Been out twice recently. First off, to Bishops Bowl Fishery, a lovely place with some unusual lakes, particularly Cliff Lake, which literally has one. ( Google Bishops Bowl if interested, it’s well run.)
We fished White Bishop Lake, which the owner told me at the weigh in, was ‘a very difficult lake to get right’, repeating, very difficult. This seemed to be borne out by the results , with 26lb ish winning. That said, it was a rewarding lake I thought, had to work for fish, but after trying something, a fish or two was usually the reward. Satisfying really, despite being pipped into third by just a couple of ounces. I left feeling everything was okay with the world. Can’t get any better than that
Geoff won it, from the end peg with a working aerator churning at the off. Thing is, you still have to do it, don’t you ? He did. How many of us have cocked up a supposed ‘flyer’. Congratulations due to Geoff.
My pathetic attempts to wind him up before the off and knock him out of his stride just didn’t work.
Next to Geoff, I couldn’t see him with bushes in the way and a bit of distance, plus I was immersed in my own match, so I didn’t actually see what he was catching, just heard the odd bish, bosh, wallop and guess what ? Genuinely thought he’d had much more than he had. How many more people are like me ? Other people’s fish often look bigger than mine and they often seem to be catching more, regardless of the reality. Must be my psychological make up, in fact I probably know it is
.The next match and most recent, was at Stockton Reservoir. This match was won by Mick. Well chuffed for him.
This seems to be a carp water, out and out. A couple of pegs along from me, Mick lost a couple of good fish in the first half of the match due to line or a snag in the water, in a match where fish were at a premium. Cussing from his peg ensued. ( Don’t we all). In fact, I thought total despondency was about to set in as he bemoaned his chances of ever getting a fish out, should he hook another. I thought he might just end up walking the bank but he stuck at and did get a few out, to win the match ! You know, success in fishing is often much closer than we think, I reckon. Well done Mick.
With fishing matches usually being 5 hours, this gives a hell of a lot of time to think. Sometimes that thinking isn’t always helpful, certainly if my own personal experience is anything to go by. In football say, or any other physical game played at speed, there isn’t so much time to think ourselves into negativity, or at the very least we can become absorbed in the game without time to think for periods. In fishing matches, we can be a sitting duck for our thoughts to overtake us when things aren’t going right, assuming it’s on a day when we’re bothered enough to be trying, of course.
It was certainly a problem for me when I was younger and can be at times now, but much more fleetingly, I think lol.
Given that some people just breeze through match fishing at the highest level, as they may do in life, I’ve seen enough expressions on other ‘top’ angler’s faces to suggest frustration/pressure/stress, or whatever you want to call it, is a definite factor at times. Something I’ve hardly seen addressed in print. Wonder if anyone at the top level pays any attention to the psychological side of things as many other sports do ?
For myself at Stockton, well I got stressed with a couple of munter carp that both did me under the boards on the pole
. Fishing with my specially constructed, no bloody nonsense gear , made up on Saturday night, it still wasn’t enough. I hooked them by the side of the platform and managed to get them both to go straight out into the lake initially. Fishing 7.9lb direct, with 16-18 solid elastic and Drennan Margin Carp size 12 hooks with superglued whipping on the shank, I was, shall we say ‘confident’. They had other ideas.Both times, impersonating chub as they transferred the hook onto the wooden platform uprights when I tried to net ‘em. Doh ! Only 4 hrs 10mins feeding, before I got the first bite in the edge. I’m gonna have to go back and sort ‘em out, to settle the score lol.
The end – Must get some work done.
