Pewsey Lake.. I Love the sound of breaking glass

Well not quite the sound of breaking glass but the ice breakers were required for the penultimate Championship lake match.  After a week of black Ice and snow the lake was not welcoming and I would have rather been on a river.  Still good to be fishing as yet another busy week at work had left me reasonably stressed to the point where my boss said, " time for some time on the bank Gary".  The day got off to a bad start as I woke to a streaming nosebleed which took over 20 minutes to stop and I got blood on my Pewsey shirt, as it started again as I drove away from home.

But underway, Hugh Cornwall (Stranglers) was belting out " No more Heroes" and Jean-Jacques Brunels pumping bass line lifted the spirits on this cold winters morning.  Mornings are getting lighter as well and a few crocus and snowdrops are starting to poke through.

Disappointed to stand in a puddle and find I had a leak in my half boots, worn today as I had found a hole in my "hot foot" wellies last week. Its weird I am particularly acquisitive when it comes to fishing gear in fact some say an out and out tackle tart.  I have back ups for back ups when it comes to tackle but always overlook those key items that keep us warm and dry.  You know what its like your sat there not catching and cold creeps up and around your core; but if you have the right gear to  keep the hounds of misery from your door, even not catching is bearable.

Had a feeling many of the lads were just going through the motion today.  Yet I could be wrong.  It seems that most like me had or almost thrown the towel in on the Joint Lake / Canal Championship.  Yet a couple who have sneaked up in the last few weeks like an extra cunning Reynard.

Simon leads the way in the lake only Championship with 68 points and Brian Shutler 2nd with 66, me in third with 61.  So once again needed the dynamic duo to have a bad day in fact me to win them to blank.  Golden peg stands at £98 before today's draw so could be interesting .  No doubt I will draw in section 1 as I have done all year, never get in the Carpy end.  Though thinking about it I will today and will be unable to fish it properly due to ice.  Sods law.

So I leave the Commodores in the van and walk the lake lane trying to get their song " Shes a Brick House" out of my head " shes mighty mighty letting it all hang out". I felt I should have a Afro and be strutting like Shaft, but although I can move, the rhythm is starting to desert my old bones.

Two or three no shows at the draw, hardly surprising considering the thick Ice and the cold.  Still enough for 5 in section one and 6 in section 2.

There is a new guy today in fact hes not that new, welcome to Mark Russ former Pewsey superstar by all accounts.  Mark draws number 9 as golden peg .  Its thrown back in the hat and the draw begins, Martin draws the GP and Mark Russ the end peg 14.  Me, well after everyone else I was left with 10 and with Brian Shutler on 11 it's a carbon copy of the last match. Especially as Simon had drawn 4 again.

We set about the task of ice breaking.  Tensions were high as some instead of breaking it up small and netting it out , some had left big sections which just kept moving back and forth in the wind.  I cleared mine at least 3 times and Brian was the same. It left a bitter taste.

 The match got underway 15 minutes late after we had all broke the ice. Then the wait began as we all tried desperately to get a bite.  It wasn't going to take much to win today.

Two hours in, and Simon had a fish about a third of an ounce on peg 4. The new boy Mark had 6 or 7 fish for as many ounces on the other end peg. Neil had one tiny one; as did Ian on the flier (outlet pipe) peg.  The rest of us hadn't even had a bite.

Three and a half hours and the only change was Mark had a few more, as did Neil and Simon had one more. I was walking the bank to warm up and have a pee. I found my flask and gratefully downed hot sweet tea.  Tales of woe up and down the bank as thoughts turned to jacking it in.  I would have gone myself if not for the fact I had to do the sheet and the pay out at the end.

So instead of that I decided to run the songbook in my head and regale my fellow blanker's; with the hopeful tunes like "Summertime, and the living is easy, fish are jumping and the cotton is high.  Your daddy is rich and your ma is good looking, so hush little baby please don't cry"

The lads didn't seem as happy with my entertainment as I thought they would.

Four hours gone and the continually moving ice was not helping. Still no bites for most of us although Chris had chipped in with an 1.5 ounce Perch. With Brian getting a bite at least on the waggler; I decided with 30 minutes to go I put down the pole and got out the waggler too.

I had a small lift bite but missed it and another adjustment to single pinkie and shallow off to 2 feet. The reliable soundtrack from babysitting nights came to mind, Walt Disney's  - Frozen.  So I sang along as I upped the feed rate

Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go

Pinging as much bait as I could I showered the far side in loose offerings.

 for the first time in forever
At least I've got a chance.

Just as the irritating soundtrack started to get to me.  The Ice pack came toward me leaving a gap behind it over the far margin. I lobbed the waggler into the sun filled gap between bank and ice and it slid away, straight away. I didn't need to strike it was already under the ice and my waggler was stuck in the edge of the ice sheet.  Bugger. Don't panic just keep gentle pressure on.  Immediately thoughts of the light tackle caused concern I was on 1.5 lb Bayer Perlon main line straight through to a Kamasan B510 size 20. So couldn't bully.

Stalemate and stuck in the ice.  I couldn't pull it through the ice. So i decided to let the bail arm off and let the line loose but through my fingers in the hope that the fish would swim away from the ice and off to the right.  Where I had a chance of knit one pearl two, through the other ice and to the near bank.

Brian was looking irritated and concerned, and he was definitely wishing me to lose the fish. Abuse of spawny git rang in my ears, as everyone including me thought I had hooked into a carp.  Amazingly it got worse.  Some how the line had looped around the back and underneath the reel spool. An incredible impossible to untangle birds nest.  Even if I could get it past the ice I couldn't reel in. Brian to my right smiled at my misfortune as did Martin on my left.

So I unscrewed the spool, bit through the line and put the fish connected line in my mouth. The feeling of the fish trembling against my nashers was intense; as I scrambled one handed for a a pair of scissors to cut away the birds nest.  That done I reunited the left hand and right hand line ends with a double blood knot.

For a heart stopping moment I thought I had lost the fish, but no it was still on.  I turned to Brian and said if I get this in it will be a bloody miracle. He didn't look as if he sympathized.  So with 10 minutes to go and with the fish pulsing under the ice I shoved the tip of my rod under the water and gradually pulled, praying it wouldn't snap. 

The miracle occurred the ice around the float broke and the fish came toward me.  Its not a Carp. Its a Chubb!! for the second week running a lovely Chubb.

Before the fish could realise it was close to the bank I super fast scooped and he was mine.

Overwhelming feelings of joy at not blanking, blanked out that I may have also won the match.  The B510 was dead centre of the top lip and the pinkie was still wriggling.

The abuse flowed from Martin and Co, as to my luck and complete lack of skill.  Brian's face looked like thunder and his general demeanor was one of a Bear with a sore head. He grumbled his misfortune over the last few minutes of the match.  Of how he had blown his attempt on the Lake Championships, as Simon had caught and Brian had blanked.  

Great I thought I need you to blank.  As I drew breath to holler the all out Brian's float dipped and the lucky sod pulled a one and half ounce Roach across the ice pack in front of him - he hadn't blanked after all.

The weigh in begins and Ian decides not to weigh in his Perch and threw it back.  I was aghast thinking it might have challenged Brian's Roach and knocked him back another point.

Chris was glad as he had a pound on with Ian, and didn't think his one Perch was much bigger.

Weigh in complete, Simon's (6 fish for 3 ounces) gave him 8 Points means he is almost unassailable in the Lake Champs with one match to go on the Lake. My 8 points gives me 69 points, and Brian's last minute fish means he gets 5 points instead of zilch and is on 71 points.  

Brian could still catch Si, and if he he blanks (DNW) it is feasible I could pass him too. So with one Lake and one Canal match left its up for grabs on the lake.  The joint Champs is also between the three of us although the best I could do in that is maintain my current third place.

Well done to new boy Mark Russ out fished us all (glad its on weight not qty)  to get a bunch of tiddlers and a 3 ounce goldfish for a total of 1 lb 11.5 ounces.  Neil Pegrum 10 fish for 5 oz is third.

Ian hands over his pound to Chris,

As for the top three, I was happy to take first prize for the win, first in the super pools and the silvers pot. £60 should keep the other half happy.

Neil left and Mark on the right.