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!
No comments:
Post a Comment