Looked like I was the only person at our Fenland Rods draw who hadn't heard the storm during the night (didn't even realise the wife had got up and shut the windows letting in the driving rain). And the rain and wind had followed us, putting a big Raspberry Ripple on our swims on Crow. I'd decided to fish luncheon meat all day, barring a calamity like it not working! But it did.
This was our handicap match, with Kevin Lee, next to me on 16, fishing from scratch and the rest of us having a percentage of our catch added at the end. Our attendance had been reduced, with three on holiday, one having stomach problems on the day, and two-and-a-half injured. The odd half came about because Wendy Bedford, cleaning windows at 6.30 am (!) had a fall and can still hardly walk. Wendy traditionally goes fishing with her brother-in-law Joe, and they help each other and share a trolley, so although Joe (happy 94th birthday, Joe) was not injured himself, neither came.
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| By the end of the match the wind had (of course!) died down a bit. |
I was on the £50 Golden Peg, and was happy that very early on I found fish there, on a 1 gm float, though it wasn't fast, and the fish were F1s a little less than 2 lb each. After about an hour-and-a-half I had about 12, with Mike Rawson on my right on peg 12, having five.
Back to the swim and the catch rate just wouldn't go up - it took a while to get each bite, cad potting in half-a-dozen cubes at a time. And two or three came off at the net - they fought incredibly hard in the high wind on my 10-12 elastic. Then the rain started and carried on for over a hour, quite heavy.
I was grateful that the fish were warm, because that was the only way I could warm my hands in what was now quite cold weather. You'd think it was February, not July! And the wind was unceasing. Another fish or two came off at the net, and two or three were foulhooked and they also came off.
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| Grey and horrible weather, but Kevin Lee is singing in the rain while playing a carp. |
A little over halfway through the match (which we were finishing half-an-hour early so those who wanted to could watch England play what is laughingly called football) the wind became so strong that both Kevin and I had to abandon the long pole line and come in shorter, about five metres out. Yet in the lower numbers Dick and Mel were still able to hold well out, with difficulty. Then Mel came up for some mussels and said he was catching well right out on the pole.
I'd found fish again on a shorter line, and immediately tried a mussel - no response. Perhaps the bigger fish were all in that deeper water. I soon gave up mussel and concentrated on putting fish in the net - all F1s except for two carp, best 3 lb. I lost some more fish while playing them, but since at least half of my hooks in landed fish were coming out in the net I had to accept that the fish were being hooked very lightly.
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| Kev's best fish - bigger than any of mine.. |
A quick try in the margins, about 18 inches deep, on corn and meat, yielded nothing, so I went back to the middle swim for the last few minutes, although it was now becoming 'iffy' and I briefly had a spell when I was striking into obviously-foulhooked fish which came off immediately. I thought I had about 16 or 18 fish in each of me three nets, so probably 90 lb to 100 lb. Every fish had ben taken on a 4mm luncheon meat cube.
Martin Parker on end peg 24 was weighed first (his catch - not him!) and when the scales got up to me it was obvious that his 83 lb 1 oz bag, which became 183.96 lb when the percentages were added, would almost certainly win the gold Handicap medal.
Roy Whitwell, fishing from scratch because this is his first season, found several fish on a feeder before turning to pole, and I then thought perhaps I should have at least tried the feeder early on. He had 82 lb 14 oz, but he was eclipsed by Callum, runner-up last year in our Championship, with 102 lb 12 oz. Kevin had struggled, and I wondered whether I could beat Callum and take the Golden Peg money.
No. I couldn't - my three nets went 95 lb 13 oz and the Golden Peg was safe. But on end peg 8 Mel had done the business with his mussels - 91 lb 5 oz which converted to 164.51 lb (I work it out in decimal places for ease) and took second place in the Handicap result. Dick Warrener's 80 lb came third, and he will receive the bronze medal when the awards take place.
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| Mel definitely found better fish on mussel. |
I was actually second in the match, so I can't be disappointed. But I do feel I should have tried a bigger bait like mussel early on, in the deep water. The problem was that I was putting a fish into the nets every few minutes - and that's so often the key. Also, nearly everybody else had bigger fish than mine. Allan Golightly had five big carp in the first hour, but could add only about six more fish in the rest of the match.
I lost two or three F1s early on, simply trying to get them into the net more quickly. But they were so active (presumably the water was full of oxygen). My best fish was a 3 lb mirror, and that came in in half the time of the smaller F1s. With 90 minutes to go Kevin was in the margins and didn't seem to be catching much, which was why I didn't make a big effort there. Even so I was surprised not to get a fish in the ten minutes I tried there.
All-round, looking at the result, it looks as if I did OK. But I do wish I'd had a quick go on the feeder, and tried mussel earlier. In the event every fish came to luncheon meat. So my plan sort of worked, I had an enjoyable day in the wind, and I give myself 6/10.
Next match Thursday on Six-Island, Decoy, which I love. But with this topsy-turvy weather I have no idea which pegs I'd like - probably the old stand-byes of 8 round to 14.
NOTE: I announced myself as third in the Handicap results, on the bank. In fact a check at home revealed that Dick Warrener was third.
THE RESULT
Match possn Handicap possn
10 Dick Warrener 80 lb 6th 3rd
12 Mike Rawson 36 lb 8 oz 9th 7th
14 Mac Campbell 95 lb 13 oz 2nd 4th
18 Callum Judge 102 lb 12 oz 1st 5th
20 Roy Whitwell 82 lb 14 oz 5th 6th
22 Allan Golightly 44 lb 12 oz 8th 9th
24 Martin Parker 83 lb 1 oz 4th 1st
You are a mean devil and I award you 8/10
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