Why do they always bother tell us what we’ve just had or when we are having it, rather than ‘forecast’ it the day before…………
Tropical storm? Daint feel at all tropical as it tried to blow that pole out of my hand earlier!!! Certainly daint seem a warm southerly accompanying it as I sought solace in a flask of hot soup earlier.
The day hadn’t started too bad…………..it wasn’t raining for a change, but that was before the
kicked inI arrived to peg out with KOD, with the original intention of putting the boatyard in.
Only trouble was there was a fair breeze blowing down that section so we opted for the sheltered ‘middle section’ ::)
25 pegs in, with peg 1 nearest the new bridge. As we pegged out I told KOD I fancied pegs 14 onwards, but I didn’t fancy the walk, fully expecting therefore to pull out end peg 25. But deffo didn’t want no 10 or 11.
Draw time……..keeping eyes peeled and ears open…………’Lots of high nos are going’ KOD comments…….hurrah at last, 10 and 11 have gone. A dip in the bag……….peg 4. ‘Well at least no walk…………’ not what I wanted but I know there’s at least 4lb on it as I fished it the week before. I know how to tweak last weeks methods……might squeeze a bit more out the peg I thinks to myself.
A bonus too………….or not.
HaHa has crept up in the league to join me in 2nd place on points, only separated by total weight. I can keep my eye on him as he’s on next peg 5……..Yamo’s done the league, I don’t want to finish out of the top 2 for the first time in a decade or more.
The off…………4 target areas are fed…………but disaster, I’m playing catch up before target area 4 is fed as HaHa has a stripey of a couple of ounces first put in.
Line 1 is fished for 10 mins with no response……….unusual? Just where have those small roach that usually show instantaneously gone to
A push over to line 2 and the float dips straight away……..a lift and soft no4 latex comes out a foot or so……..I’m back in touch as a 3oz skimmer graces the net.
A couple of more small roach………and I mean a couple and small, are picked of line 2 and 3………..but no amount of work on line 1 manages to kick start it………???? The difference a week makes!
The wind picks up through the morning and it gets harder to fish long…………the pole is almost snatched out the hands on more than one occasion. Presentation is undoubtedly affected too. :( :( :(
Past half way through and bites are at a premium…………just when was that last bite? It was yonks ago. Cant see owt being caught around me……….just gotta keep my nose in front of HaHa.
HaHa’s having a grueller too and wanders of for a walk. Time for a quick look on throw a way line 4……..dont really expect it to produce, but here goes. A minute or two later, float dips and a bonus 3oz stripey is in the net.
And no……….it wasn’t on the chop. Another 10 mins on the line and nowt so it’s a back to a rotation of lines 1, 2 and 3 without success.
A look up and big Geoff on 3 is snagged in this overhanging bush across. Looks like he’s pulling for a break when disaster………………….his top 3 or 4 comes off, floats and starts blowing across to the far bank. He desperately tries to snare it with the residue of his pole. Did he get it back……….I’m not sure.
Veste comes for a walk, he’s called it a day in fear of breaking his pole in the wind
Meanwhile lines 1-3 only produce one further roach, but line 4 throws up another 3 fish before the whistle.
Time for the weigh in and a walk up to the top………..weights in order of the scales
PEG
25 Worminator 0.3.0
24 KOD 2.0.10
23 Millie 0.7.0
22 Hotlips DNW
21 Daylewlia 0.14.10
20
19 Heinzer 0.8.0
18 Phil B 2.5.10
17 Brambles 1.6.15
16
15 Yamo 1.10.5
14
13 Gerry 0.13.12
12
11 Tigerbay 0.4.11
10 Jonah DNW
9
8 Zorro 1.2.7
7 Veste 0.5.14
6 The Shark DNW
5 HaHa 0.7.1
4 TK 1.5.14
3 Big Geoff 0.9.3
2 Ball it In Baker 0.2.0
1 Cotti Dry
Well it looks like my gut reaction before the off was right as Phil B wins the fur and feather
and the ‘better’ weights show in those higher nos. Or did the number of ‘spare’ pegs up there contribute and influence things?Poor old Cotti dried on ‘his’ cut…………the place where if he’s had less than double figures he describes as ‘it fished crap’………….but there again, did Ball it In wipe him out
Personal thoughts? Well on reflection this morning there were a couple of changes I could or should have done to alter presentation……certainly thinking about the trip I was picking up in the opposite direction to the gale. Might not have worked, but…………
, but also had some cracking days in the winter
