Furnace Small Lake - Sunday 3rd January 2010
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Sorry about the lack of reports lately but with the weather being like it has since before Xmas, even as a hardened year round "Go fishing in all weathers" match angler I haven't really had the enthusiasm to go out and spend ages breaking ice for just a few bites.
Last Sunday was one exception where after what seemed like weeks with no matches, I booked in on a match being run by Gedge Cooper. Now I've known Gedge for probably 40 years, since I first started fishing the Surrey Division of the Angling Times Winter League and whilst he is probably one of the funniest of my fishing mates, I've never really thought of him as the Match Organising type. Anyway it turned out that he hadn't actually booked the lake, had no scales, pegs, draw numbers or weigh sheets ! His excuse was that he'd just arranged a little knock up between 4 or 5 mates and wasn't expecting it to turn into a "Proper" Match !
When Plummers picked me up on Sunday morning it actually felt quite mild (compared to what it had been) and arriving at Furnace Lake - having been mugged again by the "Little Thief" (2 breakfasts and a small bottle of drink for only £20.70 - What a bargain !) part of the lake wasn't even frozen. It was funny though to see that 4 "Bivvy Boys" had been night fishing on the lake, had obviously cast out at night then retreated to their bivvy beds, only to wake up in the morning to find that their pegs were frozen solid !
With 11 of us fishing we just spread the pegs out round the lake, avoiding the section where the night fishermen had been as they had apparently thrown in a bucket of GB each - just what you need when the temperature is minus 5 at night ! Plummers once again drew another ice free peg whilst I drew Peg 5 in the shaded far end of the lake where the ice was thickest.
To cut a long story short I was bloody freezing sat in the shade as it was actually a glorious sunny day and most of those in the sunshine had a few bites whilst me, Mick the Bookie and Bubbs sat in shady corner biteless and very very cold. After a couple of walks just to get my circualtion going I finally had my first bite, resulting in a 10 ounce skimmer. Two more followed at 20 minute intervals before I had another hour without a bite. With an hour to go I was just thinking about packing up when the float disappeared again and I lifted into something that felt like a bigger bream or tench. I shipped back slowly to the top 3 and with the fish under my feet, just started to lift slowly in an effort to coax the fish into the net. Unfortunately the fish stayed where it was on the bottom and as I lifted more elastic came out before the fish decided that it was a bit bored and would swim off under the ice. As there is not a lot you can do with a number 4 latex in an iced up swim, I just added a couple of sections and hung on for dear life, expecting something to break any minute - either the rig, elastic or pole !
Fortunately with the water being so cold, the so far unseen fish just plodded about and with a bit of patience, I finally had him in the net - A great big mirror carp that looked to be 12lb+. However, this was a "Silvers match" with carp only counting 1lb so I quickly unhooked it and slid it back in the water. Whilst it was frustrating that I would have finished second if it had counted, it wasn't as bad as my only other match on the lake a few weeks ago where carp didn't count at all and I had 5 for about 45lb !
Whilst I fished on right to the end, I had no more signs in the peg and was pleased to hear the final whistle as I was shivering and shaking in the final 15 minutes.
I appear to have lost the results sheet but from memory it went something like this:-
Tony Kent.......................Peg 2...................24lb
Gedge Cooper.................Peg 1...................13-5-0
Chris Love.......................Peg 8..................13-5-0
Mick Keeper...................Peg 10.................5-8-0
Ben (whose surname I always forget)....Peg 9.....5--0-0
Plummers........................Peg 11................3-8-0
Dave Bacon.....................Peg 3..................2-12-0
Dave Pearson.................Peg 5....2-8-0 (including GREAT BIG Carp)
Bubbs...........................Peg 7.....DNW (Had a skimmer and a roach)
Mick the Bookie.........Peg 6........DNW (No suprise there then) !!!!!
This Sunday I have bottled out of going fishing as the weather forecast says freezing cold, more snow and 20 MPH winds, and as the Wildlife centre is struggling for people to complete their shifts, I am going to pop in there and help out feeding the Hedgehogs and other assorted Wildlife that has been brought in.
If you are brave / silly enough to venture out fishing in this weather be very very careful, there will be loads more days you can fish in the future so don't take any unnecessary risks now.
