Welcome to my fishing blog… November 2023
19th November – Alcove Winter League – Billy Blogger And The Mysterious Missing Fish
No, it’s not a variation on a theme for the next Harry Potter book but it could be the title of my next book…
So, last Sunday I fished the first of a series of 6 Winter League matches, run by Alcove Angling Club. Of the 6 matches, your top 5 results only will count, which is just as well because, for me, this one was a bottom-drawer performance. The really strange thing is… it should have been right up there and technically, I should have taken my rightful place on the podium. So what went wrong? The weather? No, it was blustery and wet for everyone. The peg? No, it was arguably one of the best pegs on the lake. Bad angling? Possibly, but I fished this peg in exactly the same way I have done in the past when I have had some really good results. Hmmm. A mystery for sure.
There are 11 anglers booked into the WL series, with 2 choosing the miss the first match. Other anglers joined us to fish the match only and not compete in the WL… still with me? Good! Before the draw, I said I would be happy with any peg on Margaret’s Lake that had an island chuck but I would prefer my favourite peg… peg 17. The lake gods heard my plea and gave it to me. Of course, I legged it to my peg in a jubilant mood and eagerly set up my stall. A maggle feeder for the chub who patrol the island, a margin pole setup for my left-hand edge and a top kit plus 2 for out in front. The wind made it impossible to go out any further.
On the all-in, I kicked off with the maggle feeder to the island, as usual, and waited for those big chub to move in. 20 minutes later and all I had was a small roach. I gave it another hour and 10 minutes but there was not a single chub interested, not even the little ones! I changed to a groundbait feeder and gave that 15 minutes… nothing. So, I changed to a method feeder and gave that 15 minutes… nothing. Well, worryingly, time was flying by and my catch rate was virtually non-existent. It was time to try the edge line with corn. I had already baited with micros and corn so I was expecting an instant response… it was not to be.
Now it was time to try the short line out in front. I had previously dropped in a small ball of groundbait laced with dead pinkles so hopefully something was sitting there waiting for more. I baited my size 20 Guru hook with a single red maggle and tried my best to lower it in as carefully as I could. The strong, gusty wind made presentation quite difficult and the lake was towing hard from left to right. So, I added a few more inches to the depth to compensate and tweaked the shotting pattern until I was happy with the presentation. I didn’t have to wait too long before I was into a nice roach of about 8 ounces. This was followed by a few missed bites and another roach of about 4 ounces.
I continued on this line for a little while catching micro perch and a few small roach but I could see Kev Murch over on the far side, land a succession of carp. So here I was struggling to put a few ounces in the net while all the time getting hammered by other anglers who were catching carp. Well, with only 2 hours left, I had to do something, anything, to try and catch a carp. I picked up the feeder rod again, baited up the method feeder rig and went to cast out toward the island. The wind caught it and I ended up getting tangled in a tree behind me. I’ve never done that before. I ended up breaking the tangled line with a weed-cutting blade attached to my landing net. So, I tackled up again. This time with a maggle feeder.
As I went to cast out the wind caught this one too and I ended up in the same predicament. FFS! The feeder was obviously too light so I tackled up again and put a heavier feeder on. This time I cast out toward the island and with the wind gusting at 50 MPH, I got caught up on an overhanging tree branch, which wasn’t a problem before. The heavier feeder had obviously put me out just a tad too far and now I was about to lose that one too. It was all going so terribly well… (Apologies to anyone within earshot for my colourful expletives!). With the feeder rod now cast aside, I decided to focus on the left-hand margin with corn and soft pellet. I desperately needed a carp but if there had been one in the swim I would have surely noticed the signs.
Well, there was nothing on that line so with just 30 minutes of the match remaining, I went back onto the short pole line and caught a couple more small roach before the all-out shout went out! I knew only too well that I had crashed and burned today and the only consolation was knowing that there were 5 more matches to go. However, the pressure is really on now to do well in all of them. I finished up with just 2lb 3oz and 8 points. In this league, points do NOT make prizes and the more you have the further down the list you are. Well done to Pete Watkins for putting an amazing total of 73-12-0 on the scales and to Kev Murch who was second with 53-10-0. These are better than some of the summer weights we have had. Anyway, a disastrous start for me with it all to do on the next one, which is on Georges Lake in a couple of weeks’ time.
Having had such a bad day, I decided to enlist for the Silvers Open at Bitterwell Lake again on the following Tuesday. I had only caught about 3lb here the previous week and the match was won with just 7lb. So, surely it could only get better right? Wrong! Of the 22 anglers that fished, 10 of them, including myself… Did Not Weigh! I had about 8 ounces, which consisted of 6 small roach and perch, all caught on a single pinkle. The pits! If I wasn’t feeling depressed enough after the Sunday match, I was now left feeling suicidal. But then I remembered… it’s just a game… a fun pastime… better than a good day at work… and all that cobblers. Yeah right!
Well, this coming Sunday (26th), I’ll be on the river Avon at Chippenham and with no more rain forecast, it should be… well, we’ll see. Dare I say it? Oh alright… I’m really looking forward to it. Keep you posted! 🙂
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November 2023
12th – RBL Poppy Appeal Open, River Avon
19th – Alcove Winter League #1, Margarets Lake
26th – River Avon, Riverside Dr, Chippenham
December 2023
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