LINGMERE, 15/2/15 ~ It's method madness on bottom lake.

Another great turnout of 20 meant that once again we had sections on both lakes at Lingmere. Up on the top lake, conditions were such that Gary Brislen was able to wield 18metres of pole for most of the match, so the bottom would be more comfortable again.
Strange then, that the 2 main protagonists chose to fish the method feeder.
What do I know?..... It proved to be very successful as Col Cook made a rare club appearance a winning one. After a slow start, the peg got stronger and stronger and he edged closer to early leader Dirk Wriggler, who had started well, also on the feeder. The adjacent peg battle turned out to be a close thing indeed, with Col putting an impressive 41lb 05oz on the scales. Just enough to hold off the Wriggler and his equally good 39lb 10oz. Great displays from both men.
The bottom lake also provided third place, this spot going to the master-catcher Ken Stuart, who turned on the style in the later stages of the match and finished with some decent carp and F1s to record 31lb 01oz. A solid effort from the venue regular.
Also on the bottom lake, the Gentleman known as Eric Heyes cruised through to the next round of the 20lb challenge with an excellent 25lb, and battered his little round friend in the process (sorry Les).
On the top lake, the sport was a little tougher. The Garden Gnome went walkabout after 2 hours, telling everyone who listened that the poor fishing was making him suicidal. If he hadn't walked he would have thrown himself in the lake. Most wished he hadn't walked! 
Returning refreshed and positive, Yozz started to find a few fish and ended up winning section A with 26lb 01oz.
The next section was really tight, with weights of 8-03, 8-05, and Nick Harrop's winning 8lb 11oz. The man from near Raby fished another tidy match to collect yet more pools money. Awesome.
Little Ginger Jones proved that last week's success was not a flash in the pan, as another solid performance from Dennis gave him a section win with 19lb 12oz. Well done Den.
The crazy fool with the 18metres of pole, as mentioned previously, made the effort pay. Long arm tactics brought section winning joy to Mr. Brislen who managed a nice 17lb 15oz total.

LLOYDS Kingfisher, 8/2/15 ~ Dennis is King Fisher at Lloyds

Recent good attendances went wallop for this match. Only 9 turned up after a week of hard frosts, but amazingly there was no ice-breaking needed as Kingfisher had thawed on Saturday. With everyone enjoying a bit of space, this helped balance the cold water conditions and most managed a few bites. The usual pegs did the business, with plenty of skimmers willing to feed.
King Fisher on the day was Dennis Jones. He got embroiled in a next peg battle with Sumo and both got their noses in front at different times as a ding dong developed.
At the final whistle, Dennis had finished in front with a surprising 22lb 05oz of mainly skimmers. I say surprising because the way both anglers had caught during the day, it looked like 40lb would be needed for victory. A good win nonetheless for the ginger dwarf, proving he only needs a half decent draw to produce the goods.
John Edwards is ultra consistent at the moment, and his level 17lb, again lower than expected, was good enough for first loser spot, but alas, no coin. At least some glory though John.
Another major surprise was Lee Pickup weighing in a netful of silvers. An excellent net of roach, with a couple of bonus chub, came to a total of 15lb 06oz. This was enough for third place, and enough to dispel opinion that Lee is a carp-head. Maybe it was a one-off, time will tell, but great on the day, well done.
In a reversal of fortune, The Gnome had very few silvers, relying on a carp in excess of 7lb to provide the bulk of his section winning 11lb 11oz. Think I'd rather be on roach thank you very much.
Despite what some may think about 'petty' rules that we have within the club, such as 2 nets, and not slagging off fisheries when sport isn't great, we have earned quite a reputation at this particular venue. Instead of paying the agreed amount for the lake, the owners felt that they wanted to reinforce our relationship, so they compromised on the day, and the peg fees were adjusted so that the club didn't lose the anticipated £30.
With a little bit of thought and effort, everyone is contributing towards giving the club a decent name, so well done and keep up the good work.

RULE AMENDMENT, General Metting 3/2/15

Members please note the amendment to rule 22. The use of 2 keepnets is now compulsory.

LINGMERE, 1/2/15 ~ KP stops squirrel from getting the nuts

As is usual, the Match Secretary put a lot of thought into the pegging so that the strong winds affected as few as possible. Out of the 20 who fished, I think that only 3 could say they had it tough from a presentation view.
Everybody had it tough from a fishing point of view though as both lakes at Lingmere proved harder than anyone could imagine. When you see how many fish get caught in the warmer months, it seems impossible that you could struggle for a few bites.
The only good thing about this match was that it was fair... it was hard for everyone.
Kenny Pickup produced the outstanding weight on the day as, using his vast array of venue experience, he followed the recent waggler trend to record a 23lb 02oz total and gain an easy win. Good job he got coached by Jamie though, he told Dad exactly where to fish you know!
Up on the top lake, and with wind in face, a blind squirrel was spotted. It managed to trip over more than a few F1s, but was ultimately thwarted when the final stash weighed 14lb 06oz. Joking aside, a great effort by John Edwards in the worst of the conditions. Could be a Garbo contender this year, as well as Fisho and Maver finalist.
Back on the bottom lake, and Andy Lawton continued to impress. Yet another envelope found it's way onto the Butler's tray, courtesy of some tip caught F1s which went 12lb 02oz. Nice one Andy.
The section figures illustrate how hard it fished on the day.
Finally unleashing the talent he has kept well hidden for the first few matches of the year, Les Thompson won Section A with a modest 5lb 05oz. Nice to see Les giving it a proper go though so well done sir.
Yozzer's 5lb 08oz was enough to take the next section, while on the bottom lake, Chris Roe kept up his 100% record as he won money for the 4th time since joining. Congratulations.