June 19, 2010

• Rolf’s Lake. Holton. Oxfordshire.

   

  Jinx Match 3

  Well it’s Saturday once again and that means it’s time for the 3rd Jinx Match. It looked like a lovely summers day in prospect when I pulled back the curtains today and the sun streamed through the window . However I soon revised those thoughts as I loaded the car and a distinctly chill wind lowered the temperature somewhat. Definitely an excuse for a Full English  en route to the lake. Anyway, good time was made and I pulled into the car park at Rolf’s around 10·15am.
  A good few of the lads were already in attendance, and with a fresh mug of coffee the prospects for the day ahead were soon under discussion as we waited for the draw …..

  

  Now of course Paul D was going to be the owner of THE PINK HAT today. Unfortunately his wife had phoned Malc the previous evening to say that he was ill and wouldn’t be there!!!!! Well Gem decided to put the names of those previously Minxed on the first 2 matches into THE PINK HAT to find a substitute owner for the day……………………… and the lucky winner was Steve Wilson …………..

  

  On to the draw and I’m in Section B today, the home of my nemisis…… PEG13 .
  In to the bag I plunged my hand, and thankfully found peg10 was to be mine for the day, Simon being the lucky occupant of PEG13   for today………

  

  Now I’ve never fished peg 10 before so a quick chat with John soon gave me some idea of what to expect as he’d fished it on the Wednesday Open .
  So round to the peg with my gear and I find that I’ve got Clive for company on peg 11, but surprisingly neither peg 8 or 9 have been drawn today, unfortunately though the right hand bush stops you being able to fish into 9, but it meant that Jon opposite on peg 32 would have a rake of water to go at unopposed. All the while it was growing noticeably cloudier and cooler while the wind put a good ripple on the water and I was glad I’d brought a hoodie with me .
  
  John had recommended targeting the skimmers at 6mtrs on corn at the start, so rig 1 was a 4X12 Malman Adam on 0·20 power match straight through to a size 16 QM1. Rig 2 was a MW 0·4g XT for the 10mtr line on the deck on 0·20 Power Match with a size 14 QM1, while rig 3 was a MW Trev on 0·20 Power Match with a size 14 Drennan Carp Match for pellet and paste down the margin. Setting up my cupping kit the thread snapped off , so no cup kit today. Never mind, I could feed the 6 mtr line and margins by hand and a catapult would suffice for the 10 mtr line. Bait for the day would be various pellets, corn and paste, with the feed being the usual mix of fishery pellets.
  
  So 1pm and Malc called the All-In. A good handfull of pellet with a few bits of corn followed by a couple of bits of corn on the hook out to the 6mtr line ……

  

  Within a minute the float buried and lifting into it I felt a decent sized Carp power off towards peg 9 . It was also obvious that it was foul hooked in the tail and I was going to have trouble doing anything with it! Well after around 5 minutes it was obvious that the hook wasn’t about to lose it’s hold, so I decided to show it who was boss.  WRONG DECISION!!!!!!! as I lifted the top kit there was a loud BANG next to my right ear , leaving me as the proud owner of a 6 piece top 2 ……

  

  …….. but still attached to the fish. Recovering from the shock I had no option other than to hand-line the fish, and thankfully I managed to land it without further drama, a chunky Mirror that weighed 13lbs.
  
  As I returned the fish I could see Jon doing battle, he also had a foul hooker, but thankfully for him he got it in safely with no damage to his kit, a 12lb’er being the culprit in his case …….

  

  Taking a few minutes to compose myself, a look around the lake revealed that things had got off to a generally slow start for most, though Clive had managed a couple of decent skimmers to get himself off the mark, however it wasn’t long before both he and Simon decided to take a look down their margins which resulted in them both fishing into peg 12 ……

  

  My swim had been trashed though by the foul hooked charging around it, and for the next hour or so all I could manage were a few small roach and skimmers, regardless of which line I tried. Budgie over on peg 28 appeared to have made the best start to the match having had 2 or 3 carp, though he’d also lost a couple ……

  

  Gem had been heard to let out her customary scream and asked me to witness the fish as she weighed it at 8½lbs, was it an omen of Minxings to come? Hopefully not to many today, as Gem and Malc would be taking a couple of hours out from the match today to visit Malc’s mum who is in hospital.
  For the majority though, it was proving hard. The Jinx Effect obviously being back with a vengeance for this years series. With around 2 hours gone I decided to re feed and take a stroll with the camera. Clive had that look of studied concentration that only a veteran of countless visits to Rolfs can carry off …….

  

  While Simon’s smile was probably trying to hide a fear of a second Minxing in 7 days having been beaten by The Minx along with 21 others on the Wyrley & Essington Canal the previous Sunday ……

  

  Tucked away on peg 14, young Mitch was quietly getting on with it despite wearing some rather dubious headgear of his own ……

  

  Next door on peg 15 was Keith (guesting today) on his first ever visit to Rolfs  . He’d suffered an early demonstration of the power of Rolfs fish when one had given him the run around for 15 minutes on the pellet waggler, and had obviously decided that the pole would be easier on his arms……

  

  Ant was on peg 17 today, Now there’s always a bit of friendly rivalry between him and Simps, but he was hoping to at least pull back a result today ……..

  

  Fred (milo) was up on peg 18, it’s proved to be one of those infuriating pegs this year, a good weight one match and very little the next, but Fred was sticking at it determined to get a few out of it……

  

  Terry on peg 19 was having a mare with just a few small perch to show for his efforts so he had a bit to do to avoid a third straight Minxing this series   …….

  

  Next door on rarely fished peg 20 was Ade (slim shady). Now Ade is probably Gem’s number one target for a Minxing this year having avoided having his name added to The Minx List for the best part of 3 years despite a couple of close shaves, but even he was looking worried today, though he did hook into his first carp of the day as we chatted ……

   

  Geoff on peg 22, who’d once more travelled down from Scotland was contenting himself fishing for anything with fins. Meanwhile Nick(monkey) was sitting it out on peg 25 and hoping things would pick up as the match progressed ……

  

  On peg 26 was Paul, who once again had drawn a car park peg on a day that he had his good lady Jayne to accompany him……

  

  Tim was struggling pegged between Budgie and Steve on peg 31, and although Steve was getting a few bites they weren’t all from carp but skimmers……

  

  Round on peg 34 Dai was starting to get a few bites, but was having trouble with fish shedding the hook for no apparent reason ……

  

  Dave Moore was on peg 36 and was once more being given a good going over by the Rolfs residents, as they were happily showing themselves in his swim, but refusing to co-operate by taking any of his offerings regardless of how he presented them …..

  

  Malc and Gem had left for the hospital by now, and Al was down on peg 40 with his son (Little Al) for company today, but he only had 3 small carp to show for his efforts. Tony had managed 3 decent carp from peg 2, but shortly after I took this photo…….

  

  …… he was comprehensively seen off by a proper lump leaving him with a busted top kit . As I arrived at peg 4 Kevin was re-elasticating a top kit having been unfortunate enough to tread on a top kit as he went to weigh a decent carp   ………

   

  …… unfortunately that wasn’t the end of it for Kev , as later on another carp pulled the freshly elasticated top kit off his pole and consigned it to the depths of the lake as he was playing it . Meanwhile round on peg 7 on his own, Mat was quietly enjoying himself catching a few decent fish, one of which was caught on camera by Simon …….

   

  So back to my peg once more, and I wish I could say that things improved, but alas they didn’t, just another few small roach snaffling the bait. Simon had finally got something with a bit of weight, though not what he was expecting in the shape of a cracking Golden Orfe  …..

  

  Jon was still taking the odd fish, as was Budgie, but the man that started to motor towards the finish of the match was Clive who managed to tempt a decent run of fish from under the bushes to his right ……
  

   

  Most of which I witnessed as he brought them to me to verify their weight ……..

  

  Malc and Gem had returned by now, Malc having a couple of quick fish as soon as he returned to his peg, and Gem also managed to add another couple to her tally and crank up the pressure to avoid a Minxing.
  
  With half an hour to go my swim at 10 mtrs suddenly burst into life, giving me 3 carp in 3 put ins and with about 5 minutes to go I had a 4th which dived under my platform as I tried to net it. Fortunately I managed to extract it from there, much to Simon’s amazement , but as I shipped out to try for another Malc called the All-Out.

  Now you may remember that I mentioned that Al had his son Little Al with him today, well with the match over Little Al had a go with dad’s gear for 10 minutes. Well he’s obviously a natural as within a matter of moments he’d caught a carp for himself……………………………….. an absolute cracker of a Common that weighed 14lbs …….

  

  As we packed up our kit I noticed that Gem had taken all her nets out, so 27lbs would be the target to avoid a Minxing and I was pretty confident I’d avoided that thanks to the final half hour. With the kit back at the car there were a few worrying about their fate as the Weigh-In started.
  
  Dai got off to a good start with 78¾lbs on the scales which would prove to be good enough to win the section , indeed it wasn’t even challenged with Tony’s 59¼lbs and Matt’s 60¾ lbs coming closest. My fish made 40½lbs, but was firmly beaten by Clive’s 87¾lbs not only taking the section, but the overall match as well . Poor Simon’s meagre 7¾lbs ensured consecutive Minxings for him. The next interest focused on peg 20 and Slim’s weight, which came in at 24½lbs meaning that The Minx had got him at last .
  Nick recorded 58¼lbs to just pinch C section from Keith’s 57lbs 2ozs (a decent result on Keith’s first ever visit  ) Finally Budgie’s level 79lbs prove good enough for 2nd in B section from Jon’s 72½lbs.
  
  So finally with the results out of the way, all that remained was the ritual humiliation where those that had been Minxed were lined up for The Minx to chose the recipient of THE PINK HAT to be worn at the next Match ……..
  

  

  Well in all honesty there was only going to be one person that got it…… The proud owner of THE PINK HAT for Match 4……………

  

  Ade (Slim Shady) Williams
  
  NB: Don’t worry Paul D hasn’t escaped THE PINK HAT and a suitable forfeit will be in place in time for the next match .

  OVERALL RESULT

  Position	Peg	Name	Weight
  1st	11	Clive Pritchard	87lbs 12ozs
  2nd	28	Marcus Burgess	79lbs 00ozs
  3rd	34	Dai Thomas	78lbs 12ozs
  4th	32	Jon  Hatch	72lbs 08ozs
  5th	7	Mat Edwards	60lbs 12ozs
  6th	2	Tony Roberts	59lbs 04ozs
  7th	23	Nick Willams	58lbs 04ozs
  8th	15	Keith Powell (guest)	57lbs 02ozs
  9th	14	Mitch Auger	53lbs 04ozs
  10th	18	Fred Parker	49lbs 00ozs
  11th	10	Peter Morton	40lbs 08ozs
  12th=	4	Kevin Loveland	35lbs 08ozs
  12th=	31	Steve Wilson	35lbs 08ozs
  14th	40	Al Loader	34lbs 12ozs
  15th	17	Ant Haywood	30lbs 12ozs
  16th	25	Nick Watkins-Price	29lbs 04ozs
  17th	38	Malc Doyle	28lbs 08ozs
  18th	5	Gem Doyle	26lbs 13ozs
  19th	20	Ade Williams	24lbs 08ozs
  20th	36	Dave Moore	21lbs 00ozs
  21st	22	Geoff Palmer	17lbs 12ozs
  22nd	26	Paul Roberts	15lbs 08ozs
  23rd	29	Tim Westmoreland	14lbs 08ozs
  24th	19	Terry Goff	12lbs 08ozs
  25th	13	Simon Mound	7lbs 12ozs

  Names in PINK are those that were MINXED

  SECTION RESULTS

  Position	Peg	Name	Weight
  1st	34	Dai Thomas	78lbs 12ozs
  2nd	7	Mat Edwards	60lbs 12ozs
  3rd	2	Tony Roberts	59lbs 04ozs
  4th	4	Kevin Loveland	35lbs 08ozs
  5th	40	Al Loader	34lbs 12ozs
  6th	38	Malc Doyle	28lbs 08ozs
  7th	5	Gem Doyle	26lbs 13ozs
  8th	36	Dave Moore	21lbs 00ozs
  Position	Peg	Name	Weight
  1st	11	Clive Pritchard	87lbs 12ozs
  2nd	28	Marcus Burgess	79lbs 00ozs
  3rd	32	Jon  Hatch	72lbs 08ozs
  4th	10	Peter Morton	40lbs 08ozs
  5th	31	Steve Wilson	35lbs 08ozs
  6th	26	Paul Roberts	15lbs 08ozs
  7th	29	Tim Westmoreland	14lbs 08ozs
  8th	13	Simon Mound	7lbs 12ozs
  Position	Peg	Name	Weight
  1st	23	Nick Willams	58lbs 04ozs
  2nd	15	Keith Powell (guest)	57lbs 02ozs
  3rd	14	Mitch Auger	53lbs 04ozs
  4th	18	Fred Parker	49lbs 00ozs
  5th	17	Ant Haywood	30lbs 12ozs
  6th	25	Nick Watkins-Price	29lbs 04ozs
  7th	20	Ade Williams	24lbs 08ozs
  8th	22	Geoff Palmer	17lbs 12ozs
  9th	19	Terry Goff	12lbs 08ozs

  
  

  

  

   

  • 2:00 am
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