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ANGLING

All the up-to-date news from the Boston and District angling scene

With Barry Mallett

Angling news for week ending Sunday August 28, 2005

Downpours hit fishing week

Yet another changeable week which brought continuous downpours. This was particularly so on Monday and Wednesday when youngsters should have been eagerly involved in the National Fishing Week.

Consequently only a few hardy souls turned out on those days and only Thursday saw some sort of recovery as around 16 mainly local kids took part in a well-organised event, run by the RAF Coningsby fishing club, on Yew Lake at Old Leake.

Nothing really to write home about as the day’s changeable weather also seemed to take its toll in terms of fish caught.

Highlight of the day was a break for lunch in the shape of a barbeque followed by a visit from four- times world champion Bob Nudd who managed to get round to everyone and dispense some very valuable advice and angling tips.

The afternoon saw a two-hour pairs match take place between these youngsters and although the small carp continued to fight shy, they all stuck to their task from start to finish — Bob Nudd making the comment that he was very impressed by the standard of angling on view.

Reece Dillamore and Aron Appleby were the eventual winners with some 15 such fish to 6ozs, chased home by Scott Oakes and Jasmine Summerson in second and Tom and Daniel Tooley taking the third spot.

Results: 1 Reece Dillamore/Aron Appleby 4lbs 4ozs; 2 Scott Oakes/Jasmine Summerson 3lbs 21 ½ ozs; 3 Tom/ Daniel Tooley 3lbs; 4 Luke Morley/Ryan Potter 2lbs; 5 Graham/ Liam Foster 1lb 4ozs.

Many thanks therefore are due Jeff Royle for the use of the lake, Ben Jackson and the RAF boys, NFA coaches, and of course Bob Nudd, who all gave their time freely for what was a very enjoyable occasion all round.

Match of the day of course was Sunday’s Trader Championship, which was used by many of the 115 anglers as a last practice prior to the NFA Division Three championship on our waters next Saturday.

Few good catches as fish stay aloof

Many a crack angler also discovered the drain to be in much the same form as the youngsters did on Thursday as both big and small fish alike remained generally aloof to whatever bait was on offer.

The match, by the very nature of the national sections, took place on two distinct areas, the Northlands length being much harder than the Stonebridge section.

Not that any trees were torn up here as Boston’s Dave Simpson needed only three good fish, together with a few bits for an emphatic victory.

Opting for an initial small fish approach to land around 1½ lbs, he then switched to quivertip and caster over chopped worm to net two very large tench in the 5lbs category, plus a small bream for that winning weight.

The golf course area was perhaps the most consistent as three anglers some distance apart vied for the runner-up spot. Steve Bestall of Tigra Tackle proved to be up to the job as three bream brought him to that position ahead of Boston squad member Paul Yarwood and Grimsby’s Mick Gorry. Chris Kerbel also took two good fish but lost out to March angler Nigel Miller by a single ounce and had to settle for sixth place.

Results: 1 Dave Simpson Boston 14lbs 8ozs; 2 Steve Bestall Tigra Tackle 8lbs 2ozs; 3 Paul Yarwood Boston 7lbs 4ozs; 4 Mick Gorry Pelham AC 7lbs; 5 Nigel Miller March AC 6lbs 4ozs; 6 Chris Kerbel Boston 6lbs 3ozs.

Sections: 1 S Bestall 8lbs 2ozs; 2 M Gorry 7lbs; 3 C. Kerbel 6lbs 3ozs; 4 D Ashmore 3lbs 9ozs: 5 D. Simpson 14lbs 8ozs; 6 C Jenkinson 5lbs 15ozs; 7 J Payne 3lbs 9ozs; 8 N. Miller 6lbs 4ozs.

Different scenario

It was a totally different scenario next as Fishtoft AC battled it out on Beastie Lake at the Decoy complex at Whittlesea last Sunday.

No contest really, as carp to 5lbs brought a runaway victory to Mick Whitham, who went a long way towards doubling the weight of second placed Nigel Taylor, landing similar sized fish. Gary Shinn opted for different tactics for a good net of small tench, which was a touch too good for son Liam who came home in fourth place with an all small carp catch.

Big fish did a disappearing act for the Coach and Horses AC on the Windsor Bank section of the Bargate Drain as plenty of small roach and skimmers was the mainstay of most weights. Danny Pettigrew junior completed the double after winning last week’s sweep on the Horncastle Road section with big fish, this week having a sizeable six pounds to spare over his nearest rival who just happened to be dad.

Results: 1 Danny Pettigrew junior 10lbs; 2 Danny Pettigrew senior 4lbs 2ozs; 3 Graham Upsall 3lbs 2ozs.

As mentioned earlier in this piece the NFA Division Three national championship takes place this coming Saturday (September 3) on most of the local Boston Drains. Consequently any spaces for pleasure fishing will be at a premium.

The good news for those is that the Nunn’s Bridge area of the Hobhole Drain at Fishtoft is now no longer in use for that competition and will therefore be entirely vacant, as will the West Fen drain beyond Cowbridge.

Back to normal the following weekend and Boston and District AA will be running a Benevolent Society match on the Bargate Drain Sunday (September 11) followed by the Memorial match on September 18. Tickets as usual from Barry Mallett.

Angling news for week ending Sunday August 21, 2005

Big weights in practice session

A MUCH better week in terms of the weather with the only fly in the ointment being Friday’s downpour. This, if nothing else, seemed to bring the big bream on to feed in the Freiston Doors area of the Hobhole Drain.

I have it on good authority that a club practising for the forthcoming national championship in this area landed some 200lbs between them, the best individual weight of some 40lbs. Great news from the Browning Youth Masters at Cudmore lake on Friday as Boston’s Nathan Underwood took the match by storm, turning in an outstanding performance to easily win the coveted title with a good net of carp and skimmers.

Fishing mainly worm and caster, occasionally switching to sweetcorn, he totalled 30lbs 12ozs for victory and as an added bonus young Luke Morley also came up trumps to take a section win.

The Bargate Drain also produced good weights for the majority of the 60 anglers involved in the open match run on behalf of the Labour Club, on both the Windsor Bank and Horncastle Road sections.

An unfancied area for roach was just the place for Alistair Ogilvie to show his prowess as he landed a super net of those using mainly pole and squatt to record yet another win. Pegged a few numbers downstream of Vauxhall Bridge, he held off the challenge of club-mate Shane Green at the next peg and also from two pegs away on the other side, Jonathon Taylor who nevertheless took third place — Shane in sixth a further pound adrift.

Horncastle Road provided the big fish catches and at peg 74 Rods and Reels angler Jeff Grantham tempted three tench to pole and worm for the runner-up spot, while Colin Perry at peg 98 held on to fifth place by the narrowest of margins. This leaves the third position that was occupied by Mayfair’s Mark Nesbitt with another roach catch from below the swimming pool footbridge back on Windsor Bank.

Results: 1 Alistair Ogilvie, Sensas Dick Clegg’s Mark One, 15lbs 9ozs; 2 Jeff Grantham, Rods and Reels, 14lbs 11ozs; 3 Mark Nesbitt, Mayfair AC, 13lbs 6ozs; 4 Jonathon Taylor, DC Mark One, 13lbs 1oz; 5 Colin Perry, 11lbs 15½ozs; 6 Shane Green, DC Mark One, 11lbs

15ozs.

Tench treble joy for Danny

The cemetery length of Horncastle Road proved to be not as good for most Coach and Horses AC members as only two or three recorded the odd better fish. Not so for Danny Pettigrew junior who took three very large tench to go with a few class roach, all on worm and caster, to win hands down.

Barry Molsom held on to one similar sized fish for second place and a few skimmers apiece saw a tied third between Mick Corkrum and Danny Pettigrew senior.

Results:1 Danny Pettigrew junior 19lbs; 2 Barry Molsom 5lbs 2ozs; equal 3 Mick Corkrum and Danny Pettigrew senior 4lbs 4ozs.

That’s about as good as it gets as other clubs on different venues around the area struggled for little success.

Rex Harrison recorded his first win of the season on the Swandyke Lane section of the Hobhole Drain as a couple of bream, one well over 5lbs, was really the only highlight worthy of mention, the rest having to settle for the odd skimmer and a few bits.

Results:1 Rex Harrison 7lbs 11ozs; 2 Terry Gooding 1lb 11ozs; 3 Rod Asher 1lb 8ozs; 4 Gary Shinn 1lb 4ozs.

Grim going at the Bridge

The Sibsey AC match on the Cowbridge drain at Mastins Bridge could only be described as grim, as Derek Smith needed a mere 8½oz to record his first win of this season. Pete Smith came home a single ounce behind in second and P Coulson in third with less than half that weight.

Results: 1 D. Smith 8½oz; 2 P. Smith 7½oz; 3 P. Coulson 3½oz.

A far different story on Sunday for Stickney AC who visited the same area of the Little Holland at Saturday Bridge as did Fishtoft AC the previous Sunday and came up with very similar results.

Small carp were again the mainstay of the top catches and Mark Thornton finally led the way home after many weeks of effort in taking one of the minor positions.

Pole and red maggot was the main tactic for most but both he and Alan Fear were the only two to put double figure weights on the scales. Match secretary claimed third place with a level 9lbs and Tony Vamplew a further pound below.

Results:1 Mark Thornton 12lbs 5ozs; 2 Alan Fear 10lbs 8ozs; 3 Chris Chapman 9lbs 4 Tony Vamplew 8lbs.

Finally some fantastic news just in on this Monday evening is that our England ladies team have completed the grand slam of team gold medals by winning the World Championship on Lake Jarun rowing course in Croatia, well done girls!

Results: 1 England 37points; 2 Italy 44pts; 3 Hungary 64pts.

Angling news for week ending Sunday August 14, 2005

Miserable catches match weather

The weekend catches again reflected the prevailing miserable conditions as the odd bream or tench decided the direction of any prizes, after which weights very often fell to the ounces category.

The Fishtoft AC match on the Little Holland Drain at Saturday Bridge was somewhat different as small carp are resident in some numbers here and provided reasonable nets to the top four anglers, the rest scratching for a few bits.

Paul Cater again led the field and completed the double with another convincing win on top of his previous week’s triumph in the club championship, this time using pole and big maggot.

Results: 1 Paul Cater 10lbs 14ozs; 2 Sean Creasey 7lbs 8ozs; 3 Rex Harrison 5lbs; 4 Luke Morley 3lbs 4½ ozs.

Closer to home and Stickney AC’s venture on the Sibsey Trader Drain at Stonebridge also proved a grueller for all as Frank Scrupps found his customary big fish, in this instance a decent bream, adding to a couple of skimmers, to take the top spot well ahead of second placed Mark Thornton.

Results: 1 Frank Scrupps 5lbs 5ozs; 2 Mark Thornton 2lbs; 3 Chris Chapman 7ozs.

Drain retains its form

The Bargate Drain has invariably shown to be in better form than elsewhere this season and the Coach and Horses AC match on the Windsor Bank section proved the point as Mick Corkrum came home, taking three good skimmers plus a few bits while Lee Feary, in second spot, just failed to overhaul him with a level 7lbs of roach.

Results: 1 Mick Corkrum 7lbs 2ozs; 2 Lee Feary 7lbs; 3 Billy Coope 4lbs 5ozs.

Saturday’s NFA Division Two national championship on the River Nene and North Bank also emphasises my point about poor form following this recent bad weather as even here the vast majority of top class anglers found the venue to be rock hard.

Well over 50 percent failed to break the 1lb mark and more than 40 in total, from teams finishing as high as 13th place, failed to trouble the scales. Bream also failed to show in any numbers from all sections as it was left to Darren Muilheir of Last Cast AS to claim the individual title with a level 7kgs of mainly chub from section A at Stibbington.

Paul Cannon of Hull Works claimed the runner-up position with a few skimmers from the North Bank while back on the river, Greg Pepper took a nice net of roach from the Orton section to clinch the third place, 50gms ahead of John Lane pegged at Milton Ferry.

Of the 59 competing teams, only the top two, in the shape of Thorne and District and Team Image, bettered 500 points, the former claiming the team title.

More local teams did surprising poorly and JV Thorney was the leading contender in 24th position some distance ahead of the likes of Cambridge (32nd), Wellingborough (36th), Rutlanders (37th), Wreake (54th) and Grantham (55th), these last two presumably being relegated.

Individuals: 1 Darren Mulheir, Last Cast AS, 7kgs; 2 Paul Cannon, Hull Works Sports, 5kgs; 3 Greg Pepper, Eclipse AC, 4.500kgs; 4 John Lane, NCB No. 5 FC, 4.450kgs; 5 Paul Dean, Bungay Cherry Tree, 4.040kgs; 6 Mick Gorry, Pelham AC, 4.010kgs.

Teams: 1 Thorne and District 543 pts; 2 Team Image 521pts; 3 Mill Tackle AC 493pts; 4 Barnsley Blacks 490 pts; 5 Hull Works Sports 482pts.

Big turnout for last match

Monday evening brought out the best attendance for this last evening match of the season and most anglers found a few roach and skimmers from the Windsor Bank section of the Bargate Drain.

Those fish to short pole and squatt gave Dave Simpson a close fought victory over Frank Scrupps, who came within two ounces with his usual bream to feeder tactics.

Young Luke Morley again showed he can stay with the opposition as he also took a good net of roach and skimmers for third spot, albeit a pound adrift.

Results: 1 Dave Simpson 6lbs 4oz peg 39; 2 Frank Scrupps 6lb 2oz peg 45; 3 Luke Morley 5lbs 2oz peg 46; 4 Gary Shinn 4lbs 0oz peg 36; 5 Liam Shinn 3lbs 14oz peg 47.

Angling news for week ending Sunday August 7, 2005

Chilly elements start to bite

THE present, and now extended, period of cooler weather is suddenly starting to take its toll on both pleasure and match catches.

Those who had previously enjoyed taking good nets of both roach and skimmers were suddenly confronted with scratching methods to catch a few little fish from almost any local water.

No immediate prospect of dramatic rises in temperature and so I cannot see a change for the better in the near future. Proof was provided by the 16 teams of six competing for the club championship on sections of the Hobhole, Kelsey and Sibsey Trader Drains last Sunday.

Some of course were practicing for the forthcoming national championship in September, but eager anticipation soon turned into disappointment for the vast majority as most sections did not come up to scratch. Weights in general were only in the 2-3 lbs category and were even lower on a couple of sections as some anglers, and good ones at that, could manage but mere ounces.

Bream of course were always going to have a major say in the prize list which was headed by local angler Paul Cater who took just four large specimens from a roadside peg of the Swandyke Lane area of the Hobhole Drain.

Over on the other bank and upstream of Freiston Doors bridge, Simon Godfrey conjured up a good net of big skimmers for second place while all but the adjacent peg struggled for the odd pound or two.

Likewise over on the Trader Pauline Yarwood also went for bigger fish with chopped worm and feeder, and added a few small bream to a couple of proper ones for a well deserved third place. Mark Allen, some dozen pegs nearer to Stonebridge, clinched fourth with a good mixed net of roach and skimmers to pole and pinky.

The sections on either side of Mastin’s Bridge unfortunately showed two faces as the upside produced reasonable catches, Chris Jenkinson emerging top dog here, whilst most faced a grim battle for bites on the downside.

Team-wise the event produced a close finish and in some respects the title went to the crack Division One team of Mark One White by virtue of an end peg draw which produced two section winners and a second for a four point lead. No such luck for Lincs County Black who had more of a fight on their hands in the middle of the pack and counted only one section win in their points total.

Best of the rest was a good performance from Division Three challengers March AC 1 who grabbed third spot, five points further back and just a single point better than Saunier-Duval Black.

Individuals: 1 Paul Cater Saunier-Duval Black 18lbs 15ozs; 2 Simon Godfrey DC Mark One White 12lbs 10ozs; 3 Pauline Yarwood Boston B 10lbs 6ozs; 4 Mark Allen Saunier-Duval Red 8lbs 7 ½ ozs; 5 Chris Jenkinson Lincs County Black 7lbs 6ozs; 6 Bob Bates DC Mark One White 6lbs 8ozs.

Teams: 1 DC Mark One White 77pts; 2 Lincs County Black 73pts; 3 March AC 1 68pts; 4 Saunier-Duval Black 67pts.

Single bream sufficient

Further proof, if it was needed, came from the various Sunday club matches on adjacent waters and the Coach and Horses AC provided the best result on the Nunn’s Bridge section of the Hobhole Drain.

A single small bream was sufficient to clinch victory for Steve Hooper as others could only put the odd roach, perch or skimmer into the net. The club should be tackling the South Forty Foot next Sunday but due to its present weedy condition, their match will take place on the Windsor Bank section of the Bargate Drain.

Results: 1 Steve Hooper 2lbs 5ozs; 2 Andy Mitchell 1lbs 14ozs; 3 Danny Pettigrew senior 1lbs 12ozs.

Even worse was the Stickney AC result from the downstream side of the bridge where only two anglers could beat the pound mark. Alan Fear conjured up a few roach to pole and bronze maggot to win the day, Frank Scrupps finding a couple of eels for a level pound and second place.

Results: 1 Alan Fear 1lb 15ozs; 2 Frank Scrupps 1lb; 3 Yappy Mountain 12ozs; 4 Ray Taylor 11ozs.

The worst is still to come as one good perch brought victory to first timer Richard Taylor in the Sibsey AC sweep at Ings Bridge. Colin Peltell’s single small hybrid gave him the princely weight of 5¾ozs and second spot, three tiny perch bringing third to Adam Martin.

Results: 1 Richard Taylor 1lb 2ozs; 2 Colin Peltell 5¾ozs; Adam Martin 3¼ozs.

Bargate still in top form

In complete contrast the vast majority of the Bargate Drain maintains top form and members of Littleport AC enjoyed a practice session on Horncastle Road where they totalled some 85lbs of roach, perch and skimmers between them, the best individual weight being one of over 12lbs.

To confirm that the Monday evening sweep produced over 7lbs of roach and skimmers in 2½ hours with backing weights in the 5lbs range. Frank Scrupps in fourth tempted one superb specimen roach of 1lb 10ozs.

Results: 1 Dave Simpson 7lbs 1oz; 2 Luke Morley 5lbs 7ozs; 3 Reece Dillamore 5lbs 1oz.

Thirty anglers turned up to fish for the Lincolnshire Echo Trophy on the North Clifton section of the Tidal Trent, which of late has also suffered a loss of form.

Not many fish are taken from any one peg and after a quiet start Ted Burks found himself with a huge fight on his hands, which, after some 15 minutes turned out to be a magnificent common carp of 14lbs 8ozs.

This, added to the odd skimmer, proved to be more than enough to win the trophy as next placed Carl Williams finished with one bream plus a couple of skimmers for less than half the winner’s weight.

Results: 1 Ted Burks, Whisby AS, 14lbs 13ozs; 2 Carl Williams, Newark, 6lbs 15ozs; 3 Jeff Margetts, Bentley AC, 6lbs 11ozs.