Sunday 16th September - Gloucester Canal Feeder Only Match

On 29th September there is a World Club Feeder only qualifying match on the Gloucester Canal. My Team Nomads did discuss entering but decided not to bother. It is a Team of 5 event and the entry is £80 per Team plus £150 in pools. We decided it was a bit expensive and if you win it the final is in Portugal next year so you would have to fund all the travelling etc yourself. On the bottom of the entry form it stated the team that qualifies on the Glossy would represent England ! Hmmm...so our team is a mix of Norther Irish, Welsh and English, not sure how that works? Don't need an answer as we are not entering.

Diawa Gordon Leagues Mark Treasure is the organiser (and a good job he does to) and is running a couple of practice matches this being the first one. Team mate Chris Hook asked if I fancied going to it and I said yes as there was nothing else on.

The draw was at McDonalds, Bristol Road in Gloucester. I got there quite earlier and found I was the second one to turn up Phil Bendall being the first. A few more drifted in before the final total of 12 attended. Jamie Harrison travelled all the way down from Sheffield, I think it was his first visit to the venue.

Mark simply put 6 pegs in on Hempstead Bend, 45 to 50 and the other 6 below the swing bridge starting from peg 60.
Pay out was £100 to the winner plus 2 sections of £50, one above / one below the bridge.
I drew 60 which I was not at all happy with and knew it would be a section win at the most but that would also be a tall order. Chris was on 63 so had a better chance at the section. There was no way we would compete with the pegs up on the bend.
We were fishing to CIPS International rules and Mark summarised them before the match.

Easy drive, parking and short walk to the peg. It was just on the point where the old bend used to come out before it was straightened. Pleasure anglers were up the old arm but not near the point where I would be casting to.
After taking advice from Shaun Bryan I set up 2 feeder rods set up today one in line with the point where the old arm joined the canal 13 meters or so from the far bank out into open water and another one about 10 meters further up into the arm more. Organiser Mark was on 61 next to me and had 6 set up.

I had a fishmeal mix 50% worm and 50% F1 green plus worms, caster, dead maggots / pinkies as well as live ones.
There was a 10 minute pre baiting period but I didn't over do it. The canal was a pretty dirty colour due to the high tides. I had never really seen it that dirty before.

I started off on the closer line with a red worm and dead red on the hook which was a 14 B520 to 0.13. Casting about every 5 minutes for the first 40 minutes there was no indications. Looking down the line of 6 anglers I had seen nothing caught. It was probably about just past the hour when I had a small rattle on the tip followed by a slight pull around and I picked up the rod just as a few canoes crossed my line. I did feel some resistance so put the tip down under the water to allow the canoes to go by. The fish was still on and I netted a small skimmer about 6 ounces. I think that was the first fish in the section to be caught. Mark managed a couple of eels and then I could see landing nets going out further down periodically.

My tip stayed motionless and after 2 hours or so I gave Chris a call a few pegs down, he had a few small skimmers. Word came down that a few bream where showing up on the bend (as you would expect).

My long line had not produced either so I unclipped the braid and cast as far as I could up into the open water. This produced another small skimmer and I thought I had located them....no I hadn't.
I did manage a better one about 10 ounces but that was it. Mark took a 4 lb bream short with 30 minutes to go and started to get a few bites on the same line but dd not connect.

Jake Fowles on 65 DNW as he tipped back 2 small skimmers. Rob McKenzie on 64 had 2 or 3 bream for 4lb 14oz 8 drams, Chris had around 6 small skimmers for 1lb 14oz, Shaun had 2 bream for 5lb 3oz (which won the section) and Mark had 4lb plus, my 3 skimmers went 1lb 3oz.

Shaun with his 2 bream worth £50

Up on the bend most of them had a few bream with Mark Gaylord winning with 42lb 12oz with Andy Richings close behind him with 41lb 11oz. Andy only caught in the second half of the match and Mark nicked a bream short on his last cast on the worm short without anything in the feeder!!!

No pic of Marks catch but heres one of Andy who go the Section by default.

Both pics from Facebook.

Mark is running another match next Sunday.

Well thats it for a couple of Sundays, next match is the Bristol Commercial House League on the Bristol Avon on 30th Sept, Swineford, Crane and Jack White sections.