London Winter League round three

[Mullarkey]

London Winter league round three
Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation



The draw was in the Old Ship Inn, situated in Heybridge basin right next to the sea.
It`s really strange turning up for a coarse angling match and looking out over the Blackwater estuary at the sea, however our aim for today was to get peg 1 as the consensus of opinion was that was THE draw.
The draw is ably run by Gary Eales, the league organiser and the order of the draw is dictated by which captains get their team sheets and money in to Gary first. When I got to the table, pegs 1,2 & 5 had gone so we ended up with peg 4, nothing to right home about and we had a big job on our hands to beat pegs 1 & 5. Our nearest rivals, Oakwood Eurobait had drawn peg 5 next to us and our other main rivals, Browning Wickford had drawn peg 2. The hot draw peg 1 went to Raiders.

The sections were situated with 4 at the basin end (normally the best end) 3 at the cemetery length and 3 behind Tesco`s in Maldon. These sections at Tesco`s were put in because the middle length of the venue fished very poorly in the previous weeks open match so no one knew how Tesco`s would fish.
As the rest of the team gathered round I allocated anglers their sections, Paul Medcraft had drawn the same peg he came third off the previous week so he was looking good for the day. The unknown sections at Tesco`s were drawn by Johnny Weeden (H), Gary Miller (J) and myself (K).

My peg was about 100 metres to the left of Tesco`s carpark, where you can park right next to the towpath. The canal was about 14 metres wide with rushes both sides. Plumbing up revealed the deepest part of the canal (six joints) to be about 4½ foot with gentle shelves either side of the boat channel. The canal was relatively clear, you could see 2 foot down in the margins and it was pulling gently left to right with quite a few fish topping just below the angler to my right.

I set up the following rigs:

1) 0.4 g Sensas Loic with spread bulk to 010 hooklength, size 16 B560 for fishing small bits of worm, double maggot, double caster,
2) 0.4 g Sensas Lomme with spread shot to 08 hooklength and size 20 PR 26 for fishing the punch or single caster.
3) 4 x 12 PB 14 bulk shotted to 07 hooklength, size 22 PR 26 for fishing at 13m with booldworm up the far shelf.
4) 4 x 14 Blakey wire shotted as rig 3 but for fishing the edge of far shelf at 11 m.
5) 0.75 Blakey wire with olivette and 3 number 10 droppers to 08 and size 20 PR 20 for positive fishing with bloodworm or overdepth with punch for skimmers.
6) 0.5 g Richard Lattimer body up wire with spread bulk to 07, size 22 PR 26 for fishing with bloodworm at four joints down the peg scratching for small roach and perch.


I had I kg of joker, some excellent bloodworm hookers, a pint of casters, I pint flouro pinkie, I pint red maggots, 1 kilo of dendras and some bread ready as baits. Groundbait was two loaves of liquidised and some finely sieved top soil for introducing my joker. The basis of using top soil rather than double leam was that I didin`t want to create a cloud, which often attracts loads of bits ( 6 to the ounce and smaller). The soil helps get your joker down to the bottom where it works its magic in attracting stamp roach and perch. The soil was liberally doused with grey leam (30%) to help bind it rock hard.

I separated about 3kg of soil to which I added half of my joker and the other half I sprinkled VDE Kryptonite over so I could form a solid ball of joker.

When the match started I intended to start on the punch so I fed that line first with a golf ball sized helping, before I fed my other lines. I find it is important to do it that way so that by the time I had fed all my other lines the punch line should have some roach (or even skimmers) ready and waiting. I fed four big balls of soil in a line at 11m, I ball of soil at 4 joints down the peg, one 250 ml cup of leamed up joker at 13m and lastly a full cup of chop and casters down the middle at an angle of 45% to my left. After all that feeding I was exhausted but after punching out my bread I shipped out to 6 joints, laid the rig in and as the rig settled the float bristle disappeared and roach number one (about 2 oz) was on the way to the net. After the first hour I had caught 30 fish, mostly roach with a sprinkling of, rather surprisingly, dace. The fish varied in size from ½ oz to 3 oz , I guess they were averaging out at about an ounce apiece so I was close to 2lb which, considering 6lb would be a good weight for this end of the canal, I was reasonably pleased with. My only concern was whether the punch line would maintain the same level of fish, as normally this line would die, in fact for it to last for an hour was a bonus. Anyway I decided to re-feed it and have a look on my chop line. First drop in with a small piece of dendra saw the float settle then vanish, I thought that perhaps the float had been overshotted, but I struck anyway and a small chublet about 4 oz soon graced the net. Subsequent drop ins produced some really quick bites that I failed to connect with before I finally hit the next one which turned out to be a perch of about 4 oz. Then no more bites followed so I re-fed the line and went back on the punch where the roach were still ready and waiting. I continued to catch roach and dace on the punch fairly regularly for the next couple of hours, I couldn`t believe my luck that the fish were still on the bread line, the size seemed to get smaller and re-feeding didin`t increase the size and I was catching approximately 30 fish an hour and I estimated that I was on for about 8 lb which I thought would be there or thereabouts for the section at the end of the match. Unfortunately things don`t always go to plan and I had a few hiccups along the way when firstly, as I was lubricating my elastic by dipping the top section into the water and pulling on the elastic, it broke! Then after changing top kits the next fish I was bringing in was crunched by a double figure pike that had been lurking at my keepnet. It bit through the line and the rig catapulted up into the tree above me. I stood on my box and pulled on the elastic and that set broke as well! Kinnell, I think I embarrassed an elderly couple walking past at the time with my choice of Anglo Saxon vulcabulary. Finally after changing to another top set and fresh rigs I was back in the game, after three hours I was on about 100 fish which I estimated gave me 5-6lb well on target and I hadn`t even tried my bloodworm lines. To keep the fish coming I had to keep switching between the punch line and the chop line, which had now become a caster line as I found that because there were so many dace around my chop rig was producing too many false bites so I switched to the 0.75 rig with either double pinkie, red maggot or single and double caster on the hook. This line was getting stronger and stronger and in the fourth hour I had a brilliant run of fish, 1lb + perch, 12oz perch, 10 oz skimmer, 6 oz skimmer plus numerous dace to 2oz, it was solid! Then I hooked a big bugger, I think it was a perch because after a minute or so of the fish boring slowly up and down the hook pulled ! Bxxxstard!
Anyway after that commotion the line had died so I went back on the punch line and continued to catch roach, although I kept the big fish line well fed by catapulting casters on it. With half hour to go I came off the punch line, thinking that I had already won the section (based on my observations of the other anglers I could see) and tried for some lumps. None turned up although I caught a few more dace on double caster. The match ended and rather strangely I hadn`t even tried any of my bloodworm lines!
I had finished up with 157 fish and straight away Lasher, the Proclaimers lookee likee, who was on the end peg, got off his box and came up to me to enquire how I`d done.
“ 160 fish I told him, about 6lb” I was a bit coy of overestimating as I thought that I had 8lb plus and hoping for ten. “what you got then Lash” I asked, “well I`d like to think I`ve got seven plus” he said, “ I`ve had three pound plus perch on the lobbie plus a few 12 ouncers and a rake of roach at the end” Shxxt! I thought, perhaps I haven`t won the section then after all and at that moment the scales man came along so I followed them up to Lashers peg to see him weigh in. As I got to his peg the scalesman called out “10lb 10 oz” I called Lasher all the names under the sun for underestimating and it was now my moment of truth as they came to weigh me in. As I pulled my net out it felt quite heavy and I was wondering would I beat Lasher. Sean O`Brien the scalesman called out 13lb 10 oz, however he wasn`t holding the scales right he was holding the sides and not the top so I asked him to do it again. “13lb 9oz” he said and that was that, I`d lost an ounce, should have kept my mouth shut. As I tipped my fish back, Lasher gave me some verbal about kettle, pot, black, I just looked at him and gave him the look.
It turned out that I`d won the section and as I walked to the car, I saw Gary Miller who was in the next section down, “ how`d you get on Gary” I asked, “9lb and a section win” he said, when I told him what I had caught he said that I may have won the match but that Pete Steward in the next section had also caught 13lb and it would be close. As I drove along the car park I saw Pete and I would down the window and asked him what he`d weighed. “13lb something” he said “ but what something” I asked and you guessed it, his reply was “13lb 10 oz”. Bugger, I`d lost the match by 1 ounce, if only I`d kept my mouth shut! After a brief moment of feeling sorry for my self it was back to the HQ for the results.
Back at the pub I collated our scores plus those of our rivals Oakwood and Wickford and we had section wins from Gary Miller, Tony Marti, me and Martin Foster, plus a section second from Beadle. One point of astonishment was that Pete Vasey, captain of Oakwood and probably one of the best canal anglers in the south, came LAST in his section with 12lb! Unbelievable, there were 4 12lb weights and a thirteen in that section, brilliant fishing for all concerned but spare a thought for the anglers in the normally productive early sections near Heybridge basin. Paul Medcraft came last in section with 11oz, Martin Foster won his section with 14oz and Tony Marti had won his with 1lb 5oz, the fish had moved further down into the basin, between the boats, because of the water clarity and sunshine.
As I was adding up the scores it was going to be a close thing and we had scored 33 points, which unfortunately on the day, was only good enough for third with Oakwood and Wickford winning with joint scores of 35 points.
So with three matches gone its tight at the top with three teams vying for those so important top two placings which will see them qualify for the semis. Next up is some proper fishing on the river Cam in Cambridgeshire and I`ll keep you informed how we get on in two weeks.

Teams on the day


Browning Wickford & Oakwood Angling 35
Image VDE 33
Fox Match Raiders 25
Oakwood N14 23


League to date

Oakwood Angling 5
Image VDE 6
Browning Wickford 7
Oakwood N14 12
Fox Match Raiders 14




Individuals on the day


1st Pete Steward Browning Wickford 13lb 10oz
2nd Steve Clark Image VDE 13lb 09oz
3rd John Southgate Oakwoood N14 12lb 10oz
4th Bob Davies Raiders 12lb 05oz
5th John Weeden Image VDE 12lb 03oz
6th Peter Vasey Oakwood Angling 12lb

[joffmiester]

great report i just can't believe CHRIS V hasn't been on a flyer every week

[Mullarkey]

same here Joff, I can`t beleive Chris ain`t on a flyer each week, I think its to do with the smallness of his digits

[TK]

A really interesting and informative write up Mullarkey - thanks for that


Look forward to hearing about the teams exploits on the Cam

[Simple]

Posts like that are a great insight to how other people fish. Thanks.

[Woodhouse]

Is Lasher the guy that used to write loads of articles catching carp on the wag shallow at places like theale pit?

his name was john larraman or summat like that.

[Mullarkey]

no this is a younger version, the old Lasher your thinking about was John larraman, who was was really Bob Carolgees ( & spit the dog) in disguise. It used to confuse matters when him and Steve Gardner in his best Roger De `Courcey and Nookie bear costume were in the same section.

[Chris V]

Steve who`s this beadle bloke in our team?? (b*****d).

[Mullarkey]

Eric Clapton is often called slow hand whereas you my son are now known as small hand or Beadle after the great Jeremy, who was also known for his small mitt. Remember it makes ya old chap look big.