Sunday 30th January (W/L Rd 1)

With the first round of the winter league approaching (which was weather delayed!) I don't think I was the only person nervously looking at the weather in the run up to the weekend. Thankfully, Friday nights sharp frost didn't happen again Saturday night as the cloud increased in darkness. It didn't totally stop the ice though, with a small amount of cat-ice covering the top end of the lake from pegs 44 across to 75.


At the draw most people wanted a peg round the island, given that they were the most consistent pegs of late (and still more coloured too), but by the time I drew last weeks winning peg (59) was gone. I was quite happy with peg 72 in the reeds that came out in my hand though! Even though it was the shortest walk of the day I decided to take my gear in two trips, and when I came back to the car park to get my carryall I was told that for the second week running I'd drawn the golden peg - now that normally ruins the day!


In terms of setting up it didn't take long really (I'd made piles of rigs during the week in the evening, and filled my hook-length box too, no messing on the bank for once) as I only had one rig to plumb up. This was at 13m, where I swished the pole tip in the water to disperse the cat-ice that you can see in the picture. In the flat calm a 4x14 Preston Chianti in near six feet of water was my preferred float, on .14 line to a .12 hook link and an 18 hook. I also had a 4x12 Chianti set on the same terminal gear set to fish about 16in off the bottom. Both these rigs were matched to Preston 11h elastic. Lastly I had two rigs up for the edge, both Preston pink floats in 4x8, one set to fish a foot deep and the other to fish about 16in deep. Both were on .14 to .12 but with size 16 hooks and Preston 13h to steer the fish away from the reeds, which had started to knock once people had made their way around the lake. I was even ready a good quarter of an hour before the start, unusual for me!


On the whistle I left the margins and went out long with a grain of corn to see if anything was present before I fed. After five biteless minutes or so I cupped in four maggots long before picking up the shallowest of my margin rigs and dropping in the edge on an 8mm bread punch. I gave it ten minutes or so but with no signs I swapped over for the deepest margin rig, again with punch. This didn't take long to produce with a small common of about 2lb falling to the punch just as it settled. Not long after I netted this fish someone just along the bank also netted a fish, taken on the bomb and corn. About ten minutes after the first bite the punch on the same rig again produced, and a similar sized common joined his brother in the net. The next drop was again an instant response to the punch, but this fish was a touch smaller at about a pound and a half, but at least I was catching! At this point I also saw someone on the other bank take a fish that looked a good 6lb+, again on the bomb and corn. Just nudging the fifty minute mark my fourth bite gave me another small carp on punch, again about 2lb, before the swim again went quiet.


I had a bite less half an hour down the edge before deciding to try out long with maggot, pouring myself a deserved coffee before I shipped out! No sooner had the float settled to the pimple that I had it (held up only by grease and fished dead depth) than the faintest bite saw a typical winter brown goldfish fight, one long charge off before plodding like a bream, but at near a pound and a half (and after the last few weeks!) it was a welcome fish none-the-less. Nothing followed next drop so I potted in three more maggots and missed a bite on that drop, but no more happened despite working the rig so heading towards the two hour mark I came back to the margins.


Despite fish being present I couldn't get a bite on punch so I swapped to a single caster and quite quickly had a bite on this, again only a small fish of about a pound and a half but still welcome! I couldn't get a bite after this on either of my margin rigs, despite going back to punch and even trying maggot, so after a fruitless half an hour here I went back out long. Again fishing single maggot and not long after dripping three maggots over the float I had a very delicate bite just after I'd lifted the rig and left it to settle again. This fish felt much bigger than the others and after a sluggish fight a common of nearer 4lb than three was in the net. I again missed a bite next drop before nothing else followed, so not wanting to push the swim I came back in the edge.


Nothing fell fishing to the reeds to my right, as they'd seemed to have backed right into them, but I saw a group of fish to my right in the edge, so fishing left handed to reach into where they were I dropped in on punch. I could see some big fish swimming here, including a couple of sizable ghosties so I was thinking in terms of a bigger fish when the float plincked under, but the lively fight gave me another 2lb'er! Still, I was happy with the progress considering the cold, and the most I'd seen anyone else catch was two (albeit bigger) on the bomb and corn. I had no more bites down either side, trying both punch and caster and the shallower rig, and even dropped in further down the edges but after no bites I again went out long.


As had been the pattern here I laid the rig in, tipped out the three maggots and lifted the rig through the falling bait again, and this again produced a bite. This fish again felt bigger but the fight was livened up by the fact that it was hooked in the pectoral fin! In the net it was again nearer to 4lb than three. No more bites followed so with two hours to go I came back in the edge. I missed a bite on punch to my left but no more followed and then again I saw a group of fish to my right, tight in to the bank. Fishing left handed again the punch fooled another fish but despite the presence of the larger fish that I could see it was again a fish of about 2lb!


That last fish in the edge spelled the end to bites for a while inside, while going long I missed a bite but I'm sure that was a liner. With an hour to go I had a bite on the deeper rig in the left margin on punch, and I played a lively mirror of about 2lb to the net before it pulled off! That proved to be the last bite I had down the side, but rotating the swims each time I went long I had a carp, all of that slightly bigger size, and all on single red maggot. I never had two bites in a row but each time I rested it, it produced a fish! The bites were very delicate but I never missed any and finished the match with eleven carp and the brownie / crucian.


As the scales came round it was evident that it had fished very hard for everyone and as the last to weigh in the best anyone had managed was 12lb odd. A fair few people had caught one carp late but the cold had really knocked it for six. My fish totalled 32lb 10z on the scales for a perfect start to the winter league, oh and the golden peg! It wasn't a bumper pay-day though, as the winter league golden peg is separate to that of the opens, and of course it's only the first match! Still, it's nice to be catching some fish!