I let good friend Steve and team mate Chris know that I was going over and they also booked in. Then towards the end of the week Jack Jones messaged me saying he was thinking about booking in as well and after talking to me he did. So 3 more newbies to the venue. I also had another angler contact me asking about the venue for a friend of his so word is getting around about this fantastic deep water venue.
The 3rd storm in as many weeks threatened to put a few off but all 13 who were booked in turned up. It was 1 degree when I left home and hail stones were lying on the windscreen. During the drive over there was a bit of wind in places as well as more hail but it was an improving forecast later in the day.
Draw was in Bro's Cafe as usual and a hearty breakfast was very welcome. Prior to the day the plan was to fish 6 hours but due to the cold etc it was reduced to 5.
Golden peg today was end peg 20 and newcomer Jack drew that, I had already put him right on how far out to fish and I did fancy his chances. Chris and Steve were also on decent pegs toward the end of the line up. I drew 13, not a peg I have had before during the 5 previous visits. Team mate Clive Branson told me it was a great summer peg .... err it's fecken March!!!
Anyway, job to do and 4 pay outs today.
Two bags of Clive's Gold Medal Black Bream mix were already mixed up but I scooped out 5 hand fulls to mix with leam for balling in.
Two feeder rods set up, same as last week, 25 turns and 15. Bait tray dead reds, corn caster, live reds and worm.
It was cold but the wind was manageable.
Ready to ball in, rock to keep the bowl on the box
Right hand side
Left hand side. The other side of the big jetty is where Clive won last week with 53lb, organiser Steve O'Mara was on it today, peg 16
On the whistle I put all the balls in sort of halfway between my 2 lines with a view to fishing just either side of them.
Starting off on the longer line with 3 reds and caster and dead reds in the feeder it took about 30 minutes to get my first knock which I missed, I also missed the next few bites as well. The wind was getting up and straight in my face, bloody cold.
I eventually snared a roach followed by a few more, one or two I didn't see the bite.
Looking left and right no one was catching and then 45 minutes or so in a few landing nets were going out but they were not big fish.
The second hour was a little better and I had a couple of skimmers on the short line, it was still slow either side of me as well. The water wasn't cold but there was a lot of cold water coming in from a few rivers and it was a brackish brown colour which seemed to put the fish off feeding.
I added a few small fish here and there but in the final hour I unclipped and went out a bit further which brought me a few little hybrids and roach on double live reds.
When the all out was called I wasn't sorry as I was shivering with cold and my fingers could barely squeeze the ground bait into the feeder.
I packed up and walked up to see the weigh in. Clive had already weighed by the time I got to the scales and he had weighed 6lb. It appears the whole dock had fished hard, worst I have seen it.
I weighed 7lb 6oz which was enough for 3rd overall, really....
Hard to see the fish but then again there wasn't much in the net anyway.
As I predicted Jack won the match off the end peg which was also the golden peg but with 10lb, Chris managed 4th.
It was good to see Paul Cole picking up 2nd with just over 8lb on the whip after his nightmare last week.
Jack with his wining envelope plus £50 for the golden peg
Full results as follows plus a summary of the match from Steve O'Mara.....
Hi lads, quick report for today's St Davids Day match.
Windy, cold and rain were the main theme of the day. Difficult conditions above the water were not the main factor for the results though. Below the surface, the fish were not playing either. Anglers reporting plenty of liners was evidence of the presence of the fish, but they were reluctant to get their heads down and feed. The water was very coloured, and usually, a good sign that the fish will get amongst the bait, but not today.
Bristol angler Jack Jones won the match on his first-ever visit to the dock. Not only that, he had drawn the golden peg too.
Jack had drawn peg 20 (end peg on the day) and brought 10lb exactly to the scales. A mixed bag of bream, roach and eels made up the catch and was enough for the win and a golden peg cash bag of £50.00 as well as the match.
Second place went to Swansea angler Paul Cole. Fair play to him, he decided to whip fish and also caught a few bream roach and eels, for 8lb 5oz. Paul admitted he was about to leave the match and go home due to the conditions, but glad he stuck to it. Well done Paul.
Third and fourth places also went to Bristol-based anglers.
Ivan Currie with 7lb 6oz and Chris Hook with 6lb 12oz respectively. So well done to the Bristol lads taking 3 of the 4 places on St Davids day...ouch..
Ivan Currie with 7lb 6oz and Chris Hook with 6lb 12oz respectively. So well done to the Bristol lads taking 3 of the 4 places on St Davids day...ouch..
Will try and get out in the week then it's a Team Qualifer Match with Nomads at Evesham next Sunday.
Stay warm all....
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