Decoy, and I will miss Wednesday's Over 60s as I have a bowls match in the evening and it's not fair on my partner to play when I am knackered. On that subject, my doctor has found out that I am severely anaemic, and had prescribed tablets which will, hopefully, in the fullness of time, transform me into Superman, so I will not have to have a two-minute sit-down every two minutes when I pack away my tackle. One can but dream...