The cold fingers of Winter numb my brain on Willows

Peg 11, Willows, Wed, Sept 25
I is a-feared that I will have now to don my long pantaloons and my furry tunics to face the oncoming storms. The first cold fingers of Winter did remind me  that cool weather is a-coming in, and I was left a-shivering before the end of our Spratts match, fished by 13 tried and trusted stalwarts.

Peg 11 was incredibly shallow - less that a foot deep against the bank, running down to perhaps three feet at about five metres, and shallowing up again as I plumbed farther out. Yet Peter Harrison, on my left, had almost four feet of water in his margins. However I decided to start on the Method feeder, cast to the island, which yielded not even a liner for half an hour, though Bob Barrett on my right had three or four fish on a bomb and pellet.

A nice new, large metal platform greeted me on peg 11. The wind
was never strong, but it had a real bite to it towards the end.

Nowt on the rod

Another half-hour on bomb and pellet saw me still fishless, so it was out to 11.5 metres on the pole with an expander. This brought a 1 lb F1 on the second cast, but then nothing except one carp foulhooked which came off. Peter Harrison was catching a few smallish fish, also well out on the pole, and eventually I tried maggot, which brought some tiny roach. The match was now almost half over.

In went some dead maggot to the left margin, near a load of old reeds, but in about two feet of water, and yes! Some perch and roach came in on double red maggot - at least I was now catching. Then a 1 lb F1, and I changed to corn, hoping for carp. 

I'd also been trickling corn into the right shallow margin, and suddenly I fancied I saw clouds of mud there. Then they were also in the left margin, but right up to the bank, where I hadn't put any bait in. I've had this before - unable to catch the fish in the very shallow water, so I went out into two feet with a bait.

Peter Harrison nets one of his better carp, taken from very close to the bank.

A 'double'
That move to about two feet of water brought the VERY occasional carp - the first was 10 lb, on a 6mm expander, and then a smaller one on cat meat, one on corn, and one on mussel. Peter Harrison came into his margins, and when he landed fish I could see he was deeper than any water I could find.  Bob had had two or three good carp on his bomb cast well over, and now he was putting it down the wide, with no result! He told me later that he also had mud clouds, but the fish wouldn't take his bait. 

Bob Barret was to my right and I think took most of his fish on bomb and pellet.
The angler in the background is Trevor Cousins, round the corner on peg 16.

I wonder whether the cold wind had put them off feeding, because for the last 90 minutes I couldn't stop shivering - I was still in my Summer gear, with an unlined Goretex jacket.  An occasional small F1 took corn, and my last fish came on mussel, fished a little farther out. Every fish had to be teased into taking the bait, by dragging or lifting, and with 45 minutes still to go I hoped for a good finish, but never had any more fish even though I could actually see double-figure fish swimming in both margins.

The weigh-in
Before the match I had fancied the pegs in what used to be called Deadman's Bay, from 16 round to peg 24 (25 is a known flier but was not in the bag today). In particular I fancied peg 24, which has an aerator, and I told Neil Paas, who drew it, that there should be fish under the aerator.

Bob Barrett carefully slips his
fish into the weigh bag.

The early pegs couldn't top 30 lb, then Peter Harrison weighed in 40 lb 5 oz to take the lead. Apparently most of his fish, including some nice carp, came to maggot. But I'd stopped putting maggot on the hook when the first carp came - why didn't I try it? There were plenty of deads on the bottom!

To my surprise I was only one small carp behind Peter with my 37 lb 6 oz, with Bob only just behind me on 36 lb 1 oz. But as I had expected, the final five pegs to weigh took the top five places. They all had over 40 lb, but when I got to Neil Paas' swim I looked for the aerator, and there it was. Gone!

Peter Harrison's 40 lb 5 oz
from the peg on my left.

Bob Barrett's 35 lb 1 oz from
the peg to my right.

Bob Walker - some good fish in his
52 lb 12 oz in his first Spratts match.

The post the aerator is usually tied to was there, to the left of the swim, but no aerator. Didn't matter, though - Neil Paas had still smashed it with 86 lb 3 oz, with Trevor Cousins on 16 second with 69 lb 8 oz, taken in the margins to his right near platform 17.

Bob Walker from Market Deeping, fishing his first match with us, was third on 52 lb 12 oz. I hope he doesn't make a habit of framing! 😂 I ended seventh.

Neil Paas - winner with 86 lb 3 oz. The
post is where the aerator usually is!

Marks out of ten
I thought afterwards that I had scraped a reasonable catch out, but then realised that I should definitely had started another swim in the deepest spot I could find, about five metres out. The carp were swimming all round, and would certainly have found the bait there, and would probably have fed much better there than in the shallower water, where I guess they were scared by my rig. I should also have tried  reverting to maggot. So I'm worth 3/10. Could do better. My excuse is that the cold numberd my brain. So next match will see my Winter underwear, a thick lined shirt, and my trusty, lined Imax jacket.

Next match probably not for another ten days, on Yew at Decoy. Cold weather can affect Yew badly - the fish are bigger there and not as many of them.

THE RESULT

1 John Garner            22 lb 9 oz

3 Dave Hobbs            29 lb 1 oz

5 Bob Allen                14 lb 4 oz

7 Mike Rawson            DNW

9 Peter Harrison          40 lb 5 oz

11 Mac Campbell        37 lb 6 oz

13 Bob Barrett            36 lb 1 oz

15 Martin Parker         19 lb 1 oz

16 Trevor Cousins       69 lb 8 oz        2nd

18 Bob Walker            52 lb 12 oz       3rd  

20 Roy Whitwell         43 lb 6 oz

22 Peter Spriggs          49 lb 7 oz        4th

24 Neil Paas                86lb 3 oz         1st

Lots of fish on Damson, and we miss the floods.

First a quick result of a Spratts match on Six-Island, at Decoy, on Tuesday, Sept 15 th.

John Smith on peg 13 leapt into the lead with fish of 5 lb and 7 lb on his first two drops on a pole and 4mm expander pellet, followed by not much (and a lot of it) until fish came into the deep margins later. Opposite, Shaun Buddle slowly made up ground taking carp to 8 lb on paste, mainly very close-in, and eventually overtook John, to win with 89 lb 9 oz. Dick Warrener almost did the same overtaking procedure, but fell just short of John's final 74 lb 10 oz weight, which left Dick third.

2 Trevor Cousins           64 lb 9 oz
4 Roy Whitwell            34 lb 3 oz
6 Shaun Buddle            89 lb 9 oz      1st
8 Neil Paas                   62 lb 1 oz
11 Bob Allen                28 lb 2 oz
13 John Smith             74 lb 10 oz       2nd   
17 Peter Spriggs          42 lb 1 oz
18 John Garner            25 lb 11 oz
20 Martin Parker         34 lb 5 oz
22 Mike Rawwson      17 lb 13 oz
24 Dick Warrener        73 lb 3 oz        3rd

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Peg 3, Damson lake, Sunday, Sept 22

We were down to seven for this Fenland Rods match - the lowest ever, I think - not helped by Martin Parker being rushed to hospital, taken ill as he prepared his bait for the match. Thankfully he's back home, with his sudden illness still unexplained, but apparently pretty much fully recovered.

Peg 1 has not fished as well recently as it used to, but when Callum Judge drew it I thought that perhaps he would be able to crack it today. I was next door on 3, and before the match all the swims held small carp, as they usually do, swimming into the bank and teasing us. Often they stay just a few minutes and disappear.

Not as wet as forecast, in fact the weather was good for
fishing - overcast all day, but never cold.

I start shallow

I had a few casters and started with banded caster shallow, which worked pretty well, though hundreds of times I could see carp come up to the bait and turn their noses up at it, and there were liners galore. Occasionally, though, a fish would take it - they were mainly around 1 lb, maximum 1 lb 8 oz, and today they hung around for a couple of hours, before things started getting harder.

It was so interesting watching the fish come to the bait - the best way of getting a bite was to wiggle the bait around, either up and down, or jerking it sideways. It didn't always work, but it worked enough to make it worthwhile. When I lost one size 16 hook, and put on a size 18, I fancied that I had more takes - worth remembering.

Time to switch

After two hours I had around 55 lb, while on peg 1 Callum was really struggling, with 15 lb. But on peg 5 Kevin Lee had caught 59 fish - 30 were in his first net and he was almost ready to start on his third. He was catching on paste in the margin, and I decided it was time to switch to the margins.

I had earlier put in some corn with a bait dropper so it went straight to the bottom, and had fished for several minutes, expecting bites immediately, but none had come. So I wasn't very confident of catching on the bottom now. However, first drop with paste into the right margin next to the reeds, and a two-pounder came in.

That was followed my a few more on paste or cat meat, and lost more liners, before I switched to the left margin. That wasn't as good, but a few fish obliged before I moved back to the right. Here mussel also took a few fish, though the biggest, at around 7 lb, fell to double corn - almost the only fish I had on corn all day.

Rain pays us a visit

Somewhere after the first couple of hours the rain that did so much damage in some parts of the country reached us. It was quite heavy for an hour or two, but with not much wind it was possible to erect the umbrella vertical - which I did, and it kept me dry.

These small fish were so difficult to land - they just kept twisting and turning with immense strength - my biggest fish came in in half the time of most of the others.

It was difficult to estimate the weight of each fish, being so small, though I did also add a couple around 3 lb. The rest, though, were around 2 lb in the second half of the match, and I had clicked just 36 lb in the first net, though I was certain I had missed some.

The second net I stopped at 38 lb, but again I felt there was more. And the third net I was very careful to click properly - and had 40 lb-plus in with half an hour to go.

This was one of Kevin Lees nets
(we have a maximum of 60 lb)!

A poor finish

I realised that I wasn't catching as quickly as I should - just a feeling, you know. And a poor last 20 minutes, with only about four fish, left me certain that someone - probably Kevin - would beat me. I had lost half-a-dozen, which is inevitable when fish are coming to the bait but are not ravenous. So I lost probably three or four foulhooked and a couple - including one better fish - probably hooked properly. But whatever the result, I had thoroughtly enjoyed it, fishing in no more than two feet of water all day.

The weigh in

Yes, Callum  had had a really bad match - 33 lb 2 oz. He said that, as in my swim, fish rushed in when he put in any loose feed, but wouldn't take his bait. How frustrating.

I genuinely wasn't sure what weight I had, in three nets. Kevin brought up the first for me - 60 lb 1 oz, knocked back to 60 lb. The second was 41 lb 14 oz, but the third also went over 60 lb - total 161 lb 14 oz. My excuse is that it is so difficult to estimate fish of that size.

Kevin's nets were under our 60 lb limit, though one missed it by 1 oz! But his total was a magnificent 223 lb 14 oz, best fish around 5 lb, and all taken on paste in the same spot on a top two in the margin, over micros. Obviously Kevin had won.

Kevin's catch - only one
 decent carp was included...

...and here it is - probably somewhere
around 5 lb or 6 lb.

All the weights after that were around 80 lb, except for Mel Lutkin, who also had a net overweight, but was third with 116 lb 15 oz. So ended a wet but memorable day with small fish willing to feed for longer than they usually do on Damson. I ended second. Callum, last in the match, took his three-peg section by default - one of the joys of having small sections in our club match. I believe that the more people who go home with even a small award the better. Anyone out there interested in joining?

Mike Rawson needed  one more fish
 to leap from sixth spot to fourth.

Part of Mel Lutkin's 116 lb 5 oz.

Marks out of ten

I give myself 8 - should have come off the caster earlier, but I was enjoying it. And I was chuffed that my home-made paste - which I always carry but rarely use - worked quite well. Kev told me later he flattened his paste so it fluttered down slowly, which he thought was absolutely key to his catch.

THE RESULT

         

Roving over the Magpie

 Peg 2, Magpie, Sunday, Sept 15
We decided to run a rover in this Fenland Rods match on Rookery Fishery, Pidley, with pegs 1-14, and 28 to 34 on the island, to choose from. I had intended to take 32, where I've had two big catches in the past, but when it was my time to choose, pegs 34 and 33 had already gone, and with the recent cool night I thought perhaps a swim with reeds would be better than the concrete banking on the end pegs on the island. I took peg 2 only because I know that there are lilly roots down there, even though there are no lillies at the moment, and it might be a place to go to if  I was in deep trouble.

No ripple at all, but a nice-looking right margin for me.

Kev Lee took 13, where he has won from before, and I had a horrible feeling that he'd do the business again! To cut a long story short I had three fish in the first hour, all around 5 lb, on luncheon meat on a pole, using a short top plus three, in front of me. Then a move to the right deep margins in front of the reeds on my right brought a 2 lb F1 on corn and then something else!!! That proved to be a fish well into double-figures, hooked in the tail...

Ten minutes later it was on the surface, but I couldn't get it into my 18-inch landing net. I ended with it right in the side, tail pulled up in the air, placing the landing net directly underneath,, and lowering it head-first into the net. Then of course its tail hung over the edge of the net and I had a hairy few seconds dragging the net up into my lap so I could unhook it. Next move was to change the net for a 20-inch one.

Dick Warrener's first fish - but he struggled for hours after that.

Another couple of fish came from there before a move slightly towards me, against a little shelf, on a top two. That brought a good run of fish, almost all over 5 lb, in the next couple of hours, mainly on cat meat, with mussel and corn as change baits. I tried fishing caster shallow here, as the fish gave a lot of liners, and I had lost four or five foulhooked, but never had a touch on the caster, though at the end I did get a couple of fish around 10 lb on a bunch of casters on the bottom.

A good last move
Final move was to the left deep margin, which also gave me a nice run of good carp to 10 lb -  perhaps another eight or nine - before sport tailed off in the last half-hour. Opposite me, on island peg 28,  Dick Warrener had had a bad start with perhaps two fish in the first half of the match, but the last 90 minutes I saw him catch half-a-dozen carp. I thought I had perhaps 120 lb.

Callum - 99 lb from peg 1.

Me - that big fish is the one I
hooked in the tail!

The weigh-in

The island pegs were first to weigh - topped by  88lb 3 oz from Martin Parker, so my decision not to fish there was probably vindicated. Callum was next to weigh, on my right on peg 1, which to be honest I should probably have taken, as it has several options, with the lovely curving end bank of reeds. He is a better estimator than me - he said he had about 100 lb and weighed 99 lb! My fish went 155 lb 1 oz, which led round to Kevin, though Roy Whitwell and Dave Hobbs on 6 and 8, both had over 125 lb. 

Roy Whitwell and Dave Hobbs
 had a fish-for-fish battle 
on pegs 6 and 8.

Roy (left) had 125 lb with
 Dave (above) ending
victorious with 128 lb 2 oz.

But Kevin certainly had done the business - three fish on paste in the first hour were followed by lots more on cat meat from the point of the bush on his right - a magnificent 217 lb 10 oz. Well done, Kevin (not for the first time). I think the difference between getting a load and not catching much was definitely in the feeding - you've got to keep putting a little in to arouse the curiosity of passing fish, because carp don't shoal up like bream - they are always moving around.

The winner - Kev Lee with part of his 217 lb 10 oz catch on a
windless day when some of the competitors really struggled.

So I finished second (again), after being one of the Golden Pegs (again) Gotta go now! Next match next Sunday on Damson. 😀

THE RESULT

Contrasting days on Lou's and Elm

Peg 6, Lous, Sunday, Sept 8
Peg 6 on Lou's has been described as the best peg in the county, and I drew it and was on a £50 Golden Peg as well, in this Fenland Rods match. But although it has such a great reputation, it's definitely better in the Winter, when the fish hole up in the far corner, about 50 yards away. Today the fish were definitely there, though - you could see them just under the surface, basking in the sunshine. And I was glad I had bought some ice-cold orange juice to drink.

The famous peg 6, where carp can bunch up in the Winter, in that far
 corner, about 50 yards away.

But I decided to start on the pole, close in, as fish were definitely moving there - I could see their swirls. And the reeds to the left looked very inviting. So I started there, putting in just half-a-dozen grains of corn, but never had even a liner. So over to the right, next to the platform for peg 7, which was unoccupied. Immediately fish started moving in the side, which was about nine inches deep.

That left margin is usually favourite with pole
anglers, but I couldn't catch a single fish there!

Waving tails
Fish waving tails at you almost at the start of a match are very inviting, but I went out to 18 inches, which gave lots of liners before I hooked a fish. It was about 9 lb, hooked in the mouth on cat meat, and ended in my net. But it was a false start, and things now became quite difficult. In fact after another fishless half-hour I cast over to the corner with a pellet waggler, which seemed a better bet than bomb or feeder, as fish were on the surface - dozens of them.

After half-an-hour of catapulting pellets out, and following them with a pellet waggler I gave up. The nearest I came to getting a bite was when one fish tried to eat the float! To my right Callum and Mel, on pegs 8 and 9, had one or two fish on a feeder, but were otherwise struggling. I came back into the margins. Fish were moving all over the lake, but not really interested in feeding, though they came and swirled every time I introduced any bait.

The right margin, between pegs 6 and 7,
was  where I caught most of my early fish.

In the next three hours I had just the occasional fish from the righthand side, with just one lost foulhooked fish from the reeds, and three more from the right, and a couple from out on 2+1 on corn. It rained fairly heavily for about an hour, during which time I didn't catch much. Then suddenly, after the rain, the air felt much warmer, I had another fish or two, and I sensed that perhaps things would get better.

An hour to go
With an hour to go I had only 36 lb on my clicker, though I fancied I had more, so I decided I'd start on my second net. Then Dick Warrener, who wasn't fishing today, came to watch. Just before he got there I saw a puff of mud from a swim just in front of me, where I had put in no bait at all - I was sure they were coming on the feed.

Out went a little hemp and some casters, and I dropped in a rig with cat meat. After getting an immediate liner I dropped in about a metre away from the feed area, and had a 5 lb carp straight away. Between that point and the end of the match I landed about eight or nine carp, losing just one foulhooked, all from a metre away from the area I had fed. A good ending, but with Kevin Lee on peg 1 and Roy Whitwell on 14, where I had won the last time we fished here, I guessed I still wouldn't win. That first five hours, which included some long fishless spells, would have made sure of that.

By the end of the match we were nearly all in short shirt sleeves.  Here,
Martin Parker weighs in his 43 lb 7 oz, worth a section win by default.

Kev Lee - beat me by 4 lb to
win an exciting match.

The weigh in
Kevin Lee had fish in three of his nets for 102 lb 12 oz, and I was sure I was beaten. He told me that with just seconds left he turned to Dick, who was watching,, and said: "I've run out of cat meat." he then looked around his tray, picked up half a mussel, stuck it on his hook, dropped in, and 'bang' a fish was on almost immediately. He landed it, and that proved to be the fish that beat me, and saved the Golden Peg money.

My last net, begun with an hour left, weighed in at 48 lb 8 oz. Good going, but it just left me wondering how some of our local anglers like Tom Edwards, Ben Townsend and Jimmy Brooks can often land 100 lb or more in an hour! 

My othernet went 50 lb 1 oz, and I ended second with 98 lb 9 oz, behind Kevin. Well done, Kev - yet another well-deserved victory.

One more fish and I would have won!
I had 48 lb in the last hour.

Roy Whitwell on 14 was third with 58 lb 4 oz, but had enormous problems with fish taking him into the reeds, and he lost four rigs. I was lucky when I fished there, as I didn't lose any rigs, though I had several hairy moments.

For marks out of ten I reckon I was worth probably 8, as those around me struggled all day. Next match was on Elm lake, the next day.

THE RESULT

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Peg 7, Elm
Blimey. I got out of the van at Decoy for this Spratts club match and couldn't believe the difference in the weather. The wind had a bit of a bite to it, and felt like it was ten degrees colder (though Shaun Buddle was still in shorts!). And I wished I'd brought hot coffee with me instead of cold orange juice. It had also swung round from South-West to almost Northerly, which gave us a back wind, over our left shoulders, as we were pegged on the West side of Elm, using all 12 pegs.

Neil Paas in action early on in the match, when he still had his
 hood up. I am really pleased to see I'm not the only one
to have a peg looking a bit like a builder's yard!

I always fancy peg 8 on Elm, but was happy enough with number 7. Neil Paas was on 8, to my left. And because it definitely felt 'unfishy' I started on the feeder, as did Neil. Half an hour later, with nothing in the net, I went out to anout ten metres and fished really hard. I got the float set exactly right, with corn just touching the bottom, and fancied I had a knock or two before two roach took the bait. One ended in my net, and the other dropped off. By now the temperature had risen a little, and we had only a few spots of rain.

I take a walk (like Ivan used to)

By this time Neil had had a fish or two on his feeder, so I went back to it for another half-hour. That produced not even a liner, and I had a short walk. Kev on peg 3 had had two big carp early on - one in the margin and one a bit farther out. I don't think Roy Whitwell had anything, but Mike Rawson had had a carp. Mick Ramm was fishless, but Neil had three now; John Garner had lost a fish on a feeder; Trevor Cousins had mugged one big carp; and John Smith in the corner peg 12 was still fishless.

Back to my peg and I decided I simply had to have a look in the margin, under the bush to my right. First drop with cat meat I had a bite which I missed; second drop brought a proper bite and a 9 lb carp! I went straight into the left margin against the reeds, and immediately hooked a fish which came off!

Fishy Galore!

Back to the right, and hemp and caster brought fish in to the swim - I could see the bubbles, which they release from their gills when they are excited (as I was, as well!) But they wouldn't take any bait.

I probably should have gone back out to ten metres, but in fact stayed in the margins for the rest of the match because the fish were there all the time now. 

There was a small shallower shelf about a metre long and 18 inches wide to my right, and a big cup of dead maggots put down there brought just one six-pounder on a bunch of deads, but no more, which surprised me.

Towards the end Neil started catching fish on a pole, but with a bush between us I couldn't see exactly where he was fishing. In fact it was at 2+2. I went out to 2+1, without result, but did manage to winkle out five more carp, on meat or mussel, from the right margin, with a couple in the last half-hour, also losing three more, probably foulhooked.

Neil plays his last fish, landed after the match ended.

With seconds left I hooked my last fish, from the right margin, which turned out to be the smallest of the day - a 2 lb F1. I ended very disappointed as I am sure I should have had more in that last 30 minutes.

In fact Neil ended with a couple of good carp taken on a feeder dropped in on his pole line. A very versatile and thinking angler is Neil.

Just so I know what a proper carp looks like!

The weigh in

Peter Spriggs on peg 1 took 39 lb 10 oz to the scales - most caught in the last 40 minutes. Then Peter Harrison on 2, who could catch fish in a bucket of Dettol, had 73 lb 5 oz, which led to me. I had no chance of beating that - my fish went 38 lb 3 oz.

To my left Neil Paas won by 9 oz - 73 lb 14 oz. Phew! And Trevor carried on mugging occasional fish for his third-placed 62 lb 12 oz, with Kevin lee fourth. Well done, Neil, who always seems to be in the frame.

Peter Harrison - second with 73 lb 5 oz.

Marks out of ten

So ended a disappointing match for me, as I had fish in the swim consistently for the last four hours. OK, it was obviously not an easy day, but I should have had more, though I'm not sure how. Fish might well have been in that longer swim if I'd fished it again. My worst result (ninth out of 12) for months. Worth 3/10.

Trevor Cousins, on peg 11, took all his fish mugging.

Well done, Neil - a good catch
on a very difficult day. He
included some flying bream...

Fenland Rods On Magpie

We're at Pidley on Sunday, pegs 1-14, and 28 to 34 on the island, with only nine definites at the time of writing. (If only we were all hale and healthy we would have considerably more). And with that number of pegs available to us the members might like to consider fishing a rover. It's up to them on the morning.

I'd like a very quick AGM afterwards, at the cafe, to check our rules for next year.

THE RESULT

1 Peter Spriggs         39 lb 10 oz

2 Peter Harrison       73 lb 5 oz        2nd

3 Kevin Lee             60 lb                 4th

4 Roy Whitwell        57 lb 8 oz

5 Mike Rawson        DNW

6 Mick Ramm          14 lb 9 oz

7 Mac Campbell       38 lb 3 oz

8 Neil Paas               73 lb 14 oz      1st

9 Shaun Buddle        42 lb 6 oz

10 John Garner         38 lb 13 oz

11 Trevor Cousins     62 lb 12 oz    3rd

12 John Smith           23 lb 1 oz (4 fish, 2 in the last four minutes!)

Good weights on Damson and Horseshoe

Peg 12, Damson, Friday, Aug 29
Happy with a swim, in this Spratts match, towards the far end of this lake, where the margins are deeper. But to be honest I rate pegs 11 and 13 (in the corner) as better than 12. Peg 13 has lots of reeds both sides, and an end bank to fish to (and even I have won from there), while 11 has a large bush on the left which has yielded a lot of very big weights in the past (and I've won from there, too). I had reeds to one side and bare bank to the left. Still I had a job to do, and was singing (at least in my heart) on my way to work. Just nine of us fished - the rest are in exotic places like Acapulco, Bondi beach, or Skeggy.

The rest was pretty simple. The margins were at least two feet deep, with the drop-off to over six feet just a top-two out, and I opted to start on caster shallow about a metre out, over the deepest part of the margin. Some F1s had been showing, as they usually do in this lake, right in front of me before the start. So I knew they were there, and were willing to come into the margins. I also had a shallow rig with a pellet in the band (though I never used this), and a deep-water rig ready for use, plus two 'normal' margin rigs at about two feet and three feet depths.

Not a lot of raspberry ripple in my swim!

Quick fish on casters shallow
In went some casters, but it was a couple of minutes before fish showed, and then I had a 1 lb F1. As in my last match here I could see fish going for the bait, though most rejected it unless it was in the middle of loose-fed casters. I took several twitching the caster along, and could see fish following it. Very exciting when they actually took it. Sport with these F1s was steady, and after an hour I had about 30 lb. To my left Trevor also started shallow, but with pellet, and he was willing to go out farther and mug passing fish, which resulted, very early on,  in one that looked about 5 lb - much bigger than any I had.

Several times, when fishing caster shallow, I saw a carp or F1 take the caster in, but when I struck, there was a perch or small roach on the end. How Do They Do That?

My building site before the start, with Trevor probably looking for
fish to mug. I took a few fish from this left margin, but Not A Lot!

On to the bottom
The second hour was slower, and eventually I went on to the other margin rigs with corn or cat meat on the bottom, or slow-sinking, mainly towards the reeds, but every now and then, when fish appeared that I could see, I'd change rigs and nab two or three on caster shallow before they moved away again. After three hours I had about 60 lb, but I suspected that Trevor, who had some proper carp under the tree, was ahead of me. I couldn't see Neil Paas on 13, but there was a lot of splashing in his swim!

Then out in the deep water
At that point Trevor said his fish had gone completely, as had mine. So I moved out to the deep water, put on a piece of cat met, and dropped the rig in, without putting in any feed. That resulted in a 2 lb miror, so of course I repeated the action! In the next hour or so I had perhaps ten fish, while Trevor persisted in fishing either shallow, or under the tree. I have no doubt that if he had fished the deep water he would probably have kept catching, but he likes his shallow fishing. Trev has nothing to prove - he's won far more Spratts matches than anybody else, and often seems to carry on fishing shallow just because he enjoys it. But in that time I believe I overtook him.

Action from peg 11, with Trevor hanging on to a hard-fighter.

When the deep-water swim slowed I went back to the margins with corn or meat, and scrapped a few more. Other anglers said that their fish went off, also, at about 1 o'clock and several had hardly a fish after that. But I'm good at scrapping, and had fish from all over the swim on corn or meat, plus a few more shallow, ending with two or three in the last few minutes on corn with my float almost touching the bank to my left. That's always a dangerous manoevre, because the margins are very snaggy, but I got away with it and had my last fish, a 2 lb mirror, seconds before the final whistle. Oh, yes, we now have a whistle rather that a shout. Sophisticated or what?

John Garner - should have topped 100 lb!

The weigh in
I arrived at the scales in time to see John Garner tip 57 lb into the weigh-bag. He was not a happy bunny, because that was reduced to 50 lb. His second net held 47 lb, total 97 lb which should have been 114 lb. He was overtaken, though, by John Smith who had a fishless first 15 minutes, but made that up so quickly that he reckoned he had 50 lb after the first hour! Then, as almost always on Damson, fishing became harder and he ended with 122 lb 3 oz to take the lead.

Roy Whitwell had, as he so often does, a good spell on the feeder and he ended with 118 lb 3 oz. Trevor had 97 lb, and the scales came to me. I was worried that, although I had stopped my first net after clicking 30 lb, and the second at 33 lb, I might be overweight in them. It's so difficult when the fish are around 1 lb or 2 lb, and in concentrating on catching them I think I often forget to click. I simply felt that I had a lot more than I had clicked, which is why I started new nets.

Still sunny and hot - Trevor 
brings in one of his three nets.

To my relief my first net went about 48 lb and the second 47 lb, with almost 20 lb added for the last, which I had taken in the final hour. Total 115 lb 13 oz. But Neil in the corner topped us all with 135 lb 10 oz, including a few on the feeder, leaving me fourth. No cigar (top three paid) but I'd had a really enjoyable day.

Marks out of ten.
I thought, afterwards, that as usual I hadn't tried enough change baits like worm or pellet, whihch might have winkled out some bigger fish (I had only about three over 2 lb) but all round I give myself 8/10. Perhaps should have put out a feeder, but I was enjoying myself!

Neil Paas took a lot of fish for his
winning weight of 135 lb 10 oz.

THE RESULT

5 Bob Allen             54 lb 1 oz             

6 John Garner        97 lb 

7 John Smith        122 lb 3 oz   2nd

8 Roy Whitwell   118 lb 13 oz  3rd

9 Dick Warrener      53 lb

10 Mike Rawson     29 lb 2 oz

11 Trevor Cousins  96 lb 7 oz

12 Mac Campbell  115 lb 13 oz

13 Neil Paas         135 lb 10 oz  1st

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Peg 2, Horseshoe

There I was, sat sitting on my box, quietly adjusting the seven rigs I had selected to fish with, when I glanced down and saw - a fish! Right down in front of the platform. "That's unusual," I thought. Cos it's not often, on Decoy, that you see fish in the margins before you start. And it wasn't just any ole fish - it was a nice, big mirror carp. Then a minute or two later a big old common came drifting in towards the reeds on the right.

A nice-looking swim is peg 2, with the nearest lillies only about 12 metres away.
You can see I had a lot of rigs ready and waiting!.

The margins on Horseshoe are different to those on the other lakes at Decoy - much shallower. Even so I was surprised when I dropped a rig with a plummet down where I'd seen the first fish - it was about ten inches deep! BUT my hopes were high, because I knew, at least, that the fish were willing to come in to the side.

A plan (of sorts)

This was a Fenland Rods match with just ten fishing the even pegs, 2 to 20, so I was end peg, though I don't think I've ever fished peg 2 before. However, I was hopeful that I hadn't scared the fish, as I'd deliberately taken out lots of rigs so I didn't have to get up again and possibly scare any fish close-in.

Dick Warrener came over and I told him I'd seen fish in the side, and I saw no reason why they wouldn't be willing to also drift into his margins. Then the match started and after plumbing up farther out, to find that it was less than four feet right out to about ten metres, I dropped a rig in the side, baited with cat meat, with no loose feed.

There were weeds right where I had seen the fish so, hoping that would give the carp confidence, I dropped in beside them. It wasn't long before the float dipped and I was playing a five-pounder! With the pole kept low I was able to bring it in without too much splashing.

The left margin along the bank was VERY shallow - I took all the
 early fish from next to the little piece of weed you can see bottom right.

Yes - a good start

Within the first hour I had managed two more from that spot, totalling about 15 lb. That doesn't sound much, but for the first hour at Decoy that's usually pretty good. Then I started introducing hemp and casters, and within a short time I was greeted with tails waving at me just under the surface.

To be honest I really should have gone into water at least two feet deep, but instead stayed in 18 inches, and occasionally another five-pounder would take the bait. Hemp definitely brought fish in - you could see them swimming around the area, just under the surface, before disappearing down. I am afraid I was mesmerside by those waving tails, which promised so much, but the pickings were a bit sparse. I also  went to my right, in front of the reeds, in over two feet, and took two fish immediately there - surprised it wasn't more. 

Mussel and meat

Two hours after the start I had a look at 13 metres to the lillies to my right, with caster shallow, but after catching three or four roach, and not seeing any sign of carp coming to the feed, I gave that up. Three or four more carp came from the shallows, on mussel and meat (but none on corn) before I saw splashing in Mike Rawson's swim, and saw he was fishing a fair way out. So I went out to ten metres, where the deeper water started. Immediately I had a bite or two on corn, but no fish.

A change to a cube of Coshida beef in gravy (quite a small cube) brought another five-pounder first drop, and I took another couple there, with one on worm, which was followed by a tiny perch (!) before coming back inside. At that point I realised that I ought to try the water a metre or two past where I had been feeding the left margin, which is often a good ploy where carp are concerned. There was about two feet of water there.

The last hour was best, but...

That move out proved to be decisive , and in the last hour I added over 30 lb, best fish around 7 lb, taking three or four on mussel and a couple on cat meat, after having put in some dead maggiots, which really seemed to keep the fish in the swim. Should have done it earlier! Using my special method was the key - it helps me avoid a lot of the foulhookers, though occasionally that doesn't work, and in fact I foulhooked one with ten minutes to go. It took me right into the lillies, actually jumped up two or three metres in the lillies, and winked at me. Then the rig line broke, and I lost the lot.

Back onto another strong rig I had ready, and seconds before the match ended I hit another good fish on mussel. That seemed to be coming in nicely, and I shouted "Fish On!" Then somebody must have stuck a red-hot poker up its backside, because it shot out towards the far side, through a gap in the lillies, and with only the top two in my hand, and me gritting my teeth, the the line broke at the hook. And I shouted (a little less enthusiastically) Fish Off!"

John Smith didn't have as much as
some thought - 84 lb 5 oz for fourth.

I estimated I had nets holding approximately 40 lb, 40 lb and 30 lb - total 110 lb, but I know I tend to under-click.

The weigh in

I was first to weigh, and I got the impression, from what the others were saying, that I had done alright, though someone then said that John Smith had been catching "all day". I had packed away only half my gear, while everyone else seemed to have trundled their trollies back to the car park already. And I still had pictures to take...

Good old Dick Warrener (that's old as I've known him several years) brought in my last-hour net - 36 lb. Then nets of 48 lb and 47 lb (proud of that) for a total of 131 lb. And that held all the way round, with Roy Whitwell on peg 18, behind where I sat, second with 93 lb 2 oz, and Callum Judge with 85 lb 5 oz just edging John Smith (84 lb 5 oz) out of third spot. So a nice win for me from a swim I don't think I've ever fished before.

Mel Lutkin on peg 12 watches as Kevin Lee
delivers the verdict - 52 lb 2 oz.

And true to form by the time I had taken the pictures, paid out the sections places, and packed everything away I was last to leave the car park by a long way. 

But I had an appointment to go to Dick's house and collect a fabulous home-grown Savoy cabbage and a cucumber in exchange for the tin of hemp I had given him, followed by a mug (two actually) of tea in Judy's cafe. So it all ended well.

Callum Judge - third (just) with 
85 lb 5 oxz from peg 14.

Allan Golightly won his section
with 67 lb 1 oz.

Marks out of ten

I should have gone into in the slightly-deeper water much earlier. Having said that I played the fish OK, with not too much splashing, and religiously re-baited before every drop-in - just a few pellets, corn and a little hemp, just to bring fish in and start them browsing.

So I'm worth 7/10. Having said that I think I could probably have won from almost any swim doing what I did - special method and hemp being the key. Is that arrogant? Next match on Elm, which did not fish particularly well last weekend, but it's usually kind to me. Pegs from 8 to 12 will be a good start. 😀 Ah, no - next match is on Lou's on Sunday, where 6 is the flier, but I'm happy anywhere. I won from 14 last time I fished there.

THE RESULT