My peg at Bowsaw, 22.First blog and it turns out to be a very valuable lesson learned! After a cooked breakfast that my wife got up and cooked for me, bless her, I loaded the car and drove the hour's journey to Bowsaw Lake near Odiham for the first round of the Challis Tackle Spring Series. I won this round here last year and was looking forward to hopefully doing something similar. After loading up my gear, a short walk to the lake where the draw was taking place, I had a quick look at the lake, it was very coloured from the heavy rain we had over the past week, and even the night before it had been raining hard, there was also a nasty wind which seemed to be swirling and affecting one side of the lake more than the other. After a bit of banter the draw took place, with 22 fishing pegging was going to be tight and I was hoping that my normally fairly good drawing hand wouldn't let me down and perhaps even draw me one of the favoured pegs either side of the spit, I waited till the end as I like to have the one of the last pegs left in the hat, with two left I pulled out peg 22, on the wind affected side of the lake, but with a plus point of having an island chuck. I arrived at my peg and considered my options. With both pegs in either side it cut my options down, I decided to set up a method rod for the island, a swim at 7 meters, one at 14.5 and a rig for the margins either side, but wasn't hope full of the margins as the pegging was so close. Disaster! After looking in my holdall I realised that I had left my maggots in the fridge! Which cut my options down even further, as there are quite a few chub in Bowsaw, I was hoping to catch a few out on the 14.5m. line if the carp weren't having it. It also cut my bait options down on the method, it would have to be corn or pellet! I plumbed up and found the same depth at 7m. as 14.5 so I set up two rigs very similar, the first a Preston Chianti 4x16 on 0.12 main to a 0.10 hook length, pr32 18. The second was again a chianti 4x16 this time 0.12 hook length to 16 pr32. Both rigs were married up to Garbolino yellow hollow with pull bungs. The margin rig was a Garbo DC6 0.16 strait through to a 911 size 16 married to a green Garbo hollow. After having a few casts with a bomb attached, I found my distance at the island, about a foot short of the dogwood that was over hanging, the rig was 6lb main line to a free running method feeder, 0.16 hair rig hook length, as I had no maggot, hair rigged corn or pellet would be the bait. I had some ground bait mixed up which consisted of green swim stim, brown crumb and a few micros. Bait for the match would be corn, hemp, micros and some 4 mm. expander's. The all in sounded and I cupped in half a small pot of corn and hemp at 7 m, and half a pot of micros with a few expander's at 14.5m. Leaving that to settle I had a cast with the method, I hair rigged a 4mm pellet and cast out. 20 minutes later and no indication things weren't looking good, Paul to my left had hooked a carp but it had found some old line that was tangled in the weeping willow, and was doing battle with a tree and a carp! In the end the fish got off but the tree fought him all the way to the net! Still no indications so I recast this time with corn as bait. 10 minutes went by and i had a half bite which I lifted into but nothing there. I recast again with corn, Paul and Dave either side of me by now had had a couple of fish each, nothing big but all caught using maggot as bait. Another 15minutes past before the tip went round and a 2lb carp ended up in the net. I recast again hoping for the same, as apart from the peg on the spit most of us in our section were struggling. With no more bites or indications it was time to put the tip rod down and have a look on the pole lines, I had been feeding the margins by hand just flicking a few grains of corn in every couple of minutes, so I had a quick look either side but there were no indications, so I left it but carried on feeding by hand. Out onto the 14.5m line with a 4mm expander, 10 minutes later the float dipped and a small carp of 4oz was in the net, out again but had to wait for a bite, some time later the float dipped and this time a nice 3lb carp, a few more of these would be nice but alas it wasn't to be. A switch to the 7m line resulted in no indications so I re fed and went back out on the feeder. By now I was falling behind, as a few fish were being caught in my section but I was struggling, I kept swapping between my lines but could not buy a bite. Into the last hour, and it was picking up for some further round the section, catching big fish in the margins, I had a look but there were no indications, so back out onto the 14.5m line with expander on the hook the float buried and I had a small carp, a few more small 2 - 3oz carp followed, I then had a 2lb er to finish the match. I new I was down in the section, and the scales went 9lb 4oz. not last in section but pretty close! But as it is a series with dropping your worst result all is not lost. The weights either side of me were just over the 20lb mark so forgetting the maggots was costly as far as points go, as I reckon I would of had a few more. The favoured spit pegs were 1st and 3rd, and 2nd was at the other end of the island. Reflecting on the match on the long journey home, the only thing I would of done different is to remember the maggots! There is always next week!
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