Well, I don’t really know where to start this one as this is a match that I do not want to reminisce on. I really hadn’t intended fishing on Sunday but the weather was so poor the family didn’t want to go out as planned. So, I took the opportunity to go to Gwinear as there are only a couple of matches before the first festival. Sometimes things are just not meant to be and perhaps I should have stayed at home!
On the plus side the attendance had been boosted with anglers keen to practise and those on an Easter break. We had the largest match of the year so far with 30 braving the 35mph winds. I managed to get close to the front of the queue, if you can call it a queue it was more like everybody thought there weren’t going to be enough pegs in the bag! I do like the chance of drawing whilst the good ones are still in the bag.
I pulled out peg 57 the last peg in the banjo and one that I know well, I quite fancied it. I was having a chat with Mark Lazell and he was enthusing about my draw. He reckoned that I should get about 20 bites and if I landed most of them I would have 100lb which we reckoned would be close on the day.
Changing Wind
I got to my peg and wrapped up as the wind was howling straight at me. I had decided to really concentrate on the margins looking for some ‘kerb crawlers’ large commons that frequent the margins in this area. For those that do not know the peg it has its features and it’s worth spending some time with the plummet. If you plumb at about 12 metres aiming towards the life preserver you will find a bar that is about 4’ deep.
I set a 4 x 12 KC Carpa 2 for this line. I could also use this at 12 metres towards the bank on my left. I also setup a half gram Capri to fish the six metre line with an 18’s PR36 hair rig for the pellet. I also set another KC Carpa 2 for fishing in closer at seven sections to my left to ‘the pipe’.
The match started and I went straight out onto the bar, it was very difficult as the wind was swirling and all of a sudden changed from straight at me to coming from my right to left! It was now impossible to hold 12 metres of carbon that was trying it’s best to look like a banana! I didn’t have any indications on that line and had to sack it. I was now on a very unproductive six metre line. Preston Innovations Thatcher’s Martin Cox opposite me on peg 2 was getting a few small carp.
Looked to me like he was in practise mode for the festival and using corn. Overall it looked to be fishing fairly hard. It was for me as on the hour mark I was still looking for my first bite! I had tried all my options and only managed two foul hooked carp from down by the pipe, nothing I could do about those, one second the float was motionless the next I was losing a brief struggle. To my right on peg 55 the angler was also blanking. Magnet, Mark Lazell on 54 had only managed two small stockies and was also scratching his head wondering what to do. Bank Walkers
At 2pm I finally hooked and landed a carp that I caught at 12 metres towards the bank down to my left. Then I couldn’t quite believe it as a couple started walking around the bank sky lining themselves! They had walked past a sign saying no walking match in progress and stepped over a rope to get where they were, you can imagine I was not best pleased!
They left and shortly afterwards two ‘match anglers’ that had packed up early stopped for a chat on my edge line on way to the car park! I had already lost heart and practically gave up then. I did manage one more carp and a skimmer and really just went through the motions until the end of the match. I couldn’t help but think the swim owed me 17 bites! My section was won with 30lb that was caught behind me on peg 50.
The lake was definitely suffering from the effects of the really bad weather and was very hard going for a lot of us. I think the Van Den Eynde festival is going to be hard unless the mercury in the thermometer starts creeping up.
Magnet strikes again Before the match started Harry Billing had just recorded seven straight 100lb plus weights on the trot and was going for his eighth today. He had drawn peg 21 and fortunately for him when the wind changed it was straight over his back and off the water. He had caught steady all match some on the 11 metre line and some down the edge. I had wandered over at the end to watch the weigh in. He weighed his first net at around 50lb and the second was put on the scales, it took a few seconds for it to settle down and unbelievably he recorded 99lb 14oz! Never mind another win mate well done.
The backing weights were all very close and a couple of fish could have changed it for any of them.
Last Chance Saloon, Tuesday open Phew, that was close following the draw at Gwinear for the last open before the Van den Eydne festival I was talking to a group of anglers and Harry mentioned that he wouldn’t get a ton today from peg 10. I immediately told him that if he didn’t I would eat my favourite hat! Fortunately for me I was correct and he recorded his eighth ton plus out of nine matches. He only just made it recording 100lb 11oz! I think he should have a forfeit for losing the bet, so next match he is fishing with no bait…
Golden Peg
However, I wasn’t as keen as when I drew it the other day mainly because I knew on the Sunday match Chris Hancock only caught two carp from it! I setup exactly the same tackle as I did on the last occasion I was on the peg with the exception of the waggler as the wind was not howling into the bank on my left.
The match started and this time I fed a little differently. I had been thinking about a few things recently and had decided that I had failed to slip back into winter feeding mode with the bad weather. I had been lulled into spring feeding, and was I believe feeding too much. So today I put on a tosspot and the idea was to fish two lines at 11 metres one at 10 o’clock and the other at 2 o’clock. I sprinkled a few pellets on both lines and fished one. Each time I went out I did the same feeding each line little and often. I thought it was a great plan. The fish didn’t! In fact it was really slow I foul hooked a couple of small carp and eventually got one in the mouth and landed it. Comedy Show
Just approaching the hour mark and I hit into my second I was playing it broke down to my top kit and pulled the elastic only to be left with an elastic knot! The remaining elastic pulled straight out of my pole, I managed to grab it out of the water, I was left with no choice but to hand line the very small carp. Oh man, it never ceases to amaze me that when something goes wrong every angler on the lake seems to be looking at you!!
Needless to say I had to take a few comments. At least it happened this week and not next. That is the first time that has happened, examining the elastic later and I could see it was ready for renewal. Make a mental note to self – check all elastics before next match.
All or nothing
Going into the last hour I had nothing to lose so decided to cup in a full 250 ml pot of micros on my right hand margin line and I immediately went over it with a single grain of corn, an immediate liner followed by a bite and a very annoyed common of 4lb! Well, I had seven in the last hour and lost a further three, the bloody peg was solid! I ended up with 41lb 12oz and came second in the section missing out on 50 quid by 3lb. Was it the feeding or just time of day? Probably a bit of both – at least I recovered a bit of confidence by catching down the edge.
It was good to see Gavin Hancock record a deserved win from peg 36 with 116lb. More so because it was his first ton in a match and his first match win, Gavin has had some good weights this year and is improving with each match. I hope you long remember the day you achieved two goals in one day. Gavin was followed by Eddie Brown with 106lb 2oz from peg 32, Harry was next from peg 10. Dave Cain followed with his impression of Robinson Crusoe and 85lb. Why Crusoe? Cos he drew on the island for the second match on the trot.
That’s it for me the next match is Monday the first day of the festival, it’s time now to fine tune a few rigs and give the tackle a deserved overhaul ready for next week. I will try to post a couple of short blogs during the week letting you know what’s happening.
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