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ANGLING

All the up-to-date news from the 2007-2008 Boston and District angling scene

with Barry Mallett

Index	March 2008
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	Review for March 16 Spring-like conclusion to season’s action It’s all over bar the shouting. After a battering by storms during the earlier part of last week, the season ended on a very spring like note on Friday, unlike the weekend that followed. Mixed fortunes everywhere, it would seem, and the last of the Fenland Pike Club’s fixtures took place on the Northlands stretch of the Sibsey Trader Drain. Not a great deal of joy for anyone really as only half of the field produced anything to weigh and at best just small fish at that. Two such, each in the 1lbs to 2lbs category brought second and third places for Andrew Walker and Mark Bradbury junior, but a much better fish going over 9lbs gave Darren Toulson an easy victory. Results: 1 Darren Toulson 12lbs 2ozs; 2 Andrew Walker 4lbs 12ozs; 3 Mark Bradbury 3lbs 14ozs. Much better results on paper from the Gary Thompson Memorial Trophy match that also took place on the Upper Witham that same Sunday. The top four anglers all made double figure nets of roach but 4lbs was nearer the mark for sixth. Many indeed struggled for a bite between the Dixon Street and Laundry Bridges and two sections were won with a mere 1½ozs. The winner, in the shape of Nathan Zamcynzskj actually fished no more than half the match as the initial stages produced not a single fish, after which he went walkabout. On returning to his peg he introduced a good amount of hemp into his swim and from then until the final whistle, proceeded to land one good roach after another to clinch the trophy with over 16lbs. A level pound separated the next three places with Steve Gilbert emerging as runner-up ahead of team-mate Ryan Neal. Results: 1 Nathan Zamcynzskj, Lincoln Whisby AS, 16lbs 4ozs; 2 Steve Gilbert, Whisby AS, 12lbs; 3 Ryan Neal, Whisby AS, 11lbs; 4 Rob Thorley, Lincoln Whisby AS, 10lbs; 5 Frank Butler, Lincoln Whisby AS, 8lbs 2ozs. Despite the adverse conditions the Witham’s big bream continue to feed as Tuesday’s fourth round RAF League match demonstrated. Poles and whips were soon abandoned as the winds increased and despite making the switch to feeder, worm and caster combination, after many others had already done the same, Steve Davies emerged top dog with four such specimens, each around the 4lbs category. Using those self same tactics from the off, John Belcher had to settle for second with more fish but of smaller size, and much the same could be said for Pete Dawson who opted for the pole/feeder approach to claim third. Results: 1 Steve Davies, Old Lags B, 16lbs 2ozs; 2 John Belcher, Waddington B, 14lbs 15ozs; 3 Pete Dawson, Old Lags A, 12lbs 4ozs; 4 Baggy Allen, individual, 6lbs 7ozs. Teams: RAF Waddington 8pts (8lbs); 2 RAF Coningsby 8pts (7lbs 4ozs); 3 Old Lags A 11pts. League to date: 1 Coningsby 7pts; 2 Old Lags A 11pts; 3 Cottesmore 16pts: 4 Old Lags B & Digby A 26pts. Winds were, if anything, worse on Wednesday but this did not deter either a good attendance or those big bream from feeding once again. Sorry for the repetition, but Rick Tweddel returned to score a runaway victory. He used a similar feeder method and apart from taking a number of good skimmers he also tempted five of their large cousins in the 5lbs range. Organiser Ron Chambers also grabbed some of the action and took an equally convincing second spot with like tactics, well ahead of George Kelwick and Steve Nurse. Results: 1 Rick Tweddel, Bourne MG, 45lbs 3ozs; 2 Ron Chambers, Woodhall, 28lbs 8ozs; 3 George Kelwick, Short Ferry, 10lbs 14ozs; 4 Steve Nurse, Grimsby, 7lbs 4ozs; 5 Dave Bontoft, Pets Cabin, 5lbs 8ozs. The River Witham stayed in good form right to the very end, as the last match on Friday brought more double figure weights of bream. On this occasion Dave Edwards returned to the top of the class with a clear 6lbs plus advantage over second place. Generally those bigger bream were suddenly absent on leave due to the much calmer conditions but one such fish of 7lbs made that difference between the top two. Otherwise it was those models in the 1lbs to 2lbs range that constituted the bulk of catches and being confined mainly to the first four places, as weights unexpectedly fell away after those. Results: 1 Dave Edwards, Holly Farm, 26lbs 6ozs; 2 P Critcher, Spilsby, 19lbs 15ozs; 3 John Baxter, Ruskington AC, 17lbs 1oz; 4 Roger Woolhouse, Bardney, 8lbs 15ozs. Well that’s it boys and girls, and so it just remains for me to say thanks to you all for reading my reports throughout the season and I will hopefully be back at the keyboard after the glorious June 16. Bye for now. Barry
	Review for March 9 Decisive win for Maurice with mixed haul There was a stormy period to go with the last few days of this current angling season, with Saturday giving us a foretaste of what was to come. An indifferent week has just gone but coincided with a dip in temperatures in the early part of the week. The River Witham saw a sudden plunge in catches, as those involved in the Wednesday sweep can confirm. A mixed bag of small fish gave Maurice Thacker another convincing win as he finished with a clear 3lbs advantage over second placed Brian Harding. Roger Woolhouse came home fourth another pound down, only just failing to overhaul Trevor Ogilvie who doggedly clung on to third by a mere half ounce. Results: 1 Maurice Thacker, Lincoln, 7lbs; 2 Brian Harding, Bourne MG, 4lbs; 3 Trevor Ogilvie, Boston, 3lbs 1½ozs; 4 Roger Woolhouse, Bardney, 3lbs 1oz. Water temperatures were again on the rise and come the Saturday match big bream up to 5lbs suddenly decided it was feeding time and put a totally different aspect on proceedings. Lincs County angler Chris Elsom took the lion’s share of these and won handsomely with nearly 10lbs to spare over Roger Woolhouse who took a net of big skimmers and perch. Steve Nurse brought a similar catch to scales and was good value for his third spot, well ahead of Dave Bontoft who can thank another one of those big bream for his fourth place. Results: 1 Chris Elsom, Garbolino Lincs County, 24lbs 8ozs; 2 Roger Woolhouse, Bardney, 15lbs; 3 Steve Nurse, Grimsby, 14lbs 8ozs; 4 Dave Bontoft, Pets Cabin, 11lbs. Sunday proved to be far, far better than was forecast and looking at these next reports would seem to have had a benign effect on catches after the gales during the previous day. Leaving it very late in the season but at long, long last the South Forty Foot drain at Swineshead Bridge ran in to some form for visitors Bingham AA on Sunday. Some indication of that came from pleasure anglers the previous week and this final club match confirmed those sort of catches. Skimmers were again the main takers. And newcomer Adam Cox showed how it was done by taking the only double-figure weight of the day to pole, pinkie and maggot over groundbait. Brian Vincent, at the next peg chose different tactics as chopped worm tempted a number of decent perch for a comfortable second place. Weights then fell to below half that of the winner but all of those taking part had something to show for their efforts and Dave Millington, at the far end peg, produced one good specimen perch of 2lbs 9ozs to round off an enjoyable day. Results: 1 Adam Cox 10lbs; 2 Brian Vincent 7lbs 7ozs; 3 Matt Wallington 4lbs 10ozs; 4 Steve Simpson 4lbs 9ozs; 5 Brian Lees 4lbs 7ozs. Fishtoft AC chose a ‘hole in the ground’ for their latest venture and tackled one of the Moon Lake complex on Sunday. Here of course carp are first on the menu but Mick Whitham put a number of bream with those to record a runaway victory, beating Rod Asher into second spot with just over twice the weight. Only consolation for Rod is that he landed the best fish of the day, one such model of carp to the tune of 16lbs, which kept him ahead of the likes of Ben Brighton and Gordon Manning. Results: 1 Mick Whitham 50lbs 1oz; 2 Rod Asher 24lbs 4ozs; 3 Ben Brighton 22lbs; 4 Gordon Manning 15lbs 14ozs. The club will continue their match programme into the close season and a series of sweeps will be held at Westwood Lakes, meet on site 8.45am, starting on March 23. Less than a dozen anglers turned out for the open match on the North Level at Parson Drove and here Barry Wigginton ran out an easy winner taking roach to 6ozs using pole and breadpunch. John Taylor also managed double figures with a similar net of roach for second place. Results: 1 Barry Wigginton, Essex VDE, 14lbs 8ozs peg 1; 2 John Taylor, Sensas Mark One, 10lbs 5ozs peg 5. Round five of the East Coast Junior League also took place at Swan Bridge, Parson Drove instead of the River Glen. A fine and much warmer Sunday morning saw the seven teams of youngsters tackling the North Level Drain and all anglers managed to put some fish in the net for the first time since September. Almost a mirror of the previous day as top rod was also drawn at peg 1 next to the bridge, being local lad Brendan Strolger from Holbeach. He too caught roach to 6ozs but this time used pole and pinkie at 9m for the winning weight. Peg 5 also came up trumps again and Kyle Woodhouse of Lincoln took full advantage to clinch second, just 5ozs better than Boston’s Reece Dillamore. Results: 1 Brendan Strolger, Holbeach AC, 8lbs 2ozs; 2Kyle Woodhouse, Lincoln A, 6lbs 15ozs; 3Reece Dillamore, (Boston) Smurfs Elite, 6lbs 10ozs. Section winners: (A) Joss Cade Lincoln A 3lbs 13ozs; (B) James Wright Holbeach 6lbs 4ozs; (C) Danny Martin Lincoln A 5lbs 12ozs; (D) Joe Elliker Boston Green 2lbs 7ozs. Teams were led home by a good solid performance from Lincoln A with two section winners for their 6pts, second place (Boston) Smurfs Elite with 8pts, third, Holbeach A 11pts and fourth Boston Green, with only three anglers, 18pts. Fifth were Kings Lynn Gold on 21pts. League to date: 1 Holbeach A 50pts; 2 (Boston) Smurfs Elite 64pts; 3 Lincoln A 89pts; 4 Lincoln B 98pts; 5 Kings Lynn Gold 103pts. Next round will take place at Dents Farm on March 30.
	Review for March 2 Rick secures a follow-up success Staying mainly dry with above average temperatures, but strong winds were the main feature over these last few days and despite making bait presentation more difficult, the overall affect was of better catches almost everywhere. Last Tuesday’s match was more the exception as the RAF match at Tattershall took place under more benign conditions but threw up very much lower weights than later that week. No one made double figures as small perch and skimmers were the order of the day and brought a win for Gary Vongyer who trounced all those pegged around him. Kev Wilson managed to grab second with the help of a downstream end peg and Baggy Allen emerged from the middle of the pack to pinch third, just a single ounce in front of Steve Reid. The team event saw local team Coningsby triumph again, a result which consolidates their leading position but certainly leaves the title race wide open with three rounds remaining. Individuals: 1 Gary Vongyer, Waddington, 8lbs 9ozs; 2 Kev Wilson, Coningsby, 7lbs 10ozs; 3 Baggy Allen, Digby, 6lbs 12ozs; 4 Steve Reid, Cottesmore, 6lbs 11ozs; 5 Ben Jackson, Coningsby, 5lbs 10ozs; teams: 1 Coningsby A 5pts; 2 Old Lags 8pts; 3 Cottesmore A 10pts; 4 Digby A 15pts 5 Scampton 19pts. Tench are not too common in any area of the River Witham and even less so under match conditions. The Wednesday sweep however featured two specimens in the 4lbs region and fell to those who eventually made it to the prize list. Rick Tweddel won his second match in less than a week and even came close to making it a hat trick last Saturday. Having won the final Bourne Winter League the previous Sunday, the Wednesday sweep on the R.Witham saw him inch to victory over Maurice Thacker, despite the latter including a tench in his catch of mainly perch and skimmers. Rick’s was a similar net taken on pole, worm and caster, both the top two easily outpacing Dave Bontoft who also included another tench in his third place weight. Results: 1 Rick Tweddel, Bourne MG, 20lbs 12½ozs; 2 Maurice Thacker, Lincoln, 20lbs 7ozs; 3 Dave Bontoft, Pets Cabin, 10lbs 4ozs; 4 Graham Worley, Lincoln, 10lbs 2ozs. On to Saturday and Maurice gained full revenge as he took a good net of small bream to 2lbs to maggot and feeder for a comfortable win. Rick also found a similar sample to clinch second but had to give best on that day coming home some 3½lbs down, Brian Harding also getting in on the act and Graham Worley taking fourth again. Results: 1 Maurice Thacker, Lincoln, 17lbs 5ozs; 2 Rick Tweddel, Bourne MG, 13lbs 12ozs; 3 Brian Harding, Bourne MG, 11lbs 1oz; 4 Graham Worley, Lincoln, 9lbs 8ozs. The Lincoln and DAA Cathedral match was one of two distinct parts as those pegged in the Laundry bridge area bagged up on quality roach whilst the rest at Dixon St struggled for very few bites. Pole, hemp and breadpunch was king and Nathan Zamzinski led the field home using exactly this method. Dave Small ran him close as similar tactics brought him second, well up on Roger Wakenshaw and Maurice Thacker in third and fourth respectively. Results: 1 Nathan Zamzinski, Lincoln, 18lbs 13ozs; 2 Dave Small, Lincoln Whisby AS, 3 Roger Wakenshaw, Whisby AS, 14lbs 7ozs; 4 Maurice Thacker, Lincoln, 9lbs 1oz. A real ding-dong battle on the West Fen Drain where Mark Cook and Rod Asher went head to head in the latest Fishtoft AC match at Frithville on Sunday. They both chose tactics for large perch after finding only a few small silver fish in the initial stages and then took such models to 2 ½ lbs. Mark looked to have the match won with only minutes to go but Rod thought otherwise and on the last cast hooked and finally landed the best perch of the day, being one that weighed in at a level 3lbs to clinch the top spot. Results: 1 Rod Asher 11lbs 5ozs; 2 Mark Cook 10lbs 2ozs; 3 Alan Dixon 3lbs 8ozs; 4 Nick Mummery 1lb 6ozs. Next Sunday (March 9) the club will meet 8.30am at Moon Lake, Tattershall. The Thompson Memorial Trophy will be fished for on the upper Witham on Sunday March 9. Draw 8.15am Bracebridge Café and fish 10am to 3pm, tickets £15 all in from Frank Butler on 01522 534174. Note: Bloodworm and joker are barred. An open match will also be held on the North level, Parson Drove on Sunday March 9. Tickets are £20 all in and details from John Spalton on 07808 750779.