ANGLING

All the up-to-date news from the 2006-2007 Boston and District angling scene

With Barry Mallett

Angling news June 2006

Round-up for week ending June 23, 2006

Youngsters show impressive form in schools match

Local area youngsters showed their potential when more than 40 of them took part in the junior schools match on the Windsor Bank section of the Bargate Drain. Of those, more than 75 percent of them, and some as young as seven, managed to catch a few small fish — the more experienced ones catching a pound or more inside an hour in what was a two-hour match.

Many prizes, donated by the Environment Agency REEL project, Boston and District Angling Association, Pilgrim Tackle and Boston Angling Centre, were up for grabs in a number of categories. The first of these was a prize for the youngest angler to weigh.

This, in the form of the Stanwell Cup, went to seven-year-old Brady Coulson of Park B who totalled 600gms. A quarter of the field were young ladies who were ably led home by Amie Smith of St Thomas A. She won the President’s Trophy with 1.13kg.

Two age categories followed and first, the under-10 winner came in the shape of Thomas Tamerlin of St Thomas B with a level 1kg. In the under-12s group, the ladies’ prize had already gone to Amie Smith with 1.13kg and this weight was also enough to give the BDAA cup to the same angler.

This just left the team events and despite all of Amie’s efforts for the St Thomas A team, who also included Jamie Lawson and Thomas Brayson, they had to give best to their own B team who, in the shape of Thomas Tamberlin, George Graves and Harry Bunce gave a good all-round performance to clinch the top prize with a 1kg 400gms total. Third place went to the Staniland team of Jordon Shinn, Kayleigh Taylor and Daniel Newton. Results: 1 St Thomas B 1.4kg, 2 St Thomas A 1.16kg, 3 Staniland 1.13kg .

Boston Youth Angling Club held its first Wednesday evening club match and coaching session on the Horncastle Road section of the Bargate Drain. Despite some of the younger members being involved in that alternative junior schools match, it was pleasing to see 19 young anglers taking part. Andfor some, it was a chance to gain their first angling experience.

With excellent support from coaches Rod Asher, Alf Hawkes and Dave Creasey in helping Dave Rance, all those taking part managed to catch a few small fish. Chris Wright Electrical Trophy match results: Year 8-and-under: 1 Oliver Sumner 1lb 3oz; 2 Jonathon Taylor 1lb; 3 Daniel Tooley 9oz. Year 9-and-above: 1 Nicholas Wright 2lbs 2oz; 2 Daniel Austin 1lb 2oz; 3 Liam Shinn 1lb 3oz.

There wasn’t a great deal of difference for Fishtoft AC the following evening in the same area as Rod Asher continued his opening success with a back-to-back victory. Employing pole, squatt and pinky tactics he kept clear water between himself and second placed Nick Mummery who also used a similar method for small fish. Likewise, those tactics put Jerry Clifton into third spot, a mere ounce adrift, and young Luke Morley a further 2ozs down from Jerry. Results: 1 Rod Asher 3lbs 2 ?ozs; 2 Nick Mummery 2lbs 5 ?ozs; 3 Jerry Clifton 2lbs 4?ozs; 4 Luke Morley 2lbs 2ozs.

Not in any sort of numbers, but large fish dominated Fishtoft AC’s away trip to Tydd Gote on Sunday morning. Two such, one a tench of 6lbs 9ozs, followed by a bream 5lbs 13ozs which, would you believe, fell to a single squatt fished high up in the water for Nick Mummery.

Going one better than the Thursday sweep he won this event by a decent margin from Rex Harrison who also included a single bream of some 5lbs 7ozs in his second placed net. Arguably the best catch of the day was taken by third placed Danny West with an all small fish net of more than 9lbs. Results: 1 Nick Mummery 15lbs 1oz; 2 Rex Harrison 12lbs 11ozs; 3 Danny West 9lbs 2ozs; 4 Mark Cook 6lbs 2ozs.

Talking of which, the drain at Swandyke Lane was in a quiet mood for Sibsey AC’s visit on Sunday as just a couple of decent skimmers were enough to give Pete Coulson a narrow win.

Colin Peltell also found similar specimens for second place, after which Derek Smith was the only other to make more than a pound. Results: 1 Pete Coulson 2lbs 2ozs; 2 Colin Peltell 1lb 12 ?ozs; 3 Derek Smith 1lb 1 ?ozs.

Frank Scrupps performed his usual summer trick in winning matches with just two or three large fish, a tribute to his tactics and concentration. On this occasion a decent sized tench of a touch under 5lbs, together with a small bream and one eel, was enough to take the honours in Stickney AC's match on the golf course section of the Sibsey Trader Drain. John Briggs also conjured up a single bream to go with a few bits for second spot after which a few bits was the order of the day. Results: 1 Frank Scrupps 9lbs 1oz; 2 John Briggs 7lbs 2ozs; 3 Andy Dillamore 1lb 15ozs.

A slightly unexpected result came from the Coach and Horses AC match fished towards the railway bridge on the Bargate Drain. Although the odd tench featured in the better weights, hemp was the main bait for smaller fish to give Lee Feary a clear cut victory and also third place for Graham Upsall. Results: 1 Lee Feary 7lbs 5ozs; 2 Billy Coope 5lbs 13ozs; 3 Graham Upsall 4lbs 13ozs.

A total of 12 anglers turned out for the latest Monday evening match on Windsor Bank which produced better weights than last week as Sean Higginbottom, at peg 43, managed more than 5lbs of roach and skimmers to squatt and pinky at 9m. Last week’s winner Gavin Butler chose a longer line of around 14m and ran him close but just failed to reach the 5lbs mark, as did Danny West in third and Boston junior Daniel Austin gaining a good fourth. Results: 1 Sean Higginbottom 5lbs 5ozs; 2 Gavin Butler 4lbs 15ozs; 3 Danny West 4lbs 8ozs; 4 Daniel Austin 4lbs 5ozs; 5 Gary Shinn 3lbs 4ozs.

Round-up for week ending June 16, 2006

Fears of early struggles are all too true

Thoughts last week concerning the start of the angling season have, unfortunately, been all too accurate as the vast majority of pleasure, club and match anglers struggled for bites in the early days of the new campaign.

Indeed, those involved in matches and — even more to the point — the leading prizewinners also failed to put together any sort of decent net of fish, whether they be big or small. I suppose that both weather and water conditions were not in the anglers favour over last weekend, Saturday being warm and sunny and combining with a lack of colour in many areas, this made catching fish doubly difficult.

Not everyone’s cup of tea, but it was pleasing to see that a few eels — freshly run as they are on the dry side when handled — were a feature in quite a number of catches over this opening weekend and for one, Sibsey's Colin Peltell can thank a couple of small specimens for his first win of the season on the golf course section of the Sibsey Trader Drain on Sunday. Mind you, he also informs me ruefully that two good-sized carp would have made his weight much more respectable. But I'm afraid that fish of that quality take little notice of a number 6 elastic. Maurice Sharp took second place just two ounces behind, these two being the only ones to break the pound mark. Results: 1 Colin Peltell 1lb 3½ozs; 2 Maurice Sharp 1lb 1½ozs; 3 Kevin Smith 10½ozs.

The club will meet Nunns Bridge on Sunday June 25 for their next fixture on the Hobhole Drain.

The Stonebridge section of the Sibsey Trader Drain also followed the usual early season pattern as one good bream plus an eel helped Mick Corkrum to go one better than his second place last week. Danny Pettigrew also got in on the act with a smaller slab for a good runner up place and Ginty (Elvis) Elding some distance back in third. Results: 1 Mick Corkrum 5lbs 4ozs; 2 Danny Pettigrew snr. 4lbs 11ozs; 3 Ginty Elding 2lbs 14ozs.

This Sunday’s (June 25) fixture is at the cemetery length of the Bargate Drain.

In terms of fish numbers, the Windsor Bank section of the Bargate Drain was a much better bet as Rod Asher came home the winner with a shade under 5lbs of bits in Fishtoft AC’s opening match. Despite landing a bonus tench of around a pound, Danny West finished a pound adrift but a few ounces better than third placed Mick Whitham and Jerry Clifton next. Results: 1 Rod Asher 4lbs 14½ozs; 2 Danny West 3lbs 14ozs; 3 Mick Whitham 3lbs 4ozs; 4 Jerry Clifton 3lbs 1½ozs.

Club members are reminded that they follow on with a match this coming Thursday on the Horncastle Road section of the Bargate Drain, meet Billboards 5.30pm, and on Sunday 7am at the Little Chef, Algarkirk for a trip to Tydd Gote.

A similar story to that of the Fishtoft sweep emerged from the Stickney AC match further down the stretch towards Vauxhall Bridge. Here Andy Dillamore scored a more emphatic victory with a nigh 3lbs advantage over runner-up Steve Evans, Chris Chapman taking close order in third. Results: 1 Andy Dillamore 5lbs 4ozs; 2 Steve Evans 2lbs 5ozs; 3 Chris Chapman 2lbs 3ozs.

On Sunday (June 25), meet Stonebridge for the next fixture on the golf course section of the Sibsey Trader Drain.

The opening match in the Monday evening series took place on the Windsor Crescent section where 11 anglers took part under fairly damp conditions. A fine tench to pole at 16 metres helped separate Gavin Butler from the rest, taking the honours by a 2lbs plus margin. At the other end of the scale, Gary Shinn chose the squatt and pinky approach at 5m to grab second spot with an all small fish catch, as did Danny West in third - unluckily losing a good fish along the way. Results: 1 Gavin Butler 5lbs 5ozs; 2 Gary Shinn 3lbs; 3 Danny West 2lbs 2ozs; equal 4 Dean Pickwell and Daniel Austin 2lbs. This week meet same place, 5.30pm.

Round-up for week ending June 9, 2006

All systems go for new campaign

The new angling season is now upon us. It might not be an auspicious start as the wet and cold spring could well have had a detrimental effect with most species having not yet fully recovered from the act of spawning.

Lately, of course, we have been through a mini-heatwave which if nothing else has made fish much more active as water temperatures have no doubt risen dramatically to give anglers a fair chance in the opening days of the new season.

Indeed all reports suggest that once again the place to be will be the Windsor Bank section of the Bargate Drain where plenty of fish of all sizes have been seen topping. Anglers are duly reminded to make sure their documentation and tackle are in order, as first of all a rod licence (for those aged 12 and over) should be already in your possession before venturing onto the riverbank as Environment Agency bailiffs will be active from the off.

Secondly a Boston and District Angling Association member’s book should also be considered at £15 per adult or £10 concessionary. This gives season-long access to over 60 miles of Lincolnshire waters and must represent the best value for money throughout the whole country — considering that £3 will only give you one temporary member’s day ticket on the same waters when the local bailiff pays a visit.

On the subject of tackle, many anglers will have theirs in tip-top shape, having continued fishing on private waters throughout the close season. But for others, a close inspection of line, reels, rod rings and pole joints is essential in order to avoid disasters when hooking and trying to land that first big bream or tench.

Boston and District AA members have already been in action with the annual committee and delegates match taking place last Sunday on the Moon Lake complex at Tattershall. Small carp in the 2lbs to 3lbs category were the order of the day for most but Alec Rawlings tempted a slightly better class of fish to 5lbs, to win at a canter, almost doubling the weight of second placed Gavin Butler and Sean Higginbottom taking close order in third. Results: 1 Alec Rawlings 44lbs 4ozs; 2 Gavin Butler 22lbs 8ozs; 3 Sean Higginbottom 20lbs 12ozs. Section winners were Pete Smith with 10lbs 10ozs and Bob Bierton on a level 16lbs.

The Coach and Horses AC have also completed a pre-season fixture on the Westwood Lake at Wyberton where small carp and tench in the 1½lbs to 2½lbs range were the mainstay of most nets and was perhaps going to bring about a tight finish. This was indeed the case as less than 3lbs covered the top three, and a mere 10ozs separated the winner, in the shape of Danny Pettigrew junior from second placed Mick Corkrum, Andy Mitchell 2lbs behind in third. For the record, the best fish of the day by far was one superb carp of 12lbs which fell to the rod of Billy Coope. Results: 1 Danny Pettigrew junior 38lbs 10ozs; 2 Mick Corkrum 38lbs; 3 Andy Mitchell 36lbs.

The club will start their campaign on open waters with their first fixture being on the Stonebridge section of the Sibsey Trader Drain. As regards competitive events the junior arm of the Boston and District AA will meet at the Cemetery footbridge 6pm on June 21 for the first of their usual Wednesday evening matches. The popular Monday evening series on the Bargate Drain organised by Dave Rance, will also continue and those intending to take part should meet Windsor Crescent June 19 at 5.30pm.