Pewsey Lake Match 6 ...........Bad day at the office

"The Indians send signals from the rocks among the pass, the cowboys take position in the bushes and the grass. The squaw is with the Corporal she is tied against the tree. She doesn't mind the language its the beating she don't need" 

The music of Squeeze and Cool for Cats, accompanied me across a dismal Salisbury plain.  The clouds and dank atmosphere heralding the proper arrival of an autumnal day.  Leaves were falling and I dreaded seeing the Lake.  Funny time of year the water starting to foul up with acidic compostable vegetation falling freely from the trees.  Coupled with the low autumn sun trajectory the lake is losing its summer welcome door mat.

" ....in and out of Wandsworth with their numbers on their names. Its funny how the missus always looks the bleeding same; and meanwhile at the station there's a couple likely lads. Who swear like hows your father, and their very cool for cats".

Squeeze come to an end as I near the lake and XTC start up with "We're only making plans for Nigel".  Some of the lads are already there. Looking at their wrist watches and shouting abuse about my out of character lateness.  I am not that late and actually have my kit lakeside before them.  After walking the lake to see what pegs I will take out for those who have changed their mind about coming; I sit and start to take the money and book people in.  The lake doesn't look promising and gut feeling made me think I should have stayed at home.

Last of the 6 hour summer matches sees the draw done Brian Shutler has the Scales on end peg 3.  He is already moaning before the match starts about the leaves and his peg being unfishable.  I chuck my keep net in and it settles on the raft of leaves till I wriggle it around it breaks the meniscus of the water and sinks.

Tiny, tiny fish flip on the surface and my initial feeling of dread at drawing in section one again!!! Abates a little and a glimmer of hope flickers into life. Do I put my Carp keep net in? Chances of Carp are low unless the sun comes out.  Chas (below) on my left talks me into putting it in, saying you don't want to be fiddling around if you do hook one. So in it goes.

I whistle the start of the match and cup in. Before I have finished baiting up Gary P, on peg 4 and Steve Hiscock on 14 (end peg) have had a Carp a piece. So I quickly ship out on my main attack line and start feeding the edge whip line for the guaranteed small fish.  So when the float didn't move as expected I knew today would be all about playing catch up.  Tiny fish that barely moved the float came to hand one after another, but not enough.  If I am going to get these I might as well do it on the whip at least its quicker.  However the water was turner colder by the minute and under the raft of leaves colour was dropping out of it as the sinking leaves pressed the green algae into the lake bottom.  Brian is walking the bank still moaning at only having a few Carp and losing 4 others!! Oh of only I could draw an unfishable peg~!!

The weakening autumnal sun breaks the gloom and filters through the trees to leave a dappled sunlight on the far bank.  As nothing is happening in my main areas I flick a insert waggler into the far bank and ping a few maggots in the hope of a cruising Chubb.  The float dips and a pleasing 2 oz Roach (freezing cold) comes to hand.  After landing the float in the same spot like a butterfly with sore feet and with absolute synchronicity 14 little peas in the pod Roach graced my net and my spirits started to lift. The from nowhere a gust of wind sees my waggler adorn the trees opposite. In worsening breezy conditions  I cheerfully tackle up again and promptly flick the first cast alongside the last.  Trees two Gary nil.

After Leo and Chas had stopped laughing , I fired a third toward the sunny patch, and dragged back some broken branches. You couldn't have made the birds nest that greeted me if you tried, so after tackling up again!!I started over.

I had wasted nearly an hour and 15 minutes untangling things, so was not delighted when the next cast hit the water at rods length. Closer inspection found the line had gotten behind the spool (how I don't know).

My temper blew and Leo was saying to Chas "well the fishing is crap but the entertainment is brilliant. And Chas was adding comment that he thought it was early to be putting up Christmas decorations but the trees opposite did look nice with all the floats hanging from them!  Leo spluttered into his coffee and almost missed the Carp that was pulling his rod into the Lake.

He did gain control and a lovely Carp soon graced the landing net.

Now it really was catch up time, two more belting runs for Leo resulted in snapped hook links, before he had another Carp.  I tried to emulate by changing to the tip and the 'method' but with no joy.

I was running out of floats and hook links, so had to go back to the pole; but with the fish being 4 to the ounce. Realization dawned that it was a bad day at the office for sure.

I had been a little unlucky, in fact if I was an undertaker people would stop bloody dying I am sure; but there just wasn't many fish swimming in the stretch I was on.  You will see later if not for Leos Carp nobody two pegs either side of me were catching anything and you can't odds that.

The end came mercifully, and I could not wait to pay out the pools and get away.  The weigh in saw some nice Carp as normal in section 2 Simon Burden leading the way with two for 14 lb 7 oz.

Mark Kay also had two for 12 lb 5.  Chris Rushton had some pups to go with his bigger silvers. Me well considering.......................... I had a few silvers but Gary Perryman had had a Perch to go with his first minute Carp and Steve Cross had had a skimmer or two so it didn't look good for section points for me.

 My silvers had tied Gary's 2 lb 4 oz Carp but his 4 oz Perch gave him the edge, but not enough to catch Steve Cross. Shutler despite his unfishable peg had produced lots of puppy carp for 15 lb 12 to go with his 5 lb 11 oz silvers...................... oh to draw an unfishable peg.

 Brian takes first and first in the super pools as well as silvers and Si Burden , Mark Kay and Leo share the rest of the money.  Once again if not for Carp, my silvers would have looked respectable, but hey ho such is life.  Glad the disasters are left on the lake side.  Looking forward to starting the winter league on the river next week.  The humour and banter (leg pulling) at my expense continued as the winners are photographed.  Glad somebody enjoyed the day.