ANGLING

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

With Barry Mallett

Angling news February 2006

Round-up for week ending February 26, 2006

Varied tactics pay dividends for Gavin

Well, you were warned! The dire predictions of last week were all too accurate for a change. And conditions duly deteriorated rapidly as the week wore on. Wintry showers and longer periods of rain were accompanied by a biting north-easterly and then strong easterly winds as we approached the weekend which at least turned somewhat drier. Not so this coming week as — if the weather experts are to be believed — we should all see a covering of snow with further cold northerly winds to boot.

Most winter series have now been well wrapped up (pardon the pun) and so only the odd smaller sweep or mini series are still on the go.

Two such are those on the River Witham and firstly the Wednesday match at Tattershall Bridge fully lived up to expectations as 11 of the 20-plus field recorded double figure nets of roach, perch and skimmers. Boston angler Gavin Butler followed up last week’s top five placing with a fine victory on this occasion. Striking off with pole and breadpunch he took his fair share off roach and skimmers before switching to chopped worm. This naturally attracted those super perch that live in this area and continuing in this vein he wrapped up the win with a pound plus advantage over Dave Padley. Dave for his part used similar tactics to improve on recent performances to take the runner-up spot against third places for the past two weeks and beat Danny Breslin by a similar margin. Results: 1 Gavin Butler, Sensas Mark One, 14lbs 15ozs; 2 Dave Padley, Lincoln, 13lbs 11ozs; 3 Danny Breslin, Lincoln, 12lbs 7ozs.

Salt laden water and that icy cold wind were blamed for poor results in Saturday’s Kings Arms open match at Kirkstead Bridge. The conditions took their full toll on catches as only three of the dozen or so anglers had anything to show for their efforts and a grand total of three fish at that. Roly Moses managed just a single specimen roach to clinch victory ahead of Maurice Thacker with another of somewhat smaller size, the only other being Malc Green landing one tiny skimmer. Results: 1 Roly Moses, Brigg, 1lb 2ozs; 2 Maurice Thacker, Lincoln, 7ozs; 3 Malc Green, Linoln, 1½ozs.

Sunday was no warmer and the sweep on the River Steeping in Wainfleet attracted just half dozen hardy souls. At least a few small roach to be had here and Keith Dobson emerged the winner with a touch over three pounds. Graham Cripsey took a similar catch for a comfortable second place ahead of Don Green, just shy of the two pounds mark. Results: 1 Keith Dobson 3lbs 1oz; 2 Graham Cripsey 2lbs 6ozs; 3 Don Green 1lb 15ozs.

Fishtoft AC had a much better day on the River Nene at Benwick where Jerry Clifton made it two in a row, taking a decent catch of roach to pole and breadpunch. Likewise the following places who took close order employing similar tactics, combined with a variety of other small baits such as squatt and pinky. Results: 1 Jerry Clifton 6lbs 12ozs. 2 Mark Naylor 6lbs; 3 Gary Shinn 5lbs 12ozs; 4 Rod Asher 5lbs 2ozs. Sunday March 5 meet Sluice Bridge 7.30am.

It was cup action for a number of local clubs last weekend as the first round matches in the Angling Times/Van den Eynde Super Cup got under way. The tie between, RAF EMAL, Boston Youth and the Three Horseshoes at Waddington took place on Priory Lake at Ruskington where results were poor as only 12 of the 30 anglers involved managed to bother the scales. Despite using a number of the Sensas Lincs County stars, the Three Horseshoes, Waddington fell at the first hurdle as victory went to the RAF EMAL team by just one point. Results: 1 RAF EMAL 30 pts; equal 2 Three Horseshoes and Boston Youth 31pts. The individual winner was Roger Osgodby, Three Horseshoes, who chose feeder tactics for a mixed bag of small fish for a miserly total of just 1lb 11oz. Team-mate Sean Stockley stuck to the pole for a few small roach and perch for 1lb 2oz and the runner-up spot. Neil Tedridge of the RAF squad came home third with1lb 1oz as fourth place went to Dave Morley of Boston Youth, Dave being the only other angler to break the pound barrier.

The club lakes at North Hykeham hosted the other tie between Lincoln Castings, Short Ferry and Spilsby AC, former winners of this event. Weights were much higher but over half the field also failed to get a bite, which in the end made the result close. Lincoln Castings and Spilsby AC actually tied on 15 points apiece but the verdict went to the latter who had five section winners to Lincoln Castings three, Short Ferry making only nine points. The individual winner was Spilsby’s Kevin Wilson on peg 4 in lake two with 44lb 1oz. Second place went to Andy Waite of Lincoln Castings who took a level 17lbs from peg 30 in lake one while third spot fell to Fred Bispham, also from Spilsby on 14lbs 5½ozs from Peg 25 on lake one.

This coming weekend sees Lincoln Whisby AS begin their quest for the cup when they take on Kirkstead Kingfishers of Mablethorpe, and Louth AC on Royle’s three-lake complex at Spilsby.

Round-up for week ending February 19, 2006

Dave keeps up run of powerful form

Saturday proved to be the last of recent days which saw long sunny periods and higher than average temperatures for the earlier part of the week. A further wintry spell now seems to be gaining control as Sunday dawned cold and grey with a stiff north easterly wind setting the pattern for the coming week and perhaps even longer. Before this and the midweek match on the Tattershall Bridge area of the river Witham produced another string of top class catches of roach and skimmers for most.

All except, that is, for Dave Bontoft who continued his recent fine run with yet another runaway victory. Perch again were the main quarry and although many fell to the usual pole and worm approach, including one of some 3lbs, Dave informs me that caster also took its fair share as he recorded a weight which went a long way to tripling that of second placed Roger Woolhouse. Roger also took mainly perch to the usual pole and worm and only just finished ahead of Dave Padley who chose waggler and maggot tactics to take third. Results: 1 Dave Bontoft 29lbs; 2 Roger Woolhouse 11lbs 2ozs; 3 Dave Padley 10lbs 10ozs.

It was a gorgeous day on Saturday but those involved in the latest Kings Arms open at Kirkstead were stunned to see the hard frost that, as it turned out, had little or no effect on the outcome of the match. Roach and skimmers were again ready feeders and Nigel Davids fought it out with Malc Green at adjacent pegs, similar tactics being employed. Experience and knowledge of the water usually tells as the latter took the honours with a 7oz advantage at the end of the day, third place going to veteran Maurice Thacker. Results: 1 Malc Green Lincoln 11lbs 3ozs; 2 Nigel Davids Bourne MG 9lbs 12ozs; 3 Maurice Thacker Lincoln 9lbs.

Best use was made of available pegs for the final round of the Bourne MG winter league as sections were used on both the town Welland, the River Glen as well as the Counterdrain. Good weights were indeed recorded from all areas with the match boasting more than 20 double figure nets of mainly roach in total.

Some colour in the water from last Tuesday night’s downpour probably accounted for these higher weights as, from outside of the tax office in the town section, John Means took the match with a little in excess of 1lb to spare. Most others in the top bracket chose similar tactics to John who took an all roach catch to pole and breadpunch.

Gaps between those top places were much closer after that, and Steve Cooper headed the next three slots from the Counterdrain as Rob Hewison, back on the Welland, came in third and Rick Tweddel, still in the 15lbs range, fourth from the Counterdrain. Of note, of course, is the fifth place achieved by Boston’s Gavin Butler, fishing for the Mark One Green team, and taking close order to Rick Tweddel a mere six ounces behind, not bad for a lad! Results: 1 John Means, Peterborough, 17lbs; 2 Steve Cooper, Mark One Black, 15lbs 11ozs; 3 Rob Hewison, Mark One Black, 15lbs 9ozs; 4 Rick Tweddel, Bourne MG A, 15lbs; 5 Gavin Butler, Mark One Green, 14lbs 10ozs.

Leading the field by two points going into this final round, the Mark One Blue outfit appeared to take the title at a canter as they won by a comfortable seven points, but in reality it was more to do with poor performances from other leading contenders which handed them the honours.

Both Peterborough and Essex County were in with a shout going into this match but firstly the Peterborough crew had a nightmare in finishing last and the Essex County outfit not much better in fifth. On the day, though, the Mark One Blue team held their nerve and put in a solid performance to take third place behind their ‘Black’ counterparts, and the Image Red team emerging as clear winners on the day. Results: 1 Image Red 51pts; 2 Mark One Black 47pts; 3 Mark One Blue 46pts; 4 Bourne MG A 40pts Essex County 39pts. Final positions: 1 Mark One Blue 47pts; 2 Essex County 40pts; equal 3 Bourne MG A and Peterborough 38pts; 5 Mark One White 34pts. Simon Godfrey carried off the individual title with some ease as he dropped just two points over the series and leading home second placed Chris Jenkinson by two points also and John Means a furhter point away in third. Results: 1 Simon Godfrey Mark One 50pts; 2 Chris Jenkinson Essex County 48pts; 3 John Means 47pts.

Fishtoft AC bounced back after recent dire outings and found many fish still in a feeding mood on the South Forty Foot Drain at Swineshead Bridge. Disregarding the potential for catching perch they all concentrated on taking silver fish and on this occasion Jerry Clifton emerged top dog with over 20lbs of roach and skimmers to pole and bronze maggot. Likewise and for the second week running Rod Asher, the eternal bridesmaid, had to settle for second spot a few ounces adrift of Jerry but finishing well ahead of third placed Alan Dixon.On Sunday February 26 meet Little Chef, Algarkirk for the winter outing to the River Nene at Benwick.

Round-up for week ending February 12, 2006

‘Bomber’ Bontoft eclipses match rivals

A change in the weather as that strange orange disc in the sky made a long overdue re-appearance during last week. Temperatures crept up a notch but the edge has been taken off by a corresponding increase in wind strength and as this week progresses it’s looking even more so with soggy conditions to contend with.

The River Witham matches continue with the areas chosen in good form. And, if judging by the number of pleasure anglers on these sections, they appear to provide satisfactory weights throughout the week. Wednesday’s match in the Tattershall Bridge area threw up good nets of quality roach and skimmers for most who chose either waggler or pole with punch or maggot.

Dave (Bomber) Bontoft amazed the opposition, though, as he romped to victory — almost doubling the weight of second placed Maurice Thacker with a stunning net of perch to pole and worm. Results: 1 Dave Bontoft, Lincoln AS, 28lbs 14ozs; 2 Maurice Thacker, Lincoln, 15lbs 14ozs; 3 Dave Padley, Brigg, 14lbs 14ozs.

On to Saturday and the latest King’s Arms match on the Pound length at Kirkstead proved to be another pay day for in form Dave Bontoft, as he achieved his second success of the week. Not on his own on this occasion as Dave Padley matched him fish for fish from the next-door peg to tie, both recording the only double figure weights of the day. Ted Rowe came home in third some way adrift from the next peg on and Les Smith in fourth just 4ozs shy of Ted’s weight. Results: Equal 1 Dave Bontoft, Lincoln AS (peg -2), and Dave Padley, Brigg (peg -3), 10lbs 14ozs; 3 Ted Rowe, Lincoln (peg -4), 8lbs 2ozs.

A little better than last week’s low point, but Fishtoft AC had another mediocre day, this time on the town reaches of the River Steeping at Wainfleet. Small roach to breadpunch was the order of the day as Mark Naylor took the honours ahead of Rod Asher and third placed Mick Whitham. Results: 1 Mark Naylor 3lbs 12ozs; 2 Rod Asher 2lbs 15ozs; 3 Mick Whitham 2lbs; 4 Ernie Heseltine 1lb 15ozs. Sunday February 19 sees anglers scheduled to meet at Sluice Bridge as usual, 7.30 am.

Bites were hard to come by and even non-existent for the first half of the junior East Coast League on a windy and wet South Holland Drain on February 12. After that a few sticklebacks were the order of the day and 20 such beasts were enough to bring victory for Danny Martin of Lincoln with the grand total of just 1¼ozs. Twelve similar fish brought second place to Kyle Woolhouse, after which catches fell away and one small roach was enough to give Kayleigh Williams third position.

Only other catchers with just one stickleback each were Jonathon Taylor, Nicholas Wright (both of Boston), John Houlton and Matt Brandon (from Lincoln) in a tied fourth place. Results: 1 Danny Martin, Lincoln B, 1¼ozs; 2 Kyle Woolhouse, Lincoln A, 14 drams; 3 Kayleigh Williams, Kings Lynn Gold, 8 drams. Teams: 1 Lincoln A 13pts, 2 Kings Lynn Gold 25pts, 3 Boston Raiders 26pts, equal 4 Boston All Stars, Kings Lynn Blue and Lincoln B 27pts.

Warmer weather was no doubt responsible as the Foss Dyke Canal at last showed its true form for the final round of Rilmac Winter League. Even a thoroughly wet day could not dampen Alan Henry’s joy as the Lincoln team captain cruised to an overwhelming victory. Pegged near to the Doddington Road end he began with pole and pinky for mainly roach but then switched to lobworm for those larger perch. On catching a skimmer he then decided to feed more heavily, at which point his swim burst into life and ten small bream to 1¼lbs came in quick succession, followed finally by a decent perch, to give him that deserved success. Neil Smithson saw what was happening from the next-door peg and also got in on the act, taking four bream for a clear second place ahead of Steve Richardson who was pegged on the other side of the winner. Results: 1 Alan Henry, Lincoln Whisby AS, 19lbs 1oz; 2 Neil Smithson, Sensas Lincs County, 7lbs 14ozs; 3 Steve Richardson, Brigg Britannia, 5lbs 5ozs; 4 Ken Norton, Short Ferry, 4lbs 6ozs; 5 Mick Keyworth, Grimsby HAC, 3lbs 12ozs.

Neil Smithson took the individual prize against strong opposition, dropping just four points over the six match series as John Small finished in second spot only two points behind, and team mate John Blades one point further back. Results: 1 Neil Smithson, Sensas Lincs County, 38pts; 2 John Small, Lincoln Whisby AS, 36pts; 3 John Blades, Lincoln Whisby AS, 35pts.

The race for the team title had already been decided on the previous round but Sensas Lincs County emphasised their superiority with another comfortable win, making it their fourth in the six outings. The runner-up spot was the only one up for grabs and Lincoln Whisby AS won this particular battle as they beat their nearest rivals Brigg Britannia by six points and Grimsby HAC, in fourth, by 10. On the day: 1 Sensas Lincs County 52pts; 2 Lincoln Whisby AS 46pts; 3 Brigg Britannia 40pts; 4 Grimsby HAC 36pts; 5 Whisby AS 35pts. Final positions: 1 Sensas Lincs County 8pts; 2 Lincoln Whisby AS 17pts; 3 Brigg Britannia 19pts; 4 Grimsby HAC 22pts; 5 Whisby AS 31pts; 6 Grimsby Fox Elite 32pts. Steve Baxter, financial director of Rilmac Fabrications, sponsors of the league, presented prizes.

Round-up for week ending February 5, 2006

Roger produces the winning tactics

Conditions might have become a touch warmer over the weekend, but a rise in temperature was hardly noticeable due to the increased wind strength. And this was a contributory factor in making the weather feel just as cold as a grey and icy midweek had done when, on some days, the temperature barely struggled above freezing point.

Those chilly conditions, amazingly, had little effect on Wednesday’s match on the Tattershall Bridge to Skirth mouth section of the River Witham and even more so showed an increase in overall weights compared to the previous week’s event. This particular battle was won by Roger Woolhouse who, having put a good catch of roach and skimmers in the net using pole and punch tactics, then switched to worm to tempt a couple of huge perch of around 3lbs each to deny Dave Padley the top spot. Dave was happy enough with second place having stuck to pole and maggot for the best net of those roach and skimmers, finishing the day with over 5lbs of clear daylight between himself and Howard Kaye. Howard made over 13lbs using similar tactics, which just kept his nose in front of a gaggle of other anglers in the 12lbs range. Results: 1 Roger Woolhouse 20lbs 8ozs; 2 Dave Padley 18lbs 10ozs; 3 Howard Kaye 13lbs 4ozs; 4 Ted Rowe 12lbs 10ozs; 5 Alan Henry 12lbs 9ozs.

February 4 saw the minus pegs and the Pound length in use for the latest Kings Arms open contest. And even though he failed to make the top three, Dave Bontoft produced what everyone considered to be the best catch of the day in landing just seven superb roach for a grand total of 7lbs 7ozs. On this occasion Maurice Thacker took pole position with a smaller stamp of roach to waggler and maggot, beating second placed Dave Edwards by a mere 3ozs, Trevor Ogilvie taking third with another good punch and maggot caught weight. Results: 1 Maurice Thacker 9lbs 8ozs Lincoln 9lbs 8ozs; 2 Dave Edwards Riverside Tackle 9lbs 5ozs; 3 Trevor Ogilvie Boston 8lbs 12ozs; 4 Dave Bontoft Southrey 7lbs 7ozs.

The River Glen showed surprisingly good form for Sunday’s third round Bourne MG Winter League that was fished between the Ship Inn and Money Bridge. Only one weight hit double figures but to balance that out every section was won with more than 6lbs on water with little colour and flow. Pegged close to last week’s draw Essex County’s John Wincup scored his second successive victory using similar tactics to last Sunday — 4m whip and then long pole for the best part of 300 small roach. Rob Hewison led the chasing pack with the runner-up weight from near Money Bridge while back down at the far end Peterborough’s John Means grabbed third from a peg next to the winner, and team mate Craig Shaw taking fourth from the next section up. Results: 1 John Wincup, VDE Essex County, 12lbs 2 Rob Hewison, Mark One Black, 9lbs 5ozs; 3 John Means, Peterborough, 9lbs 2ozs; 4 Craig Shaw, Peterborough, 8lbs 13ozs; 5 Lee Klimczuk, Mark One White, 8lbs 1oz.

In the team stakes the Peterborough outfit managed to swap positions with the previous round’s winners, in the shape of Mark One Blue. And in doing so they brought themselves within two points of that same team with two matches left in the series. On the other hand the VDE Essex team seem to be fading fast and a fourth place behind the consistent Mark One White this time around sees them relegated to third spot, but its not all over yet. On the day: 1 Peterborough 50pts; 2 Mark One Blue 46pts; 3 Mark One White 45pts; 4 VDE Essex County 42 pts; 5 Mark One White 41pts. After three rounds: 1 Mark One Blue 36pts; 2 Peterborough 34pts; 3 VDE Essex County 31pts; equal 4 Bourne MG A and Mark One White 28pts.

Around the regional clubs

The River Bain at Coningsby showed similar characteristics for Fishtoft AC’s visit last Sunday, the only difference being that there wasn’t as many of those small roach to be had. Coupled with that, the local pike population were in a mood to strike at anything that moved, which of course also kept weights on the low side. Punch and pole was the winning combination as Alan Dixon showed the way home with over 8ozs to spare on second placed Jerry Clifton and match secretary Mark Cook in third. Results: 1 Alan Dixon 4lbs 13ozs; 2 Jerry Clifton 4lbs 4ozs; 3 Mark Cook 3lbs 14ozs; 4 Ben Brighton 3lbs 5ozs.

Talking of pike, our own Fenland Pike Club travelled to the Twenty Foot Drain at Whittlesea where 10 fish of varying sizes brought a runaway victory for Spider Pawson. His total beat that of Kenny Sizer by around 38lbs, the highlight of the day though being a big zander of 11lbs 2ozs taken by Andrew Leverton, unfortunately not counting in this match. Results: 1 Spider Pawson 47lbs; 2 Kenny Sizer 9lbs 10ozs; 3 Barry Moore 8lbs 13ozs.

Bingham AC paid their final visit to the South Forty Foot Drain at Swineshead Bridge last Sunday and although weights were down on previous occasions they still managed to average over 13lbs per man.

Dave Millington recorded his first top placing of the series as he opted for the pole and chopped worm approach to leave his rivals almost standing with another 30lbs plus net of mainly perch. Second place went to series leader Jonathon Wake who prefers catching silver fish and took over 23lbs of quality roach and skimmers to pole and pinky, third spot going to consistent Martin Fielding using similar tactics but also ending the day 8lbs and more further back. Results: 1 Dave Millington 31lbs 8ozs; 2 Jonathon Wake 23lbs 5ozs; 3 Martin Fielding 16lbs; 4 Adam Cox 15lbs 14ozs; 5 Brian Matthews; 15lbs 1oz; 6 Steve Simpson 14lbs 15ozs.

The Rilmac winter league reached its lowest point in terms of top weights, as less than 3lbs was needed to claim first prize in this fifth round match on a cold and clear Foss Dyke Canal last Sunday. Average weights perhaps improved slightly but Dave Ashmore pinched top spot ahead of Grimsby’s Mick Tamms by a single ounce, taking small roach on squatt against a perch of over 2lbs for Mick. He in turn held Tim Goldby, with another roach catch, at bay and Tim himself finished just half an ounce in front of Gally Watson in fourth. Results: 1 Dave Ashmore, Grimsby HAC, 2lbs 12ozs; 2 Mick Tamms, Grimsby Fox Elite, 2lbs 11ozs; 3 Tim Goldby, Sensas Lincs County, 2lbs 9ozs; 4 Gally Watson, Whisby AS, 2lbs 8 ½ozs.

As regards the team title its all over bar the shouting as Sensas Lincs County powered to their third win of the series and in doing so clinched the title with a round to spare. They easily beat Lincoln Whisby by six clear points on the day and now hold an unassailable eight-point lead over the same team in the series.

The only real interest for next Sunday’s final round is the battle for second place with just three points separating the Lincoln, Brigg and Grimsby squads. On the day: 1 Sensas Lincs County 53pts; 2 Lincoln Whisby AS 47pts; 3 Brigg Britannia 42pts; 4 Grimsby HAC 39pts; 5 Grimsby Fox Elite 37pts. After five rounds: 1 Sensas Lincs County 7pts; 2 Lincoln Whisby AS 15pts; 3 Brigg Britannia 16pts; 4 Grimsby HAC 18pts.