A couple of quick results and comments as I'm busy with bowls and all sorts of other stuff.
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.
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!
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| Roy Whitwell - 2nd. |
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| Peter Harrison - the winner! |
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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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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