Still motoring, on Elm, Decoy

 Peg 10, Elm, Thursday, June 29
At last...blessed rain, which apart from one tiny night shower was the first for weeks. It was raining as we arrived for this Spratts draw, but stopped by the time we had driven to the bank. Hopefully it would freshen the water a little.

The wind had changed (yet again) to North West, which used to be the prevailing wind, of course, before the North-Easterlies took over, but somehow it was managing to ripple only the first three or four pegs near the car park. I was happy with my swim, however, which was in the area three-quarters of the way down which often has an edge on the four strip lakes, and put out four nets, just in case!

Fourteen of us were fishing, so we were staked on both sides. John Smith was on corner peg 24, at the car park end, and I walked up to him before the match and said that with the warm wind blowing straight in there, I fancied his peg, which has the end reeds to fish to. My swim had rather nice cut-outs both sides, but it was possible to fish the deep margins as well. To my left, Trevor Cousins was on corner peg 12 at the other end, which can be a flier, and with the surface so calm at our end I expected him to go mugging carp, which could be seen when the sun came out.

The rain had cleared and we had some pleasant weather all day - some sun and some cloud.

Bring out the casters
I had intended to start on a feeder, but decided to immediately flick out casters, as the wind was slightly backish, and fish a banded caster shallow. So off I went, and was a bit surprised not to get bites immediately, as the conditions, with alternating sun and cloud, and the warm breeze, felt right. It took about 15 minutes to get a fish - an 8 lb mirror, and I was away. Errr, I wasn't, actually, because although I fished on for about another 30 minutes, and got plenty of bites, they were from roach, and I hooked two. No carp at all.

Opposite, Peter Harrison on 15, and the Golden Peg, now started to find fish out long on a pole, probably 13 metres, and Trevor on 12 was also catching good fish, as I could see the splashes when he landed them. But I had seen signs of fish in the shallow water of the righthand cut-off, and put I dead maggots there, a little bit out from the bank, into about four feet of water. Fishing with ten dead maggots on a size 12 (the maximum allowed on Decoy) I soon had a 6 lb mirror, and started getting liners.

Peter was flying
It was very frustrating - the fish were obviously there, knocking the bait as it fell. Fishing off the bottom brought more liners and eventually I had to have a look long, at 13 metres, with an 8mm expander pellet. Peter was still catching fish, and it seemed that every time I looked up his elastic was stretching out, although I did see him lose one or two. I tried mugging some passing fish with the caster, and also with a grain of corn, but never had an offer. Perhaps they needed a bigger plop from the bait as it went in.

I had absolutely nothing after a long spell out, but had three more carp to my right, and by 1 o'clock, when I rang my Dearly Beloved to let her know I was still alive (she does worry, you know!) I  had just five carp and those two roach, which was way behind Peter and Trevor. With John in that windy peg 24 I was seriously imaging myself finishing somewhere down the bottom.

I could see Peter Harrison, opposite on 15, consistently catching fish
 early on. This one was around 10 lb - not as big as some in nearby
Oak and Yew, but pretty spectacular when compared with the fish
we used to catch on the Fenland drains!

Bream from the left
A brief further spell shallow with caster saw that even the roach had gone off to watch TV, so I concentrated on the left deep margin with corn, and the right shallow cut-off with meat and, later, mussel. Gradually the left margin started to produce bites, which included three bream around 3 lb each, one of which thought it was a trout and must have jumped a good metre out of the water when hooked, ending with a mighty belly flop. That made Peter look up quickly.

Some small F1s, to 3 lb, also came from this swim, and those pesky F1s fought three times as hard as the carp which were two or three times their size!

Back to the cut-off, and some slivers of meat from a sachet brought an 8 lb carp, at which point I decided to change to mussel. This has the advantage of fluttering a little as it sinks, and I have more confidence on moving it around that I do cat meat. Now the fish started to respond, and after each one in went hemp, micros, and just a few grains of corn.

A bad mistake
With over an hour to go I made a bad mistake. I had been alternating the swims, and generally catching at least one in each before bites slowed up, at which point I would change. But now I didn't bother to put bait into the deep margin because I was catching better in the cut-out. And with about 40 minutes to go, when I went to the deep swim, there wasn't a fish there!

Wendy with one of her smaller fish, all
taken on a feeder. The big fish can be so
difficult to hold, as the weigh-ins typically take 
only 30 seconds, and the fish are full of life.

I should also have tried an alternative bait in the cut-off, like expander, paste or worm, all of which I had with me, though the worms were not on my tray because of the sun on it.

That last 40 minutes, when I might have expected to have a purple patch, was a disaster. I think I had one fish from the cut-out when the deep swim didn't produce even a liner and then a terrible spell when I hit four fish to the right, and each one came off after about one second. The elastic would stretch out about a metre and then go slack...and that happened four times in a row. I'm certain the fish were not foulhooked - you can usually tell by the way the fish feels in that first second.

I had foulhooked just one fish earlier - there was a big bump and for a second the fish didn't move, before starting to make a powerful run. I knew instantly what had happened; these four were must softer on the strike. Anyway, whatever happened they all came off. 

I land my last fish!
Then two minutes before the end I did manage to hook and land a fish about 6 lb, on mussel, which went into my third net to bring it up to 40 lb on my clicker. No time to rebait and the match was over.

I was certain that Trevor and Peter had pulverised me, though Peter had slowed up towards the end. I still thought he must have 200 lb, though. I estimated I had 35 lb in each of the other two nets, total probably around 110 lb, perhaps a little more.

Dave Hobbs weighing in. He ended with 98 lb 7 oz.

The weigh in
Dave Hobbs, on peg five, had three nets in, for 98 lb 7 oz, and he led the weights down to me. My third net was first out to the scales, and I watched horrified as the digital scales clicked round to 54 lb 6 oz, which was knocked back to 50 lb. How had that happened? Next one was, mercifully, 47 lb-ish, and the last one 42 lb, giving me 139 lb 4 oz, but if I had been better at estimating it would have been 143 lb 10 oz. 😒

Trevor Cousins - winner with 189 lb 1 oz. 

Trevor was next, and as I had expected, he had thrashed me, taking every single fish in his 189 lb 1 oz mugging with pellet.  One the other bank Dick Warrener had "One Of Those Days", culminating in a 6 lb carp jumping clean out of his keepnet and landing back in the lake. Dick's face after weighing 42 lb 3 oz said it all. 

Then it was Peter Harrison's turn, and I was astonished when he ended with 'only' 128 lb 3 oz. Afterwards, having seen his fish, I realised that many weren't as big as mine, and he probably lost several foulhooked.

Next door Peter Spriggs, always so consistent, said he had had a terrible day - all 85 lb 2 oz of it. Strange to think that in my earlier match days on the Middle Level system I would almost always frame if I had caught 1 lb per hour! I doubt if I ever had anything near 85 lb in a whole season of Wisbech Association matches, when we used to fish six matches a year...

Bob Barrett - that big fish was way into double figures.

On peg 22 Bob Barrett fished a feeder, as he always does, for 95 lb 7 oz. A lot of the time he just fishes in the margins. I keep meaning to have one set up specifically for that, when bites fall away and I feel I need to rest a swim. I really must have it ready this Sunday. Bob finished in sixth place.

Peg 24
From then on the weights varied up to John Smith, last to weigh on 24. He had, naturally, concentrated on fishing to the end bank reeds to his left, only to not get a bite there to begin with. John then had a look to his right, a liitle bit out from the bank, not really expecting the fish to be there, only to get a bite within seconds. He had several there before going into a small cut-out to his left, where he had his best spell. by the end he had managed just three fish from the corner reeds in his final total; of 145 lb 5 oz, leaving him in second spot. 

Last to weigh, on a peg not normally favoured - John Smith included this
cracking mirror in his second-placed  145 lb 5 oz.

So my going over in one net hadn't affected the result. However John told me afterwards that as he was bringing a double-figure fish to the net his line unexpectedly broke. The fish thrashed its tail...and headed straight into the net John  was still holding! How lucky was that? 

So I ended third, and admit that I didn't fish particularly well. The fact that I lost only one fish, which was foulhooked, (plus those strange four at the end) helped. Our Fenland Rods match, due to be on Cedar on Sunday, has been moved to Elm.  I have no plan, and no favourite swim, though I would like to have a piece of Raspberry Ripple.

THE RESULT

           East bank                                                    West bank     

24 John Smith        145 lb 5 oz      2nd         1 Joe Bedford          23 lb 13 oz
22 Bob Barrett        95 lb 7 oz                       3 Mick Ramm         40 lb 14 oz
20 Mike Rawson    26 lb 2 oz                       5 Dave Hobbs          98 lb 7 oz
18 John Garner       81 lb                               7 Bob Allen              69 lb 4 oz
16 Peter Spriggs     85 lb 2 oz                       8 Wendy Bedford    25 lb 14 oz

15 Peter Harrison  128 lb 3 oz       4th        10 Mac Campbell    139 lb 4 oz   3rd

13 Dick Warrener   42 lb 3 oz                     12 Trevor Cousins   189 lb 1 oz    1st

Back on a bogey peg on Yew

 Peg 16, Yew, Sunday, June 25
It was the one thing I was sort of dreading - having peg 16 drawn for me; because it can be very good indeed, but I've always done badly on it. So when when the 12 of us stood there at the draw, on the banks of Yew, with a beautiful strong wind rippling the surface, I would have been happy with any of the other pegs. But gradually they went, accompanied by "Oohhs" or "Urrrghs" and then: "Mac Campbell" (fumble in the other bag) "Sixteen."

"Best peg on the lake" said Peter Spriggs. Mind you, he'll tell everybody that their peg is the best on the lake, except that in this case he was probably right. It certainly looked to be the best peg in our match, held on the East bank from 30 in the top corner down to 16 in the bottom corner, into which the wind was blowing. And if my memory is correct Peter has won from there more than once.

Then, after the main draw out came the Golden Peg. "Sixteen", and I immediately said "That's a roll-over then". It wasn't false modesty - I honestly had no confidence that I could find fish where I had failed several times before.  Pressure? Actually, no. Because even before I had got to me swim I had completely forgotten that I was Golden Peg. A penalty of getting old...

Corner peg 16 on Yew - no nice long margins, but the wind was right into the corner.

As regular readers will have worked out, I am putting more and more faith in casters, and use them if I am unsure how to start a match. But I put up a feeder rod, as well as two shallow kits - one for caster and one for pellet - as well as two general rigs and a heavier one for stuff life cat meat. The wind was slightly into this bank, from the left, and it got stronger as the match went on, with two or three really powerful gusts, that threatened to blow anything that wasn't pegged down, along the bank.

What a start!
I had taken a few casters out the previous day, to allow them to harden, because if the caster is too soft the band will burst it. It was a key bait for me.  But to my horror I realised I had left the tin at home. So I took some of the darkest casters out, left them in the sun, and decided to try a maggot in the band. The hooter went and I flicked out a few casters, to see how far they would go in the wind. They went out to about six metres.

Out went my banded maggot, about 18 inches deep, and I picked up the catapult to flick out a load for my first proper feed. Before I could do that, though, the pole arched round as a fish took my bait, and 15 seconds after the match started I was playing a 10 lb carp! I could hardly believe it. But, with that fish safely in the net, I went out again.

Mel Lutkin was next to me and must have taken most of his
69 lb 3 oz catch in the first half of the match.

Seconds later the same thing happened, except that this fish came off. Next drop the same thing happened, except that this fish broke the 7 lb hooklength. Five minutes later a 4 lb carp came in, and after a short pause so did another. When the wind was not too strong I was able to flick out casters with my left hand, and when the wind got stronger I used the catapult. Now I was confident enough to put on a dark caster, that didn't burst, and drop it right in the middle of the feed. But for the next half hour nothing happened.

Change of elastic
Then I hooked a fish and it pulled off, and I changed from the green Matrix Slik 16-18 down to a 10-12. It was a good move, as the next fish must have been 15 lb and after its initial run it came in almost like a lamb. Keeping the short, stiff, top down low saw the fish rise slowly to the surface and drift right into my landing net. 

On Decoy, and on many waters,  few of us dare use light elastics like that when we are fishing every peg, in case a fish runs through our neighbour's swim, and this can easily happen with foulhookers. On this occasion I was lucky, so I kept using that elastic and a few minutes later an eight-pounder came in. After another biteless spell I then had a look in the margin with corn.

Fish on corn
Although I had spent several minutes cutting back reeds to my right, so I could get a better look at the margin, it wasn't perfect. So I dropped in on a top two with corn. I had this rig on a normal top two with a 20 Middy elastic in. Within a minute I had a 4 lb fish in the net, and soon after that a six-pounder. But then nothing. So I had a look a little farther out, and closer to the corner, where the water was about a foot deeper, and where I remembered I had caught fish (though not a lot!) on a previous occasion.

Dave Garner, on 21, taking his nets out at the end. Look at how
the reeds are being bent back by the wind, which never let up all day.

I wouldn't dare use the lighter elastic this close to the bank, as all the banks here are undercut, and a lot of the fish try to dive under it. 

That swim farther out produced several what looked like liners; but if I waited, sometimes the float would stay under and it would result in a fish. After a couple of six-pounders here I had to shake hands with my best friend, and then wandered up to see Mel and John, on 17 and 18. Mel was unhooking a near-double-figure carp, and so was John. Looked like I had some competition. But Mel said he had just five, and John said he had about 50 lb, while I thought I had about 70 lb.

I bring out the big guns
Back to my swim, and I realised that the liners were coming as the bait was falling; holding it a few inches off bottom also produced liners. But once it had fallen to the bottom it took a long time to get a bite. A bunch of maggots brought two tiny perch (one of which dropped off) so I brought out my big guns - mussels, which waft enticingly as they fall, and are light enough to move about when on the bottom if a fish disturbs them. First drop and in came a fish that must have been around 18 lb! That went into my third net.

Reeds kept collecting in the corner all day, so there was no
chance of my being able to fish right in the corner, though I
strongly suspected that there would be plenty of fish there by the end.

A fish snagged me about four metres out right in front of the keepnets, but as I got up to get my long hook and try to get the rig back it somehow extricated itself. It turned out to be a 3 lb barbel. Another carp also momentarily snagged me there before coming out, and after that I added an extra section to the pole to keep the fish away from that spot. It worked, as no others snagged me, but it was a bit hairy. 

Fish in the corner?

I stayed mainly with mussel, though one fish came to cat meat, and the carp were mainly 10 lb or more, smallest 7 lb. They didn't come quickly, and I needed to put in a big pot of micros, hemp, corn and two mussels cut in half before each fish. But I had one perhaps every 15 minutes, and soon started on my fourth net.

I got the feeling that there were fish under the rubbish that was collecting in the corner, and occasionally a fish would rise up and suck the floating reeds. But there was no point in trying to hook all the reeds out, as I thought the fish would probably move, away, and in any case the wind was blowing new stuff into the corner all the time. So I carried on about eight feet from the bank, in the deeper water. I knew there fish were still there as occasionally I would prick a fish as I lifted out the rig.

A fifth net

With 25 minutes to go I had yet another double-figure fish, this time a beautiful common, on mussel, and had to go back to the van for a fifth net. The club now allows 60 lb in a net, but we still aim for 50 lb - after all someone has to lift the net out at the end. I had about 40 lb on all my clickers, but if that last net had contained 45 lb and I landed another 15 lb-plus fish that would bring it up to 60 lb and the whole net would be disqualified, so I simply had to fetch another.

Jason Lee fished with us as a guest, and took 109 lb 3 oz. 
At the end he lifted my nets to the scales for me.

I keep two in a stink net bag, but it still took over ten minutes to walk the 15 pegs, return, and make room for a fifth net on the keepnet bar. Unfortunately this swim doesn't have easy access to the bank where I could have staked one of the used nets, so I shifted them along as best I could, having to leave a small gap somewhere to allow me to lift the fish up and out to unhook it. When I got home I worked out a better system...

I know Peter Spriggs can get five of the shorter two-metre nets in his bag, but I don't fancy buying a whole new set when I have nine or ten already. Decisions...decisions...

After putting in the new net I sat for ten minutes without a bite. Then, with five minutes left, I hooked a big fish and played it for a couple of minutes, knowing it was probably my last one, before it came off!!! That keeps happening to me - losing the last fish. I did a proper Victor Meldrew, unable to believe it had happened yet again. But by instinct I put on a piece of mussel and dropped it in more in hope than expectation.

Seconds later the float dived away and I was playing what really was my last fish. Seconds after that the hooter went and I shouted (loud, so Mel who was upwind of me could hear it): "Fish on!" A minute later Mel shouted "It's over, Mac". Bugga me, he must be as deaf as I am. But he realised immediately that I was still playing the fish😀. It went into that fifth net, on its own, and we later weighed it at 11 lb 9 oz. 

Peter Spriggs was top weight in the first eight pegs.

The weigh-in
Ben Townsend has said in one of his videos that he leaves his nets on his box when he has several, rather than trying to attach them to the bank, because he has seen too many anglers get back to their peg to find that one of their nets has gone for a swim. The banks at the moment are like concrete anyway, so I left the nets basically in position on my box until the scales came.

At the other end, which was the calmest, Dave Hobbs on 28 had 42 lb 1 oz and it immediately began to look as if the fish had followed the wind down. Peter Spriggs on 26 winkled out 112 lb 6 oz - but he could catch fish in a bucket of concrete! 

Next to him Kevin Lee, who has won our club championship more times than anyone else, had 86 lb 4 oz on the next peg. I had assumed that he would probably have an enormous catch, as he's had several 200 lb-plus bags in the last few years and these were ideal conditions for him to fish his favourite cat meat. He knew I had five nets in and asked whether I had beaten my personal best, which is about 221 lb, but I said I definitely didn't have 200 lb.

John Smith's best bait was double cat meat. He ended with 140 lb.

Bob Allen, back with us after a short sabbatical, had 133 lb 12 oz on 20, a peg he said at the start he had fancied. Indeed those pegs around 20 have tended to be the most consistent, so Bob had made a good call there. Down to John Smith, who had his best spell when he tried double cat meat, and he ended with 140 lb, having had hardly a fish in the last hour.

Last to weigh

One of my best fish  - it must have been around 18 lb.

I was last to weigh, and after that last 11 lb 9 oz fish on its own, the next net, which I had clicked at 40 lb, went nearly 55 lb. Another was 52 lb, and the last two 44 lb and 42 lb - leaving my total as 204 lb 14 oz. So I ended as the winner, and was last off the bank because I had left my nets on the box. As I was almost ready to take my trolley back, Kev came down with my winnings, and the Golden Peg money which I had forgotten about. A good peg, but you've still got to catch 'em. Happy days.

After that long, hot walk back to the van I was refreshed by tea in Judy's Cafe - the best cup of tea for miles around.

Next match on Elm on Thursday, If the wind stays with South in it I'd choose from peg 8 onwards, down to 12, or back on the opposite bank to 17. But honestly I'm happy just being able to get out on the bank.

PS. A majority of members present at last week's match voted that the Fenland Rods match on Sun, July 30 will no longer be a waggler-only match. It will be a normal match.

THE RESULT

28 Dave Hobbs            42 lb 1 oz
27 Dick Warrener        54 lb 10 oz
26 Peter Spriggs        112 lb 6 oz           4th
25 Kevin Lee                86 lb 4 oz
24 Jason Lee             109 lb 3 oz
23 Mick Rawson         85 lb 1 oz
22 Allan Golightly      48 lb 11 oz
21 Dave Garner         53 lb 2 oz
20 Bob Allen             133 lb 12 oz        3rd
18 John Smith           140 lb                  2nd
17 Mel Lutkin             69 lb 3 oz
16 Mac Campbell     204 lb 14 oz         1st

Still casting around with casters...on Beastie, Decoy

Peg 30, Wed, June 21
Happy with peg 30 in this 11-entry Spratts match, entry down because of holidays. I'd read a bit by Carp attack in the Maggot Drowners forum, who kindly messaged me about how he won last Sunday on 30 with 237 lb...and then Trevor Cousins draws it for me! My only reservation was that now the wind has turned around to roughly South-Westerly, pegs 26, 29 and 30 were pretty calm and, apart from a short shower, the sun was bright almost all day.

But it was very pleasant - not too hot, and I never put up the feeder rods. I started in the right margin, which is five feet or more deep, with corn and quickly took a 1 lb F1 and two carp of 3 lb and 4 lb. But inevitably bites tailed off, so I put in a little hemp and micros in the left margin, just in front of the grassy point, and immediately a 2 lb bream came to cat meat, but then no more. One of the anglers from the Telford Festival said that the previous day the angler on this peg had had only 42 lb, but he hadn't fished his right margin, which is deeper, at all. I've always found here that the left produces, usually, late on, so went back to the right.

The SW wind meant that on pegs 29 and 30 (and poor Joe on 26) we didn't have much ripple

The occasional fish was showing on the surface, but they were swimming quite fast, and all but two ignored my attempt at mugging them - and one of those, about 8 lb, was foulhooked!

Tom Edwards' video
I remember seeing a video by Tom Edwards on this peg, catching shallow in the right margin, so I had a go with banded caster, and indeed some F1s came in, but never fast enough. I think the surface was just too calm, and they took fright too easily when one was hooked. So after  quick look back in the left margin I went out to five sections with caster, hoping to catch a little ripple, fished shallow. At this point John Garner on 29 said he had 26 lb and I said I had about 35 lb. 

Casters to the rescue
Now I started to really enjoy banded caster fished shallow, as I had a fish first drop, and kept nicking others - including several bream, fishing 18 inches deep, to 3 lb. A couple of carp of around 3 lb came in, but it was mainly bream and F1s. Again I managed to be fairly accurate using the catapult in my left hand. 

With two hours to go I should probably have had another look down to the left, but I was enjoying it so much I stayed out until bites tailed off a little, and I reckon I had around 40 lb in my best hour. I was surprised to catch so well, because there was ripple for just a few minutes when the wind swung round to Westerly, but the rest of the time it was almost flat calm.

John Garner on my left was hidden behind a bush, but I kept seeing
his landing net emerge, and brought back with something splashing in it.

I got on better when I reduced the lash from three feet to about a foot, which seemed to somehow give me an inkling when a better fish was on the bait. Even so, for every ten bites I missed (mainly roach and rudd) I would hit just one carp or F1. The trick was go get the bait right in the middle of eight or ten loose-fed casters. Then the carp would have a go.

Back to the left margin

With 50 minutes left I tore myself away from the shallow swim, and dropped in meat to the left margin, on a top two. A carp about 7 lb came in first drop, but the bites here were never really quick. Mussel produced two or three more, as did double corn, and with ten minutes to go I had added about six fish. Then when I thought I should really start nagging everything went belly up, and no more bites came for five minutes. Then - a bite and I hooked a big fish, which came off just before the match ended. I seem to make a habit of losing my last fish recently...😞

Bob Barrett took all his 69 ln 9 oz on a feeder on peg 5.

I have only five short tops, and the last rig, for the left margin, was on a normal two-section top. The difference in how you play the fish was astounding - the short tops really do seem to scare the fish less, because they don't bend, and I was able to land the bigger fish on these in about a third of the time it took on the longer, bendier tops.

The weigh in
Joe was first to weigh, just 23 lb 7 oz, and when I saw his swim later I really felt for him - like a mill pond! John Garner had had a good last hour with better fish in his right margin, and weighed in 91 lb 14 oz. I thought I probably had 110 lb from my clickers - 35 lb, 35 lb and 40 lb.. 

When my first net was pulled from the water Trevor told me, as he looked at it, that Peter Harrison had had a net disqualified from the previous match because it had gone over 60 lb, and he sounded very stern. Not a good omen, and some thought this net would also go over.

Peter Harrison - second with123 lb 15 oz, also on a feeder.

What do they know? It weighed a little under 55 lb, knocked back to 50 lb, but at least it counted. Next net was also over, but by less than 2 lb. And the last net, started about an hour before the end, went 46 lb 4 oz - total (even I could add that lot up) was 146 lb 4 oz. And that stayed in the lead up to Peter Harrison on 4, who had had a good day casting a feeder to the island, and ending up using three nets. But his 123 lb 15 oz didn't beat me, and we went round to the other side, where the pegs were in the 20s.

Here Trevor Cousins had stuck to his shallow rigs all day - on a pellet waggler over a little feed well out, and on a pole with no feed, for mugging fish, when they came close in. He's so good at that. He's also a lot better at estimating his weight than I am, and never went over in any of his three nets, totalling 96 lb 4 oz.  So I ended as the winner. A good peg, but the secret of match fishing (like poker) is to make the best of any luck that comes your way.

Trevor Cousins' best fish. He has, of course, an advantage over us -
he brings his wife to every match. Looks like she's keeping her eye on him here!

Next match Sunday on Yew, which holds mainly biggish carp. I will be taking my trusty casters with me, but suspect that the wind will decide where most fish are caught. I don't really mind where I draw, so long as there's a raspberry ripple!

FINALLY, for my mates who ask about my health, I've had some good news, and some bad. The good news is that the nasty-looking black place in my mouth discovered by my dentist appears to have vanished. The consultant at Addebrookes can't offer an explanation, but he says there's just nothing there now!

However, an examination, also at Addenbrookes, on the previous day, has revealed a large amount of calcium in the bladder, around the prostate, and because I have only one kidney the consultant immediately asked for an urgent operation. In fact the pre-assessment appointment was on my computer by the time I had arrived home from the hospital. I had a similar operation (a TURPS) 20 years ago, but this one looks as if it will be a bit more complicated.

More good news is that the anemia, probably caused by coeliac disease (the reason I have had to go non-gluten) seems to have righted itself. That's my own conclusion, from the results of the complicated blood tests, which my consultant will hopefully verify when I speak to him in August.

THE RESULT

2 Mike Rawson             18 lb 10 oz
3 Bob Allen                   28 lb 12 oz
4 Peter Harrison          123 lb 15 oz        2nd
5 Bob Barrett                69 lb 8 oz
21 Mick Ramm            34 lb 2 oz
22 Peter Spriggs           73 lb 4 oz
23 Dave Hobbs            55 lb 6 oz
24 Trevor Cousins       96 lb 4 oz          3rd
26 Joe Bedford            23 lb 7 oz
29 John Garner            91 lb 14 oz        4th
30 Mac Campbell      145 lb 4 oz          1st

Rookery Over 55s Festival result

 I didn't fish the three-day Over 55s Festival on Magpie, Raven and Crow at Rookery Fishery, but here are the full results: Sections were 6 or 7 anglers, with section points counting, and biggest weight if tied...

FINAL RESULT 

DAY 1 MAGPIE

DAY 1 RAVEN 

DAY 1 CROW 

 

DAY 2 MAGPIE 

DAY 2 RAVEN 

DAY 2 CROW 

DAY 3 MAGPIE 

 

DAY 3 RAVEN 

DAY 3 CROW 

 

Good teamwork in the extreme heat on Magpie, Pidley

Peg 11, Magpie, Sunday, June 11
I seems a long time ago, and I've been away, but Yes, I Remember It Well! The hottest day of the year - 29 in the shade and goodness knows what in the sun; it must have been nearly 50. It was the Fenland Rods drawn pairs match, and although I didn't realise it until afterwards, I was in a section of five on the main bank and two on the island (which is where I would have liked to be myself, 'cos they tend to be very consistent).

But I had an Ace up my sleeve - a plan! Based on Ben Townsend's videos on fishing meat, it involved fishing meat for 20 minutes on any piece of hard bottom I could find away from the margins; then shallow with occasional drops back onto the meat swim, which I would feed lightly but consistently, to get the now-suicidal carp lining up.

My peg 11 had a little shelter from the sun for the first hour, but after
that it was hotter than a hot frying pan of oil on the hottest fire in Hell
(apologies to Baldrick and Black Adder).

My partner was Callum Judge, on peg 4. He's had some good results lately, but optimist that I am, I couldn't see us beating Kev Lee on 34, on the island, and Peter Spriggs on 2, who had been drawn together. Still a day's fishing is better than, well, almost anything else!!! Isn't it?

Plan B already!
I found a hardish bottom a few metres out, to one side, and after the allotted 20 minutes hadn't had a bite, which was hardly surprising in the heat. The wind was only light, and never really came over our swims - though the ducks compensated by thrashing around from time to time. So it should have then been out, shallow. I had casters with me, and duly put some out - close to the side!!! Plan B was in operation already.

The trouble was that Kev Beavis had told me that the match the previous day had been won on here with about 260 lb fishing shallow, and another 170 lb was taken from around peg 8 using casters in the margins. The water looked so dead that I simply hadn't got any confidence in fishing long while I could see the occasional fish moving around close in. Fish were also spawning to my left.

Almost opposite me on the island, Kevin Lee was amusing
himself on peg 34 catching little fish like this!

Two fish from the deeps
On my right Allan Golightly hooked four fish in the first 13 minutes, landing two, all from the deep margin. So that was where I fed my casters, to the left - not in the shallow water, but over about four feet, fishing a banded caster from 12 to 18 inches deep. And I had nothing!

After an hour I had a look with cat meat in the deep margin to the right, because I thought Allan was probably using cat meat - he told me afterwards he was on pellet(!) Eventually a 2 lb F1 came in, and at that time John Smith and Martin, to my left on 13 and 14, also said they had one fish each. Then a cube of luncheon meat took a 4 lb carp from the same swim. 

Two hours gone - two fish. Opposite I saw Kev Lee landing a carp, but I was too concentrated on my own swim to see him catch any more. If I had looked up more often I would eventually have seen him bagging from peg 34 (regarded as the second-best or third-best swim on the lake in Summer and Winter). 

Back on plan A
I concentrated back on the meat swim, adding hemp, and now started to get bites, and in the next hour took about four or five carp.  Liners showed that fish were moving there, and since they came every time I put in a few cubes I knew they were at least interested in the bait. But debris - twigs and floating reeds - which was drifting slowly over from the island started to pile up in the nice-looking shallow margin each side of the platform, and put paid to fishing there. It also kept knocking my float out of position in the meat swim, and I started to get reet fed oop.

Nice to have Kevin Beavis back again as a guest, and he
 can still catch fish, as well as bowl to County level;.

Caster to the rescue

I felt that perhaps fish would now start to feed, and I had a real go at fishing caster shallow, at 13 metres. Within five minutes I had a fish, which hooked itself, and that gave me so much confidence. I found I was catapulting out caster reasonably accurately, and I was getting bites - not quickly, but every few minutes. I had about eight or nine fish like that, mainly 6 lb-plus, and really enjoyed it. I had to drop the banded caster straight down into the falling casters to get the quickest bite - casting around or targetting fish didn't work. About 20 minutes from the end two or three pulled off. Perhaps they were getting wary.

Literally a minute before the end I hooked another good fish, and after 20 seconds it pulled off, and before I could recast the match ended. I wondered whether it might have cost me something? What was really annoying was that about five minutes before the end the debris had started to drift away from the shallow margins, where I (and many others on my bank, no doubt), had hoped to find some of those last-ditch monsters.

End of the match and debris which had covered my margin swim (and others nearby) was drifting back out!

The weigh-in

I was so very hot, and took my time packing away, but John Smith was suffering much more, while Mel Lutkin had to sit in the car rather than wait for his fish to be weighed in. The sun had ben unrelenting all day, and six hours is a long time to swelter, though I take a one-litre bottle of frozen orange juice - a tip from Darren Cox. The hotter the sun the faster it thaws. I had drunk almost all of it, and still had a couple of non-frozen bottles of water if I had needed them. Drink (even if the water is hot) is key.

Mike Rawson (left), in a sensible hat which shades his neck, watches the weigh-in.

On end peg 14 Martin Parker had found fish on a slow-sink bomb. It's a method we used when practicing on Makins Fishery a few years ago, and I know Bob Barret uses it on Decoy. Martin totalled 46 lb 9 oz, most of which came towards the end I think. John had 37 lb  15 oz, and I wasn't sure what I had. We follow the fishery rule of three nets with the catch split, and it's lovely no to have to use a clicker. though I had four nets with me, and four more in the van, in case of a huge catch.

I had about 16 fish, including a 4 oz rudd, for 82 lb 13 oz, and was surprised that Allan Golightly, who I thought, by the amount of splashing in his swim, had me well beaten, had only 39 lb 8 oz. I say "only", but in that heat every fish landed was a real success in my book; after all we are only club anglers. 

Nice one, pardner
Round to Callum, and he really backed me up by having 98 lb 11 oz, taken very close in. Peter Spriggs had 73 lb 7 oz, and clearly the result would hang on what the four anglers on the island had, because Peter's partner was Kevin on 34.

Callum, my partner, did me proud by taking runner-up spot.

Shaun Buddle was very disappointed with his 64 lb 7 oz on 28, while Dave Hobbs had 61 lb 8 oz and Dick Warrener, who had forgotten his bait and had to rely on what Shaun and others gave him (I had plenty in the van he could have had) had a nightmare with just five fish. I was second up to now; but Kevin Lee had taken real advantage of a good peg, catching fish down the side beside the piling, for a magnificent 172 lb and the win, leaving me third.

At this point we found out the complete section draw - I, John  and Martin, were with the island four, and I had come second to Kevin. Meanwhile Callum had topped the rest of the main bank, so we had three points. Kevin had topped my section, but his partner Peter had come second on the main bank; total also three points but with a better total weight. Well done Kev and Peter for the win. And well done Callum for securing second place for us. Third was the pairing of Dave Garner and Shaun Buddle.

Pairs result - the team totals are on the far right. 

Actually, well done everybody for surviving the day!!

Next match next week on Beastie, Decoy. I expect to have a few casters with me, so look out, carp! I'm on a caster roll...

Latest Spratts match result on Damson also below...

Individual results on Magpie

1 Mel Lutkin                 51 lb 9 oz
2 Peter Spriggs             73 lb 7 oz                           4th
4 Callum Judge            98 lb 11 oz (nice one!)      2nd
5 Kevin Beavis            51 lb 8 oz
7 Mike Rawson           19 lb 12 oz
8 Dave Garner             55 lb 14 oz
10 Allan Golightly      39 lb 8 oz
11 Mac Campbell        82 lb 13 oz                    3rd
13 John Smith             37 lb 15 oz
14 Martin Parker         46 lb 9 oz
28 Shaun Buddle        64 lb 7 oz
30 Dave Hobbs           61 lb 8 oz
32 Dick Warrener       15 lb 8 oz (fished 31)
34 Kevin Lee            172 lb and a few ounces (Mel's got the results sheet)  1st

Spratts match on Damson, Decoy (Tuesday)

1 Bob Barrett            103 lb 13 oz        2nd

2 Trevor Cousins      103 lb 3 oz          3rd

3 Peter Spriggs           72 lb 13 oz

4 Bob Allen                65 lb 2 oz

5 Joe Bedford             21 lb 5 oz

6 Dick Warrener        67 lb 2 oz

7 Dave Hobbs         100 lb 8 oz          4th

8 Wendy Bedford      23 lb 12 oz

9 John Garner           53 lb 10 oz

10 Mick Ramm        53 lb 1 oz

11 Peter Harrison     79 lb 5 oz

12 Neil Paas           110 lb 7 oz            1st

13 Martin Parker      72 lb 8 oz

14 Mike Rawson        DNW