It was raining heavily while I drove to Decoy for this Spratts match, but by the time we drew for pegs only a few spots were coming down. However, two potential competitors had called off because of the likely poor weather. In the event it wasn't too bad - this area is the driest in the UK, and so often the main forecasts speak of awful weather, while all we get is a watered-down version. (Wonder what a watered-down version of a rainstorm is!)
So peg 15 was my home for the day. Not one I would have chosen, because last time I fished it, the bank to my left was alive with spawning carp, which is not surprising since it's the shallowest part of the lake. And when I plumbed up I couldn't find more than 36 inches anywhere (my top was marked out in inches), while the margins were less than 12 inches. But sometimes that's where the fish are towards the end of the match. I would have chosen somewhere from peg 8 round to 12, though today there was East in the wind, which was blowing from that end up towards me.
The rain was now falling again, so I put up my brolly, as did most, but Peter Harrison didn't. He's a farmer, so used to being out in all weathers. He was on 17, round the corner in front of me. I could see him easily, and he was Golden Peg. Although ripple sometimes showed, for some reason the first eight metres of my swim were calm almost all day, though the water had a good colour, so it probably wasn't important.
 |
| This was taken at the end of the match, when the rain had almost stopped. Peter Harrison is in brown, on the left, opposite the island. |
It was a good start for me - within two minutes I was playing a 4 lb carp taken on an expander out at about 8 metres, in the deepest area I could find, out towards my right in front of the bush. What a start. But in the next 40 minutes all I could catch were a tiny carp and two small F1s.
It's awkward for a right-hander to fish out to the right, so I tried in front of me, where it was a few inches shallower, but much easier to fish. Fished hard for half an hour, and never had a touch. So back to the first swim, and I started to get an occasional liner, which knocked the expander off, so I put on a shop-bought pellet (something I rarely use) and that brought another F1 and a roach. Meanwhile Peter Harrison had had several fish out on a longish pole, and seemed to be having to add a section or two to keep in touch with the fish. Opposite me Peter Spriggs was already fishing the margins., so I guessed he was struggling.
I'd been flicking casters out to my left only a meter or so from the bank, where the deepest water started, so after 90 minutes I had a try shallow, with caster. That brought several bites which I missed, so I assumed they were roach. Then two nice F1s came in, but no more fish - just good bites which I missed. Then I saw some nice carp come to the swim, but had no bites from them.
Lots of big carp were showing in the lake, and several times I flicked a caster or a piece of corn, or a pellet, to them. In every case they immediately turned away. By the time two hours had passed some started showing in the margin to my left right against the bank (the right margin was very short, as the bush was only a top-two to my right). They were coming to the surface and playing around, but not actually splashing. I suspect they were almost at the point of wanting to spawn, but the rain had probably cooled the water down just vthat fraction, and they couldn't manage it.
Three and a quarter hours had gone when I phoned my Dearly Beloved We Are Gathered Here Together, to report in, and I had six or seven fish, with just 11 lb on the clicker. Then I saw Peter Harrison fishing along his margin, obviously with paste, and catching a fish or two. I saw that he had the paste in his pole pot as he shipped out, and the float was hanging over three feet below his pole tip. That told me his margin was at least three feet deep, so I went back out in the deepest water I could find, where I had started.
That move was good - in the next half hour I had another F1 or three, but I couldn't resist trying the swim where I had been putting caster, with corn. I had only two or three fish from there, but a couple were 'proper' carp around 4 lb, so then I tried near the bush, to my right, in about two feet of water, and that brought a fouhhooked carp which set off like an express train and broke me. Sport was really very slow. I had seen Peter Spriggs lose one fish that splashed a long way from him, so I assumed it was foulhooked, and another which pinged off as he was about to net it. If Peter is struggling, then it's probably hard for most, I thought.
 |
| That bush was only a top-two away from me, and I couldn't see 93-year-old Joe Beford on next peg 13. It was shallow close to the bank, but came good in the last hour. |
At this point I brought out a rig I had made specially for this match - a strong version of my special method rig, though it had a size 14 hook on it instead of the usual 12. That was simply because I had packed my stuff in the van and couldn't find any strong size 12s without getting the box out of the van!
On went cat meat into a spot near the bush where I had had liner or two, and down it went, and I was playing a six-pounder. In the next hour I had about five more good carp to about 9 lb, and a 3 lb F1, from that area, and a two or three more from the lefthand swim, on cat meat and mussel, with one on corn on a lighter version of my special rig. The rig allows me to avoid striking at liners, which is a huge bonus on days like this. Every fish hooked fought really hard, but I sill got them in fairly quickly on that 14 hook. That session with Ben Townsend practising landing fish has definitely paid off.
 |
| Shaun Buddle on peg 18 had mainly small fish, but a great start, with around 35 lb in the first hour. |
As happens so often, I landed the last one, about 8 lb, seconds before the match ended. They had by then really rocked up in the margins. But I hadn't fed much - about a quarter of a tin of hemp, less than half tin of corn, one tin of cat meat, and a few 6mm and 8mm pellets. I think that helped me foulhook only two fish all day, and I didn't foulhook any in that last hour. I started a third net 15 minutes from the end, though with only a clicked 35 lb in the second net, it was a precaution against landing a monster (as happened last year when I had a fish of well over 15 lb in the landing net, which fell through a hole in the net, bounced off the platform, and landed back in the lake).
At the end Shaun said he had 80 lb-ish, and I said I probably had 90 lb.
As always I was last to completely pack up, but Trevor is brilliant, and doesn't rush to weigh in, which gives us time to follow the scales, and in my case, to take a few pictures. I arrived in time to see Peter Spriggs weigh in 84 lb 12 oz, which was top weight at that point. But Neil Paas, who always catches fish, beat that in corner peg 9 with 131 lb 15 oz, for the win. He started catching on pellets a few metres out but had the bulk of his fish on mussel in both margins. A clasic example of a good angler on a good peg. Sort of serves me right for being the first in the club to start using mussels (and telling everybody), after being told about them by former Angling Times man Peter Maskell! 😞
 |
| Wendy Bedford with the best fish from her 34 lb 7 oz, all taken on a feeder. Brother-in-law Joe (93) looks on. |
My first net went 37 lb 9 oz, but the second was a few ounces over 50 lb, and they were knocked off (the ounces, not the fish). The last three fish went 13 lb 7 oz - total 101 lb. Peter Harrison must have had a poor ending, as I know he was way ahead of me at one point - 79 lb 11 oz. And Shaun Buddle, after his good start, could manage only 92 lb 14 oz, so I ended second.
I decided to use only short tops, and (of course) the short cupping top, and to not use the feeder rod. Apart from getting up once to adjust the guy ropes for the brolly (and another to shake hands with my best friend) I was able to sit all day, and not have to fiddle around getting extra baits and tops out. To be honest I thought for a long time that the bites I missed were caused by roach, so I deliberately didn't use maggots or worms, as roach and perch tend to grab hold of the ends. So I kept to pellet early on, which normally avoids attracting roach; but I still had bites which I thought were liners.
 |
| Bob Barrett, former top darts player, was last man to weigh. |
So I give myself 9/10 because I honestly don't think I had a particularly good swim, but I got as much out of it as I could reasonably expect on the day, particularly that last hour, when I must have had 60 lb. Next match Sunday on Kingsland small carp lake, where the problem in recent years has been to avoid the pesky 2 oz carp. I will consult my blog to see what I did last time. I will probably be using the full-length top twos, which give me that extra yard or two of elastic, in case any really big fish turn up. I'd like a corner peg.
 |
| Winner Neil Paas took his fish mainly on mussel. |
THE RESULT
4 Dave Hobbs 48 lb 12 oz
No comments:
Post a Comment