Gary's day

It was a frosty morning start at Hall Farm but the lake being more than half frozen over was a surprise. Thankfully the high bank was clear to about 10 metres all the way along so we decided to fish. Out of the bag came peg 24 for me, an OK peg but 1 away from peg 26 I really wanted.

With high winds and rain forecast for midday onwards I decided to try the long pole near the edge of the ice sheet in front of me whilst I could. 45 mins later and no sign of a bite it was time to try a small maggot feeder. A couple of casts in, the tip went round and a carp of about 4lbs was in the net. A couple more casts later it went round again with another carp. At this point Tony on 26 started to get bites. 1 more carp followed but, as the ice sheet melted, the fish backed off. Tony though was still catching near the reeds.

Half way through Peter Green popped by and I found out that a few fish were being caught all along the bank with Phil and Rob admitting to 4 carp each. Tony was still catching and I could not get a bite. With the pole packed away before the rain hit it was going to be rod and line only for the second half. Finally, at about 1, I found some fish again and had 4 in quick succession and then they were gone. The last hour was a cold and windy grind with the lake shutting down. A big liner in the last couple of minutes was it for me. I was pretty sure Tony had me beat but the other end of the lake was a mystery.

After a very wet end to the match the whistle was welcome and it had fished a lot better than expected with everyone having at least 3 carp/F1s. 1st Tony Cruci with 41lbs 8oz, 2nd Fred Hunt 39lbs 14oz and 3rd Gary Pickard 30lbs 14oz. Today's picture is a very wet but happy looking Tony.