End peg on Lou's lake does me proud

Peg 14, Lou's Sun, July 14
Just happy to be fishing, and I had no idea whether the shallower areas of Lou's lake (named after previous owner Di's daughter Louise) ie: the higher numbers up to 15, would hold fish. I said to Dick Warrener before the match: "This peg will either be very good, or not very good at all," which would probably qualify for a John Cleese award for "The Bleedin' Obvious.'"Anyway, I had a vacant platform each side (which I could reach) but reeds about seven metres out, which I obviously had to avoid.

There was a nice ripple at the start in the early swims behind me, with the wind from the North which, not for the first time, was not what those pretty little things on the TV had forecast. It should have had West in it - though with the trees  on our opposite bank it wouldn't have given us a ripple anyway! Ten of us sat on the lake, with peg 6 the known flier, occupied by The Honourable John Smith, our previous Secretary/Dogsbody, who did so much for the club in the 20-odd years he ran it.

Allan (right) picked our names out of the Cocoa tin, then Mel picked
out one of his balls  and handed it to Dick Warrener (centre),
who held them until the draw was finished.

Lots of rigs
I picked out two shallow rigs - one for caster and one for pellet - plus a light margin rig and another, heavier; and three rigs for farther out, including a hair-rigged one (which I didn't use). It was quite warm. In fact on the previous Thursday I'd taken cold orange juice to drink and wished I'd taken coffee, while today I'd taken coffee and wish I'd taken cold orange...

John Smith was so overcome when he
was drawn on flier peg 6 that he
 started  curtseying, and insisted
on shaking hands with Dick.

First cast and I went out to 13 metres with the shallow caster, because fish were moving around there just under the surface. And blow me, within seconds a pod of three or four appeared; I dropped the rig back in nearby; and one second later I coulodn't see the float, and I was attached to a 2 lb carp. The 14-16 elastic stretched too far for my liking, and I instantly realised I would have to beef it up to avoid the next one taking me into the reeds in front of me.  

I was using my long tops because the previous match saw me lose several on the short tops, and I worried that the elastic on the short tops might have been too tight.

Into the margins
But the next 20 minutes didn't bring any more takes, and all the fish I could see were on their own, so I had a look near the best-looking of the margins, to my left. That eventually brought only a roach on corn, and I moved to target the platform to my right, also with corn, at about 18 inches deep, nine metres away. Can't remember which elastic I had on - probably 16-18, but I found carp about an inch off bottom, drifting in towards the bank. The first hooked fish shot out to the far bank and I was lucky to steer the pole high enough to get it up and through the reeds, pulling  to my left. It was hairy, but once free of them I broke down to the top as fast as I could and grabbed the puller bead.

That fish came in, as did the second, but I then went to my holdall and took out a stronger  elastic. Not sure what is was - I'd marked the tube with "Big Red". It was a hefty-looking elastic, probably 20-plus. In went some hemp and corn next to the platform, and the next fish came in OK, as did the next couple, provided I could throw the pole back quickly enough. But the next one really messed me up.

My swim, with the reeds only about six or seven metres away.

Snagged!

That bigger fish stretched the elastic about three yards, which took me into the reeds in front of me. Snagged! I could see the float, and the fish was just inches below the surface. I messed about for several minutes, still snagged, and eventually had to reach for my extending hook and wind it round the elastic several times. Then I pulled, expecting a break, but amazingly the rig slowly came free and the fish was still attached! And the reeds were now bent over and lying on the surface. 

After that effort I was knackered, and luckily so was the fish, which was around 5 lb, my best of the day, and ended up in my net. A quick look in front of me in the deeper water, which was about three feet, with caster, saw me hook a carp, very quickly, but that came off somewhere towards the far bank, the other side of the reeds, and I thought it was too risky to carry on there unless I was really desperate.

In fact I was snagged on reed roots in the margins several times, each time managing to free the rig with my extending hook, though once I did loose the hook on my rig.

Back to the platform
Then it was back to the right platform, and I tightened up the elastic (which was through a puller bung at the end of the Number Two section) by pulling out about a foot, and tying a knot to prevent it pulling back up. I tied it loosely, and afterwards was able to untie it. Anyway, that worked, and provided I struck lightly and pulled the fish towards me fairly gently, I could quickly get most of them within range, at which point I could take off the top two. The occasional one briefly went into the reeds but none of them snagged me.

I pulled the elastic out from the puller bung and 
shortened it with a loosely-tied knot.

When bites there slowed I came closer to me, where I had been dropping cat meat, using the heavier margin rig, usisng my special method. Here I used a short top and short Number Three, with 18-20 Matrix Slik, pulling about a foot out of the side puller, and holding it with my right hand on the Number Three. That was because the first fish pulled the elastic back after I'd increased the tension. I was able to drop the bait in like that, and play the fish to the net, all without having to leave hold of the pole.

 

I switch between swims

A half mussel took about two fish, but a whole mussel didn't work, and I got the impression that the fish were taking only smallish baits. I switched between the two swims to the end of the match, barring a quick look in the left margin, which didn't bring me anything. 

The left margin - nice-looking, but barren for me.

Dick Warrener on peg 12 came up to me halfway though the match, and said he had hardly a fish, which was unusual because he's been doing well lately. But he said Roy on 10 had had a good start on the feeder. I showed Dick the rig I was using - probably about 12 lb straight through (or it might have been 8 lb Maxima). I'd rather not get bites because the line was too  thick than lose fish. There's a school of thought that says the fish can see thick line, so they avoid it. Who knows? Certainly I had fewer liners than I might normally expect.

Coffee was part of my tactics 😀
I had my back to Martin Parker, behind me, but I had seen him land a few fish as I looked around while having coffee. I deliberately waited about a minute after putting in loosefeed, to reduce the chances of foulhooking fish, by having a drink, and I think I lost only about six or seven fish all day. 

I had spent a fair amount of time adjusting the elastics, etc, and in fact had to laboriously thread that eight-inch strip, hanging out of my long top, up the Number Three section every time I added the top two, so my catch rate was never fast and furious. But I carried on putting a fish into the keepnets perhaps once every six or seven minutes. 

The last half-hour was bad - I carried on in the cat meat swim for about 20 minutes too long, with no bite. As soon as I went back to the platform swim with corn I had fish - hooked four in the last ten minutes, and lost three of them. My worst spell of the match

Allan Golightly almost took his
section by default with 43 lb 4 oz.

The weigh in

Martin was first to weigh - 75 lb 14 oz. I thought: "I think I have 80 lb, so I probably won't be last." Then on round, and I was astonished at how low the weights were, with John on 6 having 45 lb. He said a lot of fish went into the reeds right beside the platform, so I assumed he had lost some.

Kevin had two double-figure fish, but  still managed only 51 lb, and Roy's ended with 54 lb 15 oz. I weighed in 102 lb 1 oz, and ended as a very surprised winner.

Kevin Lee had two clonkers from peg 9.

Marks out of ten

I have to assume that I had the best peg on the day, as I was so far ahead of most. But I was pleased I lost so few fish. It was a very unusual swim, and I felt I had solved the main problem of the reeds. I had fed the best part of a pint of casters in with the hemp and corn, and I am convinced that helps keep carp in the swim for longer. Perhaps I should have tried a small bait like cockles, or worm, or even paste in the cat meat swim when bites dried up at the end. The key, I thought, was taking almost every corn-hooked fish off the bottom.  A better angler would obviously have had more, but I think the fish were going 'iffy', so I think I'm worth 8/10.

Roy Whitwell watches his 54 lb 15 oz being weighed.
 I think he was one of the two Golden Pegs.

I'm now working on the problem of strong fish pulling elastic back through the puller bead when it's been previously pulled out to uncrease the tension. I've started by putting two Matrix puller beads on a couple of my tops to see if that does the trick.

Mel Lutkin pulls out his net for weighing.
This part of the lake was flat-calm all day.

Next match Friday on Willows, which I love - I usually catch out on a long pole early with pellet, but find fish in the margins later. Not sure where the pegs will be, but if it's from 1 to 25 I'd like peg 1, or 24, or anywhere in Deadman's Bay, 16 to 23. Depends on the wind; at the moment the forecast is for SSW, which means the whole lake is likely to be fairly sheltered, with the wind into peg 1 or blowing past 24/25.

THE RESULT