Hampton Springs Fishery- Willows 10/07/11

Good turnout for this match with 20 of us hoping for a good match. I had brought 2 pints of casters which was to be my main line of attack. I'd also liquidised a couple of tins of sweetcorn and chopped a tin of meat up for the margins.

Peg 1 (permanent peg 9)

I drew peg 1 (permament peg 9) next to the bridge and it looked a good peg!  I had Sharpy on number two peg for company and Jimmy on peg 20 who was hiding behind a big bush. The golden peg worth another hundred quid was drawn by Big Dave Brown and the form he's been showing this year, it looked in danger of being won.

The little tuft of grass sticking out was my margin swim

I set up two up in the water rigs, one a Preston PB1 to 0.12 line to a size 18's PR36. White Hydro was the elastic. The second was slightly heavier a Preston PB1 again to 0.14 line to a 16's Animal hook. Grey Hydro was the elastic this time. Two more rigs were set up, a margin rig which was a Hillbilly Shady Shallow to 0.15 line to a 14's Animal hook. My final rig was at 13 metres to my right, next to the bridge which was a 0.4 Hillbilly Shindig to 0.16 to a 14s Animal hook. Elastic was Black Hydro.
  On the hooter I was straight on my margin rig. I'd tipped some likky corn in and with a grain of corn on the hook I was hoping for a quick response. I got it, the float straight under and I missed it! Aghh!! Back in again and this time no bite. Sharpy got a decent fish out and lost one as well. I soon decided to try caster up in the water and there was plenty of movement up in the water but I could not get a proper bite. Back down the side I got my first fish a tench. I then tried near the bridge which got me my first carp of about 3 lbs. Back out on the caster I got two carp in two put ins and thought I might have cracked it but it went quiet again. I could see big Dave getting a few and thought he was winning out of the anglers I could see. After four hours I had maybe 20lbs then my margin swim kicked in and I got roughly another 20lbs in the last hour. On the all out I thought I may sneak a place. I tipped 38lb odd on the scales which was good enough for second. Phil Mawdsley who had snapped his pole early on in the match and was forced to fish at five metres won with 43lb odd. He was buzzing! Big Dave who I thought had won it weighed in 33lbs. He got the golden peg curse and lost at least 20lb.
 Thats three second places on the spin for me now and next week at Wrightington Fisheries I'm hoping to go one better.

Gaz

Phil with his winning net