I picked Janders up and off we went, there was a good turnout of 18, I pulled out peg 13 which is where Pete gave me a battering a few weeks back so it’s a fairly good area. Would today be the day I finally ended my Longs jinx? I set up the usual Carpa 2 for my main skimmer line at 10 metres, I also set up a lighter Colmic Jolly to give me another option and also a Trabucco dibber for across at 16 metres and also down the left hand margin. I had Glyn Wickham on my right (where I was when Pete battered me!), a blank peg to my left and then Roger Russell.
The whistle went and I cupped in some micros at 10 metres before depositing the same plus some corn by the island and down the margin. I started down the track at 10 metres with a 4mm expander on the hook. It took a little while to get my first bite which I promptly missed!, I then started getting some very small skimmers and had five plus two lovely little crucians in the first hour and was hoping for better things in the second hour. Glyn had caught a couple of carp across but nobody was flying away with it at this early stage.
The second hour was better and I had some better skimmers and a couple of carp to put me on 14 fish. Glyn had some more carp and was pulling away from me, Roger seemed to be struggling and nobody else I could see was catching much. I was feeding my main line with micros through a toss pot and I was also flicking some corn down the edge. The third hour was even better still and I had some good skimmers with most of them flying out of the water on the strike (why do they do that?), I also had a gorgeous little golden tench and another crucian plus a small roach to put me on 23 fish.
Glyn now had around a dozen carp plus he was catching silvers to go with them and I couldn’t see me catching him so stuck to catching silvers as Pete was paying the top four plus two in the silvers. The fourth hour saw me add more skimmers and three tench (green ones this time) around 12oz-1lb each and my silvers net was coming along nicely. I also added another small carp. There were loads of carp moving in the margins where I had been feeding corn and I couldn’t resist having a go. I cupped in half a cup of micros at 10 metres before baiting up with corn and going in the margin. I didn’t have to wait long and was soon playing a small carp, the black hydro did it’s job and I netted a carp around the 1lb mark, could I be about to stage a comeback?
The answer was a resounding no when the next carp did me in the reeds and so did the one after that, I did catch a small roach on corn and another carp around the 3lb mark to put me on five carp. I then hooked a decent fish which I had in open water and was under control when it went under my keepnet and my hooklength parted – schoolboy error! Glyn was now catching a carp a bung on paste and looking to be on for a big weight. He also had several nice tench as well and I made a mental note to myself that I really must learn how to fish the paste! I went back over my skimmer line and in the back of my mind I kept thinking that I’d wasted an hour in the margins and it could cost me in the silvers.
Scotty turned up and was sat with Roger, he’d fished yesterday and was having a rest day as he’s off to Larford tomorrow for a five day festival. I had a couple of roach before catching another skimmer and a crucian (I never tire of catching them), Scotty came over and my swim was really fizzing and I had a bit of a purple patch catching another skimmer and three more carp. I even hooked a carp just before the whistle and landed it just after to end with 9 carp and 37 silvers, I had no clue what weight I had but I was hoping it would be enough to sneak in the silvers and end the Longs jinx!
Scotty reckoned I should have dotted my float down more as I had loads of indications that I didn’t hit and he also said I’d have caught more late on with paste, so although I’d done better than previous visits there’s still much room for improvement. The scales soon arrived and I had a quick look at the weigh board, Alvin had 38lb odd and that included 18lb of silvers and I didn’t think I had that. There were also 15lb and 13lb weights of silvers. The chap next to Glyn (Eric Fouracre I think) had also had a good spell late on and weighed 50lb!, Glyn had over 19lb of silvers and 48lb of carp to give him over 68lb. My carp went 16lb+ and my silvers went 17lb+ to give me a 33lb 10oz total. Another battering off the next peg!, also I was a 1lb shy of Alvins silvers weight and if he framed in the silvers I’d be kicking myself for that hour down the edge.
Roger didn’t weigh and I took my kit back to the car so didn’t see the rest of the weights. Back at the results and Glyn won followed by Eric, then there was a 46lb weight and Alvin finished fourth. Mark Leahy had won the silvers with an excellent 26lb odd, so did that mean I’d sneaked in? Nope, another Wickham had 20lb and I really should have been close to that, oh well, that’s my best weight on Longs so far so I’m heading in the right direction. If I hadn’t spent that hour down the edge I reckon I’d have been close to second in the silvers. And why didn’t I try the lighter Colmic rig? I did have a £1 off Janders who had 8lb something but gave it straight to Alvin.
1 – Glyn Wickham – 68lb+
2 – Eric Fouracre (Mosella) – 50lb
3 – 46lb
4 – Alvin Jones (Paul Church Motors) – 38lb+
Silvers
1 – Mark Leahy (Street) – 26lb
2 – Another Wickham – 20lb
I really enjoyed the days fishing but there’s so much to learn on commercials and I’m slowly getting there. Next up is an evening match at Dillington so let’s see if I can get back to winning ways then.
Oh, and the Long’s jinx carries on!
