Sunday 31st October

You have to wonder if the fish know what's going on, after two weeks of frosts the last few days have been mild with temperatures up to 16 degrees C!

Walking around before the draw it was the first time I didn't think the pegs around the back of the island would be the place to draw, with leaves being out in the main bowl of the lake and carp, loving floating leaves, being underneath them. Pegs 44 and 70 with the little island between them looked to be where most of the fish were. When I went to draw pegs 66, 68 and 70 were left, I'd have been happy with any of them. It was only when I noticed that 46 was still in that I saw it was in my hand, I've been wanting that all summer! I was fairly happy with it mind.

I decided on three areas to target, 13m long in the open water, a 2+2 line and down the edge. With the colour dropping out I wasn't expecting the margins to go, but it was still an area to target just in case. The rigs for the long line and closer line were near identical, both with .3gr NG Floats Deckers on .15 line to a .13 hook-link and size 20 Fox Series 2's. The longer line had a 13 hollo elastic while the closer line had black hydro. The depth difference was only four inches (about six and a half feet) but having different rigs meant I could keep the line nice and short above the float on both with the calm conditions. I had a shallow rig for the long line, set about three feet it was a 4x10 Preston PB2 on .13 line to a 20 Fox Series 2. Elastic was 13 hollo. Last up was a margin rig. I fished this at 8m down the edge, a touch further than I would normally due to the water clarity. In three feet of water it was a 4x12 Preston Somo on .15 direct to a 20 Fox Series 2 and fished on 15 Hollo.

On the whistle the long line had half a dozen grains of corn and a small pinch of hemp, the 5m line a dozen grains of corn and the margin had the same as the long line plus a few micros. Unsurprisingly, no indications came quick and after a few minutes I started to toss-pot in grains of corn in ones and two's with a few grains of hemp. By the time I started doing this I'd watched the three anglers opposite all catch a fish, plus peg 44 to my left fishing to a lilly bed. It was forty minutes in to the match when I had my first liner, this was followed next chuck by another liner which I left and for a split second it pulled on the end before coming off! There were signs of fish cruising and on the hour mark I picked up the catty and started flicking odd casters over the long line.


I gave the deck rig a few more minutes but with no bites I picked up the shallow rig. I wasn't feeding a lot with the catty, just casters in two's and three's every minute or two just so something was falling through the water. I missed the first bite I had but after ten minutes a bite saw me connected to a fish and after a brief scrap a common of about 3lb was in the net. I gave the shallow rig another half an hour after, trying it up and down in depth and past the feed but all it produced was a small roach. Going back on to the deck rig and I had a bite almost instantly on corn and soon another 3lb common was in the net. Topping up with two grains of corn and six of hemp it took perhaps five minutes before another bite saw me attached to another fish identical to the first two. The next drop and as I was lowering in the rig something grabbed the bait and wrenched the elastic out but within a couple of seconds it came off.


The lost fish saw an end to bites so I had my first drop on the close line which I'd been dripping odd grains of corn on to by hand. A ten minute spell on this produced nothing so I also had a brief go in the margins, giving it just five minutes without any indications. I topped the edge line up and again tried the long line. No bites on the deck so I dropped the shallow rig over it (I'd been dripping casters over it still) but the only bites were from 1oz roach which tended to come off! Pegs 48 and 70 were both catching steadily and were well ahead of anyone else but behind them nobody was running away with it and nobody else I could see had more than four carp.

Nothing followed for a spell and with two hours to I decided to stop feeding casters long (I find it works earlier, plus we'd had some cold showers too so I decided catching 'up' was unlikely) and gave the swim a decent pinch of hemp and corn to try and kick-start it. The margin was lifeless so I gave that a decent pinch of bait too. With an hour and a half left I had the first sign of life on the 5m line and a few minutes after that I had a lively 3lb'er. Odd indications followed after but no bites so I rotated round the other lines but had no signs. With an hour to go 44 and 70 had slowed but were still getting odd fish and were well ahead, but with 3rd looking up for grabs I decided that the 5m line would be the best chance, especially with the light dropping, and it had been the only line to show signs of life for a while too.


With just forty minutes left others had started nabbing odd carp, and I then missed two bites in a row on the close line. I decided to nudge the float up an inch to try and hit them, and it worked with the float burying next drop and a better fish being on the end. After a decent fight a ghostie of about 5lb was in the net. With half an hour to go I put a small pot on the pole to keep the feed tight and the last spell of the match produced four more carp, all of that same decent stamp. The last one was in the net with four minutes to go but I didn't have enough time to get another to let me finish up with an even ten! I just needed a few more minutes.....


When the scales got to me peg 44 was top weight with 40lb 12oz, a bit less than most people thought they would have. Pulling my nets out people were saying it looked close but I knew there wasn't enough, with my fish going 37lb 4oz. This was comfortably second until peg 70 opposite weighed in 39lb 2oz and I had to settle for third, close, but no cigar!


I was quite pleased in the end, despite being just one fish off a win. I didn't realise I'd be so close but my late larger stamp fish pushed them near and just goes to show that you shouldn't give up. Perhaps I could have nabbed a fish on the bomb in the long dead spells but with anglers opposite chucking feeders to the middle it wasn't the quiet area I like beyond the pole to fish it, as I would barely have been casting past the pole line. You can't win them all!