Landsend “So Simple” Winter league round 5

It was the last but one round in this years So Simple winter league at landsend. And as as I was in front coming into this round I was desperate for a good draw. I am in a long run of drawing at the car park end of Match lake, my section for the day, going back probably fifteen matches and just wanted to be past the island gap. The top two pegs, 13 and 11 are continually winning matches and I just wanted to draw one of them. After a breakfast I went into the draw bucket. Peg 1 comes out and my head dropped. It’s a peg I’ve drawn many times and never had a good weight from it. I’ve never seen it do any good in any match, so to say I was disappointed  was an understatement . Off of go to the peg and I see that the venue has had a severe trim with the end bank trees lopped off rally short. I set up four rigs. A .1.5 shalla slim to fish tigh to the end bank at various depths and the end of the island. A .4 slim to fish four silver with caste or red maggot at 13 meters straight out. Another .4 slim set for carp to fish the same line in case the silvers line attracted carp. And a .3 SS margin to fish under the bush to my right. I also set up the bomb rod incase I had a problem with a rig. It’s always good to have something in the water when your sorting rigs out. At the start I fed the long line with micros and casters and the edge rig to my right with meat, as I’d forgotten my favoured edge bait, corn. I started fishing the end bank at half depth with maggot and not feeding. After 15 minutes without even a sniff from a roach I swung across to the island for a bit. Nothing there either. So I went to full depth along the end bank, and put a banded 6mm pellet on. Again nothing happened. So I went back to the island. Still not a bite. Steve Sewell on 24 was in the same boat as me with nothing but Mark Leader on 22 had three by this time and was moaning he was catching carp and not silvers lol. I switched to the silver line with a single red on and after about 15 minutes the float finally went under. The number six elastic pulled out and kept going. Bugger, carp on the silvers rig. It was foul hooked but I did manage to get it in after a lengthy fight. Not big but hooked in the belly it scrapped like a demond. Back out for another 15 minutes but nothing else happed. I was hopping for skimmers but they just didnt wanna play. It as now close to two hours in and just one bite. So it was into the margin. After about five minutes I actually looked up and realised the it was possible, if I put a longer lined rig on I could get past the trimmed bush and swing a rig in close to the empty pallet next door on peg two. Being left handed would help but I’m a righty. So I put a few 6mm cubes of meat and a few 6mm pellets in a toss pot and dropped it in by the pallet. Five mintes later and carp number two in the net. Again not big but it was a start. Next drop another about 5lb this time. The next 15 minutes I lost two munters that both bottomed out my number 16 elastic. Over the next couple of hours I had 6 more but lost a few, with a couple taking me under the platform so it killed the peg for a while. I was hoping at this time I could maybe get 30 pound in the net with the last two golden hours to go, but I was ahead of this target. So with two to go I was ready for the catch rate to improve, but the opposite happened. I only had three Moreno in the last two hours and lost three.Mark had caught a few all on his silvers line and it was close between us. Steve had four carp and some good skimmers but he tipped his back without test in the scales. The rest of the lake I had no idea on. I was first to weigh in as I was the scales man. I hate that job. My solitary roach and my 11 carp went 57-05. And as I was really dissointed with the draw I ended up pleasantly pleased. The bush trim (no sniggering) helped, as the next peg pallet was the only place I could get bites. And before it was even seeable let alone fishable. Rod Wootton  was on peg 11 but really struggled for 29-8. Pete Nurse on 13 had mainly carp for 43-12. Mark Leader had a decent net of silvers to go with his carp and did me by a few pound with 63-00. So in the end my fobia about peg one was smashed. And the good result I wanted was achieved. I even managed to get through to the knockout final. So a good day. And if my maths is correct I think I’ve won the series with a match to go but that has to be finalised.so back here next week for the final round and knockout final against my old mate Tony Rixon. But with him on match lake and me on lake three I’m not too confident I can beat him. But a who knows. Full result sheets on Tony Rixon’s or Ken Raynor’s blogs.