********SPECIAL REPORT******** GARBOLINO CLUB ANGLER, Tunnel Barn Farm Qualifier, 20/5/15

Having performed well enough throughout 2014, I again had the privilege of representing the club at this year's Garbo Club Angler. Jamie Pickup was the other rep, but had to cry off at the last minute. With a mere 24 hours notice, Nicky Harrop stepped in to ensure the space wasn't wasted.
With Tony Wilson and Chris Roe having tickets through Poulton Vics we would have a few heads at the planning table on Tuesday evening.
Nick, Tony and I arrived in Warwick at 8.30am and had breakfast at a toby carvery. TBF have a café but tend to close pretty sharpish around 9am so we took no chances. We received our usual warm welcome from owner Mike and manager Les upon arrival at the venue, and were advised to try Top pool, which offered some protection from the wind.
We decided to fish from 10.30 till 2pm and then evaluate. Showing Tony the ropes as this was his first visit to TBF, he was a bit surprised when I told him to just get top kits out of the bag. Unusually though, his peg was super shallow close in so a further 2 sections were needed to reach the recommended 3 feet depth. My standard corn n hemp tactic would be a starting point.
Amazingly I too started on a top kit with corn and was into fish straight away, F1s averaging a pound and a half. A slow first 20 minutes had Tony scratching his head and doubting the advice. Once he had his first bite he settled into a rhythm and couldn't contain his excitement at the quality and ease of the fishing. Nick had a bit of previous at the venue, and he too caught F1s with monotonous regularity.
Although we used our nets, which is allowed at TBF, we hadn't taken any scales. At the agreed 2pm we took a look at the contents and estimated that Tony and I had about 80lb, with Nick close behind with 60. We then made the decision to turn our seatboxes round to fish the adjacent High pool for a few hours to see if that was any different.
After half an hour of the session (2.30 till 6) it was apparent that the corn would again work, but might not be the most effective approach as the fish were of a smaller stamp, and seemed to be up in the water. Nick and I stubbornly stuck to the plan while Tony went onto caster shallow at 5 metres. He subsequently 'emptied it'. Or that was the impression. When it came to emptying the nets, similar result were evident compared to Top pool, but we'd had a lot more fish for the weight.
Tuesday night we went for an Indian and then met Chris in the alehouse. Tony was trying his best to convince him that corn was best, fished short, but the rest of us were pretty sure of what we wanted to do.
Match day morning, and following breakfast we arrived at Tunnel. Only 166 entrants this year, so just a knock-up really :-) Spread over 8 lakes, there were to be 19 qualifying spaces up for grabs, which basically meant 2 from each lake. Tony and Nick drew on New pool, both on good looking pegs, while Chris and I also drew together on Club pool. It could be won from anywhere but Club was one of the more favoured lakes, although its not actually one of my favourites.
Again, readers will probably think I'm talking bollox when I say it proved to be a challenge. Most of the lakes are predominately F1s, whereas there are a lot more 'proper' carp in Club. The dilemma throughout the match was... feed for F1s or feed for carp? " 2 hours in, and things were slow on hemp and corn, with those around me catching 2 to my one. Decision time. Adding a number four, I plumbed up down my peg, at an angle about 6 feet off the bank. I was going down my Lingmere route of micros with a 4mm expander. What a transformation! I started to claw my way back into contention for the section (£50 for 5 pegs). With a decent amount of carp showing I decided to fill the margins in and hope for a strong finish with some big carp. Big mistake more like, as every time I looked, after a length of time, all I could get was an F1. I just kept going back on the pellet line and catching steadily.
When the scales came round, which was pretty sharpish for a match of it's size, I thought I'd done about 85lb and maybe enough for 2nd in section and 2nd on the lake, which would mean qualification for the final. As usual my estimation was a little out, and I managed 113lb 14oz. The two anglers who I thought may have beaten me weighed 93 and 84 respectively. Job done, I'd won £50 and qualified.
Chris had weighed 50lb for nowhere, while Nicky also finished unplaced with his level 60lb. A great day's match fishing nonetheless.
Meanwhile, Tony too had enjoyed a great day, while demonstrating remarkable restraint. His peg looked a dolly with features galore. The temptation to use the entire pole was resisted, and sticking to the top kit plan, he brought 93lb 10oz to the scales. At the time, the magazine photographer told him to keep some fish in a net, which got Tony excited. Soon after he told him to tip them back as someone had done 113lb. Tony's first thought was ..."I bet it's that feckn Gnome!" He did, however, win his section and the lake.
At the car park, we had a burger and stood around for ages waiting for the result. All the section winners were announced and paid, and Tony and I never got a mention...... Hang on, we must be in the main frame. Tony was just pipped by 4oz and had to settle for a brilliant 3rd place and a consolation £200, while, incredibly, I had somehow won it again. I felt embarrassed for a moment but the £300 in the envelope ended those feelings and, as they say, I was over the moon. So, get your fingers out this year, someone else deserves to have this experience, bring it on fellas.