This blog could also be titled ‘How the wheel fell off!’
Met for the draw at the resi carpark at 9:15 and managed to draw peg 35 which was next to where I was last time, as this area isn’t well known for bream it was to be a roach day again. Set up a four metre whip with a small waggler and the pole to fish at 9 metres with a 0.6 gram rig, both rigs had Gamakatsu black size 18 hooks. Also this time I mixed up some Sensas black roach groundbait to feed a small ball every other chuck.
For company I had Alan ‘Picky’ Gage to my left, on the whistle Alan started on the feeder and I started on the whip feeding a small ball of groundbait and maggots, casters and hemp. Had a roach first chuck and a bite a chuck every put in, although the problem was I was bumping/dropping off more than I was putting in the net. After no indications on the feeder Alan was also on the whip after 20 minutes. It was definately slower than last time and after an hour I only had twenty odd fish.
During hours two and three things didn’t really improve and despite changing my hooks to Kamasan B611’s I was still losing more than I was landing. I tried the pole and again although I was hooking a fish every put in very few were making their way into the net. Alan was thirty fish ahead at this stage and I was going nowhere fast. I also hooked rocks (the reservoir is very rocky!) twice and snapped my whip rig both times.
John Coxon (JC) two pegs up had snared three of four bream and I was wishing I’d set up a feeder or waggler. Alan commented how the fish weren’t having it right and I had to agree. After repairing my whip rig for the umpteenth time with two hours to go I actually started to catch ok, the fish would come in spells and I was still a long way behind Alan. Another difference from last time was the lack of quality roach.
With quarter of an hour to go I was looking forward to the whistle when I struck at a bite only for my rig, attachments, everything to be stripped from the whip. I think the rubbers that attached the rig to the whip had come loose. Memo to self – invest in some superglue! After staring blankly at the now rigless whip for five minutes wishing I was somewhere else I spent the last ten minutes on the pole for two more roach.
When Les arrived with the scales he said that the bream had fed and several had been caught with Alan Dunn having ten. My 156 fish (all roach apart from two skimmers and two perch) went 12lb 1oz for absolutely nowhere, Picky had over 200 hundred fish for 15lb odd, JC had added a couple more bream and weighed 28lb plus to win the section.
I got back to the car and as I was packing away my kit other anglers started arriving back, my mate Andy had caught six bream and weighed 31lb+ to win his section and take a £1 off me. Alan Dunn won with 47lb odd and Les Braunton was also among the bream and came second with over 41lbs. The only redeming feature of the day was taking another fiver off my nemesis Janders.
Next week we are either at Curland or Dillington (Dillington, please God I hope it’s Dillington!)
