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Competitors must not on any account ground-bait the swim, wet a line, plumb the depth or disturb the water other than to wet ground-bait, before the starting signal.
That used to be the first 15 minutes or so of every match out of the window, adjusting shotting and plumbing up - be fun and games with the no of rigs we set up these days
LOL i remember that rule First match i ever fished was a junior open match on the Lea by The Old English Gentleman Pub.The match was run by Trevs of Walsthamstow. How i understood the rule was that you was aloud to feed groundbait 15 minutes before the whistle which i did Anyway i did get in trouble and was told to start the match 15 minutes later than all the other competitors.
Come the end of the match i weighed in a Perch and a Bleak for 1 oz Still won a prize, a reel bag which i still own. I was only about 14 then ::)
Chris - if I provoke someone to post a memory from yesteryear - and there's millions of great one's out there not yet 'documented' anywhere - then I've served my purpose on here
i'm on one great nostalgia trip and love to hear tales of everyones experiences - whether 50 years or 5 days ago
that's when rules were rules TK ,as a junior you had to read the book of NFA rules before most competitions
i still see to this day anglers casting empty feeders out or methods .i bet most of these anglers haven't seen the NFAs book of rules
Competitors must not on any account ground-bait the swim, wet a line, plumb the depth or disturb the water other than to wet ground-bait, before the starting signal.
That used to be the first 15 minutes or so of every match out of the window, adjusting shotting and plumbing up - be fun and games with the no of rigs we set up these days
Maybe it should still apply. I remember fishing a match on the Avon many years ago and my swim was six inches deep right the way across the river except for a 3 or 4 ft fast glide down the far bank. The only way I could fish it was with a heavy waggler and I cast over [with a bare hook] to try to get the depth before the off. The float dipped and before I knew it, I was amazed to find myself into a hefty fish! The next nearest angler was out of sight and it crossed my mind that no one would know if I netted the fish before the whistle. I immediately dismissed the idea and shouted down to Les that I had a fish on so that I couldn't have been accused of cheating. As it happened the fish came off before I could land it and guess what, I never had another fish and dry netted!
It did make me wonder though, would everyone have done the same?
Reminds me of a pleasure session, not a match in the 'woods' at Little Onn with Nick Povey back in the late 80s
We were peg by peg and he'd plumbed up and was just checking his shotting with a bare hook. The float went - a roach had taken his red hook (remember them? - I dont see many of them these days in the shops by us)
'We are on for a shedful' I thought to myself
Was we eck as like - neither of us could buy a bite after that.
i also went for a walk that day and watched the winner catching bleak on a grease line.
I had a good run in club matches targeting bleak in that era, I used two sections of an old match rod with the line looped on to the end and one of those little white plastic floats with two holes in that you slipped up the line with greased line below it and watched the curls streatch out as a bleak took the hookbait. So simple fishing.
I do remember this rule TK. Thats how it was when I started, then after a while you could plumb up.
To be honest, I think what's allowed today, casting out of feeders, floats and whatever is too loose and open to fiddling.
I fished a match on the Avon a couple of years ago, Shakespeare qualifier and the guy below me was running his waggler down the far bank ages before the whistle, many times.
I seriously wasn't sure whether he was fishing or checking the swim out very thoroughly, he was fairly hidden.
I don't normally fish at that level and I still don't know if thats how its done, whether thats acceptable or not.
choppy is right the avon at evesham is full of weed and cabbages you need to know what depth you can run through at really before you start and its not like you can use a plumet
First match i ever fished was a junior open match on the Lea by The Old English Gentleman Pub.The match was run by Trevs of Walsthamstow. How i understood the rule was that you was aloud to feed groundbait 15 minutes before the whistle which i did 
