Anyone reading this write up will recognise that I hadn’t actually enjoyed my last visit………despite Curborough being one of my favourite commercial venues, where you tend to get more of a match, rather than someone ‘emptying the place’ whilst others around struggle,
So come the Tuesday before the match, for a variety of reasons known to some, I adopted the philosophy applied by some others of ‘picking and choosing which venues they fish’ and thought ‘ sod this I aint going Saturday’.
From a treasurers perspective I didn’t feel any pang of guilt whatsoever as a guest was still on the waiting list………. although to be honest I’ve always been critical of this approach thinking it shouldn’t be the done thing. With a variety of matches across, pools, rivers and canals, there’s always going to be a venue or two that aint going to be everyone’s cup of tea……………..but the ‘good’ clubman takes it in their stride and fishes all they can subject to life/work/family commitments, irrespective of venue. Right? Or wrong?
My ‘no show’ decision was reinforced the following night when I received a text from that guest enquiring whether a peg had come spare for him……………there was mine, so I replied along the lines ‘yep you are in’.
In-between I turned down offers to pick my bait up - thanks for the offer
Come Friday I’d also already ‘turned down’ another guest request in the absence of any further ‘casualties’, but then learnt that morning Roberto wouldn’t be joining us.
A call back to the member requesting the place, he’d see whether he could get in touch and get back to me………….but I heard nowt.
In the absence of that shout, with intended plans for the weekend failing to come to late fruition and with OBI’s post elsewhere ‘ringing in my ears
no tk on this 1
everybody will sack up and put the marsh lads to shame
couldn’t risk that could I - it was time for the
to put in another appearance yet again. 
So onto what turned out to be a wet and windy Saturday…………
KOD had got the show well on the road and had collected most of the monies
Draw time - short walkers were ‘sorted’ and two Golden Pegs pulled - one falling to MrV, on peg 5 although I thought with my limited knowledge of the venue that that one should really be a ‘no hoper’ and thus safe, whereas Jonah on his first trip with us as a member was on the other on 24 which could be a real danger………
As for yours truly, wanting 25 to 38, pulled out 7, next door to last years visit……….
With the driving wind, only 3 lines were to be fished today, although 6 rigs were set up to cover these.
The off…………a potful of Spruceys SB
was cupped out to the long line…………just as it was being emptied the wind picked up and I wandered whether I’d dropped clanger no 1 and whether I’d be able to fish it, although it was only 10 mtrs out……... 
Not long after the off, Big Baz rolled up, as expected ‘late’, but even later than ‘late’…….off he wandered to sort himself out after learning what peg he’d been drawn in his absence.
15mins or more on a shorter line failed to produce………so with a lull in the wind when it scaled down from Baltic proportions to Lake Windermere, a look on that longer line with Spruceys SB
A bite straight away and a lb sample in the net.
During the next couple of hours, alternating between the inside to ‘rest/refeed’ the longer line, more isolated fish were picked off………..although in honesty that shorter line only threw up 1 crucian around the lb mark, with nowt out of the margin.
With the wind and the rain and the brolly lying beside me as it had been battered, had I really made the correct decision in turning up today?
Whilst I felt sure I’d got my nose in front of the adversaries either side of me, Millie and MrV, I suspected the other side of the pool which was out of view would be producing for others.
Indeed looking across at the millpond that Abuman and Cotti were enjoying,
Abuman was on a roll as we entered that last hour, netting what looked like lb’ers on a regular basis. Heinzer blew up and it was time to wrap up and wait for the scales……..
Here’s who did what and where from
PEG ANGLER WEIGHT
1 GEOFF 3.6.0
2 TOMMY COOPER 3.4.0
3
4 M KENN 4.3.0
5 MRV 15.12.0
6
7 TK 20.6.0
8 MILLIE 6.2.0
9
10 YAMO 15.5.0
11
12 MGB 3.9.0
13
14 HAHA 17.8.0
15 BIG BAZ 28.6.0
16
17 R CASHMORE 17.2.0
18
19 HEINZER 5.1.0
20 KOD 11.2.0
21
22 VESTE 18.12.0
23
24 JONAH 11.0.0
25 ZORRO 14.0.0
26 HOTLIPS 4.8.0
27
28 TERRY 11.8.0
29 ONE CHUB 16.12.0
30
31 SPRUCEY 9.4.0
32 THE WEDGE 20.5.0
33
34 ABUMAN 22.10.0
35 COTTI 13.0.0
36 BRAMBLES 7.6.0
37 F K 13.6.0
38
39
40 G CASHMORE 10.5.0
I reckon there may have been a cock up in the later pegs………Robin the gaffer did point out to me just before the off that there shouldn’t have been 4 in a line opposite me - he was sure that he’d put ‘two in, one out’ to split the anglers there…………perhaps Brambles should have been on 38
With it being manky weather most of the day I didn’t bother to get out the camera out and take any pictures - sorry Joffie
…………so over to Sprucey
