BRON EIFION WEEKEND, 15th & 16th September 2012

The annual Bron weekend kicked off with the usual knock-up at Eisteddfa, and this year there was a reasonable turnout of 10 members. It was a pretty windy day, and the hoardes of skimmers and F1s failed to feed on pole lines, making it very much a carp match. Col Cook drew the windy end and I think a few of us were relieved not to be there as it looked uncomfortable. A change of heart was in order by the end as Col chucked a method feeder out all day and amassed 86lb for a comprehensive and well-earned victory.
Pete Lucas, pegged next to Col, did catch on the pole. However, it was proper carp, on golfballs of paste in the last hour. He weighed 40lb for an excellent second place.
Steve Coleman completed the frame with 33lb of mainly method caught fish. He did however, have plenty of room, as Jamie did a world record walk of shame, packing up after just half an hour! Still a good effort from Steve though.

Gary makes good use of his draw

Following last year's issues regarding pegging, and in order to create more room, it was decided that the end peg on the fieldside would be used, despite the likelihood that it may produce a runaway winner. Gary Chambers was the beneficiary, and duly used the peg to great effect. Fishing pellet shallow, he put together a mix of Koi, F1s and carp to amass 74lb 07oz and a comfortable victory. One thing drawing a good un, it's another to make use of it, so well done Gary.

When The Maestro drew an average peg on the shallows, Pete Lucas didn't look like featuring, but a superb display, both on the feeder and the pole with paste, saw Pete bring 63lb 10oz to the scales to earn the runner-up spot. In buoyant mood, and singing throughout the contest, he surprised everyone with his pole prowess. When asked by John Heald whether he had a licence to use the pole, he quickly responded that as he only used 5metres, the Gnome said he didn't need one (priceless).

In third place, and winning the section of death, was Neil Paterson. After a gloomy spell of late, the big fella was short on confidence, but it didn't show as he put in a stunning effort on the feeder to record a 59lb weight. Great to see the smile return, and his appetite, as he enjoyed a celebratory, if somewhat gay-looking Knickerbocker glory at the evening meal.

The final section, on the under-performing damwall, was won in good style by Paul Cargill with 33lb 08oz. Not a wind-up, although it might get the wind up, Paul allegedly caught on the feeder with hair rigged baked bean. Whatever, more cash and a next peg beating for dad.

 Cook takes Bron crown with a club record

Those who fished the wall on Saturday had a draw for fieldside pegs on Sunday and vice-versa. Everyone was praying for Saturday's winner, so it looked ominous when, with a cheeky grin, Colin waved it in the air.
Despite a stiff breeze and driving rain in his face, he made no mistake, putting together a superb 100lb 04oz, to secure victory on the day, overall success, and a new club record weight to boot. A truly impressive showing, well done Col.
Considering the two mediocre draws he had, canal legend Neil Paterson did brilliantly. After his day one section win, he again fished well and, with 53lb 12oz of feeder-caught carp and F1s, he posted another section win, second  on the day, and an overall second. Once the Jolly green giant, I've renamed him the Red Pellet Princess.
Third place on the day went to the Gnome, who again stubbornly defied the feeder boys, and had 51lb 04oz of carp, roach and F1s on 4metre pole, to record the best weight off the dam wall.
The other wall section went to a former Bron king, John 'Sumo' Edwards. He again demonstrated his mastery of the pendulum cast as he fished the tip at 70metres, and brought 45lb 08oz to the scales. Class will always show Sumo, so well done, and don't lose the faith.
With a steady performance necessary to cement his first day effort, Gary Chambers did just that, and with a 30lb mix of silvers and carp, he secured third place overall. Congratulations to Gary.
Thanks to Tony for organising the hotel and the finances. Sorry his first day of fishing was a disaster, and his second day never got going due to illness.

 Many thanks to Dave Cargy for running the matches. I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend.

HAMPTON - ROCK, 2/9/12 ~ Yozz gets lucky at unfamiliar venue.

Flat calm conditions and cruising carp pointed to a bit of a struggle for this one. Previous form suggested that the method would do the damage, but surprisingly it didn't dominate.
Sumo started off with a few early fish on the pole, followed by some unfortunate losses on the feeder. He couldn't sustain the effort, and with no last hour margin fish, he finished with 36lb, but no cash. Unlucky that.
Despite missing the last club visit to Hampton, which denied him some much needed practice, The Gnome caught steadily for most of the match. Bucking the method trend, he had an assortment of small skimmers, crucians and a couple of carp on meat fished at 7metres. Adding some margin carp in the last half hour, he brought 57lb 01oz to the scales and recorded the win.
Following the advice, and starting on the method, Steve Coleman struggled for an hour before coming onto the pole line where he caught steadily and amassed an estimated 30lb of pellet fish. The scales lied and said he had 45lb 12oz, which was good enough for a well deserved second place.
Third place was a close contest, with Paul Cargill making good use of his 'tip' peg by netting 42lb 10oz of corn loving carp. Well done Junior.
Settling for a section prize, with 42lb 06oz, was Lee Pickup. He had some big big fish, again caught mainly in the margins on corn. One particular carp bottomed out his red hydro six times! Probably time to renew if it's stretching that much.
The other section went to The maestro, Pete Lucas, who weighed 28lb 08oz. Pete even caught the majority on the pole too. Mind you, he was up to his old tricks, even going into the lake up to his waist in order to sneak some groundbait in via a hole in his pocket.
For the purists it was poetry to see him fall in. On numerous occasions he leaves his method rod unattended whilst 'titting about' and then wonders why it gets pulled off the rest! Normally he gets rewarded with a decent fish (sooo annoying), but this time no cigar, only a soaking.

Please note: Dave has booked several more matches for later this year. The match diary has been updated, including two Lingmere dates in October, which I am unsure about.