This match last year was cold and wet and I won it. Normally I cant get past peg 4, but last year I was up by Perrys turning bay. This year just as cold this year and I drew peg 2 so was just about as far away from the guaranteed fish as you could be. Still the colour of the canal was returning to normal after weeks of 500+ Kayaks ripping it up. Under pressure I went a pound with the northern boy Marc Kay who is full of himself at the moment, what did he draw well only prime peg in Perrys bay, so goodbye to that quid.
Chris "Endus Pegius" once again draws on a hot peg 1.
Short walk past Chris. To my peg at number 2. The peg looked ok if devoid of life. Completely different to Milk house on Friday Fish fizzing everywhere and one a chuck.
Everyone else was making as much noise as possible as they stomped their way up to Perrys bay and the higher numbers . Tackled up and stepped up the bank for the customary pre match pee. and for once I was ready with 10 minutes to go.
How low can you go well some of my mates are can go very low; but when the canal is 3 foot deep at its max down the track at my peg. Boats like today start to scrape the bottom. This didn't help at all but to be honest even before a boat gouged out another couple of inches ( had to re plumb). Chris had 3 foot 6 and Steve Dean on my left the same.
So began the sitting around baited up on the minimal side, had a feeling it would be easy to over feed today. One bite ten minutes in produced a tiny cray fish to my worm head. Then nothing for an hour. Tried off the bottom up the shelf laying on etc etc, but absolutely no movement. As I said devoid of life. Just to make sure I asked Steve Dean and Chris how they were doing and the reply 2 bites, 2 fish from Steve, and Chris 3 for 3.
At last a pin prick of a movement and I hit it. Result 1 x quarter ounce Perch which could barely fit the pinkie in its mouth. Rapid change to size 24 hook and single squat, toss pot on end of pole and sprinkle 6 or so squat with dry ground bait in 18 inches of water at the end of "Sunrise" the boat opposite. Although you couldn't get a fag paper between my rig and the canal boat with no joy.
Same again of the rope ball next to the rudder at the stern and the float dipped into an ounce Perch then two more half ounce. At last fish, float dipped again and I bumped a fish as the line wrapped around the toss pot stopping the elastic working. Bugger it wasn't big but hey fish are a premium today.
Untangled the mess then hooked my sleeve, resulting in my launching the rig behind me and putting on new. Set depth against my plumbed marks and looked to ship out again.
Unbelievably the bloke from the boat to the left had parked himself on the stern of "Sunrise" his boat as well apparently and he had decided to do some maint work. So not only did we have "Sunrise" but we had "Moonrise" as well; as he hung his plumbers cleavage out of his jeans and over the edge of the boat whilst he proceeded to sand down; undercoat and paint the stern of the boat right above the rudder.
Can you believe I say to Chris. Hes done that deliberately. Some people are spiteful says Chris. So that ended that swim. Still couldn't leave it that when he went for a tea break I fired a pouch of pinkie over the stern (by accident of course) and when he came back his beautifully glass smooth paint job was dotted with crawling "black" pinkies trying to free themselves of the black gloss paint. He was not pleased.
"Sorry" said I "the wind caught them and blew them onto your boat" (Pinocchio nose ). He seemed to accept.
After another boat dragged through stirring up the winter detritus of blackened leaves and twigs. I baited again. The Northern boy (Marc Kay) came along which surprised me as he was on prime peg. Mike Marsden was with him. It appeared a few pegs in the bay were bagging especially Si Burden who had em crawling up his pole. I had not had a bite for 2 hours but then again only the inevitable Brian Shutler was catching in our section. I threw him his quid as I contemplated packing in with an hours to go.
Stubbornness saw me see it to the very bitter end. Chris reckoned he had 10 fish, Steve on my left had, had a run of gudgeon and he was up to 7. I had a gudgeon as well and when the weigh in began I was packed quickly and waited for my five fish to be weighed in. Chris lied he had 9 fish and I was closer than I thought, but to be honest it didn't matter. It was day when the float had barely moved.
One extraordinary thing did happen today. At one point my single pinkie bait had attracted attention. The dimpled dotted down bristle moved a microcosm. I hit hit and nothing there. Oh but there was I had hooked another pinkie!
You know its a tough day when you start hooking your loose offerings!!!
And so to this weeks winners three different faces with Leo left, Simon middle and Mark right, see you next week , where I don't know yet.
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