With 12 of us fishing and 6 pegs on Old and 6 on Horseshoe, I was happy to draw Horeseshoe as it had fished quite well on Sunday with 82lb for MTB and 50lb+ weights for Smiffy, Terry The Cod and even Plummers.
Although I knew Mick had caught a few fish on his random "cast the bomb anywhere tactic" I had decided to just fish the pole, in front and down the edge under a tree to my left. Paste just down the shelf in about eight foot of water was my initial starting point but after a while it was clear that it wasn't going to produce much as apart from a couple of indications, the tip of the float remained dry. I then switched to a 6mm expander and had a couple of 2lb F1's but it was still very slow and with Don, Alan Harrington and Hayden Woods all catching a few fish, I was going nowhere fast.
I'd been feeding corn and a bit of hemp down the edge to my left under an over hanging tree and was sure I'd catch there as it was lovely and shady and also a decent depth. The only problem was that there is a big bush / small bushy tree just to the left of the platform which you can't see over when you are sitting on your box, so you have to stand up and fish - which didn't do my back a lot of good I have to say. The other problem was that if you hooked any fish you then had to lift the pole over the bush and pull the fish round in front of you to net them. It isn't easy to explain in words but believe me it wasn't easy ! Fortunately Brian Wallin had drawn the peg the other week and being a gardener, he'd done a bit of "Bush Trimming" and it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Anyway, on went two pieces of corn and within 10 minutes I had my first carp in the net, a very welcome fish of about 10lb. I then had a nightmare 30 minutes where I missed about 8 bites before hooking a rudd of about 4 ounces ! With nothing to lose I quickly set up a paste rig for the edge and with a yellow topped float in the dark water under the tree I could see it brilliantly - except for when it was under the water, which it was first put in as another 10lber joined his mate in the keepnet.
I did try and rest the edge peg by fishing out in front occassionally but still couldn't catch a fish there. I continued to catch fish in the edge, including two fish of about 12 or 13lb and ended the match with 9 carp, two F1's and a rudd for 100-12-0, which put me second on the lake behind Don who had 126lb. With Mick Seymour winning Old Lake with 71lb it was good to have a pick up on what could be my last Wednesday fishing match for a while as I have a job interview on Friday and am not convinced that I can really ask for every wednesday off !
POUND WATCHPlummers bottled it today - he said he had to work but I think he really knows that now the cold weather is coming that he wont be getting too many of my pound coins for a while.
Result
Donald Garnish.......Horseshoe 16................126-0-0Dave Pearson..........Horseshoe 12................100-12-0
Alan Harrington.....Horseshoe 3....................72-4-0
Mick Seymour........Old 14..............................71-4-0
Sunday sees us on the "Jolly Boys Outing" to Walters Lake near Swindon which will make a pleasant change from fishing Willinghurst all the time - come back Monday to see how we get on.
