Bread and casters set me up on Six-Island

 Peg 13, Six-Islands, Decoy
"It's a funny old life" (as Jimmy Greaves would have said, if he'd thought of it).  One day I'm playing bowls like a beginner, the very next day and I'm rolling my woods in to the jack like I was born to do it. And with a team-mate we thrashed a couple who should on paper, have thrashed us. So my bowls luck had changed, and then fishing followed. Even the slugs have stayed away...

I was very happy with peg 13 in this JV club event, even though it's the longest walk - the walk to my peg was fine - and I like this end of the lake. The wind was Westerly from the left, quite strong (it got stronger) and cold. I had Steve Tilsley to my left, with Shaun Buddle and Ernie Lowbridge to my right and together we made up one section.

My pole is pointing directly at Eddie McIlroy on peg 6, sitting in the sun.
The wind was sligtly behind us on our bank, and was cold.

Bread works at the start

I started with bread on the pole at 11.5 metres, without putting in any feed at all. On the opposite bank Chris Saunders landed a smallish carp quite quickly, but I didn't see any other fish landed in the first half hour. I thought I had a tiny touch a couple of times, then two definite bites which I missed, but the bread was still intact. Liners - so I came off bottom, with no more bites. 

I tried out at 13 metres, and if the wind hadn't been as strong I would have gone back to the van and brought my 14.5-metre section out, but clearly I would have had only a few seconds being able to properly present a bait near the island.

Fish!
Back on the bottom, and at last I hooked a 3 lb-plus carp; next drop,  and another came in. Then I hooked one very briefly before it came off. There had been splashing from Steve's swim, so he was definitely catching one or two. After a pause I put out a bomb with bread and immediately had a take from a 2 lb F1. 

Eddie, hooded against the cold, plays a fish
caught on feeder and a wafter.

Then came a long biteless session on the bomb, and then trying expanders on the pole, I wandered up to Steve, who had five fish to my three. Opposite me Eddie McIlroy on peg 6 was now catching fish on a feeder, and I changed to a hybrid feeder with dead maggots, which brought four F1s in four casts. Then followed an hour-long spell when I couldn't get even a bite - and Eddie also stopped catching.

Nowt on maggots
A look in the margin where I had been putting maggots brought just two tiny perch. After the match it seemed that almost everyone had the same experience - expecting to get at least a few bites from roach, but catching only small perch. To my left Steve now went on to a waggler, which brought a carp or two until the wind died away and he couldn't drag the corn bait from left to right. His stationary bait didn't work.

After another biteless spell on the feeder, I went on to a short line in front of me, in about four feet of water, where I had been flicking a few casters. I had just a pint with me, and thought just possible carp might come to them in the clear water.

Casters do the business
I had no fish for some time, but was almost certain that the float had shuddered a few times, so I stayed with it, using a size 16 on 6 lb line. Then a definite bite, and finally a hooked 5 lb carp on two casters. Then another, and then an obvious foulhooked fish stretched the 14-16 elastic right out, splashed on the surface in the middle in front of peg 12, and the hooklength broke.

I then put on a new hook - size 12 to 7 lb, but never had a touch for the next 20 minutes. A change back to the size 16 on 6 lb line saw three bites in the last ten minutes - and over 10 lb put in the net.

The weigh in
Eddie McIlroy had obviously won our eight-peg area in the bottom bowl, but I missed his weighing in of 89 lb 13 oz. He said that right at the end he was amazed, in the cold wind, so see fish come into the margins where he had just put in a little left-over bait. Seeing a big silver common in the swim he dropped in a bait, waited, struck at a bite...and hooked the double-figure fish, which gave him a real fight. But he landed it.

Eddie told me afterwards that most of his feeder-caught fish came to a wafter. It was enough to win, and he had this message for Lee Kendall, should Lee decide to fish next Sunday's match: "The Kendall-killer is coming after you!!" I imagine Lee will be afraid...very afraid.

Dave Parsons, second on peg 8 with 53 lb 9 oz.

Next to weigh was Dave Parsons with 53 lb 9 oz, and as Ernie Lowbridge was about to weigh in on peg 10 he asked what I had. I said about 30 lb, though I had not clicked the last few fish, and hadn't even looked at my clicker. Ernie gave me what my grandmother would have said was "an old-fashioned look" and said I'd been catching all day. I thought a visit to Specsavers should be considered!

Amazed!
Anyway, both Ernie and Shaun Buddle had a little less than 30 lb, and I was amazed to weigh in 46 lb 15 oz. Steve was last in the section, and said he had just over 45 lb. He's a better man than I am, Gungadin - he weighed 46 lb 7 oz, leaving me as section winner by 8 oz. I am really sorry, Steve. 😂

Steve Tilsley (no relation to Ivy) with
his 46 lb 7 oz (beaten by 8 oz by me 😀). 

Roy Whincup won the top end with 50 lb from peg 1 and was third. So I was fourth and happy with my section win in such company. I was obviously in one of the better pegs.

Marks out of ten
Afterwards I realised I hadn't even tried corn or worm, and worm could well have got me bites in the caster swim. However I was happy I had changed from bomb to feeder (using the Preston interchangeable system), and had changed back to a size 16 when the size 12 hadn't worked in the caster swim. So I was probably worth 8/10.

Next match is Thursday in the big Spratts Christmas match on Yew. I think 15 will be fishing, so we'll probably be on pegs 1-15, and I'd like anywhere from peg 10 to 15. I won it last year, so miracles are possible!

THE RESULT