Medway match – Barming down
After our quick session yesterday, we woke up to a grey morning with fairly heavy rain. As we arrived for the draw at 8am, the rain was starting to ease off a bit, but am sure it had put a few people off as only 10 had turned up.
Ryan drew peg 9, which was just before the bend, under the trees. It could be a little awkward for Ryan, as it was a 5ft drop from the bank to the water.
The Set-up
For the tip, we set up my old Daiwa 11ft quiver rod, 4lb mainline, a 20g small cage feeder, and 3lb 10 inch hooklink to a size 16 Kamasan B911. The pole was set up as top 2+3 to reach out just past the few lilies and weed. A 0.6g gimp float, 0.13 rig line, 6″ 0.10 hooklink to a size 18 red maggot hook.
The All-In
As the whistle went at 09:30, Ryan balled in 3 cups of groundbait to the pole line, just as the rain had stopped and the sun started to come out. Then casting out the feeder 10ft short of the far bank 3 times to get some feed down. Then baited the feeder up with 2 red maggots, and cast out to start fishing. After about 40 mins of only having a few small knocks on the feeder, he decided to go on to the pole.
The first put in produced a small roach, followed by a couple of dace. It looked like this would be the way to fish, as there were no signs of any bream near by. He continued to pull out small roach, dace, bleak and the odd perch for about 2 hours before it went very quiet. Then while he was bringing in the first fish in about 20 mins, a small dace/bleak, a large splash and the elastic shooting out explained why they had gone quiet, as a pike had turned up. After loosing the small fish to the pike, he went back on the feeder, but this time with half a worm.
There was just nothing out there, and hoping that the pike had disappeared, he went back on the pole. It wasn’t long before he was catching again, but it seemed to fish well for about 40mins, and would then go quiet for another 15mins.
It was now just before 3pm, and only just over half an hour to go, when Ryan caught his very first eel. It was around 1lb, and put a good little fight. This is where I made a bit of a novice mistake by throwing it back, as I didn’t think that eels counted in matches. As he moved over to the left to avoid any more eels, he had a couple of small bream which should help boost up the overall weight a bit, but a shame they didn’t turn up earlier.
3:30pm and the whistle goes to end the match. Having caught around 40 fish, although they were only small, Ryan really enjoyed his first river match, as he says “you just don’t know what you are going to catch next”
Result
As it turned out, I cost him 2 places by putting the eel back. Sorry Ryan, I know for next time.
Report by Mick:
Where did the bream go?
After the midweek Bream catches, they went into hiding so it was a matter of how long anglers waiting for them before targeting the smaller fish.
For the ten anglers it started off very wet and then cleared up but the wind made it difficult to fish at distance on waggler or pole.
Guy Usmar stuck to what he knows best and and won from peg 4 with a 7lb 11oz bag consisting of mainly Roach on the pole.
Second, third and fourth were very tight indeed with Mick Wright weighing in 4lb 11oz to pip me by 1/2oz (and I found a perch left in my net after the scales had left! ;). Young Ryan Kennison continued his fine run of catches with 4lb 10oz..
Full result:
Guy Usmar 7lb 11oz (12 points) £20
Mick Wright 4lb 11oz (11) £15
Mick Roberts 4lb 10oz 8 dr (10) £10
Ryan Kennison 4lb 10oz (Junior 12 points)
Tom Holloway 3lb 5oz (9)
Lou Buells 3lb 2oz (8)
Jim Randell 2lb 15oz (7)
Steve Giles 2lb 7oz (6)
Dave Bertram 1lb 0oz (5)
Terry Jarvis 3oz 12dr (4)