No picture today folks, as I didn't have time to take it before the match - no way was the camera coming out after in that!
I was pretty happy with my draw on the new lake - peg 29 has had some decent form recently so I fancied it for a few fish. It's a wide peg (17.5m) and I did put up a pole rig to fish across to the nearest part of the island. However, I've been struggling during the week with a sore shoulder and didn't fancy fishing it, and more so with the forecast weather! I also set up a 10ft Preston Mini Carp to fish a small method feeder in the little bay slightly to the left which was about 18m away. I set up a rig for 13m which was just up from the deepest part of the channel, and also a rig to fish both margins.
It hadn't rained until dead on the whistle, and from then on that was it for the day! It took me ten minutes to get my first bite on the small method, and when the thirty minute mark came it was looking to be a decent day despite the weather as I had three carp in the net, all falling to corn. No big fish at 3lb a piece, but steady fishing.
After my third fish the swim seemed to die - indications and everything just stopped. I was toying with trying the pole on the hour mark when I had a bite out of the blue and a lively scrap saw me put a ghostie of about 5lb in the net. I plugged away a bit longer and the same thing happened - half an hour with no sign, and then just as I was about to leave it a bite from nowhere! A small 3lb mirror this time.
No more followed for a bit so I tried the pole but with no joy. Nobody on my part of the lake was catching, but I could see pegs 23 and 34 both plodding away. I have to admit I started to wish I'd bought a fleece with me and the cold and damp meant I relented and put my brolly up! I hate the sitting under it, but with no bites I decided on a bit of shelter. The batteries in my little portable radio also decided they'd had enough and died, so I didn't even have the football for entertainment!
I was rotating the swims but it just wasn't happening, and I never had a bite on the pole at all. Pegs 23 and 34 were still plodding on, and I was watching them with ten minutes to go (having packed away my pole rigs already) when the tip wanged round and near took the rod in! Another small 3lb common was soon netted, and another followed on the next cast. Marvellous! No bites for four hours and that happens...
I packed away rather soggy and went to follow the scales around. Peg 5 was the first to weigh and they had around 35lb, and few DNW's followed before peg 11 put just short of 60lb on the scales for the win. I think there was a DNW, a 21lb weight and a 27lb weight before the scales got to peg 23 who put 43lb odd on the scales. Only two people bothered to weigh in along my side of the lake - the peg to my right didn't make double figures and my seven pasties went 23lb odd. Peg 34 who I'd seen catching had lost a few fish but still managed 41lb for third but they perhaps lost enough to challenge first place. I'm not sure what the last couple weighed as I trudged back to get my barrow before I needed a boat instead!
So not a great day for me, but given the conditions it didn't fish too bad overall. Perhaps if I'd fished the long pole in to the little bay all day I may have had a bit more - but perhaps not. I know it would have just made my shoulder worse anyhow so it was ultimately for the best. At the end of the day I never had enough fish in front of me to win and at least I had the best weight on my part of the lake. It's going to take days to get everything dry now (no chance of it going in the garden in the next few days!), so I hope next weekend brings some drier weather!
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