All good things come to an end on Oak

Peg 14, Oak, Sunday, June 16

The message was clear - You're Toast!

After 13 frames in a row, in club matches, I was told, by my breakfast, that things were going to alter for this Fenland Rods match. Yes. By my breakfast! Things are coming to something when your toast starts making faces at you...

I was happy enough to be fishing anywhere on Oak, on the lovely new strong, metal, non-slip platforms. And I had a plan. Actually that's a kiss of death for me, 'cos it hardly ever works. But I sallied down to my peg 14, next to the corner, (taking my trolley on the opposite side of the lake, because heavy rain and hail had stirred up some mud on the West bank), full of optimism.

A refugee on peg 12
I  had a refugee on my right, on peg 12. Steve Tilsley was a refugee from JVAC, who were fishing Willows that motning. It's not that Steve, fishing as a guest of Mike Rawson, doesn't like Willows - it's that Willows doesn't appear to like him! On my immediate left, on 15, sat Martin Parker. Now Martin is a former Vets National Champ, and Steve is a former European Police Champ, and I reckon that sealed my fate. There was a gap of about 60 yards to Kev Lee on peg 9, which might or might not, be important.

The wind was behind us, leaving not much ripple on our side of the lake.

First cast on a Method feeder with a wafter, cast towards the far bank, saw me watch Steve catch a big carp on a pole at about 6 metres, while I sat gloomily waiting for even a line bite, which never came. When I lifted the rod to bring it back it was stuck. Some frantic pulling and jiggling about saw the feeder come free from the mud it which it appeared to be stuck, and I went onto the pole.

My float looked great
Eleven metres out, and the float sat there beautifully. Steve had another big fish or two on the pole and changed to a bomb and pellet and immediately caught more fish. My float still sat there beautifully. Basking in the sun. Meanwhile Martin had two or three big fish on a pole, and my float sat there beautifully, until it dived under, and up came 1 lb F1. Small fare compared to the double-figure fish either side of me.

After  catching on a pole Steve Tilsley went on to a bomb and pellet and caught straight away.

A carp

I'd been flicking casters out and now went on to a banded caster fished shallow. Up came a 1 oz roach! And about an hour later a carp at last - around 10 lb. But halfway through the match Steve must have had at least a dozen, on pole and bomb, and Martin four or five.

Martin had a least four fish before I had my first.

The margins disappoint

Two hours to go, and after fishing bomb and pellet for a long time, without even a liner, I came into the side, to the right, at roughly the same time as Steve, who was sitting absolutely parallel to the bank, so I did the same, dropping my bait in right against the tins, where fish started swirling after I put in hemp. Nothing! Yet Steve was now catching really well, as was Kev Lee - it seemed that every time I peered round to look at him he was landing a fish.

Another good-un for Martin Parker, on peg 15 in the corner.

The penny drops!
It took a long time for the penny to drop - Steve was fishing a three-foot lash, dropping in his paste a metre from the tins, and holding his pole against them , so it wasn't over the top of the fish. So I went out a little farther, and managed to find three fish there on cat meat and mussel, before coming in to the really deep water to my left, where I found two good carp in two drops, and another hooked on mussel seconds before the end of the match, which I landed. My total was the roach, the F1, and eight carp approaching double-figures. 

Steve had another two or three on bomb and pellet, and had a poor last 45 minutes. But I knew I had been thrashed. Martin appeared to have also beaten me, especially when he landed two tench in the last few minutes of the match.

The weigh-in

Kevin Lee's best fish was weighed at 16 lb 9 oz.

You wouldn't want to see a grown man cry, so I will summarise it by saying that there were two weights over 90 lb at the far end, and Kevin totalled 193 lb, including his best which we weighed at 16 lb 9 oz. I thought that Steve had probably beaten that, but he came agonisingly short with 190 lb 13 oz.

That dwarfed my 72 lb 15 oz, but I then had a nice surprise when Martin, who I thought had me well beat, weighed in just 69 lb, leaving me fifth out of the ten. A small compensation for ending my run of framing places was winning my three-peg section by default.

Marks out of ten
Steve told me that when he turned to his left, facing me, to fish the margins, he never had a single fish - all the margin fish came from his right. So perhaps that long gap between Steve and Kevin was a factor in their big catches. I felt that putting some casters into the margins, with the hemp and corn, did perhaps hold some fish, but I didn't try worm or paste, which I should have. 

Steve Tilsley  with part of his 190 lb.

Martin's last two fish were tench. 
Good to see them still in the lake.

With the big carp averaging 9 lb (four fish in the weigh bag typically weighed 36 lb) I needed only three more to come third (sort of Best Of The Rest). And I had a feeling that I should have been able to do that. So I give myself just 5/10. At least I stuck it out and never stopped concentrating. Next match was on Damson the next day, when I thought that peg 13, in the far corner, would be a good draw. Time would tell...

PS. The gap between 9 and 12 came about because we had a last-minute withdrawal. Dave Hobbs had to go to the hospital, where his daughter gave birth to a boy just two hours after arriving. I am happy to report that all is well! 😀 It is Dave's fifth granchild.

So there were eleven peg in the bag for the ten of us, and it was 11 that was not drawn.