Langport vs Taunton

With the first 3 rounds of the Langport league on the river over it is now time to turn attention to Stathe Drain. To be honest this venue is far from my favourite . I'm not entirely sure why I have not enjoyed my fishing here but it is certain that I have totally lost the plot . In recent years it has been one disaster after another and I really cannot remember a decent result. With this in mind you can imagine my dismay when this year it was decided that 3 rounds would be here. I almost decided to ask the skipper whether it was possible to be considered just to fish the river but that is really not on . No ! dont be a primma donna , get on with it and try to sort it out! With this in mind I had a couple of practice sessions which taught me absolutely nothing. The problem I have with this venue is that I do not really understand the amounts of fish of the various species, their response to a variety of conditions and also how they react to matchfishing pressure. This interclub match at least gave an opportunity to fish under match conditions prior to the league match. At least the practice sessions had allowed me to make one or two decent rigs and my rough matchplan was to fish for lumps for at least an hour whilst feeding caster and hemp , hoping to catch on these baits sometime later in the match. The draw was organised with each team drawing odds and evens. This was either done for the sake of fairness or to keep Amigos and Terminators apart. The conditions on the the day were frankly awful from a fishing point of view , exceptionly sunny and bright and the water level had dropped about a foot and lost its colour. I drew peg 28 above the railway bridge which I thought would be as good as any barring end pegs . To my right was Ian Brewer who I have known for thirty years, but have never got to know well. On my left was a blank peg and then Amigo Mark Vigar. On the whistle I cupped in some chopped worm 3/4 the way across and began feeding hemp on the inside. I had one tiny skimmer on the choppie then nothing. The hemp line produced not a touch. Its already turning into a Stathe disaster and by the halfway mark I have caught next to nothing. People around me are also stuggling and some are fishing the whip and catching a few tiny fish. I then decide to fish a lighter rig over and to my supprise get a 4 oz skimmer first put in , followed by 4 tiny skimmers and a roach. Then the float goes down and I am into a lump. It tears off to my right and I stop it and turn it I am now optimistic that it will come out and I keep it high in the water and put as much pressure as I dare on it. Just as I feel that I am somewhere near in control it goes solid in midwater. Snagged! Nowhere near any visible weed but snagged solid . I release pressure then re exert pressure but its just solid. No feel of any fish now so I know I must just exert pressure until something happens. The rig flies back at me and thats that. I hate this bloody venue! The rest of the match ticked by with me trying all sorts to catch but nothing happens. Another Stathe disaster to add to my collection, I weigh in a paltry 470grms and wished I had stayed home and had some teeth out or sat in the greenhouse with a thick jacket on. The good news is that fellow Terminator Russ Farley has won and it is his first win, I am really chuffed for him. He had 2 tench plus bits for 5 kilos+. Generally the drain has fished very poorly with ours the worst section , won with under a kilo by Mark Vigar next to you know who. I think I must have been in the bottom 3 in the entire match About par for Stathe and me. We just do not get on!