Our annual Pairs match, on Horseshoe.

Peg 15, Sunday, April 27
This was our annual Fenland Rods Pairs match, with the top seven in last year's Championship table paired with the seven beneath them...or it would have been if Joe and Wendy hadn't been under the weather. So we ended with six pairs, and I fancied my peg 15, as there are more lillies on that side of the horseshoe-shaped lake, though they are hardy showing yet. 

The top seven, which included me, were drawn in the high numbers. The weather was a bit overcast, with a good breeze coming into my face from the right. And after two hours I had two F1s, a 3 lb bream, and a 5 lb carp in the net - around 12 lb, all taken about six metres out on a 4mm expander or corn over micros. Then there was a lull and I walked round to see what the others had caught. 

Calm to start with, then a cold wind came in from the right, but it
veered round at times into my face, making presentation difficult.

To my right Allan Golightly had a couple of carp, and on his right Roy Whitwell was struggling, though he said that fish were being caught to his right, where my partner for the day Dave Garner, was pegged. Dave said he also had about 12 lb to 14 lb. On my left Mel Lutkin hadn't had a fish, so I though I was doing reasonably well.

The wheels come off
Then the wheels came off and in the next three hours I managed a couple of gudgeon and a roach or two, and I lost a foulhooked carp  before having half an hour trying to snatch some little roach in the margins, using maggot. I had a few, after changing my elastic down, but still managed to bump a couple of better fish. I assumed they weren't really hungry. The wind had been very awkward all afternoon, constantly changing direction, and when it was in my face I had to go down to a four-inch lash to keep the bait in position (not that it did me much good).

Mel Lutkin in action late in the match.

With half an hour to go I saw Mel get a carp from the margins, and then  another. Meanwhile I had staked everything on getting carp in my left margin, and sure enough with 15 minutes left I bagged one on mussel - it was about 6 lb (the carp, not the mussel). Next drop I foulhooked one - either that or the scale put up a hell of a fight for 30 seconds! And there was still time for yet another six-pounder. Quite a finish.

Mike Rawson - second to weigh. He
had 20 lb 12 oz, and is having a better
 season following his mini-stroke.

The weigh in
Callum on peg 1 had flat calm water almost all day and struggled to 26 lb 12 oz, while on peg 2 Mike Rawson weighed in 20 lb 12 oz, mainly taken late in the match. Then came Dick Warrener, who before the match had said he intended to have a real good look alongside the reeds to his right. I said I'd prefer to concentrate on the area next to a tree stump, but Dick thought it might be too snaggy, However, that was where he caught all his fish - 60 lb 2 oz of them, which won the match. So I had apparently unwittingly helped the opposition. 😒

Dave Hobbs weighs in his 51 lb bag.

Then the weigh in became quite exciting, with the next three all having similar catches. Dave Hobbs weighed in 51 lb, but thought that John Smith, on his left, had beaten him. No - John fell just short with 49 lb 9 oz. And next to weigh was my partner in the Pairs event, Dave Garner, who was a little despondent, believing that both Dave Hobbs and John had beaten him. In fact they hadn't. Dave took 52 to the scales, worth two points in this points match. Well Done, Pardner!

Dick Warrener was
top  with 60 lb 2 oz.

John Smith with lump!

My six-peg section
Then it was round to our section, and when Roy Whitwell weighed 31 lb 9 oz I thought I had been really thrashed. But then it turned out that Allan hadn't managed to catch much more after his early carp and he totalled 23 lb 7 oz. If I could beat that I would at least avoid coming last in the section.

My carp were bigger than I thought, and with the 1 lb or so of roach I had 30 lb 4 oz. Just one more bream would have given me the lead in my section. It then turned out that Mel had lost his last carp and had only one to weigh - 6 lb 15 oz. But in the next swim Martin Parker had had several early carp on a straight leger followed by a dire second half - for 46 lb 7 oz, with Kevin Lee also admitting to about 46 lb.

Kevin, fishing the same swim as he had had last year in this match, had again lost some big carp, but ended with 48 lb 6 oz for one point, giving his team the minimum 2 points, because he was teamed up with Dick Warrener. Well done both of them!

The overall result. My scribbles on the right are the team placing.
Sections are by default.

More excitement

Then there was more excitement. My measly fourth place, worth 4 points, teamed with Dave Garner's 2 points gave us (obviously) six points - the same as Roy and Dave Hobbs, so total weight would count...and they beat us into second team place with 82 lb 12 oz to our 82 lb 4 oz. Tight, or what? 

The team result - a clean sweep for Dick Warrener and Kevin Lee.

So ended a close match, though we all agreed that the fish were waiting to spawn, which kept weights below what we might have hoped for. My next match was on Lou's Lake, after my wife and I had been to Potters for a bowls tournament. Watch this space.

Marks out of ten

Actually I thought I had fished quite well - it was obviously a hard area. I kept everything tight and didn't overfeed. Right at the end I know carp had arrived in my swim, and I thought that two in the last 15 minutes, both landed, was as much as I could hope for. I give myself 8/10. I probably should have tried a change bait like worm in the long swim.

PS About four weeks ago almost a pint of maggots escaped in the back of my van. I reclaimed lots of them, but obviously not all...they have metanorphised into blubottles. Hundreds of them! But not a single one has hatched out in the back of the van - somehow they have all ended up in my cab, and twice a day I have had to leave the doors open so they can fly out. Hundreds of them! I've not mentioned it to my nearest neighbour, but if he mentions a surprise plague of flies I shall have a Senior Moment and forget about a certain incident. After all it was a month ago... 

Bluebottles? How unusual. Must be the hot weather.