A long weekend full of highs and lows

 First and foremost thanks to all who have sent kind messages re my watery trip into the cut last week.   I would like to maximise my blog readership as suggested by loads of you. its very kind of you all to say the nice things you do, fact is I don't know how to widen my audience. Need a bit of luck and somebody who knows somebody etc.

Thanks also to less concerned about me and more concerned about the waste of resources and the environment. I have sent a cheque to the Coast guard for turning out, to the Fire Brigade and local farmer for the use of heavy winch gear to drag me out.  To the Samaritans in recognition of their help to those who were mentally scarred by seeing me strip down to my skin; and yes to the residents of Milk House stretch who were badly affected by the Tsunami.

One of the kindest comments was as follows "seeing you naked reminded me of David Attenborough commenting on the Giant Walrus Beach master fights on some sandy beach in the arctic"  Charming, I have had a life long nic name of Big Dog for reasons I will let you guess at, but I have never been called a Beach master before.

Now to bring up to date.  Sorry for the delay but life has a habit of stamping on ones nuts when they are down.  And following the loss of my mobile and camera to a watery grave, the laptop died with a terrible case of sympathy.  So to that end, I have been unable to blog the latest news from past weekend.  Thanks to my wife , who through gritted teeth lent me her laptop on the promise I wouldn’t look at the correspondence from her various lovers ( poor bastards). 

So here we go.

Saturday 25th Bait Tech Semi Final Gold Valley

It was with some irony that from a squad of 20 names I could barely muster a team for what was probably Pewseys biggest match in years.  However the hardy and the stupid (me) were left and Leo, Brian, Chas, Chris, Steve D and yours truly rendezvoused at Popham services and then convoyed to Gold Valley.

Quick trip into on site tackle shop for a mooch around then next door for Cumberland sausage butty and a Tea.  The draw was next and Chas and Steve were on syndicate lake, Brian and Leo on Gold and Chris and I on middle.  Team plan was to fish pellet bomb at around 25 meters ping the pellet and then if they come up get the "wag" out and fish on top.  In meantime 11 mtrs ball in with micro pellet soaked in scopex with sprinkling of corn.
In practice it had worked well producing big bags of silvers and the occasional carp.  On the day not so good none of us had drawn the windward end of the lakes and that is were all the weights were to come from.  Out of the 90 or so anglers there; there were an awful lot of blanks and people with ounces and a few with very heavy bags of 100lb plus.  Brian was the best of our bunch with 40+ pound of fish which was 37 lb silvers and a carp on the whistle. Me next with mostly silvers for 17 lb, Chris with a zoo creature and few skimmers for 15 lb then Chas on 10 ounces, Leo on 8 ounces and Steve unfortunately blanking without a single bite all day.  Pewsey was joint last on the day.  No excuses about bad draw or whatever, all the anglers agreed Gold Valley fished poorly compared to its history.  With 5 of the 15 teams going through to the final we know realistically we fished poorly and our target of 6th and hope for better was a long way off.  It was a bad day at the office for most of us.  Nevertheless a day I wont forget.

Sunday 26th North Wx Summer League round 3 River Avon Chippenham.

What a day, ditched the commercial kit in the garage from yesterday got out the natural water stuff slammed it into van and drove north headlong into the wind , rain and copious puddles on the roads. By now I have a new phone but had not checked messages etc.  So it was some annoyance that I sat waiting in a garage in Devizes not realising everyone had gone straight to the draw. 

Eventually checked messages and drove like I had stole my van to Chippenham.  The draw venue seemed remarkably short of anglers.  At which those of us who do check messages realised the venue had been moved 4 miles north!!  The blind leading the blind convoy left; and after getting motion sickness from going around and around led to another call to the match organiser.  And an eventual late arrival at the draw.  What a farce.

Very, very long story short, we drew peg 1 in each section. Me on A1 top end of Riverside drive by the bridge.  I wanted D section in town by the golf course for guaranteed action. It was with trepidation that I looked at my peg.  Have to say it looked like a flyer.  Its just that it was pissing down with rain I had a 1 in 2 drop of 7/8 feet to a precarious perch so small I had to stand no room for a box, then a further drop of 5 feet to the water and then 14 feet of water. I was well out of sight and shouting distance of peg 2.

Having fallen in last week you can understand my caution and wimpy response not wanting to fish such a precarious perch.  So having had a word with myself  "man up, you soft idiot" I looked around for a floatation device found one lowered it in in case I fell in tethered it and set about tackling up.

Waggler and feeder rod set up I got out the pole.  Pole would be difficult.  I would have to ship up hill at 40 degrees whilst standing it would be a long day but had to be worth it.  Only had two rigs long enough had left my long and lollipop rigs at home. Idiot 

I heard what I thought was a hooter from a long way off checked my phone which said 10.30 and so cupped in some ground bait and bait dropper'd the hemp line.  Straight away I realised although I had 14 feet the bottom six feet of it was ranunculus weed impossible to put stick or wag through but ok for feeder or a heavy olivette through in places. 

The day was frustrating I was sure there were bigger fish there; just couldn’t get through the billion Bleak.  The rain was persistent pinkie and maggot were crawling into every orifice, parts of the bank I was stood on was gradually crumbling as the river under cut it. Squeaky bum time.

I endeavoured to get a bonus fish and did catch a bonus 6 ounce Perch on worm, but I spent to long on bigger baits trying to bypass the Bleak and minnows.  One of the minnows took a whole dendrobena!!  Efforts to catch big were to no avail , and I had to get fish in the net.  So I ploughed on with treble maggot and caught Bleak after Bleak after minnow etc until the final hooter. Humped the kit back up the bank and retrieved the floatation device, placing it back on the lifebuoy stand.

140 Bleak 40 minnows a nice Perch for 3 lb 7 oz.  My shoulders were dead feeding the pole back and forth at head height stood up all day, but I felt I had done well enough. Peg 2 pipped me with 3 lb 10 oz peg 3 2 lb 15, peg 4 5lb plus well done Dougie Foreshaw plenty of little chubletts, Fred Parker next  daddy Chubb of around 3 and half pound and few ounces for 4 lb. Then a 2 lb 14 ounces , a 2lb 15 and half ounce and a 2lb 13 ounce.  So fourth in section not bad but not great points.

Lets hope the others did well need to catch Swindon.  As it happens we had two 5ths in section and my doubles partner Mr Steve Trevett won the match with 10 lb of bleak on the 4 meter whip, well done Steve.  Swindon Isis had a mare except for Fred Parkers second in section (Daddy chub) saving the whole team with 2 points.  The river men of Lechlade played a blinder and won the day.  

So we go into the final round we go into the final round 3rd as Lechlade pass us.  Swindon on 6 points Lechlade on 8 and Pewsey 1 on 9 points.  Steve and I maintain our lead in the parallel doubles competition.

Mid week open on the canal Wednesday night and then not sure for next weekend.  One thing is for sure I will be better prepared and hopefully have a laptop, and a new camera.  Of course I could use the camera on the new phone just need to read the instructions!!!.