Commentary by Nick Darke:
22 anglers turned up to compete for the prestigious title of becoming the 2009 Champion of Champions. The lake is only 20 metres wide but very long with 24 pegs. Apparently it is heavily stocked with fish which was surely debatable!!
On the hottest day of the year so far (25c) with very little wind it was certainly a pleasant day to be out of the house. Great for sunburn but not ideal for fishing.
We drew our pegs at 8am and got under way at 9am. It didn’t take long for people to catch; Ladies Champ Clare had a carp minutes after the whistle but sadly that was to be her only fish. Word soon got round that Malcolm on a fancied end peg was getting a lot of action early on in the match. Ken Sharp on the other end peg (no.1) was also catching well. With the warm weather the fish seemed happiest at the shallower ends although plenty of carp were swirling throughout. Many people caught fish but they certainly appeared to be few and far between. It really was a struggle for most of us to catch at regular intervals to put together any decent sort of weight. Most noticeable was the lack of small fish. A year or so ago you could easily get 10lb of perch in any peg. Now, it would seem, the cormorants have taken them.
Overall a frustrating day but well done to Roger Smith with a nice haul of carp (including a double) all caught on pellet in the margins. Roger weighed in at a whopping 30lbs 13oz to secure 1st place. But as Roger was a guest on the event it was Ken Sharp who was crowned Champion of Champions 2009. Ken came in 2nd place with 29lb 9oz but lost a staggering 10 carp which cost him top spot.
Footnote: Josh and I fished on after for a few hours having relocated to pegs 1 & 2 and had 50-60lb each !
That must be a small fish or a stiff top kit that Nick is using!