It was a sad day yesterday when Norman Wisdom passed away at the grand old age of 95. He was one of the greatest slap stick comedians. I will always remember how Norman did his accidental trip in front the queen on his investiture to “Sir” Norman. It is the only time I have seen HRM laugh on such a formal royal occasion. RIP Sir you made me laugh and brought me to tears on many occasions over many years – irreplaceable don’t you think Mr. GRIMSDALE.
Chatting in the Car Park before the draw at the last SW teams of Four the subject of Nick Collins hair arose and the longevity of same. I said I had a photo of Nick fishing a match on the Bristol Avon circa 1980 which clearly shows Nick with hair – albeit in its twilight. The photo shows Nick landing a Skimmer from the peg two above the Carp Hole on the Chequers section (opposite Fry’s). No he wasn’t shorter then he’s crouching down!! The Skimmer has by now been either, eaten by a Pike or is now 6lb. I fear the latter is the truth.
I was told that the main Lake at Plantation was closed which was today’s planned destination. Not being able to confirm or otherwise with anyone I decided to fish one of Rip Off’s Wednesday matches at Landsend. Chatting with John Bradford before the draw about the situation with the Silvers, John told me he’s had a bad spell on the venue drawing Carps pegs 31 and 32 on Specimen Lake. Umm, don’t want to draw there then. In to the bucket and feeling around it felt like there was only one ticket in there. This one ticket just stuck to my hand even though I tried to shake it off for a different one – it must be a good’un! Out comes peg 31. I’m told it’s the best Carp peg in Somerset. Even so I was resolute that I would fish for Silvers hoping the Crucians, F1’s and Skimmers would feed. I set up a 4x14 Top Series, the mandatory paste rig to fish small pieces of paste and two Ronnie rigs – one at depth and the other shallow. I decided to fish the caster short for Ronnie’s and long at 11.5 metres for the Skimmers etc; I started by potting in a full 125ml of wetted micro at 11.5 metres and commenced to loose feed the LH margin. Out with soft pellet and I missed what appeared to be Ronnie bites. So I switched to the corn and soon had a Carp foul hooked in the tail. After a boring frustrating fight I landed an 8lb Mirror with unusual scale pattern. Next put in I had a 12oz Skimmer – good. Next I hooked a Tench which shed the hook near the bank. I then had another 9lb Carp this time in the mouth. The swim then died so I tried small pieces of paste which resulted in a few line bites. I switched to the short Ronnie rig and single caster at full depth and had a run of small Perch and Ronnie’s until I hooked and landed a 11lb Carp on the drop. The swim again died, so I tried the shallow rig and had a few Ronnie’s but I could not keep them there. It appeared that after catching a couple they would scare off. The lake was fishing generally pretty bad, so I opened up a new line with CW&C at 11.5 metres and this resulted in small Ronnie’s tugging at the worm end. I kept switching around the Ronnie rigs with caster catching the odd Silver until the last 40 minutes when in despair I put on a big piece of paste over the micro line and had a 10 lb Carp first put in followed by a lost foul hooker, then another which went round the island trashing my rig. That was the end of the Carp for the day. Back on to the shallow rig until the end, adding a few more ounces to the Silvers. My Silvers weighed in at 12lb 2oz and the four Carp weighed in at 36lb 15oz for a total 49lb 1oz for 6th overall and fourth in the Silvers (near getting in by default as believe it or not Rip off beat me in the silvers by a few ounces). However I didn’t come away empty handed as I noticed a Golden Delicious apple tree in Mike Duckett peg 25. Mike let me have a few fallers – excellent apple – one of my favourites.
The match was won by Jamie Dyte (pictured right) from peg 19 with 94lb 9oz. Jamie catching the majority of his Carp on meat.
The Silvers was won by John Bradford from peg 24 with caster caught fish – mainly Perch to 12oz.
Full Result:
1. Jamie Dyte 94-09-0 peg 19
2. Tony Rixon 90-01-0 peg 17
3. Dean Mallin 76-07-0 peg 1
4. Pete Sivell 59-0-0 peg 21
5. Leyton Palmer 49-02-0 peg 29
6. Mike Nicholls 49-01-0 peg 31
Top Silvers:
1. John Bradford 23-12-0 peg 24
2. Nick Duckett 13-08-0 peg 11
Heavy rain slowed us packing the gear in to Bela’s van, which was forecast to stay with us for most of the day. Luckily by the time we got to our pegs the rain had eased but the wind had picked up. Walking around the venue the water looked a strange grey colour. I put this down to the heavy rain and wind, plus the fact that the lake is in a peat area. However, there were signs of plenty of Carp feeding.
Captain Charlie handed me peg 19 on Match Lake. I was delighted as it had won the last two Silvers pools. I was also glad it wasn’t wasted on an out and out Carp Slayer! That said I also fancied it for Carp off the end of the opposite island, because of this I untangled my pre-made up feeder rod and got a feel of the bottom with straight lead attached. I decided not to clip it up, to give me some flexibility. In to the rod roost it went, where it stayed for the rest of the day, where up on, I tangled it again putting it away! Because of the strong gusting wind blowing diagonally in to corner peg 23 I set up two Skimmer rigs, both to be fished at 7 metres – one 1g Jolly and the other a 4x14 series top (a Jolly with a wire stem) for if the win dropped. As the wind was blowing my float R to L and into the bank I set my kinder pot down my top set in line with the floats “settled” position to ensure accurate feeding. I set up the obligatory margin paste rig to be fished in the LH side. To my right was an Elder Tree, which was giving some cover, but for some reason you never catch much from under these trees. The margin was very deep at about 4 foot. So my dilemma was whether to feed GB of wetted micro on the Skimmer line. I chose initially to go with the micro as I have done well with it here in the past. So, on the whistle I cupped in 125ml of it. I started on the 1g Jolly with double red on the hook. The bait didn’t hit the bottom and I had a 10oz Skimmer followed in the same manner by two Ronnie’s. Then nothing - how peculiar – Predators? I switched to 4 mm expander on the hook – nothing. I had nicked a few grains of corn off Rip Off and tried that and had a run of Skimmers and Hybrids to 2lb, but it did mean waiting a fair time for each bite. After each fish I kinder potted in some micro with a few grains of corn (which meant opening one of my tins). After three hours the swim appeared to be dead, so, as I was itching to try my GB I potted in four big balls at 7 metres. And because the wind had died down I potted in some wetted micro at 13 metres as “back off policy”. I decided to have a walk up to Rip Off who was on corner peg 23 with Deano on peg 22. As I expected the fishing was slow with hardly any Silvers showing. I went back and decide to try the LH margin where I had been feeding hard 4’s. Straight away I was getting small fish attacking the loose fed up in the water – Umm. In to rod bag and I soon had my Ronnie rig set up and for the next hour or so I was adding small Perch to 4oz and the occasional Ronnie up to 6oz to the net on single red. This swim died so with the lake now flat calm I tried the 13 metre line with corn – nothing. Back over the 7 metre line but with the 4x14 Jolly with double maggot and the float sank as did my heart when I landed a 2lb Carp as I was thinking Tench. I had another 1lb Carp on maggot – then nothing. I switched back to corn and started to get preoccupied by bites I didn’t contact with, all very interesting but I wasn’t putting anything in the net, so I decided to stay with the Ronnie’s for the remainder of the match. With Vince Shipp having weighed 15lb 12oz I wasn’t sure I could beat this but might run it close. I weighed 17lb 2oz which surprised me putting me first in the Silvers. My two tiny Carp weighed in at 3lb giving me 20lb 2oz and 4 team points. 
The match was won by Fishery Co-owner Vic Bush (pictured right with the Silvers winner - yes this is Vic smiling) from peg 5 on Specimen Lake with 128lb 5oz. Vic caught all his fish on the feeder crammed with softened pellet with various hook baits.
I must say that the fishery probably fished as well any any other in the SW under the same weather conditions.
I have said this before, it amazes me how Tony and Deano not only organises the matches and results, but does most of the weighing in as well, which is unlike other organisers who sit back moaning about the delay in the weigh sheets - well done matey's - impressed.
Full Result:
1. Vic Bush 128-05-0 peg 5 Speci
2. Ron Hardiman 104-0-0 peg 11 Speci
3. Steve Mayo 85-14-0 peg 30 Match
4. Craig Edmonds 81-11-0 peg 9 Match
5. Jamie Brown 76-09-0 peg 12 Speci
6. Dean Mallin 73-05-0 peg 22 Match
Top Silvers:
1. Mike Nicholls 17-02-0 peg 19 Match
2. Vince Shipp 15-12-0 peg 13 Match
I couldn’t help noticing Doug Sutton’s Catapult he has been using at Huntstrete, so I had a word with him about it today. Doug explained that he made it in 1963 from Hazel wood cut from a tree at Limpley Stoke. Doug also said he had left it behind a couple of times over the years and had always gone back to find it. For those of us that can remember we had no option to make our own catapult’s back then as you couldn’t buy them – especially like this one, pictured right with Doug on the end – what a monster, and still in use today after 47 years service. By the way Doug is still favouring the straight lead which won him a few quid back then on the river – Gentleman Doug.
Walking around the Lake prior to the draw I told Mike Jones and Bob Warren that I fancied peg 18. I probably like this peg for the solitude if offers! Another excellent turn out with the Lake by and large full. In to the draw box and opening the ticket I see a number 8 so I have either pegs 8, 18 or peg 28 either of them would have been very acceptable. Opening the remainder of the draw ticket – you guessed it peg 18 – that’s how it’s done!
I had decided on the way to the match to fish for Silvers and leave the Carp alone - provide they left me alone. I set two Ronnie rigs – one deep and the other shallow and a Skimmer rig to be fished at 6 metres 2 inches up the inside shelf. I wasn’t going t, but I set up a paste rig just in case for the LH margin. I started by cupping in the remainder of the GB I used yesterday (I can expect a comment from Rip Off on this one), six tangerine size balls. I also started to feed a short Ronnie line with caster. Starting on the caster I had a little run if Ronnie’s, Perch and small Hybrids. I suddenly switched off, so out on the maggot for Skimmer, where I had a fairly long run of very small Skimmers and Ronnie’s. Looking around and the only person I saw catching fish was Rich Coles, most others were blanking. So T persevered with the maggot at 7 metres until I foul hooked a Carp – good riddance. With two hours to go and still some anglers in view blanking I decide to give the paste a try in the margin – nothing. So I decided to feed all of the expendable bait – 1 pint of micro, casters and a bit of GB in to the margin. Back out on the 7 metre line after loose feeding a few maggots and casters and another run of very small fish which necessitated me changing to my lightest elastic. And as God’s will have it I hooked a Carp on single red maggot. It took me an age to land it with about 20 foot of elastic hanging around my feet! I fancied this would have completely buggered this line so switched to back to the margin loosing 2 foul hooked Carp in as many minutes. Back out at 7 metres and yes it was completely buggered. So I spent the last 15 minutes in the margin with paste and had one more 10 lb Carp just before the whistle. My Silvers weighed in at 10lb 2oz and my two Carp 20lb 8oz for a total of 30lb 10oz. This put me first in the Silvers and 6th overall.
The match was won by Mike Jones (pictured right with the Silvers winner) from peg 30 with 56lb 13oz. Mike caught all his fish on the waggler fishing banded pellet both at full depth and shallow.
Full Result:
1. Mike Jones 56-13-0 peg 30
2. Dave Bacon 48-14-0 peg 8
3. David Daly 35-04-0 peg 16
4. John Smith 34-0-0 peg 15
5. Tom Coulson 33-07-0 peg 10
6. Mike Nicholls 30-10-0 peg 18
Top Silvers:
1. Mike Nicholls 10-02-0 peg 18
2. Bill Ferris 9-14-0 peg 4
3. Mike Jones 8-03-0 peg 30
It’s been one year and four days since I last fished Sedges, hard to believe as it is one of my favourite Silvers venues. We had the usual warm welcome from Denise followed up with a hot cup of tea. I must say Jamie and Denise have put in a lot of hard work since I was here last, adding a site for touring Caravans.
The BBC did their usual overstatement wrt weather. We did have a bit of light rain but overall it wasn’t that bad a day – lightish wind and overcast for most of it. I was hoping to draw pegs 7 or 15 and not to draw any of the early pegs. In to the hat and out comes peg 4. Umm, no mans land. As always I had a plan. I set up a 4x16 Jolly to be fished at 7 metres and assembled my Normark 11ft no1 Feeder rod as back up. That was it. I mixed up some GB comprising ½ Kilo of Gimps Gold with a big dash of Sensas Magic. On the whistle I feed 4 big balls at 7 meters and put double red maggot on the hook. The wind was blowing hard for the first hour and I was finding it difficult to pick up any tow, in fact the float was being blown through with the wind a bit too quick so I had to put some lead and line on the deck. After half hour I had no signs of any fish at all. I could see Leyton Palmer catching really well on peg 7 as was John Dursley on peg 12. Either side of me hadn’t had a bite either. So I decided to fish the maggot feeder at 25 metres or so, with again double red on the hook. Another 15 minutes passed with no indications. Rich Coles having started on the feeder on next peg 5 had come in on the pole and landed a decent Eel. So I decided to see if I could catch one, plus the wind had lightened and change direction. So I started to kinder pot in some old casters left from the weekend again with double red on the hook. The upshot was I didn’t catch an Eel, but started to catch Skimmers from 1lb to 2 ½ lb steady and I didn’t look back. I weighed 41lb 8oz for second in the match and second in the Silvers. I think that none productive first hour cost me first in the Silvers.
I must say how I have missed fishing this venue, I had a very memorable day, I just hope I can remember how I fished it for the next time I down here – have to get 
one of those Blackberry thingy’s to use on the bank!
Both the Silvers and overall was won by Leyton Palmer (pictured right with his net of Skimmers - who doesn't understand what NO RIGHT TURN MEANS) from peg 7 with 55lb consisting of one Carp and 47lb 7oz of Skimmers. Leyton caught a few Skimmers on the feeder, with the majority coming to the pole at 13 metres using pellet hook bait over pellet – well done matey.
Full Result:
1. Leyton Palmer 55-06-0 peg 7
2. Mike Nicholls 41-08-0 peg 4
3. Rich Coles 28-0-0 peg 5
4. John Dursley 24-08-0 peg 12
5. Ray Wickham 20-12-0 peg 15
6. Colin Golding 15-02-0 peg 13
Top Silvers:
1. Leyton Palmer 47-07-0 peg 7
2. Mike Nicholls 41-08-0 peg 4
According to the Carps AC website there were 60 Anglers booked in to fish plus reserves. The reality was 26 anglers fished. Steve and Paul used both Campbell and Cary and had one section of five and two sections of four on each Lake, with each section paying £10 per Angler. The league started us off with the first frost of the autumn, albeit a very light one, which hopefully would put the Carp off a bit. However, it also promised to be a bright day – not good for the Silvers I was thinking.
I was third in to the draw bag and pulled out peg 76 on Cary. This put me in a five peg section from my peg to peg 85. I didn’t really know what to think of it. Looking for positives it was an end peg plus a Willow to my right giving some cover. I had already put a plan in place which was to have four rigs:
Ronnie rig number one for the margin – 4x14 PB14 – 0.14 hook length because of the possibility of Tench
Ronnie Rig number two for fishing 3.5 metre whip out in front with a home made waggler and 0.1 hook length
Skimmer rig to be fished at 11.5 metres at 11 o clock using 4x14 Jolly with 0.12 hook length
A CW&C rig fished off the edge of the willow at 5 metres using a 4x12 Jolly with a 0.14 hook length.
I started by cupping in for large balls of Gimps Gold over the Skimmer line, followed by one cup of CW&C at 5 metres. I started in the margin with Ronnie rig number one with caster over loose fed caster and had some Ronnie’s with a couple of 8oz Hybrids – however it was much slower than anticipated, so over to the CW&C with a small piece of worm and after counting 60 I had a small Ronnie. As I was eager to get on the Skimmer line out went the rig with a 3mm expander pellet on the hook and – nothing, not even any indications. Umm. At this point Steve Jackson walk by to fetch a coat from his van as he was freezing cold, explaining that the section was mega hard with himself having only four small Roach. This decided me to pick up Ronnie rig two and go full out for them with caster. So head down it was – nearly. I kept being diverted by Mark Broomsgrove who was catching decent sized Skimmers opposite me on peg 102 using CW&C. So I switched the 11.5 metre line to CW&C putting in a full pot. I tried the worm over this line but once again not having a bite – was I giving it long enough as I was soon back on the Ronnie rig and watching the Carp blow over the CW&C. Paul Greenwood came by and said that peg 78 had a few Skimmers to 3lb. So I decided, once more to go flat out for Ronnie’s until the end. I was last to weigh in the section and had to beat 13lb odds I thought I might just do this, but it is so hard to estimate small Ronnie’s. I weighed 17lb 13oz for a section first – mission accomplished. Surprisingly this also put me 11th overall.
The match was won by Vince Brown (pictured right) with 54lb 6oz from peg 126. Vince caught twenty one Tench and a lesser number of Skimmers fishing CW&C with worm on the hook. Vince fished at 14.5 metres feeding four pints of caster and one Kilo of worms (rich boy). Vince fed all his feed through an oversized kinder pot! Vince caught two Tench in the last three minutes giving the edge over the runner up.
Runner up from peg 111 was Simon Jones (pictured right) with 50lb 8oz of mainly Tench. Simon fished similar to Vince, also catching on CW&C at 13 metres, choosing to loose feed two pints of caster and potting in ½ Kilo of worm.
Full Result:
1. Vince Brown 54-06-0 peg 126
2. Simon Jones 50-08-0 peg 111
3. Phil Cardwell 31-03-0 peg 98
4. Mark Broomsgrove 28-13-0 peg 102
5. Steve Long 25-04-0 peg 116
6. John Green 22-07-0 peg 123
The match was panned to be on Sheppard’s Lake; however, Mark wanted to rest the Lake after a busy summer. So the match was switched to Dabinett. I was hoping for a different peg to that which I had on Sunday. It wasn’t to be, out came peg 21 again. I could hear the groans from the Carp Slayers. So was it to be a repeat of Sunday’s match? The pegging was exactly the same except peg 28 was left out. This promoted peg 1 to an absolute flyer for Chris Davis. So first in the Carp pool was settled. Both Chris and I expected the Carp winning weight to be lower than Sunday. However, I expected the Silvers to be better. Even though I had pulled a chest muscle I still decided to fish the same match as Sunday - for Silvers- rather than a steady day on Carp. I think I got it right on Sunday, but today I got it all wrong, particularly my assumption with regard to Carp not feeding as well. After a good first three hours on the Silvers everything was going exactly to plan – plus the bonus of no Carp in the net, although there were plenty coming out all around. Then I hit the Carp wall with the swim coming alive with them. I decided to try the paste at 5 metre and in 6 put in’s I had 6 Carp. Then I heard that Colin Golding had 40 Carp and Chris Davis was also bagging. Having decided that I would not now catch these two I spent the rest of the match trying to avoid Carp, mustering the odd Silver. I noticed that Steve Dawson had started to catch Silvers having had a slow start, catching Carp early. I now wish I had fished for Carp I think I could have done a respectable weight – hind sight is a wonderful thing! My Silvers weighed in at 15lb and my Carp 29lb 7oz for 44lb 7oz. This put me second in the Silvers and 7th Overall.
The match was won by Chris Davis (pictured with the Silvers winner and runner up - what a motley crew) with 174lb 14oz from peg 1. Chris fished corn in to the gully between pegs 1 and 29. Chris started cautiously then increased the feed to keep the Carp coming regularly all through the match.
Runner up was Colin Golding from peg 12 with 128lb 15oz. Colin caught at 5 metres using meat, feeding just half tin of meat. I think Colin ate the remainder!
The Silvers was won by Steve Dawson from peg 23 with 21lb 12oz. Steve caught most of his fish in the last 2 hours once the Carp disappeared (as they did for Steve Denmead on Sunday).
Full Result:
1. Chris Davis 174-14-0 peg 1
2. Colin Golding 128-15-0 peg 12
3. Mike Owens 112-09-0 peg 7
4. Bob Feltham 95-03-0 peg 18
5. Andy Gard 75-03-0 peg 20
6. Steve Jefferies 67-03-0 peg 10
Top Silvers:
1. Steve Dawson 21-12-0 peg 23
2. Mike Nicholls 15-0-0 peg 21
3. Bill Ferris 10-0-0 peg 6
I have just returned from holiday in Sorrento – Italy with the Special One. I must say it was a good choice of hers. I have visited many wonderful places in my time but the Amalfi Coast is without doubt the most beautiful. And there is also the food – Bottlelinos and Pizza Hut will never be the same again!! The nearest I got to fishing was watching the locals boat fishing in the Bay of Naples from small rowing boats, jerking hand lines whilst rowing with the other hand. I am not sure what they were catching, but it definitely wasn't Ronnie's. The picture right shows the Bay of Naples with Vesuvius (an active Volcano) in the background.
Having just returned home I wasn’t as mentally prepared for this match as I usually am. However, the plan was simple – fish for Silvers for the first three hours with the anticipation of securing some coin and the second half fish for team points!
This plan was good in respect that I didn’t have to worry about which lake I fished, but was secretly hoping for Sheppard’s. Charlie Barns came back from the draw with peg 21 on Dabinett. Great Carp peg, but also with plenty of open water which will invariably holds Silvers too. Having settled in the peg and looking around the section I found myself in Carp Slayer paradise – Rip Off on next peg 20, Steve Denmead on peg 19, Rod Wotton on peg 1, Chris Davis on peg 12, Dean Mallin on peg 7, Mark Broomsgrove on peg 6 and so on. So my plan was looking even more promising - for this Lake anyway.
I decided on two paste rigs, one for the RH margin at full depth, one at 10 metre on top the bar. Then the important rigs – a 4x14 Jolly for Skimmers to be fished at 5 metres with Soft pellet or Maggot and my Ronnie rig, also for use with Maggot. I fed the 10 metre line with 4’s and micro in equal proportions, quickly followed up with a 125 ml pot of 50/50 maggot and wetted micro at 5 metres. I started with the Ronnie rig, loose feeding with maggot (basically over the 5 metre line). I had a run off Ronnie’s and Rudd with the occasional Hybrid. I then had a 3lb Carp which aren’t that easy to land on the Ronnie rig as it causes a lot of disturbance. With that landed I tried over the 5 metre line and had a few 4oz Skimmers before I latched in to another 3lb Carp. Playing these fish totally unsettles the silvers. Back on the Ronnie rig and another run of Silvers, however, if I fed too much the Carp would disrupt the swim. It was very difficult sorting the feed pattern, but the best I could work out was feed heavy and fish it out. I had been feeding the RH margin from the start with 4’s and noticed a blow so had a dob in with paste and after counting to 120 and without any indication (if there is any indication I start the count again) wrapped it in. So that was the end on the paste for the day (and probably for the rest of the season). I decided to concentrate on the 5 metre line adding a Kinder pot to keep a mix of micro and maggot going in. With two hours to go I had a period on foul hooking Carp – five in a row in fact. It then settled and I had a run to the end of Carp to 3lb and Skimmers to 12oz. My 10 Carp weighed in at 37lb 13oz and my Silvers 21lb for a total of 58lb 13oz. This put me tenth overall and second in the Silvers by a miserable 6oz. However, this only gave my 4 ½ section points – drawing with next peg Steve Denmead. On the whole it was mission accomplished. I purposely didn't mention the team performance as I noticed we had two 1 pointers!!
The match was won by Des Shipp (pictured right with the Silvers winner) with 103lb 15oz from peg 41 on Yarlington. Des started at 5 metres on soft pellet, swapping later to hard pellet shallow in to both margins. In the last half hour Des decided to switch to caster over to the far bank weeds with double caster on the hook, landing a quick 10 more fish, which made the difference on the day. Today proves once again that match fishing it’s not about luck as Des won the County Championship on this venue the day before (which I predicted on one of my earlier blogs). However, what is lucky is Des selling his roof tiles for more that the cost of new one’s (that’s what Bela told me – jammy beggar)!! It is only a matter on time before Des is the crowned World Champion.
The Silvers was won by Steve Seagar with 21lb 6oz from peg 15 on Sheppard’s Lake. Steve caught mostly 1oz Rudd and Ronnie’s on single maggot fishing short.
I must say Rip Off (who seems to have a fatal attraction to Blackberry bushes) and Dean Mallin do a great job running the league and also taking on the weighing in (picture right proves this – can you name the anglers hiding in the Sedges - you might miss Jason Radford though)?
Full Result:
1. Des Shipp 103-15-0 peg 41 Yar
2. Rod Wotton 98-01-0 peg 1 Dab
3. Dean Mallin 89-04-0 peg 7 Dab
4. Paul Elmes 77-13-0 peg 16 Dab
5. Tony Rixon 70-14-0 peg 20 Dab
6. Mark Broomsgrove 69-0-0 peg 6 Dab
Top Silvers:
1. Steve Seagar 21-06-0 peg 15 Shep
2. Mike Nicholls 21-0-0 peg 21 Dab
3. Kev Perry 19-0-0 peg 3 Shep
Chatting in the Car Park before the draw at the last SW teams of Four the subject of Nick Collins hair arose and the longevity of same. I said I had a photo of Nick fishing a match on the Bristol Avon circa 1980 which clearly shows Nick with hair – albeit in its twilight. The photo shows Nick landing a Skimmer from the peg two above the Carp Hole on the Chequers section (opposite Fry’s). No he wasn’t shorter then he’s crouching down!! The Skimmer has by now been either, eaten by a Pike or is now 6lb. I fear the latter is the truth.
The match was won by Jamie Dyte (pictured right) from peg 19 with 94lb 9oz. Jamie catching the majority of his Carp on meat.
