If I wasn't helping Paul organise this one, the forecasted weather may well have had me crying off and watching some football on the telly!! The drive down was eventful, a Mondeo flying down into the dip by The Airport Tavern and hitting the large flood was evidence of someone not paying attention to the road.
Once at the draw, there were some requests to cancel the match and some others to reduce it to 5 hours, we did put back the draw back 1/2 an hour and the start time, as it was reported that things should improve later in the day.
It was a free draw today and I managed to get C section, the island of Horseshoe Lake at Plantation. We had to reduce the numbers in the sections, due to no shows - it would be good if people rang!!Who'd be a match organiser....
There were some trees down at Plantation, but that was on the main lake, not Horseshoe, it looked nicely coloured but the ferocity of the wind and rain gave the portent of the day ahead. I set up a MW diamond 0.6g, which might seem excessive given the depth, but it did sit stable in the wind and severe surface skim. This had 0.10 and a 20 6313, a lighter diamond with a B960 and a band, just in case...... Yes, you're right it was a waste of time, so no more about it, as it stayed in the rig roost. I also set up a margin rig, more in hope than expectation as the margin was only 15 - 18" deep, too shallow I felt in the cold wind and rain.
I started at 5m maggot over caster and had 3 small carp in the first hour, then a 12oz perch, silvers being hard to come by. It then took me nearly an hour to get another bite, which came as I was struggling to get a neoprene glove on (as my fingers were numb and siezing up), Mark Broomsgrove opposite saw the elastic coming out and told me, the fish tried to get into the bankside rushes and in my attempt to turn it, with stiff and freezing arms and shoulders, it rolled on the surface, a huge perch, 3lb I reckon, sadly the roll on the surface disgorged the hook as neatly as any slammo.
I suffered a biteless 3rd hour and tried groundbait/pimkie and some chopped worm, to no avail The visits to the margin proved equally fruitless, as I suspected they would. It took until 35 minutes before the end before I had another bite and I landed 3 more carp and a roach not far off 1lb before the all out. I wasn't disapponted to finish, miraculously with 10 minutes of the all out, the lakes tempest ravaged surface took on a smooth glass like sheen - it happens far too often to be mere coincidence, doesn't it?
My 2 quality silvers went 1.11 and the carp 14.11, the middle 4 blank hours being costly. Acorn lake saw only 3 left at the end to weigh in, it was some of the worst weather (and the coldest April day) that I've fished in. I have some soggy weigh sheets to try and decipher now, I doubt if I will put an update to the tables until next weekend.
Thanks to Ken Rayner for the use of his Salter scales.
A Section (Acorn Paddock Lake)
1) Lewis Walker 47.04 peg 40
2) Simon Carvello 23.00 peg 6
Silvers
1) Simon Carvello 3.08 peg 6
2) Scott Smallwood 2.00 peg 36
B Section (Plantation Horseshoe Outside bank)
1) Rod Wootten 26.04 peg B7
2) John Page 24.12 peg B6
Silvers
1) Mark Broomsgrove 11.03 peg B4
2) Glenn Calvert 8.09 peg B5
C Section (Plantation Horseshoe Island pegs)
1) Brian Slipper 29.09 peg C3
2) Lance Tucker 27.00 peg C10
Silvers
1) Paul Faiers 8.04 peg C1
2) Brian Slipper 5.03 peg C3
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