Ivy House Open, Saturday 31st October 2020

 Back to Ivy House today, the weather forecast was to be something like last Saturday, although they did promise it would dry up after a band of heavy rain traversed from West to East.  At one point with attendees pulling out it looked as if we would be a five peg knock up, but it ended up at eight.

I suppose that given my drawing record, I shouldn't have been surprised to be handed peg 46, in the last 6 matches on the canals I have drawn, today 46, then the preceding matches were: 45, 37, 43, 47, 43 one lonesome trip away from a five peg stretch....

Even though rain was forecast, it was mild, so I was intending to make hard pellets my mainstay bait, with a pint of casters and another of maggots to complete the bait tray.  Rigs were a Malman Roob with a eyed Kaisan 18 to 0.13 N-Gauge.  A Nick Gilbert Gimp, this had a 18 F1 to 0.12 Middy Hi Viz and a Des Shipp F1 Maggot float, with a F1 18 to 0.10, for caster short.  I also set up a feeder, a small Guru pellet feeder, with a 0.16 4" hooklength and a 18 LWG with a band.

Started just short of halfway across and had about 12lb in the first 50 minutes or so, toss potting a few 4 and 6mm hard pellets in, with a 6mm in the band.  Then the wind changed, the tow stopped and it rained, it then rained harder and rained some more.  This definitely knocked things on the head and I tried maggots just past half way off to the left, as well as caster short, I had one small carp over the maggot line and a few 'bits' on caster.

When the rain stopped and the clouds cleared away, the temperature dropped and I had to walk back to the van and get a windstopper,  Going into the last hour I had three or four more fish, but I think I concentrated on one line far too much and should have had another line started up with hard pellets, that cost me as I came home slap bang in the middle of the pack, with 46lb, I should have had enough to come in the top two, the other thing I should have done was open a tin of corn, still at least I was in familiar surroundings, maybe next time I can draw away from that little cluster of pegs.