Lindholme Festival Day Four

Thursday 30th July

Day Four. A section win today would guarantee me a place in the overall frame but a section win for Andy Bennett would almost certainly guarantee him the 2013 title. The lakes at the back, Loco, Beeches and Strip were in use and having not fished Loco for a few years I was hoping to avoid it. Loco can also be unpredictable due to the big fish it contains, a few of those can change the result in minutes. The other problem is that Loco has a central island fishable from only the two pegs 17 and 42 either side of it, which cast the Method feeder 70 yards and usually catch 100lb-plus of proper carp. I drew peg 39 Loco… doh!

The wind was blowing down the lake from right to left (I was two thirds of the way up the lake) and my peg was also cut back in a tiny bay, meaning my long pole line would be closer in than my neighbours. To add extra spice to the day Andy Bennett had drawn the peg to my right 36 and on 42 island chuck was venue regular Steve Dyson. I knew I had my work cut out today.

Loco is a deep lake of around 10-12ft and I just could not see the fish being on the bottom at this time of year. I decided to fish very positively (as usual!)  so I set up to fish the waggler, the long pole shallow and the edge to my right next to the vacant platform. I also prepared a Method feeder because the wind was getting stronger and it was looking doubtful of catching on a waggler.

I set up three different shallow rigs to cover different depths, with slightly heavier bristled floats than usual because of the wind and tow. I actually started on the pole, to give the fish room to back off onto the waggler line if needs be. After five minutes I’d missed a few bites fishing 3ft deep so I picked up a shallower version and immediately connected with something which turned out to be an F1 pushing 4lb. No more bites so I went down to the 3ft rig and suddenly found myself attached to something more substantial on the drop. My tackle just about held and I netted a 5lb common carp. I think that’s what they call a reasonable start!

Bites then stopped and I was forced out onto the waggler, where I soon had a bite and hooked another proper carp. It was about 6lb and somehow inexplicably came off at the net. I thought it could be a difficult day so I was not best pleased. I caught an F1 then no more bites so I came in on the pole line. This time there were a few fish there. Throughout the day I caught odd little flurries of fish, mainly on the pole but when that died I went out on the waggler and picked up an odd F1 there too. The problem was that Andy Bennett had been catching well on his pole line and I was conscious that he was probably forging ahead of me. I also managed another carp on the pole, a 5lb ghostie, plus around five big skimmers of 2.5-3lb which were very welcome.

Struggling in the last hour, both Andy and I filled in our margin line in pursuit of a proper carp but neither of us could find one (they run to over 20lb in Loco and there are loads of doubles). With 15 minutes to go the reeds near the platform I had fed began to knock and I knew there was a fish or two there. I had a couple of goes without a bite, refeeding in the process. Andy was catching shallow again and I was sure he was well ahead of me, so with nothing to lose I stayed down the edge. Another pot of groundbait and I sat there. Time was virtually up when my float vanished, the elastic eased out into the middle of the lake just as they shouted time and I was able to shout fish on. I played a 7lb mirror very carefully before gratefully netting it.

Andy told me he had 60 F1s at 1lb 8oz each for at least 80lb-plus. I knew I didn’t have anywhere near 60 fish, so thinking I had 60lb, I told him I had about 50lb to be on the safe side. He weighed first and recorded 105lb, enough for his fourth win surely? I couldn’t believe it when my first net went 44lb something, and my second was considerably heavier. A total of 109lb 15oz and my third section win. Understandably Andy was not best pleased,  and barely spoke to me again that day! I can only put my bad ‘guestimating’ down to concentrating so hard on my fishing I sometimes forget what I’m putting in my net, though my fish were definitely of a bigger stamp than his, plus I had four proper carp. Either way it doesn’t matter what you admit to, you’ve got what you’ve got when you pull your keepnets out five minutes later to weigh in!

I was chuffed to win the section from that draw and that lump at the very end was the difference between one point and two. Had I caught another F1 or two out long I probably wouldn't have won it. Decisions like going down the edge win or lose matches and festivals!

The other section on Loco was won with 111lb, and in that one Paul Christie had a 19lb 8oz beast, enough to scoop the £250 biggest fish of the week. Beeches provided the match winner with 180lb for Alex Mcleoud, with Paul Wright second with 173lb off Strip.
Having taken a point off Andy (somehow, I’ll never know how), it all rests on tomorrow!