So you can imagine I faced this match with a hope that things would change for the better.
The teams gathered for the new League arranged by the terrific Kevin Chubb. We had 9 enter and would have had more if not for clashes with other major comps. Still good turn out and looking forward to more teams next year.
As for the draw Captain for the day Ian Spanners Spanswick was volunteered and after all the other teams had been and gone. Spanners said do you want the good or the bad news ? Kev had staggered the pegging so that there would be no team with more than one end peg. But Spanners said you've got your mate on the boats.
Foe those that are new to my blog you will know when I draw the Boats section I always seem to get opposite this one boat which is permanently moored and again today I had D4 . The people on the boat are nice enough " but living in" they are nor adverse to emptying the bilge tanks and making noise etc.
I was greeted by the owner stripped to the waist with a warning that he was about to shower , and " it was a shame" that I had pegged there as he would be emptying the content of his shower through the little drains on the side of the boat!! Never mind said I philosophical but aware this was probably one of the worst draws I could have. (pic below from a previous encounter - emptying the bilge has the same effect)
Still suck it up Princess and get on with it. So I slid down the steep bank convinced it was no more than welly deep, to put my platform in . Yes you have guessed it. It was deeper and one welly promptly filled with cold canal water. Platform set, I tried to get up the muddy bank like a beach master walrus and set about the kit.
Called the all in, and started sliding the pole into place to cup in. Annoyed I had mud on my pole , I soon started to gag realising it wasn't mud but dog shit!! Gagging I leaned forward to wash it off in the canal and my glasses fell in!!!!!!!!!!........ really! By now the incessant rain was added to by a fairly gusty wind. Thirty minutes gone and no bites. A little shower froth gathered around the the float bristle - better than any bristle grease. I try the bread line again and it dips away for the first Roach of the day.
Its hammering it down now and and the wind is really trying to make a point. A cracking from above made me nervous as the tree above me struggled against the winds onslaught. A branch came down just missing my top kits. Phew that was close. But even as I was thinking it another larger branch landed across my pole stretched before me.
It completely severed the top 4 section where half that and a top kit slid from view over the three quarter line. The top 5 was also smashed beyond repair and the male end of the six broke off in the female 5.
I sat stunned . God F'ing hates me I thought. That is going to be expensive. More pressing though was how would I get through the next 4 hours and try and catch fish??? If it wasn't a team event I would have buggered off home. But had my team mates to think of.
So back to the van to get a waggler rod,and a 4 mtr whip. 30 minutes later I had a whip line on the track and a two waggler lines one across tight against the boat and one far right , same depth but around two feet out from the boat.
Whilst I had been gone the wind fairies had had fun blowing the lids of containers and my towel into the canal. Ground bait or should I say slop had a nice topping of dead floating squat and pinkie. Pinkie and squat were crawling everywhere leaving my entire peg looking like pebble dashed pink stipple.
I dug out the worm and chopped up a cup full completely forgetting I couldn't ship out the cupping kit without top 4, 5 and 6. Had a root around in the bag and dug out a bait dropper.
An under arm swing with the waggler rod fed the track with choppy and I settled in like a hunched dwarf against the rain. Defiantly I ground it out. One small fish after another. It was hard work trying to get the canal dart to hold against the tow (you forget what an advantage a pole gives you). Equally its been a while since I had cast a dart against a boat and tried to sink the line but stay tight. After 20 minutes of fiddling with the shotting pattern , I finally struck a balance between delicate delivery. Which held bottom quite tight and over the bait.
No bites for an hour saw me on around 5 ounces of the tiniest squat fish but a run of small Perch in the last 10 minutes of the match doubled that. I just had to hope others had had a bad day.
As it was I weighed in 1 lb 2 oz for last in section. Gutted to let the team down, but annoyed at the bad luck was continuing and it was dear day. Back to the Pewsey Wharf pub to do the totting up.
See below for the results. In reverse order:
Strongest team on the day holding us all up was Drennan Borden.
Next comes Browning Andover on 16 points tied with Matrix Cotswold Talisman; Browning pipping Talisman on weight count back.
Then Bankers on 18
Next Garbolino Blackmore Vale 20
Then a tie between Pewsey Blue and Homestores on 23 Pewsey taking it on weight count back
Next and in second place Pewsey Red with 25 points
And in first place Preston Thatchers with 28 points
Individuals on the day
1st - Pewsey is a happy hunting ground again for Tony Leach (Bankers) with 7 lb 14 oz
2nd Kevin Chubb (Pewsey Blue) 5 lb 15 and a half
3rd Brian Dukes (Garbolino Blackmore Vale) 5 lb 14 oz
It turns out whilst last D section was tough along the boats with all the weights coming from the turning bay area. But even those weights didn't compare with sections A and B (Milkhouse) and C (Wharf / Crab Apple).
Two matches this coming weekend Basingstoke canal and Pewsey Lake. Now lets go and see if I can piece together a pole for them.
PS. Chatting afterwards with Gary the fish Etheridge, he posed the question. Mate have you run over a Nun this last year or killed a vicar or something??? You do have more than your fair share of bad luck.
Frankly Gary I don't know but it does seem God is not finished with me yet.
See you next time for another fun instalment.
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