Well missing all these matches is becoming a right pain in the backside, I have definitely got withdrawal symptoms and gone cold turkey. Well I spoke to Alan Bland and he has provided me with the fixtures.
These matches are booked to be fished but obviously subject to Covid 19 and government restrictions. Also whether the fisheries are willing to open even if certain restrictions are lifted.
| Date | Venue |
| June 6th | Trinity Woodlands |
| June 20th | Sedges Canal |
| June 27th /28th | Bait Tech cup |
| July 4th | Shiplate Hawthorns |
| July 18th | Trinity Woodlands |
| August 1st | Sedges Tile |
| August 15th | Avalon |
| August 29th | River Huntspill |
| September 12th | KSD Parchey |
| September 26th | Shiplate Main lake |
| October 10th | Sedges Brick |
| October 24th | Summerhayes Longs |
I have spoken to Alan Bland and he tells me that there will be a Winter league but the venues and format is still to be determined.
I was in Sainsburys a while back and yours truly was in a hurry, its was a get in, get the items and get out operation. The visit was going to be fleeting. But as I was briskly passing the magazines racks a fishing publication caught my eye. Which was a very good achievement considering the pace I was going. The cover beamed the words 50 great tips for winter fishing. I stopped and looked at the culprit that caused me to halt in my tracks. I pondered hmm could be, just could be just a few tips in there that just could give me the edge. Without flicking through its covers and with one fell swoop the fishing mag found itself in my shopping basket and on its way to the tills.
Once home the mag was placed on the kitchen table while the rest of the shopping was put away. Can of diet coke in hand it was time for this mag to divulge these 50 great tips.
Naively I began to think of me being propelled in to the upper echelons of the match fishing fraternity. Promoted to the fishing elite.
Yea right. To call these great tips the publisher could be with some justification be sued under the trade descriptions act.
When fishing in cold weather wear warm clothing.
Make sure you use some thing heavy when breaking the ice.
Always fish at the depth the fish are feeding.
On the way the back from the recycling bin in my garden and in a bit of a depressed state caused by the thought of wasting a few bob. My mind turned to a match I fished way back in the late 1980s. We were all in the car park waiting for the draw. So to kill a few minutes I approached a well known match angler who was one of the top anglers in the locality. I knew his family quite way and because of this he knew me by sight and we always acknowledge each other and passed the time of day but that was it.
So I thought I would just go over as he was on his own and make polite conversation and hopefully gain maybe one or two good tips. The conversation went a bit like this.
Me “well what’s going to be the wining method today then”
Match Angler Who spoke in a slightly west country Drawl. “well you know could be this or that really you know”
Me “yea anything specific what would you suggest anything”
MA “ Not really. Tench might probably win it you never know you know”
Me “what’s the best way to catch them in here then”
MA “well you know normal things really might be float or feeder you know”
Me “Any particular bait”
MA “well could be bread might be maggot but corn could come in to it, also worm you know”
Me “Is it worth going for the Roach and Rudd then and try to built a weight that way”
MA “You could do it that way you know but it might work or it might not you know”
ETC ETC ETC
Well to cut a long story short match angler true to form actually won the match.
So back in the car park and when he was alone I went over to him and gave him my congratulations and with that and a slight determination asked him how he achieved his success. The conversation was forth coming but was all his. The dialogue was plentiful but the delivery was slightly faster then I expected. After he had finished which I must say he had been speaking for a few minutes we said our good byes and went our separate ways.
On the way home I kept thinking about the end of match conversation, and kept pondering about the way it was delivered.
It then dawned on me and in my humble opinion I came to the conclusion that he was an absolute master of the superficial answer. Let me explain. If I managed to take a transcript of what he said. read it I would find that every thing he said would cancel out.
Eg In the first paragraph he said he caught on maggot but in the fourteenth paragraph he said he tried maggot but to no avail. In the third paragraph he had found all the fish he caught were feeding on the bottom. The seventeenth paragraph would say he had the fish up in the water.
Get my point. ( no wonder the fast delivery).
Now I know that some anglers spend hours and hours on the bank and stumble across something that is valuable in terms of getting an edge and want to keep it under wraps. I really do understand that and have no problem with that, but the lengths that some anglers go to keep certain knowledge makes me chuckle.
So to all the people who write in the angling press who come up with tips which equate to the bleedin obvious and to the people who have become masters in the art of the superficial answer well I don’t need you because, well I got a ……….. No I going to get an Australian guy could Nugget to provide the answer, look at the vid.
Yep I also got a Donk also. This donk is manifestation, the incarnation, the personification and the embodiment of the above said type of people, yea it a p**s take.
Donk will be part of the blog from now on and will make guest appearances throughout.
Well this could be good new news there could be light at the end of the tunnel. Here is a clipping from last weeks Daily Telegraph.
Could be good news, well finally cast you mind back to a year ago and last years corresponding match. It was fished on 20/04/2019 on specimen lake at Landsend
| Position | Name | Weight | peg |
| 1st | Dave Colley | 157 lb 04oz | 31 |
| 2nd | Shane Dutton | 81 lb 03oz | 33 |
| 3rd | Rob Dodd | 72 lb 01oz | 36 |
| 4th | Eric Searle | 57lb 13oz | 32 |
| 5th | Alan Bland | 49 lb 14oz | 39 |
| 6th | Tony Richards | 45 lb 13oz | 34 |
| 7th | Dave Gartenfeld | 32 lb 01oz | 25 |
| 8th | Bob Pascoe | 25 lb 13oz | 30 |
| 9th | Phil Dodd | 25 lb | 27 |
| 10th | Paul Smith | 22 lb 08oz | 38 |
| 11th | Pete King | 11 lb 13oz | 28 |
| 12th | Pete Curnow | 11 lb 07oz | 29 |
| 13th | Alan Jenkins | 3 lb 10oz | 26 |
| Dave Nash | DNW | 40 | |
| John Barker | DNW | 37 |
My apologies for being slightly late for this post because its normally published on a Sunday or at the latest on a Monday but I have to to blame my web hosting company for buggering things up. Well in true Bugs Bunny style “That’ all folks”
PC