ANOTHER WEEKEND IN WORCESTER, 4/5/6th September 2015 ~ Remember the name...Eggy Ferry

Before this weekend even got under way there were rumours abound that the fishing would be awful and it would be difficult to build relations with the respective fishery bosses. How wrong can you be? I think the days of ridiculous bagging matches at Cob House are long gone, but the fishery provided us with some great sport, as good as anywhere we normally go, and our matches were fiercely competitive. In fairness, there were some credible weights too.
Despite some indifferent customer relations, the club must come away from the venue with an excellent reputation. No moaning, no inappropriate comments, and a respect for the fishery and its staff.
On to Solhampton, and Burgess. Now he is a bit of a character to say the least, but following last year's visit, members did well to enhance the already decent image that we created. Once again no moaning, and the somewhat tricky set of rules observed to the letter.
I was proud to represent the club at each of the hotels, and I'm sure we will be welcome to return in future years. The hostelry at which everyone spent Saturday night would, no doubt, be delighted to have our custom should we wish to return. Following a poor showing on the Friday night, Robbo managed to stay awake and soberish to enjoy a fantastic evening. Long live the floating Guinness and chilli sambuca. Even Yozzer had a jaeger bomb! Such was the night, that the stragglers didn't leave till 3am.

Friday 4th Sept, COB HOUSE, WYATTS ~ Ton-up Tony is tops.

A little confusion at the start of this meant that some people were claiming that by the time they went in, The Gnome had caught three fish. No "all-in" shout, but a "commence when you are ready", done to prevent certain members from swimming, caused the misunderstanding. The head start didn't do Yozzer any good though, as he ended up getting dusted by Dirk Wriggler off the next peg. Degsy fished method feeder at 5 metres to register a second place with an excellent 86lb 15oz.
The winner, however, was the man in form, Tony Wilson. Continuing his improvement, which has been steady all season, Tony 'smashed' the ton by 3oz. It could have been even more but a keepnet violation meant his weight from one net was capped at 60lb, when it was clear he'd had more than that. Regardless, rules is rules but still a brilliant achievement, so congratulations.
A randomly drawn pairs competition was being run over the three days, so when Tony's partner, Gary Brislen finished in 3rd place with another tidy weight of 82lb 10oz, it seemed like that little contest was over before it began. It actually gave them a 40lb advantage going into day 2.
It's becoming a regular occurrence, but, yet again, Andy Lawton was in the money. Once again a section win, this time with 43lb 04oz. Paul Robb managed to get the better of Neil Paterson in the final section, his 76lb 15oz giving him 10oz to spare over the big fella. Well done to both section winners and to the Jolly Green Giant, too.
Well done to Harry Simpson for giving Simmo Jnr and Col Cook a 'babooning' (red arses from a kicking). His 57lb was a genuine highlight.

Saturday 5th Sept, COB HOUSE, WYATTS ~ Ton-up Tony foiled this time

A really strange match, as everyone felt they had learnt from the day before, but the fishing seemed harder. At the end, however, the weights had improved!
Before the match, everyone had put a pound in the kitty, and before they put fish on scales, they had to estimate the weight they would record. Nearest guess would take the prize.
Tony Wilson informed the scalesmen that he had 78lb but again went over the magical hundred mark, this time with 101lb 09oz. A pretty poor guess, but by no means the worst (only 23lb out).
Now The Gnome is a notorious bull-shitter at the weigh-in. He reckoned on 70lb, but accepted that he never gets anywhere near, so for the purposes of the game, he guessed at 88lb. Absolutely hopeless!!...... The scales went round to 108lb 07oz. It proved to be the match winner, but the 'guess your weight' contest..... well.
Filling the podium was Nice Boy Nicky Harrop. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry when the scales stopped at 96lb 13oz. A brilliant effort, but falling just short of the ton, and Tony was in his section too. Oh dear, never mind.
Harry Simpson was first to weigh, and having estimated his catch to be worth 34lb, it looked like game over when the scales read 34lb 03oz.
However, with three to weigh, the scales arrived at Andy Lawton.
The Butler claimed he had fished to a plan. Catching very little would make the guessing easier. 16lb 02oz was the precise estimation, and incredibly, the scales went to 16lb 04oz. He'd beaten Harry by a mere ounce. He may have finished last, but he was £20 richer. Great fun, and huge interest in the weights all they way round the lake.
Pato gained revenge by beating Robbo to the section with his level 62lb, even if his was the worst guess (35lb).
Ian Simpson and Col Cook looked for all the world like they were going to be 'babooned' by Dad for the second day running. Amazingly. they both had sensational last hours, with Ian bringing a brilliant 88lb 10oz to the scales, and Colin a credible 56lb 03oz. Ian also upheld the guessing standard with his 87lb 08oz estimate.
Gary Brislen was also in the money again, this time The Entertainments Manager was a section winner with 70lb 04oz. A great effort, which also added 7lb to the lead in the Pairs contest. 

Sunday 6th Sept SOLHAMPTON, KINGFISHER ~ Robbo is a Bathing Beauty, Yozz wins the fishing.

It just had to happen at least once during the trip.
In the warm autumn sun, Sumo was sitting topless at his peg looking like he could play a big part in the contest. Suddenly, out of the blue, an almighty splash in the next peg indicated that Paul Robb had dived head first into his peg to retrieve an errant top kit which was making it's way over to the far bank. Robbo rescued the top, and the carpy culprit, and made his way back to the bank. Despite his peg being ruined by the commotion, John offered Robbo a dry fleece and  Harrop asked if he wanted some bristle grease to smarten up his hair.
This was a totally different type of venue, with lots of smaller carp around 10/12 oz supplementing some better samples.
Although pegged on the other side of Robbo, a big bed of rushes had softened the blow of the Swimming show, so Yozzer was able to catch all day and his 90lb 03oz proved enough for a nice day's fishing and a victory too.
After two excellent but fruitless displays at Cob, little Dennis Jones was finally rewarded for his consistency with a magnificent 82lb net and an honourable silver medal. A great display by Den, but those floats? They keep going under! Testimony to their quality, everyone seems to want them.
No holding that man Tony Wilson back. This time another quality effort brought third place with a decent return of 76lb 08oz. Like all good anglers, he reckoned he'd learned a few lessons over the 3 days. Good Luck to him and Chris Roe on TBF next week.
Still referred to as young Paul, Cargy is getting on a bit now, but despite excessive alcohol consumption on the previous night, his fishing is also coming along and so he proved with a section winning 60lb. Well done Paul.
Pato finished off a very productive weekend with his third decent weight in 3 days. This time his 56lb 08oz saw another section winner's envelope go into the back pocket, and travelling companion Gary B sticking his sloppy paste where the sun don't shine. With Gary disappointing on the final day, it gave a glimmer of hope to the chasing pack in the pairs. With a final combined total of 450lb, Gary and Tony had proved to be a perfect pair, winning by a relatively small 12lb margin from Chris Roe and The Gnome.


From a personal point of view, I'd like to thank each and every member for their contribution to this weekend. My job was made easy because everyone did their bit and there was no moaning about anything. I was proud to be the front man for the club as everybody conducted themselves impeccably. A special mention to Sumo and Luco for their assistance, and Spadger for his efforts in securing the top class accommodation. Both brilliant hotels, especially for the money.
Hope we can do it all again next year.