Saturday 29 August 2009

Rolf’s Lake. Holton. Oxfordshire. August 29th, 2009.



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The JINX Series 2009
Match 5.
Well this is it, the final match of 2009′s Jinx Series. It’s been a close fought series this year and there’s probably half a dozen anglers in with a chance of winning the series going into this last match, and Clive and I still have an outside chance to win The Pairs. There’s bound to be a few tales to tell at the end of it all, besides all the anglers trying to escape yet another Minxing at Gemma’s hands.

Anyway with the car all loaded and breakfast in the form of a “Full English” taken care of by my usual stop in Battersea, a smooth drive down to Rolf’s ensued, though the junction 8 services were rammed with Rugby League fans making their way down to Wembley for The Challenge Cup Final. Pulling into the fishery car park, some people were already there as they were making a proper weekend of it and had fished the Friday Night match and were staying on for the Sunday Fish4Wales match. Clive was already ensconced in ‘Hotel Peugeot’ so I stopped for a chat and to find out how the evening match had fished. Soon the Welsh contingent surfaced along with Simon & Gem and as we chatted the car park started to fill with the usual suspects. Nick (monkey) had brought along wife Lisa and son Josh for the day, While Paul had wife Jayne and the family pooch in tow. Dai arrived with Malc and his boy Liam, while Geoff P had interrupted his holiday to meet up with the Jinx mob once again.
a30-2.jpg Waiting for the draw. picture by pnm123
There was a bit of a breeze today and a fair bit of cloud, and with the weather having been a bit unsettled I fancied that the Lake might fish every bit as hard as it had on recent visits, there was also a bit of scum that had collected in a couple of pegs, most notably pegs 10 & 11 and pegs 2 & 3. However there were plenty of fish moving as usual, and it’s notoriously hard to tell just how Rolf’s will fish on any given day, just as long as I didn’t draw PEG 13 I would be happy. Even with Malc arriving in plenty of time, the draw was somehow delayed. Clive however was a picture of joy and elation when he discovered his personal nemesis, in the shape of PEG 23 had been left out of the draw bag, and positively beaming when he pulled Peg 8 from the draw bag. I hung back hoping some other poor mug sucker lucky soul would draw PEG 13. Dai duly obliged (unlucky fella) and I plunged my hand in and came back with Peg 2. Not a peg I’d fished before, but facing a bit of scum was infinitely preferable to spending 5 hours in my personal version of purgatory.

Strolling round to my peg there was Dave on Peg 34, Jon on Peg 36 and Slim on Peg 38. Al was on Peg 40, while on peg 4 was Steve, with Malc on peg 6 completing our section.

a31-1.jpg Sorting out some rigs. picture by pnm123
Down to the business at hand and set up the kit for the day. 2 paste rigs consisting of small Malman SC Paste floats and rigged it up on 0·20 Power Match with size 12 Ashima Barbless hooks, 1 for the margins where I had around 2ft of depth and the other for 5-8 mtrs where there was around 4ft with just a couple of inches variance over the distance. Then a deck rig for either pellet or corn at 5-8mtrs made up of a Malman 4X12 Adam on 0·20 Power Match with size 14 QM1 hook and finally a Malman Slapper, again on 0·20 Power Match with a size 14 Drennan carp match hook for up in the water and to double up down the margin if needed. Bait was Paste, 8mm hard pellet and corn, with feed taken care of by 6mm fishery pellet.
a1-6.jpg Peg 2 for me today. picture by pnm123
Well it was 1·30pm when Malc’s dulcet tones announced the All-In. I shipped out a large pot of pellet with a few grains of corn to 5mtrs and fed some pellet by hand to the bush down the left hand margin, then shipped out a banded 8mm pellet to 5mtrs, but no amount of lifting and dropping could induce a bite……
a27-2.jpg Peter waiting for a bite. picture by pnm123
In fact the start of the match was slow for most of us that I could see on the Little Lake. Steve had got off the mark though, slipping a carp into his net quite early on…
a2-6.jpg Steve Wilson on peg 4. picture by pnm123
The Jinx himself, Malc had also uttered his customary shout to signify that he’d landed his 1st fish of the day over on peg 6……
a3-6.jpg Malc on peg 6. picture by pnm123
I’d been alternating between pellet, paste and corn for over an hour, when I had a sharp bite on corn. I missed it but the strike connected with something substantial in mid water, a foul hooker that I was briefly connected to before the hook returned with just a solitary scale attached.
Dave however was into what appeared to be a decent carp that was putting up a good account of itself……
a6-5.jpg Dave on peg 34. picture by pnm123
With nothing happening for me I decided to re-feed and take a stroll with the camera, and by the time I got round to Clive, Dave was just guiding it into the net……
a8-7.jpg Dave landing a carp. picture by pnm123
Terry was having a bit of a struggle getting to grips with Peg 7, but I’m sure I saw a smile spread across his face as he watched Jon’s pained expression as Dave strolled over for him to verify the weight of the fish he’d just landed …
a9-7.jpg Terry Goff on peg 7. picture by pnm123
Chatting to Clive for a while, he’d had a steady start and was hoping for better things as the match progressed, so wishing him well I left him to it ……
a11-7.jpg Clive concentrates on peg 8. picture by pnm123
Nick was having a bit of a struggle on peg 9, having lost a couple of foul hookers despite having the encouragement of Lisa and Josh watching on behind him……
a13-7.jpg Nick WP on peg 9. picture by pnm123
Next up was Fred on peg 11 who also had his good lady watching on to provide moral support, and it looked as if he was going to need every bit of it……

a14-7.jpg Fred on peg 11 picture by pnm123
Then it was round to the dreaded PEG 13. There was Dai, with a swim that was bubbling away like a jacuzzi, and a  look of pain on his face that I knew only to well. I really felt for him, having been there far to often for my liking this year, so left him alone with his misery……
a16-6.jpg Dai on peg 13. picture by pnm123
Next up was Geoff, who having had a weigher and a couple in the net had a smile on his face and a twinkle in the eye, he was just enjoying his day and as he’d caught that was all that mattered to him……
a21-2.jpg Geoff Palmer. picture by pnm123
Looking across I could see Paul, yet again having brought Jayne with him he’d drawn on the car park bank, which by now was in the shade meaning that Jayne had left him in search of some sunshine……
a20-2.jpg Paul Roberts. picture by pnm123
Now it’s obvious that Jayne knows the form when she visits Rolf’s with Paul, as she was to be found sitting in a nice comfy chair in the sun behind the empty peg 19 and looking a lot happier than hubby ……
a22-2.jpg Jayne Roberts. picture by pnm123
Gemma was looking distinctly unhappy as it obviously wasn’t going to plan. Nobody had heard her scream as yet meaning that she hadn’t caught, making a lot of people feel a whole lot better as the odds on a Minxing receded……
a19-2.jpg Gemma (The Minx) Doyle. picture by pnm123
Big Dave, fresh from a win on the Friday night match, was now experiencing the down side of Rolf’s as it appeared that the fish had wised up to his tactics leaving him struggling …
a18-3.jpg Dave (Yorkie) Moore. picture by pnm123
While to rub it in a bit more, Simon on the next peg seemed to be getting to grips with things and was putting one or two fish in the net……
a17-6.jpg Simon. picture by pnm123
So back to my peg. There was a bit of activity showing on the 5mtr line, so back out with an 8mm banded pellet on the deck having re-plumbed to make sure the bait was just touching bottom. I decided to cut right back on the feed, by flicking just a dozen pellets out at time rather than the 50-60 that’s the norm. I also shortened the line between the pole tip and float to a mere 4″ in an attempt to hit any indication that occurred. 10 minutes of lifting and dropping and the float slid away and a short lift saw a pleasing amount of elastic coming out of the top kit. A couple of minutes later a pristine Rolf’s Common was safely in the landing net, and a weigher to get me off and running.
Jon on Peg 36 was briefly connected to a Carp that he felt sure was a foul hooker, and sure enough just moments after I took the photo he lost it …
a26-2.jpg That's an awful lot of elastic. picture by pnm123
Slim was struggling as well and appeared to be pinning his faith in picking off a few of the fish that he could see cruising in the upper layers of the water in front of him…
a4-6.jpg Slim on peg 38 picture by pnm123
Malc appeared to be having a steady match from what I could see, though Steve seemed to be getting a steady run of fish as well, unfortunately for Steve though, quite a few of those were foul hookers that were coming adrift before he had a chance of landing them.


I’d had another couple of net fish and Al had finally got of the mark with a couple of weighers. Jon by now had got just a little bit desperate thinking that he may be on the receiving end of a Minxing, and had got the maggots out and spent an hour fishing for silvers, Desperate or what? Meanwhile it was a case of a blank half hour for me, but I noticed a few bubbles popping to the surface at around 8mtrs. After adding another couple of sections I re-plumbed, fired about 20 pellets out and followed with a banded 8mm. The float kept on going and after a brief tussle a stocky Mirror was safely in the net, another weigher. For the final hour and a half I stuck with the 8mtr line and while it couldn’t be described as fast and furious action I managed to add a further 5 Carp to my net during that time, the last sliding into the landing net as Malc called the All-Out.


So with the gear all packed away and back in the car, it was time for the Weigh-In which as usual started from Peg 34 and Dave started things off with a hard earned 30¾lbs. The first improvement on that was Slim’s 63¾lbs from Peg 38. My 9 fish came to a level 67lbs which would be good enough for 2nd in section, as Malc took the honours in our section with an even 100lbs. Clive on Peg 8 had made the most of his draw putting 128lbs on the board and taking the win on the day. Tony on Peg 10 managed a level 76lbs that would give him 2nd in his section. PEG 13 however had handed out a proper beating to Dai, with just 4lbs of silvers saving him from a DNW.
Gem on Peg 24 on the car park bank had an even more frustrating day with just 3lbs of silvers meaning everyone had avoided a Minxing. Simon on Peg 26 put 124¼lbs on the scales giving him 2nd overall and a section win, Andy’s 78¼lbs gave him 5th overall, while finally on Peg 31 Simon E’s 123lbs gave him 3rd overall and 2nd in section on the day.


Position Peg               Angler                 Weight    
 1st Peg 8 Clive Pritchard 128lbs 00ozs
 2nd Peg 26 Simon Mound 124lbs 04ozs
 3rd Peg 31 Simon Enticott 123lbs 00ozs
 4th Peg 6 Malc Doyle 100lbs 00ozs
 5th Peg 28 Andy Spruce  78lbs 04ozs
 6th Peg 10 Tony Roberts  76lbs 00ozs
 7th Peg 2 Peter Morton  67lbs 00ozs
 8th Peg 38 Ade Williams  63lbs 12ozs
 9th Peg 4 Steve Wilson  61lbs 08ozs
 10th Peg 7 Terry Goff  60lbs 04ozs
 11th Peg 40 Alan Loader  52lbs 04ozs
 12th Peg 11 Fred Parker  45lbs 12ozs
 13th Peg 16 Geoff Palmer       (guest)  44lbs 04ozs
 14th Peg 25 Dave Moore  43lbs 12ozs
 15th Peg 22 Paul Roberts  37lbs 08ozs
 16th Peg 9 Nick Watkins-Price  31lbs 12ozs
 17th Peg 34 Dave Collier  30lbs 12ozs
 18th Peg 14 Nick Williams  21lbs 12ozs
 19th Peg 36 Jon Hatch  20lbs 00ozs
 20th Peg 32 Keith Fellows  19lbs 04ozs
 21st Peg 18 Matt Edwards      (guest)  17lbs 00ozs
 22nd Peg 13 Dai Thomas   4lbs 00ozs
 23rd Peg 24 Gemma Doyle   3lbs 00ozs

So that was it, Series over, as we all congregated round the fishery hut and Malc worked out the final positions. Of course boys will be boys and with a few cameras present some opportunities are just to good to miss……
a28-2.jpg Sometimes you just can't resist the temptation. picture by pnm123

Overall Simon Enticott won the Series with a score of 5 points, with Clive in 2nd place for the 2nd year running with a score of 7 points, and Steve in 3rd place on 8 points.
 Congratulations and Well Done to all of them.
Overall Individual Series Result.


Position Points           Angler                      Total weight  
 1st  5 points Simon Enticott 10 1 1 1 2 489lbs 04ozs
 2nd  7 points Clive Pritchard 3 6 1 2 1 469lbs 00ozs
 3rd  8 points Steve Wilson 1 2 3 2 4 438lbs 00ozs
 4th 10points Alan Loader 1 2 4 3 6 426lbs 08ozs
 5th 11 points Malc Doyle 4 4 2 9 1  357lbs 08ozs
 6th 11 points Tony Roberts 3 8 2 4 2 331lbs 12ozs
 7th 11 points Paul Roberts 2 7 3 1 5 314lbs 04ozs
 8th 12 points Ryan Hughes 1 6 1 4 10 385lbs 12ozs
 9th 12points Peter Morton 5 6 4 1 2 370lbs 14ozs
 10th 12 points Fred Parker 10 5 2 2 3 277lbs 14ozs
 11th 14 points Simon Mound 2 8 4 7 1 398lbs 06ozs
 12th 16 points Keith Fellows 3 1 6 6 6 253lbs 12ozs
 13th 16 points Terry Goff 4 3 5 4 5 237lbs 04ozs
 14th 17 points Jon Hatch 8 1 5 3 8 279lbs 08ozs
 15th 18 points Mitch Auger 5 2 3 8 10 225lbs 02ozs
 16th 18 points Ade Williams 5 4 6 10 3 204lbs 10ozs
 17th 19 points Andy Spruce 7 3 7 6 3 174lbs 12ozs
 18th 20 points Nick Williams. 4 7 6 5 5 183lbs 04ozs
 19th 20 points Nick Watkins-Price 2 7 7 9 4 159lbs 00ozs
 20th 22 points Dave Moore 6 5 10 7 4 116lbs 00ozs
 21st 22 points Gemma Doyle 6 4 8 5 7   90lbs 14ozs
 22nd 23 points Dave Collier  10 3 5 8 7 170lbs 08ozs
 23rd 27 points Ant Haywood 9 5 10 3 10   76lbs 00ozs
 24th 30 points Dai Thomas 6 8 10 10 6   56lbs 12ozs
 25th 30 points Tim Westmoreland 10 9 10 5 10     2lbs 00ozs
 26th 36 points Ieuan Davies 7 9 10 10 10   32lbs 08ozs

NB: Anglers were allowed to drop their worst section result during the series so that the Overall Series results were decided by best 4 out of 5 section points. Overall weight counting in the result of anglers tying on points.

In the Pairs the Winners were Simon Enticott & Fred Parker with 49 points while Clive and I were Runners Up just 5 points behind on 54 Points.

Overall Pairs Result.
Position Points                         Anglers                         weight        
 1st  49 points Fred Parker & Simon Enticott2720 8 615  989lbs 06ozs
 2nd  54 points Peter Morton & Clive Pritchard253613 8 8  839lbs 14ozs
 3rd  72 points Keith Fellows & Ryan Hughes1215212441  656lbs 08ozs
 4th  85 points Jon Hatch & Tony Roberts3222211725  611lbs 04ozs
 5th  89 points Nick Watkins-Price & Steve Wilson1424293122  597lbs 00ozs
 6th 101 points Paul Roberts & Terry Goff2327262725  463lbs 04ozs
 7th 102 points Nick Williams & Simon Mound1840352920  581lbs 10ozs
 8th 105 points Dai Thomas & Malc Doyle2939183226  519lbs 12ozs
 9th 107 points Ade Williams & Andy Spruce4320433113  408lbs 14ozs
 10th 119 points Ieuan Davies & Alan Loader2231343241  518lbs 05ozs
 11th 121 points Tim Westmoreland & Dave Collier1832264547  445lbs 00ozs
 12th 124 points Mitch Auger & Gemma Doyle4019333636  361lbs 04ozs
 13th 150 points Dave Moore & Ant Haywood4725483444  203lbs 00ozs

NB: Pairs were allowed to drop their worst points total during the series so that the results were decided by best 4 out of 5 points scores.
Overall weights counting in the result of pairs tying on points.


So yet another Jinx Series comes to an end, I’d just like to say a BIG THANK YOU  to Malc for organising what continues to be the friendliest and best series of matches its been my pleasure to fish.
Yet another BIG THANK YOU to John & Pauline Bennett for all their efforts and for allowing us the use of Rolf’s for the entire series.
Finally a final BIG THANK YOU to all that have fished The Jinx Series, it’s all of you that make it so enjoyable to fish, and long may it continue. See you all to do it again next year no doubt.