Commercial Matchman: Handicap match on Crow is another good'un

Peg 18, Crow, Pidley
Our Fenland Rods annual handicap was again on Crow, at Rookery Fishery, with 14 taking part and the handicaps based on last season's overall Championship positions. That meant that Roy Whitwell was fishing from scratch, as did the guests, and the club members adding 10% per position behind him. All our members just love fishing this lake - great bank platforms and easy access.

Deciding tactics before the match - Three Wise Monkeys plus one angler!

Yet again I found myself next (with a gap) to Roy Whitwell, and he found himself next to me (!) There was a bit of a wind on, right to left, and I wasn't sure whether a long pole would be possible. In any case I had decided to start on a feeder while dropping small cubes of luncheon meat just into the deeper water of 3 ft-plus out at about five metres.

A beautiful left margin.

I had a fish on within five minutes, but it came off; and Roy had the same thing happened just afterwards. In the next hour I managed one F1, but I saw Roy's rod bending several times - he told me aftewards that he lost several of those.

So onto the pole line, and I was surprised not to get bites immediately. In fact it took me the next two hours to land just six F1s, including one when I added a couple of sections of pole and went onto a line I hadn't baited. That should have given me an inkling that the fish were tending to stay well out (but the inkle didn't reach my brain). I hadn't seen much action as I peered along the lake from time to time, so I ploughed on.

A nice right margin which I neglected to
try until the last 20 minutes of the match.

Switch
A quick switch back to feeder saw an F1 from a spot right against the far-bank reeds, but no more. Yet Roy was getting the occasional fish there. He is just so accurate with his casting.

Sport on the five-metre line picked up a little, and a look into the margins with 90 minutes to go saw my first proper carp, about 5 lb, on cat meat. The fish were stirring up the bottom, but for every one I hooked (which wasn't many), I lost two foulhooked.

Stupid!
I left the right margin until the last few minutes, which was stupid, as I hooked two fish there immediately, though both were foulhooked and while one came off the other broke my 7 lb hooklength. I an sure that if I had gone there earlier I would have had several of the better fish. As it was I think I landed just two from there.

I had had perhaps four to 8 lb from the left margin, but lost at least that number foulhooked, and by the end I thought I had possibly 60 lb. Roy had had a really good last hour in the margins on his pole.

The weigh in
No catch pictures as I was concentrating on working out the handicaps as I followed the scales. I convert the weights to decimals of 1 lb as it's quicker to work out the handicap figures accurately.

I was surprised how low the weights were compared with what we usually get here. Last year I had 157 lb and didn't win. Mel Lutkin had 92 lb, taken well out, while Kevin Lee won the match with 108 lb 11 oz, all taken on mussel on a long pole apart from two on the feeder. At that moment I realised I would probably have done better to have fished farther out for longer, and to start feeding there properly.

I ended with 66 lb 2 oz - fifth in the match. It was noticeable that the bigger fish came from towards the higher numbers. But afterwards I found out that hardly anyone apart from Roy and myself had managed much from the margins. I ended seventh in the handicap.

Marks out of ten.
Worth only 5, because of the basic errors of not looking farther out for longer, and not looking in both margins earlier. It was a lovely swim, with great margins both sides, and I should have won from there, I am sure.

THE RESULT

Yet again Mel Lutkin was in the top three. He has a terrific

set of results in this match over the years. Well done again, Mel.

Mel Lutkin
The Wizard
Roy Whitwell