Another good draw for me, on Horseshoe

Peg 13, Horseshoe
It looked as if I was going to have a good day in the JV match on Horseshoe, at Decoy. This is roughly how it went...

8.30 am The cafe at Decoy is buzzing with a load of anglers fishing the Open, while we hold our draw. My sticky fingers stick to Horseshoe 13 - a dream draw. It's a noted swim, though I have never managed to draw it before. And the last two matches I know of were won on it. I am a Happy Bunny.

10 am Its lovely and warm on the bank at 13 - back wind, and sheltered by some bushes. When I walk round towards the lower numbered pegs it is several degrees colder, with the wind in their faces. 

Famous peg 13 on Horseshoe. Aftewr the match started
I had some nice raspberry ripple, and we had a little sun.

I am so confident I put in two keepnets, and start on bomb and bread, cast to the spinner in the corner, hoping for one or two big carp to give me a good start. I note that the water is clear - probably clearer than I've ever seen it, and I can see the bottom, when I throw in a couple of grains of corn, in about two feet of water.

11 am I've seen Roy Whitwell, on 16 to my left, land a couple of fish, but I haven't had anything yet, and have changed from bomb and bread to a maggot feeder, on which I've had two small liners.

12 noon I'm still fishless, so walk up to Roy Whitwell, who says he's had four F1s on bomb and maggot. Roy Whincup, on my right has had one small stockie, but he says the Peter Harrison on 8 has had four carp. I go back and change the maggot feeder back to a bomb, with maggot.

1 am I've had a 2 lb F1 and a small roach on the bomb and maggot, and now go out on the pole with maggot. In the next hour that brings just two roach. I spend half an hour fishing the deep margin to my left with corn, where I know there's a lilly bed, but don't get a touch of any sort.

2.30 pm I've changed my bait to from live maggots to five dead maggots. Suddenly I turn round and see Roy Whincup landing a big carp on his feeder rod. Twenty seconds later my rod pulls round and I'm attached to a big fish myself. It turns out to be a mirror carp around 9 lb. I resume fishing full of hope that there will be more.

3.30 The match ends. All I've had in that last hour are two liners in the last ten minutes.

Peter Harrison won with 38 lb,
taken with maggot on both
pole and bomb or feeder.

The weigh in
Blimey, it really is cold in those early pegs, while I've been pretty comfortable. Dave Parsons managed to fish 16 metres, assuming that in the clear water the fish would be as far from the banks as possible, and in the deepest water. He weighs 34 lb 8 oz, but Peter Harrison on 8 has added some more, on both pole and feeder, and totals 38 lb. To my left Roy Whitwell had eight fish in the end, for 24 lb 6 oz...but never had a bite in the last three hours. 

Roy Whincup with a beautiful common.

My fish have weighed 14 lb 5 oz (that carp must have been almost 12 lb), but I'm not last - Chris Saunders has already gone home and Eddie McIlroy has been fishing a single maggot for two F1s and a load of roach - hard work for 9 lb 13 oz. Roy Whincup wins the prize for the prettiest fish - a common about 8 lb lb.

Eddie McIlroy - last to weigh and probably
had more fish than the rest of us put together.

I don't know why I didn't catch more. I had ripple for most of the day. The water must be so cold, because we've not had a warm wind for weeks. Disappointed, especially since the noted pegs in the Open - Oak 15 and Yew 15 - both produced over 180 lb. Oh well, there's always the next one to look forward to - Elm on Sunday.

THE RESULT

Winner Peter Harrison - sections to Dave Parsons and Roy Whitwell.