Twelve of us fished this Spratts match, and I was happy with peg 13, which has produced two very big catches to Tony Evans recently. It'a peg I've won from in the past, and is one of the best swims on the lake. but a nasty North-Easterly was hacking into me from the right as I tackled up.
This was a day when warnings were out about the heat, yet after a trip down to the swim with my holdalls, I picked up a hoodie from the van on my next trip because I though I might need it eventually - the temperature in the wind was no more than warm. At the styart I could see big carp under the surface against the reeds about 30 years away, but I am sure that a pellet waggler plopped in their midst would have spoked them, so it remained in the holdall.
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| The wind got up at the start, making presentation to the right very difficult. Three days later Ben Townsend had several big carp casting right across to the far corner to the platform on peg 8. |
That was about the most excitement I had. Nothing on the long pole (ten metres maximum because of the wind); one F1 on the pole in the left deep margin; and nothing (not even a liner) on the feeder. The match was now half over, and all I managed in the next two-and-a-half hours were four bream on cat meat, and a load of roach on maggot, in the shallow margin, which kept me amused for 45 minutes.
With half an hour to go the wind dropped slightly and at last I hit a carp on cat meat and it ended up in my net. About 6 lb. A nice 3 lb bream followed that, and even as I slipped it into my keepnet the wind got up again and I never had another bite.
Five packed up early without weighing, and I finished last of the seven who weighed, with 20 lb 1 oz. But look at the weights. I can only put it down to that sudden North-Easterly. Trevor won easily, mugging 15 carp for 112 lb. The island gave his swim 24 a little shelter, and the water was calm enough for some of the time for him to see fish within pole distance. But a superb performance from him, and from Peter Harrison and Roy Whitwell, while all the rest of us struggled.
My next match is Friday on Willows. Peg 1, 5, or 16 onwards for me, please.
THE RESULT
5 Mike Rawson DNW
13 Mac Campbell 20 lb 1 oz
15 Neil Paas 33 lb 9 oz 4th
17 Peter Harrison 64 lb 14 oz 2nd
18 Graham Ward DNW
21 Roy Whitwell 50 lb 11 oz 3rd
22 Peter Spriggs 28 lb 10 oz
23 Kevin Lee 27 lb 2 oz
24 Trevor Cousins 112 lb 1st
29 Bob Barrett DNW
30 Bob Walker DNW
