This will be my second year with the Royals, a great little club based in Leamington Spa. 19 members and a level of enthusiasm demonstrated by an almost complete turnout at the AGM. No superstars, just average club anglers enjoying the days out.
I've been like a kid waiting for christmas, looking forward to the first match. Don't know if it's the enforced absences i've had from fishing, but I don't much care why i'm keen, just going to enjoy it
Today, was Kingfisher Pool in Warwick, a small horseshoe like, purpose built pool. No commie though.
Skimmers, bream and tench are the fish, with a population of small roach, plus the odd carp. Although I haven't seen one in three or so visits. (No loss there, just for a change).
Oh the anticipation and ...,eerrrr ... preparation for it . Preparation is not my strong point, but this time I tied enough rigs, tied enough hooks ... and if you could have seen me last night in the back yard, watching how groundbait concoctions behave in a bucket of water, well , that was a bit over the top
Anyway, I was well enough prepared and fished a tidy enough match for me. No tangles, no cockups, no scratching around too long on one line etc etc., decent decisions made and, I started on time. Can't be bad.
Trouble is, I only managed 8oz 12 drams lol. How mighty dreams are shattered
. No skimmers or tench for me. Almost 2/3rds down the list. 5lb odd won it. Defeated at the draw, that's my excuse and i'm sticking to it Three roach and a perch, mostly in the first hour and a half, which meant there was a lot of huffing and puffing going on in my peg for the other three and a half, as I tried to induce a bite from somewhere
Did all I could and i've fished much worse for a lot more bites, even in the cold. All in all i'm happy, just a bit frustrated but that's fading already
I wonder how many club matches start the same around the country, coming out of winter ? A fair few I bet. Thing is ...the warmer weathers coming... the water will warm up.....and the only way is up
This year, i'm going to try and start matches on time, which means preparing better (yawn) and doing some of the very basics a bit better, like concentrating for the length of the match more.
I'm sure if I do just those things, fishing the duration of the match, avoiding lost time through trashing my tackle and ...reading my float better, i'll put a bit more on the scales.
Time will tell if I keep it up, I certainly wont be taking things too seriously, but there's easy room for improvement in those areas, I reckon. It'll have to be one handed tea drinking most of the time, dunkin me bourbons at the same time might be a bit more tricky
Next time out, I need to beat last years return off the Oxford cut, one ruffe for an ounce
I'm gonna try and discipline myself to put something up on this forum after every match. You never know, some of the other members might look in.
As for the Oxford in two weeks, I've a master plan in mind
