My bait fridge had had a fit in the night and all my bait was frozen, I whacked on defrost in microwave and managed to save about 60 pinkie for hook bait and maybe 100 squat. So I was reliant on worm and bread. The huge storms of the night had left flooded roads; and the rain just kept coming. In short I had a gut feeling it was all gonna go terribly wrong today.
Slooshed and slid my way on a muddy towpath. To the draw at the swing bridge. Just need Brian Shutler to draw bad and have a bad day. Wouldn't hurt if Chris Rushton slipped a little further behind he is creeping up incrementally.
Got pushed out of the way in rush to draw from the hat. Whats Brian got? Would you credit it hes drawn the end peg!!! Hes not happy as he has the scales but bloody hell the man can draw and its going to be hard to make up points today. So Chris what does he have, peg 2 the other end peg God hates me.
So onward to the section of death the other side of Bowdens Bridge. Passing Si Burden end peg before the bridge (number 10). Peg 12 and its Kev the Bread first past the bridge and Kev's favourite pleasure peg. Then Paul Giddings on 13, not unlucky for him he was born yards from that peg. God Hates me. Mark Kay and the improving Martin Aris next - then me. To my right Steve Trevett, then Steve Dean last but one with one of the best swims on the canal; and finally Brian Shutler on the end peg. GOD doesn't just hate me he wants me to really suffer and then die.
I look with dismay at my peg probably one of the widest parts of the canal, no real far shelf just branches and tangles. Steve T and I agree Brian will win it and Kev the Bread will be second. So it will be inside whip line a track swim and an attempt at waggler if I can find a gap.
The bait situation gets worse as I slip and drop some of my only live hook bait. In temper I grab my worm scissors to mash the living shit out of my worm . Not realising my own strength, I squeeze the scissors too hard snapping them! The pinkies have got wet and frothy and they are attempting a mass escape crawling all over the side tray. I can hear God Pissing himself laughing, so much so the rain gets harder - is he pissing on me as well? Paranoia sets in. Even more so that I couldn't find my wallet and was convinced I had either dropped it in or on the towpath.
The match gets under way and its difficult trying to keep bait dry. Bread punch is doing nothing and Steve Trevett to my right is in to the first of his big Perch. Brian S is going one a chuck as is Steve Dean obviously that's where the fish are as no one else except Kev the Bread (who has just lost a big Hybrid) is catching. Pike one for me was a four pounder, took roach and terminal tackle - and pike two a 10 ouncer - which I did get in.
I do manage a couple of roach on the whip, before Steve T gets another big Perch. With my limited bait, cold rain dripping off my nose, I listen to Steve Ts banter about how well Brian and Steve are doing. Its a real knife to my heart as I realise the match is slipping away.
What made it worse is for two solid hours all I caught was twigs and leaves. Even coming 3 to 4 inches off the bottom I still caught leaves. The rain stopped with 2 hours to go, as did any bites. Temperature dropped and the colour fell out of the canal. Oh woe is me. Pathetic result below.
So the faint sound of a whistle re-enforced by Kev the Bread shouting all out. The weigh in begins and I am surprised Steve Dean and Brian Shutler who have caught all day don't have more but they are small fish. Mr Trevett's 2 big Perch and a big hybrid take the lead.
Don't believe in if only's but - without those three might have pipped him. On down through the sections (Chris Glover and Ian showing well)and eventually the sheet is complete.
With 5 blokes between 1 lb 2 oz and 1 lb 4 oz. The middle of the board is congested, and one more fish could have made the day respectable for me , but as my gut feeling had suggested today turned out to be a bad day.
An ounce was enough for him to gain a point on me and take a pound of me. Which I gave to Spanners as they had a pound on to. Controversy as Chris suggested I was conveniently quarter of an ounce heavier than Leo. Perhaps I could have rounded up to 2 lb 2 and a half, but it wouldn't have made a difference to my battle with him. And Leo was happy with the scales-mans (me) judgement.
Steve (left) wins it, Chris Glover (right) second and Spanner
Brian extended his lead on me by 8 points. Its still do-able, and on the way home I photograph the Wiltshire sky; and wonder is the sun going down on my Championship push?
PS. Found my wallet zipped inside my jacket - Phew!!
No comments:
Post a Comment