Phil's day

The Weds club fished its first of the winter league matches at the Malcolm Barker Lake, I drew peg 28. Used to be a good peg but of late not produced any weights. The good thing is its only 30 meters from the car park. Got to my peg and decided within a few minutes how I was going to fish. Made 2 pole rigs; one very light lines and hook and the other with medium to heavy line and hook for a carp or two and a float rod in prep for pinging out mags. Started off on the wag float but it's a lot of work with no result stuck with it for nearly 20 mins then up the bank it went and I left it there for the rest of the day. Went on to my lightweight pole rig and fished out at 8 secs of pole feeding small amounts of groundbait and a bit of corn mixed with hemp and maggots. It had taken a hour to get a few very small roach and rudd but I carried on with the same line. By midday I got my first decent fish, a tench of about 1 1/2lb then picked up a couple of perch then back to roach and rudd but couldn't keep them coming. Then out the blue got another tench this one about 3lbs. It was touch and go to land it as I was on very light elastic but in the net it went. Back to catching small stuff again and not in any great numbers. Got to about 3pm and presto another tench this as was good as the last one and put up equal fight to the last, match ended at 3.30.

I weighed in with 8lbs 2oz and came 1st, 2nd was Barry Cornel 8lbs 1oz, 3rd Fred Hunt with 4lbs 12oz and 4th Terry Moranda with 4lbs 11oz.