The Nearly Man

Joe Carass reflects on a summer of fishing that has seen him have more than a few up’s and down’s!


What a summer of fishing! We have had a new English World Champion crowned in Sean Ashby, had the two big money matches won by Matrix anglers and the UK Champs won by a relatively unknown angler in Marc Rodger.

It has been a funny summer too with endless rainfall across the nation that has not only caused the rivers to be unfishable at times but also the commercial fisheries have suffered! Nevertheless it has been a year to remember for many reasons!

My fishing has largely revolved around the UK Champs this year. Going into Round Three at Larford Lakes I had a very realistic chance of winning the event. And going into the round I was full of confidence. Unfortunately though the day was riddled with frustration. I drew Peg 18 on the Match Lake, which was not really where I wanted to be, and after a dramatic five hours I ended up fifth in my section! Not really what I wanted but with the other leaders also ‘blowing’ out I was still in with a chance.

I am rarely one of those anglers constantly blaming their draws and this occasion was no different. I had an absolute mare on the bomb with several hooklength simply sheared in half by the lakes F1s. my usual fixed bomb rig was no good for the F1s as they take the pellet at such speed that the hooklength just snaps. This was bad angling on my part and looking back I should have made the switch to a running rig.

Also my margin line proved to be very annoying. Quite often anglers comment on how difficult the carp are to catch I the margins of the Match Lake. By feeding large pots of groundbait and corn I soon had the fish comfortably feeding in my peg. Getting bites was not the problem but landing them was! Every time a carp was hooked I would successfully land them, but F1s proved to be very frustrating and the majority of the time that I hooked them they would simply fall off! I can only put this down to the depth of water. I believe I should have used a very soft 11H elastic rather then my usual 13H and really taken my time with each fish… hey, this match fishing lark is easy in hindsight isn’t it!

The final round was soon upon us and Barston Lakes was to be the venue. Barston is something of a Marmite venue in that you either love it or hate it. I fall in to the love it camp! To me it is a great venue that offers something different to the norm. I have always done well there so was hoping for a bit of good fortune come the day.

With a big chance of winning a few quid I made a conscious effort to practice as much as I could. I certainly learnt a lot during practice, the fishing was very hard though but I felt that could play into my hands given a decent draw.

Come the big day I was raring to go! The weather had really dropped cold and I was hoping for a draw in the high numbers as I felt this offered me the fairest chance of a section win. So when Peg 111 stuck to my mitt I was far from disappointed. My section ran to the right meaning the 120’s were in my section. This was not ideal as they are great pegs but I had the option of the island, which was bound to throw up a few fish.

I went down a simple three-line route, the Method feeder to the island, which is roughly 80 metres away. A short feeder line at 30 metres where I fished an open ender with expanders and crushed expander groundbait and finally a pole swim. I was a little undecided as to what to fish on my pole line having caught well on pellets in practice but also catching well on groundbait and maggots. I decided to plumb up and test my rig first before deciding on what bait to use. The wind was relatively strong and there was a powerful tow on the lake. My peg was only 3ft deep and I was sure that maggots would be better as I could use a heavier rig a little over depth and hold it still. So half a bag of Marukyu 130 was mixed and I got my dead maggots ready.

At the all-in I fed three balls onto my pole swim and fed five feeder loads of expanders onto my shorter feeder swim before launching a Method to the island. I wasn’t expecting many bites so was pleasantly surprised when the tip sailed round within a minute – a lucky fish? Well 10 chucks later and 10 more fish were in my keepnet and I couldn’t believe how well things were going! I was simply loading my 45G Preston Method with 2mm Bag ‘em pellets that had been prepared with the Krill Sticky Pellet. Best hook bait was a 10mm JPz.
However after the 11 quick fish the peg died! No drama I thought as I had been catching a load of fish on the short feeder swim. First chuck on the short feeder with three red maggots on the hook and the tip flew round and another F1 came my way. Unfortunately it was a loner. One thing I have found with this line is that you can really attack it with feed; it will either happen or it wont so I just fill it in! So 10 more feeders of bait were duly cast onto the spot before a look on the pole.

My pole swim was far from easy and the occasional quality roach kept me on it but also left me in a catch 22 situation. I knew the island was finished but I still had this feeling that it was worth a few more fish. Yet in practice I had taught myself to stay on the pole and make it work. However I couldn’t help myself and was soon attaching another feeder and launching it to the island for no reward!

This pattern continued and I went from winning the section comfortably to being overtaken and with two hours left I was staring down the barrel with no answer!

The pole was just not happening for anyone around me and every time I hooked a skimmer it was foul hooked and came off. With 30 minutes to go I was looking at snookers. The lad to my right had a friend further up in our section and after a phone call to him he told me I needed some carp. Deep down I knew I shouldn’t but I still had another fruitless look on the Method. The with 15minutes remaining I threw the rod well out of arms reach so that I couldn’t pick it up again. The skimmers always come late at Barston and I could easily catch four or five of them in this time. So out I went with two maggots on the hook.

The float slid away instantly and I was attached to my first skimmer, which unbelievably came off followed by two more of its mates! I couldn’t believe it and must admit to being very down beat come the all out.

At the weight in all eyes were on Marc Rodger on peg 121. He weighed an awesome 20kg of skimmers to lead the section. My 14.980kg put me 4th in the section with just 15.500kg taking second! Those lost skimmers cost me but once again poor angling throughout the day had ultimately cost me.

Fortunately my 12 point score was enough for eighth place which netted me £300 as a small consolation. On the plus side eight is a great return in my first year in the UK Champs but I cant help but feel that it was a wasted opportunity for much more!

On a different note the Tunnel Barn Farm winter league is just around the corner and I cannot wait! This is a teams of four event and my team consists of Steve Ringer, Jon Arthur, Paul Bick and myself. We came third last year so are hoping to improve in this fantastic event. I went on my first practice match last week and finished second with 106lb on the Extension Pool, which was a nice confidence boost. Fingers crossed that this sort of form continues for me!

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