Peg 5, Cedar, Sunday, Dec 22
Just like the ones I used to get.
When the bream are biting,
And carp are fighting
Until they end up in my net.
Sorry about that - I must stop listening to Bing Crosby. You see, I've had three DNWs in the last six or seven weeks, and it reminds me of the 1960s, in our Winter Leagues. Colin Clare, chairman of the East Midland Winter League, used to stand up at the draw before the sixth match and read out a list of all the anglers who had fished the first five, usually on the Nene, Ouse, and Fen drains, and still not caught a fish. And that was entirely because of the c-o-l-d.
Anyway, I DNWd the latest JV Fur and Feather match, and the weather didn't help. The forecast at 9 am was for high winds, and 4 degrees, feeling like minus 2. Which it was. But thankfully Roy Whincup moved the match from Six-Island, where the wind would have made it almost unbearable for some - when a big gust came I could feel the box almost lifting up - to Elm, Cedar and Oak, so we had the wind at our backs.
I started off with bomb and a wafter cast across, and had liners on each of the first six casts, but they never developed into proper bites. On my right Ernie Lowbridge cast a small Method feeder across to the far bank and within minutes he was playing an 8 lb-plus carp. But then he struggled for a bite, while my liners stopped and Ernie turned to his pole, taking two more carp and two bream.
I did actually hook three carp on pole and maggot, all of which came off within seconds, probably foulhooked as the maggots were all intact. Two were out at 11.5 metres and one was in the side. To my left Yammers and Roy Whitwell also failed to land a fish (though Roy lost a skimmer at the net) and Cedar lake was won by Ernie, on peg 3, with 29 lb 9 oz, who took his pole-caught fish on a 4mm expander over micros, and said he lost four foulhooked. Why didn't I try an expander? I blame the cold - it froze my brain.
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| John Knight - winner of this match and of JV's overall knockout. |
The overall match was won by John Knight, who fished maggot feeder on Oak, peg 3, for 97 lb 4 oz, taking almost all his fish from the middle of the lake, rather than the far bank. He also won the club's overall knockout, beating Lee Kendall, who was runner-up on Oak with 51 lb 6 oz, but who was almost 'Carled' by Carl White next door on 9, who took 47 lb 11 oz to the scales.
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| Lots of prizes for those of us stupid enough to go out in those freezing gale-force winds. |
Elm was won by Joe Bourn with 47 lb 12 oz taken on bomb and wafter over the far side. I didn't take any pictures - I was on scales and it was still cold and windy.
Afterwards we all received a prize, and although manager Karen Gracey wasn't at the prizegiving, we thanked her for all her help during the year (especially the roast potatoes!) My next match is with JV next Sunday. If I DNW again it will be a hat-trick!
THE RESULTS
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| OAK |
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| ELM |
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| CEDAR |
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