I've catching up to do after being away playing bowls at Potters' Five Lakes complex. For the third time in a row Margaret and myself reached the semi-finals, only to be beaten by the overall winners. But yet again we will be invited to enter December's event to qualify for the Champion of Champions final, played at Hopton during the World Championship in January. The chances of our getting there are probably quite low!
I've also spent many hours tinkering with my new motorised trolley, and I think, that with Mike Rawson's help (he has a similar model) I'm ready to use it in anger. My next match is on Friday at Tunnel Barn Farm, Warwickshire, in a Maggot Drowner's 25th anniversary event, with 62 competing.
Incidentally, I now have my old motorised trolley for sale, which stopped working a week ago. It's a Preston barrow modified by the addition of a second-hand Powacaddy golf trolley. I've had it tested, and it just needs a new Speed Control box (cost £70). If anyone is interested in it at £100, get in touch.
Magpie peg 9, Sunday, Apr 25
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| Blazing sun all day, with virtually no wind, greeted us. |
This was a Fenland Rods match held in extreme heat ten days ago. I had a good start with an 8 lb carp and an F1 on luncheon meat at 8 metres in the first 20 minutes, but then things got hard. On my right Roy Whitwell had an early fish on the feeder, and another two or three, until all bites dried up. When he eventually had another I went back to my van and took out my feder rod. By the time I'd got back, baited up, and cast to the island, Roy had had three more! I had one quite quickly; Callum on my left had one, and then all bites stopped again.
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| Roy Whitwell's first fish (probably the first taken in the match). |
Caster fished shallow at 11.5 metres saw me hook six fish in an hour, but I landed only three. Then another came from the meat swim, and two late on on meat in the left margin. And that was my lot. Roy had some from his margin in the last hour and I finished up being well beaten on what had been a difficult day for everybody.
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| Callum beat me by 2 lb thanks to a last-minute carp landed after the whistle. 😡😡 |
The pegs from 3 to 11 took the top places, with Roy Whitwell wining with 83 lb 7 oz, and my eight fish going 32 lb 1 oz for fifth (beaten by Callum who had a last-minute carp which he landed after the whistle). The sudden boost in temperature that day must have been the reason for the relatively-poor sport (over 300 lb had won from peg 16 ten days earlier, with 100 lb bags common).
