Got to the venue well early, as I was on a course in Stoke Gifford and it wasn't worth going home. For a change, Mark Bartlett was busy working, instead of fishing, so I had a chat with him, then into the shop to pay on and a chat with Toby. As ever couldn't help having a browse round a tackle shop and after last week, I needed a yellow topped float for fishing across, as I paid for it Toby said it would be a lucky float.... a 0.2g Drennan Carp
Time for a walk round round the lake, there was a fair old wind blowing, but it was coming very South Westerly, so some protection from the trees and the buildings. There were carp showing in 22/23, 12 and plenty on the corner opposite 8 and 5. As I neared the end of the stroll, I bumped into Vic Bush, who plied me with wine gums........ my mum warned me about that sort of danger!! A chat with Vic and then I saw him pumping up Devils Spawn in his van, not sure why, but maybe he'd prove me wrong.
I was about 4th into the draw bag and had a rare trip over the bridge to an island peg - I usually only get on there to weigh in!! Peg 2, with venue stalwart Mike Chapman on peg 4. First job was a walk round and onto the other island with some new shears I'd bought only the day before from Lidl, two areas cut out so I could get tight in, about 5 yards apart, either side of the centre line from the pallet of my peg.
I set up two rigs to fish across, both areas cut out were 12" deep, just about perfect and nice and easy that they were the same depth., I did set up a rig to fish paste on a shelf about 2'6" deep, a couple of yards of the near bank. Finally a margin rig to fish GB / maggots down to the pallet of peg 1.
Starting across, I had a couple of early fish from the LH cut out, then the wind changed, much gustier and bizarrely blowing suddenly from the right and then, by the time I'd correct the pole position, it was gusting from the left. This was causing problems as even though I thought I'd cut out a big enough area, the gusts were taking the rig into the bankside vegetation. A switch to the RH cut out brought a couple more fish, but it wasn't prolific and unless I kept feeding the fish disappeared.
I started feeding the RH margin with GB and maggot and the LH with pellet, then the paste line with softened pellets. To save too much typing, I had one micro perch in the maggot margin, I had one carp on paste and nothing in the pellet margin. I spent the rest of the match across and at the end the RH cut out was barren, whilst I had a few more fish from the LH cut out. It was necessary to keep feed going in but I didn't go mad, I fed about 1 pint of 4mm pellets. Strange night, as the water temp and conditions pointed to the fish coming short or into the margins, but they didn't.
I hadn't seen too many catching, so unless anyone out of view had sacked up, I thought I might be there or there abouts with what I thought might be 55lb.
The scales gave me 65.12, all carp apart from a 2 dram perch and a near 2lb skimmer, which was also caught 12" deep on the far bank. That was enough to just pip Walshy to the win, so two evening matches and two pick ups, especially nice after Sundays bloody disaster at Landsend. Good to see that there is no silvers payout, which would unnecessarily dilute the payout on a match like this, its been decent pickups given the size of the matches, food for thought maybe.
Once again, thanks to Toby for the hotdogs and cider after the match (and for selling me the lucky float - the last one he had!!), most welcome and it makes a bit of a social occasion out of it.
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