Autumn match on Cedar

Peg 13, Cedar
Hardly a breath of wind greeted us on Cedar, Decoy, for this Spratts match. And yet again I was pegged next to Roy Whitwell. On peg 14, opposite, Smug Smalley had weighed in 170 lb a few days earlier, in the Open, but it was very windy that day, with Smug sitting in calm water. There's been a suggestion, recently (I think it was from Jamie Hughes) that in a cold, strong wind carp will tend to feed better in calm water, where the temperature is more stable. That makes sense to me. But today there wasn't any at all.

Lovely cut-outs on the end bank to my left. But I never had a fish there.

The fancied pegs
Roy said he fancied the middle pegs around No 9 to do best, based on recent match results. An hour spent on a Method feeder with wafter brought me not even a liner, but we had seen Martin Parker on peg 8 catch three fish on a pole, and someone past him had a couple as well. Then Mick Ramm on 10 had a fish or two on feeder. But Roy and I stayed fishless for an hour.

Eventually I turned to the pole. I'd forgotten to put my 14.5-metre section in the van, so 13 metres it would have to be - actually with a short top it was a bit less. But previous Winter sessions on these strips nearly always saw carp feeding well out from the bank for most of the day, so I stayed on that long line for hours.

Roy lands one of his early carp, on a small method feeder and banded wafter.

Worms do the business
Micros and dead maggots were put in, but no bites came, so I tried worm (which was was Smug had used for his big catch). Within half an hour I'd an 8 lb mirror in the net. Then followed a 2 lb F1 and then a foulhooked 3 lb bream which leaped at least two feet clear of the surface on being hooked. But those three fish were all I had halfway through the match. I think Roy had two carp by then, on feeder.

I also tried the cutout to my left, on the end bank, which was very inviting, but had only one bite there, which was probably a liner.

Five fish lost
I kept seeing tiny movements on the float in my long swim, and in fact hooked and lost no fewer than five good fish, all foulhooked. I was down to a size 14 on a 5 lb bottom and two of those fish broke the hooklength. That shouldn't happen, but with Roy being in the next swim I had to hold them just a litle harder than I would have liked. 

The problem was not just the power of the fish, but their sudden burst of speed. They all came in fairly well, and didn't seem foulhooked. But those two suddenly shot off like an express train and I could feel the judder as the hooklength broke. That doesn't happen if they are hooked in the mouth,

Two more carp and an F1 ended in my net in the next hour, all on worm, but then nothing for over an hour. Then with 15 minutes left I went out on the feeder for the last time. John Garner had just had a carp on feeder, and then my tip went round and I was playing one myself. I looked round and saw that Roy also had a fish on, and John Garner was now playing another.

My fish, about 5 lb, was landed, and though I never had another, Roy had another quick one - his fifth. I ended with seven, but fancied that Roy, who had five, had beaten me with that last-gasp carp.

  The winner! Martin's 52 lb 6 oz
was all taken on a long pole.

The weigh in
Martin Parker was the only angler with two nets in, and indeed he had won it - 52 lb 6 oz, all on the pole, mainly on corn, with one on a pellet and the last three on dead maggots. Next to him on 7, Kevin Lee had 37 lb 8 oz for second place on pole and cat meat. Everybody weighed in, so it was a good, tight, club match. Roy was third and I was fourth with 26 lb 2 oz. I give myself 7/10 for perseverance on a day when evry fish hooked was a minor miracle. And I will always have worms with me from now on.

   Good to see bream still in Decoy.    

I have a wormery, from which I use the compost. The cold winters kill most of the worms every year, so I add just a few in the Spring, and they breed. That means I can always find a few worms in seconds. But I will have to bring the wormery undercover soon, with temperatures falling below -10 seemingly every year.

And from now on I will also always have dead maggots with me. Very cheap as I re-freeze those I don't use.

THE RESULT

4 Bob Barrett         11 lb 14 oz
5 Dick Warrener    15 lb
6 Mike Rawson     12 lb 6 oz
7 Kevin Lee           37 lb 8 oz        2nd
8 Martin Parker     52 lb 6 oz        1st
9 Trevor Cousins   20 lb 1 oz
10 Mick Ramm      20 lb 5 oz
11 John Garner       24 lb 10 oz
12 Roy Whitwell    32 lb 9 oz        3rd
13 Mac Campbell   26 lb 2 oz        4th