Junior Match Report

                                                   2007 Junior Christmas Match

                                               13^th October 2007 – Junior Cistern

Unseasonably mild weather and a reasonable tinge of colour in the water raised expectations before the start of the match but alas most of the competitors struggled to attract bites. Only six fished the contest, five of them in the 8-12 years age group. Joe Hunt headed the younger age group with an all rudd bag which tipped the scales at 1-13-8. Joe fished maggot at 5 metres in a swim plagued with floating leaves to put together what must be considered a fine catch in difficult conditions. Second was Siobhan Finney who needed only two fish, taken on maggot on a 4 metre whip to claim the runner-up spot. Gareth Evans had a late run of four small fish after coming closer in after an unrewarding session at 8 metres which gave him a weight of 0-4-0 and third place. Match debutant Adam Robinson was so excited at catching a small perch with three quarters of the match gone that he stepped back and immersed his left leg in the pool, narrowly avoiding a complete ducking. Another perch quickly followed to give him a final weight of 0-2-0.

Stephen Finney was the sole angler in the 13-16 years group but a trickle of fish throughout the contest which included a couple of quality roach taken at 12 metres on maggot gave him a total at the end of 1-15-8.

All the contestants had their pick of some fine tackle prizes after the match to ensure that they all went home happy.

                                                               Junior Match Report

Summer Series –6^th (Final) Match

                                                     30^th August 2007 – Junior Cistern

Cool weather seemed to deter the fish a little from biting in the final match of the Summer Series. Heading the weights in the 8-12 years section was Luke Ormond who fished maggot on the bottom between 3 and 5 metres out to catch rudd, roach and perch to put together a 2-5-0 total. Second on the day which was good enough to net him first place in the aggregate competition was Shane Bellis with 1-1-0 of small fish taken at 6 metres on maggot. Third was Gareth Evans with 0-6-0, maggot again being the successful bait.

Top rod in the 13-16 years section was Michael Chung. Michael fished maggot in the early stages of the match before switching to pellet and caught crucians, skimmers, a tench together with rudd and roach to bring 6-7-0 to the scales. Stephen Finney was runner-up on the day who switched between maggot, caster and pellet to lure crucians and a bream pushing two pounds to add to a few small fish for a total of 4-7-0. Carl Bellis claimed third place with 1-13-0 of small fish taken on maggot.

The aggregate competition proved to be a tight affair with Michael Chung’s win securing him the title, two points ahead of Martin Saunders and Stephen Finney. It was Martin who eased into second place on a superior total weight.

Final standings in the Summer Series aggregate competition (best 4 out of 6 results count)

                                   8-12 years                                        13- 16 years

                       Shane Bellis  44 points                     Michael Chung      46 points

                       Luke Ormond 42 points                    Martin Saunders  42 points*

                       Gareth Evans  36 points                     Stephen Finney    42 points

                     Joe Hunt 34 points                              Nathan Robinson 16 points*

                       Siobhan Finney 22 points                  Carl Bellis    16 points*

                       Alfie Lofthouse 8 points                     Paul Hitchen  16 points*

                                                                                 Ryan Vaughan   9 points

                                                                                 Matthew Fisher   4 points

* When aggregate points are tied total aggregate weight decides the table placings.

                                                                 Summer Series –5th Match

                                                           23^rd August 2007 – Junior Cistern

The penultimate match of the series was fished for only the second time in the whole of this season in warm sunshine which was appreciated by the competitors, spectators, organiser and the dragonfly that perched on top of my box of match requisites to grab some rare rays.

Shane Bellis made up some of the ground lost when he took a family holiday when he won the 8-12 years section. Some crucians taken early in the match on maggot over a bed of pellet and pinkie were boosted later by rudd on the same method giving Shane a total of 2-8-8. In second place was Joe Hunt with 0-13-8 who fished maggot on the bottom for his catch of rudd. Gareth Evans fished a similar method for 0-11-8 of rudd and perch.

The 13-16 years section was won by Martin Saunders with 8-5-0. Martin fished his usual tactics, presenting maggot at three metres for small silver fish before switching to pellet at 9 metres for two tench, skimmers and a crucian. Runner-up on the day was Stephen Finney who caught rudd, roach and skimmers on pole fished maggot plus a few skimmers on pellet for 5-7-8. Third was Carl Bellis with 0-15-8 of small fish taken on maggot.

Current standings in the Summer Series aggregate competition (best 4 out of 6 results to count)

                                           8-12 years                               13- 16 years

                                           Gareth Evans 36 points                  Martin Saunders 42 points

                                           Joe Hunt 34 points                        Stephen Finney 40 points

                                           Shane Bellis 34 points                  Michael Chung  34 points

                                           Luke Ormond  30 points                 Nathan Robinson  16 points

                                           Siobhan Finney 22 points               Adam Jones 10 points

                                             Alfie Lofthouse 8 points                  Paul Hitchen  12 points

                                                                                                   Ryan Vaughan 9 points

                                                               Junior Match Report

Summer Series –4th Match

                                                     16th August 2007 – Junior Cistern

 It was back to normal for this summer with heavy showers a good soaking the order of the day. However the attendances at the junior matches have been up on last year with competitors and most competitors have turned out on a regular basis which is an encouraging sign for the future.

Luke Ormond returned from the family holiday to once again claim the winners spot in the 8-12 years section. Fishing maggot on the pole at 5 metres, Luke caught rudd throughout the match adding some roach, a skimmer, a crucian and a perch which topped the half pound mark to bring 3-14-0 to the scales. Shane Bellis followed up his winning performance last week with the runner-up place this week. Using his favourite method, maggot over a bed of pellet at 5 metres, Shane had a bag weighing 2-5-0 which included a crucian and a skimmer amongst an otherwise mainly rudd haul. Third place was taken by Alfie Lofthouse who was fishing his first match. Working with a rod, Alfie fished maggot under a waggler float to put together 1-15-0 which included a small tench amongst rudd and perch.

                                                                                                                                         Alfie Lofthouse

In the 13-16 years section Martin Saunders put in a solid performance to win the match. After catching small fish at 3 metres Martin moved on to fish pellet at 7 metres and added skimmers and bream along with a two pound tench for a final total of 9-9-0. A distant second was Stephen Finney with 3-15-0 who caught skimmers and crucians using pellet at 10 metres together with a few small fish taken on maggot. After failing to catch in last week’s match Ryan Vaughan got into gear to weigh in 1-4-0 of rudd for third place.

Current standings in the Summer Series aggregate competition (best 4 out of 6 results to count)

                         8-12 years                                                        13- 16 years

             Luke Ormond  30 points                                   Michael Chung  34 points

             Gareth Evans 28 points                                    Martin Saunders 30 points

             Joe Hunt 24 points                                            Stephen Finney 30 points

             Shane Bellis 22 points                                      Nathan Robinson   16 points

             Siobhan Finney 22 points                                 Adam Jones 10 points

             Alfie Lofthouse 8 points                                     Paul Hitchen  12 points

                                                                                       Ryan Vaughan 9 points

                                                                 Junior Match Report

Summer Series –3^rd Match

                                                       9th August 2007 – Junior Cistern

The match which marked the halfway stage of the Summer Series was fished in warm sunshine. The competitors in the 8-12 years section, for the most part struggled to catch a few small fish. Back from his holidays, Shane Bellis once again headed his section with rudd and a couple of small skimmers taken on pole fished maggot and brought 1-3-8 to the scales. A late run of fish pushed Gareth Evans into the runner-up position with 0-14-0. Gareth caught all his fish on maggot. A roach and a rudd weighing 0-8-8 were enough to seal third place for Joe Hunt.

There was a close run battle between the top three competitors in the 13-16 years age group. The narrow winner with 8-6-0 was Michael Chung who caught roach and rudd on maggot before switching to pellet and occasionally corn at 12 metres to tempt a string of skimmers. Two and a half ounces behind with 8-3-0 was Martin Saunders with small silver fish on maggot boosted by a decent tench and some skimmers taken on pellet. Stephen Finney completed the frame with two big skimmers and a tench caught on worm and corn at 12 metres added to a few small fish caught on maggot for a total of 7-5-0

                                                                   Junior Match Report

Summer Series –2^nd Match

                                                     2nd August 2007 – Junior Cistern

For once the umbrellas weren’t needed and the competitors, spectators and organiser remained dry throughout the match1

Siobhan Finney pole fished maggots just off the bottom and close to a the trailing branches of a tree to catch small rudd, roach steadily throughout the match and added a single crucian to cruise to victory in the 8-12 years section. She eventually took 2-14-0 to the scales. Fishing his first match, Joe Hunt used a pole to present maggots between 3 and 5 metres bagging roach, rudd, perch and a crucian carp to claim the runner-up spot with 1-9-0. Roach and a crucian carp taken on maggot gave Gareth Evans third place w1th 1-4-0.

Stephen Finney made it a family double by winning the 13-16 years section with 7-5-0.  Stephen fished with maggot at 3 metres to catch roach and rudd and used meat at 12 metres to lure quality crucians along with a bream of about 1½ pounds. Michael Chung fished at 7 metres with maggot for silver fish and at 13 metres with pellet and corn for crucians and a skimmer to net 4-15-0 and take the second spot. Nathan Robinson completed the frame with 2-2-0 of small fish taken on waggler fished maggot and worm.

                                                                     Junior Match Report

Summer Series – 1^st Match

                                                         26th July 2007 – Junior cistern

  A new beginning with the start of the Summer Series nevertheless it was the same old miserable weather, but at least we started in the dry.

The 8-12 years section was contested by only two competitors with family holidays cutting the field. Luke Ormond started with maggot fished on a pole rig and after some fruitless forays with sweetcorn on the hook, he finally elected to stick with grubs. He caught rudd, roach and a solitary crucian presenting his bait both hard on the bottom and up in the water and weighed in a total of 3-14-0 at the end. Small rudd and perch taken on maggot plus a crucian carp and a roach lured on corn gave second placed Gareth Evans a weight of 1-4-0.

The 13-16 years age group saw Michael Chung run away with the spoils when he weighed in an impressive 17-1-0. He used hemp and tares to catch roach before switching to bigger baits fished close to the bulrushes. Alternating between pellet at 5 metres and corn at 11 metres Michael caught tench, crucians and skimmers before rounding off his bag with a 7-3-0 mirror carp taken on corn to move into the lead in the competition for the largest fish. Adam Jones claimed the runner-up position with 5-15-8. Adam caught small fish on maggot and used corn and pellet for a better stamp of fish that included crucians, roach and a tench. The third spot was filled by Martin Saunders with a similar approach which brought him a 4-12-0 net of crucians, tench and roach.

                                                               Junior Match Report

Early Season Series – 5^th Match

                                                         20th July 2007 – Junior cistern

It was another wet night for the final match in the final match in the Early Soggy Series. Oh sorry, that should read the final match in the Early Season Series! Family holidays and probably the miserable weather cut the field to just six anglers but it turned out to be a cracking match with decent catches all round.

Heading the 8-12 years section was Luke Ormond who, after tempting roach and rudd plus a skimmer of around half a pound on pole fished maggot in the first hour, switched to a corn line down the side to bag a nice tench and a crucian, eventually weighing in with 4-9-0. Gareth Evans started with maggot and later switched to corn and strawberry pellet baits to record 4-1-8 and take second place. Siobhan Finney was close behind in third place whose bag of small fish was boosted by a tench of just over three pounds, giving her a catch of 3-14-0. All her fish were caught on pole fished maggot. Nathan Davenport, fishing his first match, assembled a good bag of rudd, roach perch and crucians weighing 3-2-8 with pole fished maggot for fourth.

Although only two anglers fished in the 13-16 years section, the contest between them proved very competitive with Martin Saunders narrowly claiming the winners spot. After catching small fish on maggot, Martin switched to a pellet attack to hook some meaty crucians and take 7-3-0 to the scales. Stephen Finney took small fish and a tench on maggot and then turned to meat on the hook to tempt another tench and crucians, falling just short of a winning bag with 6-15-8.

             Final aggregate top three (best 4 results from 5 matches counted)

                           8-12 years                                         13-16 years

         1 Shane Bellis     46 points                 Stephen Finney    40 points

         2 Gareth Evans   42 points                 Martin Saunders     36 points

         3 Siobhan Finney   34 points            Nathan Robinson   28 points

                                         Early Season Series – 4^th Match

                                         13th July 2007 – Heesom’s Pool

Incessant rain throughout the day of the match saw the fishing (and me) in dour mood. Despite the appalling weather throughout the contest, all the competitors stuck it out and brought fish to the scales at the end.

Leading the field for the third time in four matches in the 8 – 12 years age group was Shane Bellis. After a slow start while fishing with maggot on the bottom, Shane switched to up in the water tactics when fish started to intercept his loose feed and managed to convert enough of his bites to finish with 1-10-0 of roach and rudd. Gareth Evans didn’t manage to land a single fish for more than three-quarters of the match before a late flurry of five roach taken on a short pole with maggot on the hook giving him 1-1-8 for second place. Siobhan Finney took the third spot with 11 ounces including a perch that she charmingly dubbed a ‘Rainbow fish’.

The 13 – 16 years section was won by Martin Saunders who cupped in 4 large balls of pellet and groundbait at the start and sat on it with pellet on the hook before hooking his first fish after fifty minutes. This skimmer was followed by two others in rapid succession before his bites dried up. Another cup of groundbait revived the interest, this time from three crucian carp before the fish once again lost interest. The 4-1-0 the six fish catch gave him however was enough to make him a comfortable winner. Runner-up on the night was Michael Chung who used the match to practice his presentation of hemp and tares. Hitting bites proved to be a problem but he was able to bring 2-6-0 to the scales at the end of the contest. Adam Jones was shaded into third place after presenting maggot and pellet on the deck at 6 metres to finish with 2-3-0.

The placings in the 8–12 aggregate table have already been decided but in the 13-16 series five anglers remain in contention to secure a place the top three.

Aggregate after 4 matches (best 4 results from 5 matches to count)

                                       8-12 years                                           13-16 years

                         1 Shane Bellis     46 points                  Stephen Finney   32 points

                         2 Gareth Evans     40 points                  Nathan Robinson   28 points

                         3 Siobhan Finney   27 points                Adam Jones          24 points

                                                                               4       Martin Saunders   24 points

                                                                               5       Thomas Finney       23 points

                                         Early Season Series – 3^rd Match

                                           6th July 2007 – Middle Cistern

On a cool but dry evening, the competitors fished the Middle Cistern in the third round of the Early Summer Series.Presenting maggot and occasionally pellet on the bottom at 4 metres into the face of a stiff westerly breeze, Gareth Evans pulled off his first win of the series with 1-1-8 of roach, rudd and gudgeon. Not far behind, Shane Bellis elected to fish maggot on the bottom at 5 metres, to put 0-15-0 of mainly rudd and roach on the scales. Completing the line-up, Siobhan Finney recorded 0-5-0 using maggot at 4 metres.

After finding fish coming up in the water to his loose fed maggots, Nathan Robinson switched to a shallow rig fished on the drop to bag over two pounds of mainly rudd and added a fine 2-4-8 chub to finish the match with a total of 5-1-0. Runner-up on the night was Adam Jones who netted a tench of around 2½ pounds taken on corn to add to small fish for 3-1-0. Rudd, roach and a tiny tench for 1-9-0 saw Stephen Finney secure the third placing.

                 Aggregate top three after 3 matches (best 4 results from 5 matches to count)

                                     8-12 years                                     13-16 years

                       1 Shane Bellis     34 points              Stephen Finney 30 points

                       2 Gareth Evans     30 points            Nathan Robinson     24 points

                       3 Siobhan Finney   19 points              Thomas Finney 17 points

                                           Early Season Series – 2^nd Match

                                             29th June 2007 – Top Cistern

Although it stayed dry for the match it seems that the recent unsettled weather has slowed sport for the second Early Season match held on the top cistern. All the leading anglers in both age groups used pole fished maggot tactics to put together mainly rudd bags. Leading the field in the 8-12 years age group was Shane Bellis for the second week running with a level two pounds. Gareth Evans placed 1-8-0 on the scales for the runner-up spot with Luke Ormond coming in third with 8 ounces.

First in the 13-16 years age group was Martin Saunders who put together a catch of 2-14-0 for top weight of the night. Steven Finney had to content with second place this week presenting 1-5-0 at the weigh-in. Third spot was taken by Carl Bellis with 14 ounces.

Many thanks to Ian Morrison for taking over the running of the match in my absence.

Junior Match Report

Early Season Series – 1^st Match

22^nd June 2007 - Junior Cistern

The junior match fishing campaign got of to a very soggy start with rain falling incessantly throughout the contest. However the fishing, in contrast, proved to be excellent.

In the 8 – 12 years section Shane Bellis fished maggot over a bed of pellets at 5 metres to take rudd, roach and crucian carp which registered 6-11-0 at the weigh-in. Runner-up in the section was Siobhan Finney who presented maggot and meat over pellet catching roach and skimmers for 2-2-0. Gareth Evans was third with 0-11-0.

Stephen Finney placed an impressive 17-10-0 on the scales especially considering the match was only two hours in duration. Fishing two lines over beds of pellet, Stephen presented corn at 4 metres and meat at 11 metres for a bag that included crucians, tench, silver fish and a common carp that weighed in at half an ounce under four pounds. His brother, Thomas, fished maggot at six metres for rudd and roach before switching to a line close to a weed bed and fishing meat to take crucians and a tench. At the end Thomas had amassed a level six pounds for second place. The third spot was filled by Nathan Robinson with 3-13-0.