Chairman's Cup

Alan Campbell won the overall Top Tackle Points Shield

Thames Shield

Most of the anglers struggled for bites on a rising river Thames. Gerald Perks stuck at it and was rewarded with 5 bream on groundbait feeder and worm. Brian Hutchings lost 4 bream which cost him the match. He had 4 and a few roach on red maggot and groundbait feeder. Chris Webb was third with a mixed net of bream and roach taken on his trusted boilie and groundbait approach.

Brian Hutchings claimed the Prior Cup over the six match series

Don Spearpoint claimed the S H Taylor Cup with a hard earned net of fish. Not sure why the resident bream shut up shop, but you needed a few to win it. Don had 3 early bream and a tench on the pole with red maggot over groundbait. Malcolm Smith claimed second spot with 3 bream also on the pole with red maggot. Dave Porter had a hard earned net of skimmers and one bream on the pole with red maggot over micro pellet.

Doug Robinson

Chris Webb

Keith Mills Memorial Cup

Its nor unusual for a match to be one with a solitary fish. But this match was unusual as it was one with a tiny roach of just 4drams! Dave Allsworth won his first match of the season with the tiny fish taken on the pole with bread punch. All the other 12 anglers blanked and Dave walked off with all the prize money.

Dave Allsworth

A good turnout of 24 anglers battled it out on a hard River Thames. Everyone knew it would fish hard so it was a case of making every bite count. Steve Pitson done just that and had 4 chub to 5lb on the bread feeder for his first win on the river. Vernon Adams opted for the same tactic and had 2 chub for second place. Mike Crimp was third with a mixed net of chub, roach and skimmers on the stick float with pinkie.

Steve Pitson

Vernon Adams

Freezing conditions and a gin clear river was not ideal, but anglers had to sit it out hoping for a few fish and premium Top Tackle Points. Alan Campbell seems to thrive in these conditions. He claimed the silverware with chub in the first  hour on the bread feeder with hair rigged bread. Brian Simpson had a solitary Bream on the groundbait feeder with maggot for second place. Grandson Jack Griffiths was third, with a single chub on the bomb with boilie. 

Alan Campbell

A cold wind blew down the lake for most of the match and a lot of fish took sanctuary at the bottom of the island. Doug Robinson made the most of a good draw and had  a good carp and several F1 carp on the pole with maggot over micro pellet. When the wind dropped Stuart Yates fished tight over to the island and picked off F1 carp on the pole with maggot and a couple of pound of skimmers down the middle. Brian Hutchings also had several F1 carp on the pole with maggot for 3rd spot.

A proper grueller today. There were more Anglers than fish caught. With extra water and overnight frosts entering the river system, it became a game of Aqua Bingo. Don Spearpoint had seven roach on the waggler with maggot for a convincing win. Brian Simpson had 3 small perch on the pole with maggot for second. Steve Trotter was third with 3 small chublets on the waggler with maggot. A total of £34 was raised for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. 

A late carp secured Brian Hutchings back to back wins on a very hard lake. He had 7lb of small skimmers on the pole with red maggot up till then. On his last put in he hooked a 4lb carp which won him the match and also the Blind Pairs Trophy with Mark Smith. 

Alan Campbell was second with a solitary 6lb carp on the bomb with corn. He also had a few skimmers and roach on the pole with caster. Pete Clarke continued his run of top 3 placing with a hard earned net of silvers on the pole with caster

Although the weather put off a few the fishing wasn't bad throughout the meadows. Brian Hutchings fished the pole with maggot and had a quality net of roach and a 4lb chub for a convincing win.  Chris Webb fished the pole with caster and had all Roach for second. Pete Clarke opted for same tactics. His all roach net also won the Knockout Cup.

Brian Hutchings got back to winning ways at Sandford with a hard earned mixed net of Skimmers perch and roach. He caught all his fish on the pole with red maggot over chopped worm. Pete Clarke is still on red hot form at Sandford. He had a quality net of roach on the waggler with caster and hemp. Paul Hitchman pushed Pete all the way and was pipped into 3rd spot. He caught a mixed net of roach and dace on the waggler with red maggot

Pete Clarke made it back to back wins at Sandford. He caught steady on the waggler with hemp and caster and had a good net of small roach and chublets. Gerald Perks recovered from an early bath to claw himself back into second. He also had a good net of roach on the waggler with caster. John Davis fished the pole with worm and sweetcorn and had some big roach and skimmers for third.

Weeks leading up to the match the roach have been feeding in abundance. Come the day of the Roach Cup and who forgets to get an invite! Yes the roach switched off and anglers scratched around to muster a weight. Normally double figures would win the match. Pete Clarke was a worthy winner. He put together a net of small roach on the hemp/tare and waggler which also earned him the £68.00 Golden Peg. Chris Webb also opted for the waggler. All his fish were caught on caster. Brian Hutchings was a close third. He caught all his fish on the pole with hemp and tare.

Fishing was very hard. The carp failed to show and the silvers just switched off. John Davis fished worm on the pole and had 2 carp to win the match. Stuart Yates had 1 carp down the edge on the pole and a good net of rudd on the whip. All his fish fell to maggot. Terry Yates was third with 1 carp and a few rudd on the maggot.

Pete Clarke drew they in form peg 33 and made no mistake on winning the match from the hot peg. He started on the long pole on the deck with pellet and had several small carp. A quick switch to the island with pellet up in the water brought him a fish a chuck until the whistle for a convincing win. Brian Hutchings started off slow but a change to banded pellet pushed him up to second. He also had a good net of small carp. Chris Webb was third a good last hour. He fished tight over all match with pellet. But a switch down the edge gave him several bigger carp to get into the money.

Pete Clarke

Brian Hutchings won the R Arnatt Cup with a quality net of Roach. He fished the pole with hemp and tares and had fish up to a 1lb. A worthy win and also the £95.00 Golden Peg. Paul Hitchman also fished hemp and tares on the waggler and had a good bag of roach. He switched to the groundbait feeder late on and had 2 skimmers and a few perch on caster. Pete Clarke was 3rd with and all roach net caught on the pole with seed. 

The outcome of this match could have been so different but a few schoolboy errors cost two anglers possibly a chance of winning the match. Steve Pitson won't complain though. He fished a decent match and had an all carp net taken on the method feeder with corn. Mark Smith was second also with a net of carp and skimmers on the pole in the margins with maggot. He lost several good fish at the weigh in when he ripped his net on the platform. Stuart Yates was third with carp and skimmers taken down the edge on the top 2 kit. 

Steve Pitson

Pete Clarke

Spring League 3

Sunday 5th June 2016

Oakfield Fisheries (Swallow)

17 Fished

Pete Clarke done his homework and came out top on Marshes 1. He fished up in the water with caster over pellet for a convincing win. His net consisted of mainly stockie carp. Jack Griffiths continued his good form and alternated between bomb and pole with paste. He had a mixed net of carp  barbel and chub. Paul Brant fished meat on the pole and also had a mixed net for third.