ANGLING

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

With Barry Mallett

Angling news November 2006

Round-up for week ending November 26, 2006

Les leads the way with open match top weight

It was a cold, blustery and fairly wet period that led up to the weekend, more like a typical late October week than a November one. Therefore with plenty of water about and temperatures on the rise, most venues saw some improvement in angling fortunes for those that turned out for either a pleasure session or were involved in matches.

The River Witham got the ball rolling on Saturday as the latest open match in the series took place on the Tattershall Bridge section of the water and showed a vast difference to catches in the previous round. There were no huge weights but most anglers put together good nets of roach and hybrids, led home by Lincoln’s Les Smith with veteran Maurice Thacker claiming second place this time around, one step up from last week’s result. Spalding angler Rob Johnson pushed him all the way but had to settle for third spot just two ounces down, with team-mate Brian Harding taking fourth place. Results: 1 Les Smith Lincoln 9lbs 14ozs, 2 Maurice Thacker Lincoln 8lbs 10ozs, 3 Rob Johnson Bourne MG 8lbs 8ozs, 4 Brian Harding 7lbs 6ozs.

Things were a little better from the Horncastle Road section of the Bargate Drain where most of the United Anglers Club members brought a few fish to scales. Good skimmers were the order of the day and red maggot tempted three such models to give Archie Hare a well-earned victory. Dave Willows also got in on the act and took second spot from a peg near to Rawsons Bridge using the same bait, whilst Steve Howard grabbed third from the Boston side of the railway bridge. Results: 1 Archie Hare 5lbs 10ozs; 2 Dave Willows 3lbs 6ozs; 3 Steve Howard 2lbs 11ozs; 4 Dave Johnson 1lb 15ozs.

The final round of the Boston and District Angling Association Winter League took place on Sunday over much the same sections as the penultimate one and showed much improvement overall. Windsor Bank was always going to be the most difficult and proved to be so but even better results were denied by a very strong run off which saw around 2ft depth of water being lost in the space of two hours. In contrast the extra water, and consequent colour gave the Frith Bank section a real boost and actually provided most of the day’s prize-winning catches.

Indeed the lowest weight along this length was over 5lbs and the stretch near to Anton’s Gowt brought the best catches of roach including that of the winner. Holbeach angler Matt Arnold finished head and shoulders above the rest with a superb net, all taken on pole and breadpunch and even beat ace matchman Lee Klimcjuk, pegged on the same length, to the top prize. Lee in turn finished over 2lbs down but relegated Boston anglers Paul Webster to third and Steve Winter to fourth from the same part of the drain. Lee’s travelling companion John Whincup again produced the goods from the Frithville area of the West Fen Drain but even with an increase in weight over the last round he could only manage fifth place this time around and put Newark’s Paul Pettener just out of the prizes.

There’s many a slip ’twixt cup and lip, as the saying goes, but team-wise there were no real shocks this week as the Boston team not only held on to their slender lead but a draw on the day with Dynamite Mayfair and victory over Ashfield Anglers saw them finish as champions with an increased margin of seven points. The race went right down to the wire in both divisions and in Division Two a victory by Holbeach over both Foxmatch Millview and Wainfleet AC saw them leapfrog the both and secure the title by an agonisingly single point on the latter and three over the former.

Individuals: 1 Matt Arnold, Holbeach AC, 22lbs 10ozs; 2 Lee Klimczuk, Lincs County White, 20lbs 4ozs; 3 Paul Webster, Boston Angling Centre A, 16lbs 13ozs; 4 Steve Winter, Boston, 16lbs 3ozs; 5 John Whincup, Lincs County White, 15lbs 11ozs; 6 Paul Pettener, Dynamite Mayfair A, 15lbs 2ozs.

Final positions: Division One, 1 Barry Wigginton, Ashfield Anglers, 57pts; equal 2 Andy Scott, Boston, and Paul Pettener, Dynamite Mayfair, 54pts; 4 Jamie Osgodby, Lincs County, 53pts; equal 5 Mark Nesbitt, Ashfield Anglers, and Russ Parsons, Burgh, 52pts; Division Two, 1 Alan Palmer, Holbeach AC, 59pts; 2 Bob Smith, Wainfleet AC, 57pts; equal 3 Matt Arnold, Holbeach AC, and Steve Burridge. Foxmatch Millview. 56pts; 5 John Briggs, Boston Angling Centre A, 54pts.

Teams: Division One, equal 1 Boston and Dynamite Mayfair B 45pts; 3 Ashfield Anglers 43pts; 4 Dynamite Mayfair B 39pts; 5 Burgh 27pts; 6 Lincs County White 26pts; Division Two, 1 Holbeach AC 49pts; 2 Foxmatch Millview 46pts; 3 Wainfleet AC 45pts; 4 Castle Inn 36pts; 5 Fishtoft AC B 35pts; 6 Boston Angling Centre A 34pts.

Final positions: Division One, 1 Boston 198pts; 2 Ashfield Anglers 191pts; equal 3 Dynamite Mayfair A & B 168pts; Division Two, 1 Holbeach AC 204pts; 2 Wainfleet AC 203pts; 3 Foxmatch Millview 201pts; 4 Castle Inn 186pts.

To sum up the series, it has once again been difficult at times with many seemingly annual problems surfacing to present themselves at different times along the way – and strangely by no means least, the fact that the rounds have often taken place in more summer-like conditions than usual. Couple this with ever increasing weed problems and predation in its many forms, it still surprises that the league takes place in such a friendly atmosphere and most anglers take great pleasure in fishing in, and completing the five match series, whatever the final outcome.

Congratulations to the main prize-winners and from myself a big thank-you to all those that took part, and others who assist in any way in organising the matches, prepare pegging, and help to produce the match results in their usual efficient manner.

Still on the subject of open matches and I remind match anglers that the Christmas Benevolent match will take place on Sunday December 10. Tickets at £3 are available from Barry Mallett on Boston 871815 and will take place on the Frith Bank and West Fen Drains. Many prizes will be on offer, both for match results as well as a free raffle for those who participate in the match. Please support this worthy cause and any prizes can donated and forwarded to either myself, Boston secretary Barbara Clifton or taken in to local tackle shops for collection, thanking you all in anticipation.

Fishtoft AC will meet at Sluice Bridge 7.30am this coming Sunday for their next winter match.

Round-up for week ending November 19, 2006

Match tie drama at Tattershall Bridge weigh-in

It was a case of wall-to-wall sunshine over the entire weekend. But the extremely cold nights certainly put paid to any chance of good catches from many waters. The preceding heavy downpour throughout most of Friday was as much responsible, and a combination of the two is definitely the kiss of death at this time of the year for some venues.

The River Witham at Kirkstead Bridge was the scene for the latest of the Kings Arms matches last Saturday. And starting from a low point, both in terms of water level and catches, both of these rose on this occasion. The cold coloured water came up some eight to 10 inches during the session and probably put off most of the fish in this area as the odd decent skimmer plus a few small roach were enough to bring a tied first place to both Howard Kaye and Ian Turner. After that it went quickly downhill as Maurice Thacker scraped home in third a single ounce ahead of Nick McQuiston with a meagre sub-pound weight. Results: Equal 1 Howard Kaye, Lincoln Whisby, and Ian Turner, Worksop, 2lbs 3ozs; 3 Maurice Thacker, Lincoln, 13ozs; 4 Nick McQuiston, Lincoln, 12ozs.

A different story emerged from the previous Wednesday match at Tattershall Bridge where Roger Woolhouse and Dave Bontoft had real ding-dong battle throughout the match. They both caught perch to 2lbs on chopped worm and pole, and after a nail-biting weigh-in when the verdict could have gone either way, the scales could not separate them and so a tie for first place was declared. Maurice Thacker also had a good day taking roach and skimmers to both pole and waggler tactics combined with big maggot, but actually finished almost 10lbs down on the winners. Tim Larter and Howard Kaye were never really in the hunt but both recorded double figure weights as all those involved averaged 12lbs per rod. Results: Equal 1 Dave Bontoft, Lincoln Whisby AS, and Roger Woolhouse, Sensas Lincs County, 25lbs 7ozs; 3 Maurice Thacker, Lincoln Whisby, 16lbs 5ozs; 4 Tim Larter, Rushfield, 13lbs 10ozs; 5 Howard Kaye, Lincoln Whisby AS, 13lbs 5ozs.

A similar tale emerged from the town Welland in Spalding where Fishtoft held their latest match last Sunday. Even so, fish seemed to be highly concentrated in a few pegs and almost barren short distances away. Breadpunch and pinky was the tactic for good nets of roach but Ben Brighton ran out an easy winner with a near 6lbs advantage over second placed Jerry Clifton, taking nearly all of his fish on the pole and hemp combination. Mark Cook gained third with the breadpunch approach but with water on the move Mick Morgan claimed fourth spot using the stick float and big maggot – a method rarely displayed on this water. Results: 1 Ben Brighton 14lbs; 2 Jerry Clifton 8lbs 1oz; 3 Mark Cook 6lbs 11ozs; 4 Mick Morgan 4lbs 15ozs.

Next Sunday most members will, of course, be competing in the final round of the Boston Winter League. Sections for this event are at this moment undecided as conditions remain in a state of flux and will depend on what the elements have to throw at us during this coming week. They may well not be decided until as late as Saturday morning, in which case those that intend on pleasure fishing should please consult any temporary notice boards placed on the banks to that effect.

The third round of the Whisby Foss Dyke League took place on the Pike House area of the canal and the match, consisting of 25 anglers, produced a close result as a mere 11ozs covered the top six prize winners. Being a bloodworm and joker match for small roach and perch this was in some ways to be expected. Lincoln Whisby AS members certainly wiped the floor with the opposition as all those first six came out of this stable. So close that once again the top two, in the shape of John Small and John Turner could not be separated by the scales and clinched that lofty position just 1½ozs ahead of team-mate Paul Clark. Alan Henry came home in fourth ahead of Nathan Zamcyznskjy and Dave Small and it was noticeable that all the leading lights were once again pegged in the 50s. Results: Equal 1 John Small and John Turner, Lincoln Whisby AS, 5lbs 11ozs; 3 Paul Clark 5lbs 9½ozs; 4 Alan Henry 5lbs 7½ozs; 5 Nathan Zamcyznskjy 5lbs 1oz; 6 Eddie Cheetham 5lbs. After three matches Alan Henry and Dave Small of Lincoln Whisby are tied for the lead on 19 points.

Round-up for week ending November 12, 2006

Right choices tip the scales Howard’s way

It was all change over the weekend of November 11 and 12 as match anglers had to go on their travels to find a few fish to catch. Despite a good amount of midweek rain most waters remained low and clear and certainly not enough to spread out the shoals of roach that, at present, are concentrated in very small areas.

The latest Saturday open match on the river Witham moved from a dire Kirkstead Bridge down to a more prolific stretch between the Skirth and Tattershall Bridge. Here a variety of fish was on offer, depending on tactics, and Howard Kaye certainly chose right as he won the match with some ease and taking mainly perch to chopped worm at 12 metres. Some distance behind but Nick McQuiston clinched second place by taking two decent bream to quivertip and caster, later switching to pole and maggot for a few good hybrids. All change again as Worksop’s Ian Turner came home third with a double figure net of roach to waggler and bronze maggot. Results: 1 Howard Kaye, Lincs County, 18lbs 2ozs; 2 Nick McQuiston, Lincoln, 12lbs 10ozs; 3 Ian Turner, Worksop, 10lbs 3ozs.

The latest round of the East Coast Junior League took place on an uninviting Foss Dyke Canal at Woodcocks where the cold weather reduced catches to just the odd perch for most, the larger of the species sorting out the prize list. The roach failed to show and so it was left to chop worm and maggot to attract the odd bite. The Kings Lynn outfit had to travel furthest and with the only lad in the team, which featured three girls, Tom Cockle made his presence felt as he took top place adding to both Williams sisters Kayleigh and Sophie’s section wins to take the team event. Results: 1 Tom Cockle, King’s Lynn, 1lb 4ozs; equal 2 Shane Spraggins, Lincoln A, and Brendon Stroller, Holbeach, 1lb 2ozs; 4 Jonathon Taylor, Boston Red, 1lb 1oz. Teams on the day: 1 King’s Lynn Gold 9pts; 2 Boston Green 14pts; 3 Lincoln A 16pts; 4 Holbeach A & Boston Red 17pts. Teams overall: l Boston Green 31pts; 2 King’s Lynn Gold 34pts; 3 Holbeach Red 46pts; 4 Boston Red & Lincoln B 54pts; 6 Lincoln A 55pts.

Midweek practice proved that the Horncastle Road section of the Bargate Drain had become almost entirely devoid of fish and so a decision was reached whereby sections of the Boston Winter League were moved onto an in-form West Fen Drain at Frithville and also the Malcolm Arms stretch of the Frith Bank Drain – both being in effect the same waterway. Not so comfortable to fish – there being no platforms – but the object of the exercise was mostly achieved in that the vast majority of anglers produced decent nets of fish. Anything therefore was possible from anywhere and a mainly unfancied peg in Frithville produced the goods for Lincs County angler John Whincup who took quality roach to pinky and hemp for a clear cut victory. All main individuals, but Chris Mawer at the swimming pool footbridge, came from these sections and the runner-up place fell to Holbeach angler Matt Arnold. He just shaded Mark Griggs by a single ounce, Mark being at the bridge in Frithville while Matt was pegged just down from the Malcolm Arms, Antons Gowt – Fishtoft AC’s Gary Shinn completing the line up in sixth.

The race for the division one title is really down to two teams and with a win last Sunday it is well within the grasp of the Boston team who lead the Ashfield outfit by 5pts going into the final round. Perhaps division two is a little more open as four teams, in the shape of Wainfleet AC, Holbeach AC, Foxmatch Millview and the Castle Inn are all in with a shout as only 8pts cover those top four, despite Fishtoft AC B turning up trumps to win the day.

Individuals: 1 John Whincup, Sensas Lincs County White, 12lbs 5ozs; 2 Matt Arnold, Holbeach, 11lbs 1oz; 3 Mark Griggs, Boston, 11lbs; 4 Chris Mawer, The Biz, 10lbs 1oz; 5 Ian Rowney, Mansfield, 8lbs 4ozs; 6 Gary Shinn, Fishtoft AC C, 8lbs 3ozs. Teams on the day: Division One, 1 Boston 43pts; 2 Ashfield Anglers 41pts; 3 The Biz 37pts; 4 Dynamite Mayfair A 36pts; 5 Burgh 34pts. Division Two, 1 Fishtoft AC B 46pts; 2 Wainfleet AC 44pts; 3 Holbeach AC 42pts; 4 Fishtoft AC C 34pts; 5 Boston Angling Centre C 32pts.

After 4 rounds: Division One, 1 Boston 153pts; 2 Ashfield Anglers 148pts; 3 Dynamite Mayfair A 129pts; 4 Dynamite Mayfair B 123pts; 5 The Biz 113pts. Division Two, 1 Wainfleet AC 158pts; equal 2 Foxmatch Millview and Holbeach AC 155pts; 4 Castle Inn 150pts; 5 Fishtoft AC B 141pts.

Fishtoft AC members should meet Sunday 7.30am Sluice Bridge for the next match of their winter series.

Round-up for week ending November 5, 2006

Small weight is enough for Kaye

A settled few days brought us some colder nights at long, long last, together with plenty of sunshine, falling water levels and — more unfortunately — any remaining colour also disappearing fast.

Such was the scenario for the River Witham at Kirkstead that had been in top form over this mild autumn. The previous week’s Saturday sweep (October 28) was seen as a mere blip in proceedings, as Howard Kaye needed a paltry weight of small fish to take the honours. Hot on his heels and just an ounce behind was organiser Ron Chambers who, as it turned out was the only other to break the 1lb mark. Results: 1 Howard Kaye, Lincoln, 1lb 11ozs; 2 Ron Chambers, Woodhall, 1lb 10ozs; equal 3 Les Smith and Maurice Thacker, Lincoln, 10ozs.

On to last weekend, now, and the river looked in perfect condition for the 14 hopefuls on Saturday morning. That’s where hopes came to a shuddering halt as a single eel plus a perch around the 1lb mark brought an unexpected manner of victory to Dave Bontoft – but not of course to ‘Bomber’ himself. Bourne’s Rob Johnson was the only other angler to trouble the scales and only just at that. Results: 1 Dave Bontoft, Lincoln, 1lbs 4ozs; 2 Rob Johnson, Bourne MG, 2ozs.

The River Bain at Coningsby also showed a distinct lack of colour but that where the similarity ends as, in complete contrast, that section behind the town holds an abundance of nice roach. Fishtoft AC were this week’s beneficiaries, as double figure nets were needed to claim the major prizes. A pole and breadpunch approach was by far the top method on the day and Nick Mummery put those tactics to best use to keep Daniel Mooney in the runner-up position a level 2lbs behind. Similarly he himself held an even bigger margin over Mark Naylor with Ben Brighton in the same area in fourth. Results: 1 Nick Mummery 12lbs 6ozs; 2 Daniel Mooney 10lbs 6ozs; 3 Mark Naylor 7lbs 10ozs; 4 Ben Brighton 7lbs 7ozs. Sunday November 12, of course, most club members are involved in the fourth round Boston and District Angling Association Winter League match.

Looking further afield, and Lincoln and District Angling Association held their annual Washingborough Windows Trophy match last Sunday on the Foss Dyke Canal, between the Pike House and the Doddington Road. Blood worm and joker were allowed in this match and the entry was swelled by a number of competitors practicing for the forthcoming league match on this venue. Once again it was like the “Curate’s Egg” – very good in parts but dire in many other areas.

Pegged at 44, victory finally went to Mark Pressley, captain of the Worksop team, who initially baited with joker at 5m and 8m but could not get a bite on either of these lines for the first hour. After fishing right across under the bush with chopped worm to tempt a few perch, he eventually discovered that the roach had moved over his joker line, which ultimately brought him a good enough net of that species to clinch victory.

Darren Bickerton, the captain of the formidable Daiwa Trentmen squad, was also kept very busy and concentrating on the 6m line he caught over 300 roach (30 or more to the pound) to grab second spot. Grimsby’s Andy Stier took third ahead of team-mate Graham Ellis who finished a full pound behind but only three ounces in front of fifth placed Lee Morley. Results: 1 Mark Pressley, Worksop, 11lbs 15ozs. 2 Darren Bickerton, Daiwa Trentmen, 10lbs 9ozs; 3 Andy Stier, Ace Tackle, 9lbs 6ozs; 4 Graham Ellis, Ace Tackle, 8lbs 6ozs; 5 Lee Morley, Mill Tackle, 8lbs 3ozs.

Juniors should note that the presentation night of the Boston Youth Angling Club will be held at the Unicorn Inn on Friday November 24 starting 7.30pm.Admission will be £2 adults and £1 juniors. Please make sure that all trophies are returned to either the Boston Angling Centre or Pilgrim Tackle by the November 18 please. Lots of trophies are to be handed out so make sure that you bring along friends and family for a fun night. There will also be a mountain of food and a raffle so bring along a prize if you can. Club sweatshirts can be ordered on the night and samples will be available for you to try on.

Coaching sessions

We will start coaching sessions again in the spring at Fenside Community Centre, Boston. Anyone interested in making rigs, tying hooks and shotting up floats etc. should book in as places are limited. The classes we held earlier this season went well with most of the anglers attending managing to tie up their own hooks and make and shot rigs.

We covered feeder fishing and the waggler, also how to elasticate pole sections. We held a fishing outing to Westward Lakes and all anglers managed to catch a few fish on the rigs they had made. We are also holding a couple of master classes on fishing local waters with local match anglers on hand giving question and answer sessions, demonstrations and advice on methods baits and rigs etc, Dates and more details to follow. Are you interested? Let us know.

Club outings

(Book your peg with Dave before the day)

The club outings have been few and far between this autumn due to the number of matches we have took part in. But we hope to start holding one outing a month from next month onwards starting on December 2 and meet at Oldrids car park, Wyberton for 9am, venue to be confirmed.

Our dads and lads outing will be out to the Welland, Spalding, on Thursday December 29 for those brave enough to face the ice and snow (we’ve managed a snowball fight the last two years).

On the Forty Foot Drain at Swineshead Bridge there are limited pegs available. On January 20 meet at the venue for 9am (fish 10am to 2pm). If you know a good venue for a club outing that can fish up to 20 anglers, let us know so we can check it out for next time.

We are a junior angling club and only exist because young people want to learn more about fishing and the environment. We are here to help with all that and more, but we need more parents and anglers to come forward and help with the busy calendar of events that take place each year.

If you can help or know of someone willing to give up a few hours of their time during the month, please contact us on numbers below: Dave Rance and committee, (01529) 461415 or write to 9 The Paddocks, Great Hale, Sleaford, Lincs NG34 9GX; secretary, Mrs June Hawkes 87 Jubilee Avenue, Boston, Lincs PE21 9LE; match secretary, Dave Morley (01205) 362021.