2001

 There was nothing for me to fish this weekend, Thatchers had the first ATWL round on the Thames up at Radcot area, but I was not in contention for that as my duties had taken me elsewhere and there were plenty of the lads who had been fishing the opens and matches up there. Good luck to them, shame the river would have been out of sorts after the huge deluge of rain we have had since Friday. My plans to sort the garden out were shelved so I have mostly watched cricket and the Riverfest coverage, will be interesting who ends on top of the Riverfest.

Back to 2001and the last Sunday of October saw me fishing a commercial house round on the Bristol Avon at Chippenham. The river was well up and coloured so the draw was all important, I remember walking to my peg and seeing the river widen up and I fancied that one, as I got close there was a long hedge and then I saw my peg, on the inside of a bend and hammering through, but a big slack opposite. The slack turned out to be just 2 1/2 feet deep, but it was the only place I could fish and that would be with a feeder rod held high in the air. That was all I set up a feeder, with a size 6 to 0.18, and I fished with either lobworm or double dendra on the hook. After an hour or so I had not had a single bite and things were not looking good but I just couldn't see how else I could catch or do any good. Eventually I got bites, but these all came within one short spell where I caught 4 skimmers and a perch. That was it, it seemed I caught the fish that were in the slack and had no more bites. I did try going down on small hooks for roach but that didn't work. I ended up weighing in 5lb 9oz which was worth 10 points out of 14. Those wider pegs were the place to be with more skimmers and odd bream and tench, I recall that Vince Lunn was top weight in my section, and I think the match was won with a big weight of bream 40lb+ at least. My team dipped right out lol!

Sunday 4th November and the ATWL on the Avon Swineford, Crane and Jack Whites, no shock I was drawn at Crane, but I was two pegs past "bread point" which is a long way up (not been pegged now for many years) and as far as I was concerned meant fishing for big fish as there are not usually many roach up this far. Pretty sure all I set up was one groundbait feeder with 16 to 0.14. I walked down to see who was below me just above the point and it was Bathampton arch rival Kevin Dicks. Unlike me Kev had set up the kitchen sink and was I think not impressed when I said I only had the feeder set up lol.

There was a nice willow tree opposite me and I cast my feeder fairly close to it about 3/4 way over. The positive approach was a good move as after an hour I had taken a bream and some bits for 6lb. In the next two hours 2 more bream, a chub and a few bits came along, and I also got snapped up probably by a big chub. The last 2 hours I could have read a book though as I couldn't get any bites. My total weight that day was 17lb 7oz which not only won the section but got me 3rd overall, Kev really struggled and didn't get to 2lb, he had something large in his peg that was boshing all day he told me. Team came 2nd so that was OK.

Sunday 11th November and it was the Poppy match on the Avon, the draw as always at Fys, and on this day Dave Lewis ran a super pool which I entered. I remember being in the draw queue with a couple of my then team mates, Mark Jefferies and Bob Sheppard, and they thought a draw at Chequers on the straight would be good. Well blow me, I go and draw the peg on the top of the straight opposite the cliff face, then Bob drew the peg below me! He was quite vociferous in his aggressive confidence of beating me, and Mark had enough and said he would have a fiver with Bob that I would beat him! Off to the pegs and we would see.

I had drawn this peg once before and won a match with 15lb of roach on a stick float, and looking at the river I thought that would be the best approach again. A 6 no4 stick with a 20 to 0.10 was all I had set up, but then I did put a maggot feeder up thinking if the roach didn't feed I could chuck across in the hope of a chub or two. I started on the stick feeding hemp and caster, I thought Bob would so the same but was surprised when I saw him fishing the crowquill across, he appeared to be looking for better fish early on. Fishing with a bronze maggot on the hook I was soon getting a bite a chuck from dace and roach and was soon settled down and enjoying myself. At times bleak became a problem, and I had to push the shot down into a bulk, but this wasn't as good for how the fish wanted the bait presented. Casting the stick float into different places also was a tactic to avoid the bleak.

I continued to get bites all match and Bob had no luck on the crowquill and switched to the stick float but much later than me and I knew I had a good lead over him. Bronze maggot seemed the best hookbait, but I did have a few on caster. By the end of the five hour match I knew I had just enjoyed one of my best days fishing in a big match (200 pegger back then). I hadn't a clue what I had and said I had at least 16lb but could have a lot more. The scales were for every ten pegs and they had Kev Dicks as best weight below me with 14lb of roach, Bob had 11lb+. My fish needed two weighs and was totted up at 21lb 12oz.

Back to the results and I had no thoughts of winning the match as expected some better chub or bream weights up at Swineford, but as more people came back from there nobody mentioned a weight better than mine. Soon enough I was read out by Brian Lloyd as the winner on the day, and I had become the first person to win the Poppy Match twice (I won it first in 1988 again at Chequers but with skimmers on the feeder that day). Mark got his fiver off Bob, but Mark reckoned Bob should have give him a tenner as I nearly doubled his weight lol. Then the affable Dave Lewis made my day even better giving me the super pool money, and I went home that evening with £450.

It was onto the canal the following weekend at Bathampton for the ATWL, team draw put me right on the bend, a wide peg that used to be good for skimmers but not for a while. I fished for skimmers positive on the long pole and couldn't catch anything at all. fishing bloodworm on a top set I could catch little roach but knew I was not going to catch enough of them and thought I was bound to catch skimmers at some stage. Out of desperation I chucked a feeder out to search the water, and with 15 minutes to go got a bonus 1lb perch on this. That bumped my weight up to just 3lb 11 1/2oz, 6 points from 8, and despite my team only coming 4th we remained on top spot overall for now.

My last match in November 2001 was a dire affair on a gin clear river. Commercial house up at Newbridge, I drew downstream of Kelston bridge, not a good area normally and so it proved. I was only able to conjure up 13oz, 1 roach, 1 dace, 1 perch all on the feeder. However, so bad was the river that I got 10 points out of 13 for this! 50lb of bream won on peg 211 on the straight.

Well hopefully back out fishing next weekend, hopefully the river will drop a lot and be in good nick.