2015 Archive
The Farmoor Xmas match also saw strong South Westerly winds but nearly everyone of us caught. Levels were several feet down, and the cold water that had recently been pumped in may have taken the edge of sport, but there were some excellent 4lbs+ fish to be had, feeding hard on the extensive shoals of sticklebacks, as well as on snails. Charley Farleys, Minkies and Zonkers on Intermediate lines took fish, and also Floating Fry on the Floater. Best fish went 5-8-0 to Si Gaines, with Best Bag 5 fish to Roy Palmer, ahead of Andrew Green and Jim Longmore, who both had 4 fish. More pics>>
Our Fur & Feather has been lucky with the weather in the past, but not this time. But even though a gale-force SW wind hammered down the reservoirs, fish to over 4lbs were still landed, with half a dozen four fish limits weighed in, mostly to the Booby on DI7 and DI5. After his success in the Autumn Series, John Ferguson did the double by taking the shield and the big hamper, just half a pound ahead of Harry Fox, with Kevin Blackwell in third place. We were pleased to welcome Club President Sid Gardiner, who presented the prizes Results & more pics>>
The final match of the Autumn Series saw more good fishing in the continuing clear water conditions on both reservoirs. John Ferguson took the shield with a strong final performance, weighing in two three-pounders, which were both heavier than anything the chasing field could manage Results>>
The Grayling Club Day on the R.Test & carriers at Wherwell unfortunately suffered from squally winds for much of the day, but as normally happens here, the venue stayed clear. Everyone on this well attended event caught, which says a lot for their perseverance, and we had the bonus of a tasty beef casserole at lunchtime courtesy of Hugh O’Reilly. Here’s a picture of a grayling that Kristian Balakowski caught (right)
SEFFF Rivers Qualifier, Lower Itchen Fresh from qualifying for the England Loch-style squad for 2016, Harry Fox won the South East Rivers Qualifier with a convincing 21 fish, ahead of youngster Harry Green, Lee Bartlett and dad Tony, with Mike Heritage and Andrew Green not far behind. Despite spells of rain colouring the river in practice, on the day there was enough clarity to make out the gravel patches and go for the fish sitting on them. Not only were several 40cms+ grayling landed, but members also hooked into salmon and sea trout which produced memorable battles. Here’s a shot of Harry in action (right) courtesy of Jim Dillon.
Jim Dillon did well to end up 3rd out of 53 entrants in Vince Brooks’ ‘Boss’s Day’ at Bewl. His usual Charley Farley on the Slow Sink Intermediate got him four fish, just three short of the winner, who had seven. Jim started off on the DI5 only to realise the fish were actually high in the water, and reckoned he could have done even better had he tried the floater.
The recent Loch-style National at Bewl tested competitors with weather conditions which changed from overcast and windy on Day 1 to light winds and sunny spells on Day 2. Both Tony and Harry Fox were well placed after getting 7 and 6 fish respectively on Day 1 but thought they had blown it when they came in with 1 and 2 fish on Day 2. Harry’s brace went 4-7-0, though, and saw him get in one of the two England teams for next year’s Loch-style Home Internationals.
The Bob Church Classic which a number of us were invited to saw plenty of action in the North East corner of Grafham, with takes coming to everything from the DI3 to the floater. Getting them to stay on was the problem. One person who solved this was organiser Iain Barr who won the event with 16 fish, easily clear of the 12 and 11 fish bags which made the runner-up places. Here’s a picture of us with Bob Church MBE before we sat down to a good dinner afterwards.
The sport in the recent Wateraid Charity Match made up for the disappointing turnout, with grown-on fish to the 4lbs mark landed, along with the more recently introduced stockfish. Andrew Green got his four fish limit early on the Houses Bank of No5 in the morning session, but this was topped by Vinnie King’s impressive three fish bag from No4, and Tony Fox’s four fish from the Causeway of No5 on dries. The afternoon saw harder fishing than the morning, so those who caught fish late had to work for them. Thames Water
had kindly agreed to match whatever sum we managed to get on the day, so altogether we should have raised over £600 for this charity Results>>
The recent Rivers National on the River Dee, Llangollen was all about avoiding a blank in your four sessions. Despite some good performances, Harry Fox, Mike Heritage and Andrew Green all finished half way up in a field full of experienced river anglers. This year’s National Champion was Andrew Scott, with Simon Robinson, Phil Dixon, Chris Richardson, Lewis Hendrie and Andy Cliffe (reserve) making up the team for 2016 Home International.
In the Rivers Home International on the River Liffey, ireland Mike Heritage was part of the England team that got the Silver, six points behind Ireland and one point ahead of Wales. After a 3rd and 2nd place in the morning sessions, Mike unfortunately suffered two blanks in the afternoon, when a lot of the river sections had been well hammered Full Results>>
Mike Heritage, Tony Fox and Andrew Green all qualify for the Loch-style National in the second leg of the South East FFF qualifiers. On a day which saw good conditions for moving fish, Mike, Tony and Harry Fox (who had already qualified at Grafham) did well on dries at the start before switching to nymphs and Blobs or Boobies as it got brighter, while Andrew stuck to the washing-line on the Slow Intermediate. Canoe Club Corner produced a lot of fish early on but these grew increasingly spooked, when drifts elsewhere off the Dam produced more confident takes. This year’s National will also be held at Bewl, in late October Report and Results>>
A good turnout for the Haven House charity match coped with an awkward squally SW wind and bright conditions. With most of us on No5, the first few platforms on the Causeway produced early, with both Andrew Smith and Jim Dillon getting early limits on DI3 and Boobies, as well Intermediate and Charlie Farley. In the afternoon, more fish were caught along the West bank, to DI5 and DI7, also on Boobies. With good numbers of 4lbs+ rainbows showing, the outcome was very close, but the best result was the £1,000 we
raised for Haven House
Sponsors, Results and more Pics>>
Our final Wednesday Evening Series match was disappointing, both in attendance and results. Although fish were hooked, nothing was landed, so the Ken Gunn shield went to Tony Fox who retained his 10-point lead Report>>
The first leg of the SEFFF Loch-style qualifiers at Bewl saw a squally SW wind with occasional showers. Although this eased now and again, the fishing was far from easy, with fish very localised. Best bag was 6 fish to Andrew Green, with Tony Fox (5) and Mike Heritage (4) also well placed for the second leg. Harry Fox had already qualified, so took it easy with a brace.
Greys Bank heat, Farmoor: Farmoor’s good fishing continued for our Greys Bank heat. Even though bright conditions saw fish stay deep in the morning, sport was brisk for those of us on DI3s, DI5s and DI7s, with plenty of fish to 5lbs+ showing. Steve Cullen made the most of a good start to win the Individual heat with 13 fish, ahead of Vince King on 12 and Jim Dillon on 11. Steve also won the pairs heat, with partner Phil Longstaff, scoring 36 points, with Frank Daley & Vince King second with 32 points. You will find the Full Results here>>
Farmoor club trip: Chris, the Farmoor ranger, told us that Farmoor 1 was fishing its head off, and he wasn’t joking. Having spread out along the Causeway to make the most of the stiff South Westerly, we experienced takes on buzzers almost from the first cast. Anything less than 10lb/0.23mm leader material was risking getting bust off, and two flies reduced the chances of a double-up. Towards lunchtime more rises were seen, with some of us shallowing up to keep the takes coming. If sport slowed a little in the afternoon, lures on the Intermediate continued the action. We’ve had some great trips here in the past, but this must have been one of the best, with good numbers of hard-fighting fish to 7lbs. Everything looks very good for the Greys bank heat here next Sunday Details>>
Greys Bank heat: A recent stocking of No5 helped a competition which had to combat both high winds and the brownish water coloration in the two day ticket reservoirs. Like a lot of the field, Tony Fox made the most of a slightly clearer No5 to top a field of 13 in the Individual heat with 6 fish for 16-7-8 (including two he put back). Marco Volino wasn’t far behind with 5 fish for 12-15-0 just ounces ahead of Harry Fox with 4 for 12-3-8. Tony & Harry Fox were also successful in the Pairs event with 10 fish for 28-11-0, two fish ahead of Andrew Green & Andrew Smith who had 8 for 21-2-12, just squeezing in front of Jim Dillon and John Ferguson who landed 7 for 20-15-8 Full Results>>
Competition News: Frank Daley won a close-fought Troutmasters heat, beating Michael Heritage by just two ounces. On Elinor, Jim Dillon and Andrew Green finished 6th out of 16 teams in the Greys Team Bank Championships, having also finished 27th and 21st respectively out of 48 in the previous day’s Individual Bank National. The next weekend saw them 1st and 2nd in a disappointing turnout for the catch & release event at Farmoor, with Andrew back at Elinor for the Iain Barr Masters where he finished in the top 20.
Our annual AGM/Auction saw Dave Jarvis begin proceedings with an informative summary of developments, which included the welcome news that a grille will finally be put in position between No4 and the High Maynard by the end of March. Although a £5 parking fee was envisaged once the new car park had been constructed, it was hoped that fishermen, having already paid for their fishing, would not have to face this extra charge. The Auction followed, with over 100 lots attracting some good bidding and raising a sizeable sum for the Haven House charity.
The Final Fling saw some tough fishing but at least we enjoyed pleasant weather conditions. Although some people started off on No4, the West bank of No5 was the place to be, with Jim Dillon setting the pace early with a three pounder opposite the Island. Kevin Blackwell matched this with another three pounder, but Ashan Mohammed took the shield with a fish just half an ounce heavier. Well done! Report & Results>>
