With the river once again bank high I got to the pub expecting the match to be switched to Dillington but was pleasantly suprised to find we would be fishing the canal. Now I absolutely love the place but just can’t seem to pick up any dosh, in fact I hadn’t framed here since I was a junior! I really wanted to draw peg seven where I was last time but instead drew peg four which was roughly in the middle of the stretch.
We got there and it looked really nice and was quite coloured although whereas last time leaves were a real problem, this time it looked like strong winds were to be the menace. My peg had some reeds at about 10 metres where I intended to feed chopped worm and I would also fish a line down the middle. I set up a 0.4 gram Drennan Carp float with 0.12 mm bottom and size 18 B611 to fish this line and a light Drennan Squatt float with 0.08mm bottom and size 2o B511 to fish down the middle.
On the whistle I fed some chopped worm with casters, hemp and maggots at 10 metres, I also fed some casters and hemp at an angle to my left, also at 10 metres. I started off down the middle with single red maggot on the hook. It soon became apparent how much of a problem the wind would be as I was struggling to hold 5 metres! After five minutes I had my first fish, a roach of about three ounces, followed by a couple of small perch. I set my sights on around 50 fish (10 per hour) as last time I had 23 for 3lb 5oz and 6lb odd won the match.
After half an hour I was itching to go across so baited up with single caster and went across doing my best to battle the wind. It was really hard work but I soon started catching some good roach and also had a perch around half a pound. From what I could see most people were catching odd fish. I did lose a fish which I think may have been a small carp but by the end of the first hour I had reached my target of ten fish. The second hour was much the same although I only had eight fish. I shouted down to Digger on my right who said he’d had 30 fish although I think they were smaller fish.
Hour three and things were slowing up, I was getting most of the roach on the drop and I also added a small skimmer, then there was a thunderous ‘CRACK’ and I looked up and Neil Dring on my left was holding his pole and looking very sad, the wind had whacked his pole against his pole roller and snapped it in two! I was by now having to search different areas of the peg to catch the odd fish. I did catch one roach down the middle on caster and by adding another section and going over at 11 metres just past the reeds I kept adding the odd roach.
Digger had now lost all his rigs due to the wind blowing them into the far bank vegetation and was now fishing the whip. Robin Cox walked down from peg seven and reported he’d caught a nice skimmer and some roach but was now struggling for bites. I was still getting the odd roach but the wind was a real nightmare and I was quite relieved when the whistle for the all out sounded. As for my target I had come up short with 36 fish, I still reckoned I had between 4 and 5lb which should be quite good on the day.
We packed up and went to watch the weigh in which started on peg seven with Justin Charles, I was quite suprised when he only weighed in 2lb 6oz, Graham Field next to him had 2lb 1oz and Digger weighed a level 1lb. My fish went 7lb exactly and Digger reckoned I would win with that and when Robin reported he was top weight in the other section with 3lb 4oz I was well chuffed. My first win on the canal as a senior and my first victory of the year, I also took another pound off Janders who was third with 2lb 14oz (that’s seven on the trot now John!).
It’s also tightened the league up, after dropping the two worst results Janders is still leading with six points followed by me on seven and Graham on eight.
1 – Jamie Rich – 7lb
2 – Robin Cox – 3lb 4oz
3 – John ‘Janders’ Anderson – 2lb 14oz
Well next week is round five of the V.E.S. Precision league and I really need a good section result as I’m currently lying second in this one as well and in between I’ve got a trip to Amsterdam with my mate Andy which should be good.
