PAA Predator Grandprix 2019 - Hawksbury Junction

I was nervous about this one to say the least! I had no idea if anyone I knew would be fishing and for all I knew I might be crashing an exclusive club match that didn't want any interlopers. On top of that I knew the canals were in a right state after two weeks of turbulent weather as a couple of storms had passed through. The zander should by all rights be either about spawn or on the nests and the perch had become like ghosts as they too were meant to be spawning soon. If that wasn't enough the weather was predicted to be a mixed bag through the day which for light lure fishing can make things very hard...

When I arrived into the parking area it was already buzzing with anglers all ready for a day of lure slinging, but from what I could see at first glance I might be the only non-polish competitor in attendance. That was until I spotted Ashley who I'd met a few weeks prior in the Tusses Spro warm up. I needn't have been concerned about being one of the few English lads competing as it quickly became very clear that the members from the Polish Anglers Association were a very friendly lot and welcomed us heartily, every one of them shaking hands upon arrival which would be something nice to see at other matches. It was also somewhat helpful that we knew Greg Bafia from the Tusses lure division who very helpfully translated any important info through the day. After all the greetings were done and the entrance fee was paid, the chaps in charge began paring us up ready for the off and filling us in on the rules for the match.

Having had a little wander around the venue a couple of days prior and seeing what a state the canals were in after the ever blowing gales had kept just about every molecule of sediment suspended in the water, I knew the first few hours of this match would be key. As much as I dislike the Oxford canal it seemed the best option as there was a noticeable colour difference between that and the adjacent Coventry. So with my partner in tow I lead us directly onto the Oxford and this turned out to be a great decision for me as early on I hooked and landed a good size zander which not only settled me down quickly but also put me in a great position early on.

A great start

50cm

By now a lot of the competitors who had gone down the Coventry were filtering back up and down onto the Oxford in search of comfort away from the wind and better conditions in general. This meant that most of the water myself and my partner fished would be second hand which was not ideal. Oddly though three or four spots further down the canal I targeted a snaggy narrow area only to quickly get a pluck which soon turned into a second pluck, followed by a proper hit. Luckily I had located a shoal of small zander and quickly landed two perfect match sized fish.

32cm

22cm

Much as expected things got worse as the morning wore on. Early on some fantastic fish had been caught including a rumoured 77cm zander, some decent pike and a big perch, but as soon as the first boats began chugging through, the little clarity we had soon disappeared in the clouds of silt churned up. With three zander on my score card I really wanted to try and root out some small perch and so scaled down my lures specifically to target them, focussing on potential holding spots, but the efforts was in vain as the captures all round deteriorated with the weather. In a two hour period the weather changed from sunny and very windy to raining heavily, then snowing. In a break from the weather we marched back to the most productive area where it promptly began hailing hard. Honestly this sudden influx of cold water did nothing to help the already slow fishing in my opinion.

After recovering any of the spot where I had found fish, I rolled the dice and dragged my partner off for one last foray onto the abandoned Coventry. It was a real gamble as the wind was hammering down the canal and the water was almost thick, it was that muddy, but if this decision paid off I could have scored some massive perch from one or two haunts I knew. The perch were much as they have been for a while now, conspicuous by their absence! My effort though was rewarded by a single small zed which on a match this hard proved very valuable at 22cm long.

22cm

It had been a hard match all round from what I could tell but this wasn't evident in the high spirits of all the competitors who were laughing and joking about the awful weather and generally enjoying themselves. On a hard day I was happy with the four fish I had caught, but until the sheets were in and the scores tallied up I would have to wait to see how I had done.

Total = 126cm

It wasn't until one of the officials told me to make sure I stuck around that I realised that I had actually done quite well in these terrible conditions. As the officials spoke away in Polish, Greg translated. Prizes for a previous competition were handed out and the juniors were applauded. Then after a while they got onto the top scores of the day and happily my name came out for the 2nd place position.

I was made up to finish in the top three as from what I had seen of my fellow competitors they fished really well and their cast rates are unbelievable. Not only were all the other chaps there great anglers but they made me feel very welcome and they were full of congratulations after the prizes were awarded. I will certainly not think twice before fishing another PAA event in the future should the opportunity arrive as they really were a great bunch to fish along side.