Chris Webb

Steve Pope

Although bites were at a premium what ever was on the end was a proper fish. Apart from the odd roach (and a solitary Brown Trout) Bream were the only species on the munch after an overnight frost. Gerald Perks came out tops with his first match win of the season. He fished bread feeder with red maggot and had 8 bream. Jack Griffiths also fished the feeder with bread and maggot and had seven bream. Malcolm Smith was third with 3 bream taken on the groundbait feeder with maggot. 

Aggregate Cup 4

25 Fished

Brian Hutchings won the Aggregate Cup series with a combined weight of 118-08-00

Stuart Yates won the Prior Cup 

Full results  here

Due to the river conditions, the match was switched to Clattercote Reservoir. The fishing was hard and bites were at a premium. The windy conditions also worked against the anglers but a few fish still managed to bother the scalesman. Alan Campbell never had a problem. He won his first match this season and also picked up the £204 Golden Peg with it. He fished Groundbait feeder with maggot and had 3 bream a carp and 6 good roach. Paul Brant also fished the feeder with maggot and had 3 bream. John Davis had 1 good bream and a few roach also on the groundbait feeder with maggot for 3rd spot

M Whipp Cup

Mark Smith with his mixed net that was top weight on Lens lake

There wasn't much in this match until the last hour. 3 anglers were tied with roughly the same weight, but Kevin Simpson managed 4 bream late on, to win the match. He had 8 bream in total to 6lb on the pole with maggot over groundbait. Alan Campbell was second with 4 bream. He also caught on the maggot over groundbait. Kevin Dolton also had 4 bream on maggot over soft pellet. 

The wind and rain made life difficult for the 16 brave souls that fished the New Year Wake Up match. End pegs proved to be the key. Brian Simpson won his first match at the club. He fished maggot with groundbait feeder on the fancied Four Pillars peg. He had 2 bream and a few skimmers for a well deserved win. Brian Hutchings and Pete Clarke went head to head catching small roach and bleak on the pole with maggot. Brian eventually got the nod hooking a perch at 02-15-00 which gave him a combined weight of 09-03-00 to Pete Clarke's 08-06-00.

The match was switched from the main Thames to Sandford Lock and it was a wise choice as everybody had a few bites. Brian Hutchings won the Annual Shield with a quality net of roach. He fished the pole with maggot over groundbait. Alan Campbell was second also with a net of roach. He fished pinkie over groundbait. Pete Clarke opted for the whip and had a good net of bleak on the maggot.

Fished in very difficult conditions, it was nice to see a few fish coming out on a rising river. It was also good to see a new name on the trophy. Paul Hitchman has been picking up a section wins of late, but it was only a matter of time before he framed or won a match outright! He had 6 skimmer bream and 2 big perch on the groundbait feeder with worm and caster. Tim Nix opted for the same tactics and 3 big bream. Kevin Simpson alternated between maggot and worm on the feeder and had 2 bream a chub and some big roach.

Weights took a real dive in the cold driving wind, but it never bothered Jack Griffiths, as he ran out a clear winner. Fishing to the island with bomb and corn he had 7 good carp to 8lb plus a good net of small carp and silvers. A great 1st win at the club for the Customer Adviser at Top Tackle. On the next peg Stuart Yates sat it out for the silvers. He had a quality net of roach and rudd on the pole with maggot. Brian Hutchings was third with a big 4lb goldfish on the bomb with maggot, and several good skimmers and roach on the pole with maggot.

It was the higher pegs that produced a few fish, but the high winds played havoc with presentation. Brian Hutchings fished the waggler with red maggot and had a couple of skimmers and a few chublets. John Davis was second with a bonus skimmer and a few roach. Pete Clarke was third with a mixed net taken on the pole with maggot.

A very close finish saw Mark Smith claim his first win, on a hard Anglers Hideaway. A bonus 04-08-00 carp plus a few small perch was enough to claim the match. Mark caught all his fish on the pole with maggot. The same tactics earned Kevin Simpson second spot, with a mixed net of Crucians Carp, skimmers and roach. Brian Hutchings and Stuart Yates tied for third spot. Brain had a net of roach on the pole with maggot. Stuart also opted for the pole with maggot and had 1 Crucian Carp and roach.

It was rock hard for most of the field, but those having a bit of depth had fish. Brian Hutchings won the match and also the Golden Peg worth £169.00. He caught small chublets all match on the waggler with maggot. Terry Yates was second with a good net of roach and a bonus chub. All his fish were caught on the pole with caster. Pete Clarke was third with a mixed net of chublets and roach taken on the waggler with maggot.

Pete Clarke also won the Knock-out Cup with a convincing win over Alan Campbell

A cold night made for a slow start as expected. Kevin Simpson fished paste over pellet for a maiden win at the club. He had several double figure carp on the pole for a well earned win.  Charlie Bishop fished the pole with corn over micro pellet and had 4 big carp to 17lb for second. Brian Hutchings had 4 carp on the pole with pellet for third.

W Henwood Cup

With the Thames lacking any flow the anglers knew they were in for a tough days fishing. Chris Webb opted for the waggler with caster and was rewarded with a good net of roach and the Golden Peg as well. Steve Pitson was second with a mixed net taken on the waggler with maggot. Pete Clarke was third with a mixed net. He also opted for the waggler with maggot.

Pete Clarke and Alan Campbell both went through in the Knockout Cup and will meet in the Final in October.

Stuart Yates emerged victorious from peg 15 with a quality net of Bream and skimmers. He fished maggot over groundbait at 13 m and had 17 slabs. Mark Smith opposite opted for pellet over pellet on the pole and had 8 bream to 9lb for second place. Pete Clarke had a good run in and had 5 Bream in the last hour to elevate him to third place. All his fish were caught on the pole with pellet.

The last 30 minutes of the match was decisive for Kevin Dolton. With only 4lb of small rudd and perch in the net the tench finally switched on for him and he had 3 to 4lb and an 11lb Mirror carp in the last put in. All his fish fell to maggot over micro pellet. Tony Bailey was second with 2 big tench on the corn plus a good net of rudd and perch. Alan Campbell was 3rd. He had 3 big tench to 8lb on the worm over groundbait. 

Pete Clarke enjoyed a relatively comfortable win from peg 19 with 75-07-00 of carp and F1's taken on the pole with pellet up in the water. Bruno Rogers drew the same peg he won of last year and alternated between Method Feeder and pole with pellet and maggot tight to the island. He weighed in 53-06-00. Chris Webb had a good last hour having a few chub on the feeder with pellet and a few carp up in the water on the pole. He weighed in 38-14-00

A Good turnout at Sandford saw local rod Kevin Dolton record a good win by just 4 ounces and a much sort after 25 Top Tackle points! Fishing the pole with hemp and tares he had 9lb of roach plus 2lb perch on the chop worm. Brian Hutchings pushed Kevin all the way and just fell short at the end. He switched from waggler to pole when the wind picked up, and had a good net roach on the seed. Like most of the Thames at the moment, weed is a problem and Pete Clarke done well to find a few fish in the gaps. He fished waggler with hemp and tares and claimed third spot.

Stuart Yates

Aggregate Cup Round 1

Soft Pellet down the edge saw Tony Bailey claim the first round of the Aggregate Cup. He had an all carp net to 5lb on the pole. Pete Clarke fished to an island feature with banded pellet and had 20 F1 carp for second. Stuart Yates lost several big fish on the pole with meat, but had a good last hour to claim 3rd spot.

Brian Hutchings claimed the last round of the Spring League and won the League overall. Boddingtons resident carp just didn't respond so it was a case of picking off the odd one and fishing for the roach. Brian had 2 carp to 6lb on the method with maggot. He then switched to the pole and had 12lb of roach. Mark had 2 early carp on the pellet waggler. That died off and he went for the roach with maggot. Bruno went for the roach from the start with maggot and was rewarded with 3rd place for his efforts. 

Some good weight was taken on the latest round of the Spring League. Kevin Dolton drew one of the fancied pegs and clearly won with an all carp net taken on the pole with banded 6mm pellet. Stuart Yates fished the pole with 6mm banded Strawberry pellet and also had an all carp net. Mark Shepherd completed the top 3. He alternated between bread and pellet on the pole and had a carp and a few silvers.

Tony Bailey was a comfortable winner on Peg 14. He caught carp and the odd skimmer steadily all day on pellet fished on the deck. Steve Pope fished tight to the corner with  pellet. He had several big carp. Brian Hutchings in his own words had a nightmare. He lost 5 big carp possibly foul hooked, but recovered to take 3rd place. He caught down the edge and in open water on maggot and pellet. He had a good catch of carp and skimmers. 

Spring League 1

Brian Hutchings started off the new season where he left off....Another win! On a new venture for the club we traveled over to Bishops Bowl were the wind played havoc with presentation. However Brian had the wind off his back for most of the match, and caught tight to reeds on the pole with pellet. He had 10 carp to 6lb for the win. Kevin Dolton was second but could easily have won the match. He fished tight to the small island but realised a big shoal of carp were in the outlet pipe in the margins. He fished shallow with banded pellet and had 20 carp to 4lb. Carl French, fishing his first match at the club, caught steadily all day. He had carp to 8lb and skimmers on the pole with pellet and worm for third place.