Gary's day

After a very wet week Sunday was a break in the weather with sunshine and little wind for most of the day over at Beggars Hall. The draw bag was not kind to me and peg 19 was not where I wanted to be with the island area fishing much better recently.

With lots of water to go at but the only features being down the edge the pole stayed in the bag as I could not see any carp coming in close. So feeder and bomb it was. I fed a long swim with a bit of groundbait and dead maggots to start and then it was a few casts around with bomb and bread to try find a carp. An hour in I had had no signs despite seeing the odd bubble and fish topping - but not in my peg. Everyone else down our end was having a slow start too.

Rob on 18 then had a carp on the feeder and another one not long after. At long last I had a sign on my long line fishing a bit of worm and a small roach was in the net. The blank was saved. A few minutes later the tip moved again and this was no roach but probably the angriest 4lb mirror in the lake. That was it though for the long line; a few more small signs likely from small fish but no more bites.

I had been firing a few bits of corn to the right from the off so it was time to try this again as the match was half way through. A slow pull round on the tip had me lift into something slow and plodding. The culprit soon revealed itself when a 3lb bream went into the net. You guessed that was my only bite from here too.

In the meantime, Rob on peg 18 was still catching including on the pole near a big reed bed. John on 20 was fishless as was Phil on 5 and Tony on 17 and Fred on 16 were looking quiet too.

Another small carp obliged about 1.30 taking a wafter on a hybrid feeder in front of me where I had been casting on and off all day. No signs until the tip went round. And that was it apart from an outrageous liner with 30 seconds to go trying down the edge again. At the weigh in my fish went a little more than I thought. Rob looked like he had been emptying it but had fewer fish than I thought. Phil had also snuck in a carp in the dying minutes. Mark on peg 10 was the unknown.

In a tight finish Rob's better quality fish just pipped Mark: 1st Rob Calderon 41lbs 11oz, 2nd Mark Halverson 38lbs 6oz and 3rd Gary Pickard 13lbs 4oz.

Pic today is Rob playing a good carp - they must have been confused thinking it was summer to come into pole range.