HAMPTON, WILLOW, 1/4/12 ~ Lee edges his way to victory

With everyone in buoyant mood following a couple of weeks of warm weather, the good old British climate threw a curve ball on Sunday at Hampton. No ice on windscreens, but the display in the car read 1*c on the way there. I think it caught everyone out, and a little too much initial feed made the whole day a struggle for most. Although it felt like a scratch around for a few bites, the overall weights were still as impressive as any.
Lee Pickup had worked hard on the method with only a couple of fish to show for it, but a look down the edge with an hour to go transformed his day. It was a fish a chuck till the end and Lee finally put 47lb 12oz of meat loving carp onto the scales. A great performance and a well deserved win.
The lottery peg was drawn by Gary Brislin, who had guessed at 52lb and it looked likely that he would go close with his own catch. Hauling a net full of carp up the bank to the scales it was indeed a possibility but in the end he fell short with a level 45lb and had to settle for the silver berth. A good effort from Gary though.
At the other end of the lake, Yozzer had overfed a couple of his usual close in lines. A switch to 6metres on corn brought about an improvement and having caught carp slowly but steadily throughout, The Gnome managed 37lb 10oz which was enough for third place.
John Heald has pleasure-fished Willow a few times and the experience told. After a slow start, a scum drifted into his peg (probably from Old Trafford) and he began to catch. A number of proper barbel, a few carp and some small tench on meat added up to 28lb 08oz and was sufficient to give the Benidorm chariot driver a well earned section win.
The other section again showed off Andy Lawton's feeder fishing prowess. Using the method with meat hookbait, Andy caught on and off all day to finish with 26lb 08oz of mainly carp. Nice one fella.
Pete Delmaine had a day to forget. Pole fishing up to his number 5, he reached for his tangled feeder rod, which gave a crafty mirror the opportunity to whip the pole from his relaxed grip. As the pole skipped across the lake, Pete lunged to grab it, missed, and his head went past a waterside bramble. Standing up, his hair was dripping, his sleeves were soaked, and his face was scratched with blood trickling down it. Meanwhile the offending carp had taken his pole through several pegs and was nearing the bridge. Jamie and Kenny Pickup both chased after it but missed, and when Zimbo came along, it was he who hooked the elastic with another top kit. With carp still attached he made his way back to his peg, netted and unhooked the mirror, before accidently breaking the attached top 2!!! To finally compound the disaster, the Club Chairman then announced to Pete that the fish must go back as he had left his peg. Never mind Zimbo, it could have been worse...... it could have happened to me (only joking). I think you took the incident remarkably well.
Another match not on the calendar, a possible bagging fest on Moreton Brickworks, Sunday 15th April. Phone Cargy for details and to book on.