Sunday 24th June

I wasn't surprised with the day starting with rain again - it had rained most of the night! In fact, it seems like it's done very little else lately.

The rain did stop briefly before the draw so I could have a bit of a wonder about. I didn't see much in the way of fish moving about, but I still fancied an early draw as I dipped my hand in the bag. Now, I did something I never do in the bag - I always take the first peg my hand touches, but this time I dropped that peg back for some reason and rooted in to the corner of the bag, coming out with peg 11. That'll do! It's normally a busy peg, with a lot of smaller fish and very few if any big fish, but I'd take a busy day.

Peg 11 is the narrowest peg on the lake, and has a large tree stump in front that seems to attract most peoples attention, but I chose to ignore that and fish to a small patch of bare bank just visible towards the very right of the picture. I had a gap of about 2ft in the roots and brambles with about 14in of water in - perfect! The rig was the standard .1gr Nick Gilbert XTM on .17 line to a .15 hook-link and finished with an 18 Fox Series 2. The rig was matched to Preston 15h lakky. My next rig was for at 5m, fished off at quite an angle. Peg 11 is sat on a point, so fishing like this meant the line was well out of the way, but still at a decent distance from the bank. It was a little over 5ft here and the rig was a .4gr NG Decker, with the same terminal gear as the other rig, and the lakky was black Hydro on a pull bung. Last up was a margin rig, in 2ft of water in a small bay to my left. A .2gr XTM was on the typical stepped-up margin gear, but I didn't expect to use it.

On the whistle I fed a whole pot of hemp and corn on the 5m - it was an all or nothing positive approach here! The margin I was only going to feed if I felt I needed it, so I put a dozen hard 6mm pellets in to the toss-pot, baited up with an expander and went across. It took perhaps only a minute or two for my first bite, and I soon had a chunky 4lb common in the net - normally a good stamp of fish for that peg! The first fifty minutes were pretty fast, and in that time I'd put eight carp in the net - three were small, at around a pound, and the others were smaller than the first, but I had near 20lb in the net in less than an hour! A good catch rate that.

The wind started to become a problem, as despite peg 11 being one of the narrowest pegs it also seems to be the windiest, with the wind funnelling through the trees. The bites faded and I was beginning for fear the worst after a fast start - a blinding first hour followed by precious little else, it's happened many a time! The reason for the bites fading was soon revealed when the next bite saw me hook a much bigger fish, and after a bit of a tussle a common of about 8lb was in the net. Bonus!

After that fish the wind really started to give it some, and I had to resort to taking the toss-pot off the pole and feeding via the cupping kit as the wind allowed. I missed a bite or two and really started to struggle at times with the wind, so I topped up the line with a larger helping of pellets and left it alone.

The 5m line gave me a chance for a respite, fishing down the wind meant it was quite comfortable, despite the heavy squally showers that had started! I was getting an odd liner, so that and the wind led me plug away on it perhaps longer than I would have otherwise, and this was rewarded with a fish that gave me a right ol' tussle! Because I was sitting on a point I spent a fair amount of time playing it with the fish behind me, with it enjoying the sanctuary of the fishery boat moored out of the way. Eventually I got it back to the top-kit, and a bit of persuasion with the pull-bung led to me panning a fish that only just went in to the landing net! A lean fish, probably about 11lb but with the capacity to be much bigger when it's fed up again. I gave the line half a cup again before dropping over it on single corn again. After a five minute wait the float was away again and another good fish was on. Again, after a good tussle a common of about 9lb was panned. That was three fish for around 28lb - not bad off what is normally the nursery peg!

My thoughts of a proper munter-hunting day were then dashed by the wind, which picked up to such force at times that it was a job to control anything on the 5m line, and had I not started so well I may have contemplated packing up. In the next hour and forty to two hours I added just one pasty from the far line on pellet, while watching peg 5 catching quite steadily from across in their flat calm swim! In the odd times I could get across I'd get indications from fish, but the presentation wasn't good enough, despite a heavier rig going on.

With two hours left I decided to feed the edge line as it looked like peg 5 was in danger of overtaking me, so I gave it a whole pot. The wind started to turn a bit, meaning I could get better presentation across. I'd get bites here on pellet but miss them. A change to worm saw me hook a fish which did a great impression of a monkey and somehow managed to put my rig up the far-bank, so dropped in at 5m again while I left it to settle. I got a few nudges here so stuck double corn on just to see, which resulted in a bite which saw me attached to another beastie! After a good fight a common that looked the twin of the first brute was panned, but no more bites followed. I had a brief try in the edge, but with no joy so I gave it another pot in hope and went back across.

I still got knocks that I couldn't hit, so rather than using the tippex marked depth I decided to re-plumb, finding that the marked depth was out by about 7-8mm. I re-set the float to dead depth, went across and was away again! Only small fish, but I was putting weight in the net. I had three carp for about 4lb before the swim went quiet again, and in a repeat of the first hour the reason was that a lump had muscled in! A mirror of about 8lb came in surprisingly easy until it was mugged, and then it decided to beat the life out of me in the landing net!

After that bigger fish I topped the swim up with the cup, but the bites seemed to go a bit iffy again. I did hook another fish, but lost it as it charged unstoppably along the island, breaking the rig as it ran through the cover and depriving me of one of my much loved XTM's! It may had been foulhooked, but I'll never know!

With an hour to go the bites were still a bit iffy so I decided to wrestle with the wind and put the toss-pot back on to feed less but more regular again. I also slipped an odd cube of meat in the pot with the pellet, to offer me a change bait from the 6mm expander.

The change of feeding worked, and I started to plod along again. The fish were worth waiting for, but not in the same beastie class as before, averaging 4lb or so. With twenty minutes to go I was on eighteen proper carp, plus my pasties, when the swim faded again. I topped-up with the cup and had a brief try in the edge and at 5m with no joy. Going back over on meat gave me a missed bite, so I switched back to pellet. This change worked and I hooked another big fish, which unlike the others made a dash for the big stump and all the roots! After a bit of heaving and tugging it came out and a common of nudging double figures was in the net.

After the commotion in the swim it was understandably a bit iffy again, and it wasn't until very near the end when I had my next bite, and I netted the pastie of about a pound right on the whistle.

When it came to weigh in peg 5 was top with a low 50lb weight, I'd guessed I'd have a big 80 to low 90 weight, but when my five biggest fish went on the scales at 47lb I began to think I may just make the ton! The other fourteen carp totalled 49lb and with 10lb of pasties I totalled 106lb 12oz, beating the lake match record which I set at just over 104lb in September of 2010. I was understandably pleased with the day, but I can't help wondering what would have been had the wind not slowed me down so much in that middle spell....

Sunday 17th June

Well, it's been pretty hard to escape the weather lately, or to be more precise, the wind! It's definitely been more a case of "flaming weather" than flaming June....

Walking round the old lake there were a few pegs out of the wind, and I particularly fancied pegs 62, 59, 57 and 53, as they were at the windward end of the lake but unaffected by the wind. It turned out due to the smaller turn out (with the river matches now started) that 57 wouldn't be needed, meaning I really fancied 59 and 53 with all the extra space they had. I didn't get them though! I had 64, on the arm of the lake and probably the worst affected by the wind. Don't be fooled by the picture, I took it after the match when the wind had dropped as I wasn't quite ready in time!

Three rigs up was the order of the day. The first was for the far bank, with a .2gr Nick Gilbert Ghandi for the 16in of water tight across at 13.5m. I knew the wind was going to be a pain (hence the size of float), but I hoped to nick an early fish or two here, as the swim is always a slow starter. Rest of the gear was the standard .17 to .15 and a size 18 Fox Series 2, with the lakky Preston 15h. Next was a rig for 5m, with a .4gr Nick Gilbert Decker just being enough to hold in the 5ft of water. Line and hooks were the same as the far bank rig, but the lakky was black Hydro on a pull bung. Last up was the margin rig. Peg 64 has a tree at about 4m to the left which seems to draw everyone to it, but not me! I find it's too deep and littered with debris. To my right, at a distance of the top-kit and short no4 is a small iris. A bit of trimming allowed me to see the float through it, with a much better depth of about 2.5ft here. It was facing in to the wind, but the actual swim to me is much better that side. Typical margin rig here - a .2gr Nick Gilbert XTM on .19 line to a .17 bottom and a size 16 Fox Series 2 on the end. Lakky was Preston 17h.

On the whistle I fed both the margin and the 5m line with half a pot of hemp and corn - no meat due to the tow! I then fed a few pellets across with the cupping kit too. Normally I'd just use a toss-pot or similar, but given the wind it was bad enough without adding a wind-catcher to the end!

It took a while to start getting indications, and it was a job at times to have any sense of good presentation, but at times the wind settled (or turned a touch) enough to allow me to hold the float nicely. I also took advantage of those spells to ping a few pellets across with the catty. It was just on the hour mark when I had my first proper bite, with a common of about 2lb falling to an 8mm hard pellet. I hooked a fish very quickly on the next drop but that came adrift after a few seconds, although it felt as though it may have been foul hooked.

Typically, the indications faded so I took the time to re-feed the margin line with the cup (I was lose feeding corn by hand at 5m). I had another half an hour struggling with the wind across but had just one missed bite to show for it. I was going to have a drop at 5m but a swirl in the margin caught my eye, so I had a drop in there on double corn. It took a few minutes, just as I was going to leave the line when I had a bite which saw the lakky following the float! A short while later a 4lb common was in the net. I had one missed bite a few minutes later, but decided not to push the line too early so give it a small amount of corn by hand and left it alone.

I spent the next hour chopping between the lines without any joy. I could see a few fish getting caught in the open water, and peg 68 in particular was steadily putting fish in the net. I wasn't too worried about it, despite being a fair way behind - it's a late goer is peg 64!

It wasn't until two and a half hours in before I managed to muster my next fish - a common of about 3lb from the 5m line on corn. I was starting to get a few bubbles and the odd liner here, so I started to concentrate my efforts here rather than across. I also started to feed the margin by hand with a reasonable pinch of corn every 20-30 minutes, in preparation for a late charge!

The next spell was a steady plod, and with seventy minutes to go I'd had eight carp, I'd nicked one more from the edge but the others were taken from the 5m. One slightly better fish had fell to a cube of meat, but the rest were 3lb fish taken on corn. I had to deepen the rig a touch and just nail the bait to the bottom and wait. If I lifted and dropped I didn't get bites, which I find odd for that line given the regular feed. The wind had eased too, making presentation better.

With just a little more than the last hour left fish were clearly feeding well down the edge, and lowering double corn in I was soon away! It was a bigger fish too, at about 6lb. I'd like to give you a blow by blow account of the last spell but I can't - I was too busy enjoying myself! I found that I was missing more bites than I liked by fishing double corn, so one big grain of corn was going on the hook.

With one hour to go I had nine carp, I finished on nineteen! I lost number twenty about a minute before the whistle, through no fault of my own I may add, it just came off! It was the only fish I lost down the edge in a frantic last hour, and the fish were of a bigger stamp too, with just one 3lb'er managing to get it's nose in ahead of the others that tended to be in the 5-6lb bracket, with one nudging 8lb. It was a case of hook a fish, then feed as it left the swim. If I didn't get a bite within a minute or two of dropping back in a big handful of bait going in would ensure they came back! Unlike the 5m line, working the bait here was the way to go, with a few fish taking the bait as I lowered it in, giving me lakky yanking bites! Lovely job!

I could hear the claims that someone on the other arm of the island had twenty-three carp, which led the peg to my left to tip his eight carp back. That turned out to be a slightly foolish thing to do, as it turned out they were trying to wind others up! I didn't know until the scales reached me with a shade under 30lb winning! That weight turned out to be enough for third, but they'd almost certainly tipped more than that back as they'd had one fish of about 12lb. Ooops! Still, it was of no concern to me! My fish tipped the scales to 78lb something, with only peg 68 to worry about now. They'd caught, but smaller fish fish and totalled 52lb odd for second. Some of the others ran that 29lb weight close, but nobody threatened the top two weights.

The best part for me was getting the win off that peg, as I had it a few times in the past and framed of it, yet never won! Staying confident that it would produce late paid off with a blistering last hour which left me wondering what might have been had I tried to push it a bit earlier. Still, mustn't grumble!

Sunday 10th June

I was looking forward to being on the new lake at Westside this week, and I think, if pushed, I'd say it was my favourite lake of the two. With spawning out of the way it had fished well in last weeks blind pairs. The only thing that slightly tempered my expectation was that the match was a sell-out, meaning in some areas the pegging would be a bit tight.

I fancied an early draw (from 3-13), even though those pegs haven't been in the best form. The reason was simple - the pegging wouldn't change there from the normal numbers, with the extra pegs filling in the gaps in the higher numbers. When I went in to the bag I didn't get my wished for low number with 17 coming out in my hand. It wasn't the worst peg to be honest, and it has had decent form of late, mostly fishing down the edge. On those days it didn't have the corner peg to the right in (the edge that had produced) or peg 18 to the left in. So, a peg with reasonable form, but not the space that it'd had previous!

My optimism was raised a notch on getting to the peg as there were a few fish moving. A typical three rigs for the day were set up. The island here is deep against it, for the most part it's 4ft right tight - not ideal for summer fishing! From having the peg before I knew that down the peg a little at 16m (where a small tree growing out is visible in the picture) there is a very small shelf to fish, probably where some of the bank has slid in at some point! I found 14in of water on this, on an area probably not much bigger than my laptop screen. A .1gr Nick Gilbert Ghandi was on .17 mainline with a .15 hook-link and with an 18 Fox Series 2 on the end. Lakky was Preston 15h. The other two rigs were a .4gr NG Decker to fish in 6ft of water at 5m, this had the same terminal gear as the far-bank but the lakky was black Hydro on a pull-bung. Last up was a .2gr NG XTM, fished in about 2.5ft of water at 6m to my right. Slightly scaled up here, with .19 mainline to a .17 hook-link. the hook was a 16 Fox Series 2 and the lakky Preston 17h.

On the whistle I elected to go a bit cautious with the extra pegs in, feeding just a pinch of hemp and corn at 5m, and the same down the edge but with a few cubes of meat too. Nothing was fed across until I went over, and that had just six 6mm pellets fed via a toss-pot. My first drop in with half a worm gave me a 2oz rudd. I kept dripping in a few pellets and was getting knocks but it was nudging the half-hour mark before I put my first carp in the net, a common of about 3lb. The peg to my right in the corner also had one carp at this point, but about four times bigger! The peg to my left also had a koi of about 8lb - looked like I was pest controller for the day! I had a bite instantly on the next drop, but that fish came off after a few seconds. Strangely, on swinging my rig out the loop on the mainline had broken leaving the hook-link to pull off! Very puzzling as the rig had only just been made the day before.

Losing the fish slowed the peg somewhat, and while odd fish cruised past they were very spooky. I was falling behind the pegs either side with the corner peg putting a 6lb'er in the net, and the peg to my left having a brace of smaller carp on top of that koi. On the ninety minute mark I decided to up the feed across, and gave it a palm-full of pellets via the cupping kit. It was probably a combination of that, and the rest while I had a bite less go at 5m that helped, as dropping back across I had two fish in quick succession, both about 3lb. No bites after led me to top-up again with the cup, and another fish followed soon after. A short wait from there saw carp number five in the net and put me up on numbers to those around me, but with much smaller fish.

As tends to happen after a flurry like that the swim slowed a little, so I picked up the catty and started pinging a few pellets across, something I find that tends to work in bringing the fish back. I had a brief try on both the other swims after seeing a fish down the edge, but I never had an indication from either. Going back across saw me nobble another two carp in a flurry that saw the peg to my left also catch two fish, and the corner peg to my right put another fish approaching double figures in the net.

With not quite two hours to go the area that we were sitting in seemed to go devoid of fish, as all signs melted away. In a bid to make something happen I knocked-up a little bit of fishmeal crumb, as I've tended to find small carp love groundbait! I put half a cup of loose crumb across, and lowering the bait on top of it got me a fish instantly! Again only a 3lb'er, but they tally up in weight! About twenty minutes after that a real baby carp of about a pound followed but indications had totally dried up again. I could see peg 13 catching across on the method, and it seemed that the fish I'd had in front of me had drifted round the point of the island, as I could see movement there.

With an hour to go I was running out of ideas so it was time for plan 'Z'! I had some dead red maggots that have been in and out of my bait freezer for a while now, so I decided to use them! I gave the far side half a cup of them, and left it a few minutes while I tried the fruitless other lines. With no joy there I put a whole dendrobeana on the hook and lowered it in across. The float sat for about thirty seconds before slipping away giving me a common of about 4lb, my biggest and last fish of the day! Like the pegs around me the rest of the match was spent biteless.

When the scales reached me 41lb was top weight, from one of the early pegs that I'd fancied! The speci-hunter in the corner put his fish on the scales and totalled 29lb 5oz, just four fish! I just pipped him with 30lb 6oz and the peg to my left fell just short with 29lb 12oz! In fact, until the second from last person to weigh in I was sitting second on top of a pile of four 29lb weights, a 28lb and 26lb. Then somebody plonked 31lb 2oz on the scales leaving me to settle for third!

I have to say I've never seen so many double figure fish weighed in on a match on the venue - I saw six weighed in before I weighed, and a couple went on the scales after me! I had the most in number of carp but all the small ones, but you can only catch what's in front of you. Quite a few of the big fish came late on to people fishing in the deep water, but further out than my 2+2 line that I fed. Perhaps I'd have been better off feeding that line further out and just sitting on it late on? That said, the only two times I've had that peg in the past I did catch at 12m in the deep water, but they were only small fish again, so perhaps it just wasn't to be? Still, there's always next week!

Jubilee Bank Holiday - Blind Pairs

What did I say last week about it being damp and cold this weekend? I should get a job at the Met Office! It's not often I'm happy about being at home on a day I could have been fishing, but the weather on Sunday actually made me think it wasn't a bad idea to be dog sitting for somebody!

The rain had just about stopped on the Monday morning and I was quite looking forward to a days fishing after the rigmarole of last week, watching loads spawning and catching not a lot. The format for the blind pairs is pretty simple - a totally random draw for everyone over the two lakes, and then after the weigh-in the pegs are drawn together to make pairs up.

I took a customary late place in the draw queue and one or two of the pegs I didn't really want had gone by the time I made the bag. That said, one or two I really wanted had gone too! Peg 53 came out in my hand - a peg I have a love/hate relationship with, given that I normally draw it when it's not on form, and I've never won from the peg despite it throwing up more than a few winning weights. However, on form it has been of late as it had won the previous days knock-up with a mid 40lb weight, and framed a few times in recent weeks. I wasn't sure if it was a good thing drawing the winning peg from the day before, but I was hoping at least on the day I could love the peg rather than hate it!

The first rigs I decided to sort out were for the margins, and after a bit of plumbing around I found two areas I could fish with the same rig. It's predominantly a margin peg, so hence why I decided on two areas! One to my left at 8m, and one to my right at 6m. I was going to feed one more positive than the other, and could always attack both if it turned out they were having it. The rig was a .2gr Nick Gilbert XTM on .19 line to a .17 hook-link and a size 16 Fox Series 2 and matched to Preston 17h elastic. The depth on both was about 2ft. The second rig was for the 2+2 line, in about 4.5ft of water a .2gr Nick Gilbert Decker was sufficient in the conditions. This was on .17 line to a .15 hook-link and finished with a size 18 Fox Series 2 hook. Lakky was black hydro on a pull-bung. Lastly a rig for the far-bank, at 13m. No surprises for the rig here! A .1gr Nick Gilbert XTM on .17 line to a .15 hook-link, a size 18 Fox Series 2 and matched to Preston 15h lakky.

On the whistle the right margin had half a cup of corn, hemp and a little meat, while the left margin had a whole pot of the same. A small amount of hemp and corn found it's way on the 2+2 line before I shipped across with an 8mm pellet in a band, feeding just a few 6mm pellets via a toss-pot. I've never really caught a great deal from the peg anywhere other than the right-hand margin before, but I didn't want to start the day in the edge so I was hoping I could nick a fish or two in the first hour else where. I had a few early knocks before before my first proper bite after about fifteen minutes, putting a 2lb common in the net. I actually was getting quite a few knocks and dibs on the line so I plugged away at it and ended the first hour with three carp for about 8lb, plus a little baby of around 8oz. A decent start for the first hour, and all came to feeding just five or six 6mm pellets - any more bought in small fish.

With that hour being a good start across for a margin peg, I plugged away at it. I'd topped up both margin lines with the same amount of bait as the first time, so I was happy to leave them as long as I could to settle. The indications did start to fade a little going in to the second hour, but I managed two more carp of about 3lb and one baby one again. On the hour and a half mark I topped up the margins again, and both were starting to show signs of fish. Just before the 2hr mark, and after a spell of no signs across I baited up with double corn and tried the left (positive) margin line. There were a few fish milling around here, but no proper bites. While I was sitting in the shade this line was in the full sun, and the fish seemed much more interested in that than bait!

After that fruitless spell in the margins I took a section off and dropped in on the other margin and was away almost instantly. A 4lb common was soon in the net, although the next drop was met with just a missed bite then nothing. I gave it another half a pot (and gave the other margin a pot too) and this bought the fish back. It was the start of a productive hour or so. I'd generally catch two fish off a feed (I had three off one in the middle as the bites came so fast!) and just past the mid point of the match found myself on thirteen carp. They were a decent stamp rather than massive fish, all around the 4lb mark, perhaps with one or two nearer 5lb. As tends to happen on number thirteen, I lost the next fish as it ran towards me, through a small lilly bed and came off. From a swim producing a steady run of bites that margin turned in to a barren area.

Leaving it alone after topping up I dropped in to the left hand margin, hoping it would be alive. There were a few fish cruising about here in the sun still, but I couldn't get a proper bite. A swap to meat led me to hook a fish here but it came off, and I'm not sure if it was foul-hooked. I had a brief try back in the other margin, and there were odd signs of fish but no bites. I'd been feeding the 2+2 line with corn by hand since the start and now seemed a good time to try it. Odd bubbles showed signs of fish, but it wasn't until I was just about to leave the line that I had a bite on corn, putting a 3lb common in the net and taking me off the dreaded number thirteen! No more followed so I gambled of feeding half a pot of hemp on it to try and draw a few fish.

Back in the right hand margin with two hours to go and there were odd signs, so I felt I needed to change something to get a bite. Instead of big-potting I put a smaller cup on the pole, filling it up with just corn. It was probably a third of what I had been feeding in one go, and I elected to fish meat over it as a target bait. This seemed to lesson the silly knocks I was getting, and by sitting over it I seemed to get an odd positive indication which resulted in a fish each time. They weren't coming thick and fast, but coming up to the last hour I'd put another four carp in the net, taking me up to eighteen in total before it faded away. Coming in to what should have been the best time for the margin I decided on a gamble with it, putting a whole pot of bait in here before leaving it. The other margin line was still lifeless!

To rest what had been the most productive area I came on to the 2+2 line, and this had improved slightly from the previous try. Unusually, I had sit sit with the bait nailed dead still as opposed to lifting and dropping through the loose-feed. The fish weren't as big as the margin fish, but I was plodding on slowly, finding myself on twenty carp with forty minutes to go. I could see odd fish mooching in the edge, and they were bigger fish too and I fell to temptation and had a go for them - with no joy! Another go on the 2+2 saw me put two 3lb'ers in the net before the margin moochers got the better of me again with twenty minutes to go. Deciding to do something different again I put a whole dendrobeana on the hook. I moved the bulk up to halfway as opposed to just on top of the hook-link loop so it would flutter down nicely. This gave me my biggest fish of the day as a common of about 7lb snaffled it! I plugged away for the last fifteen minutes here but couldn't manage any more, finishing on twenty-three proper carp and the two baby ones.

When the scales came to me 81lb odd was the top weight - it was going to be close! After my four weighs (three for the bigger fish, one with the two baby's in the silvers net) I totalled 87lb 7oz - and enough to win the lake and the best weight on the day! It's just a shame then that with no individual payout I drew with someone in the random pairs draw after that came second from last on the other lake. As Homer Simpson would say, DOH! Our lake had fished well to be honest, and I think there was only one weight under 40lb. The new lake gave three weights over 40lb and been very close indeed, with just 3lb splitting the top three!

Actually, despite winning the lake I did feel that I could have done better from the peg. I can't believe how that one lost fish totally transformed a strong peg in to one that was a struggle to get bites from. While lost fish can't always be helped, I also think it was a bad thing to try and force it for that last hour with a whole pot of feed - the other margin that was fed that way from the off never produced. Perhaps I should have just gave it a small amount and rested it, then maybe I could have rotated that and the 2+2 line for the last hour. Also, when I was nicking an odd fish from the 2+2 line in the last hour I perhaps should have stayed on it and not got distracted by fish in the edge that weren't really feeding. When I was getting bites there I couldn't see fish. I probably spent half of the last hour there for one fish (albeit the biggest) but I'd have almost certainly had that weight and a bit more from the other line. I should know from experience that seeing fish in the edge doesn't always mean you'll get them - they clearly were mooching as opposed to munching. While it didn't cost me on the day, I perhaps could have done 100lb off the peg. We live and learn, don't we!

Next week is back to normal with a Sunday match, now all the bank holidays are out of the way until August!