Wendy wallops us all on Yew

Peg 13, Yew, Thursday, June 24
I know that on the far bank of Yew (16 to 30) there's generally six foot of water in the margins; so it was strange that on our bank (1 to 15) the margins appear to be less than about four feet all the way along. And wherever I plumbed up, the bottom was soft. I did have a shallow area in a cut-out to my right, but it was like a miniature cow drink, there was litle cover there, and I don't think any carp turned up there all match.

I started on a feeder cast to the far bank, but had only liners from carp up in the water - I could see them swirl as they bent the tip round. Then an hour on the pole at about ten metres, when I thought I had a few knocks, but they were probably liners - I foulhooked one scale.

The strong wind was over our right shoulders.

Fun with perch
Then I spent a pleasant hour using maggot and then worm, in the left margin catching perch. They were mainly less than an ounce, but catching two a minute at times brought me about 3 lb to 4 lb in that hour, after which I decided I really ought to go for carp again. That was fruitless. But to my left Peter Harrison now found occasional carp or F1s fishing well out on a pole with mussel. I reckoned that he had ten or 12 fish weighing around 80 lb (this proved to be way off the mark).

Peter Harrison caught some on a feeder before changing to long pole with mussel.

I catch carp eventually

Obviously I tried to do what Peter did, on a pole with mussel, but still no joy. To my right Dick Warrener still had not had a bite with an hour to go, and on his right Bob Barrett had about three or four carp on a feeder cast to the middle.  Then, with 40 minutes left I got up and put on one of my special method rigs, with cat meat. Within five minutes I was playing a big carp. I don't put that down to my rig, but simply that carp had now come into the margin and were willing to feed if the presentation was right for them.

As I prepared to net that fish another huge carp tried to follow it into my landing net, spooking both the fish and me, and off my fish went on another run. It looked very nmuch as if that extra one was intent on spawning. But surely they have spawned already?

In the net!

Two pegs to my right Bob Barrett found carp
on a feeder cast short of the far bank.

I eventually landed that one on my Matrix Slik 14-16 yellow elastic, which I have grown to love. I estimated at 11 lb to 12 lb, and a few minutes later Number Two followed, on mussel, about 7 lb (the fish, not the mussel). Then no more bites until one minute before the match finished, when I hooked another carp which came off after about 15 seconds. No idea whether it was foulhooked or not. Dick hooked two fish in that last hour, landing one about 10 lb, and losing the other. 

Joe Bedford - 59 lb 10 oz from peg 1.

Yew has not been fishing well for weeks, but there were a fair number of big fish under the surface, and they all looked in normal condition. I reckon the weather in April and May was the problem - not settled enough and changing every day.

The weigh in
The weighing-in started at 1, where 94-year-old Joe Bedford took 59 lb 10 oz to the scales and received many congratulations. Then Wendy, his sister-in-law, weighed. Her total was 76 lb 10 oz, taken on feeder and mussel from peg 3, and I (and probably most of the others) wondered whether that could perhaps win. 

On peg 8 Neil Paas, who can't stop framing, pipped Joe by 5 oz with his 59 lb 15 oz, and I weighed 23 lb 6 oz for nowhere. Then Peter Harrison weighed, and I was astonished to see he had used only one net. It turned out that though I had seen him net a fish well into double-figures, the others were much smaller, he hadn't got as many as I had estimated, and most were F1s, which is why he had just 44 lb. 

Bob Walker with 45 lb 12 oz.

Bob Barrett - 48 lb 9 oz on feeder.

Wendy - winning wizard for the day. 

Ooops...

Then, on end peg 15, Roy Whitwell's first net went about 3 lb over our 50 lb strict limit. He'd taken fish on a feeder at first, and then on a pole. But he hadn't taken a long pole, so he couldn't reach the end bank reeds with a pole, and it's so difficult to be that accurate with a feeder. His second net went 24 lb 2 oz, which left him in second place (though that disqualified 3 lb would have won him the match).

No matter - Wendy ended as the winner. Well done indeed, Wendy, in that company. And Joe ended fourth. So a satisfying result for us all, even those who didn't catch much. Next match is Sunday on Six-Island with Fenland Rods. I hope I end up in the Westerly wind which is forecast.

THE RESULT

1 Joe Bedford            59 lb 10 oz        4th

3 Wendy Bedford      76 lb 10 oz        1st

6 Trevor Cousins       29 lb 7 oz

7 Bob Walker             45 lb 12 oz

8 Neil Paas                 59 lb 15 oz        3rd

9 John Garner             11 lb l 3 oz

10 Mick Ramm           22 lb 11 oz

11 Bob Barrett            48 lb 10 oz 

12 Dick Warrener       12 lb 5 oz

13 Mac Campbell       23 lb 6 oz

14 Peter Harrison       44 lb

15 Roy Whitwell        74 lb 2 oz        2nd

 

I work hard for the fish on Six-Island

Peg 3, Six-Island, Sat, June 21
As chairman of Fenland Rods I feel I have a responsibility to try to ensure that the members have a decent day when they fish our matches. That means trying to make sure that nobody is in a particularly difficult or unfair swim. On Saturday Karen at Decoy had said we could have the whole lake of 25 pegs for our ten entrants. I thought that perhaps we should drive round to the lake before deciding which swims to fish, because the wind on that lake, in particular, can dominate the results. But in the event the members who pick out the swims had come to a decision in the car park, so we went ahead and had the draw.

I mention this because afterwards I thought I should have stuck to me guns and had a look. The reason was that when we arrived at the lake, four of us at the car park end had calm water, while I could see ripple at the other end. In the event the South-East wind luckily turned a little and gave us some ripple from time to time at our end. I walked round, before the start, to the middle numbers and indeed they had a lovely wave on the surface - a really nice Raspberry Ripple. Except for John Smith in corner peg 10, who had flat calm all day.

In the event he managed to catch a decent weight, but he must have been at a disadvantage, and when we fish that lake again on Sunday I feel I must insist that we have a look before we draw. Perhaps they would like a rover?

My swim just before the start, when a small ripple appeared. The cross
on the left is my landing net handle crossing an upright bank
stick ready to take an umbrella if the sun had been too fierce (it wasn't).

The match
Back to the match, and I can't remember ever fishing peg 3 before. It's a nice-looking peg, with the point of an island at about 12 metres, and that's where I started, on the pole. Half an hour later, with just a roach on corn, and the wind making it difficult to hold the rig next to the island, I had a look down the track, on two-plus-two. Over the next two hours, trickling in a few micros and just four or five grains of corn at a time, I caught two carp around 4 lb and half-a-dozen plump F1s, with a couple on a 6mm expander.

I'm already behind
Two-and-a-half hours gone and I walked up to Roy Whitwell on peg 25, who had had some fish, mainly on a feeder, and he said he had about 38 lb. I thought I had 20 lb. Back to my swim and I had just one or two more F1s, at which point I thought I had to make something happen. I had no idea what the others had, except that I had seen Allan Golightly, on the opposite bank on peg 18, net some fish hooked in his left margin, where there was a nice bunch of irises or reeds.

Roy had been casting across to his left, to the platform at peg 1, and said he had just lost a big fish when I saw him, so I hoped that fish were willing to feed in the margin. I had put some corn into a small, very shallow cut-out to my right, and saw a fish swirl there. In went my rig, set about 12 inches deep, and I was immediately into an 8 lb mirror carp; foulhooked!

Roy Whitwell on peg 1 snapped me just as I landed an early fish. 

Good old mussel!
That one came in eventually, and I decided to feed the slightly deeper water, less than three feet deep, about a metre from the bank. Cat meat and, later, mussel found six or eight nice carp and some more F1s in the next two hours. The fishing was never frantic,  but every 15 minutes I managed to catch a fish, first on corn and then on mussel or cat meat.  With half an hour left I had a look in the shallow left margin, right in the middle of some reeds laying on the surface. I didn't expect anything, rreally.

To my surprise half a mussel mussel brought a liner, and next drop the float sailed away and I hooked, and landed, an eight-pounder. I'd been using one of my special method rigs, and next time I dropped it in it went down again, and a fish was on. It came slowly towards me. Then it charged off, stretching the 14-16 elastic which had been working so well. It was obviously foulhooked and intent on reaching the other end of the lake, and when it was at least 20 yards away (honestly), and somewhere round the corner to my left, the hook pulled out. I'd not seen elastic stretch like that for a long time.

The fish fed better when the ripple appeared. Note the cap with a back flap, given to me by Mike Rawson, and so useful when the sun is behind you.

A frantic finish
I looked at my watch and there were seven minutes left. I put in a little hemp and micros; sorted out a slight tangle made when the rig had shot back towards me; put on half a musssel; and dropped the rig back in. Immediately I realised that some shot had pinged off because the float didn't cock properly. These rigs are shotted very precisely, and I just didn't have time to do it properly, so  I picked up another strong rig I'd used earlier.

In it went, down went the float, and a real lump surfaced as it lumbered out to the middle. But this one was properly hooked, and after a couple of minutes it lay in my landing net. 

Pushing the pole top well below the surface, holding tight, and waiting for the fish to drift back towards me paid big dividends in this match, and I the only fish I lost were those foulhooked (about three in total). I reckoned that last one was about 12 lb - the best fish of the day. Seconds later the match finished. Why hadn't I looked down to that left margin earlier?

The weigh in

A little before the match ended, light rain had started. Now the match had finished it was still light rain, but suddenly the humidity increased, and it was quite uncomfortable. I think it slowed almost everybody down. When the rain came down a bit heavier I went back to the van for my jacket. 

I'd got five different rig assembled, and had used them all because the conditions had kept changing from flat calm to a reasonable ripple, and from light winds to time when it was quite gusty. I'd also got a feeder rod ready, which I didn't use. So it was taking me (as usual) a long time to pack everything away. Then the scales came to me first.

Allan Golightly had a good start
in the margins on peg peg 18.

I told Roy I'd clicked 38 lb in the first net and 48 lb in the second, which included the last lump. His reply was: "48 lb? There's probably 60 lb to 65 lb there!" I'm afraid that's the reputation I now have. But no! This time I wasn't wildly over - the nets went 42 lb5 oz and 51 lb 15 oz - total 93 lb 4 oz, which I guessed would be well down, because the conditions round the corner were so much better. And I took so long to pack up that I took pictures only of the last three to weigh.

In fact, Callum Judge beat me from peg 6, and had three fish in his third net for 26 lb, all taken in the last 15 minutes. That's how to finish a match! The rest of the weights  were below 90 lb, and I ended a very surprised second. Callum was even happier to win because he was Golden Peg.

Stephen Thompson shows a nice
perch from peg 23.

Stephen's 27 lb 11 oz on his
 first visit to the lake.

Roy Whitwell had fish on both feeder
 and pole, and had a much better start
 than me. He won my section by default.

Marks out of ten

I still can't make out why only Callum beat me, because the margins in the pegs from 4 round to 15 are really nice, whereas my right margin was a bit bumpy, and the conditions were so good round there. I should never have left the lefthand margin so late, and I was lucky because of that last-cast lump, which lifted me several places. 

On the other hand it couldn't have been that prolific with fish at our end because Roy Whitwell, my nearest competitor, ended with 83 lb 8 oz, and Roy is so very consistently good. So I give myself 7/10. Since then I have made up (and sucessfully tested) some more of my special method rigs which should help when conditions are changeable.

Next match Thursday on Yew, which is likely to be hard. Unless someone gets a huge weight mugging, I expect less than 100 lb to win, with most weights below 50 lb - which will be perhaps six fish. Not a lot in six hours.

THE RESULT

The fish on Beastie are beastly to me

Peg 21, Wed, June 18
Frankly there's not a lot to report from my office in this 15-entry Spratts match. The sun shone hotly, with some cloud in the morning, and I don't think any of us really expected to catch a lot, especially since, as on so many local waters, the fish still seem out of sorts, not yet having spawned properly. Those North-Easterlies which keep breaking up the warm spells, and the lack of any meaningful rain for many weeks, are undoubtedly to blame.

The left margin was not good -
it was snaggy and then it was too
deep next to the bush.

I put up a pellet waggler and a feeder rod...and never used either! With lots of fish showing just under the surface I couldn't resist 20 minutes fishing shallow, and never saw any of those fish take the slightest interest in my banded pellet. So it was on to the pole, at 11.5 metres. I left that line after 15 biteless minutes and came into the deep water in front of the platform, a little to my left.

Bream!
That deepish swim brought a bream on dead reds and then a 1 lb F1, and then I had a good half-hour with four or five more 2 lb bream in the net. A look out to the long swim saw some bites on a 6mm expander, and a change to a 4mm brought one tiny bream. For the next two hours I alternated between those swims, with another 2 lb bream from the margin, and three more tiny bream on the long swim (they didn't weigh even 1 lb between them).

The right margin had sort of collapsed!

By now Neil Paas on my left was catching carp or F1s on mussel, and I spent a long time in the margins for just one more 2 lb bream. Unfortunately I had no nice margins - the right was like a shallow cow drink, with no flat areas, and in any case I never saw any carp activity there, though I kept looking. The left margin was horribly snaggy, so I concentrated under the bush, but there was almost four feet of water there, and I never saw signs of any carp, on cat meat, pellet, corn or mussel.

Neil was partly hidden in the jungle, but  found some carp and F1s on mussel.

Both Neil Paas on my left and Martin Parker on my right had a good 30-minutes spell when I counted each one landing four carp or F1s, and I think Neil had at least one fishing a very shallow margin he had somewhere to his right. I had just that one F1, about eight good bream, the four tiny ones, a perch and a couple of roach on corn. I was glad when I'd had enough and the match ended.

Roy Whitwell - second with 63 lb 5 oz.

The weigh in
The steps down to 21 had to be negotiated slowly (and carefully) and I had hardly packed away when the scales came to me. Neil had just weighed in with his 62 lb 5 oz, which was leading, and I was well down with my measly 20 lb 1 oz. 

On 26 Roy Whitwell then took the lead with 63 lb 5 oz - some on a feeder and the rest in the righthand margin just up to the reed bed which starts there. But round on peg 5 Peter Harrison won - the latest in a very good run of match wins on Decoy - with 76 lb 13 oz.

Marks out of 10
Difficult to say - weights were all over the place. I might have had more bream on worm, but I'd deliberately not taken any from my wormery because so often they die in the heat. I got the feeling that there were lots more bream in that deepish swim at the start, but later I couldn't get the slightest liner, so I assumed they had gone. I give myself a nominal 6/10. Next match is on Saturday on Six-Islands, but the forecast is for more heat, so I must just hope we get a bit of a wind. If the carp have spawned by then, sport could be better than of late.

THE RESULT

3 Mike Rawson             DNW

4 John Garner                44 lb 8 oz            4th

5 Peter Harrison            76 lb 13 oz          1st

7 Bob Barrett                DNW

14 Trevor Cousins        DNW (put back 26 lb)

15 Bob Walker             DNW

17 Peter Spriggs            43 lb 5 oz          5th

18 Joe Bedford            DNW

20 Neil Paas                62 lb 5 oz             3rd

21 Mac Campbell        20 lb 1 oz

23 Martin Parker         28lb 1 oz

24 Dick Warrener        DNW (one bite, one fish)

26 Roy Whitwell        63 lb 5 oz            2nd

29 Mick Ramm          15 lb 5 oz

30 Dave Hobbs          18 lb 1 oz   

I forget to engage my brain on Cedar

Peg 5, Cedar, Decoy
Happy enough with peg 5 in this Spratts match, as the pegs nearest to the car park often fish the best. But the wind must have been bad for those on the opposite bank, because it was so strong; and while we were tacking up a heavy shower came past. 

At least the rain was on my back rather than in my face, although before the match I had thought I'd like a peg with the wind in my face, as our side of the lake was pretty calm. I should be careful what I wish for!

It was a dark, windy start, and then came the rain...

Onto the pole
The wind slowly came round towards the north, giving me a nice ripple, and I started on a feeder for 30 minutes. Opposite me Roy Whitwell had a bream, but I never had anything but big liners, as there were carp near the surface, out in the middle. A change to pole saw me land a 4 lb carp, a 2 lb bream, a 1 lb F1, and a 1 lb crassio. But to my left Trevor Cousins had started getting fish in the margin. That was ironic as he'd told me before the match he'd leave the margins until the last two hours!

Roy Whitwell inaction early on, on a feeder.

To be honest when I saw Trevor fishing against the bank that sort of put me off, and I came in myself. My margins, though, were around four feet deep, while Trevor semed to be fishing mussel in about two feet. A little later I swear he was down to fishing 18 inches deep. I looked for the shallowest area I could find, which was about three feet deep, to my left. But I wasted far too much time there as the area was so small my bait was probably falling down.

Trevor was in action on and off all day, catching right beside the bank.

Mistakes

Trevor kept on hitting fish, and I turned to my right margin, which was more comfortable because of the wind, and there I did find a few fish, mainly on mussel. I made a mistake by not plumbing all the way along the bank, as towards the end I realised I was fishing a foot or so away from a bit of a dip, where my bait had probably finished - pushed there by the carp which were rooting around. I never saw their tails, but they gave swirls on the surface.

So I landed the occasional fish, best around 9 lb, but every now and then I'd lose one for no apparent reason. I don't think they were foulhooked - they just came off. One of them was a 3 lb bream, definitely hooked in the mouth, which had jumped clear of the water when I hooked it, and departed a second after it hit the surface.

The carp seemed to just want to lump around for ages without making any more than the first big charge, though I did get one eight-pouder into the net in about 20 seconds.

Wendy, to my right, in action with a fish on the feeder.

Changing elastics
I changed elastics two or three times, but the result was the same - I landed about nine or ten carp and lost just as many. So frustrating. And all the while Trevor seemed to be playing fish - hooked in 18 inches of water in a little cut-out. I did land a 3 lb barbel, though, on corn. They must have been in the lakes for 15 years and are still in super condition.

About five minutes before the end, and desperate to catch another carp, I lost one and when I dropped the rig back the float didn't cock properly - I'd lost a shot. No time to fiddle about getting the shotting exactly correct, because it was one of my special rigs which require very precise shotting. So I picked up another rig, baited with mussel, dropped it in, and hit a fish almost immediately. That was on the rather nice Slik 14-16 elastic, and it felt perfect.

Yet another disaster
This was obviously a big fish, probably not foulhooked, and it was stretching the elastic out slowly. Then the elastic retracted and the fish came back towards me, but the fish suddenly shot off again, and the 6 lb hooklength unaccountably broke. That was my last action of the match, and I was very downhearted. I thought I had probably ended with 60 lb, and I expected to be almost last, because the conditions were pretty good for catching carp.

Joe still loves his fishing at 94!

The weigh in
I was third to weigh, after Joe and Wendy Bedford, and my fish went 66 lb 4 oz. Trevor had much less than I imagined - 139 lb 10 oz, and said he had, in fact, taken every fish on double sweetcorn in that tiny cutout. In the corner Neil Paas had fished to the end bank, with a pole, and won with 147 lb 3 oz - every fish taken on mussel.

I was beaten by Roy Whitwell, opposite me, who had a lot of his fish on feeder and hard pellet, but added some on the pole. And Kevin Lee also beat me (as he so often does). So in the end I had finished fifth, which I was amazed at, because I know I didn't fish very well.

Marks out of ten

Wendy, with 30 lb 12 oz, finished
1 lb 4 oz behind her brother-in-law.

If Trevor hadn't started bagging to my left I would probably have kept on fishing at eight metres, and I suspect I would have had more fish there. But once I'd made the move to the margins that swim was forgotten, whereas I should have gone back there from time to time.

Also I should have got my big special rig out at the start - I left it until almost the last hour and it worked best of all the rigs. I also realised I had not even tried out at about 2+2, where fish are often to be found. All I could think about was how Trevor was catching in the side - but I hadn't got any swim that shallow, so I should have just ignored him (!) But that's difficult when every ten minutes you can hear splashing behind you!

By the end the sun was shining - especially
for Trevor after a good day at the office!

I give myself 4/10, and console myself with the thought that I'd lost ten fish, and just a couple would have pushed me into the frame, and just four would probably have got me third. If I can come fifth fishing like a prat what could I do if I put my brain in gear?

Next match is the Fenland Rods on Saturday, June 21 which has been moved from Magpie, Pidley because Magpie is currently closed. Karen at Decoy had kindly offered us Six Island, which is my favourite lake there.

THE RESULT

East bank                                            West bank

26 Peter Spriggs       53 lb 15 oz              1 Joe Bedford           32 lb
24 John Smith           40 lb 12 oz             3 Wendy Bedford     30 lb 12 oz
22 Roy Whitwell    97 lb 5 oz     3rd       5 Mac Campbell      66 lb 4 oz
20 Martin Parker   56 lb 7 oz                   7 Trevor Cousins    139 lb 10 oz  2nd
18 Mike Rawson    23 lb 6 oz                  9 John Garner          65 lb 15 oz
16 Kevin Lee          72 lb 13 oz   4th     11 Bob Barrett           22 lb 6 oz
14 Peter Harrison   56 lb 6 oz                13 Neil Paas             147 lb 3 oz    1st

Captain Tom's lake leaves me scratching my head

First the result of a Spratts match, on Six Island Lake, Decoy, which I couldn't fish. It was won by Neil Paas, who is on a terrific run at the moment. Joe Bedford, who is 95 in July, had 70 lb 4 oz for fifth spot. What a result for him.

Result: 

3 Neil Paas               136 lb 14 oz        1st

4 Mick Ramm           39 lb 14 oz

6 Bob Barrett            24 lb 4 oz

8 Martin Parker         66 lb 11 oz

9 Peter Spriggs          81 lb 13 oz          4th

10 Roy Whitwell        44 lb 11 oz

11 Rod Melnyk          36 lb 14 oz

13 Shaun Buddle       83 lb 3 oz            3rd

15 Dave Hobbs          59 lb 9 oz

17 John Smith            52 lb 8 oz

18 Mike Rawson         DNW

19 John Garner          50 lb

22 Trevor Cousins     89 lb 7 oz             2nd

24 Joe Bedford          70 lb 4 oz              5th

25 Wendy Bedford     25 lb 12 oz   

Peg 15, Sunday, June 9

Our first Fenland Rods match on Float Fish Farm, which had just been partly re-opened after algal and oxygen problems (like many other fisheries), and YET AGAIN I drew in the far corner, of Captain Tom's Lake. The end pegs, so we were told, tend to be the best, but today I saw, and felt, a problem - the wind, which had been in the West for days, had turned overnight to the East.

So often that puts the fish down, and today it meant that my swim, at the Eastern end of this 15-peg lake, was almost flat calm, while the others had ripple ranging from light to choppy. There were chuckles all round when I walked up and back, after the draw, and reported the position - because they all know I like a lot of raspberry ripple! 

That dratted East wind was coming from th left, and slightly behind.

The obvious answer!
Still, I had to make the best of it, and started on a feeder towards the far-bank reeds. I daren't go too close, because some were overghanging. And after half an hour I had had just two liners, so changed to a pole. I picked out two swims at eight metres, in he deep water, angled to the left and right. At that point an ice cream van drove past, behind us, very slowly -I couldn't imagine anybocy wanting ice cream, as the wind was cool. But later I realised I could have bought, from him, some RASPBERRY RIPPLE of my own!

First drop in, and the wind moved round very slightly behind me, putting a horrible skim on the surface, and breaking up the reflections of the far bank just where my float was settling. Unable to see it (and assuming I might have to change the tip from orange to black), I lifted it up...and found myself into a fish. Which came off...

The ripple started to my right,
where Roy Whitwell had just a little.

A rythmn of sorts
I managed to catch two carp in the next half hour, both about 2 lb, but lost three. Not a good start, so I moved to the left swim, nearer to the end bank, where another two-pounder took my bait. Then I swapped between the swims, baiting the lefthand one with just four or five small cubes, and fishing the right for a fish; then reversing the situation. And that worked well, with six or eight fish from each swim, before the bites died.

That was the end  of the decent sport, and in the next two hours I think I managed three more from that lefthand swim, and another three across on 14 metres in the shallower water. I also had a drop in the side on a top-two, and caught a two-pounder first drop - the only one I had there, apart from a foulhooked 4 oz crucian.

John Smith picked up some fish
on a waggler just past the middle.

Dead
Then, with 90 minutes left, everything went dead. I could feel it - flat calm, with horrible gusts of wind across the surface blowing my line about. I'd already had a walk up to Roy Whitwell, on my right, and knew he'd had fish on a small feeder cast right across, but he told me he'd lost eight in the reeds on the strike. So I tried a feeder again, but never had a touch. A quick check with him again, and he, also, was struggling now.

Just before the end I started another swim in the deep water round to my left, and in the last ten minutes hooked two fish, both of which seemed larger than the others, and both of which came off. That keeps happening, and I don't know whether they were foulhooked or not. So I ended with an estimated 40 lb, with no idea how the other eight had fared.

The weigh in

I was first to weigh, and indeed my fish went exactly 40 lb, and I was surprised that no-one had beaten that until we got to the last man, Martin Parker, in the corner at the other end of the lake, with the wind blowing down to him. He had taken advantage of that, winning with 57 lb 11 oz, leaving me a very surprised second.

Mel Lutkin, 29 lb 7 oz for a section win.

Marks out of ten

I kept to luncheon meat all day, though used only a small amount, because I just felt that the fish were never going to feed well. So I didn't try corn or worm and wondered whether I should have done so. But to be honest I don't think it would have worked - John Smith said afterwards that his fish went off at exactly the same time and he never had a bite for the last 90 minutes. So I give myself just 6/10. I am sure some one like Bob Nudd would have winkled out a few more, but I can't imagine how. However one or two had fish on a feeder cast to the middle right at the end.

Martin's 57 lb 11 oz winning weight.

Martin Parker brings in his first
net for weighing.

THE RESULT

Still firing on all cylinders, on Yew.

Peg 16, Yew
OH, I DON'T BELIEVE IT! Yet again, on one of the strips at Decoy, I got a long walk to the far end. This time it was in the Friday Old Codgers, which I decided to enter at the last minute, with 23 of us on Oak and Yew. In the last five matches at Decoy I've drawn: Oak 15 (far end); Elm 13 (far end); Elm 15 (two off far end); Yew 16 (far end) and this time I went and drew Yew 16 again...

To be fair, although my first visits to that swim ended in ignominy (that's posh for considerable disgrace), since then I've done OK on it, including my previous visit on Sunday when I was second with 94 lb. And it's a noted peg. But my first visits there put me off it, and I have this weird dread of drawing it again - even though Tony Evans confirmed to me before the match that it was definitely a good draw.

Carp were mooning about all over the swim when I got there, and after we had started I flicked some bait to lots of them, but they never took any notice, Still got other things on their mind.

Cold wind and wet rain
After half-an-hour on the feeder with just one liner I went on the the pole brimming with confidence. The head wind, a little from the left and blowing into the corner, was stronger than on Sunday, and colder. And wetter - we had two sharp showers early on and there was no possibility of putting up a brolly.

I decided to go out to the end bank - just as I had, briefly, on Sunday, though on that occasion I don't think I had a fish there, so I didn't expect to get anything there. And I decided because it was cold, and carp were obviously going to be difficult, I would use expanders over micros, rather than corn or cat meat. 

I started on the pole just past that patch of floating debris, in front of the reeds
 that stick out a little, a metre from the bank. We had wind and rain early on,
but some sun in the afternoon. 

I took out one of my favourite Tuff-Eye rigs - a 1gm one - with an orange tip which I could see against the dark reflections of the reeds, and within minutes I had a tiny bite in the sligtly deeper water a metre from the reeds.. It was a big carp, and I must have played it for ten minutes. It took a fair bit of elastic out, but then kept going round in circles. In the end, though, it ended in my net - definitely over 10 lb, and properly hooked, which raised my spirits.

Minutes later I had another, also on expander, and that came in much more quickly, but that, too, was in double figures, and also gave a tiny bite. What a start. An hour gone and I had 20 lb. The angler opposite on 15 had a couple of fish, also, but I think they were smaller.

Searching around
Then came an hour without a fish (though I did foulhook one very close to the reeds which left me with a scale). The rigs that had served me so well on Sunday, for the deep water on the left, and towards the  corner, just didn't work. I kept going back out to the end bank, and then tried dropping a strong rig with mussel into the shallowest water I could find, near the corner next to a real thatch of floating reeds. Surely there would be carp there? Well, if they were they weren't hungry.

With more than two hours gone I finally managed to hook two F1s in the end bank swim, both on 6mm expander. Half an hour later three carassios came in. I tried corn and lost two smallish fish. Thinking the hook may have sprung open I cut it off and whipped a stronger, different pattern hook on, which I was happy with.

Expander keep working
The second half of the match saw me concentrating on the expander swim, which brought me eight more good carp all over about 7 lb. Each one came after I had fed a handful of micros and a little hemp, and usually within 20 seconds of dropping the rig in, just as the bait hit bottom. One even took on the drop.

But I still kept trying the other swims, and eventually, after a slow spell near the reeds, with half an hout left, I went into the righthand swim towards the corner, using my special method and mussel. I was convinced that if there were fish there taking even just a slight interest in my bait, I would see some indication.

Not a dicky-bird. And now there were two or three dozen carp hanging just under the surface, drifting in towards the margins, then disappearing from view. My last-half-hour gamble had failed.

So I ended with ten carp, two F1s and the three silver carassios (like an F1 but sort of squashed up), and all taken on a 6mm expander. I thought they might weigh 100 lb.

Two nice carp for Chris Saunders.

The weigh in
In the last 20 minutes I started hearing splashing from my left, where Chris Saunders was fishing. The reeds are so high I couldn't see him (hence no action shots). And he told me later he had three carp in the last 15 minutes, from the margins. So my decison to try mussel at the end was perhaps a sensible one, though it never worked out for me. However, in those last minutes I never went right against the floating reeds round to my right, in the corner, where the water was only about four feet deep. Perhaps I would have found some carp there.

As I pushed my trolley back to the van Tony Evans asked what I had, and when I said "ten carp" he thought that was a very good result on the day. But over on the other bank 'Smug' Smalley had weighed in with 151 lb 9 oz on peg 2, so I knew I hadn't won. He took some carp on a bomb and banded pellet in the middle, and the rest on banded pellet and worm in the margins. Yet I hadn't had a fish from anywhere except that swim a metre from the far-bank reeds.

I was surprised how low the weights were after that. Three carp in my first net weighed 35 lb, and three carp with the F1s and carassios went 39 lb. Then four smaller carp in the last net weighed 33lb  - total 107 lb 15 oz, which gave me second place on the lake. Chris Saunders was third with 55 lb 8 oz, winning my section by default.

Over on Oak the weights were a bit more consistent, but the fish were just as big - Roy Whitwell on peg 6 had four bites; four fish; 37 lb. And it was won by Roy Whincup with 102 lb.

My thanks to Ernie Lowbridge for this
 picture  of me and my last net.

Marks out of ten
I sort of felt I was lucky, and that I just happened to land on them early on. Certainly I never felt I was going to catch anywhere else. At one time I thought I really ought to leave the end swim because I other anglers were probably catching faster, but I decided just to keep putting the odd carp into my net - a wise decision in the end.

Unlike the previous match, when I felt I could have caught anywhere, I certainly didn't feel like that after this match. But at least I took advantage of a good swim on the day, and didn't mess anything up. I think I was worth 8/10. 

Next match on Captain Tom's lake on Float Fish Farm, where the fish are definitely smaller. Not as exciting fishing - but for me just as exciting on the day because it's a match and someone has to win. I will take luncheon meat, and Smug told me how he caught on dead maggots down the track. The rain will have freshened the water up, and the wind is remaining in the West, so the fish could be biting. 😀

AN APOLOGY

I described this match as being for Old Codgers. I see from the official results sheet that they are, in fact, Old Gits!

THE RESULT

Yew

Oak