I had a bad day Thursday. I managed to pull something in my right shoulder the night before the Martyn Franklin benefit match at Dunwich. I'd arranged to pick Pete up at 7am, so I smothered fiery jack on my shoulder and got an early night. Up at 6am and I can still feel my shoulder, quick shower, gear loaded and I'm on my way. I had just about got to South Repps when I startled a Muntjak, the bloody thing ran right in front of me so I ran right over it, no damage to the car thankfully. Unfortunately I wouldn't have room for the deer and all our kit, so I left it in the hedgerow.

Poor old Bambi, fecking things are a nuisance round here.

Pete's gear was by the door, he has this knack of not being there when I pull up so I get to load it all! Seemed to do the trick with my shoulder though, maybe the weight of his box has killed all the nerves in my shoulder so I can't feel a bloody thing. The long trip always goes easier with a bit of a craic on the way. Pete was telling me about some guy on one of the fishing forums asking for advice. Apparently the guys wife had gone to bed, he thought he could hear her snoring, so he flicked through the telly channels until he found the playboy channel. He was getting "engrossed" in the playboy channel when his wife opened the room door, he managed to change channel on the TV but was still caught taking himself in hand so to speak. His wife thinks he now gets off while watching the Vicar of Dibley. Fecking priceless. He wanted advice as to what to tell his wife. I wouldn't tell her that he wishes she was more like Dawn French, I can't see that going down too well.

Maybe its her nice buns?

The car park at Dunwich was filling up as we got there. We'd be fishing the last of the ebb and the first of the flood between 09:30 and 14:30. The sea had roughed up a bit, reports from earlier in the week spoke of flat, gin clear seas so I was pleasantly surprised to see some colour and a bit of life in it. Duly booked in and relieved of my christmas coin, we decided to head off to the right under the cliffs, roughly where we'd fished in the ICCM. I didn't really fancy it even with life and colour, I've never had a real good day at Dunwich. I prefer venues with more tide, and with todays tide not being very big, there wasn't going to be a lot of flow. We were supposed to be at the end where we'd get most of any tide there was but even having the wind with tide for the last of the ebb I held out fine with just 5oz of lead.

As I was waiting for the all in, I texted Karl. He was fishing up the coast at Kessingland, he had a social aranged with Johnny and Lee Kerry, PK's eldest. Now Lee's a very good angler, coarse that is not sea, him and Karl fished together a lot on the local coarse match scene. Lee now fishes for the famous Barnsley Blacks and is sponsored by Browning. PK was on days today so while he was at work, Lee took PK's kit down to Kessingland with Karl and Johnny, it would be a nice social fish for Lee rather than an intense match type situation. Anyway long story cut short, he all but emptied PK's rig wallet, relieved him of quite a few leads and a full spool of braid! I bet the old man's beside himself, luckily for Lee he's way too big for a good hiding off his old man.

Karl, Lee and Johnny had only had micro cod as the match started. I'd baited up a 3/0 pennel with lug and wanged it out as far as I could given the stiff southerly wind. Ten minutes later and I've got a 29cm codling on the beach and I never even saw the bite. Good start given it was measure and convert everything over 20cm. Given earlier reports of clear seas, I'd tied up some three hook flappers with size 1's, I even used a sequin as a bait stop. With this small one and Karl telling me he's getting micro cod round the corner, I tried my flappers. One chuck and then I chucked them back in the box and back to my good old 3/0 pennels, I think its the sequins, all mincey they are.

Mick Phillips proving you can still catch codling at 114 years of age.

It was a struggle. News up and down the beach was there were only odd mostly undersize codling and whiting being caught, when I managed to sneak a slightly better codling at 36cm, just sizeable but returned anyway, at least I'd seen a bite this time. I had some good lads just down from me and they seemed to be struggling too, I'd only seen odds and sods. I was just watching Pete cast, when out of the corner of my eye I saw my rod tip drop back. I picked up and wound down for ages before feeling that satisfying thump of a small codling. They were getting bigger, this one was 44cm and I'm starting to think I could be doing ok here. That one didn't go back, a nice eating size at 2 and a bit pounds.

I took a walk up to Andy Lawes who was fishing the end peg, he was struggling and hadn't heard anything from down the beach. Pete and Trev down from me were still catching odd small fish, but here I was with an undersize and two sizeable codling. They should score good points/weight when their lengths are converted. I got a few texts from down the beach, they told of only a few fish. I was just preparing a text for Karl, when I saw the rod tip nod forward before dropping back. I wound down and felt the weight straight away, this had to be a better fish. I made my way gingerly down to the waters edge and a couple of minutes later a double shot of codling lay in the surf! The bigger fish on the pennel hook, one was 28cm and the other 39cm, measured and witnessed by Andy and they both go back. Game on now.

I got a text from John Abbot telling me Allsoapy had five as well though his were all undersize, also rumours of a few a little bigger than my biggest. I had two under and three over, I reckoned if I could sneak a few bits or another 1 or 2 codling I'd have a real chance. I was almost tempted to fish the flappers for the last hour but stuck it out with the big hooks. I saw Trev manage a 30 odd cm bass late on, he'd kept a steady trickle of bits and bobs coming and I thought it was going to be close. On the last cast I picked up and noticed a bit of weight, thinking this could be the winner, I took it real steady. My leader appeared, then my hooks and lead, and somebody elses leader hanging off them. On the last chuck I'd even managed to catch some lost kit, bloody marvellous.

Kit away and the trek back, it didn't seem such hard work today, the walk at the end of the ICCM had me thinking I was going to die. Trev and Pete reckoned I'd won it, but I wasn't so sure. Allsoapy had 6 by the end, and I knew Trev wouldn't be far away and the bass might have swung it. Also Dingit had a good fish around 46cms, I didn't know what else he had with it, time would tell.

Once the gear was in the car, we shot over to the Ship at Dunwich for the tally up. I was knackered but at least my shoulder seemed fixed, that's the first time casting has done me any good, it usually gives me hernias. Anyway the results were finally in, I'd managed to sneak the win with a little over 7lb, Trev was second and Dingit third. The top 10 are given below:

1st Ian Holmes Codling x5 239 7lbs 7.5oz
2nd Trevor Elliott Codling x8, Bass x1 172 5lbs 6oz
3rd Martin Waters Codling x3 134 4lbs 3oz
4th Mark Alsop Codling x6 111 3lbs 7.5oz
5th David Field Codling x2 108 3lbs 6oz
6th John Abbott Codling x2 90 2lbs 13oz
7th Pete Fairclough Codling x2, Bass x1 52 1lbs 10oz
8th Terry Arnold Codling x3 46 1lbs 7oz
9th Mick Phillips Codling x1 43 1lbs 5.5oz
= 11th Andrew Lawes Codling x1 22 11oz
= 11th Jake Smith Codling x1 22 11oz

Yours truly receiving my pot and wedge from the match organiser Paul Blyth.

Biggest result of the day is that we'd managed to raise over £300. Martyn Franklin's family had asked that any monies raised be paid to the Lowestoft Lifeboat fund, a worthy cause seeing as Martyn was a crew member there for a while. I met the guy one night on Lowestoft Sth Pier, he was fishing with Paul Carter and Haggis. God bless him. Anyway enough of me waffling on, Mrs Aitch is in bed and the Vicar of Dibley's on UKGold.