ROYAL AIR FORCE OVERSEAS CHALLENGE 2005 REPORT

HOLLAND 22-30 APRIL 2005

42 anglers from 7 different Teams made the journey to the Zwolle Area of Holland to compete in this annual event hosted by the RAF. Unfortunately, extremely high water levels, due primarily to melt water put the event in jeopardy from the start. Event organiser Richie Tomala Stated “We can make alternate plans for most things, but not the Weather”.

Having decided the venues were fit to fish for at least the first 3 days of the 6-day event, things got off to a slow start. Traditional weights of 100lb + were nowhere to be seen with single get out of jail bream accounting for massive section points on the normally prolific Zalk Lake with an almost unheard of 6 blanks in a row occurring in A section.

Individual leader after day 1 was RAF Blues’ Tex Sutton who managed to have a decent day on peg A1 of the River Ijssel weighing in 24.22 Kg. Early Team leaders were RAF “Blue” on 32 Points, just 1 point clear of RAF “Red” on 31 Points. Day 2 saw a slight improvement in fishing on the lake with all participants weighing in. Top honour went to Graham Welton, RAF “Red” who weighed 22.34 Kg of bream on feeder tactics. Peg A1 again produced on the River, this time for Army Germanys’ Kev East who caught 21.38 Kg of Gusta and Bream.

Individual Leader after day 2 remained Tex Sutton with a change occurring at the top of the Team table with RAF Red leading RAF Blue by 3 points. The Royal Navy, after putting in a sterling 2nd day performance were close behind in 3rd.

Day 3 saw a trend forming on the River as Chaz Dale, Army UK again took the highest weight off peg A1. Chaz fished short-range feeder tactics to account for 10.54 kg of Gusta and Bream. The first noticeable catch on Zande Canal went to RAF Blues’ Mick Smith who fished long-range feeder tight to the far bank to catch 8.9 kg of bream. Individual leader at the half way stage was Graham Welton, RAF “Red” (18 Points) who again had put in a steady performance on the river to gain a section second. Equal on points but just slightly lower on weight was Tex Sutton. Pete Dawson RAF “Red” was a close third on 17 points. The 2 RAF Sides started to open a wide gap in the Team event with RAF “Red” (87 Points) being 4 points clear of RAF “Blue” (83 Points). The “DSRA/MOD” were the closest rivals in 3rd on 77 points.

Day 4 at last saw a few fish willing to feed as Richie Tomala discovered in the last 20 minutes of the match catching 8 bream on Pole to hand tactics to top up his weight for 19.96 kg on Zalk Lake. Paul Coombes (RAF “Old Lags”) and Mick Smith (RAF “Blue”) shared 55kg of bream between them on pegs A2 and A3 on the canal again on long-range feeder tactics tight to the far bank. Graham Welton, again after a solid section second on the canal held on to his top spot in the Individual standings. The Royal Navy put on an outstanding Team performance again to take 3rd spot in the Team Race with 99 points. RAF Red remained on top with 115 points just clear of RAF Blue on 113 Points.

Day 5 saw a drastic change in the weather as the competition had its first rain of the week. A howling easterly wind also made things difficult with several poles being broken including Richie Tomalas’ CM90 which snapped at the 13m section. The whole of “A” section then looked on in horror as nearly his entire pole then floated off down the ragging Ijssel never to be seen again. Quickly changing to feeder tactics, Richie put the set back behind him to weigh 9.58 kg for a Section 2nd. Mick Smith again produced the goods on Zalk Lake with a section win of 7.3 kg. Terry Pilgrim “DSRA/MOD” had the highest weight of the week so far as he employed long-range feeder tactics to catch 38.78 kg of Bream on peg A1 on the Zande Canal. With Graham Welton “RAF Red” and Tex Sutton “RAF Blue” having a difficult 5th day, it was all change at the top of the Individual table as Mick Smith stormed into the lead on 29 Points. With the disappointment of a lost pole behind him, Richie Tomala RAF “Red” was a close second on 28 Points. RAF “Red” remained at the top of the Team table on 143 points with RAF “Blue” just 2 points behind on 141 Points. The DSRA/MOD with probably the most noticeably Team performance of the week regained their 3rd position on 132 Points.

With all to play for in the Individual stakes, Mick Smith RAF “Blue” was ecstatic when he drew noted Peg A1 on the Issjel for the final day. Smiling all the way to the end, Mick made no mistake to take yet another section win with 18.98 Kg of Gusta and Bream ensuring Individual Glory Overall. It was a tight on the Zande Canal as 3 of the Top 5 positioned individual anglers all drew in the same section. Finishing well clear of the rest of the section, Tex Sutton RAF “Blue” once again proved his consistency weighing in 8.56 Kg of Bream on the pole. The only “Magic Ton” weight of the week fell to Steve Hutter” RAF “Red” who fished medium range feeder ion Zalk lake to win with 62.58 Kg and the “Man Of The Match” Award. Stu Cottingham also took a section win on the Lake to boost his Individual standing catching 34.68 Kg of Bream on similar tactics.

Final Standings

Individual

1st Mick Smith RAF “Blue” 36 Points 65.65 Kg
2nd Tex Sutton RAF “Blue” 33 Points 54.02 Kg
3rd Stu Cottingham DSRA/MOD 32 Points 59.28 Kg
4th Richie Tomala RAF “Red” 32 Points 44.44 Kg
5th Steve Hutter RAF “Red” 31 Points 102.06 Kg

Team

1st RAF Blue 171 Points
2nd RAF Red 168 Points
3rd DSRA/MOD 158 Points
4th Royal Navy 141 Points
5th Army “Germany” 119 Points
6th RAF “Old Lags” 117 Points
7th Army “UK” 113 Points