To qualify for the champions league final, you just fished a number of MFS matches throughout the year and received points based on you performance overall and in your section. Your top 6 results counted and if you were in the Top 20 you qualified for the final - or if you were unable to make it then the next person in the league replaced you. Fortunately for us, both Gary Thorpe and Pete Bailey were both unavailable for the final !!!!
I was travelling with my mate Ross and because he didn't fancy driving up and back in a day especially after a days fishing, we decided to travel up late Friday morning to avoid the traffic (that didn't work) and spend a couple of hours at the Glebe with Roy Marlow and Wilkie who are both mates of Ross.
We arrived at about 2 o'clock to find that there was a match on Pegs 12-30 and with a few pleasure anglers spread out on the other pegs, we managed to plonk our gear on Pegs 6 and 7.
Ross set up his GB feeder whilst I decided to have a go on the pole as I "Don't Do the feeder".
Roy was "coaching" Ross and didn't seem too impressed when his first cast went up the tree on the far bank. I though was very impressed when Roy strolled round the lake to the far bank to unhook his rig from the tree - and waited for the next cast just in case !
I cupped in a couple of pots of casters and meat at 11 metres and soon caught a few carp - including a 9lber and despite getting told off by Wilkie with comments like "has someone nicked your catapult" and "Feed more down the edge" I had a couple of pleasant hours fishing, and as the light started to fade I started to catch down the edge including a barbel of about 3lb.
Whilst I am usually very competitive when it comes to match fishing, I really knew that as I wasn't going to fish the feeder at this time of year I was unlikely to frame.
I don't really enjoy feeder fishing as I am crap at casting to the same spot twice, although having seen some of the anglers on Saturday I was unsure whether you needed to !
Ross had spoken to both Roy and Wilkie prior to our visit and I don't know if they got their wires crossed but I ended up taking loads of casters and two tins of meat. When we met up on Friday they both denied telling Ross to take them !!!!! However, as I only had casters meat and paste with me, I had little choice but to try them.
At the draw, I picked Peg 11 which really meant nothing to me but the good news was that my blank peg was below me which meant I could comfortably fish down wind in the edge. We all had at least one to one side of us - except Ross and Martin Churchill (Fishy 007) who seemed to have half the lake between them.
I decided that my main plans of attack were going to be pole and caster / meat at 11 metres, paste at 5 metres and caster down the edge. I started off by cupping a couple of pots of caster and meat on the longer line, some pellets and hemp at 5 metres and some casters down the edge. As the match started the rain came and it gave me the chance to test out my new Super Douper Korum umbrella. After 45 minutes, I was still fishing the pole at 11 metres and was still biteless whilst Roly Lucas (on Peg 13 had already had 5 fish on the feeder and I began to get the feeling that I had cocked up big time by not setting up a feeder !
Roving reporter Andy T came along with his little video and I didn't realise straight away what he was doing until I suddenly twigged that he was trying to gather evidence of me fishing more than 6 metres out as nobody would believe him otherwise ! I then totally bemused him as I showed him another of my rigs which I described as my UITW rig - I wasn't sure what it meant or what to do with it but he looked suitably impressed that I'd set one up.
I then decided to try fishing a bit closer in (as I was in danger of getting a nose bleed fishing that far out) and came in to 8 metres where I could feed casters by hand. It took a while for the fish to move in on the shorter line but after an hour or so I started to pick up the odd skimmer, "Buddy Carp" and a couple of 4lbers. As the rain had eased off - and it is a nightmare trying to play fish from under a brolly (especially when you can only use a maximum of black hydro) I decided to take my brolly down - at least I tried to as the button on the spindle wouldn't budge !
As the afternoon progressed, the wind got stronger, I couldn't get a bite on paste but did keep picking up the odd carp on double or treble caster along with a couple of decent perch. With the wind gusting quite strongly now, my brolly then decided to give up the ghost and almost turned inside out before pulling all the covering from the frame - well at least I could now put it down as I just took it up the bank and laid my rod bag on it !
Nearing the end of the match it looked like Roly was going to be a clear winner with Martin next to him filling second place. I'd fed my edge peg all day and with 15 minutes to go decided to have my final look. Ten minutes from the end the float shot under and I was attached to an angry carp of about 7lb, I soon had that in the net but as I lfted it, one of the arms on my landing net snapped which was just what I needed after the earlier brolly malfunction. Out I went again and within seconds had hooked another fish, which I netted just as the "All Out" was shouted. I nipped along the bank to see Ross and Hathers who'd drawn next to each other and found that they'd had a nightmare match with only one carp and a few skimmers each.
As I returned to my peg I picked up my edge rig to put it away but decided to have one last put in before packing up. Yes, you've guessed it, 20 seconds later I'd hooked another carp ! I think that is one of the most frustrating things in Match fishing when the fish turn up in the edge and are having it big time just as the match ends.
Having packed up I made my way along the bank to watch the weigh in - I think this is one of the best parts of our Glebe matches as everybody walks along with the scales and basically takes the micky out of those weighing in. As expected Roly weighed 101-4-0 for a comfortable victory ahead of Martin with 74-12-0. My carp and silvers net went 54-10-0 which put me in 5th place, just 4 ounces behind Rob Austin and 6lb behind third placed Jamie Jones (Dotteddown) As the results were announced I'd won a copy of Keith Arthur's book and Ross (who you may remember came last with 8lb) finished up in the winning team and picked up £25 - how can that be right !
Thanks to those that organised the League and final, I for one will certainly trying to qualify for the final again next year.
Come back tomorrow for a report on Sunday's League match.
ps The good news regarding my brolly is that having slagged it off for only lasting 4 hours, I discovered afterwards that the covering is velcroed to the arms so that they get pulled out if the brolley goes inside out and in thh car park afterwards we put it back together and it is as good as new - and Andy T managed to fix the button and it works ok now !
