Category: Shiplate

Our NHS hero Dave Colley gave us all a lesson in how to trounce the opposition. Today Mr Colley decided to take no prisoners and to go all out for victory. Fishing from peg 10 Dave fished feeder with pellet to the island which is where he took the vast majority of his impressive catch from. Although he did take 5 carp from the margins on pole and corn. Rob Dodd who fished the peg next to him told some of us that he had to keep reminding Dave that he had a bite. I could not quite read in to that but perhaps because Dave was catching so many fish that at one stage he became tired out and kept nodding of. When I talked to the owner afterwards, he asked me how the match went, When I told him the winning weight was 158lb from peg 10 he was very impressed indeed. So it is hats off to Dave Colley and very well done indeed.

Fishing from peg 14B Eric Searle conquered 2nd place with a very acceptable weight of 84 lb 11 oz using feeder and pellet. Before the start of the match I asked Eric “I bet your going to be on the feeder all day” Eric’s reply to was ” yep if I don’t get a bite I don’t get a bite and that’s that” Well Eric not only did get a bite you had plenty mate.

Young Ian Grabham who seems never to be out of the top four these days found himself in 3rd place with a haul of 58 lb 03 oz from peg 4. Ian had most of his fish on method feeder with micros and wafters. He did have a fair size Carp of 15 lb 2 oz.

Now finishing in 4th spot was yours truly who pulled out peg 13. I decided to start of on the method with banded pellet but after an hour I only caught one nice skimmer. Went on the pole at 10 meters for another hour with dead maggot for a few bits which include two Ruffe. Most of my silvers weight came after midday when I went back to the method feeder where I caught some quality skimmers. But like the majority fishing the match most of the action took place in the last hour in the margins. It seems the trait on the main lake at Shiplate is that the large carp come in to the margins in force. I know it happens at other fisheries but at Shiplate it is very much pronounced. The amount of swirling and tail fins protruding out of the water was remarkable. However to cut a long story short in this last magical hour I caught three carp for a total of 36 lb 6oz. The biggest weighing 14 lb 14 oz. The bait for the margins was corn and worm. My total was 45 lb 15 oz.

Our Spielsekretärin fuhrer Alan Bland in fifth like me had a lot of action in the last hour. Peg 15 was his place and he managed a haul of 44 lb 05 oz. Meat and corn was the bait. Alan won the Jotty Memorial (largest carp) with a right beast of 15 lb 11oz. So it is congrats to him.

Stuart Frampton who was pegged next to me on 14 had most of his 43 lb 01 oz net on meat down the edge. Poor Stuart managed to break his pole top on one of them beastly carp.

All of us expected more from Mr Rob Dodd than his 39 lb 15 oz. Rob fished pole and maggot and was drawn on peg 11. No doubt he was probably distracted from his fishing by constantly telling Dave Colley in peg 10 that he’d had a bite.

Veteran angler Tony Richards amassed a weight of 34 lb 13 oz on his favourite method of pole and maggot from peg 3. Tony always shows his angling prowess by using 2 lb hook length and still manages to land decent size carp.

Bob Pascoe had peg number 1 and used pole, maggot and caster for a weight of 32 lb 01 oz. You can always tell when Bob hooks a Carp because all you hear is “vermin bloody vermin”. You see Bob is a silvers man.

Dave Nash fishing on peg 2 did not catch a carp but the dedicated silvers basher got top silvers weight with 29 lb 5 oz. The bait used was maggot and caster.

Paul Smith who picked out peg 6 fished the pole with corn and caster. Paul had one Carp of 8 lb 5 oz and a total weight of 26 lb 15 oz. Paul finished in 11th place.

Phil Dodd who ended up in 12th as always took the laid back approach and just fished the feeder with dead maggot as bait. From peg 7 Phil put on the scales 21 lb 13 oz.

In 13th position we find Ian Ricketts of of peg 8. Ian who would definitely admit to having better days could only muster 16 lb 4 oz. Pole with maggot was used.

Apparently a few choice anglo saxon words were used by Nigel Coram (pictured above) to describe his match and thought it was better that he had DNWI next to his name.

The next match will be at the Sedges Tile lake on 8th October, don’t forget have the breakfast.

Until then tight lines.

Pete C.

The reason for people wanting to go fishing has been debated at length a great many times, and there has been much pontification about it. In this connection it has been suggested that by taking folk away from the stress of modernity and the grime of the concrete jungle into the fresh air the cost of the National Health Service has been reduced. All this may be true or otherwise but one can persume that people go because they enjoy it.

One may be inclined to feel that formerly anglers had a clear idea about the pleasure of angling and that associations were organised mainly from this point of view.

Often there is an appearance that a keepnet stuffed with fish is always synonymous with satisfactory fishing, and a blank means failure. It is not true. Many of the happiest days have been spent with a very modest catch. To be perfect, the day needs something more than just the catching of fish. Just what is required is governed by the outlook and temperament of the individual.

To me fishing is a good excuse to be in the countryside and to enjoy what it has to offer in terms of its flora and fauna. Others may look for more. The companionship of friends or chance acquaintance add so much to the day.

Now it seems that an intensity and seriousness is creeping from a certain standpoint. It is probable

the influence of contest fishing has some thing to do with this. The pleasure and excitement which fishing matches bring is obvious and no one would deny them it. The participation of fishing a match is an opportunity to pit ones skills against other anglers and to bring forth the competitive spirit and of course the friendship and banter. There is, however, a feeling that the availability of large prizes and pools which has permeated the match scene has taken away a chunk of relaxed ambience from certain types of matches. The need to win as opposed to, like to win, has created in some respect an air of tension. This is far removed from the older concept of the ‘contemplative man’s sport’. I know it take allsorts to make a world but I take my cue from that old adage of ‘it’s not the winning that counts but the taking part’ this is just as well as my sedate attitude to my match fishing results has been put to the test many times. The last match (read on) is no exception. Thus my tranquil and placid frame of mind just leads me to say “who gives a toss there is always next time”.

Match fished at Shiplate Main Lake on July 2nd.

Good old Stuart Frampton had a shocker of a match last time out on the canal lake at the Sedges but made up for that this time by getting top spot from peg 15. Fishing to the reeds to his left with feeder and once again and in his own words the bait used was “all sorts”

Second place went to veteran silvers man Dave Nash. Dave only had a carp weight of 16 lb 13oz hence the bulk of his net was made up with a not to be sniffed at silvers haul of 37 lb 07oz. Thus he had a good pay out for coming 2nd in the match and having top sliver weight. Now Mr Nash has no excuse for not getting a hair cut else he’s going to end up looking like Cousin It from the Adams Family.

Carp basher extraordinaire, one Eric Searle got third spot with 49 lb 9 oz from peg 14 b. Eric kept things nice and simple with feeder and pellet.

Alan Bland had the highest weight on the near bank with 33 lb 15 oz. Guess what the bait was, yep that’s right his beloved paste.

Ian Grabham from peg 14 also followed in Mr Blands foot steps and used paste to gain 5th spot with 33lb 01 oz.

Rob Dodd found himself in strange territory by not catching a carp. But as usual put in a good showing by having 2nd top weight in the silvers which got him in at number 6. He fished the margins to his right with corn.

In at number 7 we find Ian Ricketts. Ian just had one carp, but what a cracker coming in at 16 lb 03 oz. Ian used mostly worm and pellet as bait.

Dave Colley who took my pound fished peg 12 with mostly pellet and feeder and obtained a weight of 23 lb 05 oz for 8th.

On peg 1 we had Tony Richards who had an all silvers haul of 21 lb 11 oz and with that finished in 9th.

Paul Smith paid me a visit 2 hours in to the match and reported that he was struggling but managed to redeem himself some what with an all silvers weight of just a tad over 20 lb for 10th placing.

In 11th place we have the one and only Bob Pascoe who mostly fished maggot from peg 4 and put 16 lb 04 oz on the scales.

When I visited dear old Alan Jenkins more or less straight away after the match on my way to the car park, the first thing he said “I’ve got no carp” Well Alan you are not alone in fact that makes 6 of us all together. Alan using chopped worm and caster from peg 3 for a haul of 10 lb 04 oz.

Well as logic dictates some one has to have the lowest weight and alas it was yours truly. With what can only be describe as a meagre and somewhat feeble catch of 5 lb 10 oz from peg 8. I fished the margins to my left to a fence which partly went into the water. I did hook 2 carp but typical the fore mentioned fence proved my undoing and became a place of escape for these hooked beasties. But most of the time as you can guess my swim was it seems devoid of fish. That is until the weighing in gang enters my swim armed with clip board, scales, tripod, weigh sling and weigh mat. The usual words were uttered with a mixture of amusement and sarcasm” here’s the winner” “top peg this” etc, etc. The question was asked “whereabouts did you fish Pete?” I pointed to the left hand margin and to my surprise and annoyance, there they where swirling, bubbling, showing tails and doing everything possible to make their presence known. It appeared it was the fish equivalent to showing the finger. Little bastards.

Poor Nigel Coram had a torrid time by all accounts and just ended up with the dreaded DNWI next to his name.

The next match will be on July 16th at the Sedges on Tile lake. May I recommend the breakfast.

Until then tight lines.

Pete C

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Just after 4 o’clock on Saturday 25th 2021 the map of the match angling world was redrawn. The gold plated form that states that certain people shall be denied top spot was put to the sword, plunged in to a shredder and the left overs set fire to. For on the above said time and day yours truly found himself with top weight in a match. Okay I have won matches before but never on a commercial.

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I had thwarted a double whammy , last year in the same Match I had come last and last by a considerable distance 2nd last place had a weight of 34 lb 14oz and me in last place with a humbling 7 lb 12 oz. So the plan today was not to come last and to sweep under the carpet last years disaster.

At the draw I pulled peg 14B to a chorus of “best peg on the lake” or “give him the money now”. Well a month a go at Trinity Woodlands I drew out of the hat peg 14 which to again brought on the remarks “if you don’t win from there you want bloody shooting” or ” you need a minimum of 4 nets for that peg” etc, etc . Well the match ended and I was the only one who ended up with DNWI next to his name. Bloody typical. It appears that yours truly seems have a neutralising effect each time he pulls out the best peg.

So the scene is set

a) I do really crap at this venue.

b) I have drawn the best peg, a bad omen.

Well as you are aware it was a bad day for statistical data and I had won. So how did I achieve this so called freak result. Well things were kept simple. I casted half way to the island with a method feeder and banded pellet and catapulting in 8 mm pellets over the top. In the last hour I got 2 from the margins to my left. Enough from me boasting what about the others.

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In second place was NHS hero Dave Colley who on peg 1 amassed a total of 81 lb which was 8oz less than me. His plan of attack was pole and margins with sweet corn and feeder to the island with banded pellet.

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Third place went to Carp basher Eric Searle on peg 12 with 80lb 14 oz, beaten in to third by 2 oz. Feeder with worm was his tactic. Poor Eric is still suffering from sciatica and shortness of breath, so good effort you old warrior.

Steve Warren found himself in number four spot and at the start of the match mentioned that I might have tempted fate by referring to him as Mr consistent in passed reports. Well once again Mr consistent finds himself in the top four once again. Steve used pole and his favourite bait meat from peg 5 with 73 lb 1oz. Owing to the fact that match secretary Alan Bland missed only his second match since Victorian times owing to family commitments, Steve volunteered to run the match and a jolly good job he did to. Well done mate and thanks from all of us.

In 5th was Rob Dodd from peg 3, Robs weight for the day was a commendable 72 lb 3oz. His method of approach was pole with maggot over micros and ground bait. But one blessing was that Rob on the day won the Jotte memorial trophy. This trophy is won by the by the person with the biggest Carp on a certain match, and today was that match. A hefty lump of 16 lb 1oz won it for Rob.

Paul Smith who was 6th got golden peg 11 which incidentally was drawn out by me. Paul once again did a brilliant performance where the catching of silvers was concerned. A silvers weight of 39 lb 03 oz earned him top silvers weight. His total weight was 49 lb 2oz. Tactics employed was meat and corn with pole at 13 meters and top 2 plus 2. So it’s a big well done to him.

In number 7 spot was veteran angler Bob Pascoe. Bob achieved 2nd top silvers weight with 28 lb 3oz. and had an overall weight of 37 lb 14 oz. Bob employed maggot and pole from peg 7.

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Slipping down the table to 8th from his normal top 5 spot we find Taunton guy Ian Grabham. Ian on peg 13 A employed paste on the pole and expanders as well as using a feeder. Total that was put on the scales was 35 lb 12 oz.

Ian Townsend at 9th placing in peg 14 who incidentally was my next door neighbour struggled at times but managed to put a respectable weight in the net of 32 lb 8oz. Plan of attack was pole and blown pellet.

10th was Phil Dodd who on peg 2 managed an incredible feat by landing a 14lb 8oz Carp on an ordinary waggler, size 18 hook and two and a half pound bottom. So it’s a hearty well done to him. Phil altogether put 29 lb 4 oz on the scales. Method employed was ordinary waggler with worm, and in his own words “thoroughly enjoyed himself”

In at 11 was another veteran angler one Tony Richards who is one of the south wests most knowledgeable bee keepers. Tony amassed a weight of 28 lb 2oz from peg 4 . Tony used bread punch to start of with but got plagued by of all things “Carp”. So opted for maggot. Thanks for the jar of honey mate.

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Dave Nash 12th who did not stay for the weigh in had to get away early because h e was going on holiday. Had an all silvers catch of 24 lb 10 oz from peg13. I am presuming knowing Mr Nash that caster and maggot was used on the pole. Dave got 3rd silvers.

A bit out of sorts in 13th place was Nigel Coram on peg 8. Nige emloyed expander pellet over micros for an all silvers weight of 17 lb 08 oz.

Last at 14th we find the one and only Alan Jenkins. Alan who drew out peg 6 struggled throughout but as always this avuncular type character put a brave face on it. Alan used the pole and various bait for a haul of 14 lb 6 oz. Mate look at me there is always a chance.

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A big thank you from Watchet Angling to Steve the owner of Shiplate fishery and his assistant John for doing the weigh in. And a mighty fine job they did too.

This is a shorter blog post than usual owing to the fact that I have come across a fair amount of material on the history of Bridgwater Angling Association and I have been busy sifting through this for a future blog post, and I am afraid there is only so many hours in the day.

Until next time tight lines

Pete C.

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Top rod on the day or should I say pole. Was match secretary (a thankless task) Alan bland. Alan who fished peg 14, had 4 lines going throughout the match. Both margins, to the aerator and straight across to the far bank at 13 meters. His baits was paste and meat. He had 10 Carp and no silvers for a very creditable of 43 lb 12oz.

Mr Bob Pascoe on peg 9 had a good day. His total come the end was 35 lb 11 oz. His silvers bag included a nice eel of 2 lb 9 oz. Bob managed 2nd top silvers to boot. Now Bob likes to keep things simple so it was just pole and maggot for the angling veteran.

Right now would I lie to you lot, no kidding, honestly yours truly came 3rd. Yes that’s right THIRD. I pulled out peg 15 which is the far end swim on Hawthorns. I had one Carp across to the far bank at 13 meters. The rest was to my right margin, I had 7 Carp in all as well as a eel a Chub and a Tench. My total weight was an unbelievable 33 lb 08 0z. The bait was corn. (I didn’t come last brilliant!)

In 4th spot we find Dave Nash who fished peg 11. Like Bob Pascoe he keeps things nice and simple. Pole and red maggot helped him to bag a weight of 33 lb 01 oz. Dave was top silvers angler on the day with an admirable weight of 9 lb 6 oz. It should be noted that Dave and Bob silvers weight should be given some credit as the silvers where hard to tempt.

On fancied peg 1 was none other than Eric Searle. Eric who was 5th had a weight of 31lb 01oz. This haul was achieved by fishing paste in the margins to his left. Trust me if this peg was on form and with Eric’s skill in Carp bashing he would have caned it.

Young Ian Grabham caught a reasonable all Carp weight of 22 lb 08 oz from peg 6. Now when I asked him what bait was used his reply was “a bit of everything”. So there you have it. Not a bad weight concidering it was his first visit to the venue and the conditions.

Rob Dodd who was a last time out winner seemed to had lost his sparkle this time and could only muster a 7th place with a weight of 17 lb 11 oz from peg 4. Robs tactics on the day was pole and maggot. No doubt this result is just a blip. He will be back.

Paul Smith had a poor day by his standards from peg 10, Paul like Rob normally occupy the top end of the table. But owing to the fish not co operating Paul had to settle for 8th spot. He managed to put on the scales 17 lb 4 oz, but let it be made clear that his silvers tally of 6 lb was a point to note on day when silver fish were at a premium.

When we approached Steve Warren in his peg at the weigh in his face and his posture said it all. “Ain’t no winning weight here” Alas Steve didn’t have the best of days from peg 5. Pole and pellet earned Steve 9th place. His net of fish came to 16 lb 2oz.

10th was Dave Colley. Mr Colley gave me the impression when he turned up of, lets give it a go and see what we get. Well he managed 10 lb 12 oz in total from peg 7. No matter what the outcome Dave whether he’s first or last this guy always wear a smile and takes it on the chin.

Alan Jenkins from peg 12 and who came 11th with 5 lb 15 oz had 2 fish a 1oz rudd and a Carp of (work out it yourself) 5lb 14 oz. Now it is this Carp that in some respects that made a bit of commotion. Alan hooks it, the Carp puts up a hefty fight and eventually snaps his pole. Carp with rig and pole top in tow makes a B line for Dave Nash’s peg, Dave manages to lasso the pole top with his rig. But that didn’t deter the Carp which was still full of gusto, for it moved on to the next peg that of Paul smith. Well it appeared that Dave and Alan gave poor Paul an eviction order and promptly done a coup d’etat of his swim. Alan played the Carp and Dave had the net. TEN minutes later and after much splashing and of course ruining of Paul swim the fish was landed. If only Mr Jenkins could do things less complicated.

Tony Richards came 12th but this guy is a example to us all, although in poor health he battles on with a fighting spirit and makes a gigantic effort in turning up. Tony from peg 8 had one fish, a Carp of 4lb 7oz. Good on yer mate.

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Fishing at Stathe.

Thursday June 24th I had a rather odd text from one Mr Dave Nash which went “I have info re virgin type lake at Stathe, you interested in something different”

My reply was “where abouts in Stathe”

Reply cames back “it’s a local secret apparently”

Well come Saturday Dave (who had some idea of where he was going) and yours truly went to Stathe for something different. And boy it was different. We had come across a gem of a water. Far from your muddy Carp puddle not scarred by wooden pallets. This oozed rustic charisma, a place where angling and nature are melded in to one. If one was ever a schoolboy angler this place is the trigger for reminiscing. This is a place to get lost in one’s dreams. This is a place of Izaak Walton and Arthur Crabtree. Think of a pond where one would like to spent a early summer’s morning. A morning of a day before it get hot, blue sky above, bird song peppers the air, punctuated by the buzzing of insects and the drone of bees. This is as far as my powers of descriptive writing goes. I have the same problem it seems as one John Clare.

This is where oh angling brethren I will try to educate you (if it is possible, I am sure it is). John Clare (1793-1864) was an English poet and has sound acclaim by scholars and academia alike. He is a poet known for his works of literature about rural life. One of his poems is titled A Scene. This poem describes the poet standing on a hill side looking at a countryside landscape. A landscape of a stream and a river, a village and a farm, People ploughing and making hay. But at the end piece of the poem he shows a slight frustration in that he has trouble expressing in to words at what he his seeing. The last line is ” That language fails the pleasure to express” So I have the same problem as John Clare in trying to put into words of what I was seeing and experiencing,

But I do have an advantage I suppose that I live in the age of mobile phone cameras and as they say a picture is worth a 1000 words.

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We enjoyed the weather we enjoyed the atmosphere and without doubt we enjoyed the fishing. The biggest fish was caught by Dave a bream between 4 and 5 pound. We both had good bags of silvers. There is Carp in the lake but I would say it is predominantly a silvers lake. Your are required to use the owners landing nets and no keep nets are allowed. Day tickets are £7 and believe me well worth it. All in all a pleasant days fishing indeed.

The next match for the Watchet club is on Saturday 17th July on the King Sedgemoor Drain at Parchey. See see you then.

Tight lines

Pete C.

There are defeats, there are big defeats, there are humongous defeats and there are defeats on such a scale that one certain Pete Curnow suffered on the 26th September 2020 at Shiplate Fishery. It wasn’t a case of being handed the wooden spoon but more like being whacked as hard as possible over the head with one. This would have been an ideal situation to make a few bob advertising for Hamlet cigars. There was a series of adverts which presented scenes in which a guy having failed dismally at something is consoled by lighting a Hamlet cigar.. Have a reminder.

So picture the scene there is me watching a motionless float and catching sod all. There is splish splashing constantly from pegs either side. One watches the anglers on the far bank whose pole elastic seem always busy at work. One keeps looking at ones float whose sole purpose it seems is to be a resting place for dragon flies. So strike a match, queue the music, light my Hamlet and have a good puff and just take it on the chin.

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The results.

Position	peg	Angler	Silvers	Carp	Total
1st	13	Eric Searle	7 lb 01 oz	127 lb	135 lb
2nd	1	Paul Smith	5 lb 14 oz	112 lb 06 oz	118 lb 04 oz
3rd	5	Ian Townsend	8 lb 08 oz	73 lb 15 oz	82 lb 07oz
4th	3	Bob Pascoe	31lb 14 oz	36 lb 02 oz	68 lb
5th	11	Rob Dodd	52 lb 06 oz	14 lb	66 lb 06 oz
6th	4	Dave Nash	36 lb 06 oz	28 lb 12 oz	65 lb 02 oz
7th	10	Alan Bland	10 lb 08 oz	49 lb 01 oz	59 lb 09 oz
8th	7	Phil Dodd	15 lb 03 oz	37 lb 04 oz	52 lb 07 oz
9th	12	Dave Colley	6 lb 04 oz	32 lb 03 oz	38 lb 07 oz
10th	8	Alan Jenkins	15 lb 09 oz	19 lb 09 oz	34 lb 14 oz
11th	6	Pete Curnow	7 lb 12 oz	xxxx	7 lb 12 oz

Before the start of the match one Bob Pascoe was chosen to draw a name for the golden peg, the name drawn was Eric. Eric who is scared of getting the dreaded lurgies nominated me to draw his peg for him, and out popped 13. Eric in traditional fashion stated to have a whinge at yours truly because he had now the longest walk. He didn’t whinge after the match about the long walk back though.

First on the day from peg 13 was Carp expert Eric Searle. Eric tried bomb and pellet straight out in front but could only tempt 5 carp. The majority of his haul came down the edge on worm. Eric weighed in a grand total of 135 lb.

In 2nd place was Paul Smith with another hefty weight of 118 lb 4 oz his method of attack was corn and pole down the edges. Peg number 1 was his abode.

3rd place was occupied by Ian Townsend who managed to put 82 lb 07 oz. on the scales by using meat, corn and soft pellet mostly on the pole. Ian landed as we say in the angling world a right munter of a Carp which weighed 16 lb 14 oz. This was all achieved on peg 5.

4th was slivers basher Bob Pascoe with 68 lb of peg 3. He kept things simple with maggot and top 4 .

5th on peg 11 was grand master Rob Dodd who is normally in the top one, mustered a haul of 66 lb 06 oz. Mr Dodd had 80% of his fish on maggot, but did try worm and corn. All on the pole.

6th was another slivers basher Dave Nash on peg 4. Dave fished 6 meters and used caster and sweetcorn to put 65 lb on the scales.

In 7th was club match secretary Alan Bland. Alan had 2 plans of attack one was meat down the edge and number two was maggot out in front. His catch of of peg 10 was 59 lb 09 oz.

Occupying 8th place was veteran Phil Dodd. His only method was open end feeder with dead maggots, his weight for the day from peg 7 was 52 lb 07 oz.

9th position was NHS hero Dave Colley who on peg 12 caught a grand total of 38 lb 07 oz He had his slivers on maggot but all his Carp on sweet corn. All his Carp came in the last hour.

10th was the one and only Alan Jenkins AKA Mr Matrix Man, poor sod had the wind in his face all day. But Alan battled on and caught 34 lb 14 oz from peg 8.Alan employed mostly chopped worm and caster for his slivers and meat for his Carp.

11th was yours truly on peg 6 with a humbling 7lb 12 oz. The tactic employed was one that was never going to work and the bait used was the wrong one.

Now just to get my own back at the end of match like most anglers I throw my left over bait such as sweetcorn and meat etc in to the margins to feed the fish. But this time I took it home and put in my recycling bin. The fish weren’t going to get any freebies today.

So in true Winston Churchill style when things got tough he would say KBO.

So this is surely what I will do. KEEP BUGGERING ON.

The next match is At The Sedges on Brick Lake on the 10th October and this time I will bring a box of matches and a pack of Hamlet cigars just in case.

So until next time tight lines and don’t forget to change your clothes.

Pete C

Owing to the fact that I need some new fishing gear and bites being at a premium in this match, whilst fishing my thoughts were on what new items to buy, prices and places of purchase etc. It was during this time of reverie I thought of a young angler a friend of mine from school who definitely needed new gear. Here is his story.

The Communist and the Screeching Reel.

EEK SCREECH EEK SCREECH EEK SCREECH. He told us he couldn’t make it today” said Steve surprisingly Steve, Dave and me looked at each other, we were standing on the bank of Dunwear North pit, it was early morning. EEK SCREECH EEK SCREECH EEK SCREECH. “He’s over there said Dave pointing a finger.

The loud Screeching noise came from the reel of our friend Mark Murment. Owing to the size of the lake it took us about 3 minutes to get to Marks swim.

When we arrived at the spot where Mark was supposed to be fishing we were surprised to find his gear but not him. “Hi guys” it came from our right. The three of us turned to see Mark inching his way along a tree which grew out over the water from the bank. The branch that Mark was on was about a foot above the water and his aim was to get a float that was dangling from the end. He inched his way along to within a foot or so of the float, he reached out with his left foot as to catch the line attached to it. Now at this point I should tell you that Marks clothing was shall we say in a state of dilapidation and the same thing could be said of his shoes. For a start they had no laces in them. Well as Marks foot reached out towards the float his shoe succumbed to the power of gravity, Plop in it went. “Sod it I get the bloody thing now” (or words to that effect). He then maneuvered himself as so to use the other foot. In doing so a twig managed to somehow to attach itself to Marks remaining shoe, he tried to retrieve his foot Plop. Both shoes were now resting on the lake bed. Within two minutes Mark after some careful movements was back on the bank minus his shoes and of course the float.

Marks fishing tackle had the same characteristics as his attire, it was definitely lacking quality. To put it in plain terms you could say it wouldn’t look out of place on a city dump located in a third world country. His reel was a combination of a few reels put together and it appeared that the gearing in side was slightly mismatched hence the loud screeching noise. His rod was again a combination. Bottom half was a pier rod and the top half was from a spinning rod, and owing the incompatibility there was no easy fitting together of sections so as a make do solution both parts were just jammed together. His floats and shot were obtained from scavenging from the banks but he did buy line and hooks.

Any how in a short matter of time all of us four where fishing side by side. As I was watching my float my mind started to wander and thinking about the calamity of Marks recent escapade. Mark was certainly a character. My mind drifted still further to the week previous. We were all in class waiting for the lesson to start. Thud a jiffy bag landed on the table in front of me. “Got it, came in the post this morning” Mark said in an excited voice. I looked down at the jiffy bag and to my amazement the writing on the bag stated that it was from, of all places the embassy of the Soviet Union in London. A small group had now gathered around the table intrigued. Mark went on to explain that he had written a letter to the embassy explaining that he wanted to be a communist and could they send him any tips. Hence the jiffy bag, which contained an assortment of pamphlets and a hand book of Karl Marx.

My mind jumped back to the present caused by the excitement of Dave thinking that he had a bite. I turned around to see the others reaction when I noticed that Mark had been reading his newly gotten hand book of Karl Marx. “typical” I thought. The time came to pack up and head home.

Poor Mark had to make the journey in his socks. We got three quarters of the way home when it started to rain. It was then we decided that I should give Mark a piggy back to save his socks from getting wet. My gear was shared between Steve and Dave. Marks gear proved no problem as he only had the one rod and the rest of his gear was in a carrier bag.

As I carried Mark I felt some thing on the back of my neck. The bloody cheek Mark was actually reading his Karl Marx books and to rub it in was quoting from it.

“Men make their own history but do not make it as they please”

“ Reason has always existed but not always in a reasonable form” etc etc etc.

We thankfully reached Marks house, at this staged it should be said that Marks dad had all the personality of nitro glycerine. He could be rather explosive in nature. Steve and Dave stood at the garden gate for safety reasons. While yours truly with Mark still on my back went up to the front door. Mark rapped the knocker on the door and with in 15 seconds the door was opened and we were faced with a some what startled Mr Murment.

“What the F***”

“lost me shoes dad”

“And how the bloody hell did that happen”

“well I didn’t have any laces dad”

“What, no you just wait there, you just hang on there”

Mr Murments was pointing his finger at us and his voice was beginning to raise up a notch or two.

“Just stay there, don’t bloody move” He turned and disappeared in to the house moments later he returned. He was holding out his hand and in it was a ball of white string. With his voice raised up another notch.

“ What s this eh it’s been in the cupboard for bloody ages, oh no didn’t think about using this, I now got to go and buy you some more bloody shoes”

There was now a silence as he grimaced at Mark.

I was stunned by this outburst and some what embarrassed I slowly turned around and got Mark of my back and on to the front door mat. I stepped outside on to the door step, I turned around just in time to have the door slammed in my face. It should be noted that Mark was tough and took things on the chin, little episodes like didn’t bother him in the slightest.

I walked back up to the gate where Dave and Steve were. “ we still got his fishing gear” Steve said in a muted voice “ we can’t leave here at the gate it’s dustbin day tomorrow”

I grabbed the gear and walked up to door with it and quietly place it next to the step.

Both were at it now hammer and tongs.

“come the revolution people like you will go to the bloody death camps”

“Don’t you bloody quote that communist crap to me”

I walked back to the gate it was time to go.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Peg	Position	Name	Silver	Carp	Total
5	1st	Paul Smith	14oz	23lb 07oz	24lb 05oz
4	2nd	Dave Nash	6lb 09oz	14lb 08oz	21lb 01oz
13	3rd	Ian Townsend	xxxx	19lb 12 oz	19lb 12 oz
1	4th	Pete Curnow	05 oz	19lb 01oz	19lb 06oz
3	5th	Phil Dodd	xxxx	18lb 08oz	18lb 08oz
7	6th	Eric Searle	3lb 03oz	14lb 12oz	17lb 15oz
15	7th	Robb Dodd	15oz	12lb 12oz	13lb 11oz
9	8th	Alan Bland	5lb 08oz	7lb 09oz	13lb 01oz
2	9th	Bob Pascoe	2lb 06oz	9lb 05oz	11lb 11oz
8	10th	Alan Jenkins	2lb 02oz	3lb 13oz	5lb 15oz
12	11th	Dave Searle	xxxx	5lb 07oz	5lb 07oz
14	12th	Dave Gartenfeld	xxxx	4lb 10oz	4lb 10oz

1st on the day was Mr Paul Smith, when Mr Smith was approached for the weigh in he commented that this was the worst match he had fished in 2 years. Well never or less this angling veteran put 24lb 05oz on the scales for top spot.

2^nd place was silvers basher Dave Nash who fished maggot for most of the match but some how managed 14lb 08oz of Carp.

3^rd was the angling might of one Ian Townsend who fished pellet to amass a carp only weight of 19 12oz

Let it be said that these three anglers drew out unfancied pegs and to achieve the positions in the match that they did deserve credit indeed. Well done guys.

4^th was yours truly yes you read that right I was 4^th Must admit I had the favoured peg. On the day I lost 4 rigs to carp so this could be the story about the one who got away. I had 5 Carp all on sweet corn also had a small skimmer also on the same bait.

5^th was feeder ace Phil Dodd. Phil had all his fish late on to gather a weight of 18lb 08 oz Phil tempted his fish with pellet.

6^th was Carp maestro Eric Searle whose catch tipped the scales at 17lb 15 oz.

7^th was end pegger Rob Dodd. Rob was out of form on this match apparently and could only muster 13lb 11oz. But be careful this guy is a force to be reckon with.

8^th was match secretary Alan Bland. This gentleman fished meat for most of the time to claim a weight of 13lb 01oz.

9^th was none other than the one and only Bob Pascoe. Bob struggled for bites and tried various baits for a weight of 11lb 11oz

10^th was Mr Matrix man Alan Jenkins. Alan for the most part used corn as bait to get one Carp of 3lb 03oz and 2lb 02oz of silvers.

11^th was Dave Searle who could only manage one Carp which was tempted on maggot.

12^th was and by the skin of his teeth Dave Gartenfeld who managed to get his only fish a 4lb 10oz Carp in the dying minutes of the match.

Okay folks just to let you know that the next match is at Trinity Waters Saturday 18th July.

Tight lines

Pete C