Grueller Series Match 2 2012 - The Mark of Zorro

#2

Who won then?

#3

;

#4

Gizz a chance to knock up a report MGB

- I aint got two minutes to meself, dunno how I found time for work before

#5

I aint got two minutes to meself

Yeah right

#6

Been piking with Heinzer all day - well just got back half hour ago

#7

Cant wait to see the pics

#8

The pics will be better than the write up

#9

I meant from the piking today

#10

‘Forecast aint to bad for sat TK so can u put me down’

Famous last words from KOD........... ::)

Was up bright and breezy - everything sorted waiting for Heinzer and as he rolls up the heavens empty......just what the BBC forecasted..................NOT

The shower delayed our departure for the 10 min drive to the cut and arriving just before 8.30am there were already several eager faces obviously looking forward to this latest what was sure to be exciting battle on the cut

As well as early bird Mike E who it seems likes to arrive at least 1.5 hours before the draw

, Virgin Gruellerite Dark Horse was also in attendance, having zipped down the motorway from the Potteries and was surveying the territory .

The colour in the cut daint look to bad,

but the first pound between the new road bridge and the Grove Marina hadnt set the world alight on the last match – well that is apart from Carlos’s munster on the bread punch - so we’d already decided to peg the next section down beyond the broken bridge........... a megga walk for anyone with a dickey knee

Heinzer’s pegging out was hampered at the far end by ‘leaves on the line’......I mean cut, although he was assisted by 3 or 4 ‘possibles’ not showing and a bit of tighter than usual pegging to accomodate the 16 hardy anglers who sheltered from the rain whilst he plodded the bank.

The draw soon got underway and all those flyers flew out of the bag........... leaving TK and Big Col who had been seconded to provide his cap for the draw discs

with a choice of end peg (shorter walk) 1 or peg 9. I dipped.............

And peg 9 stuck to my sweaty palm.

Off I traipsed and with the brolly the first thing out of the holdall, started setting up.

Armed with half pint of the juciest, fattest squatts I’d seen in ages – I’d gorra have some fish on them, they were a banker wern’t they

– I’d got the starting off white stuff, some pickie and caster along with some lobs out of the borders.

Just before the off whilst i was fine tuning a rig, Cotti the Wharburton King rolled up.

‘Yam on my nightmare peg’ he announced.

‘You what?’

‘Nightmare – never ever had a fish off this peg’ he enthusiastically reported.

I gazed at it in a new light. ‘Nah he’s winding me up’

I thought to myself. ‘I was sure I’d fished it about two years ago........hadnt won, but had had lots of blades out of it’

Deffo a wind up..............wasn’t it???????

The off with Heinzer blowing up and with line 3 out of 5 being fed I glanced to my left and somebodies swinging one in

‘Bloody hell – looks like we’re on a few today’

famous last words again ::)

With line 5 fed, off I went for a first look on the punch line.

Within seconds of laying the rig out, the float burried.

‘Go on my son’..........

TBC.......

#11

But the lackie only came out 6 ins

– obviously not the 8oz skimmer i was hoping it to be, but a blade silver.

‘Don’t want them’ I thought to myself................yet again more famous last words. ::)

Cuss after that I struggled. And when I say struggled.............I mean struggled.

I was being well and truely

as I couldnt string two bites together

.............well I tell a lie there.............I couldnt string a bite together.

To my left I saw a few fish coming out

.....................and to my right I could see Yamo and slightly futher down, Dark Horse putting a few together.

Only one person seemed to be fairing worse than me............gorra feel a tad sorry for Heinzer after he’d taken the trouble to peg out,

he was on the next peg to me and couldnt actually buy a bite – literally.

The otherside, after a very slow start too, Blues4eva was starting to put the odd fish together.

Time rolled on, and with 1.5 pints – sorry, now that we are all metric – 900ml - of chicken and leek soup laced with pepper, all devoured, it was time for a snap or two to keep Simps and Joffie happy

On endpeg 16, Mrv was dragging a piece of worm on the corner of his weedbed across trying to snare a tinca or granddad Kinver

Next door, Trevor B was on a roll and was wheedling a few out

Whilst next door HaHa had just netted a skimmer as I rolled up

Zorro was a study of concentration

Whilst Yamo was in with a shout going into that last hour

As was the Wharburton King

And deffo in with a shout was Dark Horse, making the trip from the Potteries count

‘Early bird’ Mike E was also finding it tough going but was owning up to having had a decent skimmer plus some bits........... would it be enough to earn a few bob today?

Even tricast62 was scratting around today

Nice peg dark Horse

Yamo drops another skimmer in the net.......is it a match winner on a hard day?

Back to peg 9................

Remember those big, fat, juciest squatt I’d got?

Well I never had a touch on em.

And as for those lovely lobs..............?

Fed 5 a time as finely as i could chop ‘em into a mulch.............and

They produced two fish....................two wasps, to go with the two blades and bottletop skimmer that i managed to snare over the 4 hours.

The worst gruller I’d had for a few years only 'bettered' - if thats the correct word - on the day by next peg Heinzer

The whistle went and 20 mins later, off toddled Big Baz and Tricast62 with the beamies

And the tale of those scales in order they were weighed in.........

PEG
16 MRV 0.11.9
15 TREVOR B 0.1.13
14 HAHA 1.7.4
13 PHIL B 0.8.12
12 ZORRO 2.12.8
11 KOD 0.8.0
10 BLUES4EVA 2.4.0
9 TK 0.3.13
8 HEINZER DRY
7 YAMO 2.2.0
6 COTTI 2.3.2
5 DARK HORSE 2.5.2
4 MIKE E 1.12.9
3 TRICAST62 0.14.4
2 BIG BAZ 1.2.10
1 BIG COL 0.14.0

So all in all, one to forget from my perspective,

but hats off to in form Zorro who’s picked up two brown envelopes from the opening two matches.

Credit also to Dark Horse making his debut on a grueller

and of course Blues4eva who usually puts in a solid peformance

Ah well, there's always match 3....... ::)

#12

nice read there boss well done den lad

#13

Nice one TK , great reading and pictures as usual

Well done to the framers

Blues · #14

Nice one Tk

Me being a sucker for punishment stayed on for hour and half after the match

Caught a fish a chuck when the light went down

don't tell Heinzer tho !! don't want him committing suicide

#15

don't tell Heinzer tho !! don't want him committing suicide

I'll issue him a chill pill first blues4eva

MrV · #16

Great report as usual TK

I must say the 4 hours flew by. I couldn't believe it when the all out sounded

. It looked a perfect colour where I was, but early on it was a real struggle. It took me some time adjusting shotting etc to get the rig to run the right way. Dont know if anybody else noticed, but the wind was right to left where I was, yet there was a slight tow left to right.

Once I sussed it out I managed to wheedle out a dozen or so fish. Like you I couldn't buy a bite on the squatt/pinkie. I think I had 2 small stripeys on a worms testicle, and the rest on the punch. ::) Maybe need to invest in a bit of B & J for the next one and get some practice in for the upcoming Winter Leagues

joffmiester · #17

love that stretch of canal great read TK

darkhorse · #18

lovely little stretch well worth the run down, look forward to fishing my next grueller, good bunch of lads, thanks for making me feel welcomed, thanks t k and mike e for your tips, excellent report, thank god my hood hides my mug lol

darkhorse · #19

oh and yes

it is a nice peg

#20

look forward to fishing my next grueller,

We'll soon knock that out of ya

Seriously, you are more than welcome Dark Horse - good to have you along