A frustrating match on Lou's lake

Peg 5, Lou's, Sun, July 27
Oh what a witty set of anglers we have in the Fenland Rods. When, as chairman, I suggested the 12 of them might like to have a rover they seemed more interested in the exact model of Rover car I was giving away. As if! Anyway, they agreed, and we drew on the bank of Lou's.

First name out was John Smith, who said "Six" almost before Allan Golightly had called out his name. It's a noted peg, and always seems to produce, to both feeder in the corner (though it's a long chuck) or pole. It would have been amazing if he HADN'T chosen it. Kevin Lee chose next door on 7, which is also a good 'un. And so the best swims went, and went, and went, and I was called tenth. I chose peg 5, because there was a little Raspberry Ripple there.

Forgot to take a picture of my swim.

A nice reedy swim
Peg 5 is next to peg 6 (as you might have guessed) and I've always wondered why it doesn't do better than it often does. There's a nice bank of reeds going out about eight metres from the bank between pegs 5 and 6. Now I had my chance to have a go myself.

Last was poor Mike Rawson, who hardly ever seems to get a swim he fancies. He had said before the draw that whatever happened he did DEFINITELY NOT want 2, 3 or 4. Now, last out of the cocoa tin, (that's his name, not Mike himself) the only swims left undrawn were 2, 4 or 15. Mike chose 15, end peg; flat calm; lots of reeds out in the swim; but I thought it would possibly hold lots of carp because of the reeds. But with no Raspberry Ripple he'd need luck to hook those wily old fish.

A quick fish
Now my focus was on peg 5, and after putting out a few micros in a pole pot at 8 metres I put out one of my special method float rigs, added a grain of corn, dropped it in the left margin...and five seconds later I was playing a 1 lb F1. But it was a false dawn, and though the float kept moving around it took ages to get a second fish, which was a roach!

After an hour I had about 4 lb of bits, and went out to the eight-metre line. Here a 4mm expander got me a fish or two - small bream, but with one at about 2 lb - before a 3 lb carp came in. A 6mm expander, and 8mm expanders didn't even get me a bite - I had to drop to 4mm. Meanwhile I could occasionally see John Smith's elastic stretching out as a big carp wallowed on the surface. Frustrating!

I'd been flicking a few casters into a swim to the right, near the reeds, and after more than two hours decided I really had to take a look there. A couple of 3 lb carp came to corn, and then mussel took one or two from the left margin.

Lots of bites, but...
I was getting bites on-and-off all the time. I am certain that these were nearly all carp playing with the bait. A couple were hooked in the side of the mouth and afterwards several other anglers told me they had the same thing. Anway, mussel seemed to be the only bait the carp would now take properly, and I persevered with that, though they didn't want a big one, and I had to cut them on half on the hook.

With little more than an hour to go I reckon I had only about 30 lb, and John and Kevin had caught a lot more than I had. Then suddenly the air seemed warmer, and I felt that the fish might start feeding properly...and they did! The left margin was better - the fish came in to a pot of a few casters and some hemp, and I got bites every time I did that.

But while a lot of the bites still came to nothing, or resulted in a foulhooked fish (all of which came off), occasionally the elastic would stretch and a carp, or sometimes an F1, would be on the end. They dashed around all over the swim, which was frustrating as I just wanted to get them in the net and hook another. 

Too heavy-handed
One of the better fish came off (I know it was bigger because I saw it flash under the surface) because I was too firm with it, so then I simply had to take my time netting them. One was 5 lb; another was 7 lb (hooked in the side of the mouth); the rest were all less than 4 lb. That was strange because next door, John's fish were nearly all much bigger.

When I turned to my right I
kept seeing Kevin Lee's orange
elastic stretching out, with
fish like this on the end!

Almost over

With literally three minutes to go on my watch I dropped a rig with mussel into the left margin; got a bite; struck; and hooked a carp...which came off. I thought: "Oh dear." I turned round and Kevin was putting the whistle into his mouth.

It hardly seemed worth having another go, but I did. On went half a mussel; in went the rig; down went the float; out went the elastic; and 'peeeep' went the whistle. All in ten seconds. I shouted "Fish On." 

Ten seconds later I shouted "Fish Off", because the bugga had got away. Not my day. It didn't seem to be foulhooked. But I just wished I'd got another half-hour, because they were now really coming on. Altogether I think I lost about seven fish, at least five of which were foulhooked.

Dick Warrener - 64 lb 8 oz for 7th place.

The weigh in
Martin Parker had chosen peg 1, which I know he has done well from in the past, and he weighed first - 69 lb 3 oz. Now Martin and I have travelled together to Vets Nationals many times, so there is inevitably the feeling of a little competition between us. No money invoved; nothing so sordid. But I thought I had abouter 70 lb, so this was going to be interesting.

Allan Golightly had 36 lb 4 oz, and I realised that if I beat Martin I would win the four-man section by default, because John had obviously beaten me and would certaibly frame. 

My first net seemed quite heavy - somewhere around the 46 lb I had clicked. In fact it went 44 lb, which was unusual because I tend to underestimate. Now I needed 25 lb-plus to beat Martin, and I'd clicked 26 lb. Drum roll;  bugle fanfare; the verdict was 29 lb, for a grand total  of 73 lb 13 oz. Bragging rights were mine (not that I would).

Then came John and Kevin, with each certain that the other had beaten him. John's fish went 124 lb 2 oz, and Kevin was proved correct when his own fish weighed in at 112 lb 2 oz, and they took first and second spots. 

Kevin ended second with 112 lb 2 oz
after having a real fish-for-fish
battle with John next door..

Roy Whitwell on 9 ended the day with 87 lb 3 oz and a top two which was attached to a branch he pulled in, though he also lost a feeder on a snag, so unless the top two fits his own pole, which is highly unlikely, he ended up on the wrong side of that exchange. Third spot was a small consolation.

Callum was fourth with 77 lb 2 oz and I was fifth. The last section, which had no Raspberry Ripple all day, was won by Dave Garner with 31 lb 10 oz. Callum and myself were the other section winners, and I cocked it up by handing them the wrong brown envelopes, so I owe them £2 each.

A good day at the office for John Smith!

Marks out of ten
My main mistakes were not going back to the long line between the slow spells in the margins; and then not trying worm. I did put on a bunch of casters in the righthand reedy swim (sorry, I didn't take a picture of the swim), and that took a tiny perch, so I gave that up. I should have tried it again, because I have found that casters will often tempt carp when other baits are not taken properly. Nevertheless I felt I had done fairly well when pegs 6 to 9 are rated really very good, and was I was worth 7/10. Another few minutes and I could possibly have pulled myself up to third.

Next match in on Elm on Wednesday. I have looked back, and the corner pegs have not been doing well this year, so I'd like somewhere around 8 to 10 or opposite on 15 to17.

THE RESULT

Spratts on Elm, and the Vets National

 Martin Parker and myself were due to fish the Angling Trust Veterans National on Wednesday, do did not enter the Spratts match, which was fished on Elm lake at Decoy. The fishing was hard, and from what I gather, a lot of the fish came towards the end of the match. Here's the result:

1 Joe Bedford               4 lb 4 oz
3 Wendy Bedford         8 lb 1 oz
5 Peter Harrison         61 lb 8 oz    3rd
7 Bob Walker             31 lb 7 oz
9 Peter Spriggs           69 lb            2nd
10 Roy Whitwell        45 lb 3 oz 
12 John Smith            DNW
14 Neil Paas               74 lb 10 oz    1st  
16 Trevor Cousins     51 lb 3 oz    4th
18 Bob Barrett           47 lb 12 oz
20 Mike Rawson        DNW
22 Mick Ramm         24 lb 8 oz
24 John Garner         43 lb 12 oz

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The Veterans National

This match was held at Springvale, Beavercotes, between Newar4k and Worksop, and only a couple of miles from the A1. Martin and I had fished at Springvale twice - once on a pleasure session and once in Thursday's Over 55s Open. And both times we really enjoyed it. You can drive to every peg, there's hard standing from the road to each peg, and you place your box on a large concrete slab, which is absolutely level,  sunk into the bank.

Eighty pegs were allocated for the Veterans match, fished by age 65 upwards (The Masters for anglers 55-plus was fished on different lakes).  But it was announced at the draw that only 68 were fishing our Veterans match. Martin and I drew adjacent pegs on the favoured Newcastle lake. It's the second time we've been drawn together in the Vets National, the first time being at Peatlings.

I had a spare peg, but...

I was peg 19 and Martin was on 20, to my right, and there was a spare peg on my left. Unfortunately the wind, which was fairly strong much of the time, was from left to right, so fishing into it made presentation difficult especially since you have to fish with a lash of at least 12 inches at all times. Nevertheless I plumbed up near the bank to my left, and found it went from about ten inches next to the bank to about 16 inches a metre out. The righthand margin was similar, but much shorter because Martin was pegged no far away.

My usual building site before the match, with Martin standing.

I set up rigs for the margin, plus one at five metres, in about three feet, and another for 10 metres in about five feet.

In the five metre swim I had a definite liner while I was plumbing up, and then the same happened in the left margin, and although I hd planned to start on a Method feeder to the island I actually started in the left margin.

A fair start

I had a small carp very quickly on corn, and then a 1 lb tench., The angler on 17 then started catching fish on his Method rig, and after a short biteless spell I was intending to use my Method rod, but couldn't resist a drop down with the pole to my right margin, where there was a little hole about 14 inches deep right next to the bank. That produced a 2 lb bream, and a 2 lb carp.

From then on I alternated between the two margin swims, occasionally going out to about a metre from the bank, but mainly staying well inside, and sometimes catching in the very shallow margin - no more than eight inches - farther to my right. I actually wasted too much time fishing to the left, and wasn't surprised that everyone I could see with a pole was fishing downwind. Martin told me he had a very slow start.

I feed casters

After an hour I had about 12 lb in the net - not brilliant, but the angler on my left had now come onto a pole himself and didn't seem to be bagging, though he was definitely a fair way ahead of me. I had been feeding just a few casters into the two margin swims, and now sport picked up a bit. 

After another hour, with about 35  lb in my first net, I changed to Miracle Paste. I'd bought it at the Fish O'Mania final after meeting Stece Gregory, who invented it, at his stall. I was the first person to ever do a feature with Steve; it was at Drayton in the 1990s, and I remember I had used it a lot after that. It was great to meet him again.

Halfway

Back to the match, and when Steve Fitzpatrick, Head of Competitions at the Angling Trust, came round about halfway through, I remember telling him I had 50 lb to 60 lb. I was now switching baits to keep bites coming - corn, worm, paste, dead maggots, and then caster on the hook. I still had my bag of micros on my tray, and had not put in a single one - casters and a few grains of corn had kept fish in my swim.

You are allowed to feed groundbait here, and since I had Method groundbait mixed up and wasn't using it I put in a little with every pot, so it made a cloud. That definitely brought the carp in.

Now the fish started taking a bunch of casters on the hook, still in no more than 18 inches of water, and I had a really good spell, with the fish getting bigger. Several of 6 lb-plus came in, the biggest almost 10 lb, and as the nets you are given are 18 inch models it was a little hairy at times. Several big carp threatened to flick themselves out of the net as I drew it up to unhook them.

My best spell
In my best spell I guess I had 45 lb in 45 minutes. You are given three nets - one for silvers, and I twice had to walk up a short distance to a spare peg to get another net, aiming for no more than  40 lb as the limit is a strict 50 lb. 

A session with Ben Townsend a year or two ago gave me the confidence to get the fish in more quickly than I used to, without losing any that were correctly hooked. However one fish gave me the runaround...it turned out to be a 3 lb barbel! I also had an ide which almost wrenched the pole out of my hand, and another small tench.

With 45 minutes left I guess I had lost about seven carp foulhooked, which was probably less than many had done. Fishing so close to the bank, where carp kept swirling in the shallow water, makes foulhooking them more likely. What I had not done was go out to the longer lines during the slower spells, to check whether there were carp there. I am sure there would have been, and that probably cost me the match.

My estimate

Only three fish came in the last half-hour, and I was playing a six-pounder when the match ended. I'd not taken much notice of Martin during the match, but I couldn't help seeing his elastic stretching out in the last couple of hours, so I guessed he had at least 100 lb, while I had clicked 154 lb.

The weigh in

Coming up to peg 16, the leading weight was 72 kilos from peg 5.

Danny Sixsmith was on peg 16. I remember him from several Nationals, and in fact a few years ago, when I was sixth, he won my section on Tunnel Barn Farm and I think he framed in the first three places, which he has done several times.

This time Danny weighed 64 kilos of silver fish, all taken on a longish line  feeding worm (and possibly something else). He told someone he hadn't had a single carp. The next angler, on 17, had 70.275 kilos (approx 154 lb) and I thought I had about the same.

In fact my five nets came to 70.300 - so he must have been really fed up, because that 25 gram difference is about half an ounce! That left me in second place so far. Martin had 34.125 kg, beating the two anglers on our bank on his right.

On the opposite bank I saw the weighers-in were taking a long time to complete their weighing, and in fact two nets there beat mine by a few kilos. I finished fourth overall, winning my section by default, and giving me £50 and an Angling Trust medal, the third I have won over the years, though I have won my section of ten several times, without getting a medal for that - this must be a new introduction. Martin finished in 22nd place.

Marks out of ten

I suppose it has to be done. I was delighted to finish fourth in a National, but I know I should have won. I should certainly have gone out to one of the longer lines to rest the margins properly.  Having said that I didn't go mad with the feed as the fish were already in my swim. I used one-and-a-half pints of casters and about half a tin of corn, and just a few dead maggots. My honest assessment is 6/10.

We both agreed (as did every angler I spoke to) that this is a delightful fishery. It's almost impossible to get a pleasure peg at weekends at the moment, and there are lots of club matches every day, as it's bang in the middle of a heavily populated part of the country filled with matchmen. I can't wait to go back.

The full result is on: https://www.hotfishin.com/app/matchresults/Angling-Trust/Angling-Trust-Veterans-National/75BPJS4X/

Next match Sunday on Lou's lake, Decoy. I've won from peg 14 the last twice I've fished there. Perhaps the Fenland Rods anglers would like a rover, because quite often half of that lake has a ripple and half doesn't, and you so often need a Raspberry Ripple!

A good finish for me on Yew

Peg 27, Yew, Sunday, July 20
Karen at Decoy allowed us to change the bank we had booked on Yew to the high numbers, to avoid  disturbing the anglers fishing along that bank on Oak lake. Karen is doing a sterling job at Decoy, and is a pleasure to deal with. Thanks, Karen. But even Karen couldn't do anything about the rain that fell for a few hours.

The wind was blowing towards the far end, which often means that the fishing will be better at that end, though in fact we hadn't placed anyone in the far corner peg 16 - nearest to it was Mike Rawson on 18. Just nine of us fished - minor things like holidays and bad backs had depleted us. But I was happy enough with 27, as this bank has lots of reeds and there are often carp to be had in the margins, even if sport is not particularly good. And for once we had a beautiful raspberry ripple!

We had lots of rain, lots of raspberry ripple, and Dick had 
a great start with a couple of good carp.

One on a feeder
I was confident enough to put in all three nets in expectation, rather than  hope,  and started by having a look in the margins, more to get the rigs looking good than expecting to catch anything, as the margins on this bank are over five feet deep. And I didnt catch, or have a bite. 

After 15 minutes I turned to a Method feeder with just groundbait, and second cast to the middle saw a 4 lb carp come in. But how that fish fought! My back was really hurting by the end. Then Dick on my left landed a fish he estimated at 10 lb and said that in end peg 30 Allan Golightly had had two good carp.

No more on a feeder for me, so I went out to two-plus-two-and-a-half a little to my right. The wind was from the left and  now fairly strong, and I had found a tiny dip in the bottom - no more than two inches, but it was at least some sort of feature. I tried expander and then corn, which brought two F1s. Some time later two carp around 4 lb joined them in my net.

Nice fishing
For the next couple of hours I concentrated on that spot, finding an occasional carp, which now ran to about 6 lb. meanwhile Dick had, I think, one more, but was struggling. I had no idea what the others had, as the vegetation is so high along the bank. I was feeding the same each cast - a small amount of micros, just a little hemp, half-a-dozen grains of corn, and about 20 4mm pellets, while fishing corn.

It was really enjoyable. The fish fought like demons on the 14-16 yellow Slik elastic, and I lost only a couple, foulhooked. In fact I changed the elastic up to 16-18 green, and this was much better, and I was able to land the next fish much more quickly. 

Into the margins
After I landed that fish, and with a couple of hours to go I came into the side with mussel (which was what Dick had had his best fish on). To be honest I should probably not have moved, as I had been catching quite well on the long line, but I wanted some bigger carp. I had some casters with me and put some in each cast, and I think it helped keep carp in the swim.

There were some big carp taken - this one
was by Stephen Thompson on peg 25.

They obliged, eventually, though it took me probably 20 minutes to catch the first one. The first fish was about 10 lb.I had taken my rig off a top with that same yellow elastic and put it onto a top with a stronger orange elastic (I can't remember the rating, probably 20). That was perfect, and I had another five or six  fish, including two in the last ten minutes, and all on mussel, and all hooked in the mouth, and none lost.  I wish I could remember what that elastic was, as it feels fantastic with a double-figure fish on - not harsh, and it will stretch when they make the first run, but after that I feel I am the boss.

The match ended as I was unhooking the best fish - a common around 12 lb. Happy days.

Part of Stephen's  63 lb 9 oz bag.

The weigh-in
Allan weighed 54 lb and Dick just 35 lb - disappointing weights after a nice start. Roy Whitwell had walked by and said he had "a fair few fish" which suggested to me he had bagged. And then Callum said he'd had the best four-and-a-half hours fishing he'd ever had, and admitted to 150 lb. They both said that Mike Rawson had landed a couple of "baby pigs", and Stephen Thompson had another. So although I thought I had 100 lb-plus I clearly hadn't won.

In fact my three nets of fish went 111 lb 4 oz. Roy had started, as usual, on a feeder,cast right across to a platform on the far side, and had then changed to a pole - the result was 138 lb 14 oz. And Callum's estimates was good - he finished with a magnificent 169 lb 5 oz, while Mike's big fish helped him to fourth spot with 86 lb 6 oz - not bad for someone still recovering from a stroke.

Roy Whitwell had "a fair few."

Callum Judge had more - 169 lb 5 oz
for a memorable win.

Marks out of ten
I ended third, and was pleased with myself for bothering to change elastics. My biggest mistake was probably to move off the long line while I was still catching, but I had the feeling I needed some bigger fish, which was correct. I did try paste (honestly) but had only a liner or two. In the end I had the fish lining up, with two for over 20 lb in the last eight minutes. So I give myself 9/10, because it was always on the cards that the fishing would be better towards the far end where the wind was blowing.

I undoubtedly lost too much time playing those carp on the 14-16 elastic. The fish were so full of testosterone that they went mad in the landing net, even after a long fight.

Next match the Angling Trust Veterans National on Wednesday at Springvale near Retford. Top weight is expected to come from Newcastle lake, but I suspect the wind and rain will be  a contributary factor. I wouldn't be unhappy with some of the pegs on First Spring, where I fished last week, because I picked a few brains of the anglers who did well on there. PS (Fish O'Mania pics also below),

THE RESULT

FISH O'MANIA PICTURES

It rained at Fish O'Mania, especially in the second half!

Martin Parker and I watched Lee Thornton, who used to fish
with us in Grebe AC. He now lives oop North where
they talk funny. Lee, fishing his second final,
ended with 28 kilos (61 lb) and finished 17th out of 25. 

A few carp for me on Willows - plus Springvale match

Peg 22, Willows, Monday, July 14
Happy with peg 22 in what used to be called Deadman's Bay, even though Trevor was on the famous peg 25 and Golden Peg. I had Rod Melnyk on my left, and he started well on a pole on a top 2, while I started a bit farther out, and found some small bream and an F1 on 4mm expanders. However after about an hour he was way ahead, and by the time I had 15 lb he probably had nearer 40 lb. So I came closer in, partly because the wind got a bit fiercer.

No picture of my swim because I took a video, and can't get it to compress proerly to send it to my e-mail Technology!!

Eventually I found those bream again, plus a carp or two around 4 lb, and some small F1s. But it wasn't until I came into the nargins that I found bigger carp. First I foulhooked one on mussel from the right margin, where there is a long cut-out; then first drop into the left margin, right against the reeds, I had a bite in seconds...and this came off, also probably foulhooked.

Trevor on 25 had all his fish shallow. One of my foulhooked fish almost
 made it to that aerator, which must have been 25 yards away.
It was hooked in the tail, and I landed it (the fish, not the aerator).

The last two hours saw a bit of a nightmare, and eventually I lost count of the number of big fish I'd hooked and lost on mussel, and I think two or three were properly hooked. I did land two fish over 8 lb, though; both were hooked in the tail. However in the last hour they started to feed properly, and I added four or five more, with a couple on worm..

My mistake
I think the problem was that the fish were big, and milling around when I fed micros, and wafting the mussel around, so that they couldn't target it properly, and in adddition sometimes it would rest against them and foulhook them. Paste would have been reasonably stable, allowing them to pinpoint it properly.

Rod Melnyk, pegged next to me, had fish
of all sizes in his  97 lb 9 oz catch.

The weigh in

Peter Harrison blitzed it on peg 1 with 193 lb 9 oz, saving us all the golden peg money. Trevor was second on 25 with 138 lb 15 oz, all taken shallow against the island. Rod next to me had 97 lb 9 oz, and after my very slow start I added enough to bring me to 85 lb and fourth place, followed by Peter Spriggs 83 lb 7 oz and Roy Whitwell 83 lb 3 oz. So a tight finish! I give myself 5/10, and I should have done much better.

Mick Ramm - 54 lb 6 oz.

Bob Walker - 47 lb 14 oz.

Peter Harrison - the winner with a
magnificant 193 lb 9 oz.

Trevor Cousins - second
with 138 lb 15 oz.

THE RESULT

1 Peter Harrison          193 lb 9 oz        1st
3 Roy Whitwell             83 lb 3 oz
5 Dick Warrener            12 lb 13 oz
7 Kevin Lee                   39 lb 13 oz
9 Peter Spriggs              83 lb 7 oz
11 Bob Barrett               26 lb 8 oz
13 Neil Paas                  49 lb 6 oz
15 Mike Rawson           13 lb 10 oz
16 Bob Walker              47 lb 14 oz
18 John Garner             35 lb 10 oz
20 Rod Melnyk            97 lb 9 oz        3rd
22 Mac Campbell        85 lb                 4th
24 Mick Ramm            54 lb 6 oz
25 Trevor Cousins      138 lb 15 oz        2nd

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Martin Parker and I visited Springvale Fishery, near Beavercotes, North of Newark up the A1, a couple of weeks ago, as that's where the Vets National is being held on Wed, July 23. It's a lovely fishery, neatly kept, with lots of silver fish as well as carp, and the lakes are quite big.  You can drive to every peg.

I fished a pole most of the time and had lots of silvers - bream, ide, tench, roach etc, on expander, and Martin had big carp on a bomb and hard pellet, all on Duchess Lake.

Last Thursday we entered the Over 50s match, and he was drawn on Golden 2 while I was on First Spring. In fact First Spring is in the Vets part of the National, together with Golden 1 and Newcastle. The locals insist that Newcastle Lake will be favourite to produce the winner. Seventy-six entered that match.

Springvale - as usual I managed to avoid any raspberry ripple.

Martin had 56 lb of bream in the match, and I had 46 lb, which won my three-peg section; it was almost the lowest section winning weight in the match (but it won me £27), and I now see why paste is so popular there as a bait for the carp. That's because you have to fish a lash of at least a foot, whatever depth you are fishing at, and obviously in a wind you are most likely to be able to keep paste still, rather than maggots, casters, worm, corn or pellets, which are the other main baits used, as all meat is banned. 

Lovely scenery at Springvale. This angler next to me had 36 lb I think.

I had a problem having to use a minimum of 12 inches, as I couldn't push the rig up to some overhanging vegetation in my margin. Most of my carp came in the last hour, so I see why so many target the silvers to start with.

I may also have to amend some of my carp rigs, as you have to use a hooklength, while some of my rigs for the big carp at Decoy are all-through. 

You also have to use fishery pellets, which are Coppens, and it's difficult to get micros to squeeze together like Skrettings. The locals use additives to bind them. I haven't got time to experiment, but as groundbait is allowed probably Method feeder will help. I'm not used to using groundbait, as it's banned at Decoy except in feeders, but anglers told me it definitely keeps the silvers in your swim.

Our best performances in the past in the Vets Nationals have been winner (Martin, on the Grand Union Canal) and Sixth (me on Tunnel Barn), but I have won my 10-peg section several times and have two NFA medals for winning my zones on Moorlands and Woodland View. Not sure we will be able to do well on Wednesday, as there will be so many locals fishing the match. But it's always good to meet anglers I see only once a year.

The Power of Paste on Damson

I'm a bit behind but will catch up when I can!

Three matches have gone since I was last with you, the first of which was a Fenland Rods match on Damson, Decoy. I drew peg 13, in the far corner, and end peg. It's much fancied, but I know, having fished it recently, that there's hardly any of the swim less than three feet deep, which makes it a better bet in cooler weather than in the heat, when fish like to be well up in the water or graduating, at some time, towards the shallows. Still, I expected to catch a few.

My swim was calm all day. The reeds out in the water to my right held fish at the start, but eventually I got fed up with disentangling my rig from them!

As is usual on this lake, fish were showing around the platforms as we were setting up, and for once I managed to catch a few early - six in the first half-hour, from 1 lb to 2 lb, on a banded 4mm pellet. That may now sound like a good start, but believe me, it can be a lot worse on Damson, when the fish play hide-and-hide!

Fish in among the reeds
There are thick reeds in both margins, and to the right a few are growing farther out in the lake, which is where I eventually managed to get a string of bites. Three sparse reeds were set in a triangle, and i got bites right in the middle. The problem was that the fish kept charging through the reeds when hooked, and I had to keep using my long hook to get my rig back. I had perhaps a dozen on corn before deciding I simply had to try to the left.

On a short top plus short Number Three (why do so many firms call it the Number four when it's the third section?) I had an occasional fish, but two swims to my left there came lots of splashing as Kevin Lee netted fish after fish. If I leaned back I could see he was fishing in his left margin, where a bush used to stand - and the roots are still there. A little channel runs round the edge of the roots and it always seems to hold fish. It doesn't always win of course, but with an angler of Kevin's calibre in it, it was odds-on he'd have a few...

My paste swim was in that gap between
 the net and two reeds leaning out.

Paste was the answer
Mussel found a fish or two for me. but I got a lot of liners. So, although it's years since I used paste properly, I tried it on this occasion. The result was miraculous, and I had a terrific half-hour when the bait was in no more than a few seconds before I was attached to a fish. Three or four were  3 lb upwards. I envisaged  adding 60 lb an hour for the second half of the match...but as quickly as the bites had started, they vanished. And I couldn't work out why paste was better than cat meat or mussel or corn.

One reason it may have worked well was that I was rolling my paste in the micros, or making the paste by just squeezing the micros together. That would probably look more convioncing among the micros I was feeding. I will try that again.

The last two hours brought only about six more fish. Nothing on the feeder dropped in the side or cast towards the corner. Nothing on worm. I found out afterwards that Roy Whitwell had had a lot of his fish on feeder cast out into the deep water halfway across the lake. A lesson learned.

Roy Whitwell framed yet again!

The weigh-in
In peg 1 John Smith had, like me, lost his fish towards the end, but weighed in 116 lb 5 oz. Roy Whitwell yet again had a super catch - 151 lb 3 oz on peg 3. But Kevin bossed us all on peg 11 with 168 lb 4 oz to win. I think paste did the damage - I know he won the pervious match here on paste. I had 99 lb 7 oz for fourth and a section win by default. Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. And it showed me the power of paste.

Kevin Lee's winning 168 lb 4 oz
was almost all small carp.

My 99 lb 7 oz included four or 
five better fish to 4 lb.

Match changes at Decoy

I'm pretty busy this week and not sure when I will be doing my blog. But I ought to remind my loyal readers of some forthcoming changes to matches:

The Spratts match on next Tuesday, July 22, booked for Oak, has been moved to Cedar, as the Three-day festival will be using Oak on each day. 

(Still time to book into the Festival, Mon-Wed, July 21-23, with Karen arrranging a free meal after every match. The chalets can now be hired.)

Magpie at Pidley is back open, so the Fenland Rods match on Sunday, July 27, is definitely going ahead on Magpie, where Ben Townsend recently took 276 lb in a Fish South qualifier!

The Fenland Rods match booked for Beastie on Sunday, Aug 3, is now on Willows 1-15. Members will have to decide on the morning whether they still want it as a rover.

The Ellis Buddle Memorial match booked for Satureday, Aug 9 on Willows and Lou's has been cancelled, but Shaun expects to run it again next year.

A satisfying (but difficult) match for me on Oak

Peg 7, Sunday, July 6
Thunderstorms and a brisk North-Westerly were forecast, so it was good to see so many anglers at Decoy - there must have been 100. In our Fenland Rods match there were 12, and I was glad we'd booked pegs on the West bank, so we would have back wind. It meant the water on our side was fairly flat and, with anglers opposite, our options when legering were just to halfway.

We all sat like gnomes from home!

I set up long tops, even though I couldn't find more than three feet of water. That gave me a fair amount of elastic in the pole, as the carp here can average almost 10 lb. I could find a hard bottom only near the side; in fact when the water was lowered two years ago a long pile of silt could be seen running almost the entire length of the lake, and sure enough I could feel my plummet being sucked down when I plumbed up well out. The EA told Decoy not to dredge this stuff out, which I fnd incredible, as most of it is carp s**t. The rain started early.

A very early carp
I dropped in the side with a small lump of cat meat on, next to a few reeds which have managed to take root in the left margin. I put in no feed, and after about 40 seconds the float dipped and I was into a carp. It fought tenaciously for several minutes, and just didn't want to come to the net, but eventually I had it. About 9 lb. At that moment I was probably leading the match.

For the next two hours it rained hard, and the poor souls on the opposite bank had it in their faces. I heard no thunder (not surprising as my hearing is bad even when it's good), but I can confirm that the rain was wet. Funnily enough I was more heartened by the rain than disappointed, because the farmers desperately need it. A local who used to work with cereals told me that some of the wheat is actually dying in the field.

Umbrella problems
I put up my umbrella, which is a big old Preston Flat Back, with a tilt device. Unfortunately I've never been able to screw the pole up sufficiently tightly to get that pole dead straight - it always leans a little to one side. 

John might have got on better turning round!

When the wind is not too bad, putting it straight above me is often the best option. On this occasion I just couldn't get it right, and I kept getting dripped on!  I need one that has just two screw-in holes - one straight and one at an angle, like one of my old models used to have.  I've plumped for the Guru Large. Any better ideas?

From the onset of the rain my sport was almost non-existent. To my  left John Smith eventually went out with a waggler and mussel, and hit another hard-fighting big fish. I saw it come to his landing net and veer off just before John could lift it. Two seconds later his line went slack, as his hook had pulled off the line. How does that happen? He was not amused!

Seconds after I took this picture, as John prepared to net the fish, it came off!

Opposite, I saw two or three fish landed on feeder dropped in close to their margin. There was ripple there, so perhaps that helped, though they were getting wetter and wetter.

Careful baiting brings a small reward
After about two hours I had another nice carp, which I think was from the right margin on corn, and the rain stopped around that time. Then I went out over that horrible silt, on a top two plus three and a 0.5 gam float with corn, feeding just a trickle of micros and about four grains of corn at a time. This brought six fish eventually - two F1s, two ide, a carassio, and a small roach, which weighed  probably 8 lb  - so I considered that not bad as clearly every one was struggling for a bite.

Meanwhile John had another carp, but to his left Mel Lutkin had had three on a feeder early on, and to my right Allan Golightly had hooked two, and landed just one (the other was foulhooked I think).

A last-minute disappointment
I had also managed a smaller 'proper' carp during the middle of the match - about 5 lb, from the margins. Now, with an hour to go, I put in a pot of dead reds in the right margin and eventually had a take from a fish on a bunch of deads, which was probably foulhooked as it pulled off. 

Umbrellas now down, John managed to net this one on a pole.

Twenty minutes from the end of the match the rain started again, while I was playing a 4 lb carp! I had taken the umbrella down, but the Halkon Hunt Goretex kept me dry. Meanwhile John had a very late fish near those reeds between us, and just after he landed it I also had a fish there on mussel, which shot through his swim and surfaced in front of Mel on peg 9.

I stuck the pole under the surface, and the fish slowly curved round in an arc towards the middle, before the hook pulled out of that one. Definitely foulhooked. Seconds later the match ended. 

The weigh in
I was amazed that Dave Hobbs on peg 2 hadn't weighed, as he always catches fish. I was told he lost a couple foulhooked and never had another bite. Allan Golightly on 5 (peg 6 was vacant) had 28 lb 8 oz and must have been disappointed when my ten fish weighed 35 lb 5 oz, which took the lead after five had weighed.

John Smith with his best fish.

John had 25 lb, and Mel had failed to add to his early good start, totalling 21 lb 10 oz.

Then came a gap between the platforms, where the banking has slipped slightly. On the opposite end was Roy Whitwell on 10, who weighed his first net at 23 lb-plus of carp, and then brought up his second net with just one fish in it. Unless that weighed almost 13 lb I would beat him. On to the scales it went - 13 lb 5 oz (from memory), and he leaped above me with 36 lb 12 oz.

Roy - second with 36 lb 12 oz

Stephen Thompson had just two
 carp for his 20 lb 14 oz!

Past him everybody had a carp or two, but Kevin Lee on end peg 14 eclipsed us all with 60 lb 7 oz of carp taken mainly from his left margin. Yet another win for a superb angler. Well done on a very difficult day, Kevin. So I ended in third place.

Callum Judge - section winner
by default with 30 lb 5 oz.

Yet another win for Kevin Lee!

Marks out of ten

Right from the start I had this feeling that it was going to be difficult, although the day wasn't cold, and the conditions were quite good. So I was pleased I stuck to that. By the end I'd used literally a big handful of corn, plus a little hemp, and just half-a-dozen lumps of cat meat, one worm ( which produced nothing) and about three mussels. together with perhaps half a pint of micros.

Those six fish patiently winkled out on corn from the silt swim made all the difference, and when I landed the two ide that was confirmation, to me, that the carp were not going to come on the feed. So I give myself 8/10. Just one more F1 would have catapulted me into second spot. 

Next match Sunday on Damson, when I will definitely take my feeder rod down to the swim, having seen what happened there last week. Before then I will be watching two of my all-time  inspirers Torvill and Dean, at Nottingham, on their last-ever tour. They get 10/10 from me, and always will. Their Boleros (Olympics and World) still leave me breathless.

THE RESULT