I was interested to know some results from the weekend just gone (trying to keep in touch with what's going on); Thatchers and Bathampton in ATWL semis and the "Help for Heroes" match on the Avon. Whilst being sat at home it does get rather boring, so anything fishy interests me!
Thatchers were fishing at Gold Valley Lakes (Surrey) the venue famous for having England International Will Raison running it. I have fished this venue many years ago, and back then it was full of carp, roach and skimmers and not much seems to have changed except there are some very big carp in there now. The team had had some good individual results leading up to the semi and were fairly confident, but their draw on the semi was described as the 2nd worse of the lot and the local helping them said they would be heroes to qualify! In the end they missed out on qualifying for the final by I think three points, coming 4th (top 3 go through). They had 6 good results and 4 poor ones. Lee (or is it Leigh?) Trivett won his section and was 2nd overall catching 45lb of skimmers and 20lb of carp on long pole and soft pellet. Andy Power and Matt Parsons also won their sections. Unluckiest angler was Nick Chedzoy who was in a very bad area where few fish were present, and with 2 hours to go he sat it out for a carp. He hooked and played a double figure fish only for it to pull out at the net, that fish would have seen the team qualify, instead Nick was last in section.
I know very little about the Bathampton antics, but I do know they came 3rd on the canal semi and so will be in the final. Through the grapevine I hear they did not bother with any practice sessions, got boozed up until 4am the night before the match and then to a man fished chopped worm! It's nice for them to have done well this time after some poor semi results on their own bit of the K&A. Good luck in the final lads do us locals proud, I would try the same tactics again!
After the recent rain I was hoping the Avon would show some form for the visiting anglers in the help the Heroes match which was pegged at Newbridge, Swineford and Crane. The river had fished well in pleasure sessions a week earlier when there was a lot more colour. I tried to keep in contact with Glenn Bailey and Warren Bates and they told me the river had gone much clearer and it did not bode well. Glenn was pegged on 52 at Newbridge and was still biteless after 90 mins (when I had watched England's amazing win over South Africa in the cricket!) as was virtually everyone else at Newbridge. Warren had managed a pound of bits from the top of the cow drink at the Crane. I did not want to bother guys again as it could be I would ring them when they had a rare bite, but with about an hour to go I had a call from one of the match organisers Ray Bazeley. Ray said there were a few roach being caught at the crane, odd fish at Swineford and that Newbridge was dire with 2 or 3 anglers having bream. In the end Mark Harper won the match with 20lb on the pole from the last peg in the first field of the Crane, he had 13lb of a roach and a CHUB OF 6lb 14oz what a lump, and landed on 0.09!!!!!! A lad on peg 18 at Newbridge was 2nd with 4 bream (same peg that won the Bathampton Xmas match), professional gurner Kevin Rowles had 4 bream from the Norfolk reeds, and someone had 15 small chub from swineford. Glenn ended up catching 3 bream for 13lb and sneaking 6th place and last in the coin. Warren won his section with 6lb. There were some other large specimens landed, Paul Benson framed thanks to a couple of bream, one of which weighed 8lb 12oz, huge! There was also another chub of over 5lb landed down at the Crane by Alan Jones and I heard Eddie Wynne landed a pike which counted.
There is an end of season match at Newbridge this Sunday, normally it is a bream fest, but it will need some rain to put colour in the river and cloudy skies on the day to make things better. I would guarantee that soon after the season ends the conditions will be perfect, I hate the close season!
As for me, well I had my catheter removed last Thursday but I then had a lot of pain when having a pee, and after a visit to Frenchay I got given some antibiotics. I was not good Friday and Saturday, but today (Monday) I feel the best I have since my op, and I managed a 20 min walk in the sun. Thanks again for the kind comments and best wishes I have received on here and elsewhere, much appreciated.
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