So much so that I was surprised that more weren’t up for it, given the double figure 
– nah tremble figure – catch reports that were filtering out the week before 15 gruellerites finally turned up all looking forwards to a few fish.............for a change.
The venue - Staffs Worcs at Four Ashes - had even managed to entice an old face back to the towpath – OBI aka CBA 
Venue expert Big Col pegged out and the draw got underway. MrV – aka End peg Vernon
declined his offer of a short walk and found himself at the end of the section as all the other flyers soon went with Big Col T – winner of the last grueller - feeling the pressure of finding himself on the ‘brambles’ and being the bookies favourite expected to walk it...... 
Peg 8 for yours truly and not far to walk.
But was I up against it? 
Not half - for company on 7 I’d got the venue crack, Big Col 
with horror of horrors the dreaded KOD (Kiss of Death to the uninitiated) 
to my left on 9. 
The usual Staffs Worcs rigs were set up..............although I wandered did I really need to set a punch rig up? ::) It had been caster, caster and more caster from those mid week reports, but I thought I’d follow Yamo’s approach on one of his secret sortie down there (you can’t beat a good tom tom)
by starting on the punch and as soon as the stamp fish put in an appearance slip a caster on. In fact me bait bill had more than doubled for this Big Col Bagging fest – but what the heck. I even set up a chub rig as Big Col confided that his mate had had a few off my peg last visit...........bloody hell, I’d only bought 1 net today, I might have to dash home for a second, such was the expectancy
Set up with 5 minutes to go, I thought I ‘d better take a couple of snaps as I wouldn’t have time later would I, ::) I’d be too busy sacking up.............
My peg for the next 4 hours
The cracks to my right........
And the cracks to my left.......
The whistle went so It was time to get my head down...........
TBC..........
In fact at this stage, was Big Col so confident that he would have a few as he was missing for the first 10 minutes...........was he giving us all a couple of pounds starter, 
.............the only other exciting things to report were that Tricast62 snared a kamikaze perch on the seed – must have been joker flavoured 
Despite the result, and the fact I probably walked all the roach up to my end peg, I must say the outing was brilliant. The stretch does look the biz, but I think a few cold nights prior had ended our chances of a bagging session. 
