I probably should have won - Beastie, Decoy; and we remember Bryan

Peg 13
A very strong South-Westerly greeted the 17 of us who fished this Spratts match on Beastie. But before the draw we did something perhaps more important - we held a minute's silence to remember Bryan Lakey, who fished with us up to about five years ago. Bryan was the only man to win the National Championship (on the Middle Level) and the Embassy (in Denmark), and with the winnings of the latter he bought a shop in Wisbech and turned it into a tackle shop.

I regarded him as a special friend - when he was on holiday before one National I used to check on his breeding gozzers at his home. And every Friday in Summer I used to pick up four pigeons, at 2/6d each, which we shared for our gozzers. When his daughter got married he trusted me with looking after his tackle shop all day. Not everything was priced and some locals probably got some real bargains that day!

When I had an attack of Vertigo while fishing he packed up and drove me home. A real, proper, mate. He moved to Market Deeping to be near his daughter three years ago and I lost touch, only to find his wife, Sheila, a few months ago, and then to be denied seeing Bryan, who had been in a care home for two-and-a-half years, because of Covid19 restrictions. He died because his body just gave out. He was 81. And the world I live in is poorer for his passing.

The draw
So on to the draw, and the first name out was Peter Harrison, followed by first peg out - 30, a bit of a flier and there were some groans in the watching , socially-distanced, group. The other pegs I really fancied went flying out of the bag - 2 to Rob Allen; 18 to Mick Linnell; and 9 to Mick Ramm. My dreaded peg 24 went to John Garner, with an appropriate comment from Trevor, who had obviously read my last blog.Towards the end came: "Mac Campbell - 13". I was not unhappy with that, as it has won a lot of matches over the years.

Peg 13 - facing Peg 8, where I could see Peter Spriggs catching carp.

A back wind greeted me at the peg, but because it was so strong we all had to be careful what we laid on the bank; even before the start my landing net, with handle attached, was blown in, though I managed to grab hold of the handle.

This swim has deep margins, with a very shallow plateau next to the platform, to the right, where matches have been won in the Summer in the past. Today it was the only part of the swim not to have a wave on it - it was basically flat calm, shielded from the wind by the bank. So I doubted that fish would be feeding there today.

First two hours
I started on top top plus two, with a 6mm expander over hemp and hard 4mm, and had a 1 lb bream, then a smaller one, and then a roach. But already Peter Spriggs, on 8 in the corner opposite, had caught some carp out in front of him. I persevered, but eventually had to come in to the left margin, next to tall reeds, which were blowing over the water, and making it difficult to fish against them. However, using corn I managed to find several bream to 2 lb-plus. A quick drop in to the right deep margin under an overhanging tree also brought a 2 lb F1.

Middle two hours
After two hours I had an estimated 25 lb but bites had dried up, and I had another look out at 7 metres, without a bite. So I put a heavier rig out to the deep right margin, with cat meat. Immediately I had bites, but didn't hit any of them, I pricked one fish momentarily and came back with a huge scale, so I knew carp were willing to be there. I persevered with cat meat but caught only three or four carp, to 3 lb, in that two hours, plus another couple of bream. With two hours to go I had a little over 40 lb. Martin Parker, behind me and facing the wind, said he had about 30 lb.

Like me, Mick Raby had a lot of bream.

Last two hours - Bingo!
I had seen Peter, opposite, land several more carp, so things were getting desperate and I decided I simply had to try the shallow water, which was less that two feet deep.  In went hemp, corn, and some handfulls of pellets, about eight feet from the platform and two feet from the bank, with water emptied from aloft to ring the dinner bell.

The Dinner Bell
This is a phrase used a lot on videos, in articles, and on TV fishing programmes. It's obvious what it means, and I am sure that the first person to ever use that phrase in relation to fishing was Tony wood, captain of Barnsley Blacks, in an article I did with him up on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal in the 1990s, prior to a National Championship there. Kevin Wilmot and I had never heard the phrase before, so we used it as the headline. Not a lot of people know that!

Within a minute of putting in bait into the shallow margin I fancied I saw a small smudge of smoke come up from the bottom. In went my rig baited with cat meat and I immediately got liners. Over the next half-hour I took about four carp on cat meat, and the rig did a lot of dancing about without diving under as it should have done. I felt that the fish were interested but not taking the bait properly.

The sheltered margin where I took most of  my fish.

So I had a look with corn, and got a proper bite, and a fish, immediately. They took corn much better than meat, and slowly I started quickening up, until I felt things were slowing down. I dropped the rig straight down beside the platform, and in two drops had a 3 lb bream and a 3 lb carp, but then no more.

So I started putting in bait just two feet from the platform, and this worked better, bringing a succession of carp, though none more than 5 lb. Meanwhile the wind was rattling  my spare tops and sections around, but somehow nothing ended in the water. Luckily it wasn't a cold wind.

Mick Linnell, on a very windy 18, had some good fish over 5 lb.

Twenty minutes to go
With just less than 20 minutes left on my watch I put in my third net (I should have had it in at the start of course) and in that 20 minutes the fish were lining up two feet from the platform, and I managed 17 lb, best about 4 lb, plus three lost. They were the only ones I lost, all hooked properly. The fish tended to come to the surface when hooked...and they were the three best of my day. I estimated them to weigh around 6 lb, 8 lb and finally 10 lb-plus. The biggest one I hooked ten seconds before the match ended, and lost 30 seconds after it finished. They cost me the match!

The weigh-in
I am pleased to say that I took my time packing up, without feeling ill, and had my gear back at the van by the time the scales came to the spit, where swims 9 to 17 are pegged. Peter Spriggs was leading on 8 with 117 lb, so the weights were not huge, and with Martin behind me admitting to 90 lb I thought I might have done OK.

Mick Ramm on Peg 9  had only one net in, as had Peter Barnes, two to my left on 11. They had both really struggled. I weighed 111 lb 10 oz, and was 1 lb 7 oz over Decoy's 50 lb limit in one net. Martin behind me did even 'better' - 100 lb exactly after being docked 7 lb, having taken only two nets to his peg, with others in his car (!) Next door, Mick Raby had mostly bream in his 66 lb 5 oz, and on my favourite Peg 18 Mick Linnell had some good fish - bigger than most of mine - for 66 lb 5 oz.

Winner John Smith with one of the better fish in his  126 lb 5 oz on Peg 29, taken on paste.

Martin Parker said that Peter Harrison, on 30, had had fish steadily all day (he could see Peter catching as he was at the other end of the lake). But Peter insisted that John Smith, on 29, had more than him. I was still second round to John, who had had his pole blown in, but managed to rescue it before it sank. He weighed 126 lb 5 oz for the win, mainly on paste from his deep right margin, with Peter Harrison on 30 in third with 115 lb 4 oz. So I ended fourth, but one of those lost fish would have put me third, just the last one would have put me second, and two of them would probably have won me the match. Ce'st la guerre. BUT it's the sixth match in a row in which I've framed, so I'm happy with that.

The result - fairly tight at the top.

Too much bait?
Afterwards John at the fishery told me that an Open (the previous day I think) was won on Peg 2 with 426 lb. The angler used eight bags of 6mm pellet and caught on hard pellet from both sides at two-plus-two. Another angler had had a big weight from my swim using 15 tins of corn. I'm sure that those sorts of quantities of bait, multiplied several times over in one match, do a fishery no good at all. If the fish eat it, it all comes out eventually. But it's still a cracking fishery.

Next match on Damson, where I intend to try to stick to hard pellet all day if I can. Then Oak next Thursday, where the fish are running big - we can expect several of 10 lb-plus. Now to tie up some banded rigs for Damson's shallow margins...

I miss the obvious– Magpie, Pidley

Peg 30 

Eighteen of us fished this Fenland Rods club match , and we tried a new way of deciding which pegs to fish. We each chose a peg from those allocated, and then the draw took place. Early on in the draw Tony Nisbett’s name was called and a peg drawn for him – Peg 2. A peg with form, and I immediately thought that he would be one of the favourites.

I was given peg 30, on the island, and was not unhappy with that, though I would have preferred 31 to 34, as I’ve always done well there. Peg 30 is hemmed in by tall reeds either side, so I couldn’t see Dennis on my left or Wendy, on my right, but I could see some on the lower numbers, opposite. And early on I saw Dave Garner, former Club Champion, came through on his way past me – to Peg 34. This is another peg with form, as there’s a lovely hole down to the right margin which always seems to hold fish, and Dave was sure to find it.

Bright sun and an Easterly greeted us, the wind turning to the West later. Most of my fish came from the left, where straggling reeds and awkward reflections made it difficult to control the rig and see the bites.

So two good anglers on good pegs, but I had a job to do.

Very slow at the start

It was slow – two fish in the first hour in the deep right margin on corn; then  two fish in the next hour on luncheon meat to the left margin; then two fish in the third hour on expander out at about eight metres. However, those opposite seemed to be struggling as well, though Dennis, on my left, had caught some fish, evidenced by the splashing and bright orange elastic cutting through the water. And James Garner, on Peg 9, was also into fish – I estimated I’d seen him playing 15 fish in that first three hours. So he could be winning.

Joe Bedford was 90 last week, and fit as a fiddle
(he took my rods down to the bank at the start).

In fact, although I had only six at the halfway point,  I’d hooked a lot more - probably 15 or so, some foulhooked, and some not. And every time I put in bait, fish would come in and give liners. I tried fishing off bottom, but didn’t get a single indication, which told me the fish were interested in the bait, but not taking it properly.

So halfway though, and I had only six fish. One problem was that the swim was sheltered so the margins had had no ripple at all after the first few minutes (when the wind came from the East despite the forecast for Westerlies).  So I decided to concentrate, for a time, on  the reeds to my left, with luncheon meat, and slowly began to catch. Cat meat brought a couple, but the changing  light, and the reflection of the reeds, made seeing bites difficult – the best bites were not the sharp pull-downs, but the ones which started with a nibble or two and then slowly sank under. So I got off my box and took out a new top to which I fixed a very special rig I have made up. This worked well.

Sport picks up

James Garner - I thought he'd made a terrific
start but he lost a lot of fish, as did most of us.

Suddenly I was hooking and landing fish, mainly on cat meat, and realised that they seemed to be in the slightly deeper water, only about 18 inches from where I had been fishing, and right under some overhanging reeds, which made things difficult. That should have been a clue to re-plumb and find out where the loose feed was rolling down to. But unaccountably I didn’t do that. Now I suspect that the fish were congregating at the very bottom of the shelf, particularly as I didn’t catch a single fish in the shallow margin.

Anyway, I plodded on, with sport getting better, even though I was still losing fish, including a six-pounder hooked in the tail which eventually weeded me and came off. The best one was a lovely golden ghostie, with the proper ghost marks on its head, of about 8 lb. Quick looks on the long line and to my right produced only a lost foulhooker to my right, so I kept to the left margin, and found that very small cubes of luncheon meat were now doing better that big cubes of cat meat. And two fish of 4 lb each in the last five minutes (I was playing one when the horn sounded) concluded my match.

Kevin Lee (left, and Dick Warriner do the honours.

I had James down as a possible winner, as he had been hooking  fish steadily in the first three hours while I struggled, and I assumed he would get even more in the afternoon.  I knew Dennis, to my left, had a few, but had no idea whether Tony, on fancied Peg 2, had many, as I’d seen him land only one fish. But with the fish averaging 3lb-plus, and typically going to 5 lb, you don’t actually need many to get a decent weight.

The weigh-in

The weigh-in started at Peg 24, where Dave Garner had, in fact, fished the deep hole to his right, and said that his waggler rod was able to haul fish out which would have been lost in the weed. His three nets went 130 lb 6 oz, which I knew was way ahead of me. Wendy weighed in 53 lb 12 oz, all on her usual feeder, and that later made me think that the feeding  fish were, indeed, in the deeper water.

My three nets went 94 lb 4 oz, but they were eclipsed by Tony’s 128 lb 4 oz, taken on pellet on a longing line, not in the margins (!). And so on to James, and I was amazed to see him weigh in just 89 lb 15 oz – he told me that he, also, had lost a lot of fish, which I hadn’t realised. Then round to Kevin Lee on 12  and Dick Warriner on 13.

Dave Garner, winner with 130 lb 6 oz
 from Peg 34, on cat meat.

Dick’s very first bite was at 10 minutes to 1, and Kevin had his first bite five minutes later.  Kevin had then had two good hours, but caught only one more in the last hour, ending with  82 lb 3 oz. Although these pegs in the early  ‘teens’ have not produced as well as the early pegs and the island pegs, they do have nice margins, with good cutouts either side, and Kevin caught mainly on the point of the reeds.

Kev Lee had a good two hours from 1 pm,
but a really terrible last hour, with just one fish.

So I ended third, giving me several framing places in a row, which I can’t be unhappy with, as the vast majority of these club anglers are quite capable of winning any of our matches.

A tight match, with no fewer than two of the 18 taking between 50 lb and 100 lb.

My next match is on Beastie at Decoy, where the winner can come from absolutely anywhere. My favourites are 18, 2, 30 and 9, with 24 being my bogey peg - I simply cannot put together a weight from there. Then on to Damson at Decoy next weekend. It's not my favourite lake, but I usually manage to scrape together a decent weight.

I frame, and join an exclusive club – Elm, Decoy

Peg 13

My highlight of the day came halfway through this 18-entry Spratts club match. I was in a corner of the strip lake, playing a carp on a top three, with the pole parallel with the water, when something shot past Mike, on my left, and landed on my pole. It was a kingfisher!

It sat there for about three seconds before darting into a bush at the end of the lake. I saw where it landed, and looked at it – a bright blue in the sunshine – and only to realise that about two yards away was a second one! It’s the first time I’ve had a kingfisher land on a rod or pole, and while I’ve seen several kingfishers while fishing, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen two together! Marvellous moment. As Marti Caine would say: “Not a lot of people have seen that.”

Incidentally, I forgot to mention a week or two ago that I saw a grass snake swimming along the margins of Six Island Lake at Decoy, and watched as it swam under my platform. I saw one the previous year, as well.

I forgot my hemp!

Now to the mundane – the match. Peg 13 is on the East bank, in the corner, at the North end. I remember having it once before and struggling. But with the strong wind blowing into that corner I was quite happy after the draw. However, just before the match I realised that it was actually quite a cold wind, and my hopes dropped. Five minutes to go and I realised I’d left my hemp at home, so went back to the van, where I keep some spare bait. None there, so I drove up to the shop on the complex, and luckily Di was in the shop, and sold me some cans.

A stiff, cool wind into my corner peg 13, with Peg 12 opposite.

Walking back to my peg, and the match had started. But as I approached the lake Peter Barnes, on Peg 24, had a bite in the margins, which he missed. That gave me hope that fish might be willing to feed close in, despite the cool wind. Then as I walked past Peter Harrison on 21 he was already playing a carp about 4 lb. No more than five minutes gone, and it looked as if some early fish might be on the cards.

Two early fish

In fact I put out pellet and corn at two sections plus three, which was not difficult in that wind, but I had a look in my left hand margin with corn. First drop into about two feet of water two feet from the bank I had a bite, which I missed, and second drop a 3 lb carp was the result. This was followed, a few minutes later, by one of 2 lb. But then no more, so I switched to the right margin. Close in there was about two feet of water, but five feet farther out the depth was nearer five feet so it was a steep shelf.

Peter Harrison, who has been on top form recently,
had a carp on while I was returning to my peg! He
 finished with 92 lb 10 oz from Peg 21, well to my left.

I used three different rigs to the right margin, down the shelf, and just the occasional carp came in, but it was hard work just getting a bite – it seemed to be necessary to feed before every fish. I eventually had to swap rigs and tried the five-section line, but didn’t have a single bite there on 6mm expander or corn. So it was back to the right margin swims.

Mick Raby, opposite on Peg 12 had had a good first hour but he now seemed to have slowed right down, and I decided I would have to try the deep water at the base of the shelf. So I got up and took out a spare top two from my holdall, and put on a very special 2gm rig I carried for windy days. I baited with cat meat, and soon had two or three carp to 8 lb, and a  barbel or two. But they take so long to land!

Two lost fish cost me...

I lost two fish through my own negligence (and a bit of bad luck). One was a 5 lb carp I had in my landing net, at full stretch. I lifted the rim clear of the water, but the fish lashed down with its tail and launched itself over the rim, back into the water. I carried on playing it, but the hook pulled.

 On another occasion I hooked a good fish on corn and, assuming it was a carp, broke down to my top two too early. Immediately the carp turned into a barbel and shot under the platform. I gritted my teeth and used the side puller to tighten the elastic as much as I could, but the line went slack – the hook had actually broken and I was left with just the hook shank whipped to the line. Never had that happen before.

Fish on platform 13!

Soon afterwards  I brought a rig in to adjust the depth, to lay on, allowing the bait to fall down the front of the platform as I did so. Before I had made my adjustment the line tightened and I was into a big barbel which, somehow, I managed to haul out from under the platform. It weighed about 4 lb, and ended in my keepnet.

We weighed this fish, by Peter Spriggs, at 15 lb 11 oz.

I decided to have a look down there later, but carried on adjusting the depth...and blow me it happened again! But this time the fish pulled off. So I had a proper look down the front of the platform, inches from my net, and three more barbel came in, after I had to use brute force. Another broke me, and then no more came.

The pipes held the key

Anxious to avoid barbel if I could catch carp, I went to the right margin with corn, and let the rig drift right up to the pipes which run out from the bank. There was a lot of rubbish on the surface, blown in by the wind, and I thought I might get it caught round the rig. But to my surprise something wrenched the pole out, and a 3 lb F1 came in. That was the start of a good spell, with fish to 6 lb taking well. Then a lull, and after trying on the long line I came in and had a look right in the margin, inched from the reeds, where it was less than two feet deep.

Winner was Terry Tribe, 112 lb 11 oz, fishing
cat meat or paste at the bottom of the near shelf.

Surprisingly this brought more carp to corn, and I had another good spell. With two minutes left I hooked a carp about 4 lb, and assumed it would be my last. But my watch must have been fast, as I had time to drop in for yet another, which I was playing as the shout went up to end the match (we can’t afford a whistle). The shout is something like: “Hup-a-How-How-How”, loud enough for me to hear, as they know I’m deaf as a post.

The weigh in

I deliberately took my time packing up, so as not to start feeling queasy, and with six rigs to pack away I knew I would be probably last. But with the motor on the trolley I was able to wheel it straight into the van, which saves many minutes not having to unload, take the trolley apart and re-load everything . And I was early enough to see Terry Tribe weigh in 112 lb 11 oz from peg 5 – hence the picture. That was leading Bob Barret who had 109 lb 6 oz. Terry said he got very hot during the day, which wasn’t surprising as the temperature was 10 degrees warmer on that bank, with back wind and sheltered by bushes all along the stock pond which runs parallel.

The result. Barbel showed up in most nets. Peter Chilton had to
pack up early when he got a phone call from his wife to say their
house was on fire! I hope to have the details next week.

Round to me on the opposite bank, and I admitted to 90 lb, but hadn’t bothered to click the last few fish as it was obvious I hadn’t time to hit the 50 lb maximum in my third net. So was I very happy to be credited with 109 lb, which ended third, and top on my windy bank. I was very happy with that. But either of those lost fish would have won me the match. Grrr.

So another frame, and it’s given me a boost for Sunday’s match on Magpie at Pidley. The forecast is for temperatures to drop to something more bearable. As before, I fancy pegs 1 to 8 or 9, plus anywhere on the island 28 to 34. The forecast is for a West wind, which means the pegs from about 10 round to 20 are likely to be calm.  I framed from Peg 13 in last Wednesday's match, but I don't fancy the winning weight to come from that area.

Famous last words?

Difficult, but I'm happy to frame - Willows, Decoy

Peg 14
Eleven of us were in this Fenland Rods match, and with Pegs 1 to 15 allotted, all the pegs went in. The two favourite pegs were probably 1 and 15, though with 170 lb from Peg 13 last week none of us would have been unhappy with that.

Peg 14 was drawn for me, and actually I didn't fancy it, because I've fished that twice before and never done any good. There's not much room between this peg and 15, to the right, which is on a point, and which has an inviting bunch of reeds in the margin to its right. Peg 14 doesn't offer much of a feature except reeds about nine metres to the left, and I found that it shallowed up here. In addition the wind was coming in from the front left, which made it difficult to fish to the left.

Still, no complaints - I'll fish anywhere for anything! And at least I had three of the four undrawn pegs to my left (Peg 1 was also undrawn, but the first three or four 2, 3 and 4 tend to be consistent). I started out at two-plus-two with pellet and within ten minutes had a chubby 1 lb common on a 4mm expander, fishing slightly to my right, with the wind.

Peg 14. Peg 13 is round to my left, with approximately Peg 6 under the tree
in the background. The earlier pegs fished better than those round the bend.

Peter Spriggs on 15 also had a fish or two, but they were better than mine, and I realised I was going to struggle to beat him. In the first hour I had two or three more small carp, and tried another swim, also on top-two-plus-two to the left, into the wind. To my surprise I soon picked up three or four more. But with Peter now hitting bigger fish in his right margin I had to make a decision whether to try my margin.

Foulhooked in the tail...
I simply had to have a go, and went down to the left with corn, and then cat meat, over pellets and corn, without any bites. So it was back to putting fish into the net until I had about 20, all around 1 lb. Then I foulhooked a fish about 8 lb in the tail, which played me for about 15 minutes...but it eventually landed up in my net.

Peter's last fish - all 10 lb of it.

That seemed to mess the outside swims up, though I managed a 2 lb bream on corn, which thought it was a trout, so I had another look to the left margin, only to hit a big fish which came off after two seconds. The next two hours I spent mainly in the left margin, as I now knew that fish were willing to come in there, using my special method with corn or cat meat - mainly the meat. This brought some 1 lb F1s, a common about 4lb, and then a 4 lb barbel, folllowed by a couple of smaller ones. But three other barbel took me under the platform and bust me or the hook pulled out. They may have been foulhooked.

When things slowed up I dumped in some dead maggots, which brought a carp and two small barbel, but it was difficult to know which way the maggots were drifting, as sometimes my float seemed to be moving against the wind and other times it flew back towards me. Adding some hemp gave me a bit of confidence.

I couldn't see the others anglers to my left, round to about Peg 6, catching much, so thought I might still be able to do OK if I had a good finish. Occasional drop-ins in the right margin on a top two brought nothing - the pegs are so close that a top three would have been my maximum permitted length. And the bottom was awkward - deeper nearer to my platform, and shallower to the right, with the deeper water about a metre out also bumpy.

I start to fish properly!

The winner, to my right - Peter Spriggs, 98 lb 1 oz.

In the last hour the wind got up so I couldn't fish to the left, and had to go to the deep water just out from the right margin. Peter was now hitting fish steadily, on paste or cat meat, though he told me afterwards he lost ten. I now started to feed and fish this swim properly, and indeed started to hit fish - a couple of barbel, two small carp, and a 3 lb F1. Then a fish almost wrenched to pole from my hand and hurtled under the platform before I could react - the line broke at the hook and I looked at my watch to see five minutes left. No time to retie a hook on, so I picked up a more conventional rig, adjusted the depth, and put on cat meat again.

I didn't catch anything else, but had two or three indications, and I realised I should have done that earlier - fishing a static bait in the heavy wind rather than try to induce bites by moving the bait. To cap it all, Peter's last fish was his biggest of the day - we weighed it at just over 10 lb. But an enjoyable day's fishing, and it didn't rain, though Peter said he was freezing by the end of the match.

The weigh in
I took my time packing away, and wasn't able to watch any of the weigh ins before me. My two nets went 64 lb 8 oz, which was second up to me, with just Peter to come. He had obviously beaten me, and totalled 98 lb 1 oz. I thought he had a lot more - strange how everyone else seems to be doing better than they have.

The two end pegs were first and second - but
there were two very good anglers on them!

So I ended third, with Tony Nisbet on Peg 2 second. I lost six fish, almost certainly five of which were barbel. and it I were to fish that match again I would use the 12 lb rigs, which would give me chance of getting the fish out from the platform before the line broke. Just two of them might have lifted me a place.

The bulk of the field in the main bay really struggled, even though the wind direction was a little kinder to them - Rob Allen had his first bite at one minute to 3, and ended with 31 lb 4 oz in the last hour. That's good going after five hours of twiddling your thumbs (or whatever he twiddles while waiting for a bite).

Next match Tuesday on Elm, at Decoy, and the forecast is for wind but not much rain, so I will take my feeder rods.  I'm looking forward to it, as I'm on a good run. I can't, fish at Pidley on Wednesday.

I sally forth and come fifth - Magpie, Pidley

Peg 13
I haven't fished an Over 60s match at Pidley for some time, and was met by 26 others. Actually I didn't meet them until later, as it was a rolling draw - a great idea because it not only means there's no crowd at the draw bag, but because I could get to my peg early. Tim picked out 13 for me, and agreed it wasn't a great draw. In fact I'd hoped to avoid pegs 8 round to about 20, but I had a job to do, and more than an hour and a half to get ready!

It was muggy, with a little breeze behind me, but as there are trees there I hardly felt any wind all day. Regular Ken Gammon was on my right, and another regular, Derrick Hayes was on my left. And I decided I would do well to beat them both, as I didn't fancy this area to win.

Peg 13 is opposite the aerator, but I left my rods at home, as I fancied a nice
easy day fishing just the pole. The water was flat calm most of the day.

I put out pellet at 11 metres, and had a quick look in the margins to my left, where a small bed of reeds ran along the bank. Most swims have had cut-outs made, which gives a corner to fish in, and this was the only one I had, as there wasn't one to my right. Loose lily pads kept drifting into the corner, and I soon went over my main swim.

Already Peg 33 opposite, was catching fish, and someone beyond him was slapping shallow. As fish started moving near the surface I put out a banded 4mm pellet about a foot deep and immediately had a 4 lb mirror, but no more, even though fish swirled when I put in pellets, and 20 minutes later I switched to the left. That produced one two-pounder and a couple of roach on corn.

Twenty minutes playing a fish!

Alex has a great system - the beg rests in the cage and is
 lifted for  weighing, and the whole contraption is on wheels.

So it was back out and about 20 minutes later I hooked a fish on a size 18 hook with 4mm expander which just would not expend any energy. It kept swimming round and round, and every time it approached the net it dived away. It took me nearly 25 minutes to land - a beautiful, solid scale-perfect golden common carp around 13 lb.

Ken had had a couple of fish, as had Derrick, but opposite, on the island, they were catching slowly, but steadily. Around me there didn't seem to be much being caught. I kept trying to my left on corn, but had only the odd roach.

I spent another hour at 11 metres for a couple of roach and two 4 lb carp. So I decided I had to try the right margin with luncheon meat, and found fish immediately. managing another four or five carp  here in the next hour. Then a lull and, getting desperate, I put in a load of dead maggots. Fish came in immediately, but I managed only about three on a big bunch of deads, best 5 lb. They fought exceptionally hard, and kept diving when they saw the net.

Clive Robinson, second on peg 33, shows the stamp
of fish we were all catching. He totalled  159 lb 14 oz.

Cat meat does the business
With 90 minutes to go and an estimated 40 lb I put in corn and pellet just out in front of me to the left, and to my amazement very quickly saw creases in the surface as fish swirled on the bottom. A change to cat meat, fished in my special method, saw me have a good spell here and in that time I must have had 12 or 15 carp to 5 lb, and had to feed after every fish. They went quickly, but would return within 30 seconds after I fed.

I'd seen Derrick land one or two good fish, as had Ken, but I had no idea what weight they might have. However, the angler opposite me on 33 obviously had quite a lot.

The weigh in
Along came Alex and James, and my first net went 7 lb 6 oz, which surprised me. Then 44 lb 6 oz, and finally 40 lb; total 121 lb 12 oz, which James said was a good weight from that peg. I then had a look at the weight sheet and was amazed to see that although there were three weights over 100 lb in the first six pegs, I was leading! And in fact I led right round to 23.

The bag is held open automatically, allowing
one person to conduct the weighing.

On peg 23, in the bay, Roy Whincup weighed 151 8 oz and on 25 and on 25 Steve Tilsley weighed 149 lb 2 oz. And as I had expected, this area running on the the island produced good weights. On 30, Chris Saunders was the angler I'd seen at the start catching shallow - he took 12 like this and then swapped to cat meat for his winning total of 170 lb 8 oz. He told me that the secret was to not ouyt in any feed, and he took quite a lot casting to fish he could see.

 On 33 Clive Robinson was second on 159 lb 14 oz - he was the angler I'd seen catching steadily, not very far out.

Mike Rawson, on Peg 36, which can be a flier, had trouble losing fish in the lillies, which come fairly close to the bank there, and managed just 79 lb; so I ended fifth, which I was chuffed with from that peg.

As I expected the most consistent areas were 1 to 6, and 23 to 34.

 Next Over 60s is Wednesday on Jay, which I hope to fish.

Next match Willows on Sunday, and then Elm on Tuesday. The weather promises to be a little cooler, but I'm brimming with confidence.

The best laid plans of mice and fishermen gang oft astray...

See? I'm educated. Dunno what it means, but it looks good on the screen...!

So, like the man said, here is my next blog - like a girl's skirt. Short enough to be interesting but long enough to cover the subject.

A match on Magpie at Pidley was on the cards for Sunday, and I and Mike went down on Friday, to have a 'practice.' Really, I went just to give me confidence that I was capable of catching fish.

Designated pegs for the match were 1-21 and 28 to 34 (these on the island), but only 13 of us were down to fish and our last AGM said that pegs were to be spread around, rather than picking out the probable best pegs. Now I know that the best pegs recently have been 1-5, and 28 to 34, plus 13, which has won two Opens but Tom Edwards was on it each time, and since he's like a young version of Alan Scotthorne and Superman combined that didn't mean the peg was actually any better than those around it.

Practice on Peg 7
So on the Friday I chose to sit on Peg 7, away from the hot spots and not one that has done particularly well recently. Mike was on 8. First drop in on two plus three with 4mm expander and a 1 lb carp came in. But for the next hour all I had were missed bites, some of which looked like liners. So although it was still early in the day for margin fishing,  I went into the left margin, in a deepish spot, and within five minutes I had a bite on corn, then a three-pounder. Two more here, quite quickly, and I laid that rig down and picked up another for luncheon meat to the right.

Feeding
Carp are not a shoal fish, like bream, and at this time of year, in particular, they move about a lot, so I can't see any point is baiting like you would for bream ie: putting in a load of bait and hoping they move in for the next half hour.

No, I know that in current conditions, when the weather is changeable and the carp are moving around under the surface, when bait goes in carp MAY home in on it quickly. And if they do those fish may root around for a couple of minutes and then move away. Other MAY immediately replace them, but the likelihood is that you have to wait a few minutes, then re-bait, and hope more come in from a few yards away. But if you don't get bites quickly, then you need a change of swim.

The last few fish
Anyway, meat in on the right, got it adjusted to fish my special method, and a quick carp, followed by five minutes biteless, then in with more meat and another carp. I laid that rig down and took out one for the absolute margin, right against the boards in front of my swim. One fish there and Mike came up to see me land it - 5 lb and foulhooked. Then another foulhooked which came off. Mike went back and within seconds I had another, hooked properly.

Satisfied the rigs were perfect I then started to pack up, had one more from the meat swim, and I was ready to go home. Nine carp and four nice rudd for about 35 lb, in less than three hours. Mike was fishless, though he got two after I had gone home.

Conclusions for practice session
I simply concluded that if conditions didn't change much I was quite capable of winning from this peg, or any of the better ones. And I had four rigs set absolutely perfectly.

PS. Every time I baited I emptied a pot of water over the top to tell the carp the bar was open.

The match
Twelve pegs in the hat on Sunday, the draw about to take place (roughly every other peg round to 21, plus two on the island) , and I got a 'phone call saying my son-in-law was going for a Covid19 test and I ought to go home since we'd had a mug of tea with him the previous day. Completely unnecessary for me to go home, of course, but I wasn't about to have a stand-up row with an upset wife, so as the draw went ahead I packed my stuff away again.

OF COURSE the empty peg left - the one I would have been on - was 7! The match was won on 3 with around 91 lb I'm told, with Tony on 20 second (in the narrows, with the remains of a bush opposite, it's been a consistent peg for years). I think the other best weights were on 1 and 3. Son-in-law's test was negative. Thankfully.

Again, help was on hand for me when I took the rods back to the van, turned round, and saw that Callum had wheeled my trolley and gear back for me. Thanks, mate. All help gratefully received.

Peter Harrison wins from Peg 13, to the left of the  famous
 Peg 15, in the main bay which is often not pegged.

I'm back on Magpie Wednesday in an Over-60s, and even with a near full-house of 36 regulars  I'm confident that almost half of the pegs can give me a frame place. The ones I fancy most are 1-7, 25 to 27, and 29 to 34 on the island (especially 32). But honestly, I think that whatever the conditions I will be able to catch fish on the pole, even leaving my rods at home.

Spratts on Willows
Here's the result from the Monday Spratts match, which I didn't fish because son-in-law's result didn't come through early enough for me to get there on time. Winner Peter Harrison fished cat meat on two plus two for  172 lb 12 oz. That bloke could catch fish from a bucket of concrete.

Trevor Cousins had fish on the surface from soon after the start and mugged them shallow with hard pellet for 129 lb 7 oz and second spot. Bob Barret mainly feedered with cat meat and pellet for  87 lb 9 oz, with Mark Parnell on 25 (the most famous peg on the complex) catching 84 lb 4 oz on pole with meat and pellet.

Willows is perhaps the most temperamental lake on the complex to fish, but I love it. And I should be back there next Sunday with Fenland Rods (barring virus eventualities).

Manky Maggots Marvellous for Me – Six-Island, Decoy

Peg 18

Sixteen of us fished this Fenland Rods match in bright sun most of the morning, and when 18 was drawn out for me I was pretty pleased. It’s always had a good reputation, and used to be the ‘flier’ on this lake, though, I can’t remember it doing particularly well in matches I have fished on here in  the last season or two. But it’s not a difficult swim to fish – narrow at 13 metres, with shallow margins both sides.

Peg 10 won the Fenland Rods match last time on here, and that went to Dave Garner, who I reckoned was favourite to win...and he didn’t let me down! I had a plan to stick to simply cat meat, which I hoped would reduce the messing about tackling up and packing away, so I left my rods at home.

An early two-pounder

Fish were swimming about just under the surface all over the lake, and although they never looked at an expander pellet flicked in front of them I started with a shallow rig and a 6mm expander. Within about four minutes several fish had refused to take it when flopped in front of them, but then the float sailed away and I was into a two-pounder. When I unhooked it the hook was in its fin, but I’m not sure whether it was actually foulhooked.

No more came and Allan Golightly on my left had a couple of fish close in, so I tried there with cat meat. The next three drop-ins to the left margin saw me hook three fish...and lose three fish! I’m sure they were not foulhooked. Alan continued to catch, but eventually I had to have a go down the track, with expander. This brought a three-pounder o by two more lost. One came to cat meat down the track, and eventually two more to pellet. Then a couple from the margin, although roach were knocking the cat meat off almost every cast.

Half way and I’m not looking good

Half way through and I had about 20 lb. In went hemp and 6mm hard pellet down the track and another couple of fish around 3 lb came. At one point I dropped in the deep water to my left with cat meat, and immediately roach started knocking it about. Eventually a roach pulled the float under...and it turned out to be a 4 lb mirror. Strange. Another came first cast with a worm, but no more. Then the odd carp on corn.

With 35 lb in my nets and 90 minutes to go I was desperate, as Allan was ahead of me. Then I saw a maggot tin I knew held the mankiest maggots you could ever imagine – most of them were black skins! They had been thawed and refrozen about four times, and had been in my freezer since last year. But desperate circumstances call for desperate measures, so in went half a pot of them to my right margin, which had produced just one fish so far,

A miracle!

Dropped in with six horrible dead maggots on the hook...and six seconds later I was playing a 2 lb barbel. Next drop, and this took longer – all of 15 seconds before a 4 lb barbel took the bunch of deads. And for the rest of the match I would put in a pot of “Maggotus Horribilis” and sometimes that would result in a carp – they went to 7 lb. The odd fish came from the left margin to cat meat (nothing on my wonderful home-made paste) and a couple from the track. That last 90 minutes saw about 45 lb go into my nets, mainly to the deads, from the right margin, which was about 18 inches deep. A couple came off, foulhooked.

I’m certain that if I’d tried maggots earlier I would have had a lot more. So much for my cat meat plan! But I took my time packing away, and felt OK, although my back ached something wicked.

The weigh in

Allan on 19, to my left,  told me he’d caught early on, on expander, in the margins, which I hadn’t tried. Then he changed to hard pellet, which I also didn’t try. I should have! Right at the end he went to the far bank and had three fish quickly. I could have reached it with 13 metres, but couldn’t be bothered in the heat, and you can’t do everything.

No real pattern to the weights except that the car park end produced three of the top four.

Along came the scales and indeed Dave Garner on 10 was well in the lead and the obvious winner, with 140 lb 7 oz, on cat meat. He told me he’d caught well early on when the scum was in his swim, but when it disappeared he struggled. Funny how carp like feeding under scum.

Tony Nisbett, always a threat, was on 17, well to my right and weighed in 64 lb 14 oz, which I thought I might beat. In fact the last three or four fish, which were bigger, took my weight round to 90 lb 15 oz, for third overall.  Guest angler Peter  Spriggs on 2 was runner-up with 118 lb 1 oz on paste. And Wendy on 25 took fourth with 84 lb 7 oz on a feeder – a great performance as John Smith on her right, got just 45 lb 12 oz.

I don’t think many of the double-figure fish which we could see swimming around most of the day were caught. The temperature has been all over the place recently, and waters need two or three days of settled weather to fish well.

My mates

Again, thanks to the anglers who enquired about my back, and how I felt. Especially John Garner, who asked whether I needed help at the start, and asked again as he passed my swim going back to the car. I didn’t but I have in the past, and John has always obliged. A good mate.

In fact I’ve purchased a narrow carryall which sits nicely across my extended footplate when it’s on my barrow, and added a bit to my barrow to keep the box in the right place. So I should be hunky dory in the future.

Next match Sunday on Magpie at Pidley. Not sure how this has been fishing – it can be temperamental.

Pictures?

Anglers are not supposed to follow the scales, but I might try to get some pictures if the opportunity arises.