Match Report

We had a good turnout of committee, matchmen and a couple of club guests for our match on the Hammer Pond at Mill Farm. After last year’s very late autumn match on the venue we were looking forward to some good sport. This time round we were pegged on the back bank as someone else was occupying the side closest to the car park. In fact the venue was generally very well attended with quite a number of people on all three lakes. We started off in very calm conditions although it was overcast with a couple of very brief sprinkles of rain. However as the sky cleared the wind got up and this in turn put a tremendous tow on the water. The wind and tow made presentation very difficult; it was difficult to hold a pole and fishing a waggler on the running line was like trotting the Arun. It was perhaps significant that the anglers on the opposite bank all starting looking at their bomb rods, I’m not sure whether the rest of us were like me but I had left mine at home so it wasn’t an option!

Regular matchman Rab Butler was drawn on the point of an outside bend in a swim that the bailiff told us was highly fancied. Rab elected to fish the pole and put together a mixed bag of 8 – 11 – 0, which included a perch of 2lb, this was good enough for 1st on the day

On his first trip after officially becoming a Senior Citizen, club stalwart Phil Tubb fished the pole and whip. He had set up a fairly light pole line but was soon regretting it as he found himself attached to a very lively ghost carp. I did hear a comment from the anglers on the other bank to the effect that they reckoned it would take him the rest of the match to land and indeed Phil had to be very careful. He finally managed to slip his net under a very fit looking fish of just under 6lb which with just over 2lb of bits gave him a total of 7 – 15 – 8 for second place.

We persuaded Les Heath who used to be a regular match angler to join us I think breakfast at Rick’s and a couple of pints swung it. Les now spends his time seeking out specimens on his favourite river Arun when he is not looking after our website. Well Les showed that he’s not lost it although he said that he decided to go for quality and not quantity, Les brought 4 – 13 – 0 to the scales for 3rd place.

Top committee man on the day was Keith Hughes in a very close run set of weights, Keith was 1oz ahead of Vince who was a further 1oz ahead of Steve S.

To be honest it didn’t fish as well as everyone thought it would and I think the massive amount of movement on the water caused by the wind was probably responsible, nevertheless a good time was had by all.