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.
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| 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).
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| 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!
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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.
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| Bob Walker with 45 lb 12 oz. |
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| Bob Barrett - 48 lb 9 oz on feeder. |
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| 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
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