By Wraggy | No Comments
Last updated: Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Last week I commented on how everything seemed to be moving into winter mode, the fish shoaling up tightly, and becoming a bit harder to catch in any numbers. I felt the full force of this last week, but what a difference seven days can make! It just reinforces my view that so much of this match fishing game depends on the draw, you’ve got to have a few fish in front of you, otherwise you just can’t compete. Well this week I seem to have had a lot of fish in front of me, and last weeks sorry tales seem to be a million miles away!

Wednesday saw me at my usual midweek haunt, Woodlands Farm at Barlborough. After two successive matches where I’d drawn peg 12 I was quickly falling out with the place, a situation not helped by my draw on the day, peg 10! Now although it is only two pegs away from the scene of my previous two poor showings, this peg does have a bit more going for it, in that it has access to peg 9, which is never put in on these matches due to it being in a corner. I’ve had a couple of results from peg 8 in past winter matches, again fishing under peg 9’s platform, so I was a little more optimistic for the day ahead. There was a bigger turnout than usual, and John the organiser had put a few extra pegs in as some lads had provisionally booked on saying they could be late as they were coming off a night shift at work.

I knew peg 8 was still in the bag, and sat praying it would stay there as the all-in approached. Not everyone that booked on arrived, and peg 8 did indeed stay empty, but the no-show anglers had quite an effect on the outcome, but more of that later. My mate Ian was on peg 6 for the second match running, so was again looking to catch late on in the margins as he had done on the Saturday, but didn’t harbour too much hope of catching across, same as me. My problem was where to find a few fish while I waited for the carp to turn up under the platform next door, and I settled on a line down the middle fed with pellets, looking to catch a few of the venue’s skimmers, which were long overdue to put in an appearance.

On the whistle I went across with maggot tight to the island, these pegs don’t seem to throw many fish up across, but it is always worth a quick look because if one is lurking over there it is usually a big ‘un. A sharp bite first drop saw the rig fly out of the water with a micro roach on the end, which promptly dropped off. 25 minutes in, I had one small perch in the net, and only a couple of other indications. The only other fish I’d seen caught was Ian’s, a 4oz roach, things were not looking good. By the hour mark my net had swelled handsomely to the tune of two more perch and a 6oz skimmer, but the wind was getting stronger, and the configuration of the peg (I was fishing across to the corner of the island) meant that the tow that was getting up was affecting the rig to the extent that my only option was to go heavier.

I decided that the fish were unlikely to be sitting in the peg anyway as the tow was ripping round the edge of the island by now, so, earlier than I’d hoped, I went in under the platform of peg 9. The elastic was ripping out as I lowered my rig in! A 2lb-plus carp soon nestled in the net, and when it’s twin followed next drop I was rubbing my hands! My worst fears were realised though, as no more bites were forthcoming from this line, and I was rueing having to go over it so early. Another half hour passed without any signs over my other swims, so I decided to try to get the track line firing properly. I re-fed all the lines, and settled in for a good go down the track. It took time, but eventually I stated to pick up a few skimmers down this middle line, and some of them were of a good stamp, up to 12oz, nice weight builders. The lad on peg 12, Phil Dobson (or ‘Dobber’ as he is known) was finding the going slow, but was picking up occasional carp by simply fishing his top kit at the end of his keepnet.Maybe that’s where I’d gone wrong before!

I would catch a few skimmers, then he would land a carp, and a tense battle was panning out. From my peg I could see there was nothing being caught in the low numbers, and it seemed that Phil and me were nip and tuck for the lead between all the anglers in sight. I’d kept having a little look under the platform, with no response, but with all my lines now dead and half an hour to go, it was all or nothing. Ian tipped back and came round with 10 minutes to go, as my float dipped for the first time in ages, and a heavy fish was on. We debated as to whether it was foul-hooked or not as it plodded around but it eventually popped up at my feet hooked squarely in the lip, a proper bonus at 5lb or so. Straight back in, under went the float, and a 1lb, jet-black mirror was on the was in. my watch said a minute to go as I lowered the rig in for a final time; once again, under it went, and I was literally striking as time was called. My first F1 of the day resulted, and at 2lb it meant I’d had over 8lb in the last 10 minutes! Talk about leaving it late!

I was first to weigh as all the lads on the car park bank had tipped back, it had fished that hard. My 20lb 5oz total was a real surprise, the silvers had weighed a lot more than I’d reckoned. That last F1 had been just enough to pip Phil, who’d also had a run of late bites, as he had 18lb 8oz. I was winning until the scales got round to venue expert John Mills, who met me with ‘ if I hadn’t won off this peg today I’d have chucked my tackle in!’ or words to that effect. The absent anglers had left him with four spare pegs to one side, three on the other, leaving him virtually pleasure fishing, and he made it pay to full effect, wiping the match out with 58lb.

Onto the island, and another danger man, Roy Hanson, was on another peg in form, number 32. There are two Roy Hanson’s fish on our circuit, both good mates of mine this one we call ‘Ice Cream Roy’, as he is an ice cream man! Roy’s one of those anglers that you would pick if you had to choose someone to catch a fish to save your life, and he earns every fish in his net. Unfortunately for me, he ‘earned’ a couple of small roach too many, and pipped me into third with 20lb 8oz! Still, I’d had a bit of good fortune with those late carp, so all in all I couldn’t moan too much, and it was nice to get back into the frame after the previous week.

Saturday, and I was next to the other Roy Hanson! To avoid confusion I’ll call him ‘Wednesday Roy’, I’m sure he won’t be too insulted by this callous slur, as he is a Wednesday fan! Roy was on the same peg 23 that John mills had won the midweeker from, while I really fancied my peg 25 draw. There had been fish in the area for a good few weeks previously, and it looked good. I fed across, the margin, and down the track with pellet, hoping for a repeat performance from the skimmers, when my far side lines needed a rest. Five carp in the first 30 minutes was as good a start as I could have hoped for, with Roy on three. When you’re on a few a nice simple approach is usually the best, and I just fed three spots along the far bank, nicking a fish from each before feeding and moving. My only concern was that Roy’s fish seemed to be a lot bigger than mine, but then again I was catching more regularly, so maybe it would even itself out at the end. The odd look down the side and over the pellets in the track only produced the odd half –hearted tap on the float, so I settled into a rhythm of catch and move from across till the whistle went. I’d pretty much resigned myself to being behind Roy, but as I met the scales two weights stood out, an awesome 61lb from peg 6 by superstar Dave Hooper, and a solid 25lb from peg 12 (remember that one!!!) by my mate Ian, who’d sat it out with meat for a few bigger fish.

He’d seen my ‘catch everything’ approach fail badly on the previous two occasions, so decided on an all or nothing meat attack, and it won him the section, a proper result. Wednesday Roy had some proper lumps, again on meat, to take the lead with 62lb, dwarfing my 35lb catch, which still saw me home in third place on the day. Meat is a bait I have very little confidence in, but on these two showings it looks like I’ll have to put some time in on it!

Change of plan Sunday, I’d booked onto bank end for the Sunday match, but as there is always a waiting list, and I was having a bit of a re-run of the old nuts problems after the Barlborough match, I decided to cancel and see how I felt on the morning. I couldn’t resist going, so made my way to Barnburgh Lakes, having enjoyed myself there the previous week with the F1’s. They really are my favourite fish now, moody, hard to pin down in any numbers, but just occasionally going absolutely loopy and almost jumping into the keepnet, not unlike the roach on the Trent in the good old days. My eagerness was repaid by a peg 10 draw, the one that had thrown 2nd place up the previous week. I’d quizzed the lad about it then, and he’d told me there was a big hump just to one side at 12-13m, where the bottom came up from 6ft to about 21/2 ft deep, a real feature.

I fed on top of this hump, as well as down the side of it in the deeper water, just in case the cold rain we’d had all night had pushed the fish down there. I made a really slow start, after a micro-barbel first drop (beautiful little things they are, Gudgeon sized and perfectly formed) I was struggling to put any number of fish together. Bites are never a problem at Barnburgh, the place is loaded with fish, but sorting the bites is another thing altogether! The principle species are F1’s, mini barbel and skimmers, so the missed bite scenario can be down to any or all of them, and the constant rig adjustments necessary make for very interesting fishing. An hour in, and another venue expert, Alan Pounder on peg 9 was leaving me trailing in his wake, his dozen or so fish to my three F1’s, a skimmer and the baby whisker meaning I had some serious catching up to do. Although Alan’s peg was a good one, given the choice I would have picked mine every time, so there could be no excuse!

Around 90 minutes in the wind altered slightly, and with it the undertow. This had the effect of making it harder for Alan to present his bait in the right place, and believe me; it was one of those days where everything had to be spot on! I had another look on top of the ‘hump’, and had an indication first drop, my first sign in that spot all match. An F1 next drop had me thinking perhaps they had arrived, and so it turned out. I picked off fish in twos and threes until the end, resting the peg with the odd biteless look in the deeper water. The F1’s were obviously there in numbers, as I was hitting perhaps one bite in five, but by regularly adjusting the rigs and depths I kept them coming till the end, in a match typical of the old Trent roach days, where a subtle alteration after every fish would keep them guessing, never letting the shoal become able to pick out the bait with the hook in it. It really took me back to those days, Alan as well, as he was a Trent regular too.

I was playing my last fish as the whistle went, and Alan commented that I wouldn’t need it anyway, as I had much more than him. I doubted this though, his fish looked bigger (as your next door neighbours fish always seem to do) and although he’d slowed down in the afternoon, he’d still caught fairly regularly, and in my eyes had done enough early on to hold off my late burst. Elsewhere the lake had been hard, with 9lb 8oz winning as the scales arrived at our pegs. Alan’s 22lb 8oz was a little less than I’d expected, but maybe I would get a shock when my fish were lifted out? I did, but it was a nice shock, as my net went 30lb 5oz, which turned out to be the top weight on the day. I was really chuffed with this, when I start to visit a new venue I set myself targets, first to pick up money there, then to win a match outright, before I feel I can say I’m in proper touch with the place. I felt an affinity for this venue straight away, Mark and Sue the owners are a really nice couple, the surroundings are beautiful, and of course the main thing is the main target fish are my favourite F1’s! So to get off the mark so early on is a real bonus. Alan came second on what was a very enjoyable day in great company, reminiscing about old times and putting the world to rights.

Another hospital visit might clip my wings again midweek, but I’m hoping to get out at least to do a shoot for the paper up at Barnburgh, and maybe even sneak the odd match in hopefully! If I’m up to the walk, I’m back on one of my old stomping grounds next Saturday, the River Derwent at Borrowash, with the bankside lads, and Sunday my mate Dale Clark has wangled me an invite on his club’s match at Grange Farm. I did a ton there way back in April, so a repeat performance wouldn’t go amiss! Till then, give ‘em some lip ache, and I’ll see you next week.

Popularity: 28% [?]