JACOBS, 8/9/13 ~ Sumo falls short in record attempt as Yozz wins off another flier

The club's first visit to Jacobs coincided with an overnight chill as temperatures dropped into single figures for the first time this autumn. Such is the reputation of the lake however, it was still expected to produce.
Ten minutes into the match and John Edwards had made a flying start. He immediately declared his intention to smash the lake record, which stands at an impressive 170lb+. Despite catching regularly on paste and corn, at the final whistle Sumo fell just short with his 33lb 09oz net of F1s and a solitary bream. Unlucky John, but an excellent try which gave him third place in the match.
Meanwhile, The Gnome had drawn an end peg with a weed bed on the inside. Fishing meat at 8metres and down the side, Yozz managed 55 F1s and 2 proper carp of 5lb each, which pulled the scales round to 73lb 02oz for a runaway victory.
Steve Coleman was second with another good net of F1s, caught on paste, which went 34lb. Another good effort, well done.
Kenny Pickup had his lads for company in his section and proved he's the Daddy with a winning 26lb 04oz.
With Dave Norman unable to maintain his winning Old Hough form despite his end peg draw (10 minutes to land a 2lb fish) it was left to Tony Byers to win section A. The crafty cockney made a switch to 8mm banded pellet with an hour to go and suddenly started hitting all his previously missed indications. A mix of F1s, bream and a proper carp gave him 24lb 10oz. Lavly jabbly.
The final section, a low key affair, went to Gary Brislin with a maggot caught mix weighing a level 21lb. A big well done to all. Although it didn't produce the level of sport anticipated, it was a very fair match on a good little venue, apart from that Yozzer bloke who just had to go and spoil it! 

General Meeting on Weds 4th Sept 2013

The following  detail was discussed/ decided at the latest club meeting:
Members intending to fish a club match MUST book on with the Match Secretary no later than the Thursday prior to the match. If you just turn up on the day you will NOT be allowed to fish. This is not a new rule, it is a long standing rule which members are being reminded of. (rule 25)
BRON EIFION  
For those going to Bron on the Friday, we will be meeting at Tesco's in Conwy for breakfast at 9.00 and travelling on to Bron for about 10.30. The knockup will probably be 12 til 5
On Saturday the draw will be 9.15 with fishing times 10.30 til 4.00, and on Sunday we'll be fishing 10.15 til 3.15.

HAMPTON SPRINGS, WILLOW, 11/8/13 ~ Two-faced Jamie is winner on willow

Recent results on Hampton's website suggested it was fishing well, so good sport was expected. Apart form one small section, that was indeed the case, with most having about 40lb.
Saturday night on the chatbox, and Jamie was in buoyant mood, talking about cans of whupass and muppets fishing the method.
Granted, he got the whupass correct, which makes a change as it's usually a waste of time even opening the tin. Catching steadily throughout the match, and finishing strongly in the margins, JBay put together a tidy net which went 68lb 14oz at the scales. A magical performance, sadly tainted when he revealed that he had fished the method all day, including down the margins!!  Two-faced muppet, Miss Piggy AND Kermit rolled into one.

Runner-up on his 'home' water was the Gnome. Winkling out some early blade skimmers and cruies set up a late marginal attack, where some quality barbel and carp saw Yozzer weigh 60lb 02oz.
Third was Colin Cook, who by his own admission, had next to nowt for 4 hours. A manic last hour in the margins brought most of his 51lb 04oz . Well done Col.
Paul Dennett again showed his liking for Hampton with a section win. 46lb 08oz of mainly carp on meat was enough. Nice one Paul.
The only 'poor' section was won by Steve Coleman with a less than impressive 26lb 12oz. Can't believe he fished the full 5 hours and only had that much! But well done anyway Steve :-).

Dave Cargill memorial/benefit match, Moreton Brickworks, 4/8/13 ~ Tollo wins with a ton

This match, in memory of our late Match Secretary Dave Gargill, was well attended by Eggy members and other friends and Brickie regulars who came to honour Cargy. The main aim of the day was to raise some funds for the Cargill family and pay tribute and remember our good friend Dave. A great total of £310 was collected on a very successful day. 
It's a good job it wasn't all about the fishing because although the usual pegs provided some great weights, there were also very poor returns from some areas. 
The winner was Paul Tolliton with 111lb of quality carp, taken on the pellet waggler, so congratulations to him. From the next peg was our very own Jamie Pickup with another pellet wag dominated carp catch to the tune of 88lb. Well done Jambo.
Another venue regular, in the shape of Lee Pickup, won a section with 46lb, while the other section was very poor with yet another regular (but only for 30years), Andy Lawton, needing only 3 carp and some bits to weigh 18lb. Good effort lads.
The aim of the day was achieved, and not even the last hour rain shower could put a dampener on proceedings. A big thank you for all those who could support the day.

WESTON POOLS CLAYPIT, 28/7/13 ~ Yozz makes good use of alleged flyer

This was a first for the club, and very much a venture into the unknown. The claypit is a bowl-shaped pool which was an old quarry. Gin clear water has been dyed blue, and depths go to a reported 40 feet. Weston regulars informed us that it had an original carp stock, with some decent fish, and a good head of silvers. These  had been enhanced with large numbers of small stockies and F1s.
The Gnome drew a supposed flyer and found 4 feet at 6 metres. Fishing corn, he was into small carp and F1s from the off, with an occasional 3lb one. In the latter stages, he found some bigger lumps down the edge on corn, and finished with a very respectable 98lb 08oz. Not without his usual incompetency though. With water levels down, it was nearly 3 feet from platform to water, and whilst lifting his carp filled landing net, the 2 piece handle came apart with the net and carp going back in the water and yozz left holding the end of the handle. Steve was on the next peg, and quickly reached into his bag for the newly-acquired wet suit, but it was not needed as the offending net was rescued with the minimum of fuss.
Second place went to Colin Cook, who quietly and efficiently put together a fine net of mixed size carp on margin fished pellet for an excellent 67lb. Well done Col.
Agonisingly close was Derek Warren. Information was that an old railway line ran across the lake bed. After catching a dozen early fish, Degsy hooked a couple of better carp, which went 'steaming off' across the lake. Onto the pole with caster and he was soon catching again, this time including some nice skimmers and a couple of barbel. The scales registered 66lb 08oz, so only third, but another tidy effort from Derek.
The final envelope, in the hardest section, went to The Maestro, who caught a few lumps by fishing meat and corn over groundbait in the margins. 36lb was enough to give Pete Lucas another pick-up, so nice one Pete.
The pole that Lee is selling now has one slightly shorter top-kit, as a loud gunshot sound in midmatch was actually the top section braking. Oops!
Really good fishing at Weston, but sadly, due to a number of booking issues, and extortionate prices, it looks like further visits are unlikely.

YEW TREE, 14/7/13 ~ Derek worms his way into first place.

Heatwave conditions meant a difficult day was likely at Yew Tree. There were carp galore to be seen cruising the surface, but very few were interested in feeding. Eight members chanced their arm, so there were two sections of four.
It was pretty obvious from an early stage that the field was splitting into 2 camps. Those with worm n caster were catching well, whilst those using pellet, etc., were struggling.
Derek Warren seems to fish the wriggler wherever he goes, so he was one of the lucky ones. Fishing a top kit in both margins, the Moreton Marauder caught all day, with a mix of silvers, including some nice ide, going into one keepnet, while two specimen tench and a couple of large carp made their way into another. At the end, Degs had totalled 49lb 12oz (No! not 50) to deservedly take the spoils. Well Done.

Yippee Degsy, we're gettin a mention on the blog!!!

Neil Paterson also fished worm n caster, after wasting an hour on the 'splash waggler' chasing the elusive carp. That lost time possibly cost him as he brought a net of quality ide to the scales, which weighed 36lb 10oz. Cracking net of fish, but not enough for the Jolly Green Giant, who had to be content with second place.

In third spot, again using the magic worm, was Andy Lawton. Andy also had a good bag of mixed silvers, enhanced by a barbel nearing the 5lb mark. He ended up with about 25lb, so again, a big well done.

Typical for the venue, that was the good bit finished, as three DNWs, and nets of 5 and 10lb completed the field.  

FIR TREE, WIGAN, 23/6/13 ~ Kenny finishes first in Firtree fishfest

A windy day and an unknown in the shape of Firtree's new lake. A couple had fished it once before, with mixed reviews.
An unfortunate start for the Gnome, as, while tackling up, a gust of wind blew a top kit and sections 4 and 5 straight into the drink, DOH!!! The top kit was rescued, and despite 20 minutes of searching with landing nets, there was no sign of the flyaway sections. To add insult to injury, Kenny Pickup's gold watch fell off his wrist and also went for a swim. Quite why Yozzer had so many sections out anyway was a mystery, but a spare No.4 came out of the bag and that was as long as he fished all day  (nowt new there then).
As if to reward his efforts during the attempted rescue, Kenny went on to have the most memorable of days. A bite a chuck, and some 70 carp later, the scales confirmed him as the runaway winner with an incredible weight of 16lb 12oz. (Yeah, sixteen!!!) An awesome performance by the Chairman, well done.
A tight tussle for second place ended in a tie. Steve Cooke caught on meat, corn and pellet down the track, while Jamie Pickup did his usual numbnuts display of 16 metre mastery (in that wind). Both brought 13lb 04oz to the scales. Two great efforts.
With the section payouts now established, the final brown envelope went to Dave Lynch, who also caught bucket loads of carp, 35 in fact, for a total of 7lb 04oz. Nice one Spadge.
Not everything was rosey, as once again Sumo went for a walk of shame (off an end peg, too ??) and took Norman with him, while Yozzer got a cheque book and pen!

Two other DNWs meant the field was split in half, but the general consensus was 'a Pato special', and I don't think we'll be going back again.

Better news at the end as Kenny also had another look and found his watch, still working.

Cookie became a club legend as he stripped off and went swimming for the lost sections, and to my gratitude, he found both pieces.

Steve, what are those lumps in your throat?   Aaaaahhhh, your balls, OK