LINGMERE, 14/2/16 ~ On bottom, off bottom, Lee ends up on top

An overnight frost and a rare Easterly wind put the fish down at Lingmere this time. Some had a few early fish and then struggled, while the early strugglers came good at the end. Then again, a couple went missing before the end, notably The Gnome. He did "the walk" with 90 minutes remaining.
With 21 lining the banks a couple of pegs were put on the bottom lake. Lee Pickup took full advantage and, fished the waggler a foot off bottom for the most part. A superb display, sadly, was witnessed be so few, but meant that he ended up a runaway winner with a great weight of 42lb 02oz.
On the top lake, grueller doesn't seem appropriate, it wasn't even that good. Earning the accolade of first loser was John Edwards. Sumo was out of my view (thank God) but apparently, coasting to victory, he forgot about the bottom lake, and let victory slip from his grasp. Still, his 27lb 02oz kept him out of the Caernarvon and earned an envelope and some admiration from the 'clubbies'. Well done John.
Another Edwards filled the podium, with Dave (the good looking one) again pulling a good un out of the bag, to hoots of derision from the packed café. He made good use though, and 24lb 14oz ran Sumo close but not close enough. Another good effort Dave.
Dennis Jones was one of the early strugglers, but a switch late on to the tip brought section glory. The newly christened Ginger Pygmy ended with 16lb 05oz.
Last week's hero Nasty Nick Harrop hurled insults for 4 hours and then he copied Dennis' decision to chuck it and chance it. Section success again, this time with 11lb 09oz.
Having won money on the last three outing with minimal weights, Johnny Rogers had to fish his socks off this week for the financial reward. He needed an amazing 11lb 04oz for glory.
More tip chucking, interlinked with the odd venture on the pole, gave The Wriggler the final section. Derek kept the odd fish coming throughout the match to record a decent 15lb 13oz and a well earned envelope.
Congratulations to all who completed the course and especially the money winners.

CUNNERIES, 7/2/16 ~ Rs wipes the smile off everyone's face

After some decent performances and some duff ones on Saturday, the Wirral Raiders WhatsApp group had set standards at both ends of the spectrum for Eggy lads to match or better. Of course we had the worst of it following persistent rain and low overnight temperatures. Hence the poor showing from the Pickup boys. Both matched the low end standard as they left early so catched nuttin.
At the other end, following an intense training camp at Tunnel Barn in mid-week, Nick Harrop, maggot maestro and tormentor of F1s, scored a runaway win. A magnificent demonstration of angling prowess saw Nasty bring 41lb 09oz to the scales. Let this be a lesson to you all. It's your bait that he beat you with, having collected "old" bait after every match for the last God knows how long. Fermented maggot and sweaty caster proved a winner this time. Well done Nick.
One of the chief bait donators is The Wriggler. His generosity proved unwise on this occasion as he was a clear second with another decent weight on the day. 29lb 07oz gave Derek some much needed bait money and, as the other half of the Leasowe Gentry was also in the money, it was a happy ride home. Andy Lawton put together a late run of F1s to clinch section glory with his 15lb 11oz return. Good performances from both.
Finally making the frame after about 50 attempts was The Cookie Monster (he's my cousin you know). His 18lb 05oz catch put him on the podium, and also inched Yozzer off it. 18lb 04oz was only sufficient for section honours so congratulations to Steve, about time too!
The final section again went to John Rogers, and amazingly it was with another embarrassingly low weight. After collecting with 4lb  and 5lb in the last couple of outings, 3lb 08oz was enough to do the business this time. Good lad for sticking it out though. You could endure the full course on Ninja Warrior I suspect Bucko. 

LINGMERE, 31/1/16 ~ Super Spadge earns Sumo submission

How many times do you turn up at Lingmere, take a look at the lake, and think..... conditions might be ok today. Then, as soon as some idiot shouts "all in", the wind instantly picks up and spoils pre-match plans.
This week, those plans included a 'How do I beat Sumo, who's on peg 20 and has brought the awesome Jigga rig with him?' strategy.
Pegged next door, Dave Lynch formulated a plan  and then executed it perfectly. It went something like this: Offer John a £2 side bet, start catching from the off, then after 2 hours tell him the Caernarvon is open. Sumo duly packs up, hands over the sovereign and toddles off to the pub...... job done. Spadger ended up with a respectable 39lb 14oz, good enough for victory, so well done Dave.
Taking conditions into consideration, Lee Pickup decided upon a 'tip only' plan. After an hour he was on the short pole and bagging??? A cheeky 35lb 12oz eased him into second place. Nice one Lee, good plan.
While 3/4 of the field couldn't fish comfortably at 5 metres, Col Cook somehow managed to wield 19 metres for the entire match, and was rewarded with a bronze medal, 30lb 05oz being enough for a deserved podium spot. Well done you Crazy Fool.
Reflecting the differing conditions in different areas of the lake, section winners were as follows: Dirk Wriggler 23lb 12oz, Dennis Jones 24lb 14oz, John Rogers genuinely had F A (well 5lb 09oz is near enough), Dave Harrop 10lb 11oz, and Tony Wilson, away from his beloved peg 31, still managed 29lb 12oz.Well done to everyone on a difficult day.