October 2007
I recently came across my old secondary school report,
which on reading brought back memories of my tortuous secondary school
life. My school was a “secondary modern for boys”. We had to use these
awful nib pens and ink to write. I spent hours and hours doing 100 lines
because of my poor handwriting. I was hit on the hand with rulers and put
in detention. The awful thing is that no-one realised I was left-handed and
with the angle of the pen nibs only for right-handed people it really was
not my fault that my writing resembled a spider crawling in ink over the
paper! So what’s all this got to do with fishing? Well, the best mark I
ever got was B-, something I was mighty proud of, all through my report it
read tries hard” but ----------.!
How many people must have had this in their reports and
felt they had no worth? Angling became everything to me, especially junior
match fishing. The likes of Percy, Lacy, and John Parr were fantastic
teachers, always willing to show me things and gave me encouragement.
Without this interest and without their support I do wonder howI may have
turned out.
Angling still can be a cheap activity and research
shows that it is a brilliant sport for youngsters to develop, learning all
sorts of things from the environment, care of fish, motor skills etc.
CFPAS LTD is determined to offer the same opportunities as I had all those
years ago – despite all of the new legalisation. Our Junior events
co-ordinator John Pope has put on a brilliant programme on this year and
will I am sure be developing further of his ideas for the 2008/09 season.
The youngsters get so much out of the coaching sessions and tournaments and
tend to come back year after year.
CFPAS LTD has co-sponsored 7 angling coaches to obtain
appropriate qualifications and hopefully by the turn of the year will boast
5 Level2 Coaches. We are justifiably proud of having such a professional
team and including the army of helpers who turn up to support our events.
August 2007 - DIVISION 2 NATIONAL ADVENTURES
There is something about travelling away, the nervous
excitement of going on someone else’s manor. During the football season,
hoards of supporters go up and down the country in support of “their team”,
scarves locked in their car windows, flying the flag!
There is a similar feel to fishing Nationals on someone
else’s water with teams taking time out to practice and taking advantage of
the local brew. This season we were all looking forward to fishing the
Trent for Barbel. Some of us even bought some tackle! Bait runners, beach
caster type rods, 8 lb lines, 16-eyed hooks and socking great big feeders.
Not much use on the Chesterfield Canal and Foss Dyke!, you need “squat rigs
me dook “Awight mate”! You know when you buy something you have just got
use to use it, well that’s how I feel, so watch out for when I launch those
porky pigs.
Its all been kicking off about the change of venue and
apparently the difficult sections on different waters. There have been many
rumblings in smokeless free team meetings. Not so we prez! We just take it
in our stride. Lets face it we are not going to learn the finer art of
canal fishing in 2 weeks! So lets not get phased by it all. Now I am not
saying we are not taking thins seriously, it’s just that things need to be
put in to perspective. It’s about representing Cambridge FPAS LTD, so the
boys from East Anglia’s finest city are staying well out of the hassle. You
won’t find us giving the organisers grief about the late change of venue or
the close pegging, the uncut swims or even the unfishable swims, no not us.
Look any organisation who are bold enough to adventure, that we can park in
the Sex Shop on the Foss Dyke (it’s a canal)has to be respected, a high five
is due. Mind you no one’s going to park there, are they? So on 1st
September our little adventure will unfold. I am sure there will be the
usual tales of bad luck of someone catching a big fish next-door etc,etc. I
wonder if just one day we might just have a dream come true where fish jump
in to our nets instead of jumping out, with hard fought coin Hmmm. Then I
wake up – but the dreams are part of why we go fishing aren’t they?
Watch out for next report...
April 2007
March 2007
The tension before our last club points match on the lode, just before
the off was immense. The banter between us hiding the pressure. Ken
and I were joint leaders with a 5point margin over Ian, Liam and Craig.
Ken drew peg 1,not his favoured end but nevertheless end peg, Ian drew
upstream end peg and I drew peg on the cables.
Ian, fished his socks off,20lbs of small fish is fantastic anywhere but
on this shallow little venue just superb. Now having said that I did
not think the lode fished that well with anglers finding it hard to put a
catch together, none more so than Ken .I had a mare of a match, I just could
not get the fish going. I left it late too! Five fish in the last ten
minutes for a very valuable pound phew keep going Tweedy I kept telling
myself and it paid off. My third spot on the day down to grim determination
rather than skill. Ian was first to weigh then a couple of the lads then me.
I had to endure the rest weighing in right up to last peg Ken, What tension
then relief as Kens catch could be seen. Unfortunately for Ken the end peg
voodoo got him. The script could not have been better, overall champ that's
me! Liam is our summer champion Ian our winter champion and Burwell super
three winner. The two grumpy old men first and second oh the story will be
told over and over again especially the extra ounce Mr Darler missed out on!
I got the blame you see I called the scales, scalesmens ruling final so
there! Shed a tear on the anniversary of my old fried passing nah not me, oh
yes! shhhhhh don't tell anyone! oh and Tom pick my best side for the article
in midland angler ,out on the 6th of April I'm happy to sign copies at the
AGM on the 2nd of may where I will be crowned!
February 2007
LET BATTLE
BEGIN!
Yes next Sunday it is the long awaited final aggregate match in our 10
Series. Realistically there are 5 or 6 lads in with a chance of being
champion. It only needs one or two to have an off day and the table could
be turned upside down. However the odds do favour Ken Whitmore who rarely
has a bad match although he is up against a formidable challenge. And might
just have an off day.
Ken Whitmore 2/1
FAV
Known as Mr. Consistency, Ken never
knows when he is beaten and is rarely out of the top placings. He has been
know to drop his trousers to reveal designer underpants in his quest to
retrieve his lost tackle but generally is the quiet angler of the group and
just keeps getting in the frame.
Graham Tweed 3/1
Quirky thoroughbred, intelligent, handsome – well in an ugly sort of way, so
which Mr. Tweed will turn up? On his day very hard to beat, it is just that
sometimes he seems to lose the plot and ends up away with the fairies – no
don’t go there!
Ian Darler 4/1
Sicknote to his friends, another one known to drop his trousers and
surprisingly one who again wears designer shorts – hmm Lisa must have chosen
them! Could be one to watch as he is due a big match.
Liam Darler 4/1
The ‘Pin-up boy’ in form at the moment but has he peaked too soon!
Craig Rayner 5/1
Coming
back to from and one definitely to watch, Mr. ‘Laid-back’ but technically
one of our finest.
BACK TO SCHOOL
Above and beyond the call of duty?.
On Sunday 11th February the two grumpy old men attended two training courses
at Hinchingbrooke School “Club For All” and “Equality In Coaching”. Seven
hours of torture sitting on hard wooden chairs which reminded me of our old
wicker basket tackle boxes.
We were receiving tuition with other
administrators and coaches from athletics, cricket, Korfball, Roller
Skating, Netball and Triathlon. Why were we there? Well I kept asking
myself this too amongst the threats I was receiving from Ian. Well the
official line is that without attendance certificates for these courses
CFPAS LTD will not be awarded the Clubmark. It is a double whammy for Ian,
as he needs a certificate for equality in coaching for his Level II Coaching
licence.
So there we sat learning about the
do’s and don’ts so no more calling me big boy Mr. Darler and no more calling
you baldy! Awe.
The most I learnt all day was that
far from being the laughing boys – you know “Angling - that’s a sport?” It
soon became clear that ours was by far the better-organised Club in
attendance. Not only in being equitable, encouraging all to our sport but
also in our policies and procedures. Everyone on the courses were friendly
and helpful and seemed very respectful of our approach to providing
facilities for all and so from a networking perspective it was rewarding.
Thank you Ian for keeping me company
and for big upping what we do – something I am not good at. Ian though is
absolutely right. We should be much more proactive in letting people know
what we do.
So here we go:
Why have we made application for
accreditation?
Club Mark is effectively a “Sport Kite Mark” run by Sport England that sets
the standard for all quality Sports Clubs in England. By achieving Clubmark
accreditation, we are demonstrating that we are not only well run and
managed but also that we take seriously issues such as Child Protection,
Health and Safety, Quality Coaching and Equity.
Submitting our portfolio of evidence
has meant that we have focused on our existing policies and procedures. In
some instances we have updated our guidelines and formalised our development
plan. It has been a lot of work but very much worthwhile. For example we
have updated our Child Protection Policy and part of Event Risk Assessment.
These things become out of date and so as put our development plan we have
set down time targets to review our policies and procedures.
There are currently four Coarse
Angling Clubs in England that have Club Mark, we hope to be the 1st in East
Anglia!
Barnwell Lake Stocking
We have introduced 100 young farm
bred Tench up to 1 lb into the lake. The lake has a good stock of Tench and
with evidence of successful breeding and growing population. We have
introduced the Tench to further boost the species at the venue.
There are very few mixed Stillwater
fisheries, we see Barnwell Lake as just this sort of venue and with the
introduction of the Bronze and Silver Bream Barnwell offers an alternative
to the usual Carp lakes.
Our season permits are now
half-price until the end of the season and offer fantastic value for money
for anglers wishing to enjoy our fisheries for winter fishing.
August 2006
The
Club is still adjusting to the loss of two of its most senior members
Percy Anderson, Life-Vice President and Peter Dickinson Vice-President
and Fishery Manager at Block Fen.
John
Pope, Will Temple and I have tried to carry on with the work Percy had put
in place regarding our Junior section. There are now though many Government
requirements in running Junior Sections and events, which makes the
administration of events far more time consuming. West’s are continuing
with the sponsorship of the junior events and long may this association
continue. Hopefully next season we will organise some open days where we
will introduce coaching sessions and demonstrations. Such events do take
some organising but are very worthwhile.
Our new water on the Ouse at Little Barford Power Station has
been producing specimen fish all season; we have published some pictures of
recent catches. In addition to the Carp, Tench and Bream, regular Roach
catches in to double figures have been had on seed baits.
Our two
Fisheries Officers Andy and Graham are doing a brilliant job in clearing
swims and keeping the litter in check. I advised our Landlords RWEnpower
when we took on the water that it would take us a season to get the venue
sorted out. Well with Andy and Graham’s hard work the fishery has been
developed to great effect in our first season. All that remains is a car
park, which we really could do with, so fingers crossed.
Another
fishery benefiting from a recent appointment is Heritage Lake at Cottenham.
Martin Croxon will be looking after this venue for us in his spare time.
Martin is a former junior member and so it is nice to see the return of
someone who benefited from Percy’s Teach-ins. Roy who already does work for
us over on the lake is attempting to get rid of the bags of rubbish, which
have accumulated over the last few months. A problem we have not got over
at Barnwell as Gavin and Peter do a marvellous job in keeping this venue
tidy.
Our
Bailiff on the Cam Jim is not a fisherman but his efforts in patrolling the
water have resulted in an increase in membership. It should be remembered
that every one of our Fishery Managers, Bailiffs and volunteers and are
unpaid.
On a
final note a big thank you to Brian and Neil for the temporary repairs to
the bridge at Nethergrove.
May 2006
The last couple of months have
seen the very sad loss of two Senior Officers of the Club, Percy
Anderson and Peter Dickinson. Always ready to help the Club they will
be sorely missed. Both were great friends of mine and to be honest
losing them within a few weeks has been very difficult.
A Peter
Dickinson Memorial Charity Match is to be held over a Block Fen on the 17th
June 2006. The draw will take place at 9am, fish 10am – 4pm and tickets
will be on a first come, first serve basis. To book a place please contact
myself, Graham on Tel. 01223-234616. Monies raised will go to a charity of
Peter Dickinson’s widow’s choice.
January 2006
As we enter the New
Year I am hoping for some rain and more rain. We desperately need to top up our lakes and in particular
Nethergrove as this shallow venue desperately needs a winter top up
which it is yet to receive. Sadly
this year despite increasing our Bailiffing this venue has suffered from
some mindless vandalism. Broken
locks, our warning signs broken and litter have been a problem.
Unfortunately our
regular Bailiff injured his back and has been unable to visit the site
as much, however I have been carrying on but I cannot be there all of
the time. It is so
disappointing that a mindless few spoil it for the majority. We will not be beaten though. If you would like to help on this venue then please do give us a
call. Tel Graham 01223-234616.
My
Thanks goes to Ian Darler sending me this picture of Graham
A
cheesy smile and in dire need of the fashion police -
cheers Ian.
How is your Club
doing? Well quietly but
surely we continue to grow despite the ever-increasing competition for
leisure time. We have seen
a definite upturn in anglers appreciating the natural surroundings our
venues offer.
This really is our market; we simply
cannot compete with the commercial venues as we have no full-time staff
or indeed a venue where we are on site 24 hours. Our rivers are much cleaner than 20 years ago but this causes
increased weed growth, clearer water and so our approach to the venues
has to be different. I
spoke recently to an angler who regularly catches Tench over on the new
St. Neots water feeding the fish mid-water and presenting a large bait
on a controller! Yes Tench
up to 8 lb!
I now regularly come
across anglers fly-fishing for Chub and Pike on the Cam, something I
have not seen before. I
must have a go.
I am very encouraged
by the help and advice we have received from Club member Gary French. Gary has helped me put together a revised template for Risk
Assessments when we have working parties. In addition we have up to 6 Guidance Notes on safe working
covering aspects of work we do on our fisheries. Anyone wishing to view our Risk Assessments and Guidance Notes
can do so by requesting copies. A
charge of £2.50 is necessary to cover photocopying and postage.
Very best wishes for the New Year
Back to Top
July 2005
Just when you
think that things are on a downward turn something pops up to cheer your
spirits. Well that’s how it has been lately in regard to Club matters.
Last season was a difficult one for CFPAS Ltd, our sales were down for
the first time in a couple of years and this hit our profits. This
despite a huge amount of effort on the part of our Bailiffs and
Committee. This season we have taken on a number of new Bailiffs
and we are already reaping the rewards. There is nothing better
than reminding anglers on the bank that they need a Season or Day Permit
to fish our waters and certainly our Bailiffs have been active on all
our waters.
Another
bonus has been that of attendances at our Club Matches. Whilst
they have not significantly increased we have so far this season have
five new attendee’s. Our matches are friendly affairs and so we
do really welcome any members to come along even if it is only for the
odd match or two. Our next official match is on the Old West in
September, so if you fancy a go please give me a call tel. 01223-234616.
Like
most waters we do have our regulars and Heritage Lake is no exception.
Sports seems to have been good this year and I have received a number of
reports that the Tench have now reached the 12 oz to 1 lb size which has
meant a good growth rate since their introduction. Brian Dominguez
reported that he caught so many they were a bit of a nuisance! He
tells me that their colours were absolutely lovely. They were
very dark green. I must get over to the lake for a fishing session
sometime!
I
am not always the best at asking for help but we do really need some
over at Nethergrove. The bramble bushes need trimming back and a
general tidy up is required. Please call me if you can spare some
time.
Please
note the River Cam will be closed to angling for the Police National to
be held between the Penny Ferry Pub and Clayhithe on the 15th September
2005.
Please
keep your reports of catches coming into us as it helps in keeping our
members informed.
Back to Top
16th June 2005 - How Was It For You?...
Brilliant!
I had a little difficulty getting up and missed my planned time
on the banks of the Lode by about half an hour, still 5am is a
respectable early morning start. My
drive to the Cock-Up Bridge in Burwell did not take long at all, lovely
clear roads meant an easy trip except for startling fat pigeons who
seemed suicidal as they tried to waddle and then flap off the rod,
always just in time. The
Fens have a certain beauty, you can see for miles and miles As I
travelled down the long road to the venue the sky ahead of me looked
idealic and threatening as to my right the sun was just rising and gave
off all sorts of colour in the sky, to my left the sky was dark and
moody looking with grey swirling clouds.
Just
before the factory, I noticed a Ringway Services road sign. “This road will be closed from the 14th June until
something something on the 17th June.” Now those of you that know this fishery will know it is the only
road in and out, coming from the Percy Anderson school of xxxxxxx it! I
carried on over the bumpy scarified road.
I
finally reached the bridge as I got out of my car and therefore on
slamming the car door witnessed the Lode behind me erupt as fish hurtled
off in all directions, including a mighty big Carp. The Lode looked absolutely sock on.
Fish were fizzing, turning, doing triple somersaults, back flips,
forward flips, it was that good. “Right
then lets get the gear out”. Anyone
else about no! fantastic! My
friend and sometimes rival Mr. Darler told me the swims to look for.
Ignoring his advice I plonked myself down about 8 swims from the
bridge towards the factory. The colour of the lode was a fishy grey with loads of fizzy
bubbles. I had forgotten
how nervous excitement can get to you and all those memories of a 16th
June started to come flooding back. I took an age to tackle up with my eyes not go good these days,
it was a little tricky putting the line through the rings of my rod.
I kept stopping just to take in the sight and sounds of my early
morning fishy experience. A
Barn Owl then flew behind me in the field which had been left fallow
ready for it to be restored to a wetland environment “Come on Tweedy,
get fishing”! As much as
I tried though I kept getting interrupted by the wild environment I
found myself in. Ok I
confess it was a little scary, especially as I looked across the Fen, I
saw a largish brown animal. It looked at me and I looked at it, neither moved.
I was probably 100 yards away but looking down from the bank of
the Lode. The Deer then started to make this shrill loud sort of
coughing sound. A bit like
a dog barking with a sore throat. It
really was loud and seemed to carry over a great distance across the
Fen. About 5 minutes later after this constant sound I heard a
similar one in the distance and then a short while later another Deer
appeared and hopped to greet what I assumed was its mate.
After
all this I eventually got fishing at 6am yes! One hour after arriving!
Signs
of fish everywhere; my 2AAA waggler with a heavy hook(size 12) tried sat
motionless in the water. The
sweetcorn bait untouched. How
can this be, I thought! As all around me fish seemed to be feeding.
Then 45 minutes into the session the red tipped float dipped
slightly, popped up then dipped again, then went under. It was not going to come up again. Strike!
I’m in, my first fish of the new season. Thump, thump, thump, a good fish but not a Tench or Bream.
A minute or so later I netted a lovely Roach of around 12 oz.
A
half hour later I had my next bite. I had turned around to get some bait and as I looked to the water
I saw the line from my rod tip tighten. The float had already buried, I struck and my hook held firm this
was a good fish as it slowly moved upstream. It only started to give an account for itself as I tried to net
it. A 4lb Bream in tip-top
conditions was slipped into the net. Soon to be followed by a 1½ lb hybrid which gave a
characteristic hard fight. Then
a 3 lb Bream, another Roach and a Perch.
I
had a wonderful day, packing up at around 1.30pm not a huge catch –
about 12 lbs. The wind was
quite strong and cold. A
fleece and my winter jacket had to be worn. I did spend a little time on the pole which accounted for a
variety of fish Roach, Rudd, Skimmer, Beam, Bleak, Perch and some lovely
Dace. All in all a
fantastic day.
Back to Top
June 2005
It
was nice to see some new faces at our recent Club Match on Barnwell Lake
and also the welcome return of Preservation stalwarts Maurice Mobbs and
Dave Lindsay. A couple of
our regulars missed the match due to work and holiday commitments.
So hopefully on their return we will regularly over 20
anglers during the series of 10
matches. Our next match is
on the 19th June on the Lode at the Cock-Up Bridge. We have not fished this stretch of the Lode in a match for
several years now. The pegs
we hope to take in are below the bridge on the opposite bank from the
car park area. This section
was always prolific for big Bream and Tench and so I fully expect some
elastic stretching in the match. I
am not sure of the abundance of small fish, I cannot imagine that silver
fish are not present, however I am due to give the Lode a go early
morning on the 16th June so I hope to find out a bit more
form my session. I am
likely to have the company of Mr. Darler who is somewhat of an expert on
this venue having fished and baliffed it for many years before moving to
Earith. Ian and Liam’s match rivalry is getting a little bit keen with
serous betting money being laid over the 10 matches series. Liam drawing first blood over his father in our first match.
I cannot help but wonder that this rivalry is drawing their
attention away from the competition, which Liam won last year. Liam is certainly getting plenty of practice in fishing
commercials as well as traditional waters. I do hope Liam continues to learn his trade on rivers, as I
believe this will put him in good stead when fishing commercial venues,
which require difficult skills and tactics but perhaps do not give you
the experience of the art of catching on a wild venue.
So
June the 16th looms nearer and nearer. Even though I can go fishing all year round I do get a buzz
about the 16th and hope to see many of you on my bailiffing
rounds. We are intending to
hit our rivers hard this season as basically every penny counts and so
we must make sure we encourage anglers to join or at least pay for a Day
Ticket. I have a number of new bailiffs helping this year, so I hope
to see an impact.
Back to Top
June 2005
I have a big thank
you to give to Dave, Mitchell, Liam and Ian who gave up some time to
clear 30 or so swims ready for the start of the new river season over on
the Burwell Lode at the Cock-Up Bridge.
The Lode looked in
fine condition. There was some floating weed but nothing to really spoil
a days fishing.
20
or so years ago the Lode on the 16th would have dozens of
anglers lining it’s banks. I
doubt there will be more than a half-dozen this year. Changes in the fishing season, the greater opportunity to fish
highly stocked commercial waters has meant that we are spoilt for
choice. I am not on a
nostalgic kick, going on about the good old days. The bottom line is that we have much more opportunity and if we
want to go hauling then we have that choice. On the other hand, because a venue such as the lode won’t get
hammered in the first week of the river season then we equally have the
choice of some really good sport on the edge of the Wicken Fen without
having someone 8 or so yards away from you.
So
far from being disgruntled at the so called demise of angling on our
rivers I believe that they now offer us much more and I have seen an
upturn in activity on our rivers in
particular specimen hunter anglers targeting specific fish. If you fancy having a go for the big Tench, Bream and Rudd then I
thoroughly recommend an early morning or evening session on the Lode.
If you are really keen then you might try baiting up a swim such
is my confidence you will see few other anglers.
Back to Top
May 2005 - I
Can’t Believe It
It is not too long
to wait now for the river season to open and once again we can go after
those truly wild fish in our rivers. Living in Cambridge, there is an abundance of angling
opportunity. I can go off
after upper river Chub, Dace and Roach using stick float tactics or
venture into the Fens and fish for Bream and Tench in the slow deep
waters of the Great Ouse. I very much enjoy the social element of angling and this is
why I have ventured back into club match fishing. However, I do like to have the opportunity of escaping into the
Fen on an early morning fishing expedition. It is the unknown of it all, you know the nervous anticipation as
you drive to the venue; this may just be the day you get your personal
best Tench. I like all
forms of angling but it is a buzz I just don’t get from fishing
heavily stocked commercial lakes.
£20 gets me my
Season Permit an absolute bargain. I am going to try this year for a personal best Tench which
should not be too hard to beat (4 lb) and also I am going to target the
big Perch over on the Lode.
See
you soon.
Back to Top
May 2005
We’re back!
For the last couple of months we have experienced a considerable amount
of difficulties in the maintenance of this site. We have been
victims of our popularity. Basically in trying to keep regular
updates the wheels fell off!
The site has now been
reconstructed, with a huge amount of work being done by Alison.
The site has been stripped back to basics ready for further development
over the next few months, so watch this space.
Our AGM is
to be held on the 10th May 2005 in the Harris Suite, Abbey Stadium,
Cambridge United Football Club 7.30pm for 7.45pm. All members and
their families are welcome, new membership books will be sold
on the night. A great deal of effort goes in to the preparation for the
evening; it is a chance to see how your Club is run and to meet fellow
anglers.
Our
Club Matches Series was very popular last season; I hope we get a few
more anglers along. The
overriding objectives of these matches is that they are friendly affairs
offering an opportunity to meet up with angling colleagues with a little
bit of competition thrown in. So
if you fancy a go please do give me a call.
Editors
Foot Note
I'm
sure you'll join in with me to wish Club President Graham Tweed a very
Happy 50th Birthday on Saturday 7th from all you Friends and Colleagues
at CFPAS Ltd. A day that will stay with Graham for all the
wrong reasons has his beloved Cambridge United (and for that matter my
beloved also) bow gracefully out of the football league.
Back to Top
March
2005
Our new club books
are now available. The new
season charges are unchanged from last season, and make for excellent
value, especially if purchased in March as you then get 12 months
fishing on our lakes.
Application
forms for our permits can be accessed from our website.
We
hope to take delivery of some Tench for Borrow Pit later in the season.
Probably around Christmas ready for the 2006/07 season. We had intended for these fish to be introduced earlier, however
problems at the breeding facility has meant a delay in delivery of these
young fish.
Some
good news on the bailiffing front, we welcome the help of long time
members, Dave Butler and Ian Claydon who have kindly offered their
services. This is an
important role, none more so than the promotion of CFPAS LTD.
Please
note our Match Date changes. We
have a busy programme next year and hopefully we will have even greater
participation from Club Members. They
are friendly affairs with a competitive edge and a good way of meeting
up with fellow anglers.
Finally
I hope you find our reformatted website interesting as a great deal of
time and energy goes in to keeping it up to date, we always welcome
articles, funny stories and pictures of catches etc.
Back to Top
January 2005
We are so popular
that we end up knackering the server! Well that’s a layman’s view of the recent problems we have
had with the server. Sorry
about being offline so to speak, but it really is apparently because
this site is so popular. Anyway,
we are looking in to ways of this not happening again which might mean
we go all posh. No, don’t worry we don’t intend to lose our independence
and have loads of pop-ups that is not what we are about but we will have
to do something, as being without an up-to-date website for some days
has bee a major problem.
Thanks to Alison
for all her hard work in getting this back, I believe it took four and
half hours on Thursday night to republish the website back to our server
hosted in France – oh the phone bill!!
This
Sunday the hardy club matchman venture on to the Lode at Upware for a
match. The request to run
this event from the lads has come as some of them only get a chance to
go if it is a match, me included. The rain over the last few days could
well put a bit of colour in to the Lode, which with a little flow may
just get the bigger fish feeding.
I
thought, just for a laugh, I might give some pre-match predictions, no
money involved you understand, so here are the ones I fancy – no, not
like that, - for winning the match.
Two
anglers that will go far will be Mr. Turner and Mr Darler. Any big Perch lurking will surely succumb to worm tactics maybe
even a Tench might show. 6/2
me thinks. Ian Claydon I
reckon he will go for the silver fish and if he gets his head down then
will take some beating, maybe a bit rusty on this venue but class will
tell. 8/1.
Liam
Darler, the young whippersnapper if he lays off the birds and booze the
night before, he may well has a good one. Always there or thereabouts, a point to prove as his day whooped him last time at 11/1.
Mohan
and Gareth – I hope these two turn up as they may have not realised
the match is on. Mohan
knows this venue well; I take him to just pip his colleague this time
out, but can’t split the odds at 12/1.
I
don’t think Brian Dominguez is fishing this time out, so considering
the others I know about – Trevor and Mick I reckon Trevor is due a big
match. Sorry Trevor kiss of
death 12/1.
What
about myself, well, all this week I have been pondering whether to fish. A touch of man flu! I
am not so good on the small fish these days, so it is going to be a have
a go situation which to be fair paid off the last time I fished this
venue – dark horse, but worth an each way bet 16/1.
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