We had a squad meeting about 10 days before the match and due to the drop in temperatures we decided that bloodworm and joker would be a good idea. I volunteered to source it again and placed an order with Taffy up in Bolton. We have had it off him before and its very good.
It arrived Friday morning so I unpacked it right away and gave it all a good spray with cold water and left in in the paper on the garage floor. Prior to match day it was sprayed twice a day.
My rig and hook prep was done a week ago so no last minute rushing.
Team today was:
Chris Hook
Leigh Wakefield
Rich Whitmarsh
Mike Withey
Jeff Sibley
Me
Mike was also in the final of the knock-out against Vince Lunn.
We already knew what sections were being put in as it was posted on Facebook the evening before...and as follows (sorry about the shadow but I didn't take the photo).
Prior to the draw there was much debate about the sections and what would be the favoured peg number to draw, we decided that 1 would be a good one.
Chris went up to do the team draw and .... came back with 1.
My enthusiasm deteriorated a bit when I saw that I was in F section aka Meadow Farm. Never done any good in this section and the upstream side of the bridge usually fishes better that the other side, which I would be on. Anyway, job to do so off I went.
I parked at the top of Bathampton Lane to walk down, I wouldn't be pushing the barrow back up the steep hill, instead the gear would be left at the bottom and I would drive down with the van to pick it up.
Only 3 of us on the shitty side of the bridge, Nigel Wyatt, Ben Rendall and me.
The peg to be fair looked OK and it was quite mild so perhaps I would be surprised.
2 identical 4 x 14 rigs for the track although one had a 20 hook and the other a 18 both with 4 elastic.
1 4 x 12 for actors with 7 sections to fish the bottom of the far shelf, 20 hook with 3 elastic.
1 0.4 gram choppy float with a wide gape strong 18 for fishing up on the shelf for perch, 5 elastic.
I fed 2 balls of bread down the track to my left at the start and fished a 6mm punch over the top. 15 minutes went by and just little blips on the float, not going under as I would expect. I did give it another 15 minutes but felt it was a lost cause. Prior to fishing this line I had fed choppy and cast up on the shelf at two points and a ball of joker on the 7 section line straight in front.
An early look on the left hand shelf line with maggot did produce a couple of quick bites but I fail to connect. I think I hit the bite too early manly due to a boat coming up. After it went past I put a bit more choppy in.
Going across at the bottom of the shelf with double bloodworm finally gave me a fish which was about 0.5 ounces! Another one followed about the same size, oh dear!
Ben shouted down and asked how I was doing, not very well was the reply, he had about 9 small fish at this stage.
The first hour is normally the best on the canal but it just wasn't happening and I feared the worst.
It got a bit better after 2 hours as I just got my head down and fished the bloodworm over regular top ups of joker in team. I did have a couple of 2 oz fish but in the main it was 4 to the ounce, riveting ...not.
The track produced little or nothing and it was too long to wait for a bite.
With and hour and a half to go I finally snared a decent net fish on the worm right across. I thought at first it was a perch, then a hybrid but no, it was a good roach. Soon afterwards I had a small perch on the same line but that was it.
I just stuck it out the rest of the match on the B & J line.
Darren Gillman came up with the scales to weigh me in first.
The scales registered 2lb 8.5 ozs. Here's two photos to get some idea of the size of fish in my peg.
Ben weighed in next and beat me by a few ounces but he was in A Div anyway.
Here's how the whole of F Section fished .....
Geraint who had the 7lb only really caught in the first hour but had 3 nice big skimmers.
Still, won my section and maximum 3 points, job done.
Back at the pub and there was a mixed team result but we did manage 3 section wins from 6.
Team sheet below.......
It was enough to win our Division by 8 points so a good effort from all the team over the 6 matches.
Here are the section winning weights some by default...
Sect A Div B Div
A 9-15 11-13 Rich
B 10-6 10-3 Jeff
C 4-4 11-8
D 6-9 4-12
E 2-3 0-13.5
F 7-0 2-8.5 Me
Some good weights as expected from the Town area and Rich just missed out on framing with his 11lb odd.
Mike didn't manage to beat Vince in the Knock-Out but he done well getting through to the final.
Match winner Nicky Johns with a magnificent 23lbs from the Long Pond.
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