Best peg in the country!

Many pegs are given the billing of the ‘best in the country’ throughout a fishing year and at present, the king of them all has to be 99 on the Snake Lake at Essex complex Puddledock Farm, scene of a string of 200lb carp weight since before Christmas and home to Tony Raymond’s 213-10-0 winner in the latest open match.

To look at it though, the swim offers nothing different to the 99 others on this sprawling lake, but the carp seem to like it for some reason and have balled up in numbers here for almost two months and are refusing to move!

Tony caught dobbing maggots along the gaps in the far bank sedges at 14m and then feeding minimally down the central track to net fish to 8lb and leave Ian Nash a distant second with 117-4-0 from next-door peg 98. With £500 golden pegs in operation at the fishery too, regulars will be hoping that 99 is put down as one of them in future opens!

“We see it every year when the carp shoal up in a few pegs and stay there all-winter,” said Puddledock boss Steve Mould.

“Pegs 100, 99 and 98 are the current epicentres and they all want to draw there but it has its own pressure when you do get it because everyone is expecting you to win and win with 200lb too!”