I was lying 11th and needed a bit of luck to get into the paying top 8. I felt if I could get at least a 2nd in section and hope for a couple of those above me to blow out I could get there.
I was hoping to draw between p7-p11, as this side of the lake had been better than the opposite pegs, however when I got to the draw, pegs 7,8,9 & 11 were already gone. Fortunately, I pulled p10, so that was the first job done, now I just needed to catch a few fish.
Jason May was to my right on p9 who was just behind me in the league, so I really needed to beat him as well as Jamie Dixey opposite on p21 who won last week’s match.
During the week the weather had returned to frosts and there was a cold NE breeze blowing right to left, which meant the water had cleared a little from last week. Although I had some pellet, I wasn’t convinced it would work so decided to stick with maggot over the pole lines.
On the all-in I started on the lead and bread cast to the island. After 15mins I caught my first F1 and stayed on this for the next hour, netting a further 9 F1s and a 2.5lb carp. So, a great start, however when that line dried up and I switched to the pole at 15m I struggled to get a bite, adding only a couple of fish over the next hour.
In the meantime, I could see both Jason and Jamie eating into my early lead. Fortunately, by moving out to 16m and continuing to toss pot maggot with a few micros I started to pull in a few fish.
Except for a 15min spell when the bites dried up and I switched back to the lead and bread, I stayed on the pole and maggot, moving slightly right whenever it slowed. The last 45mins in particular was really good and I knew I had beaten those on my side of the lake and just hoped my late burst of fish was enough to beat Jamie which I did by 11lb.
Despite the wind being a little awkward at times I had a lovely day’s fishing to win the lake. Fortunately, a couple of results went my way allowing me to finish 6th overall and a £185 pickup.
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