mid section blues: North Wessex and its the final count down

So lets do it, I have been like a Cat on a hot tin roof all week wanting the weekend to come. Its the final round of the league and we have a tall order of 6 points to make up. Despite the bravado and the talk of its only one point per man. I would rather be 6 points in front. The thing is despite me concentrating on my team you just cannot discount the others Clanfield Radcot etc. Least of all the other Pewsey teams the whole squad has fished hard to win with no love lost between teams on the bank , but solid group away from the bank. In fact we are to lose we have probably beaten ourselves as all the teams have taken points of each other. Still lets see.

There were a number of caveats to today, first team one needs some luck. We wanted the following:

Swindon ISIS not to draw 1 or 8 end pegs
Team 1 Pewsey not to draw 3 or 4
Ian to draw the boats (section F) Preferably peg 8 (suits his fast fish small fish style)
and personally I didn't want to draw against Brian Webb (ISIS A)

Having drawn reasonably well all year for the team should I draw again? Last couple of matches ( not Wx) I haven't drawn well. So we decided to let Paul "Endus Pegeeas" Giddings draw as he always draws well on the canal.

Bad start amazingly Swindon draw end pegs again number 8 - sod it. Paul then draws peg 3 - sod it. Ian Spanners Spanswick is in E section and not F. 0- 3 was it to be a whitewash, well yes yours truly on F section and against Brian Webb bugger it. Whitewash nil for four.

So waders on and slide down the bank opposite"Hobgoblin for one of the shallows pegs on the canal. So shallow that when the boats come through the scrape the bottom. Nightmare complete Brian Webb is on the "wires" the flying and end peg today. I look around to see good anglers everywhere. Initially I am despondent but I am fishing well lately so lets give it ago. Head down and crack on.

First problem slip on the bank and drop my platform which roles forward and upside down bugger, that's not helped. I seem to be nervous but I shouldn't be its just fishing, but I don't want to let the side down. The swim is devoid of any movement or anything that would suggest fishy.

The match starts and a couple stand behind me and start holding a conversation with the owners of Hobgoblin, who by now couldn't be making much more movement and noise! My boat-side swim was under the door on Hobgoblin between round and square window. But its unfishable as the owners swing the doors open like windows on a summers day and carry on the chat with the people behind me. Ooh wasn't strictly good last night, will you be at the pub tonight? etc etc.

In the end I said excuse me I don't meant to interrupt but could I ask a favour? Could you lot shut up? Fish don't respond well to a party being held over their head.

At which point, the guy on the next boat joins in, sorry he said got loads of carpentry to do and will be running my generator etc. His wife's contribution was to empty the soapy contents of he sink into the canal. You couldn't make this shit up.

What chance do I have ? 45 minutes in and no bites. The conversation re last night has re ignited as the couple behind me walked around to the other side of the canal climbed on Hobgoblin and poured the coffee.Handy bloody Andy and his bloody generator are still going great guns and Martin Aris on my left (who has 5 fish) is saying 5 nil Gazzer want a lesson in how to fish a canal.

My first fish is greeted with derisory laughter from the the "Strictly" crowd opposite and quite rightly so, its only days old!

Embarrassment and temper focus the mind and I hunker down. A friend of mine said this week keep going Gary and let your results do the talking. So blinkers on and ear muffs in place to drown out Martins sarky want a lesson comments and strictly conversation which had expanded to choice of music for the Tango, and tonight's pub quiz.

God had not finished with me though. Two blokes along the bloke had a diesel spill from his engine work, and "to help" disperse he squirted fairy liquid into it. Cheers Pal my entire swim and two swims either side had a beautiful multicolored diesel smelling slick coating line, floats and bait. That's got to have killed it.

You just cant credit it can you. For once I want a boat to disperse it and sure enough one comes through, scraping the shallow bottom and turning the swim into mulligatawny soup.

However I do get my first decent bite a sail away, but seconds later I am not so pleased as I have to unhook a ladies sanitary towel. You gotta laugh haven't you. No! I look heavenwards and then behind me to see Chris Glover. Oh to see a friendly face. Chris was unlucky not to be fishing for team 2 as he is a regular for them. Hes fishing well, but couldn't make it due to work. So we called in supersub again , Graham Godwin. Then blow me Chris managed to get off work, so we had to decide. Having told Graham he was in I had to break the bad news to Chris he wasn't fishing.

He took it on the chin but I know he was pissed off. Credit to him though he came down to walk the bank and keep us informed. His first duty was to tell me Si Irwin has 35 fish and going great guns and Brian Webb on the flyer is catching. Oh woe is me. It was all I could do not to slide of the platform and drown - I wouldn't be missed. Thing is I am so big and the canal is so shallow I probably cock that up too!!

Wallowing in mind games is not helping so I decide to really give it a go. I ditch all the rigs except one - my tight tot the boat rig and start ping a mix of hemp and pinkie. Before long I am one a chuck and Martin is now struggling, tangled rigs and bad language fill the air. Two more boats come through and the diesel spill is dispersing. Fish keep coming and the weight builds. Chris is back with news from other sections. Its not good the ISIS lads are going well with one of them having two tench and a slab. Danny is going well but has Pike trouble. Steve Trevett is struggling as is Kev Chubb. Graham - Chris's replacement is neck and neck with PG and he wasn't sure about the rest except team 3 Captain Lee Knight who has had bonus fish. The ever reliable Brian Shutler was smashing out the small stuff.

And so the match progressed incrementally fish after fish I clawed my way back in. Chris was convinced Si Irwin had the section, which I wasn't fussed about I just need to be ahead of Brian Webb and ISIS. That's all I can do. He did think that Doug Foreshaw on Peg 1 down towards the WHARF was going well with Perch but couldn't be sure. I like Doug top bloke.

Still the end comes with Doug's whistle and my bites had stopped ten minutes before anyhow as further boats had stirred the boat into a muddy silty mess.

I am crushed when I see Brian Webb's net, I know he is on the flier and I knew there were loads of fish there but nevertheless, I just hoped he would have a bad day. No chance 6 lb 1 oz, bugger that's torn it. I have let the boys down and lost to the ISIS man.

Si Irwin is next and he lifts out 4 lb 3 oz. On down through and the wieghts are smaller thank god till it gets to me. Agonizingly I am an ounce short (4 lb 2 oz) of Si and second place and 7 points. Still 6 points not to be sniffed at.

Right, on to Doug on peg 1. Should be a good weight and its looking good for him, but Si whispers 4 lb 1 and a half, (yes - think I've got third) but at the same time as Doug says hang on there's one more here and drops a fish in.

The scales bounce and settle and Si says 4 lb 2 and a half -the extra fish was an ounce and my day is complete knocked back to 4th and only 5 points.

How will I face them.

So to the other results and sorry if I am brief, but cant see the screen or type through the tears and sobbing.

A section, the nip and tuck battle between 1 and 2 ended in a draw thankfully they both get 8 points

B section ( A through E by the way all at milk house A by milk house and E by Pains Bridge and the crab apple) Steve Dean takes 5 points and two points of Steve Trevett with ISIS winning from the end peg

Section C Danny takes it for team 2 and Kev takes 3 points of ISIS.

Well done to Chris another section for Pewsey.

E Section and good old Brian takes the section, with Lee Knight second and ISIS 3rd.

Overall winners on the day Pewsey 2 a magnificent 41 points, well done to them, but I refer back to my earlier comment and how Pewsey have undone Pewsey - not sure how to stop that happening again.

Need to think on it with my PMG com-padre's. ISIS A have the top 2 places with Brian and Lee 3rd and fourth.

After a very long wait as the scores were totted up and the top ten anglers were announced. I managed 8th and Pewsey had a good showing with Brian winning the best angler on weight count back to Chris R. Brian Webb third, Brian Ballard fourth then John Swan and Pewseys Paul Giddings and Graham Godwin 6 and 7 finally Kev Chubb 10th. So six Pewsey in top 10. Well done all.

Teams

ISIS A winners P1 second on 167 and despite what said in the pub P2 beat Radcot to third with 153 to 147 so two teams in top three. Huge well done to P3, without their support in beating the opposition we couldn't have done it - truly Pewsey is a squad effort, immensely proud to be part of the team.

So back to the festivities and handouts of prizes.