Thursday 09/10/2014 - Bathampton AA Over 55's and Disabled - Bridge Pool

With Bathampton lifting the keepnet ban the Coffin Dodgers matches were back on. So for only the fifth time this year I decided to pay a visit. I couldn’t help noticing how much of the Bankside brambles and vegetation has been decimated by clearing parties. I couldn’t help thinking about the stick Dave Wride got for knocking a few down to get his pole back behind him?

I thought I would try the new “Grafters” Café in Warmley. What I did enjoy was the DVD of Faulty Towers playing on their large TV – timeless.

We had a new Coffin Dodger attend today, another River and Canal Legend – Jim Norris (pictured right looking the same as he did twenty years ago). First time Jims had been fishing for 16 years! Jim use to fish hemp and tares on the Rotork length of the Rover Avon circa 1976/78. I worked at Rotork back then and would sit behind him during lunch (and for a bit longer some days).

I have been having problems with my knees and hips and can’t keep them bent for too long instead having to regularly push then out in front dangling over the pallet or to the sides. The problem at Huntstrete is that drawing a disabled peg would restrict any movement in this respect. So I asked organiser Mike Jones if I could draw from the able pegs. This was agreed. Into the draw bag and out comes peg 31. Not a peg I would have chosen, that said the pegs in the thirties seem to be my second home these days. unfortunate the strong wind was blowing straight in at me plus this peg would not see any sun all day. I did have enough clothes with me today so I was never going to be cold.

Jim Norris drew end peg 33 so I was fairly confident the CD’s tradition of letting new comers win would be broken today – and it was with a DNW!

Although peg 31 does throw up some Skimmers from time to time it’s not a noted Silvers peg. That said that what I decided to target. So I set up my Ronnie rig and a 4x16 Jolly to fish at five metres.

I started on the Jolly with semi hards on the hook potting a few micros and 4’s over the top. It was a fish a put in albeit 2-3 oz Ronnie’s with the very rare 3oz Skimmer. Fish at 5 metres was too slow to build a framing weight with theses fish so I tries the Ronnie rig with Cater over caster but only added one decent Perch and a couple of Ronnie’s. I did however, foul hook four Carp in the process which explained why I couldn’t catch close in. I stayed on the 5 metre line hoping the Ronnie’s might slow down allowing a few better Skimmers to get to the hook bait first. With two hours to go I had 9lb 8oz – 2lbish an hour not good enough for coin I thought. So I decided to have a go for the Carp. No paste, so I soaked up a few 11’s I had in the bag whilst that was happening I set up a 0.15 Silverfox PC float with a 16 hook. I started on worm and found it being sucked to death by small Perch. I kept trying the 11mm pellet but wasn’t soaked enough to stay on the hook. It wasn’t until and last hour that I could get the pellet to stay on the hook. It was then smack down time taking four Carp breaking on a fifth after playing it for a long boring time, in fact I think I bullies it a bit too much – bad angling me thinks.

Today I made the right choice – in the end - as my four Carp weighed 51lb 6oz which with my Silvers took me to second overall with 60lb 14oz with that period on bad angling costing me top spot.

The match was won by “Gentleman” Dave Bacon (pictured right with the Silvers winner) with 62lb from peg 19. Dave caught on the method feeder.

The Silvers was won by Alan Jones with 23lb 2oz from peg 24. Alan started on CW&C but was pestered by Roach and it wasn’t until he introduced some pre-packed GB containing Pinkies that Alan started to catch decent Skimmers on piece of worm!! Alan pictured lower right with his bag of GB. Who knows what happens in the depths.

Full Result:

1. Dave Bacon 62-0-0 peg 19
2. Mike Nicholls 60-14-0 peg 31
3. Paul Haines 45-06-0 peg 15
4. Alan Jones 37-05-0 peg 24
5. John Fry 35-10-0 peg 1
6. John Smith 34-07-0 peg 16 

Top Silvers:

1. Alan Jones 23-02-0 peg 24
2. Ray Bazeley 22-06-0 peg 14
3. John Barker 15-04-0 peg 30