Typical Autumn sport on Oak

Peg 24, Oak, Friday, Sept 26
Fifteen of us fished this Spratts match on Oak, using both sides. My peg 24 had a small bunch of reeds growing in the right margin. The depth in the side was a little over two feet, but I found a small second shelf in front of the reeds at about thre-and-a-half feet. Unfortunately I couldn't get a bite there early on, so went out to about nine metres. In fact I should probably have kept looking at that spot, seeing what happened later.

To cut a long, boring story short I eventually found a carp about 8 lb from the longer swim, but I can't remember what the bait was - probably mussel. Opposite, John Smith hooked three good carp early on, and must have been leading the match at that time, though I found out later that he had lost the third one.

To my left Roy Whitwell had a carp an hour or two after the start, and to my right Kevin Lee also took a long time to find carp, also out at about ten metres. I think he had about three, before suddenly coming into the side and catching some more good carp. 

Kevin Lee, on my right, found fish early on in open water before coming closer in.

My deep water was about five feet, and it looked as if that was where Kevin was fishing for his fish, so I concentrated on my deep water about three metres out, but got only liners. So it was back out, where two more good carp came in, and with an hour to go I had just those three, but Kevin must have had six or seven. Then fish came swirling right in the side for some micros and hemp I had put in, but I couldn't get even a liner there.How do they do that?

John Smith hooked three good carp very early on in the match.

Then, as Kevin landed his next fish, I saw that he was fishing not as deep as I was...and still the penny didn't drop! He told me later that he, too, had found a second shelf and took all those fish there. But I carried on in the deep water instead of coming back up to my own reedy shelf. One more fish came just before the end from the deep water, and I ended with four. Roy, to my left, also had four, with one on a feeder and the rest on pole. Not a lot for six hours fishing for us.

Mike Rawson didn't weight in, but he definitely caught a fish.

The weigh in

First to weigh was Wendy Bedford, with 70 lb 13 oz, all on a feeder, from peg 1, and next to her 95-year-old Joe Bedford, her late husband's brother, had 52 lb 14 oz. Is he the oldest genuinely-practicing matchman in the country?

John Smith prepares to weigh.

Wendy led round to Kevin, whose nine carp went 96 lb 12 oz for the win...and he was Golden Peg! That pushed Wendy back to second. Well done, Wendy. Sorry I didn't get a picture. My four carp went 35 lb 2 oz, pipping Roy, who also had four, by 1 oz! I suppose that's an achievement of sorts. Even better I beat Martin Parker, my National travelling companion, by 2 oz. A tight result, but I claim bragging rights.

Dave Hobbs - 36 lb 9 oz,
which beat me!

Neil Paas, complete with his
Nottingham  Forest cap, was third. 

Marks out of ten
I lost three fish, but then probably everybody did. I've never known so many fish to be foulhooked or hooked on the outside of the mouth. It must be something to do with the way fish have fed this year. Perhaps the absence of a nice, settled warm spell has something to do with it.

I should have gone back to that little shelf. But the results show that everyone struggled, so I give myself 6/10. Perhaps I should have tried a feeder, but that's Roy's favourite method, and he had only one on it...and he's good! I finished ninth, and congratulations go especially to Kevin, plus Wendy amd Joe. What a pair they make. Next match on Six-Island on Sunday, where any peg from 6 round to 14 will do me.

Dick Warrener - 4th.

Kev Lee with friend.

THE RESULT

East bank                                                West bank

                                                                 1 Wendy Bedford    70 lb 13 oz  2nd
28 Mick Ramm         13 lb 12 oz             3 Joe Bedford          52 lb 14 oz   5th
26 Roy Whitwell     35 lb 1 oz                 5 Dick Warrener      53 lb 10 oz   4th
24 Mac Campbell    35 lb 2 oz                7 Mike Rawson            DNW
22 Kevin Lee           96 lb 12 oz    1st     9 John Smith          43 lb 4 oz
20 Bob Barrett          32 lb                       11 Neil Paas              70 lb 3 oz    3rd
18 Bob Allen             44 lb 3 oz                13 Martin Parker      35 lb
16 Dave Hobbs         36 lb 9 oz               15 Trevor Cousins     42 lb 3 oz

     

Spratts on Willows, and I fish Kingsland

While my mates in Spratts club were fishing on Willows, at Decoy my wife and I were playing bowls at Potters. We played four First Round games, winning three, and advanced to the seni-finals, where we met the same couple, from Lakenheath, who had given us our one defeat. The semi-final went OK until the last end. The score, after seven ends was 4-3 to them, so it had been very tight. And on the last end Margaret and I had our worst end of the week. 

When I came to play the last bowl of the match we were three down, partly due to my having played horribly short on a horribly-short jack! I managed to salvage a bit of pride with that last bowl, ending within three inches of the jack, and cutting our oponents back to 1 shot, but we were out! They lost 8-4 in the final to the massive favourites from Bromley, Kent. But an enjoyable tournament.

Semi-finalists are invited back in December to play in the Champion of Champions. We qualified for this year by getting to the semi-finals last year; and as a result of this latest tournament we have another invite for next year. The overall winners get to play the final at the World Championship in January (Spoiler - it's not likely to be us!)

The Spratts match on Willows
Neil Paas did rather better in the Spratts match, fishing mussels and corn in the margins from peg 16, to the right of the overhanging tree on 15. And as he was Golden Peg he added £89 to his winnings. Overall the weights look to be pretty good for this changeable time of year.

THE RESULT

1Mick Ramm            32 lb 8 oz
3 Mike Rawson         34 lb
5 John Garner            50 lb                3rd=
7 Bob Barrett            20 lb 12 oz
9 Peter Spriggs         72 lb 1 oz          2nd
11 Roy Whitwell       48 lb
13 Kevin Lee            50 lb                 3rd =
15 Martin Parker       40 lb 6 oz
16 Neil Paas             79 lb 2 oz         1st
18 Trevor Cousins    40 lb 3 oz   

No pictures of the match, so here are alpaccas from my village.

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Peg 7, Kingsland Small Carp Lake, Sun, Sep 21
A sad day because Richard told us that he and Theresa are planning to move out of Kingsland farm in October. He's farmed there for yonks, and someone else is taking over when he moves to his house in Whittlesey. He will be letting the clubs know the details to book in future, as the newcomers are going to continue the fishing, and all current bookings will be honoured.

In the meantime BT gave him the moving present of cutting off his phone three weeks before the agreed changeover date, leaving him with no phone line. They will put him back...if he signs another 12-month contract, even though it is their mistake. You couldn't make it up!

But he leaves with our best wishes, and thanks for the marvellous fishing there. I particuarly love his big platforms, especially since he's put in the big, wide steps down the bank, at not too steep an angle.

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Twelve of us Fenland Rodders fished, using six pegs each side. leaving out 1 in the weedy corner. My peg 7 was at the far end of the first bank, and I didn't particularly fancy it as it was in shade on a cool day. But when I saw the swim, with reeds about 12 metres in front, and all round the corner, I changed my mind. I like reeds, which give cover - my approach is to hook fish first and then worry about landing them.

So shallow

I was fairly quiet when I took my first lot of gear to the swim, and immediately saw a fish swirl onlt a few feet in front of the platform. So that would be my first spot to fish. Plumbing up gave me a bit of a surprise - the deepest spot was where the fish had swirled, and it was 2 ft 4 inches deep there! And it got even shallower the farther out I went.

Lots of lovely reeds. but when the sun came out on my right, their moving shadows
on the water immediately in front of me probably spooked the fish.

I did what I have done on here before - put out a rig with corn with no groundbait or loose feed, as this attracts the 4 oz fish. And it worked. First drop and a 1 lb 8 oz common came in. That was when I realised I might have a small problem with the landing net that is supplied - it's big, and heavier than I am used to, and I did find it difficult to move around in the water. Still, I didn't lose any fish because of it.

After that first fish I had hopes of lots more, but sport was slow, though I had indications all the time from liners or small fish. It didn't help that the tall reeds were waving about in the wind, casting moving shadows over most of my swim, which must have spooked the fish in such shallow water, and I had to fish in the sunny area, still close to the platform, to get bites. 

There was a little wind at one time, but no Raspberry Ripple, and the surface was flat calm in my swim all day.

Meat better

A switch to a small cube of luncheon meat was better than corn but I had only a few 2 lb carp and a couple of dozen smaller fish in the first two hours. I'd still not put in any loose feed, as I was confident of making up ground later when the better fish started feeding in earnest and the smaller ones moved away.

Two hours after the start I walked up to Kev Lee, who had 42 lb on his clicker, and I think he had most well out from the bank. I had about half that. Interestingly although I was getting lots of movement of the float as the small fish played with the bait, when I dropped the rig into the shadowy area next to the reeds in the corner, I had nothing - not a single liner.

I start using loosefeed

When I got back from seeing Kevin better fish were swimming around sipping the surface, and I managed to dob one on mussel. I then felt that the fish were becoming more positive in the way they came into the margins, so I started feeding half-a-dozen cubes of meat with hemp when I dropped in. My theory is that they would attract the better fish as they fell through the water, but would soon be eaten, leaving fish to be looking around for more for a minute or two. And it seemed to work, as I had some more two-pounders and hardly any smaller fish.

Soon I started putting in about a dozen 8mm hard pellets, assuming that the little fish wouldn't eat them, That worked better, though when I put in a rig with a banded 8mm pellet I didn't have a touch at all. That seemed very strange.

To my left Martin had had some on bread on the surface, but they never went mad. So I carried on putting fish in the net, now using mainly larger luncheon meat cubes, and as the match wore on the fish got bigger - an occasional three-pounder and one of 4 lb-plus on worm, though sport was still slow. Then  mussel in the left margin took four or five very quickly. Moving all the shot under the float worked best. The fish must have watched it fall.

It was frustating, though - the float was moving around now with what I was sure were liners, and I had to leave it for ages until I got what I thought was a proper bite. In fact I lost only about four foulhooked, and landed one.

The last 20 minutes

With 20 minutes to go I started on a third net, with about 40 lb in the first two. Mussel brought three or four fish of 2 lb-plus, all still from the close swims, and then I hit a sack of potatoes which obligingly drifted towards my platform when I hooked it. I put in the landing net and the fish woke up, stretching my elastic, in the short top I was using, a good 20 yards, and it surfaced almost in front of Martin. It must be foulhooked, I assumed. And I expected it to ping off.

Mel Lutkin watches the scales like a hawk!

But incredibly the hook held and I saw it was a good 'un. The whistle went while I was still playing it, and five minutes later it was in the landing net - best fish of the day at about 7 lb. I'd not seen how the anglers opposite had got on, but I knew Callum was Golden Peg, and he's on a great run.

The weigh in

That last fish made me late and I missed Kevin weighing in his 123 lb 9 oz (not sure how he caught them). Then the weights were around the 40 lb mark until I weighed in 97 lb 8 oz and we went to the opposite bank. Roy on 10, in the corner, had struggled to get away from the small fish. and I suspect that that may have been down to the swim being partly shaded, like mine. 

Allan Golightly, who lives in
the same village as me, had 
31 lb 5 oz. 

Callum lost a fish, almost at
the net, that would
have won him the match.

Callum had several around this size.

Dave Garner next door had done well, fishing his usual waggler and ending with  a nice 74 lb 15 oz. Our guest angler Stephen Thompson had done well with 56 lb 1 oz, and then Callum weighed in his three nets - remember he was Golden Peg. He had had some on 2+2 and he ended in the margin. He said he'd lost one really big fish at the net, and that came back to haunt him when his weights were totalled - 119 lb 11 oz. That fish would have won him the match... Kevin had saved us the Golden Peg kitty.

Kevin ended as winner, an unlucky Callum second, and I was third. I suspect that the sun shining on the far bank helped warm the water just that smidgeon which encouraged the biggerfish to feed there.

Dick Warrener went to help Mike Rawson, who had slipped on
the bank, and came back to see his top four had slipped into the
water. He promptly  divested himself of some clothing
and waded out to get it - in that horrible, slimy mud on the bottom.
Both angler and top four were reported to be injury-free.
His reward was a section win.

Marks out of ten

Later I realised I hadn't tried to fish to the reeds out at about 12 metres, because I had indications all day in front of me. But clearly I should have gone out, even if just to rest my short swim. I had tried dropping in next to the reeds in the shaded corner, without any takes, and I saw very few fish swirling there all day. But the reeds opposite were in the sun, so I should have tried there.

However feeding so little paid off, really, as I happily caught the smaller fish for a couple of hours, and then had only two or three the rest of the day, while the four to my left seemed to have struggled to get away from the small fish. So I give myself 8/10 as the others on my bank struggled (apart from Kevin, of course).

We fished four sections of three.

I catch on both Damson and Crow (our handicap)

 A couple of quick results and comments as I'm busy with bowls and all sorts of other stuff.

Peg 11, Damson, Spratts, Wed. 
It was the peg I wanted as there's a bush to the left which almost always holds fish, though the wind was from left to right and it wasn't easy to get my rig right next to the bush. First two drops with banded caster shallow on a top two saw two 2 lb carp. Then they went off and I tried corn in the reeds to the right. That brought three or four fish, and after that it was a case of dropping in all over the shallow swim.

To my right Peter Harrison on 12 dropped a feeder into the margins on his right and hit fish after fish. In the first three hours I guess he had well over 100 lb. I had left my feeder rod in the van and couldn't be bothered to get it. BUT soon after the halfway mark, with about 40 lb in my nets my fish had disappeared so I went back for the feeder rod. First three drops in my margin saw three wrap-rounds with no fish; then a fish which came off at the net; then a 3 lb mirror. And at that moment Peter changed from the feeder to the pole, as his fish had gone off. 

In the last two-and-a-half hours I picked up occasional fish on a feeder from the right margin, plus two or three when I cast to the island (including one big fish which came off), the best of which was about 4 lb; and the occasional fish from the very shallow left margin on corn. Peter, though, struggled badly during that time. 

The weigh in
Weights were much lower than I had imagined, and the the last three hours had been terrible for some of the anglers. Martin Parker on 3 led with 73 lb 9 oz up to Roy Whitwell, who had fish on both feeder and pole (mainly pole with paste) for 74 lb 12 oz. My second net was over the club's 50 lb limit. I thought it was by 10 oz, but Neil Paas said it was by a couple of pounds...which would have been a shame, 'cos I ended with 74 lb exactly - beaten by 12 oz! 

But Peter Harrison biltzed the match with 139 lb 3 oz, leaving me third. In that last part of the match I think I caught fair amount more than Peter, which was satisifying. But he did fish so well - handing me a real thrashing; I won't leave my rods in the van next time!

Roy Whitwell - 2nd.

Peter Harrison - the winner!

.

THE RESULT

1 John Smith                50 lb 2 oz
2 Bob Allen                 53 lb 15 oz
3 Martin Parker          73 lb 9 oz          4th
4 Trevor Cousins       54 lb 9 oz
5 Mick Ramm            29 lb 6 oz
6  Roy Whitwell         74 lb 12 oz        2nd
7 Neil Paas                 48 lb 5 oz
8 Peter Spriggs           54 lb 8 oz
9 Bob Barrett              17 lb 4 oz
10 Mike Rawson         31 lb 10 oz
11 Mac Campbell       74 lb 9 oz        3rd 
12 Peter Harrison     139 lb 3 oz        1st

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Peg 10, Crow Lake, Pidley, Sun
Our Fenland Rods Handicap match, with 12 fishing, ranging from Kevin Lee, who was scratch, down to John Smith who was plus 110%. There was a little sun to start, then it became cold and overcast, and we finished with rain,

I commiserated with Roy Whitwell on 1, who had hardly any ripple, then before we started I told him at least he'd be getting good presentation on the pole, being out of the strong wind. "No, I won't", he said. "I've left my pole behind." Not deliberately of course. I offered him my spare long tops plus a long No 3, but he said he'd fish feeder and bomb all day.

Nowt on feeder
I started on a Method feeder with banded pellet but after 30 minutes without a bite I switched to pole in the obvious place - just over the shallow shelf, several metres downwind to my left, in three feet of water. 

I fished luncheon meat, but soon realised that mine was floating. I put it in water and sure enough almost every piece was floating. It had been taken from the freezer and I hadn't checked before I left home. Hot water would have taken out the fat (if that was the reason) but I hadn't any. However I had a batch I'd cut the previous day and that was fine. Phew. 

First drop with that new meat and I had a bite. A big carp - it must have been almost 10 lb - leapt from the water, stretching my elastic. Then it dived and came up again and did a fair impression of a water skier as it ploughed along the surface out to the middle, still stretching the elastic. Then it came off.

An early look in the margin
A minute or two later I had a 2 lb F1 from that swim; put in half-a-dozen cubes of meat and, to rest it, had a look in my right margin, where I had found two feet of water next to the reeds. I did get a bite or two, and an ide. Then I swapped back to the other swim. I did that about three times, finding that the margin swim was very snaggy - I was hooked up to the bottom three times. But I did get a fish or two in the margin, and one was 6 lb carp and another a 3 lb bream..

From then I concentrated on the long swim and provided I put in just four or five cubes, plus a little hemp, each cast, I could usually get some sort of indication. My best spell was when I had just one No 12 shot halfway down the rig. The fish seemed to watch the meat fall, then hold it in their mouth, and if I saw a tiny bite I almost always hooked the fish. I did lose a few, though, and I think most were foulhooked. I found most fish several yards down from where I had loose-fed the meat - the wind must have taken the bait along.

Big fish in the left margin
A switch to a small piece of cat meat, from the Co-op pouch, brought better bites and slightly bigger fish - mainly F1s to 3 lb-plus but an occasional 6 lb carp, until I might have had 50 lb-plus (using three nets and not clicking, it's difficult to judge). With an hour to go I had a look in my left margin, close to the bank and big fish came in and kicked up clouds of mud. Unfortunately few took my bait, and I had several line bites and lost three or four big carp foulhooked. But a couple of big F1s and a couple of better carp came to corn, cat meat or mussel. I think I should have tried to fish my special method, but never thought about it.

Ten minutes from the end I felt I had wasted too much time there and went back out. That produced a big F1 and a 6 lb mirror which I was playing when the match finished. However, leaving that swim alone for 45 minutes might have done it some good.

The weigh in
Dick Warrener said that Callum to my right must have 70 lb, which I thought would beat me. First to weigh was Roy Whitwell - 70 lb 6 oz on the feeder on peg 2, and he said he had only four fish in the first two hours. He is a whizz on the feeder! And while Callum did havwe 70 lb (71 lb 9 oz), he was beaten by Dick on peg 4.

I assumed that Kevin Lee would probably have a big weight as he tends to target those big fish, and he was on 22, where the wind was blowing. In fact the better weights were towards my end - I had 94 lb - something after a most enjoyable day's fishing. I'm not sure of the exact weights of everybody because I wrote down an approximation in decimal pounds to calculate the handicap weight.

The Handicap winner was Dave Hobbs with 85 lb 2 oz

,  on plus 80% = total 155.2 lb. Good to see him back on the bank after missing weeks with a bad back.

The weights are below - by this time the rain was falling and I put my phone in the van while I worked out the handicap weights. So I not only don't have all the exact weights, but no pictures either. Here are the approximate weights (without the ounces), and the definite results. The Club Championship points will be based on the ACTUAL weights; the pools and medals are awarded on the HANDICAP places.

Next match on Kingsland, where just ten have signed up. We will be expecting some good weights on there.

2 Roy Whitwell        70 lb       5th          

4 Dick Warrener        75 lb     3rd

6 John Smith            24 lb     11th

8 Callum Judge        71 lb     4th

10 Mac Campbell     94 lb    1st

12 Dave Garner        17 lb     12th

14 Allan Golightly    61 lb      7th

16 Dave Hobbs         85 lb     2nd

18 Martin Parker       41 lb     8th

20 Mel Lutkin           35 lb     9th

22 Kevin Lee           62 lb     6th

24 Mick Rawson       26 lb      10th

Handicap placings

1 Dave Hobbs                     

2 Dick Warrener

3 Callum Judge 

4 Mac Campbell  😔 (Section winner pegs 10 -16)

5 Allan Golightly (by a whisker)

6 Roy Whitwell (Section winner pegs 2-8)

7 Kevin Lee (Section winner pegs 18-24)

8 Martin Parker

9 Mel Lutkin

10 Mike Rawson

11 John Smith

12 Dave Garner

I fish Willows, and offer some musings

Funny the things you remember seeing on the way to a fishing match. Lots of Red Kite. More and more dead badgers  - goodness knows how many there must be around here. And deer - both alive and dead; in fact I had my closest encounter on the way to this match on Willows, as I drove through Ramsey St Mary. I think it may have been a Chinese Water Deer, as it was a little over 18 inches high. It came out onto the road just a few yards ahead of me. I wasn't driving fast, and it stood there for a second before lolloping into some really high scrub beside the road, and I could still see it there as I drove past.

"Road Closed" signs have also been breeding, and seem to appear in any spot where the road ahead is actually open. Two weeks ago I passed one, and in this instance yes - the road was blocked about five miles farther on! Except that the barriers which had been laid across the road (for no other reason than to frustrate drivers, as the work was on the verge) had been laid, or knocked, down by an earlier frustrated driver, leaving a pathway through. Which I took.

But the encounter I will remember most was two weeks ago on a Sunday morning. The road to Ramsey was blocked at the spot in Upwood ahead of the corner whereI always turn left past the Peterborough gliding club. Coming from Ramsey St Mary was a huge, long, lorry; it would probably have held two shipping containers. The lorry stopped at the junction, preparing to turn right, as the road to the left was blocked.

I obviously stopped so it had room to turn, and the driver beckoned to me, so I got out of the van and walked to the lorry. Down the steps from the cab came the most beautiful tall, slim girl, with long hair and a smile that would have melted an ice cube at ten paces. With phone in hand, she wanted to check the best route to the A14. So I gave her one - along the road I had come; through King's Ripton; turn left; past the protest site (incidentally, the longest-running in the country at the moment) and follow the signs for the A14. I was able to scroll down her phone and show her the A14 just beyond Huntingdon.

Later I wasn't sure that the A14 was signposted from there, but to my relief on the return journey from Whittlesey I saw that it was. It was a surreal moment; certainly the biggest lorry I've ever seen on those roads. And the most gorgeous lorry driver you could imagine. I suspect that another road closure somewhere had diverted her from her original route. I hope she made it OK.

Peg 3, Willows
Nine of us for this Fenland Rods match on Willows 1-15. I was eighth out of the cocoa tin and honestly, peg 3 would have been my last choice. There's an aerator to the left, but I've never yet lknown it to hold fish; and the left margin against the reeds is very shallow indeed. The right margin is better, but the howling South-easterly would be coming from the right; in any case the sun would also be on the right, making it difficult to fish that way for a time. (It was).

I would have picked pegs 1, 5, 13, 14 or 15. as I've done well on all those in the past, or any peg in the ripple (you know me).

The main ripple was hurtling down from peg 15, but fading as it reached our pegs 3 and 1, though  the wind turned slightly later on.

Before the start - Mel Lutkin was pegged on the
platform you can see in the background.

Too sheltered
When I got to my swim it was worse than I had feared. The wind gave pegs 15 to 5 a good ripple, but the island was shielding me from it, and the last four swims - 1 to 4, were almost calm, with a build-up of debris which was a bit of a nuisance, but not too bad - leaves, twigs and hundreds of feathers. I guess a sparrowhawk had made a kill recently (something I've never seen). This detritus was being blown past my swim, towards Mel on 1, drifting back along the island, hitting the main ripple, and coming back past my swim. All day. As we got ready there was a bit of a swell from the water rolling through my swim, but no proper ripple.

Already I'd got  severe problems with the wind but it wasn't giving me that Raspberry Ripple I needed.

Still, I had a job to do, and started in the obvious spot, using my short tops, next to the aerator in about three feet of water. Corn brought some tiny touches, but a small cube of cat meat brought a fish - a 2 oz roach. Then another roach which dropped off; and after 40 minutes that was all I had, while both Mel and Callum - on the Golden Peg 5 to my right - had fish.

Mel into some fish
Mel was catching some of his fish towards the island in the shadow of the treees, and I wondered whether the fish were staying out of the bright sunlight. But the wind was so strong now that I couldn't present a rig properly past about eight metres into shadow.  I also saw Mel lose one or two - perhaps the fish were finicky in his swim because of the absence of any surface disturbance. 

Mel Lutkin plays a fish towards the end of the match.

The wind was buffeting my pole, and swinging me round on my box, but still not giving me a good ripple, which would have given me confidence to try closer in. In any case I'd seen Callum, Mick and Allan all trying their margins and not seen them catch anything.

An eel!
When the wind died down a little I could get good presentation for a few seconds, and took about four or five F1s in the next couple of hours on mussel, but with the match half over that was all I had - about 11 lb. But Mel had been catching fish steadily, and Callum had had some as well. He also had a most unusual catch - an eel - the first I've seen for at least 30 years.

At one time I felt that pellets might work, so put in some 6mm and 8mm hard pellets near the aerator, hoping that would stop the roach from taking them. That worked - but I never had a bite of any sort, so it was back to Plan F.

Callum had the same problem as me - so many of the fish we both hooked made a beeline for our keepnets.

Then the wind got worse, and I started to get a proper ripple, though it was almost a side wind which made presentation still bery difficult.. But I managed to pick up an occasional fish on cat meat fished overdepth at about seven metres, just over a little shelf. One was a good double-figure mirror and the rest F1s apart from a 3 lb mirror. I kept trying mussel, but realised in wasn't heavy enough to hold bottom. Eventually, withh 90 minutes left I pushed the bulk shot on my heavy float down to 12 inches from the bait and started fishing cat meat 10 inches overdepth, which meant it was now holding bottom. The result was remarkable.

I'm flying...
I started seeing all sorts of indications, and although the bites were slow and hesitant I started picking up F1s quite quickly. I soon got to 35 lb on the clicker and at 2.55 pm, with 65 minutes left, I started a second net. I had to come closer because of the wind, but there I found that mussel would work. In the next 20 minutes I had five more fish including another double-figure mirror. I was really flying.

Then, suddenly, I couldn't get a bite. The last 40 minutes were a nightmare - one from the deep water on the left where I'd not put in any bait. Then when I put micros and hemp in there fish started swirling and I thought I might start bagging again. No! I hooked just one and it came off. Unbelievable. And to make things worse Callum had a brilliant last few minutes. I was very despondent, as I imagined that in the nicer ripple some big catches would have been made.

Strangely, during that time I started picking up long twigs from the bottom on a lot of casts - something that had not happened before. Perhaps the increased wind was moving them through the water.

First to weigh, and the eventual winner with
69 lb 7 oz. Well done, Mel.

The weigh in

As we were packing up an ice cream van came along the path, playing its jingle. It does that nearly every Sunday, and I've never yet seen anyone stop it and buy one. 😕 It's definitely a question of hope over experience. But it was my best chance of getting a good Raspberry Ripple. I declined...

Mel was first to weigh, and I imagagined he would have way over 100 lb. In fact his fish were smaller than I had assumed and his total was 69 lb 7 oz. My second net, which held fish caught in just 20 minutes (apart from one), went 22 lb and I ended witht 61 lb 13 oz, so I felt I at least had a respectable weight in the circumstances. Then, to my amazement, Callum had just 54 lb 11 oz. I assumed he'd also got much more. I managed to get a picture of the eel - about 1 lb 8 oz - before it made its escape from the weighing bag.

Callum's eel - too slippery to hold!

Round in the higher numbers they's all caught nice carp, with Kevin Lee yet again framing with 65 lb 2 oz - mainly goood carp - for second spot, leaving Mel the winner and me third. A popular winner as Mel does as lot for the club. On peg 15 an unlucky Dave Garner had a great start, until he ran out of mussels; he ended with 47 lb 1 oz.

Dave Garner made a great start,
but then the wheels came off. He
ended fifth with 47 lb 1 oz.

Marks out of ten
I was disappointed afterwards, but seeing the weights I have to say I thought I probably did OK - probably worth 8/10, though I could have tried worm in that lasy session in the margin. Still, I put myself in a position to win - it just didn't quite work out. And I actually felt I could have won from almost any of the the other pegs. That might be over-confidence of course!

As we were packing up an ice cream van came along the path, playing its jingle. It does that nearly every Sunday, and I've never yet seen anyone stop it and buy one. 😕A case of hope over experience!

Next match is Wednesday on Damson, when my short tops will be brought into action again (IO hope); then Sunday sees our Handicap Match on Crow at Pidley, which is a lake we all love, though open to the elements.

Health update
My consultant has agreed a ten-session radiation package on the biggest tunour on my left lung, which should shrink it, but cannot get rid of it. In the long term if the the smaller tumours on both lungs cause me problems chemo is not possible, but tablets can be prescribed to ease any symptoms. So far I have not had any noticeable problem, so the prognosis is good for the immediate future. Fingers crossed.

THE RESULT

Too many lost fish on Cedar

Peg 10, Cedar, Tues, Sept 2
Another warm, windy day, and I was happy with peg 10 on Cedar, as the margins look great, both sides, though I would always choose the opposite bank, where the margins tend to be nicer, though the deep water is a little deeper. Still, a roach first drop to the platform on my left meant it was probably the first fish caught in this Spratts match, which we fished on alternative pegs on both sides of the lake.

Early bites on corn
I couldn't resist a very early look in my deep margin, next to a clump of reeds to my left. Sure enough, corn brought a bite; and a strike; and a fish on; and a fish off! And I wasted the next hour searching for another fish there, with occasional movements of the float, but only one proper bite which I hit...and that fish came off after ten seconds.

My left side produced all my fish,
but I had to fish in the deep water.

Then it was out to top two plus two, where I could present a bait really nicely in a strong left to right undertow against the wind. Expander was my first gambit, with not a bite. Then corn again, and in the next 90 minutes I connected with two more fish, both of which came off. Fish 4; Me nil. Then I landed a three-pounder, and the match was past the halfway mark.

Others were catching
A walk up to John Garner produced the information that he had two carp, but Kevin Lee to his right, and Peter Harrison and Neil Paas, opposite Kevin, were all catching, and all were catching well out.. So it was back to my swim. The longer line now failed to get me a bite on mussel or corn, so it was back inside.

The right margin was horrible, with
straggly roots well off bottom.

The shallow margins were very bumpy, and I couldn't find a flat spot. Some dead maggots in the righht margin brought fish in - I saw the swirls - but there were so many roots off the bottom that I kept getting snagged and I never had a bite there. 

To the left, hemp and some 8mm pellets brought fish in again, and I managed to lose three more! Fish 7; Me 1.The annoying thing is that I'm sure only one of those was foulhooked. Two came off at the net (perhaps I held them a bit hard, but they were so spirited that I wanted to get them in before the hook pulled out!)

A decent finish

In the last 90 minutes I hooked more, all in the deep water - about four feet - and landed six, I think, losing three more. One came to mussel, the rest to corn. The best carp was around 10 lb. I had 46 lb on the clicker in the first net, and was going to put any more into the second net...but there weren't any more.

 

Mike Rawson had a good 20-minute spell at the same time as I did, towards the end.

             Safely into Mike's waiting net!            

I had lost ten, and assumed I had been hammered, although opposite me I had seen John Smith start badly; then take one on a feeder; then land one or two more towards the end. But the conditions were so good. To my left I saw Mike Rawson land about three towards the end, about the same time as my fish came on. But that good spell had lasted only 20 minutes, in which time I landed three of rthe afternoon six.

I had a look in the shallow water to my left, and I had just two liners there, but yet again I couldn't get a proper bite there. I had to go deeper just to get what looled like proper bites (which I missed anyway).

That last 30 minutes is so important, and I couldn't understand why my fish had deserted me, though I was still getting liners. I think the hemp definitely brought them in, but I didn't put enough bait in to get them into a frenzy - they just didn't seem to want to take the bait properly. It's been like that all season - I've never know it to be so bad for so long. But there's stil time to havce a few really good matches!

The weigh in
To my amazement Roy Whitwell on 2 had just 48 lb 10 oz, though that was more than my own catch estimate. Bob Barret next door had struggled on his feeder, but Kevin had 104 lb 5 oz on mussel. John garner had just five carp, but they went 43 lb 12 oz. When the scales came to me and my seven carp,  they swung round to 52 lb-something - knocked back to 50 lb which amazingly was second best on that bank.

John Garner - five for 43 lb 12 oz.

On the opposite bank Martin Parker had also finished well with fish on a pole, and he had 59 lb 5 oz. And farther along, Peter Harrison weighed in 106 lb 7 oz, on mussel, to pip Kevin by 2 lb. Then Neil weighed, and with one net left he needed about 22 lb to just beat Peter, which would save the Golden Peg, as Peter has drawn it. We waited with bated breath!

 As Neil brought his net up there didn't look to be much in it. But they weighed 28 lb; total 112 lb 5 oz, all on mussel, for the win. Well done Neil.  I ended fifth.

Marks out of ten
Having lost ten fish I had thought I was worth probably four; but it seemed that everybody lost some that they thought were properly hooked, which made me feel a bit better. However, two of my lost fish were probably my own fault - although a couple of the others about 6 lb came in very quickly I know I held those two too hard in the last few seconds, as my back was really hurting.

Peter Harrison - second with 106 lb 7 oz.

I strongly suspect that most were very lightly hooked on the outside of the lip, because yet again I was getting bites on mussel only to find the mussel stripped when I missed the bite. So I give myself six. I tried paste twice, but should have tried it more often. And I never tried worm; and I never tried expander in the side. And those two lost fish certainly cost me fourth place. So annoying.

Next match is Willows on Sunday, probably pegs 1 to 15. The end pegs are favourite, but I've done well in the past on peg 5. I like the margins on Willows - snaggy, but that's where the fish are.

THE RESULT

                                East bank                        West bank

26 Trevor Cousins    38 lb 12 oz               2 Roy Whitwell       48 lb 10 oz

24 Peter Spriggs       31 lb 12 oz              4 Bob Barrett           18 lb 18 oz

22 Neil Paas           112 lb 5 oz      1st     6 Kevin Lee           104 lb 5 oz    3rd

20 Peter Harrison   106 lb 7 oz     2nd    8 John Garner          43 lb 12 oz

18 John Smith          38 lb 12 oz             10 Mac Campbell      50 lb

16 Martin Parker     59 lb 5 oz      4th    12 Mike Rawson       34 lb 3 oz