I arrived in wet but calm conditions, only a slight breeze blowing from the car park end, but the slight breeze was due to be increasing throughout the day. I took a quick look up the lake and didn't really fancy the usual 'flyers' pegs 21 and 40, but 25 to 28 or 33 to 36 were my picks.
After a bit of a natter with some of the guys and a cuppa from Denise it was down to drawing, paying top 3 and top silvers today. I had bought bait for both.
I managed to sneak my hand in the bucket towards the back end of the queue, but only after Nigel Hull had waved peg 40 in my face and Mike Levy, who'd fish for silvers, drew peg 21. I did manage a decent peg in 39, but I felt the fish would have followed the wind and been up in the main ripple, which was slowly increasing along with the heaviness of the rain.
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| Peg 39 Tile Lake, Sedges |
I went about sorting my kit out and decided against the silvers fishing and opted to set up a method feeder and a pellet waggler. A topkit to be fished at 6 sections was also in my armoury.
Bait was simply meat and hemp for the pole line and my usual method mix along with 6 and 8mm pellets.
I began on the waggler for 20 minutes without anything other than a lost foul hooked carp. A switch to the feeder fished to the island gave me another 30 minutes without any action, but other than Westy on peg 37, I couldn't see anyone else catching anything. But just after 11am I had my first carp, a nice 8lb fish got me off the mark. A little spurt of fish on the feeder pushed my net up to around 50lb at the halfway stage, this was only 7 or 8 carp, which was nice as I seem to get pestered my the little 2lbers that inhabit the lake.
It was just before the halfway stage that I heard a massive splash and heard shouting from Pierce on peg 38, myself and Mike West were soon in his peg to see a rather wet Pierce bobbing around nearly in Mikes peg, his box and contents were floating everywhere. We managed to get him out and his box, but I would imagine that he lost most of the contents of it. Pierce's front legs gave way as he stood on his footplate and ended up in the drink. He packed up and went home, he aint no spring chicken so no doubt it put the wind up him. Hope he's fine.
Back to my match and it had slowed again for me, a few lost fish and a tackle robbing snag cost me a bit of time and weight, but a fish of 10lb or so broke my blank spell, caught on the waggler set 5ft deep.
As we approached 2:30pm my clicker showed 68lb, which wouldn't likely be enough as no doubt 1 or 2 guys, plus Mike's paste attack, would be plenty in front of me.
A couple more fish of around the 7lb mark were welcome, but I was losing a few fish due to hook pulls, most of these I believe were the squeakers with dodgy and small mouths, but a couple were around the 5lb range. A switch of hook pattern solved this and I had three 2lbers in quick succession.
The last hour was upon us and we were all wet as it hadn't stopped all day it seemed and the wind had meat that the waggler was patchy, though that line gave me a few fish throughout the day.
Chris Mawson, who'd been wandering around while the match was on told me that Westy had been sacking a few in the previous hour and I reckoned on him being well in front of me, Chris also said Steve Kedge had around 13 or 15 carp as had one or 2 others. Eric Searle was on his 3rd net by all accounts and had been consistent all match.
I came in to the pole line, which I had kept feeding all day with decent helpings every hour. My first couple of drops in gave me 6oz skimmers before I netted a 5lb carp, a lost foul hooker followed before I pulled out of another. 2 more skimmers and a 6lb carp, which went under my nets and caused me a few problems and it killed my pole swim.
With that the rain got heavier so I spent the last 15 minutes on the feeder, bringing me a 2lber at the whistle,
My clicker showed 83lb and I had 4 small fish in the second net (I chucked back my 2lb of skimmers).
I packed my sodden kit away and chatted to a few peeps before catching up with the scales, the board showed Eric with 174lb and a few mid/high 80lb nets, 17lb was leading the silvers.
The scales were weighing peg 36 and then it came to Mike West, I reckoned on him having a good few pounds more than me, especially when he said he had 60lb in 1 net and 20lb in another plus a near 14lb weigher.
He totted up a total of just over 115lb to jump to second spot, I knew I never had that, but guessed I had around 100lb. So it proved with my total going a shade over 104lb, placing me in third. Those hook pulls in the last 90 minutes cost me, but then Mike said he had lost half a dozen decent fish, so pretty much ifs and buts really.
Results,
1st, Eric Searle, 174lb 11oz (mostly on the method ??), peg 27.
2nd, Mike West, 115lb 15oz (mostly on paste), peg 37.
3rd, Lee Williams, 104lb 11oz (mostly on the method), peg 39.
Silvers was won by John Fuidge with 17lb-ish from peg 28 on meat at short range.
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