This week Joe has been back to Tunnel Barn where things haven’t quite gone as planned!The third round of the Tunnel Barn Winter League has come and gone and I can only say we are all very disappointed with our result! But more of that later. The league is really picking up pace now and with the very best anglers at this type of fishing attending, you sure get punished for a bad performance!In the first two rounds we have had relatively good draws and done the business from them however for some reason, despite turning up 20 minutes before the official draw time, we were still nearly last to draw! This is not normally a problem but the rival teams at the top of the league had drawn very well and there were very few favourable pegs left in the bag. My draw saw me going to Peg 5 on the Top pool. This is a lake that I know little about but knew that a simple pellet approach would probably be a safe bet.
Big redfins stocked in Midlands commercial. Meriden’s Packington Somers Fishery has been stocked with over 1,000lb of big roach. The move comes after one of the trout lakes at the complex needed to be drained for repair work - meaning that its stocks of silverfish needed to be relocated.
Owner, John Birchall chose Molands and Willow pool at the complex to house the fish, and already catches have risen dramatically.
2013 may see return to historic venue. Speculation has been mounting that this years Angling Trust Winter League Final could return to Nottingham’s River Trent Embankment. Although venues for the final and semi final have not been confirmed as yet, it is almost certain that the final- which is to be held will once again be held on a natural venue. Winter League Co-Ordinator, Bob Dyer explained: “Although I am still unable to confirm anything for certain, from the meeting we had earlier in the year it was clear that teams wanted to see the final return to a natural venue.
Allerton on winning form at Lindholme. Tuesday open Bonsai Lake, 16 fished1 Mark Booth (Garbolino Lindholme) peg 47 caught on pellets for 149lb 12oz2 Steve Simmons (Pontefract) peg 80 caught on pellets for 79lb 15oz3 John Allerton (Tri Cast) peg 44 caught on bomb for 70lb 5ozThursday Open Bonsai, 19 fished1 John Allerton (Tri cast) peg 84 caught on bomb and pellets for 90lb 8oz2 Nick Speed (Shimano) peg 66 caught on bomb for 68lb 5oz3 John Marshall (Goole) peg 47 caught on maggot for 58lb 5ozSat Open Bonsai Lake 32 fished1 John Allerton (Tri Cast) peg 9 caught on pellets to island for 113lb 7oz2 Steve Rothery (Garbolino Lindholme) peg 70 caught on bomb and hard pellets for 98lb 5oz3 Andy Whitehouse (Scunthorpe Tackle) peg 44 caught on pellets for 88lb 11oz4 Greg Norris (Garbolino Lindholme) peg 55 caught on waggler for 86lb 1oz5 Ben Fisk (Middy) peg 36 caught on maggot for 80lb 15oz6 John Kelly (Garbolino Lindholme) peg 84 caught 69lb 7ozSunday Open (Willows and Laurels, 28 fished)1 Greg Norris (Garbolino Lindholme) peg 32 willows caught on pellets for 89lb 11oz2 Nick Speed (Shimano) peg 23 willows caught on bomb for 83lb 13oz3 Steve Clarke (Garbolino Lindholme) peg 8 willows caught on caster for 77lb 6oz4 Ben Fisk (Middy) peg 31 laurels caught on pellets for 69lb 14oz5 Kev Baxter (Mosborough) peg 65 laurels caught on pellets for 67lb 15oz6 Tim Morran (Gratten) peg 38 laurels caught on maggot for 59lb 15oz. . .
Lee Kerry Wins Halkon Hunt anniversary match. Preston Innovations ace Lee Kerry has won the £1,000 Halkon Hunt anniversary match at Doncaster’s Hayfield Lakes, with a 36lb 15oz net of silver fish. With his Barnsley team mates Andy Geldart and James Dent taking second and third place, all three of the framing places were filled by anglers under the age of thirty!Lee commented: “I am delighted to have won this match, as targeting silvers on bloodworm is a method that I love- and Sandra and Alan are good friends, so picking up first prize has a lot of sentimental value. I had a good draw on Adams Lake, and enjoyed a great days fishing catching quality roach, skimmers and carrassio on bunches of bloodworm long, along with plenty of quality fish on casters short.
Big response expected to new Match Fishing bookazine. A new book entitled ‘Match Fishing With The Experts” is set to hit the shelves later this month. Put together in association with Match and Pole Fishing magazine, the title has been edited by Angling News Week Editor, Tom Scholey and Match Fishing Editorial Assistant, Joe Carass.
Tom Scholey explained “If you want to learn from the best, and win more fishing matches, then you will love ‘Match Fishing With The Experts!’ Featuring top name anglers, including Ringer, Shipp, Scotthorne, Raison, Ashby, Kerry and Cox- this tip packed bookazine can’t fail to help you to improve your fishing.
Vetting anglers leads to massive turnouts at northern water. In an era where match attendances at many of our commercial fisheries are dwindling, The Oaks Lakes at Sessay seems to be booking the trend- thanks to a new series of matches aimed at club anglers. In addition to the usual open matches, the venue is now hosting a separate series of matches aimed purely at club anglers. With turnouts of between 70 and 80, the series is proving extremely popular.
Dates Confirmed For Sensas Pairs League. Dates have been announced for the Sensas Pairs League. Starting just after Christmas, the popular series attracted 56 anglers last year. This year, numbers are expected to increase still further, with dates being arranged so as not to clash with the Thorne Pairs Competition.
Close fought battle in Soar Valley Winter LeagueAny angler who thought that the days of close fought team competitions are dead, should check out the latest result of the Soar Valley Winter League- where Matrix Dynamite Trentmen and the newly entered Leicester Sensas are having an extremely tight fought battle. After taking an early lead in the first round, defending champions Trentmen were sitting pretty at the top of the league. The second round saw a dramatic change however, as Leicester made the most of a brilliant draw to win the round with 27pts- and more importantly open up a 14 point lead over Trentmen in the overall league stakes. The third round saw Leicester further their lead, though it was a much closer result, with a moody river seeing both teams yielding some poor section scores.
Match Fishing’s Joe Carass has had a good weekend at his regular haunt – Tunnel Barn Farm!Well it would seem that winter is well and truly here now. It seems to be upon us much earlier than the previous two years. Hopefully it wont have too much of an adverse effect on the fishing as I love my winter fishing!This week has seen me on Round Two of the Tunnel Barn winter league with the Match Fishing Drawbags team. You may recall we came second in the first round so we were hoping for a slightly better result in round two.