And just like that a new season is upon us !
Twenty two anglers booked in for the first Club Day of 2024/25 season on the club’s own Horseshoe Lake. Some new faces and a few returning ones amongst the Club members out to enjoy the fishing.
The weather had at long last been dry and stable recently and today saw temperatures rise to 25 degrees. With the recent fair weather and light winds, the Willow trees and others had decided that it was “fluff” time ! This gave many anglers a challenge to find a clear patch to cast in or to just sink their line.
The competition today would be round 1 of 3 in the Wade Cup. The angler with the highest weight from 3 rounds being the champion. Current holder is Phil Price who won last year by a margin of just 15oz’s over Antony Johnson.
Also, the luck of the draw bag would play a second part in pairing up anglers for the Individual Knockout Cup. The winner of each pairing would go through to the next round. The current holder is Ray Torrington who beat Ray Morland in the final round by 6lb.
Winner on the day and setting the early pace in the Wade Cup again was Antony Johnson. Antony fished peg 18 and opted for an out and out Pellet Waggler attack. Two expertly clicked keepnets at 49lb 7oz and 49lb 11oz along with a 3rd for good measure finished Antony on 112lb 15oz.
Second Place to Jason Chatham with 82lb 2oz fishing peg 39 in the corner, where all the “fluff” eventually ended up. Jason fished tight to the far bank on Method feeder and on the surface with dog biscuit.
Third Place to Stuart Baxter with 65lb 11 oz from peg 17. Stuart opted for his trusted dog biscuit approach on the surface.
Section Wins for Charlie Lawrence, Kevin Crompton, Brian Johnson & Mick Wright
Full Result
1st Antony Johnson 112 lbs 15 oz – Peg # 18
2nd Jason Chatham 82 lbs 2 oz – Peg # 39
3rd Stuart Baxter 65 lbs 11 oz – Peg # 17
4th Charlie Lawrence 49 lbs 11 oz – Peg # 14
5th Mick Wright 43 lbs 13 oz – Peg # 37
6th Paul Sugarman 42 lbs 6 oz – Peg # 19
7th Graham Wright 19 lbs 9 oz – Peg # 33
8th Joe Price 9 lbs 5 oz – Peg # 31
9th Neil Speechley 9 lbs 1 oz – Peg # 38
10th Kevin Crompton 8 lbs 5 oz – Peg # 10
11th Stephen Smith 7 lbs 10 oz – Peg # 15
12th Alfie Kendall 7 lbs 4 oz – Peg # 16
13th Trevor Walker 6 lbs 3 oz – Peg # 8
=14th Stuart Redman 5 lbs 13 oz – Peg # 23
=14th Brian Johnson 5 lbs 13 oz – Peg # 29
16th Paul Dotchin 5 lbs 10 oz – Peg # 27
17th Ray Torrington 4 lbs 15 oz – Peg # 4
18th Ron Needham 3 lbs 13 oz – Peg # 21
19th Alan Thomas 2 lbs 15 oz – Peg # 12
20th Phil Price 0 lbs 2 oz – Peg # 25
=21st Les Johnson 0 lbs 0 oz – Peg # 6
=21st Andy P Wilson 0 lbs 0 oz – Peg # 35
Individual Knockout Cup
Jason Chatham beat Brian Hudson
Charlie Lawrence beat Stephen Smith
Antony Johnson beat Neil Speechley
Mick Wright beat Paul Sugarman
Stuart Baxter beat Joe Price
Graham Wright beat Ron Needham
Kevin Crompton beat Alan Thomas
Ray Torrington beat Phil Price
Trevor Walker beat Paul Dotchin
Alfie Kendall beat Les Johnson
Andy Wilson – BYE
