I scrape in on Yew

 Peg 19, Cedar, Wed, June 17
Sixteen turned out for this Spratts match, so we used both banks on Cedar. There was a fair wind on, as there so often is at Decoy, though John Smith on end peg 26 had it flat calm all day. It was blowing from left to right, down towards my end.  Actually I was almost in the centre of our bank (peg 20 on my left was in the middle), while I would have preferred to be nearer a corner. But we certainly had a good Raspberry Ripple and I was on the bank I would have picked, with the wind coming in to me.

I had Roy Whitwell on my right, two swims away, and I was able to watch him catching a fish soon after the start. It took ages for me to get an F1 on a hybrid feeder and orange wafter, and another half-hour to get a second one.

Good conditions - no sun and a big Raspberry Ripple which
got bigger as the match went on.

I would normally have changed to pole quite soon, but Roy kept catching fish, so I persevered for another hour or more before having a look on the pole at 2+2, which was about as far as I could easily fish in the wind. I had nothing on a 4 mm expander, so tried maggot, which yielded a tiny roach. By that time the match was half over and I reckoned Roy had at least ten; he then changed to a pole.

A nice cut-out
I'd got a lovely cut-out which ran from my platform about four metres to the right, so next I went to the end, a metre or so from the bank. That was because the whole cut-out was very bumpy, and I found a nice flattish spot there. I was surprised when I didn't get a bite because conditions were no almost perfect - a strong warm wind and not much in the way of sunshine.

I dropped down almost into the deeper water and there I started to get bites on corn. Another F1 was the first fish, then a 6 lb carp. I then had a nice spell, landing about four carp but losing some. Into the left margin, and first drop with cat meat saw me hook a big fish which eventually came in, hooked in the side, and another which came off. The last one there just wouldn't come off the bottom...and then it turned into a 3 lb barbel...

The wizard kept catching on a feeder during the first half.

A good last hour
It was not until the last hour that I came right into the cut-out, where the depth was around three feet, and had another short spell, though I lost the first one foulhooked, and then got my first fish of the day on mussel. Another three or four fish around 7 lb came to my special method, and I was just really starting to enjoy it when, with then minutes to go, the wind became stronger amd immediately all my bites and liners stopped.

I should have gone straight down into the deeper water a acouple of metres farther out, but persevered near the bank for that last ten mnutes. To no avail. Meanwhile I had seen Roy get several big carp on pole in his margin,and estimated he had about 150 lb, while I had clicked 35 lb and 32 lb for my nets. A day I really enjoyed at the end, and I think I lost six fish, all foulhooked.

A few minutes after the match finished the wind died away a little and left conditions perfect again.

The weigh in
Top weight on the opposite bank, only a little to my left, was Peter Harrison on 6 who used mussel and meat for 101 lb 1 oz on pole. Then round to my bank, and Dick Warrener in the corner had 12 lb 15 oz, and didn't get a fish until 3.30 pm; strangely Graham Ward, opposite in corner peg 13, also had his first fish at 3.30!

Kevin's best fish - all 17 lb 14 oz of it.

Next to weigh was Kevin Lee on 16 who had a 'munter' of 17 lb 14 oz in his 70 lb 10 oz. He said he thought he had more weight than that.

Roy didn't have the 150 lb I had guessed at - 82 lb 2 oz was his total. It turned out that his early fish on feeder were all F1s, but they fought so hard he wasn't surprised that I had thought they were bigger. My 64 lb-plus estimate was way out - for only the third time I can remember, they weighed LESS than I thought - 58 lb 3 oz. Peter Spriggs said that perhaps they had lost weight in spawning.

   Dave Hobbs had a barbel in his   
second-placed catch.

It was left to dave Hobbs on 24 to sneak into second spot with 95 lb 14 oz on a pole mainly in his margins, while John Smith on 26 had an horrendous day. He hooked, and lost, eight carp in the first hour, all foulhooked. And for the next five hours sat there biteless! He had no Raspberry Ripple all day, which probably didn't help.

Marks out of ten
I scraped in fifth, last in frame, so can't grumble. And for the first time this Summer I felt I could get into "the zone" for a time.I should have discarded the rod much earlier, but I beat some good anglers, so I give myself a generous 7/10, and can't wait to get back to that swim.

Next match is Spratts on Beastie lake on Thursday, when the media keep telling me we will fry. Well, I can always sit in the van and put the air con on. Otherwise I look forward to Beastie, as most pegs have a margin of some sort. Peg 3 is cold in Winter, but I guess it will offer a little shade. But 18 has always been kind to me. No matter, I expect to use pole most of the day and enjoy myself. 

THE RESULT

East bank                                                                West bank

26 John Smith            DNW                      1 Martin Parker        48 lb 15 oz

24 Dave Hobbs      95 lb 14 oz     2nd    3 Mike Rawson        24 lb

22 Neil Paas            38 lb                         5 Mick Ramm          26 lb 1 oz

21 Bob Walker         53 lb 14 oz            6 Peter Harrison     101 lb 1 oz   1st

19 Mac Campbell    58 lb 3 oz   5th       8 Peter Spriggs         32 lb 7 oz

17 Roy Whitwell      82 lb 2 oz   3rd    10 Trevor Cousins      DNW

16 Kevin Lee           70 lb 10 oz  4th     11 Bob Barrett           47 lb 14 oz   

14 Dick Warrener      12 lb 15 oz           13 Graham Ward        17 lb 12 oz