Joining the Clan...........Open to all

What a beautiful day to go fishing.  Took up the offer of Clanfield Angling and attended the River Thames to fish an open match.  Left home at 7 met Ian and Leo in Pewsey and onto Clanfield , where the great the good and the ringers were waiting to do the draw.

After a little confusion as to which field gates were open and how we would get to our pegs we drew and got under way. I drew well down at 85, With Brian Ballard on end peg 91 and James the Legend Carty on 89 plus many other good anglers in the section it would nor be easy.

My Peg was beautiful but featureless on a straight and about 6 feet deep from my feet 90% across.  No real features except for a lovely up stream breeze.

Its a year since I fished the venue and I have always drawn up the other end.  But Today Leo and Ian were that end, in fact Spanners had the top end peg.  I had an inside whip line for hemp and squid  ink pellet (no Tares) .  Mid river ground bait Noire and River Black casters red and flouro maggot over it .  Far waggler line loose fed caster , yellow maggot on hook.

The match started well bites straight off, with the whip inside and 9 straight roach on the pellet.  Big swirl from Pike and that was the end of that swim.  At least for now.

Mid river now and just enough flow to pull a stick through with a nice upstream to help presentation.  I can see the legend JC bagging mid river fishing 7 meters to hand.  I gonna have to go some to keep up.  Brian too, is catching steadily. The fickle wind made me come of the stick and put out the pole on the same line just for accuracy..  The bites slowed so two bait droppers of hemp , spiced em up again and brought in the Perch.  Change to worm for bigger Perch brought one more nettable before it died again.  Downstream the boys are still catching but my bites are slowing - 1 hour gone.

An hour without bites well 4 bleak,  and a drop in wind , so I went across .  Waggler Caster spray and yellow on the hook.  Immediate chublet and another Roach.  The breeze has picked up and swung round in my face, causing the line to loop behind the spool on the reel.

Birds nest sorted and back in sees another  three roach and one more 4 oz chublet.  I can hear Brian and JC discussing the lack of bites.  JC is looking upstream to me , so I try the mind games and net a 6 ounce Perch, could have swung it in but trying to apply pressure.

A baron couple of hours for our section left 1 hour to go before people started catching .  Up stream the guy above me had just had a nice Chub so was looking good.  Me I couldn't get a bigger fish but had started to catch big bleak and small roach on the wag.

Brian called it for the end and the weigh began , clearly I was not gonna win the section but had not disgraced myself.

Brian had 8 and bit pounds.  JC 6 and a half , a did not weigh below me (4 fish ) me 4 lb 5 oz

I knew I wouldn't pick up by default as the guy upstream Chub had given him 6 and half too.

So round to see Leo weigh in 2.5 lb

and on up to Spanners who reckons he might add three pound.  Then headed for home.  The journey home was the only bad thing on an excellent enjoyable day fishing in the sun, most relaxing.  A big thanks to my hosts Clanfield.

The locals did do well on their water.

Left at 5 got home at 735, after traffic in Lechlade, Highworth, chucking out time at Honda, 20 minutes getting over m4.  Traffic jams in Marlborough, Collingbourne and Tidworth!!!!!!!!!

Going to the Clanfield Facebook page now see who won.

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=clanfield%20angling%20club