Things are now difficult on Beastie, but we still sally forth.

Peg 22, Beastie Lake, Decoy, Friday, Oct 11
We had to laugh. Mike Rawson doesn't like peg 24 on Beastie, and all of us in this Spratts match knew that. It doesn't treat Mike kindly, yet he keeps drawing it. So before the draw some of the cruellest in the club told Mike he would get it again. Actually even  that was a bit optimistic, because we didn't know whether our organiser Trevor had even put it in the bag.

So the draw commenced. Eleven of  us, and Mike's name wasn't out first; nor second. My name came out and then "Twenty-two". It wasn't one I would have picked. I would have preferred a peg facing the wind, because that far bank, where 22 was, would be calm in the back Westerly wind. And the draw went on until ten names had been plucked from the bag and only Mike was left. Sure enough - Mike Rawson - Twenty-Four! Lots of head shaking and unrestrained laughter - but to his great credit Mike just smiled ruefully, walked to his van, and drove round to his bogey peg. Life's not always very fair.

Bright sunshine
And yes - the water was calm, with bright sunshine, which threw a dark shadow on the water if you put out a pole. Plumbing up showed nearly five feet of water about 12 feet from the bank, and only a little more than three feet well out. I know that these pegs in the early 20s can produce big catches, usually on a long pole, so that was how I started.

Flat calm on our side of the lake - you can just see the beautiful
Raspberry Ripple in the background, in front of the spit.

Three hours later, having fished up to 13 metres out, and having tried a feeder from halfway to the island right across the full 50 yards, I had two F1s in the net, a small bream, plus half-a-dozen tiny roach, or a total of about 7 lb. On the spit to my left, where there was a beautiful big ripple, I had seen Mick Ramm playing a carp within two minutes of the start, while to my right Bob Barrett must have had well over 20 lb on a feeder with his usual banded pellet.

Actually, for an hour  after I put in some dead maggots, just off my platform, to the left, big swirls of mud kept coming up. Obviously fish were rooting around, but could I get a single bite? No. So frustrating. I tried live maggots, dead maggots, expander, cat meat and corn, but all were ignored. Then the mud stopped coming up and I had to think out my next move.

Getting desperate
Out went my feeder again while I had a coffee; the tip went round; a fish was on; seconds later it came off! Not my day. Now, with two-and-a-half hours left I had seen Mick get another fish or two, and he was fishing the margin. So into my margin I went, more it hope than expectation. I couldn't easily fish to the right - the sun was now in my eyes there, but the water was in deep shadow, so seeing a float was very difficult. No - I turned to my left, where there was vegetation overhanging the water.

There are no reeds along this bank, so as that vegetation  was the only cover I dropped in there with a grain of corn - it was a little over three feet deep. I used my special method, because if I can't catch in that I can't catch on anything. Second drop and plump, hard-fighting F1 came in - about 2 lb.Success. And for once it really was.

A nice bonus
Feeding with corn and hemp before every drop, and constantly working the bait, more F1s came in - about one every five minutes, provided I was within a foot of the overhanging stuff. Any farther and I couldn't get a bite. And there was an early bonus in the shape of an 8 lb mirror carp. 

To my right Bob seemed to be struggling, but my fish came slowly but steadily, though I had to increase the lash and try to keep the pole shadow from falling on the clear water. After about 12 or 15 fish, bites slowed up and I went out to about six metres, where I had put in a few grains of corn and some micros. 

First drop there, and another F1 came in. Then nothing, but the rest had helped, and occasionally I found more F1s in the margin swim, with a couple on a 6mm expander. One more carp took the bait - about 4 lb - before the match ended. I thought I had about 50 lb, possibly more. I never had a fish from the 11.5 meter or 13 metres lines, despite fishing them for a long time early on.

Then four minutes from the end, the wind changed and gave us on this bank a lovely ripple - far too late, of course!

The weigh in
I was first to weigh - 54 lb 12 oz, with Bob Barrett confirming that he had had  a terrible second half, after battering me early on,. He ended with 34 lb12 oz. As I packed away, the scales went round the lake, and I caught up with them as they went to the three pegs on the spit, which had had ripple all day.

Mick Ramm had a couple of really nice
carp in his 43 lb 13 oz from peg 17.

There, Trevor had really struggled, with just one carp in his 20 lb 7 oz catch, the rest being F1s. Then to Mick Ramm, who had two really good carp in his 43 lb 13 oz, and at that point I looked at he board and saw I was leading! The clearing water and bright sun had obviously really spooked catches. On peg 30 Dave Hobbs later told me that he didn't get a fish for the first three-and-a-half hours, but ended with 46 lb 4 oz.

Neil Paas brings his first net to the scales from peg 16.

Finally to Neil Paas - a good angler on a good peg, who did the business with 63 lb 6 oz, to win. Well done, Neil. Nowehere was easy today, so The Boy Done Good! And I ended second. Next match was the next day, on Horseshoe, where Bob Allen had found out that five anglers had been pleasure fishing there and had left without any of them having had a bite!

Neil had quite an assortment
of sizes in his net...

...but this beauty was the biggest,
on a difficult day.

Oh, and Mike Rawson had struggled, taking a carp about 3 lb but not weighing in.  So he wasn't laughing and, to be fair, neither were we,. It's rotten getting a peg you really don't fancy and coming back with nowt. I know - I've done it literally score of times on natural waters, which can be so unfair. On commercials at least you know there are fish there. Perhaps he would do better the next day.

Marks out of ten
Probably worth 8/10. At least I found some fish in the calm, clear water. But I'm still not sure why I couldn't catch one or two of those which were stirring up the mud earlier on. I still have a lot to learn! I must remember how close those fish stayed, all day, to the vegetation.

THE RESULT

3 Roy Whitwell        44 lb 13 oz        4th
4 Dick Warrener         5 lb 7 oz
5 Bob Walker            21 lb 3 oz
15 Trevor Cousins     20 lb 7 oz
17 Mick Ramm         43 lb 13 oz 
18 Neil Paas              63 lb 6 oz            1st 
22 Mac Campbell     54 lb 12 oz         2nd
23 Bob Barrett          34 lb 12 oz   
24 Mike Rawson        DNW  
29 Bob Allen            18 lb 11 oz (all bream)
30 Dave Hobbs         46 lb 4 oz        3rd