A super bank holiday weekend with light winds, warm temperatures and long spells of sunshine throughout. A golden scenario you may think, especially looking at the Sibsey Trader Drain that displayed a fair degree of colour throughout its length, and looking spot-on for Sunday’s Trader Championship.

Not so, as the vast majority of the 37 competitors struggled for a bite of any description and those that took the main prizes did not exactly excel with any great weights. A gaggle of Mark One anglers were among the prize winners but Burgh-Le-Marsh angler Russ Parsons made full use of a blank peg next to him and took a number of small skimmers to pole and worm for a clear victory. A tench of some 3½lbs gave Alex Bates second place a pound down on the winner, whilst namesakes Bob and John Bates, took third and fifth place respectively – Don Green being the meat in the sandwich in fourth.

Nothing much else to add except that most anglers were very despondent as to the present state of the drain and it must be clear to all concerned that there is no longer a decent head of fish in this section. Blame for this situation could be laid at many doors, the winter bank stoning, predation, illegal poaching and even the recent summer flooding being slated as the cause but until some proper investigation is done we can only speculate – Environment Agency please take note and please investigate as soon as possible. Results: 1 Russ Parsons, Burgh, 7lbs 2 ½ozs; 2 Alex Bates, Mark One, 6lbs 2ozs; 3 Bob Bates, Mark One, 4lbs 7ozs; 4 Don Green, Boston, 3lbs 9ozs; 5 John Bates, Mark One, 3lbs 7 ½ozs; 6 Rob Damms, Boston, 3lbs 1 ½ozs.

Putting things into some perspective and the Coach & Horses AC match on Windsor Bank was really not much better and perhaps shows the true extent of fish loss over the last twelve months, never mind the recent disaster a fortnight ago. Lee Feary continued this year’s good form and won yet another of the club’s fixtures, at least the third of this summer so far. Lee went straight for the worm and feeder approach from the off and was rewarded with a winning net of around 10 skimmers to 12ozs. Likewise Billy Coope quickly changed to a similar method and with a slightly smaller sample of fish, took second just 2ozs ahead of Paul Cater. Next Sunday the club will fish the Hobhole Drain. Results: 1 Lee Feary 5lbs 15ozs; 2 Billy Coope 4lbs 5ozs; 3 Paul Cater 4lbs 3ozs.

A different story from Fishtoft AC’s visit to Decoy Lake, where carp to a pound are present in great numbers. Despite the fact that back up weights approached the 50lbs mark, it was said that the fish were in a strange feeding mode and could only be caught well up in the water on worm and heavily feeding caster. Many struggled to make 20lbs but guest angler Simon Penson showed them all how it was done and came home the winner by the huge margin of 28lbs. Ben Brighton led the club anglers home and claimed second spot with Gary Shinn taking third, Simon’s brother Adie keeping it in the family in fourth. Results: 1 Simon Penson 77lbs 8ozs; 2 Ben Brighton 49lbs 4ozs; Gary Shinn 48lbs 8ozs; 4 Adie Penson 47lbs. Next week the club will travel to the Newark Dyke for their rearranged fixture and will meet Sleaford bypass 7am.

A brief visit to the Lincoln area where the main interest was centred on the Jerry License Memorial match which featured a good amount of prize money put up by his family, and took place on the North Clifton section of the tidal Trent on Sunday. The prizes on offer guaranteed a good entry but surprisingly totalled no more than 48 competitors. The winning method was always going to be quivertip and feeder and Malc Firmstone scored an outstanding victory doing just that. He used the groundbait feeder and casters to tempt mainly skimmers but also added the odd big perch and chub to take the main prize by a margin of nearly 7lbs over Howard Kaye. Always playing catch up, Howard used the exact same method and also took skimmers to a pound plus the odd perch and roach. John Small elected to use the stick float and maggot and secured third place with a nice net of mainly roach, Steve Roe using similar tactics for fourth. Results: 1 Malc Firmstone, Harrisons Lincs County, 17lbs 2ozs; 2 Howard Kaye, Lincoln Whisby AS, 10lbs 7ozs; 3 John Small, Lincoln Whisby AS, 9lbs 1oz; 4 Steve Roe, FTK Leeds, 7lbs 7ozs; 5 Rob Thorley, Lincoln Whisby AS, 6lbs 13ozs.

Very little else from this holiday weekend as a good percentage of regular anglers have had their activities curtailed as her indoors has decreed otherwise. Looking forward to next weekend and Saturday sees the Boston & DAA take on their rivals in the NFA Second Division national championship on the Chesterfield and Foss Dyke Canals. The Boston Benevolent match will take place on the Bargate Drain on Sunday and those who wish to take part should ring Barry Mallett to book in. Any donations to this worthy cause would be appreciated and tickets for the match are £3.50 with optional pools available on the morning.

Review for August 19

Fishtoft AC match proves a cracker

Not much sunshine over the weekend and any rainfall was, thankfully, confined to overnight on Saturday, and after most angling activities had concluded on Sunday. A reasonable week all round, with just enough of that wet stuff to maintain a good amount of colour in our local drains. This, and with it the resulting regular run-offs between tides, help to keep fish active and more receptive to anglers baits, which in turn of course lead to better catches, a feature so far of this cool and wet summer, of which there is more of the same to come.

Just to prove my point Fishtoft AC members enjoyed a cracking match on the Cook’s Lock section of the South Forty Foot drain where they averaged something in the order of 7lbs per man. Obviously the leading weights bumped the average up but lowest recorded was nearly 3lbs. On this occasion the pegs to draw were the middle to far end, from where, at peg 14, Jerry Clifton brought a super net of good skimmers to scales. He tempted most of his catch to 6m whip and maggot and kept second placed Janus, at the end peg, at arms length with nearly 5lbs to spare. Veterans Rex Harrison and Jim Oglesbee took the next two places from pegs in the middle, Rex being only a pound down on the runner-up. Results: 1 Jerry Clifton 17lbs 4ozs; 2 Janus 12lbs 6ozs; 3 Rex Harrison 11lbs 6ozs; 4 Jim Oglesbee 9lbs 4ozs. Next Sunday meet Little Chef, Algarkirk 7am for a trip to the Decoy Lakes complex.

In comparison the early pegs upstream of Wyberton Chain Bridge were not as productive and here catches consisted mainly of small roach. A good day for Maurice Sharp who used waggler and maggot tactics, to complete his hat trick of victories with an emphatic win here. He beat runner-up Derek Smith by the good margin of nearly 3lbs – considering the size of fish to be had – Ian Singlehurst claiming third not too far behind. Results: 1 Maurice Sharp 7lbs 11ozs; 2 Derek Smith 4lbs 14ozs; 3 Ian Singlehurst 4lbs 2ozs.

Much the same stamp of fish but weights improved in the Stickney AC match over the next few pegs and here guest angler Chris Kerbel showed them how its done with a touch over 12lbs of silver fish to pole, squatt and pinky. Chris Chapman did likewise and also made double figures but was closely followed by Ray Taylor and Frank Scrupps in the 9lbs category. Frank’s weight was helped a lot by the inclusion of a huge bream of 6lbs 3ozs, which should be a strong contender for a specimen fish prize. Results: 1 Chris Kerbel 12lbs 1oz; 2 Chris Chapman 10lbs 4ozs; 3 Ray Taylor 9lbs 9ozs; 4 Frank Scrupps 9lbs 40zs. Next match will be Sunday September 2 at the same venue.

Different conditions, but a similar result to last week’s annual match for the Coach and Horses AC who chose the Wheelers Close section of the Bargate Drain on Sunday. The odd good bream plus a few big skimmers made up the bulk of catches with Paul Cater topping this week’s list. Tempting a small bream to his pole pinky and size 24 hook combination, he then switched to more robust tackle and proceeded to catch more of the same to worm and caster. Likewise for Billy Coope, who started off by catching with red maggot and then switched to chopped worm tactics to tempt one large bream for his second place. Weights then declined as only the odd big skimmer or two made up the remaining nets – Graham Upsall needing a little over 6lbs to achieve third place. Results: 1 Paul Cater 13lbs 8ozs; 2 Billy Coope 12lbs 4ozs; 3 Graham Upsall 6lbs 6ozs. Next Sunday will see them fish the ‘swings’ section of Windsor Bank.

A good entry for the rearranged Foss Dyke Championship, which attracted 64 anglers last Sunday and was fished on the Saxilby to Doddington Road stretch. Many used this match as practice for forthcoming NFA 2nd Division Championship but with very little flow and plenty of heavy boat traffic the canal fished well below par and fish soon stopped feeding when that traffic got in full swing. Mike Storey took two skimmers in the early stages but then switched to a tiny hook and pinky to continue with small roach. During this period a small tench of around 2½lbs decided to inspect this sort of offering and when weighed, proved to be the difference between victory and the also-rans. Dave Bontoft completed quite a good weekend and after winning the previous day’s match he again opted for his usual pole and chopped worm tactics. He was taking no prisoners fishing a 12 hook in conjunction with size12 elastic and apart from a few perch and skimmers, he managed to haul in an eel of 3lbs plus a smaller one to land second spot. Probably the best catch of the day, without any bonus fish, was that of Geoff Hamilton who clinched third place with a level 5lbs of small roach and skimmers. Results: 1 Mike Storey, Scunthorpe Blue, 6lbs 15ozs; 2 Dave Bontoft, Pets Cabin, 6lbs; 3 Geoff Hamilton, Dorking, 5lbs; 4 Steve Billups, Team Tigra, 4lbs 7ozs; 5 Paul Greenwood, Lincoln Whisby AS, 4lbs 6ozs. For the record the winning team was Dorking who totalled 14lb 11oz.

Yet another cold and wet Monday evening for the last of this series and due to the weather the turnout was poor, the match concluding at 8.30pm due to bad light. Fishing feeder and worm cocktail to the far bank, match organizer Dave Rance found a quality perch of 2lbs 6oz to boost his catch of skimmers and small perch, giving him a pound to spare over Boston junior Reece Dillamore. Reece just managed to hold on to that second spot using long pole tactics as Don Green ran him close, a mere 2ozs behind. Results: 1 Dave Rance 4lbs 13ozs; 2 Reece Dillamore 3lbs 13ozs; 3 Don Green 3lbs 11ozs; 4 Gary Shinn 2lbs 13ozs.

Our thanks to all who took part in this series of matches and helped raise some much needed funds for the Boston Youth Angling Club.

Match anglers please note that the Trader Championship will take place this coming Sunday (August 26) and will use pegs on either side of Stonebridge. For bookings please ring Barry Mallett on Boston 871815.

Review for August 12

Michael and Luke land youth match spoils

There was an occasional light shower on Sunday, but otherwise it was a completely dry and pleasantly warm week for a change. But unfortunately, such conditions are not set to last.

Hung over from last week was the Boston Youth AC summer outing to Westwood Lakes. A bright sunny start to this sponsored fishing match, which saw the 20 anglers taking part put a few fish in the net from the off. Although the carp were slow to respond to the baits, and with all the pegs in use on Hawk lake the fishing remained a bit hard for the younger members of the party. Nevertheless, some fine roach were caught along with smaller samples of barbel before those prolific carp put in an appearance near to the finish.

The clear winner of the under-14 age group was Michael Stubbs who took a few roach and carp to maggot and long pole and finished 5lbs and more ahead of Chris Weedon in second. Chris, in turn, held a good advantage over Thomas Vamplew and Ben Bloom. Results: 1 Michael Stubbs 13lbs 2oz; 2 Chris Weedon 7lbs 14ozs; 3= Thomas Vamplew & Ben Bloom 4lbs 8ozs. Similarly and even more so Luke Morley won the over-14 age group by nearly 20lbs from Nicholas Wright, with Reece Dillamore and Joe Paiton take close order in an equal third place. Results: 1 Luke Morley 36lbs 1oz; 2 Nicholas Wright 17lbs 4ozs; equal 3 Reece Dillamore and Joe Paiton 17lbs 2ozs. The combined winning weight of the top ten anglers was 137lbs 11oz and the nearest guess came in at 137lbs 4oz by D Randles who won the £25 voucher. Thanks went to Alan Copeland for use of the water and to all parents who helped with the BBQ, which was well received by those taking part.

An attempt to record a hat-trick of wins eluded Lee Feary as luck at the draw bag left him the wrong end of the Coach and Horses AC match at Cooks Lock on the S. Forty Foot Drain. The favoured first peg opposite the lock again came up trumps, and this time Billy Coope was that fortunate angler. Most brought good nets of small skimmers to scales and apart from that end peg, competition was fierce throughout as Paul Cater took second ahead of Lee with Danny Pettigrew Jnr. not too far behind in fourth. Results: 1 Billy Coope 10lbs 5ozs; 2 Paul Cater 7lbs 5ozs; 3 Lee Feary 6lbs 11ozs; 4 Danny Pettigrew junior 5lbs 9ozs.

What should have been a good enjoyable annual match last Sunday turned out to be a nightmare for most as the Bargate Drain was ripped off at a vast rate of knots for the whole five hours, and lost the best part of three feet in depth of water during that time. Apparently the automated system decided to throw a complete wobbly just prior to the start of the match and was not reported and acted upon until soon after the finish, which is little consolation to those taking part. Weights look reasonable on paper but the reality was that very few small fish could combat the flow to consider feeding, and even fewer large fish could be tempted to any method employed. Consequently the match became a complete lottery and one decent bream plus a few skimmers gave Mick Burgess the closest of margins to clinch victory. Boston’s Gavin Butler was the unlucky angler as a similar catch saw him having to settle for the runner-up spot, an agonising half ounce behind. Other Mark One anglers were still to the fore and took close order as Alan Lemmon came home in third, followed by team-mate Alex Bates in fourth ahead of Boston angler Frank Scrupps. Results: 1 Mick Burgess, East Midland MG, 9lbs 1½ozs; 2 Gavin Butler, Sensas Mark One, 9lbs 1ozs; 3 Alan Lemmon, Sensas Mark One, 8lbs; 4 Alex Bates, Sensas Mark One, 7lbs 9ozs; 5 Frank Scrupps, Boston, 7lbs 3ozs.

The Bargate Drain was in a more amenable condition the previous day for the Finnforest club match and on those pegs leading up to the railway bridge some good weights of small fish were recorded. The pole and squatt combination brought a comfortable victory to Andy Dillamore as Ray Taylor relied on tip and feeder to conjure up the odd better fish for second spot. A different method again for Wayne Coulson, who stuck to pole and hemp for a nice net of small roach to claim third place. Results: 1 Andy Dillamore 7lbs 8ozs; 2 Ray Taylor 5lbs 10ozs; 3 Wayne Coulson 4lbs 14ozs.

Continuing the low water theme and this latest Monday evening match followed much the same pattern as Sunday as only three anglers made over 3lbs. Top rod was the in- form Gary Shinn who followed on from his win on Westwood Lakes the day before. Leaving his nets out to dry at home he had to use a borrowed keep net and with no landing net he lost two good roach, which nearly cost him first place. Only a single ounce separated him from Mark Cook who took a few skimmers at 8 metres. Results: 1 Gary Shinn 3lbs 9ozs; Mark Cook 3lbs 8ozs; 3 Reece Dillamore 3lbs 1oz.

Next Monday will be the last of this summer’s series and my thanks go to all those that participated in raising £150 for the Boston Youth AC so far.

Fishtoft AC found their visit to the downstream section of Orton on the River Nene at Peterborough to be more of a struggle than previous outings. Excessive weed in many pegs proved to be an additional obstacle but the river was not in top form as a single bream and tench gave Mick Morgan the winner’s spoils. Jerry Clifton brought an all-small fish catch to scales to take second place just 4ozs behind – another decent bream helping Rex Harrison to third. Results: 1 Mick Morgan 5lbs 8ozs; 2 Jerry Clifton 5lbs 4ozs; 3 Rex Harrison 4lbs 3ozs; 4 Rod Asher 4lbs 2ozs. Next Sunday (August 19) meet Cook’s Lock 7am.

Local anglers should note that Lincoln and District AA have rearranged the Foss Dyke Championship and the new date is this coming Sunday (August 19). The draw will take place at the Bridge Inn, Saxilby from 8.15am, fish 10am to 3pm. Tickets are £15 all in from Frank Butler on 01522 534174. A team event for teams of four will also take place in conjunction with the main match at £10 per team. This match has been rearranged in order to give competitors in the forthcoming NFA Division Two Championship a chance to practice on the canal, so a good entry is anticipated and early application for tickets is advised.

Still on the match scene and an early reminder that Boston and DAA will hold the Trader Championship on bank holiday Sunday August 26. Bookings with Barry Mallett at £3.50 a ticket on (01205) 871815.

Review for August 5

Bream haul sees Rob weigh in for success

A truly gorgeous few days. And exactly as predicted, for a change, the weekend remained completely dry, albeit very hot and sticky with the air temperature hovering around the 30C mark on Sunday.

Not that this sort of scenario is particularly conducive to good catches as most of the anglers involved in the club championship match on the Bargate Drain on Sunday can verify in the overall outcome. By all means, though, it wasn’t all gloom and doom as, what was lacking in small fish numbers was made up for in some cases by catches of their larger cousins, in the shape of big bream.

Most anglers preferred a draw on pegs at the top end of Horncastle Road where indeed odd good fish were caught, but the main action turned out to be over a cluster of pegs near to the swimming pool footbridge on Windsor Bank. Four anglers in a line were all involved in this dogfight but March angler Rob Graves emerged head and shoulders above the rest with an emphatic victory. Five good bream plus a few skimmers fell steadily to his 11metre pole, worm, caster and red maggot tactics to give him a near 16lbs cushion to the runner-up.

Paul Pettener, at the adjacent peg, adopted a different approach and managed to add a decent bream to around 6lbs of bits for that second place, using pole and squatt. Dave Simpson broke up the party by grabbing third from the willow tree peg on Horncastle Rd, and then back to Windsor Bank where Fishtoft AC man Brian Blackamore stole fourth spot ahead of John Baxter at the next peg. John, incidentally, admitted to losing five of that class of bream off the hook and having landed all of those would no doubt have been looking at the winner’s spoils.

March anglers clinched two section wins out of the six but were matched by the experienced Boston A side and with better positions in other sections they managed to hold on and retain the team title that was just as hard won last year. For the record March AC actually finished third, a single point behind a Sensas Mark One side that included two Boston lads, and the leading affiliated club was once again the Fishtoft AC A team.

Individuals: 1 Rob Graves, March AC, 25lbs 12ozs; 2 Paul Pettener, East Midland MG, 9lbs 15ozs; 3 Dave Simpson, Boston A, 8lbs 13ozs; 4 Brian Blackamore, Fishtoft AC A, 8lbs 10ozs; 5 John Baxter, Riverside Tackle, 8lbs 4ozs; 6 Trevor Ogilvie, Riverside Tackle, 7lbs 144ozs.
Sections: 1 Trevor Ogilvie, Riverside, 7lbs 14ozs; 2 Geoff Gray, Sensas Mark One, 3lbs 6½ozs; 3 Rob Graves, March, 25lbs 12ozs; 4 Steve Winter, Boston A, 4lbs 14ozs; 5 Dave Simpson, Boston A, 8lbs 13ozs; 6 Derek Yorke, March, 5lbs 8ozs.
Teams: 1 Boston A 42pts; 2 Sensas Mark One 40pts; 3 East Midland MG 39pts; 4 March AC 37pts; 5 Riverside Tackle 30pts; 6 Fishtoft AC 29pts.

The Coach and Horses AC were in action on the other side of the swimming pool footbridge and here a single bream added to around 5lbs or so of bits gave Lee Feary back to back victories, having won on the same venue last week with much the same weight. Graham Upsall took second on this occasion with the help of a big eel to leave Danny Pettigrew junior in third with a net of bits. Next Sunday the club will hold their match at Cooks Lock on the South Forty Foot Drain. Results: 1 Lee Feary 8lbs; 2 Graham Upsall 5lbs 10ozs; 3 Danny Pettigrew junior 5lbs 1oz.

Not really sure what to expect with the low water levels on the Hobhole Drain, Stickney AC took a chance on pegs downstream of Ings Bridge, and were pleasantly surprised with a few big fish to liven up the proceedings. Yappy Mountain topped the list with just over 14lbs of bream to feeder and worm, but a different catch for Frank Scrupps who tempted a tench of 4lbs 12ozs plus a perch of 1lbs 14ozs to similar tactics and finish ahead of Jamie Broughton in third. Results: 1 Yappy Mountain 14lbs 7ozs; 2 Frank Scrupps 11lbs 12ozs; 3 Jamie Broughton 9lbs 4ozs.

A good day also for Sibsey AC who tried the new platforms at Wyberton Chain Bridge on the S. Forty Foot Drain where good mixed nets of fish were taken by most of those involved. Pole and maggot gave Maurice Sharp a 3lbs advantage over Kevin Smith, whilst Jean Buttle, still in the 5lbs category, held on to third. Results: 1 Maurice Sharp 8lbs 11ozs; 2 Kevin Smith 5lbs 11ozs; 3 Jean Buttle 5lbs 1oz.

This latest Monday evening match saw lower numbers in attendance but produced a close result after a hard fought battle. The lower peg numbers took the winning places as usual on an unusually sunny evening on Windsor bank with only ten anglers taking part. Considering the match is only 3 hours in duration the level 6lbs of mainly hemp fish on the pole for Brian Clark was a good winning weight. Organiser Dave Rance opted for the feeder approach that brought him a number of skimmers and second spot, whilst Gary Shinn stuck to pole and squatt tactics for roach and third place. Results: 1 Brian Clark 6lbs; 2 Dave Rance 4lbs 6ozs; 3 Gary Shinn 4lbs 3ozs; 4 Kevin Hunt 4lbs. Next Monday meet at swimming pool footbridge 5.30pm as usual.