by Tommy L » Sun Apr 13, 2008 11:11 pm
The sky was blue above Magiscroft as the anglers arrived to do battle in round number 8 of Ayrstrike. The match was pegged on the Cafe bank from 4 to 18 with 15 anglers taking part. The prize for first place would be entry to the Ayrstrike Final at Springwater Ayrshire in late May where 16 anglers will battle it out for the biggest ever prize in the history of Scottish Coarse Fishing.
With the clear blue skies came the downside in that the temp during the night plummeted to minus 4 degree's. That was against a high temp yesterday of 10 degree's and we all know that the fish don't like vast variances in tempreature and tend to go off the feed. That's is the theory and it was bourne out by the weight's caught over the match hours 11am till 4pm which were disappointing for the time of the year.
As the anglers gathered old father time alias Papa Doc was in the top carpark never having got over Red Dave not turning up to fish on Wednesday. This time it was 'The Beard' alias Colin Kerr who was AWOL. Old Papa looked miserable as he made his way down to The Island Pond on his own, you can swee his predicament fishing on his own for the second time this week with nobody to tell his woe's to.
The Cafe was the quietest I had ever seen it with the sun shinning outside and people standing about exchanging pleasantries with all the talk leaning to the upcoming exhibition at Magiscroft when 'Mark My Words' keeps to his word and swallows the bitter pill. In the interest of safety and no human ever having ate a bag of Swimstim before it is proposed that the alternative could be to eat one tablespoon of Swimstim plus take all club members trolleys up Heartbreak Hill at the first Summer league meeting.
The draw took place which gave myself a chance to practice my drawing skills for The Final. Managed to draw an end peg but at the wrong end. The draw favoured Papa Doc very well and he wasn't even in the competition. The Doc ( Brian Docherty Jnr ) managed to draw the peg his Auld Da fished on last week and whilst plumbing up snagged himself on Paps's missing top 4, nearly said missing in action there, action and Papa Doc should never be assosiated in the same sentance. Papa Doc was so please with The Doc's find he told me that he might bring him along a Penguin Biscuit next week.
Whislt we were all setting up our gear who should we see slipping into the fishery along the far bank of The Main Loch none other than 'The Beard' He joined his Barra's team compatriots Red Dave and Captain Judith who had outed Wullie Sinclair from their established team to bring in young blood with the inclusion of 'The Beard'. Rumour has it that El Papa is next on the chopping list. Having been brought up to respect my elders I shouted over to 'The Beard' that Brian was waiting for him on the Island pond. He replied that he now knew but blamed it on Solomon for giving him the false information that El Papa wasn't at the fishery. I then had to watch as Colin proceeded to set up his gear on the Main loch. Heard on the grapevine that the vacancy in Judiths team has being advertised and that the only qualification to make the team is the requirement that you have to have a pulse, they see this as a vast improvement on the member they are dropping.
To draw an end peg was lucky, to draw Del Boy next to me was even luckier, he never steals your fish and is always good for a laugh during the match. He's a great guy really just needs kept in his place. He started his patter early on attempting to waste my concentration. I had caught 3 Carp in the first 3 hours which I estimated to be 1.5lbs, Del Boy said I had 5lbs ' I'm only here for the money Del, I don't have to lie, I'm already in the final.' Quiet you would have thought that Celtic had just announced to their fans that Ally Mccoist had been appointed as their new manager. The Barrow Boy was real disciplined today in his fishing as he made a serious attempt to join the 'Smug Club.'
There was another sad tale today. Remember Stewart Rae breaking his number 8 last week when striking into a fish. You do, well I have to report that whilst using his new number 8 costing 240 quid on Saturday whilst striking into a fish again on The Main Loch his new number 8 section again exploded. I hope you get the section replaced for free Stew, keep us posted as we are all ears.
As the match progressed the odd fish was hauled out right along the bank. The fish didn't appear to be favouring either end of the pond. from the outset it was known that the fishing was going to be hard with no runaway winner. In the end anyone of ten anglers could have won the competition with one decent sized additional Carp. The fishing on the other bank was real peggy with red dave's team finding it hard to catch. there was one angler on that side who had caught over 20lbs prior to chucking it for the day about 1pm.
The weather during the day was real pleasant until 2pm when the sun disappeared and it was cold. The weigh in started from 18 back to 4. Kevin held the lead a she was first to be weighed in. Jim jones took the lead from Kevin as the weigh-in continued. When it came to Chris Paton he stormed out in front and with Ian Whitson saying that he couldn't break Chri's ( Crispy ) Paton's lead it was all over. Ian managed to beat Jim jones weight to take second place. It was Chris that entered the Smug club as member number 8. Chris has a good record this year, fished 2, won 2, could this be his year.
After the presentation the Sunday Club clicked in for the second week in a row where anyone interested sets up camp where ever there is enough room and fishes on all helping each other with each others fishing skills.
Here ends my 16 days holiday marathon whereby I only missed one day due to real bad weather. During that time I learned plenty, Qualified for the Ayrstrike final and made many new friends. Back to work for me tomorrow. Will be patroling the banks midweek, if anyone want's any help with the basics just say.
Well done again Chris.
" Dont lead me into temptation... ill make my own way there "
1st Chris Paton - 7lb 10½oz 
