Sunday 07/08/2011 - Avon Angling Float Only Open - Chiltern Trinity Wild Marsh - Round Five

After an excellent breakfast in the Hill Top Café it was an early arrival at Chiltern Trinity – Wild Marsh. As someone said to me “the organiser needs to get another set of scales or start the match earlier”. I think he should do both!!



I had a walk around the venue putting my scent down on my preferred pegs 40, 39 and any peg from 7 to 15. I just didn’t want any pegs in the sixties. I was keen to get the draw over as I haven’t drawn very well on this venue this year (67, and 59), the keenness was due to the fact I was in the final of the knockout, fishing against Tony R, Dean M and Dick B so I needed some help. I was trying to keep to the first few in the draw queue, however there were plenty of bigger anglers (and some smaller – Tim Ford for example) pushing in. I hovered over the draw container and pounced on a peg 64, bugger – lacking confidence.

I arrived at my peg a beaten pensioner. I spent quite a while coming to terms with seeing Dean on peg 11, Tony peg 12 and Dick on peg 15. Well I had a section still to fish for! I set up just two rigs all to be fished at 11.5 metres and a waggler. The 4x16 Jolly was to be fished at 11 o clock over GB with dead red maggot and at 12o clock over CW&C with worm on the hook. The paste rig was to be fished at 1 o clock over hard 4’s. I started by feeding just two balls of neat GB and a cup of a mix of dead reds, caster and a few chopped up worms. For the paste line I put in a cup of 4;s plus a bit of wetted micro. Starting on small pieces of worm I had a quick run of small Skimmers and Ronnie’s, which soon died once the Eels mover in. I then had a funny spell “bumping” Eels. After I had netted two Eels weighing at least 3 ounces each I gave the GB line a try with double dead red which resulted “I can’t be bothered to fish for tiny Ronnie. Out went the waggler with triple dead red whilst I fed hard 4’s over the top (no balling it today). The upshot was that I tried the waggler a number of times – once whilst I was having a Mesha delivered coffee, the other time when we had to endure a thunder storm, all to no avail. With three hours to go switched to the paste line and did have some indications, which I thought might be small fish, but am not sure now, so gave the worm line a go which produced nought. I decided to spend the last two hours on the paste and feeding micro and hard 4’s with the paste through the kinder pot. I was amazed when I had a bite and landed a 4lb frisky Common Carp. This was followed quickly followed by three more to 6lb. The swim went iffy losing two foul hookers; I did then hook and play to the landing net a Mirror Carp which I estimated to be 15 lb. However, my impatience got the better of my and forced the hook out of its mouth. Bugger! That was the end of the Carp, However, I did had two 3lb Bream on the same bait and line, bumping one on the whistle – how they mess with the bait. I knew I had beaten Dick but with Tony of 40 lb and Dean on 29 lb I was anticipating picking up third in the knockout. I was surprised when my Silvers weighed in at 10lb 12oz and my Carp 23lb for a total of 33lb 12oz. I was amazed to fond that this put me fourth in the Silvers, second in the knockout, second overall and a section win. Certainly would have settled for that off the scented pegs!

The match was won by Tony Rixon (pictured upper right with his Japanese sniper grin) with 45lb 3oz from peg 12. Tony caught on… see his blog.

The Silvers was won once again by Nick Collins(pictured right) with 14lb 14oz from un-fancied peg (by me) 57. Nick caught on worm heads fished over GB laced with CW&C.

It was amusing to find Trigger  (see pictured lower right) in the water up his knees trying to release a very stuck seat box. It took two of them to release it from the red clay.

Full Result:

1.      Tony Rixon 45-03-0 peg 12
2.      Mike Nicholls 33-12-0 peg 64
3.      Martin Pettifer 32-08-0 peg 9
4.      Gary Etheridge 29-11-0 peg 42
5.      Dean Malin 29-08-0 peg 11
6.      Scott Puddy 26-04-0 peg 7

Top Silvers:

1.      Nicky Collins 14-14-0 peg 57
2.      Steve Segar 13-2-0 peg 46
3.      Matt Tomes 12-04-0 peg 29
4.      Mike Nicholls 10-12-0 peg 64