Been another busy bunny so far this week - instead of licking envelopes yesterday I was at another family funeral (these are getting too close for comfort) and as I’ll be off line in a few hours this report will have to be short and sweet……….
For a change of scenery we ventured onto the common, hoping that the ‘resident shoals’ would play ball and may have made their way into the slightly deeper water near to the Fingerpost.
The usual crew were in tow, minus a couple of casualties but supplemented with a face or two from yesteryear, namely Veste and ex chief scribe MarkV
Heinzer and Goughy pegged out, dropping 10 in the section between the pub and the walkover bridge, cock peg (well it used to be) 11 right on the junction down to end peg 17 along the common.
Expectations were high I think given recent events.
Personally I wanted to draw 1 to 11 or 15 on Josh’s ‘favourite’ stick ups. With everyone drawn, thanks to Cheslynboy lending us his discs, there were still 4 pegs in the bag as I dipped in, including that famous ‘cock peg’ 11……….
I put in a thumb and pulled out a ………..
Well not really a plum - it was Peg 17 - aok an end un, but not what I really wanted
Off I traipsed and as I surveyed the ‘territory’ and ‘competition’ our side of the bridge I reckoned MarKV next to cock peg 11 and Tricast62 on the stick ups were going to be difficult to live with today.
Plus I’d witnessed firsthand Tricast62s prowess on the punch the week before 
In fact as I past Tricast62 we chatted about the peg………….everything I told you Tricast was pucka - honest mate
Soon set up I was gunna approach this one a little differently. Obviously the white stuff was going to come into play - as well as lickie I’d also got some of Bill yards finest from the forum match that I’d kept and I mixed this as per his earlier instructions somewhere else on these forums. But I was going to feed it more sparingly in an attempt to keep that line going longer - heeding the tactics adopted by The Hunter and Fred the bread
Here was the BDM’s peg for the day………. (click on the pictures to blow em up)
And to my right
I fully expected the white stuff to catch me a few but my banker tactic today which would surely call into play that second net was gunna be a different killer line altogether,
supplemented by another g/b and pinkie line across.Off we went. 4 lines fed and a first look in on the white stuff. Seconds later a small roach is the result.
Then another, then another but these last couple are much smaller so a look to the second white stuff line and a slightly better stamp are encountered. I alternated between the two lines as I appeared to steal a march on all those in view to my right, although I expect Tricast62 to wipe be out with some ‘proper’ fish
The Hunter popped down as I unhooked the second of my bonus 4oz fish then wandered off to catch up with Zorro and co the otherside of the bridge.
About this time I took a phone call - it was ‘little’ bro.
‘You fishing?’
‘Yep’
‘You aint got one on have you?’
‘Nope but I’m having a bite a chuck’
‘Aok I’ll keep it short and sweet………..’
A minute later and the tel call finished but the float hadn’t moved during it…………???????????????
Punch must have dropped off I thought................but it hadn’t
I lifted and laid in, swapped lines, but……………nowt
Famous last words those ‘having one a chuck’
Just over an hour in and I’d ‘died’. A look long over the gb and NOWT
Right - time to fill up that second net……….onto that banker line.
Result…………?Nowt again
A look on the two white lines - nowt, despite giving them a little more
It’s now an hour and half in - so banker line is fed again and the two white lines are given my ‘normal’ amount in a hope I can kick start em and attract a skimmer (or summat better) to move in and have a peck.
Whilst it settled I decide it’s an opportunity to do a bit of ‘David Baileying’
Veste with his fan club
The retired chief scribe making a return visit
Heinzer (with friend) was owning up to being on fish 40
In the distance I asked ‘Gotta lb Cotti?’........’ I did that in the first 20 mins’ was his response
MrV had had few roach and a bonus caster perch…………not to mention an Essox Lucius taking an interest in his keepnet
Glyn next to the Fingerpost hadn’t popped in for a pint yet as he was still wheedling a few punch fish out
Latest unsuspecting grullerite Daz wandering when he’s going to get chance to use that second keepnet
I sauntered back hoping that a few silvers had moved onto my lines…………..but they hadn’t.
In fact in that last 2.5 hours (out the 4) all I managed to wheedle out was two small perch whilst Batman - I mean Goughy - on the next peg gave me a fright as a few kinver tigers homed in on his chop. I also had a good sit on the caster………again for nowt.One day I might empty it on the shell………who knows
Although I sat biteless, that couple of hours did fly by, only really interrupted by a bit of excitement as Veste hooked and landed his usual pike
Heinzer blew up and as I packed up, MarkV came down to me to start doing the honours on what was his debut outing on the beam scales………whilst Blues4eva popped to suss out the opposition for the next grueller
Talking of debut outings on the beams, I must remember to ‘wheedle’ a few more drams out of him next time…………I even slipped up, not wetting the basket
The tale of the scales..............
PEG
1 GLYN 1.7.7
2 JOSH 0.3.0
3 COTTI 1.0.6
4 MRV 1.2.8
5
6 PHIL B 0.4.0
7 CHESLYNBOY 0.14.6
8 ZORRO 2.4.0
9
10 HEINZER 2.3.8
11
12 MARKV 0.12.0
13 VESTE 0.12.11
14 DAZ Tipped two net fulls away
15 TRICAST62 1.1.12
16 GOUGHY 0.5.1
17 TK 2.3.8
So what happened?
Gaz Shep was confident we’d sack up.
Was it heavy downpours in the 24 hours or so before that influenced it?
Although not gin, the colour was definitely dropping out of the canal
Was it the drop in temperatures over the last day?
Or was it just a case of normal
mode fully resumed? With the change from BST we’ve just moved from 5 to 4 hours. I’m sure that was enough for most A CIPs 3 hours might even be suffice - certainly for me - cuss I just cant catch after two
All in all I enjoyed it with a bit of banter before and after with good company - thanks guys for making the day.
On a footnote, just before I lost my fish I had several what I can only describe as real ‘vicious’ bites - not the normal slow dip as the float gradually slips under, but real whoosh ‘snatch’ bites - the sort when a crap hits you>
I didn’t connect with or touch any. Heinzer reported the same. Line bites from bonus fish up in the water? Or even Essox Lucius doing the same ploughing through the peg?
I dunno what they were, never experienced them before on the cut. I slipped on my shallow rig, but it didn’t repeat . Got me scratching my head………..
. sorted you a feb bits out for your box 
. well fished Dennis 
