2007/08 CAL CHAIRMAN REPORT FROM MATCHES 1 TO 12

INDIVIDUAL MATCH REPORTS – LEAGUE MATCHES 1 TO 12 & CAL CUP - view results

CAL 1 - Bowsaws Lakes

23 Anglers took part in the first fixture of the new season. A period of very warm weather preceded this match and there were concerns as the Carp were showing signs of spawning early. Despite this, the top lake produced the best weights on the day and Cpl Paul Tindall took the honours with 63 lbs7oz. Chf Tech Jackson fished a whole 6” from the bank to catch a net of Carp for 53 lbs 8oz and 2nd place.
Overall, a successful match with no dry nets and some good catches of Goldfish from the bottom lake.

CAL 2 – Alders Farm Lakes

Irrespective of heavy work commitments, representation remained consistent with 23 anglers participating. Conditions were much cooler and wetter than of late, with low wind but frequent showers. Lots of anglers reported fish lost, most saying that stocks were in poor condition; many of the fish had damaged mouths and a lot of fish were blind. On such a prolific venue sport for most was patchy, with 2 or 3 fish then a wait whilst you found them again. Meat or paste was obviously the preferred bait; anybody with a feature who fished this method seemed to get a result. Wg Cdr Andy Johnstone took full advantage of a favorable draw and blank pegs to record a winning weight of 126lb 3oz (Unfortunately any pools going to cover the cost of a new number 4 section), 2nd place from the same area of the lake, went to Cpl Paul Tindall with 73 lb 4oz.
Once again, a successful match with no dry nets.

CAL 3 – River Thames, Dorchester

26 Anglers turned out for the first river match of the season. Conditions were far from ideal, with a blustery downstream wind, thunderstorms, heavy rain the day before and more threatened for match day. Sport was very slow and patchy and instead of sorting out the bigger fish, it was a case of simply fishing for bites. To make matters worse and despite all attempts to clear pegs, the banks were heavily overgrown; some pegs were quite badly restricted, (Mine being one of them!). Cpl Paul Tindall made the most of an end peg draw in ‘A’ Section, catching 6 good slabs on maggot/pellet & groundbait feeder down the track for a winning weight of 27 lbs 9oz. This proved to be the method throughout, accounting for the biggest weights in all 3 Sections. Second place went to SAC Andy Beasley of Odiham with 10 lb 7oz.
Although the fishing was hard and despite the results showing one angler DNW (he returned his fish and left early), all anglers caught.

CAL 4 – River Thames, Child Beale

This match had originally been arranged as a recce’, to precede the Inter Command Championships at Medley, however, the venue had to be switched due to difficulties with parking and some very long walks. Heavy work commitments had a major impact upon this fixture and disappointingly, only 16 anglers were able to attend. On a day of mixed bright sunshine and heavy thunderstorms, most still endured some very long walks and whilst the river was carrying extra water it still looked the part but fished far from its best. With almost nothing of note being caught, most anglers struggled for a few ounces. Top weight on the day was recorded by Sgt Paul Holroyd of Halton ‘A’. Paul weighed in 7 lbs 5oz for a comfortable win. Second place went to Cpl Poile of Uxbridge who recorded 6lbs 9oz, with WO Paul Hodges taking third place with 6lbs 6oz.
Despite the conditions, all anglers caught fish.

CAL CUP – Tunnel Barn

Only 19 anglers turned out on this prolific venue. After weeks of bad weather and flooding, scorching hot sunshine was most welcome by the anglers. As a result, some horrendous sights were witnessed, not least the glare from several milk white bodies (Surely there must be something in NFA rules about this). Thankfully, this did not interfere with sport on the day apart from the sun bringing the Carp up in the water. Those that switched on to this recorded some credible results with the best on the day of 122 lbs 1oz by SAC Andy Beasley of Odiham. This combined with a 50 lb 4oz Section win by CT ‘Jacko’ Jackson and despite a 31 lb last in section by C/T Dave Williamson, was still enough to take the Team event; Odiham ‘A’ taking 1st place by 3 pts from Benson ‘A’ in 2nd.
Another successful match, with no dry nets.
CAL 5 – Willinghurst

16 Anglers fished this picturesque fishery and recorded some respectable weights despite a few squally showers and windy conditions making fishing on the pole quite difficult. In fact, this match was held during the Foot & Mouth outbreak and we were fortunate to be able to hold the match due to several venues in the area being closed. Carp was the target species and at the end of the day C/T Dave Williamson emerged a clear winner on a combination of pole & pellet and method feeder, taking 1st place with 66 lbs 4oz. Second place went to Mr Pete Neal with 45 lbs and Mr Dave Smith weighed 44 lbs 12oz for a very close third.
Once again, a successful match with no dry nets.

CAL 6 – Boddington Reservoir

On this 35-acre, open fishery, 21 Anglers enjoyed some fantastic sport with over 1400 lbs of fish taken to the scales. On a bright but breezy day, Carp ranging between 3 – 6 lbs were the prominent species, being caught mostly on either method feeder or pellet waggler. This match saw some tremendous results, with 5 anglers recording weights of over 100 lbs. Best of all was a staggering 177 lbs 12oz winning weight by Mr Steve Bettis on “the method” (a new CAL record). Second place went to Sgt Rob Field with 134 lbs 7oz and C/T Steve Wildman finished a close third with 128 lbs 6oz, both on pellet waggler.
A very successful match and despite several aching arms, there were definitely no dry nets on this one.

CAL 7 – Grand Union Canal, Broughton

18 Anglers endured a very hard day on the canal “scratching” for bites. The fish that did show were all tightly shoaled; with the top four weights all coming from ‘A’ Section.
Mr Pete Neal taking the honours with 5 lbs 5oz, 2nd and 3rd places, going to WO Chris Eden and SAC Andy Beasly with 4 lb 2oz and 3 lb 4oz respectively.
Despite the conditions, all anglers caught fish.
CAL 8 – River Thames, Benson

Match day followed a night of severe weather warnings and heavy rain but the River actually looked in good shape, not too much colour or pace. Unfortunately, this was to change soon after the “All-in” with the River Authorities opening the sluice gates, the pace became unfishable at distance when even 10 oz could not hold bottom. Previous match results on the River had been very poor and the 17 anglers prepared for a very hard match. True to form, this was generally the case as most struggled for bites and a net of ounces instead of pounds. A few anglers found some better fish and to most’s surprise, the Bream made an appearance on a couple of pegs. SAC Andy Beasley came out best, fishing chopped worm and Pole Feeder to take a comfortable 1st place with 36 lb 2oz of Bream. 2nd place went to CT ‘Jacko’ Jackson who used the same method to tempt a Tench and a couple of Bream for 15 lbs 10oz. C/t Stevens took 3rd place with 7 lbs 3oz, (his net included a Bream of 7 lbs 2oz and a very frightened 1oz Roach).
Given the conditions, another successful match and still “no dry nets”, although, this one came very close.
MOB Challenge (RAF Benson V RAF Odiham) – Gold Valley

16 Anglers enjoyed some excellent sport in ideal weather conditions. Catches of Carp, Bream & Roach made up the weights, with a few nets of over 70 lbs. RAF Odiham anglers made best use of home advantage and knowledge to regain the trophy with a winning margin of over 150 lbs.

CAL 9 – Grand Union Canal, Willston (Dixon’s Gap)

As anticipated, attendance was low for the first canal match in winter conditions. On a cold, overcast day with light breeze only 16 anglers turned out to what proved to be a very disappointing event. Inevitably, the first frosts of the year heralded the first dry nets of the season. With ‘A’ Section below the lock being sheltered with plenty of cover and features, all anglers caught, however, ‘B’ &’C’ Sections above the lock were open with only the occasional tree on the far bank; anglers here tried everything short of dynamite, the result being only one fish caught in each section. Little surprise then that the winning weight came from ‘A’ Section, Wg Cdr Andy Johnson fished chopped worm tight across on the long pole to take 3 lbs 3oz of small perch. Second place surprisingly came from ‘B’ Section; FS Gary Lavis also fished chopped worm to tempt a Bream of 2 lbs 10oz.

CAL 10 – Grand Union Canal, Park Street

Gale force winds and atrocious weather, combined with a canal fixture so soon after the Christmas break; it was little surprise that attendance was poor. Only 7 anglers braved the elements with very few fish to show for their efforts. With very clear water, the method proved to be alternating swims with either bread punch or chopped worm. Both first and second placed anglers employed these tactics with the match being won by Mr Steve Bettis with 3 lb 12oz of Skimmers and Perch, Sgt Ali Attwater came in second with a similar net weighing1 lb 8oz, whilst Cpl Paul Tindall came a close third with 1 lb 4oz of Perch. Thankfully only one dry net, (and even then he “bumped off” 4 fish) on a very disappointing day.

CAL 11 – Court Farm, Aldermaston

The 10 Anglers who took part enjoyed a very mild, pleasant February day. Court Farm is a well-established, picturesque fishery containing predominantly Carp but with a large head of Roach. Pegged all around Lake 1, most had the benefit of a blank peg, with plenty of tree cover and features. Bright sunlight proved a problem with the shallow water for some, but generally, the method for the day proved to be short pole and pellet fished to a feature for the carp. Making the best of a good draw, it was Wg Cdr Andy Johnson who obliterated the rest with 69 lbs 4oz of Carp and 1st place. The remaining places were much closer with Mr Pete Neal and Mr Steve Bettis almost matching fish for fish, but Pete’s were all of a better stamp and he took 2nd place with 33 lbs 0oz whilst Steve’s 23 lb 10oz gave him a comfortable 3rd. Another successful match, with no dry nets and almost 200 lbs taken to the scales.

CAL 12 – River Thames, Benson

After much coercing, 12 anglers turned out to the final league match of the Season. Unfortunately however, most wished they hadn’t. A bitterly cold start found the river looking good; there was no wind and only gentle pace and a very slight tinge of colour, hopes of a good day were high despite the almost freezing water temperature. The sun came out and the day turned out to be quite pleasant but for the lack of fish. Only two Chub came to the scales, both falling to feeder fished maggot from adjacent pegs in ‘B’ Section. The best of these weighed 4 lbs 2oz and recorded a first match win for novice angler Sqn Ldr Chris Lindsay on his first outing to the river. (Unfortunately, any winnings will be spent on replacing his broken tip rod). Second place went to Wg Cdr Andy Johnson with a slightly smaller fish of 3 lbs 8oz. Quite a few anglers later admitted missing bites, which proved to be quite costly in the end. However, not so much as for Mr Paul Hodges, he put so much effort into launching his feeder across the river, only to ‘crack off’, the top section of his rod followed and flew like a javelin towards the middle of the river, never to be seen again. All of that, no bites, no fish and the longest walk as well. That’s fishing!!!