The day started cold, 6am and scraping ice from inside and outside of the windscreen. The hour long drive to Chippenham was grind. Fog, convoys of lorries, tractors across Salisbury plain to Devizes and onwards past Bowood House (lovely estate lake there). Remember fishing it as a nipper, big bream on the swing tip. Swing tip - remember those? Met Carl at Riverside drive at 7am to peg it.
Disappointed to hear we only had twenty turning out. That's one of the lowest turn out for some time. We didn't peg top meadow on advice from the local angling shop Premier angling. Three sections of 7, took us from wellington ditch through to the Cadet boathouse.
Back to the Bridge house Harvester in Chippenham for breaky and the 8.30 draw. Tea and a fry up (not good for the heart) banished the memory of the slow journey; and I look forward to the day.
Carl draws and I get B2 and the scales. I am sort of pleased as I think its a good peg, that is until I find my good friend John Dewberry is on the next peg. John has been advising me over the last couple of seasons. He does win a lot, clearly knows his match fishing, there are times when I think I should set up a direct debit to him it would be easier.
 |
| John "Yoda" Dewberry |
Today though, I am managing to laugh it off, and I try a little reverse psychology, by saying " your the man in form , you will be the one to beat today". It doesn't work he smiles lights a fag and says no pressure, I think we will all struggle today the rivers really pushing through, I am not hopeful.
Any way my peg. Inside I was jumping for joy. It is a good peg. A 6 foot drop down steep bank to a metre square platform. Little bit of a balancing act, some scaffolding poles have bee driven in to help give hand holds. The cross section pole was slippy in muddy wellies, but managed it. To be honest I was spoilt for choice. A nice little run for a stick float along the inside, waggler or feeder across.Bait, quality maggott from Reid's tackle, bronze and a little red and pinkie left over from the weekend. Bread and worm to back up last resort.
I shout the all in and we are away. I have a deep hole slightly to my right and in tight , its a good 18 inches deeper than anywhere else. The wind is a real bitch, freezing cold and coming at me from 10 o'clock and swirling downstream. So I start over the hole with top 3 pole section no 4 elastic and a 0.5 body up float. Perfect Crabtree - only not perfect. It is crammed with snags and garbage from the recent floods. In fact the tree to my right is like a Christmas tree, hanging with floats, feeders, carrier bags and other general detritus. Little whinge time, why do dog owners bag up doggy doo and then not take it home but throw into the trees. Talking of dogs, I turn around to grab my ground bait only to find a jack russell peeing into it! I shut my eyes, bite my lip and stir the warm liquid into my ground bait mix. Luckily the sieved mole hill soil , soaks it up. I put some in just up stream. Don't know what was in the dog pee but an oily slick emanates from it to the surface. Hope it hasn't ruined the swim.
Well in short after trying my favourite, drake 4x4 ally stick, waggler, and feeder. After 4 and half hours I hadn't had one single bite!!!! Now this will sound slightly big headed, but I do know how to fish rivers, I am not as good as my brother Gordon, or Dave Moody or his brother Rodger; but be assured I can catch fish on a river! To be honest a blank would be unthinkable on moving water I feel that confident. I really worked it trying differant shotting patterns, moving the float up and down to differant depths. But nothing, not even a bloddy Bleak or minnow !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God I am so cold - that bloody wind is all over the place.
Some of the lads were walking the bank and the message was it was dire. Most were blanking, some had the odd fish. Mick Craddock and Mike Poolman were doing the best Mike Poolman had a chub. The wind was making it near impossible to present a bait, mend the line or keep it going through straight. Tangle after tangle, twig after leaf, after branch, after carrier bag was hooked and swung in. Hook lengths were broken. I fished some snaggy swims lately but this one takes the prize.
Finally 10 minutes from the all out; lady luck shines. Another tangle, how can that be lucky? then read on. I went to flick out the stick float for the thousand time, and it splashed short very short right at my feet. Then line had tangled around the back of my ABU 709 close faced reel. That's it, I said enough is enough I am packing up. So I dismantle the reel to find an incredible birds nest. I decide to bite through the line and chuck the rod up the bank.
But wait a minute as I am biting through the line the end in my left hand starts to pull away. I look astonished at my feet to see my float disappearing under neath my platform. Hanging on tightly with my left had I passed the cut line to my right hand and grab the landing net with my left hand. the fish has swum around the scaffolding pole holding up my platform. After some jiggory pokery with the net , I am on my knees and hand lining in a Perch of about a pound!
I look at my watch two minutes to go, no time to set up again, so I sit happy on my box. Happy not to have blanked. The weigh of the section sees Mike Poolman win with 740 grams, Brian parsons has a nice Roach and 3 tiddlers for 230 grams and my Perch weighs in at 210 grams for third. John has amazingly blanked the others have 20 and 40 grams. The other sections are a mixture of blanks and 10 to to 60 grams. Mick Craddock the wins the match with with 890 grammes, Mike Poolman second I think.
3RD in section good team points(2) Brian Parsons was fishing as an individual. Dave Critcher and Carl made total team points of 6 for our team the Orphans. We are second on count back. A good day in the end....... oh and third pick up in a row, nothing big but a "fiver" cash is cash and I will take it when I can.
Role on Sunday and the Canal at Pewsey.
No comments:
Post a Comment