Ben Rendall had promoted this match on Facebook, and it was a free weekend so I could fish this match and get back on the river close to home. The draw was going to be at 7:30am with fishing 9:30 to 2:30, the earlier start is to try to avoid too many other bankside interferences. My only issue was I was out for a few drinks with my wife the night before and an early start wouldn't be conducive to a late night lol. In the end I didn't have a late night but had a nice time and a few beers with Shaun Townsend and Dean Harvey among others, both Shaun and Dean were fishing the match.
I got to the draw just a few minutes late so was happy with that, I hoped to draw a peg in the second field at Swineford, but although I got Swineford I got the first peg, one above the outfall. Back in the 1990's it was a chub flyer, but they are long gone, the peg was overgrown for years and not used, but it has more recently been used again. Jack Jones on peg 15 and Dave Micklewright on 17 were the guys who I thought should do the best today.
Got to the peg and as I thought I would need to wade a fair way out, Andy Cranston had lent me his chest waders so I could get in, thanks mate. A stream flows into the peg and there are reeds and lillies to watch out for.
I reckoned that 15lb to 20lb would be need to get in the money today, and the only way I could see me doing that off this peg was by catching some roach on hemp and tares, but there were going to be chublets and dace around too. I decided to only set up two float rods, as I got the rods out I thought something was missing, indeed, my Preston bag that holds my reels, feeders and running line floats. I was about the run back to the van and drive home but neighbour on the outfall Clive Feddery said he could lend me a reel, and next peg below Dean Harvey gave me a couple of wagglers, and finally Ben Rendall gave me another reel, thanks very much everyone!!! I had bolo floats on winders in my box and chose a 3g version which would be enough as the peg is no more than 6 ft deep, 0.12 accu power to a 16 N20 finished that off. For the waggler I had the same terminal tackle as I wasn't expecting any big chub.
I had to get my longs on my box to get it in the water with me, so I could get my keepnet and bait waiter positioned close to me. Just before the start of the match Clive came down and wanted a pound side bet which of course I accepted.
I decided to start on the bolo feeding casters and hemp down the middle of the river to see what the reaction would be, I had three runs down with double maggot on the hook and no bites but then next cast I hit a bite and was surprised to feel a good fish on, it was obviously a chub and as soon as it was close I had to pull very hard to get it above the lillies. Luckily it was only about 1 1/2lb and I was able to get the better of it. That was a nice start and had me wondering if the chub were back in the peg, but alas it was a real one off. I gradually got more bites and more regular, the odd dace at first, but then a few roach. Unfortunately as bites increased fish came shallow as the bolo float olivette got held up. I tried the waggler but only caught a few tiny dace and bleak.
About 40 minutes gone and I was back on the bolo and put a tare on, first cast on this and a small roach. Then nothing, so back trying casters and maggots and even corn, but nothing was getting me past the the tiny fish. I stopped feeding casters and just fed hemp, on with the tare and had about 7 or 8 nice roach on this and I thought this could now be the fish lining up. Again they went, and I had to try other baits but it was frustrating trying to avoid the bleak. Feeding some casters with the hemp again seemed to bring a few roach back but that was shortlived. At one stage I was on the waggler trying corn and tares, but other than a couple of dace it was just not right, maggots were obliterated. With a couple of hours to go I went for a quick walk, Clive had a few perch on the feeder and was bleaked out on the bolo, Dean had some skimmers and was on 12lb, with Ben saying he had 6lb. Andy Cranston had run to say he was getting some roach but that Jack Jones had 18lb.
I got back to my peg knowing I was not really gonna compete, so just thought I would see what I could go, I just fed hemp and tried tares, but after a few roach the peg went mental with bleak and dace boiling on the surface taking the hemp. Trying to hit dace bites on tares is not easy and more and more I opted for double maggot which would be a bleak or small dace every cast. I fed heavier and heavier, and was double pouching hemp and a dozen tares, it mattered not, there was a feeding frenzy of bleak taking everything lol. It was a shame those fish won't come in close, but on this peg the flow is further out, on the outfall I would have set up 2 whips probably and gone for dace and bleak all day (i had remembered by whips and whip rigs lol). I spent the last hour putting a fish in the net nearly every cast on maggots with the odd try on tare resulting in 1 small dace in half a dozen casts. I'm sure the roach were there but I just wasn't getting any bait down to them.
When the match was over I thought I had 9 to 10lb of fish, a lot of fish but nowhere near enough quality and not the roach I needed on tares. Still a busy day and I'm sure many people fishing up at Evesham this weekend would have like to have had 10% of my bites lol.
The scales came down from Dave on 17 and so I already knew I was only weighing in for the £1 with Clive, but I did nail that with my 10lb 13oz beating Clive's 5lb 4oz, thanks to using Clive's reel! I should say Clive's peg was full of pike today, and they were jumping out all over the place. It is a well known peg pike and they are fished for a lot, Clive managed to catch a lure today, but fair play he didn't try to weigh it it in even though it was very roach like lol.
Jack Jones ended up easy winner, on peg 15, think he had 26lb, some early dace, then three bream on the pole with some roach, and later on he had proper roach on hemp, a great performance that.
Andy Cranston was second on the peg in the reeds in my field, he had 19lb of mainly roach on casters over gbait and caster. Again a great weight (more than he will get at Evesham on Monday).
Dave Micklewright claimed 3rd with just under 15lb, one chub and lots of small stuff on the waggler, but he lost 3 chub.
Dean Harvey was 4th with some skimmers and early roach, but pike were a problem in his peg.
Top weight at Crane was 13lb by Shaun Townsend.
Nice to be out, a warm day, nice guys to fish against and I will hopefully draw a bunghole soon. Not fishing next weekend, then begins a busy period of team matches as winter leagues begin.
No comments:
Post a Comment