Anglers break the ice and battle for honours
SMASHING through an icy pond with a heavy chain ensured anglers got some fishing action in the wintry weather.
Last Saturday morning, I had a very difficult drive to Messingham Sands due to the sudden fall of snow.
Then, arriving at the fishery, it was covered in ice.
Different methods were used to cut through it. The best way was a heavy weight and a good length of chain. The chain was used like a saw to make a clear space to fish.
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There was a very helpful chap on the next peg to me, who could see that my weight was not going to work – it just kept bouncing off the ice.
So with a few lessons and the use of his equipment, enough ice was cleared to allow me to fish.
The weights from the Oak Tree Pond were excellent given the conditions.
Hull anglers Mike Chadwick and Tony Noon enjoyed a good peg-for-peg battle and, although Noon caught around 50 fish more than Chadwick, his 280 fish for 24lb proved to be just 3lb short – as a late run of better quality skimmers sealed the victory for his travelling companion. Third was Grimsby's Keith Easton.
On the Sunday, with lots of ice melting into the lake overnight, the match results were not expected to be anything to write home about.
However, the carp fed well and Hull angler Glen Collins landed around 25 fish close in on the pole for an excellent 74lb. This was 18lb more than Richard Elliot, who included a double-figure fish in his feeder catch.
Over at Wold View, Claxby, Market Rasen's Mark Critcher fished off peg 10 and managed 5.12lb.
The next angler in was Graham Garrod who had one fish for 14oz.
The following day, Tim Chapman blew away the competition with a good weight of 49lb from peg 6. Next in was Garrod again, he had 10lb, so a big improvement on the day before. Dave Ringwood was third with 6lb from peg 12.
There should also be an open match at Saltfleetby tomorrow. It is best to ring the fishery, not only to book in, but to find out which lake is in use.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Westlands AC presentation night.
They had a guest of honour for the night to present their prizes in the shape of current UK champ Marc Rodger. He also gave some valuable tips.
It had been a good year for the club with attendances up. For the first time, there was a tie for club champion between two excellent anglers, Paddy Ballans and Dave Edwards junior. Third was Mick Shreeve.
The biggest cheer of the night went up for the most improved angler of the year – Dave Edwards senior.
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