Was really looking forward to this match as I did well on it last year in the same event and know the venue a little more than the others in this league.
I'd been up to have a practise previous to the match and discovered that the target was small roach and skimmers on the long pole and also a 5m caster line for some big perch and roach.
Without wanting to dwell on it too much, this match was a bit of a disaster if truth be known! The night before the match we had one of our team cry off sick and despite numerous phone calls, texts, facebook and twitter requests we failed to find anyone to stand in.
When we got there however, there was another match on and Luke managed to talk one of the lads who was fishing that in to fishing for us.
I drew and put myself on Front Deans peg 5, next to end peg specialist Jon Arthur...who was on an end peg!
It was a bitterly cold day with lots of strong gusts of winds which made the long pole line difficult. Not impossible but difficult! The horn went to signal the pre baiting and I cupped in 5 balls of Joker and leam on the ling line and one and a few casters on the short line (Ground bait was not allowed on Woodlands).
Bites were instant long fishing bloodworm, but quite small fish so I put a red maggot on which did improve the size of the fish a little bit but the bites were less frequent.
I kept topping up with little pots of joker and they did respond to it everytime I did but around the lake people were getting the odd bigger fish. Jon next to me had 2 big perch plus he'd lots a big F1 so my small roach were getting me no where fast!
I came in on the caster line that I'd been priming for 2 hours but this line was also slow and only resulted in one roach and a skimmer.
For the last 2 hours I kept alternating lines and baits but all I could catch was small roach.
Sadly I only weighed in 3lb which was 5th in the section and my worst result in the CIPs so far.
Luke faired a little better on front Deans and weighed 7lb5oz for 3rd in his.
Despite this disappointment I really enjoy this league and will hopefully look forward to it again next Winter.
Well done to Starlets who won the league by a country mile after a very dominating display on
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