Well, as you may be able to guess from the title it was another wet Sunday, my brolly has been used more in the last three weeks than in the last three months I think! At the draw I was really wanting to draw along the side of the lake, from numbers 25 to 33. I didn't draw along there but wasn't too dissapointed with peg 20. It's a peg I've drawn a couple of times before, but only in the summer when I've caught in the shallow water of the bay just to the left on the island, but its a bit too shallow to catch there now! I put up two rigs to fish either side of the bay on the island. The one to the left was to bare bank at 16.5m and at 16m infront was just to the right of a tree (just visable in the pic) where there was a few rush stems on the bank. Both were just over 3ft deep tight to the bank. I also put up a shallow rig to try over both areas, set to fish a foot off the bottom. With no wind I could fish with light floats so a 4x10 Preston Chianti (with a plastic tip) and a 4x8 Preston Pink in-line dibber were used. Terminal gear for both was the same, using .125dia line, a size 18 hook on a very soft 12 latex. Bait was a few red and white maggots, casters, corn, hemp and a couple of slices of bread.
On the whistle I decided to try both lines with out feeding them, trying corn over both gave no indications so I fed the left hand swim with a dozen casters and a dozen grains of hemp, while I started to use a toss-pot to drip in casters half a dozen at a time infront of me. After an hour and a half (yes' it was slow, and I'd tried both rigs) I had my first indication over my left hand swim at depth, which led to a merry dance with a foulhooked carp before it came off at the net! No indications followed so I tried infront again, which gave an instant bite and gave me a small perch of about half an ounce (at best).
It was another good hour before any more indications, even on punch, and the light was so bad with the rain that I had to grease up both floats so I could see them easier. At this point I also cupped in a dozen maggots to the left, hoping that a bait that wriggled would tempt something. After leaving it ten mins I baited with a single maggot and started to ship across, and as I did the angler next peg hooked a fish. After maybe only a minite or two my float burried and soon I had a small common of about 1lb 12oz in the net. A liner net drop so prompted me to try the shallow rig but no more bites followed so I decided to try the other line. After two drops feeding a few maggots and the float burried and another small common came to the net, slightly bigger at just over 2lb.
Nothing else followed in the next 20 mins so I decided that I'd not feed after anymore bites and try fishing out the feed, thinking that even dripping six maggots over the top of the fish may have spooked them. After missing a bite then bumping a small fish on the line infront I decided to try the shallow rig. Out with a single caster and after a couple of minites I had a bite and another 2lb'er was in the net. Back out again and an instant bite gave another fish of a similar size. With around 45 minites left I was hoping I could keep it up for the rest of the match! The next bite doing the same again produced something that felt much bigger, but I'll never know how big as I never saw it!
The lost fish spelled the end to any bites over either line for about 20 mins before both swims seemed to become full of tiny fish that I either bumped or came off on the way in, apart from one 2oz roach which was the only fish to pull any elastic out! One last bite on a single caster a depth gave a larger common of about 4lb but the last minite was fruitless! The angler to my left also had five carp but his were all bigger fish so I knew that I hadn't won, but the lack of people left to weigh in gave me hope of a place at least.
My fish went 13lb 6oz, good enough for third, but some way behind the next peg who had 19lb odd for second, narrowly beaten for first place buy a weight of just over 20lb which was just three carp and a 4lb+ golden orfe! I also realised why my right foot felt wet after it raining all day, as I went to pick my box up I noticed that my boot had a 3in split along the foot! sodding things are only just over a year old!
Next week in the Fur and Feather, a total sellout which uses both lakes so it could be hard! I just hope it doesn't rain or snow after the last couple of weeks!
(note, sorry if the paragraph structure is wierd, for some reason blogger keeps getting rid of the spaces!)
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