Monday 28 April 2014

HAMPTON, LONG ISLAND, 27/4/14 ~ Sumo hits form in time for fisho

An average attendance at Hampton meant that everyone had a bit of room for once. However, Sod's Law kicked in and the venue proved difficult to crack, with even the new stockies not playing ball.
This time of year sees the qualifiers for Fishomania and MaverMatchThis starting in earnest, so with several members holding numerous tickets and hotel reservations, how significant could it prove to be that John Edwards appears to have hit top form?
Sumo match wins are like birthdays, he normally has one a year, so Many Happy Returns to John on an impressive display. Three or four decent carp on the tip were supplemented with a nice mix of crucians, skimmers and small stockies which together went 35lb 08oz, securing victory and putting Sumo in confident mood for those bigger forthcoming matches. Good Luck to him and other club members in those events.
Venue regular Yozzer was pegged in a Pickup sandwich, with Jamie on one side and Kenny on the other. Despite Jamie's insistence that 'me dad' had easily won the section, and possibly the match, The Gnome did his usual scratch for anything, and ended up second with a 28lb 06oz total, made up of pellet caught crucians, tench, skimmers and small carp. (Kenny had 25lb)
After struggling for most of the match, Lee Pickup found a few decent carp on the tip in the last hour, and weighed 27lb 08oz for third place. Well done Lee.
Andy Lawton added to his bits n pieces with 2 margin lumps late on and secured another section win with his 21lb 09oz total. Nice one Andy.

Congratulations to all who qualified in the 'challenges'. Round 2 starts next week and includes Blundells, Lingmere and Lloyds Badger.

Monday 14 April 2014

LATHOMS No1, 13/4/14 ~ Angler - Jamie = awesome.... Venue - Lathoms = awesome....Together = UNBELIEVABLE!

Another first for the club as this time we visited Lathoms No1 at Burscough. A long trek of 20 miles, and tunnel money to boot, but opinion suggests it was worth the journey.
Pegging couldn't get any tighter unless we put two anglers on the same peg. Permanent pegs were about 5 metres apart, which pointed to a tough day with the fish backing right off, and sport being unrecognisable from previous pleasure sessions. How wrong the venue proved us.
Jamie Pickup did fish relatively long, at 12metres, shallow with maggot. A fish every go in was the result, with F1s, proper carp to 5lb, tench, ide and chub filling his keepnets. The final outcome showed an incredible return of 98lb to give Jambo an impressive victory. Well done J.
In sharp contrast, Gary Brislen admitted to fishing Gnome-like with a top kit and no.4 section with maggot, both on the deck and shallow, and with a similar mix to the winner, he put a wonderful return of 74lb 12oz on the tripod to claim a meritous second place, and maintain his good run.
Also keeping up excellent recent form was Dirk Wriggler, who employed slap n tap tactics with caster and pellet at 13metres. Carp and F1s dominated a net which went 74lb 02oz at the scales and gave Derek another well earned podium finish.
Tony Byers finally cracked the 20lb challenge, and had his first decent outing for a while. 46lb 08oz was his total, mainly on maggot at 6metres, and was enough to win him a section. Great stuff for The Cockney, with a confidence boost too.
Yozzer won the other section. After scratching around for a few fish here and there, he found a run of proper carp on top kit in the margins. Remarkable considering the pegging, but they boosted his weight to an honourable 64lb 08oz.
Other memorable performances, but without financial reward, were given by Sumo Edwards with 61lb 08oz (he even estimated them at 60lb, and put them in the weigh sling without mishap), Lee Pickup  who had 60lb, and not a pellet waggler in sight, and Paul Cargill, who's joy at Liverpool's victory over City was enhanced by an enjoyable 53lb of decent carp taken on 8mm pellet fished shallow.
All in all it was a superb day for most and I think it's fair to say that we will be going back asap.

Monday 7 April 2014

JACOBS, 6/4/14 ~Pole position for The Gnome, but Sumo makes a race of it

Our 2nd visit to the F1 mecca that is Jacobs lake, and this time the venue showed its worth. With the lake situated off Long Lane, The Goodison crowd could be heard as Everton took on Arsenal, and with The Blues winning 3-0, even the sour-faced reds were happy.
Funny really, but the pre-match banter didn't mention peg 31 as a potential flier, yet at the end it had become the biggest certainty since Red Rum won the National. The beneficiary at the draw was golden arm Yozzer.
Starting with meat at 8metres, 25 F1s went into the net for an early lead. A lengthy pit-stop enabled John Edwards to close the gap and race into a comfortable lead, but The Gnome started catching again, this time on pellet fished short, and at the whistle had 60 F1s and a lone barbel to total 79lb 15oz, and get the first chequered flag.
Sumo had suffered a slow puncture in the last hour and agonisingly weighed 76lb 12oz, consisting of F1s, with a couple of bream and chub mixed in, all on caster, for a comfortable first losers medal. Unlucky!
Gary 'laughin boy' Brislen kept up his recent run of good form to complete the podium with a respectable 52lb 12oz. Well Done to Gary.
Pato was in buoyant mood as he started with a fish a bung, slowed in the middle, then finished well and managed 43lb 08oz on shallow caster. However, the joy vanished as Steve 'the monster' Cooke pipped him for the section by 4oz. Half a dozen decent bream and a 4lb carp, along with the F1s doing the damage. A pat on the back to both though, as they secured a place in the next round of the 20lb challenge.
Dirk Wriggler continued his quest for fame with yet another section win, this time with a decent 40lb 08oz return. So consistent, well done. Travelling partner, Andy Lawton was the other section winner with 26lb 08oz. An excellent result, and through in the 'challenges' too.
Kenny Stuart with 37lb 08oz, and Harry Simpson with 22lb, also made it into the next round. Nice one gentlemen.