After last weeks fantastic days fishing I was hoping for more of the same and when I drew peg 17, which has been fishing quite well, I thought I might get a few. The river was painfully low and clear and you could see the bottom across much of my swim, there was one deeper spot, tight across to some overhanging brambles and this is where they have been catching the fish.
I set up a Drennan 1.5 gram Carbo with 0.12 mm bottom and size 18 Kamazan B611, the match didn’t start well when I lost a rig on my second put in and it got steadily worse from then on! With caster on the hook I was getting minnowed out, so a change to half a lobbie saw me get my first proper bite and a half ounce perch was the result! A second perch of around 4oz was more welcome but I was really struggling.
Knowing the swim held chub I kept feeding hemp and caster in the hope that they would feed at some stage. Roger Russell wandered down from peg 15 where he was also struggling and said that Barney Crockett in the Tank Traps (peg 14) was getting a few and admitting to three or four pound. With several pegs in at Isle Brewers and AshfordI knew I was doomed and in danger of losing another pound to Janders who had drawn a good peg.
With an hour to go and the light fading I had a proper bite on double caster and landed a chub of a pound and a quarter, they’ve arrived I thought, but no and I remained biteless to the end of the match. Barney weighed 7lb 15oz to win the section, Roger also snared a late chub to weigh 2lb 12oz, my two perch, one chub and a minnow went 1lb 15oz for last in the section. I would definately have to drop this one!
Big Frank Woodard won from the peg I had last week with 14lb 15oz and Justin Charles was second from the peg I had the week before with 11lb 11oz (I draw some crap pegs don’t I?) and my nemesis Janders took a pound off me with 8lb 14oz from peg 85 at Ashford (I haven’t drawn that one yet).
Next week is round two of the V.E.S. league so we’ll have to see if I can get back on track then.
