decided to kick in for the day.With high winds forecast JUST for the day, the Common is usually the area to ‘avoid’ whilst this area of canal usually offers the angler relative protection from the elements, particularly this time of the year.
WRONG…….an unusual (well for this time of the year) strong south westerly decided to kick in, meaning most anglers were going to experience some difficulty with a left to right wind blowing.
Heinzer, Sprucey and Big Baz had pegged out - 6 pegs on the wides from the cables down and the other 16 south of the roving bridge. With everyone gathered early - ta
and ‘locked in’ it was an earlyish draw today.As well as being the F&F, the final of the knock out being contested by Yamo & MarkV, there was also the golden peg which had now reached £295.
Whilst everyone knew the potential of the wides, for relative comfort and to escape the worst of the wind you wanted 17 - 21, which obviously entailed a bit of a walk, which the Bum Draw Master definitely wanted to avoid.
GP’s were drawn - 5 a flyer under normal conditions and the scene of Tommy ‘the magicians’ vanishing trick last time we were here, and 17 & 18 - unknown form pegs for us.
With a ‘short walk draw’ sorted for Brambles, Tommy Cooper and Mick K there were some faces eager to reach their pegs, others not so eager
……….particularly the BDM who had a longish walk to 19 
into the supposed ‘calmer’ area but with the added ‘bonus’ of it being a default golden peg as 18 hadn’t come out of the bag. 
Other golden pegs had fell to Cotti on 17 and Tinca Ted who could be a real threat on a favoured peg 5.
BDM set up 5 rigs to cover a number of eventualities.
The off and HaHa is netting a fish before all of BDMs 4 lines are fed.
Plan A came and went as the punch didn’t produce……………just what’s gone wrong with BDM’s punch tactics these days
A look on lines 2 and 3 produce a few small silvers before the rig is trashed with a gust of wind.
Not long in and Hotlips is led a merry dance having snared a bonus tinca on his punch line which has been producing.
Not long after a second tinca soons graces his net.
He’s blowing any chances of the BDM doing any damage on that golden peg, although he alleges that the tincas are only small about 2lb a piece. 
News also filters down that Golden Ball has smashed a no 7 and Big Geoff has two tincas and a bream. That along with Hotlips tincas might ‘save’ the golden peg, BDM thinks to himself as Cotti has ‘indicated’ that he’s ‘struggling’ on a GP.
How wrong can you be………….Big Geoffs catch turns out to be a jackanory.
BDM is picking up plenty of silvers - only a couple of problems - a) they are only small fish - oz fish are ‘stampers’ and b) they are all off a long 12 mtr line, so the right hand shoulder is having to work overtime……….will the stamp ‘pick up’ to enable him to ‘gun’ Hotlips down who is having a barren hour or so.
Time flies when you are having a bite a chuck, but at the whistle secretly BDM knows that he aint got anywhere near Hotlips estimated 5lb as his best fish probably only comes in at 2oz.
It’s a long wait for the scales………..and tinca ted is in attendance too.
No wander he’s following them,
with only 4 left to to weigh in, he’s top of the leaderboard and that £295 golden peg money is almost in his grasp. Nobody has given him a run for his money apart from Spruceys who’s had a tinca amongst his bits to swing the beam scales past the 6lb mark, but not enough to safeguard the pot.
BDM’s silvers fall way short too, and he knows The Shark can’t put up any sort of defence of the GP so BDM starts the long traipse back to the car, getting ready to write a cheque out to Tinca Ted.
Back at the car, Sprucey told MarkV that Yamo has battered him in the knockout final.
The scales and result sheet return and here’s their tale
PEG Weight
1 Tommy Cooper 0.2.0
2 MGB 0.14.13
3 Mick Kenn 0.1.3
4 Phil B 0.2.8
5 Tinca Ted 6.9.0
6 MarkV 3.10.11
7 Brambles 0.5.11
8 Rich C 0.2.13
9 KOD 1.7.11
10 Big Geoff 0.9.2
11 Golden Balls 0.14.4
12 Sprucey 6.0.4
13 Zorro 1.2.6
14 Yamo 1.15.14
15 Heinzer 3.10.0
16 Big Baz 1.10.9
17 Cotti 3.6.3
18
19 TK - BDM 3.15.11
20 The Shark 1.2.0
21 Hotlips 6.12.8
22 HaHa 1.15.11
For some of the guys in the ‘lower’ numbers, they really should have reached for their sigma wands - remember them
From the treasurer’s perspective, Hotlips - who loves the cut and seems to find those bonus fish most times had managed to put a blocker in after all and the golden peg money was ‘safe’.
Pool old Tinca Ted
Being the last match of the series, 50% will go to the clubs coffers and the GP for match 1 2010 will start at £147 plus whatever is is in the pot for that match.
MarkV also cheered up a bit to learn Sprucey had been winding him up after the match and that he was indeed the knockout champ this year, defeating Yamo in the final.
Consolation for Yamo was that on the league front he hadn’t thrown a shoe for this one to allow Zorro to sneak in as he retained his title.
Well that’s it for this year……………here’s looking forward to a host of 2010
matchesAll we need now is for Rip Van Sprucey to wake from his golden slumbers and post some of those pickies he took
