I was really looking forward to fishing the match at Newbridge Sunday, there were 40 booked on with reserves waiting. Monday night and just as I was going to bed I started to cough, and I seemed to have a bit of an irritated throat, I woke up 4 or 5 times coughing. Tuesday morning and still coughing and feeling a little unwell I did a Lateral Flow Test as my work would want me to before going in, test was negative. Wednesday and I was supposed to travel to Guildford for a customer meeting and so did another LFT, this time it came up positive, bugger. I stayed home and would have to do so for the rest of the week, I did a test Friday to see if I was over it, but the positive line came up quicker stronger. As I wasn't feeling great I made the decision to cancel all my plans for the weekend, so sold my ticket for football and called Ben Rendall to cancel Sunday. I know that we don't have to self isolate but to be honest out of respect for others I wouldn't want to pass it on, I also know I made the right decision as the energy levels are still low.
Having stayed in all week other than a short walk on Saturday, I decided to go for a walk up the river at Newbridge to watch the match, making sure I kept my self a good distance back from the anglers. I parked up in the old layby and wandered down to the river. I decided to not go up into the Little Field as I thought that might not be good today, so got to peg 14 and found match organiser Ben Rendall fishing the groundbait feeder. As we chatted for 6 or 7 minutes Ben told me he had 2 chub for 1lb in the first hour and we were now about 90 mins in when he had a proper bite and landed a bream of about 3 1/2lb which had taken a worm.
I moved on to peg 16 and found Steve "Stretch" Saunders praying for a fish as he was blanking.
His prayers were answered though as within 5 minutes of sitting behind him he had a lovely drop back bite and was soon playing a bream. It wasn't far off 5lb and put a smile on his face. At this stage I had proven quite lucky to the first two guys I'd watched lol. I saw Darren Gillman walking along with his wife, and he told me it was all quiet further down bar a couple of anglers with early bream.
Rich Whitmarsh on 18 was blanking and then the lad on 20 had 1 bream, after this there was not a lot caught until I got to Jeff Surmon on peg 28. He told me had taken 7 small chublets but it had gone quiet, and within a few minutes of chatting his tip dropped back and he had a bream on too! I took a little video of Jeff landing the bream, it did make me laugh lol.
Off I went again walking downstream and I was really pleased to see Craig Pinker who I had not seen for ages. Craig had covid back last year and was in intensive care and was literally at deaths door. He's still struggling for energy but at least he's out and about. The pegs on the straight weren't great and there was just one bream at this stage that was caught. Shane Robinson on peg 44 was struggling and snagging up and looked a little fed up, but I told him his peg has produced bream as had the peg below 46 which Jerry Pocock was on with a 7lb bream in the net. As I chatted to Jerry I looked up to see Shane strike and he was into his first bream, looked a 5 or 6lb fish to me.
After Jerry there was nothing caught until a lad on peg 50 had 2 bream, and from here to peg 61 I expected to see bream as it's a very good area. It was quiet with 1 bream on 52, Nige Wyatt blank on 56 but then Dave Lewis had just landed a 6lb bream on 59, to go with 2 others and a estimated 2lb roach. Below Dave Derek Coles had just one 4oz chublet but being end peg I was sure he would get some bream later as it is often the case that the bream will start to show more in the last hour. By the time I walked back up to Nige Wyatt he told me he had just had 3 bream in 3 casts, and then as I saw him cast out again on his 4th cast he had another bite, we both thought another bream, but it wasn't it was a 1lb chub. Still Nigel was now right up there, but I had spoken to Dean Harvey who was down in the trees and he was probably winning the match with an estimated 18lb. As I left the anglers in the 50's they all had 3 bream in the net.
As I rounded the corner from the high 40's (which were rancid) I was back with Jerry Pocock, and within seconds he was into another bream, slightly smaller at 3lb and taken on maggots. Most fish seemed to be coming out on worms but Jer had changed that cast to maggots and it paid off.
Walking back upstream as I was, I really began to feel the cold wind which was blowing stronger and in my face, and I think everyone wished they had an extra layer or two on! Shane had 2 bream now and he missed a good bite whilst I was there, it was going to be close between him and Jerry. My walk back up the straight was quite fast as all the anglers were struggling with only 1 bream being the best it seemed. Kevin Dicks was on about peg 32 and only had 1 roach, but it was good to chat to him as I asked him about his recent matches on the River Wye, Kev has had some big weights over there with 99lb 1oz being his best (still didn't win the match wow). Catching on 6 to 8m whips is what is needed for these big weights.
Back at peg 18 and Rich Whitmarsh had 2 bream, and Stretch was on 2 but hooked one whilst I was there only for it to come off, the worm had doubled over the hook. Ben on 14 had done well to end up with 4 bream, the last one on the whistle and that would win him the 5 peg section with 16lb 9oz.
The little field had indeed fished really hard, Ivan Currie and Paul Purchase both caught 1 bream each and Ivan's was bigger and he won that section. The full result is in the picture below, and well done to Dean for winning the match with 33lb 10oz, not only bream but also a fair few roach on the feeder, probably more than the rest of the match put together. It looks like Dave Lewis peg must have died on him, and the early leaders name does not appear on the sheet.
Well done all, I would have loved to have fished even though it was difficult for some. Now next Sunday is my last chance to get on the river before the season ends, it doesn't appear that there is a match on sadly, so I may have to get out pleasure fishing once more. Then after that I will have to get the gear changed around for a few months of commercials, assuming I can get on some matches.
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