2009 Archive

Mike Marshall gave our Intermediate and Advanced level fly-casters some good advice on handling shooting-heads, following this with an hour of personal tuition on the banks of the East Warwick. As usual, much improvement was seen as a result of his coaching, with some quite respectable casts going out. Undeterred by all this activity, Lucian landed a 6lb brownie just round the corner.

Our Fur & Feather enjoyed good conditions again, despite the forecasts. Tony Fox surprised everyone by landing four fish to floating line and nymphs from No4 by 9.00am, before leaving to tackle more demanding quarry on the Warwick. The more mobile anglers scored on this match, with several late limits coming from those who’d switched to No4 after finding No5 slow. Results and more pics here>>

Steve’s trip to Wherwell on the River Test escaped the worst of the weather, giving us a nice clear river and light winds all day. Plenty of grayling were taken by all, beginners included. Tankred had a 40cms+ fish in the morning, matching it with a similar-sized fish in the afternoon. More pics here>>

John Ferguson could afford to turn up late on the final match of the Autumn Series, having already secured the top spot two weeks ago. The rest of us found it tricky, but a win for Frank Daley edged him into second place overall, ahead of Richard Mosek in third more>>

Tony Fox took over from son Harry as the 2009 SEFFF Rivers Eliminator Champion. He and Mike Heritage recorded scores of 25 and 23 grayling, both a long way ahead of the rest of the field. They should be joined in next year’s Rivers National by Bill Rankin, Hector Rodriguez (a great effort on only his second rivers eliminator), and possibly Harry Fox. Lots of new faces in this year’s event, and ideal weather, made for a great Saturday practice day.

A packed Ferry Boat Inn saw the return of our Fly-tying Evenings there. Lots of participation, and all kinds of patterns being tied up, from Minkies to Klinkhamers.

Geordie anglers once again dominated the finals of the CEFF Airflo Classic at Elinor, with Glen Appleby winning the Individual on the Saturday and Maran Kingfishers taking the team event the next day. Walthamstow representatives Andrew Green, Frank Daley and Mike Heritage came around halfway up on Day One, with the Walthamstow Wanderers finishing 11th on Day Two. Both Andrew and Michael lost big fish off the Dam. Buzzers apparently took a lot of fish, rather than the usual Blobs and Apps Worms.

A successful boat club trip to Grafham saw a dozen of us counter hot and bright conditions to land some good fish, including one or two sharp- tailed specimens to Hector on Minkies, and a few on nymphs to Frank and Mike. Others targeted the fish inhabiting the inlet boil with Blobs and Boobies, but found that these went off in the afternoon, only to switch on again near the surface as the sun started to drop in the early evening.

Tommy Moore Janet Whitter informed us of the sad news that long-term club member and Fund-raising Secretary Tommy Moore recently passed away after a short illness. Much of the success of our Fur & Feather matches was as a direct result of Tommy’s stirling efforts in arranging the raffle and the bulk of the prizes, including the superb hampers available for the top three places. He will be greatly missed by all of us.

Meridian - the loch-style team which features Frank Daley, Tony Fox, Harry Fox and Mike Heritage - won their day of the Lexus Team National Final at Chew. Almost three pounds ahead of second-placed Stocks Harriers, they were the only team not to have a blank. They followed this with a respectable 10th place in the tough International Final at Rutland. (Image courtesy of Cliff Waters at www.fishypics.co.uk)

John Fricker We were sad to hear of the recent death of Club President John Fricker who, despite at times not being in the best of health, always made sure he popped down to wish us well at events like the Fur & Feather. A long-standing club stalwart of many years, he was one of our very first fly-tying instructors and appreciated for his outstanding patience with beginners. Our condolences go to his wife Esther and his family.

Wednesday Evening Series Tony Fox takes it in the last match just one point ahead of Richard Mosek, with John Ferguson in third place. Right: Tony receiving the shield from 2008 winner Andrew Green.

Final results here>>

Our recent club trip to the Bewl Pro-Am gave us better conditions than last year, with several Walthamstow FFC members doing well more>>

Hanningfield FF repeated their win of last year in the team section of the CEFF/Airflo Classic heat, with Frank Daley’s Walthamstow Wanderers in second place. Clive Morgan, Frank Daley, Tony Hoggart, Antonis Makrides and Mike Heritage were the top five in the Individual event. Tricky conditions saw some fish caught on buzzer in No5, but the more coloured No4 was best tackled with DI7/DI5 and Booby.

Around 250 browns were recently stocked into the East Warwick, on top of April’s batch of 350 rainbows. We are due another stocking of rainbows later, to make up our agreed total rainbow stocking of 660.

For recent EW stocking history go here>>

The recent survey has now been completed, and the report is with Thames Water. Co-ordinator Mark Pearson of the London Wildlife Trust, who we met in January, told us that he made several recommendations concerning the club including:

-Preferential treatment and fixed permit prices
-Consultation over access paths
-Club facilities in any new premises
-Club to be kept informed of developments at all times

A 7lb rainbow was taken by Jerry Pearce from the East Warwick. Boosted by the recent stocking, the fishing has greatly improved, with good fish showing in the evenings, and many being taken on dries.

Troutmasters Fish-off 2009 Light winds and broken cloud meant pleasant fishing conditions for the eleven qualifiers, most of whom concentrated on No4. Although challenged for much of the day by Vinnie King, Andrew Green made the most of a late run to top the field with ten fish, ahead of Vinnie on five and John O’Regan on four. Black & Green Boobies on 40+ DI7 and DI5 the successful method, although John Ferguson also caught on buzzer and bloodworm patterns.

Bank Clearance Day 2009 saw John Ferguson in charge of another great turn-out of members. We managed to clear the Railway Bank, plus most of the West and East banks of No.4. Whether it was the cold spring or our efforts from last year, but there seemed to be less brambles. All those snags which would normally trap your line have now been removed, ready for kick-off on Saturday March 14th. Even though the reservoirs have yet to receive their first major stocking of the year, we were still seeing the occasional moving fish in the mild conditions. Another cold spell is forecast before the season opens, however, so it’ll probably be back to the Boobies.

AGM/Auction 2009 The Plough in Wood Street saw one of our best ever turn-outs. Among items discussed it was agreed to continue with the club’s own Casting Clinic/Beginner’s Day in parallel with Thames Water’s ‘Start Fly-fishing’ programme, and that the first four fish caught in the Fur & Feather should be killed. Details of Thames Water’s ‘Ten for Ten’ were outlined, along with progress on the London Wildlife Trust’s survey. The Auction saw some hectic bidding as bargains were snapped up until we were turfed out into the main bar.

Gary Inwards takes the Best Fish in the 2009 Final Fling. On a difficult day which saw 16 of us land just 5 fish, Gary Inwards scooped the pools with a 3-4-0 rainbow. The Easterly wind which sprang up overnight saw most of us head for the comfort of the SE Bay of No.5. The fish had other ideas. By mid-day just two trout had been landed here, a brownie to Drago and a rainbow to Kevin. As people dropped in along the previously deserted Causeway, a brief hot spell resulted in Gary’s fish, as well as a second to Kevin, and one to John Ferguson. Almost a repeat of last year, Gary’s fish came to an Orange Booby opposite the Island more>>