LATHOMS No1, 17/1/16 ~ Blankety Blank Cheque book and pen anyone?

Winter has well and truly arrived. While keeping the aerators working produces an ice-free lake to fish, it also makes the water unnaturally cold and puts the fish off feeding. It happened this week. With 18 members starting this match, little did we realise how many cheque books and pens would be needed. Eleven DNWs, and half of those CFAd  (catched fook all).
Still, the verbals flew round the lake as usual. No jigga, no fish for Sumo. No peg 31 Lingmere, no fish for Tony. Seems only Pato kept up his usual standards. Unfortunately for Neil, Buck Rogers managed 3 fish to his 2 and won the section with a level 4lb.
The Garden Gnome found 13 F1s to weigh 17lb 10oz and won comfortably.
Nasty Nick Harrop practiced the venue on Friday and the effort paid off as he produced 5 fish for 9lb 01oz to grab the runner-up berth. Well done, Nice boy.
Third place went to Jamie Pickup. Ingenuity triumphed! Jambo filled it in with a pint of casters at 13metres. This frightened all the fish in the area onto his short 5 metre line. 8 fish for 8lb 06oz was the result. Must bear that one in mind for the future.
It seems that if you caught, you picked up. Steve Cookie Monster had an F1 weighing 2lb 02oz, while Lee Pickup had one of 14oz. Both were section winners, so good stuff for sticking it out until the end.
Despite a bitterly cold day with nothing to get excited about on the fishing front, everyone was still in reasonable spirits at the end, and the camaraderie shone throughout the contest. Well done to all for that.

LINGMERE, 10/1/16 ~ King Edwards makes everyone look like a spud!

I've done a lot of moaning about wind and rain of late, but the real winter finally arrived on Sunday. No rain, but a stiff breeze which cut right through you. Boy it was cold. It didn't affect the fishing though, as 2 thirds of the field went into the next round of the 20lb challenge at the first time of asking.
Newbie Dave Edwards proved that his 3rd place over Xmas was not a fluke, as he caught all day on maggot and amassed a brilliant total of 71lb.That made him king for the day putting him well clear and dispelling the theory that the 'Edwards' name is synonymous with muppet. Well done Dave.
Having said that, John Edwards excelled again, this time as a section winner with 24lb 01oz. Following some pre-match banter when he talked about being a big fish in a small pond, he shall now be called Nemo.... a small fish in a very small tank!
Jamie Pickup watched Dave getting one a bung for the first hour before taking a different approach, similar to the winner. This propelled him from also-ran to runner-up as he put a top quality net together which went to 47lb 12oz at the scales. Great effort from Jbay.
In 3rd place, putting on another good show, was Tony Wilson (he's nearly as famous as the man off the telly). A fine 42lb 02oz got Tony in the money. I wonder if he can do it off other pegs as well as 31 ? He seems to draw there on every match. Time will tell.
Les Thompson put in a sparkling display to get section glory with an impressive 36lb 05oz, while Chris Roe demonstrated the power of Maver poles by throwing 16m about for the most part, and putting an equally hard earned 36lb 11oz in the bucket.
Andy Lawton put the silver salver down long enough to catch 22lb 12oz, and earn section money too. The butler did well from peg 11, which normally brings a moan or two when it's in the drawbag.

News from the AGM

Especially for those who didn't get to the AGM, The following requires a swift response from members:
Subs need to be paid by the March general meeting.
A £10 deposit is needed by the same meeting to secure your place on the weekend away. This year it is provisionally at Barston and Tunnel Barn over the dates September 9/ 10/ 11.
Sumo is the new Treasurer, and will be happy to accept your payments over the next few weeks.
If you wish to view what items of clothing are available for club T shirts etc, visit websites www.mdpsupplies.co.uk or www.cottonridge.co.uk