Know I’ve got to, cuss I’ve got some other guys bait for ‘em today. 
Sod it, I’m going back to kip.
7.10am…….better get up
Well I was expecting this to be another right
grueller. After a week or more of ‘reasonable’ temperatures we’d had a stinker of a frost last night. 
Not just a slight frost, but walking back home from Harrisons the night before I’d noticed how it had penetrated the ground……it was rock hard. 
A little later than usual I arrived at Yates. Most of the guys were already tucking into a breckie. A general consensus of opinion was that a few fancied it on the boats today…….I daint……you’ve got a hundred yard walk to peg 1…….me and walks don’t get on these days……perhaps its those advancing years…... ::)
I shot off with MrV to peg out. Couldn’t believe what greeted us………..the cut was froze over again.
We wandered down to the bridge and MrV duly pegged out………only a dozen of us had turned out. To be honest if I’d have realized that I’d have suggested we drop on the Fingerpost common section – we could all have fitted in between the pub and the walk over bridge.
Anyway, MrV reported that that 1-7 were frozen, 8 – 13 were free of ice. I’d got heinzers icebreaker in tow, so didn’t really bother me, although the form book suggested a higher number was a better area to draw.
Pegs came and went as I scribbled the names down. With just two left in the bag Goldenballs picked me peg 11 out. ‘Fine’ I thought
………apart from the walk. 
Approaching my peg Cotti ‘shout’s up, ‘You walked past it’.
‘What?’
‘Your peg’
‘I aint, I’m on 11, that’s 10.’
‘No, I’m on 11, your on 10’ he tries to convince me.
‘Sure I’m on 11, Goldenballs drew it for me’
‘No, I’m 11, you’re on 10’
I looked at 10………..great I thought……..ice running from left to right diagonally across the peg. Trust me to have the only ice between 7 and 13.
Blues4eva to my left when he should have been two away, with that ice running left to right
And Cotti to my right instead of left……
A couple of rigs were set up, the punch at 6 mtrs to the edge of the ice down the track and a joker/worm rig to fish at 10 mtrs at half past one to my right.
Time was ticking on so I wandered back to check how the guys breaking the ice were getting on. As they were still in the throws of breaking and setting up I put back the match half an hour.
I also looked at the book with the scales up by OBI…………Cotti couldn’t believe it…….yep I should have been on 11, with Cotti on 10.
With only 10 mins left to go, sod it I wasn’t gunna change pegs now. If we got ‘disqualified, so be it…….Walking back I noticed that OBI had only broken the ice 4 metres out,
whilst most had broke all the way over…………hum, be interesting to see what he has just down that inside edge I thought to myself. 
Cheslynboy blew up and away we went. Lines fed and Cotti is straight in, first put in on the punch. In fact he proceed to knock out 8 roach one after the other
whilst I’m searching that first bite to avoid the dreaded once again. Then Blues4eva is in……he knocks out a couple before I avoid the dreaded DNW after about 40 mins with a transparent roach followed by a smaller kinver.
Strange match for me again this one…….well strange for Blues4eva as well. We couldn’t get our heads around it. You’d have two fish one after the other, then nowt for 20 mins
Why Aint got a clue Any ideas guys Time rolls on and both Cotti and Blues4eva cop a couple of netters, and I’m getting wasted.
OBI has a trot down the bank to work the circulation in his dickie foot……..he owns up to a decent roach and about 1.5lb in the net, also reports that Sibeck is starting to have a few.
Off he trots and later on Snowie drops by to see us, obviously gleaming some form of perverse satisfaction in watching us all struggle and in particular me and Blues4eva who are being cut in half by that icy raw northerly wind.
After struggling most of the match with that pattern of two bites, two fish then nowt for 20 mins, with 10 minutes to go I get a bite…….and a fish. Put in again, a bite a fish, and again, and again…………only small oz fish, but 5 bites and 5 fish in the last 6 put ins. Now what’s that all about
Why not an hour earlier The all out, pack away and off to get the scales that are up by OBI. Goldenballs and MarkV have had enough and finished early.
Hear talk that Yamo has lost a decent fish under the ice.
OBI reports that he’d never had another bite for the last couple of hours after he walked down to me. Hum……..he was owning upto a pound and half, will that be enough or will he regret his walk about.
With MrV tipping his few bits and pieces away, Cotti is first to weigh in with 14oz on the board. I’m next.
Well I thought Cotti was always ‘tight’ on those scales when it came to weighing me in, knocking me back a few drams, but Tweety is even tighter than Scrooge
……..as my 12oz odd finally ended up as 0.11.15. Cheers Tweety 
Blues4eva is leading it with 1.8lb as Tweety regrets throwing his similar weight away
…….that’ll serve you right Scrooge. 
Sibeck just nips ahead nudging the winning weight another 2oz on with just OBI to go.
Gunna be tight this one. He aint had a bite since walking down to me when he owned up to 1.8lb
1.8lb my derriere
…………..as he tips a decent net of skimmers in the basket.The result
PEG
2 OBI 4.0.6
3 SIBECK 1.10.1
4 YAMO DNW
5 GOLDENBALLS DNW
6 MARKV DNW
7 TWEETY DNW
8 CHESLYNBOY DNW
9 BLUES4EVA 1.8.0
10 TK 0.11.15
11 COTTI 0.14.7
12 MRV DNW
13 PHILB DNW
OBI with his bag – well done mate
And believe it or not, here’s his ‘hole’
And finally – getting on for an hour after the match, Yamo fishes on……….having one a chuck
,and finding out that he literally only lives 2 mins from me had a bit of chat about our local waters .
pop at each other