Nov 07

‘The North-West Piking Times’
NEWSLETTER OF
REGION 31 P.A.C. G.B.
SOUTH LANCASHIRE
Issue 2 -11/20007
Contents:
Newsletter Standard format Agenda:
Item
1. R/O’s Introduction
2. Meeting & Membership
3. Fish in
4. Members profile
5. Fishing photos
6. Catch Reports
7. Feature Article/s
8. Funny’s & Other stuff
9. Club Awards
R/O’s Introduction
Hello Pikers!
Wow! This has turned out to be another bumper edition to equal if not surpassing our first newsletter, so a very big well done & thanks to everyone who has participated in club activity, & who have sent me details/photo’s etc. For those of you who confine their pike fishing to the traditional pike fishing ‘season’ Oct-March the season is now fully underway. Personally I’ve got quite a hectic fishing schedule planned between now & new year as I use up my holiday entitlement at work, I need to do some serious fishing as I’ve not done as much as I would have liked to this year what with doing two boats up & moving house and all. I have trips to Scotland, Trout waters, gravel pits, glacial lakes, reservoirs & drains planned so far over the winter months. As a club we have now got past the starters block & onto the hurdles! The first meeting & two fish-ins have taken place. The PAC has added us to the regions list & we have featured on the news blog/on the website & we have even had some publicity in the local press thanks to the Wigan Reporter. A local tackle-shop Platt Bridge Tackle has offered our members a moderate discount if you show your region 31 membership card, they have a basic range of Piking gear but are willing to extend this to suit your needs where they can. I am settling into the role of R/O with folk as far away as Scotland & the midlands ringing me to talk pike fishing, this misses has even got used to lads ringing up about fishing meetings & the like. Don’t forget to send me your catch reports etc for the newsletter. I hope that you have been out wetting a line & getting a few runs & landing a few nice pike …………
2 Meeting & Membership
2.1 Meeting
My thanks must go out to Alan & Paula at the Caledonian for letting us use the room & thanks to those who attended. I was astounded & amazed at the number in attendance 36 (not including me, my bro & my sped-dad), 24 put their names down as members & 22 paid up front, absolutely great thanks lads without you the region would NOT exist! I am really looking forward to Kev Glovers slideshow at the next meeting in November, as some of you may know Kev is a former R/O of Region 31 himself & he helped me out when I was a junior PAC member taking me to club outings etc so I already have a lot to thank him for. Alan & Paula at the Caledonian have said they will put more bar staff on for the next meeting. Thanks to my none angling Brother Dave for lending us his projector.
Which brings me onto the next point, we as a club need our own projectors (slide & data) & screen, the improvised two bits of wood as a screen at the last meeting need to be a first & a last! I will keep you all updated on how my bargain hunting goes!
At the December meeting I will be putting some snap on, just the basics sandwiches, pies etc. for us to gorge at the half time interval. Feel free to bring some along to add to what I’m bringing if you want to.
2.2 Membership
As stated 24 put their names down for membership at the first meeting & 22 have paid their subs. Others have expressed an interest in joining or are set to join. Please pay your subs to our Treasurer Dave Cottrial ASAP.
3. Fish-in (Club Outings):
We now have two club outings under our belt as a region with about one a month planned up until March 2008. If you can please try to come along to the club outings, they are a great way to get to know other members & to pick up/share information & to see who uses what & how, how knows you may even catch a few nice fish as well as well as enjoying the social side of things, remember there is also a club outings trophy up for grabs.
1ST Club outing Pennington Flash
‘A Local Piking Mecca………?’
The first club outing took place on local venue Pennington flash on the first weekend in October, I booked the Friday off work to get to the venue early as I wanted to ensure that I was there from the off for when our members turned up. A couple of the lads had sent their apologies that they couldn’t make it due to family & work commitments & others had decided to fish elsewhere (thanks for letting me know lads). As I’ve said before without a doubt Pennington has been hammered over the years but it can still produce the goods on its day & in my experience both early season & back end of the season are worth a go. In recent years I have confined my Pennington piking to a couple of trips a year at these what can be key times.
So the scene was set my expectations were moderate & Paul Haughton accompanied me on the Friday morning, his misses dropped us off. It was a frosty morning and there were already two lads fishing when we arrived. We settled into the swims in the trees up past the chequered buoy swim (now the white golf ball peg as Mark one of the piking twins has re-named it!), the frosty misty morning wet out appetites but unfortunately not the pike’s, when the bright sun rose with clear sky’s the water didn’t produce with the action only starting as the suns rays drifted from the waters surface as is slowly but surely got ready to set, I managed 3 & lost one, Paul managed 2 as did Andy one of the twins who came down after work Friday, the best went about nine & a half. The two guys who were there when we arrived had had one jack each, 9 fish in the first day between 5 anglers not great but not too bad, but still none of the better fish had shown themselves & as the official start of the club outing was Saturday AM & none of these fish counted towards club outings points. A couple of the lads came wandering down for a chat Friday night. Saturday saw 5 club members fishing, after a cold start it soon became warmer & back to the strong sun & clear sky’s (not great in my opinion on there) one lone angler had 2 fish early morning & I managed one jack at 11am. Paul Haughton left around tea time as his misses had made plans for the night (hope you didn’t get too drunk mate?). I moved swim before dark & it paid off with a modest double after dark going 11.02. Sunday lads started to arrive early from around 5 am or so, with about 10 members fishing, Kev from Platt Bridge & his mate Neil opted to fish the other bank as it had not been fished as much but even that didn’t work, myself & Martin Sailsbury had one dropped run each around the same time & the only other action I heard of was one 3 lb jack. So Pennington produced 14 pike that I know of over the weekend the best being only a modest 11.02. Normally I would expect on average 2-3 out of my 5 fish on their to have been doubles so it didn’t fish that well although I don’t think the bright sunny conditions did us any favours, a variety of methods & tactics were used. The event was a modest success as quite a few people turned up, a few fish were caught & we have all started to get to know one another. I had to leave at 2pm as the misses refused to pick me up any later than this but I don’t know of any fish caught later than this?
R/O Jon Neafcy with a lean mean 11.02 Pennington pike caught after dark in the margins on the clubs 1st outing (the photos is a self portrait job!)
Sunrise over Pennington flash on the regions 1st club outing
The rods are in as the mist rises on the regions first club outing on Pennington flash
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2nd Club outing Bala North-Wales weekender
‘A Bitter Sweet Symphony?’
The first view of the farmers land that members saw on the club outing
The second club outing took place at the mighty Bala in North Wales, the largest lake in Wales a venue that holds some big pike if you put in the hard work & effort to seek them out. Permission was obtained in advance to fish of private farmland & for boat launching. We suffered a small set back in that the farmer had some Bulls in his second field so we could only bivvy/camp overnight in the first field so due to this Pete Kenrick tried to arrange overnight fishing for Saturday on the campsite in the next bay for 6 anglers however the warden declined this request stating that it was a family site & that we could only have permission for two, so we had these as a back-up it the farmers land got packed out. Again I booked Friday off work to ensure that I was there as a point of contact for when members arrived, myself & Paul Houghton set off Friday morning for North-Wales, the ice warning light came on, on the car on the way signalling we were at an air temp below 4 degrees C, so was the winter finally upon us? On arrival the mighty Bala looked as awe inspiring as ever & it is a place that I really like visiting.
On the way to Bala it was like entering a war zone as a convoy of Welsh Terris (TA) meandered about in 4 tonne Bedford’s as they made there way to their weekend manoeuvres & fighter planes on exercise zoomed overhead. Arrival at the farmers land the water was well down, which was a good thing as it opens up more swims. There had been a match on the week before fishing for the roach etc. & apparently lots of fish had been caught. Fish were topping in-front of where the stream runs in & things were looking good. We set up & casted in with me getting a run almost straight away & a Bala jack put in an appearance a passing holiday maker came running down saying the fish was ‘massif’ & insisting on taking a photo, this kind of thing explains when some none anglers tell you about massif fish! Paul Houghton was next ‘in’ with what he described as a micro pike. I managed another of about 7ish next cast that put up a good account of itself for a fish so small. Paul was ‘in’ again soon after with a hard fighting pike & he was surprised that it was not bigger (I told you that these Bala fish fight hard mate!) it was long & lean & went 11.12, the reason it was so lean? It had 2 size 1’s trebles in its throat/stomach they were the galvanised ones that don’t rot – fortunately I managed to remove these & the fish swam off splashing us with water as it went, Paul said we had cured it’s indigestion!
The rods are out on the mighty Bala on one of the few occasions I’ve seen the lake flat calm
Some more of the lads started to arrive, turning up well into dark & we had a small shanty town of bivvies along the shore line, the farmer came down for a chat & to take the money. The night saw freezing fog with visibility at a minimum & a long cold night was had by all, the only runs I recall anyone getting overnight were off Eel’s & I was surprised that they were on the feed with the cold of the night.
Paul Houghton with a Bala double of 11.12(it had another anglers hooks left in it!)
Saturday day saw quite a few more members in attendance, some opting for the shallower water by the Lilly bed (where there had been many small fish turning on the Friday) & some opting for the deeper water in the second field. Fish were to 9lb were caught early morning. Andy Cooke had his eldest lads birthday do the night before & had drunk far too many Woblies to get up early. The area of the first field was now quite busy with members who were fishing overnight & there were lots of rods out, I volunteered to move for Saturday night to the area Pete had arranged in the next bay to free up some space. The dense mist which only lifted at midday prevented me getting out in the small boat as early as I would have liked too. The Bala Warden came round to charge us in addition to what we had paid the farmer, now I’m not sure that he is legal in doing this as it’s private land & we have the consent of
R/O Jon Neafcy with one of the smaller Bala snappers
& have paid the land owner. One of the lads tipped me off that the Warden had said Bala are looking to ban live-baiting so I questioned the warden on this he said it was due to the appearance of Ruffe in Bala which eat other fishes eggs, I asked why did the authorities think pike anglers were to blame as the Ruffe is so small that I don’t see people using them for bait & I questioned if they could not have got in via the river Dee, from Birds or the bilges of sailing cruisers (there are some down at the sailing club) which he admitted were all possibilities, I asked who was being consulted about the possible live-bait ban & he could not tell me if anyone was being consulted! I also pointed out that several of our lads had maggot rods out to catch bait from the water. I will be contacting the authorities & the PAC regarding this however I will choose my words carefully so as not to be a catalyst. The Warden then asked me about payment for my small boat in addition to paying for the fishing & paying the land owner to which I replied that I am a member of the sailing club & that I pay them £50 a year for the boat & a slight stand off took place with the Warden eventually accepting that I was legitimate. Cookey arrived at about 12:30 & moved my bank fishing gear in the van to the second bay. I received word from the lads from St Helens that Shaun had had a 16 in the deeper water & to top it off this was a new P.B., Excellent news!
Shaun with his new P.B. of 16.8 – a nice photo with the mighty Bala & Welsh countryside in the background – caught on a new rod first trip out! – biggest fish of the Bala event – well done!
Just after this & not long after the Wardens visit the Environment Agency turned up – by no coincidence if you ask me! I have never been checked on Bala before & I do not believe that it is Environment Agency Health & Safety Policy to send a young girl around on her own, sounds like someone had rang them to me! Everyone on the bank where our lads were fishing had their license checked, however it was just a basic license check & not a ‘dawn raid’.
Some of the lads chewing the fat as the thick mist has set in on Bala
Myself & Cookey arrived at the area Pete had reserved for us only to find 3 blokes with big frame tents & 12 rods out in said area, there was litter around, beer cans, evidence of a large fire etc. & other stuff that I won’t go into here. So me & Cookey had to settle for the public area which I don’t like as its too public, although bivvying is ‘permitted’ at Bala camping on the national park/public land is not, before it went dark 3 or 4 of 4x4 vehicles turned up on the public area with a gang of men camping, fire going, beer flowing & chants of songs like I’m a lumberjack’ through until 4am, It’s a pitty that neither the Bala Warden or the EA decided to make any checks on these two lots of people! I don’t mind paying to fish & it’s good to see the EA making checks but is it me or do they just seem to go for the easy targets? Any how I will get off my soap-box now.
I managed two fish out in my small boat (which someone called a bath-tub!) one float trailing & another anchored up bait fishing the best going about 8 or 9 on Saturday. Over night there was cloud cover so it was warmer although this didn’t seem to encourage the pike any.
One of the lads with a Bala Pike (It was larger than it looks at 9 lb – the captor is a big lad!)
As the night drew in a large fire roared where the three amigos were camped/fishing across the bay & between the noise from them & the ‘I’m a Lumberjack’ crew it was difficult to sleep. (Incidentally making fires on the lakeshore at Bala is not permitted).
I was awakened in the dark by several torches on my bivvy, EA I thought? It turned out to be a Scout leader taking his troop for a ramble in the dark (make what you will of this!) on seeing the rods & bivvy he told the young lads that there was an obstruction in their path & that they should go back down the path. I packed the bank fishing gear into Cookey’s van leaving him to bang fish whilst I headed upto the farmers land in the boat. Some members had left the venue & others had arrived Sunday, I had a chat to all those in attendance Sunday morning before going out in the boat for couple of hours fishing. A few more fish were caught although no monsters, I myself managed another 2 both caught float trailing in 40+ft of water the best going about 8ish.
Martins mate Mick with one of the Bala Pike caught on the club outing
Cookey hooked & lost what he thinks was a good fish & which would have been his 1st Bala pike, anyhow he did managed to get his first one of 9 & a half that morning. Martin Sailsbury & his mate Mick cursed me as I had told them to leave their rod pods at home, at least your improvisation managed to hold your rods in place lads!
A view of Bala after sunset from my boat (‘the floating bath tub!’ as someone called it!)
I had good feedback about the event & had we been permitted to bivvy in the second field (which is my preferred area) then I think the event would have been even better. I left about 2pm & there were still members fishing & finally thanks to farmer Wynn for letting us use his land………………………
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Pete Kenrick has kindly offered to be Club Outing Liaison Officer, so please pass Pete the following info after each outing:-
Your name if you fished
Number of fish caught
Weight of each fish (please weigh all doubles & above)
A photo of any doubles or bigger fish would be appreciated for the newsletter & the blog spot.
The next club outing is arranged for CONISTON……. Why not come along
I look forward to the next club outing which is planned for Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd December on Coniston (Fish count from Sat am – Sunday 4pm but turn up & fish any time you like), as I’ve said before it’s a very good doubles water with the outside chance of a big fish. I will arrange for early morning boat launching for anyone who needs it (reasonable fee payable to the boating centre), fishing on Coniston is FREE. Coniston is quieter this time of year with far less holiday makers etc., the venue can produce some nice fish this time of year & is well worth a go. So if you can make it then please come along. Members with boats think of the none boat owners in the club if you can accommodate someone else with you, likewise if you are able to offer someone a lift to the venue please do so to minimise costs. Please remember the lake-district by-laws that prohibit the use of live-bait & freshwater dead-baits (including Eels), don’t let that put you off as the usual dead-baits work well as do lures. Every now & again (not very often) I have been checked by the Environment Agency on Coniston although not too often they do occasionally put a boat on the venue to check EVERYONE.
Day out in the lakes with the PAC North lakes Region…………………………?
Russ from the North lakes region has kindly asked if we fancy a bit of a social days bank fishing, at the moment we are thinking that this will probably be between Christmas & new year. Upto now we are thinking Grassmere, it’s a WADA water & day tickets can be bought on line for none members they are about a fiver I think. Grassmere had done some very big fish, probably past its best I’d say but it still does some nice fish & it’s a nice place to fish. I haven’t fished it for years & my best fish from there as an 18. If you are interested in coming along then let me know.
Festive Fishing Trip
In addition to the above day out with the North Lakes lads I will be going fishing in-between Christmas & new year if anyone fancies a days piking just let me know.
March outing
Pennington flash did not fish as well as I had expected on the 1st club outing, 14 fish with only 1 going double is not the sign of a well balanced fishery pike wise to me, I know it still does some good fish but I’m dubious about us going back there in March for a second time on a club outing this season. Speaking to the lads at Bala I don’t think anyone is too fussed about a return visit to Pennington in March. Several venues were suggested in place of this however all would have taken time & effort to re-arrange, so I have changed the March event to a nice easy local venue the Leeds Liverpool canal near where I live in Abram, the fish shoal up around here over winter & it has done some nice pike the best I know of going over 18 last year, its easy access piking & it should make for a social day as the canal bank is open & we can all spread ourselves out as far as we like, there are basins, bends, channels & bridge amongst other features to go at. We can even go for a pint or a bite to eat in the pub next to the canal after if we want. I have now arranged permission to park on the back car-park of the pub so that there is plenty of room for us all to park.
Irish Excursion
I am going to be planning a trip over to the Emerald Isle for 2008, probably around April, I have only ever had one fishing trip to the land of the Lepricorn & that was almost 20 years ago. Firstly I’m looking for info from members who have been before. Secondly if you want to come along then let me know & we will see what we can sort out. I’m happy to act as event co-ordinator for the trip. Please only let me know if you are seriously interested as I know from previous experience that costs rise if people drop out, the trip is likely to be for a week.
Next Seasons Outings
I like to plan ahead & I would like YOU all to pass me the names of two potential venues for future club outings for next season onwards, Kev from Platt Bridge, Eric Edwards & Assistant R/O James Dean amongst others have already started the ball rolling on this giving me a venue name each so far – thanks. Remember the venues need to be free fishing, day-ticket or bookable, there needs to be enough room for us all to fish, reasonable car parking & a few nice pike to be caught would be good too. Once we have a list of venues to go at we can discuss venues or draw names from the hat. If you want to you are welcome to get involved in organising the events on the venues that you suggest.
Club Outings points system
Just to clear up any confusion regarding the points system for the club outings you get 10 points for attending no matter if you fish half day, full day or both days so those who fish all weekend like me still only get 10 points for attending. Also on the weekend events fish only count from Saturday am to 4pm Sunday (however fish as long as you like). I will print some catch returns off & bring them to the meeting for the outings, going forward please contact Pete Kenrick with your tally for attendance & fish caught at club outings.
I have attached a catch return card can you please return these to Pete Kenrick, the latest we can accept any returns for Pennington is the November meeting, going forward we need them back ASAP after the event.
Name
Venue & Date
Number of jacks (under 10lb) & aprox weight
Number of doubles 10-15lb (& weight)
Number of doubles 15.01-19.15 ( & weight)
20+ (& weight)
25+ (& weight)
30+ (& weight)
4. Members Profile:
Name:
Andy Cooke
Age:
33
Family:
Wife Jo & 3 sons
Job:
Plant Fitter
Angling Experience:
Went fishing when I was a kid, been back into the sport for about 16 months now & enjoying my fishing
Favourite methods & venue types
I do enjoy bank fishing where I have time to relax & enjoy my time away from work. I like exploring new venues.
Favourite Species & Best Fish
I enjoy catching any species of fish, I do like my pike fishing & my best pike to date is 19 pounds from the lake district.
‘X’ Factor
Used to work on the doors at nightclubs (Peg poaching Pirate – Jon!)
Angling Targets:
To catch my 1st 20+ pike & to get out there fishing when ever I can
Favourite Drink:
A nice cold Wobly!
Favourite Food:
A good steak is hard to beat but a nice Indian or a chinky go down well too, A corned beef butty & a pot noodle go a long way on a fishing trip!
Fishing Vehicle
Range Rover Owner, but use the white transit van for fishing (Mrs Cooke wont let him drive the range rover – Jon!)
Interests other than fishing:
My family & my work, done up a few classic cars in my time & have also been into fast cars & fast motorbikes in my time.
Dislikes:
Chav’s, anti-anglers & Sunday drivers (Andy’s a White Van Man! – Jon)
Thanks for that Andy mate – tight lines Jon
Footnote: Andy has done very well in his first season or so’s Piking taking numerous doubles with fish upto 19lb (I’m not sure if he realises just how well he has done), it took me several gruelling years including many blanks to accomplish banking fish of that size & some members have yet to bank such a fish, well done………JON
Introduction to your committee
Over the next few months I would like all committee members to do a members profile for me so that the members get to know a little bit more about you all. Watch this space………………………………
5. Fishing Photo’s:
I thought that I would start us off on this one with a photo of a big Scottish pike that I caught recently it went 26.8, it fought long & hard, in a rush to get her back safely ASAP only a couple of quick snaps were taken, it was a fat broad backed fish & I’m not sure that the photos do her justice as she was awesome in the flesh, here is the best photo of her:
(That’s my ‘Andy I cant believe you have forgot how to work my camera’ face!)
Here are some doubles also caught on mine & Cookey’s recent Scottish trips…………….
A moderate Scottish low double for Jon
Andy ‘peg poaching pirate’ Cooke with a Scottish double
Another modest although superbly marked Scottish Double for Jon
6. Catch Reports:
Many members of Region 31 have been out there doing a bit, I am pleased to report that some nice doubles & 20+ fish have been caught from a variety of waters & a new personal best for at least two members during the month of October – well done on new p.b.’s for Pete & Shaun.
R/O Jon Neafcy with a 14lb pike from a big pit (another self portrait photo!)
I started my October piking bagging two doubles one of bang on 14 & one of just over10 from a big pit, the only two runs of the day but very welcomed none the less. After a slow session on Pennington Flash on the club outing Paul Haughton kick started his piking season with me on one of the big pits taking a cracking double of 15.5 his 1st double of this season, caught in the margins at night, well done my own mate, I managed a scraper double & got pestered with Eels that took every bait I casted, unfortunately the pike were not as easily tempted. I think the fish were still well spread out on the big pits maybe they will be easier to crack in the colder weather when they pike home in on the shoaled up prey fish.
Region 31 Member Paul Houghton with a 15.5 big pit pike caught from the margins after dark
R/O Jon Neafcy with a scraper double, only fish of the day from a big pit, it put up a lively fight
A couple of the lads have been out fishing the local reservoirs around the North-West which seem to be fishing OK.
Region 31 Recruit Steve Timmis & his mates had a decent days piking on a reservoir catching some nice fish, this 16 was the best one, they also lost a decent fish at the net. Steve has also been out on the large glacial lakes taking fish to 13lb
Steve Timmis with a nice 16lb Reservoir pike (The 20+ is just around the corner mate! Jon)
13 Lucky for some……………………?
Steve with a 13 from a big glacial lake
Pete Kenrick has been out on his boat catching a new personal best of 13.02 beating his previous P.B. by a pound in weight, good stuff Pate mate & I’m sure that your 1st 20+ is just around the corner! Unfortunately the photo Pete texted me of the fish (& later e mailed) I couldn’t manage to download from the phone & the e mail attachment wouldn’t open, sorry mate…………………………………
Paul Houghton has also been out & about on the local reservoirs taking a 16.12 & beating Steve’s entry for biggest local fish, although I’m hearing rumours of much bigger fish being caught locally!
Myself & Andy Cooke have had what has for me become a twice a year pilgrimage to Norfolk’s rock hard Thurne system. We took the Shetland boat for it’s maiden voyage. Our trip unfortunately co-incided with half term so it was very busy the mild (ish) weather meaning holiday cruisers were still out & the river side holiday homes were full! Each trip I find another piece of the piking jigsaw that is cracking the place or so I thought, this trips results were very poor, maybe the fish were still very spread out with it still being mild, who knows. All I managed was two jacks & one dropped run. Andy Cooke managed his first Thurne System pike with a modest double at 10.12, all the rouses I have learned on the Thurne so far failed me this trip, but I shall be back for more punishment in late Feb/early March. The Shetland performed admirably & was just reward for all the hard work & effort put in doing it up (see feature article). We lived on the boat for 3 days tucking it into the reeds at night, the double burner & grill cooker along with the 2 berth cabin were welcome luxuries.
Cookey’s first Thurne system pike at 10.12
For those of you who haven’t yet visited Norfolk (yet) here are a couple of photos of the Norfolk landscape
The infamous ‘hut’ on Horsey Mere, the scene of many piking escapades including the photo session of Watto’s 38 Horsey Mere Beast!
Martham Ferry (actually it’s a bridge on a chain!) not a million miles from where Fickling & Aimes caught record pike in the 80’s
The Shetland 498 launched at Martham boatyard on the Thurne
Martin Sailsbury’s has had a p.b. Chub of 5.10, well done mate! Martins mate Mick had a cracking trip to Norfolk recently & although he didn’t manage to tempt any of the big girls that they caught on last years trip they boated many doubles the best haul in one day was 18 pike. Looks like you have been having some tight lines, well done lads!
Martin with his 5.10 Chubb (Front cover of Anglers Mail job!)
Peter Waterfield has been fishing the fens for the Zander & enduring rain storms.
I know that James Dean & Dave Cottriall have started their piking campaign on the big glacial lakes catching a few fish. Eric Edwards is out & about on the trout water scene. A few of the region members including me Cookey, James, Dave & Eric went on Llyn Brenig, me & Cookey managed just over half a day on the Tuesday due to me having other commitments, I managed a trout of about 3.8 (with a large fresh bite mark in it!), James & Dave managed one jack in 2 days, Eric did better with fish to over 20 (see photo), yet another 20+ to Eric’s enviable list of big fish, well done mate. From a personal note prior to this year my last proper stint of trout water piking was on Esthwaite when I was a lad (over 20 years ago!) before it was ‘discovered’ as a pike water!
The boat pontoons at Llyn Brenig – a hard nut to crack?
My mate fire fighter Matt Keoh who used his piking boat in this years floods to rescue trapped villagers has been out & about river piking catching a brace of 19’s, I have no doubt the next lot of 20+ fish are just around the corner for you mate. Incidentally I got a text a while ago from Matt saying ’29 in boat’ – I thought he had had a 29lb pike but what he meant was that he had used his boat to rescue 29 people from the floods! Well done that man, us pikers come in useful now & again.
My mate Andy ‘Bluny hooks’ Dixon from Chester (Blunty) has been out on the rivers taking fish to 16.
Kev from Platt bridge has been out & about on local waters with the occasional trip further away over the last few months coping with gassed up pike & pike with other anglers traces left in them along the way. Kev has caught some doubles, two different fish on the same water went the same weight.
Kev from Platt Bridge with a couple of nice hard fighting low doubles caught from a local reservoir
Kev’s mate Neil with a fish from a Glacial Lake (watched by Grace the fishing dog)
I have heard rumours of some good fish being caught close to home from some local venues, however exact weights & photos have proven elusive as yet so it you have heard the same rumblings as me then make of them what you will! One of two region members names have been mentioned ‘on the grapevine’ as captors of one of two of these big fish, however as yet I have not received any formal reports – if you have caught a big fish then it would be nice to see a photo for the newsletter, you don’t have to name the venue etc. Don’t forget that there are trophy’s up for grabs!
The Wakefield Region had a good start on their first club outing of the season with lots of pike being caught including 5 nice doubles they must be warming up for the regional challenge that we have with them in January! They didn’t do so well on their second outing though, I don’t know of anyone who caught!
7. Feature Articles:
I thought that I would do a few works on my current pain in the arse I mean project boat the Shetland 498 offshore cruiser. I thought that James Holgate’s recent comments in P&P on his new boat were apt ‘HMS Moneypit’ – fellow boat owners will know what he means by this!
I bought the Shetland this summer for a bargain price from deepest darkest Devon, I’ve got fed up with bivvying when I go to Norfolk & other places it wastes fishing time, you have to take too much gear & is generally a pain in the arse all round & I can’t afford to stay in a B&B very often, so I can stay on the Shetland instead, I figure it will pay for itself eventually.
Here are a few of its vital statistics:
Length – 4.98 m (about 16ft 3)
Width - at widest point 6ft 10
Height – from keel to top of cabin about 6ft, 4.6ft headroom in cabin
Additional Features – 2 birth, table, double burner & grill gas cooker, plenty storage
Engine – rated upto 50hp – currently has a 30hp Evinrude 30hp electric start on remotes
Trailer brake backed, 1300kg axle 13 inch wheels
Gull hull for stability
The boat & trailer needed a fair amount of work, to the extent that I’ve vowed that it will be my last boating project. I must say thanks to Cookey for his expert welding on the trailer (you pirates have your uses!). The boat is in its original gel coat with just antifoul underneath as it came off the sea, a list of what work was needed is as follows:-
Remove old wooden furnishings & other junk
Remove antifoul & re-paint
Remove damaged fender rubber & replace
Strip down & paint inside of boat & inside of cabin
Infill void in floor with expanding foam (18 cans of the stuff were used!)
Repair floor
Fit new axle, hitch coupling & re-paint trailer (no easy task believe me)
Carpeted the floor with dark blue gel back carpet
Fitted a fish-finder/GPS rod holders, rod rests, bow & stern rollers & other ancillary equipment
Region members are welcome to a day aboard at some point
Here is a rather interesting photo of the boat suspended from a crane in the workshop!
Please send me your articles for the newsletter lads, there is only so many that I can do……………
8. Funnies & Other Stuff
Funnies:
OK so lefts just call this one Richard & Richard the 3rd! I will share with you the tale of a well known Norfolk bailiff & an angler caught short! On a day on a Broad an angler (guess who?) was caught short & needed to answer the call of nature (no 2) whilst out on the water. The Richard the 3rd was deposited overboard & floated away, a change in the wind brought Richard the 3rd back to the side of the boat just as the bailiff who is a well known stickler for enforcing all manner of rules arrived in his boat, looking down after rolling a cig he clearly saw the Richard the 3rd at the side of the boat, he never said a word about it though! Send me your funnies for the newsletter!
Other Stuff:
For a bit of nostalgia I’ve just bought a second hand North-western glass-fibre blank an SS6’s I’m just in the process of refurbishing it. I’ve bought it for sentimental reasons as it’s the blank I used to build myself my piking rods in my early teens, taking my 1st 20+ on an SS6 that I built myself. This rod will be put back into service once refurbished! If you can remember the likes of the SS6 & the PK2 then you have been pike fishing for quite a while! I always had an added sense of pride catching a nice fish on a rod that I had built myself.
I don’t know if you know but Eddie Turner is re-launching his own tackle brand again, this time it will be called ‘ET Original’, ET’s previous company was sold of to the friendly fisherman. ET has a pedigree for producing quality tackle (as well as being a pike angling legend!) There is a web site for the new gear which includes some old favourites as well as some new stuff. I’m pleased to be one of the people who Eddie has asked to field test some of the new gear for him & I will let you know how it goes suffice to say that I was like a small boy at Christmas when the large parcel arrives from ET! Early experiments with the American imported wire & ET’s own ‘Mr Softie’ wire & the Owner hooks have produced good results.
Just some of the new ET Gear that I’m involved in field testing, good stuff!
Chris Bishop of the PAC has issued some briefings for us via the PAC news section/blog spot. Dave Lumb set up the blog spot for us & R/O of the Lincoln Region Chico Winterton set up the first bit for us, John Woods has now transformed this & up-keeping this for us as our ‘blog master’ (thanks mate)
Member Stuart Randle has very kindly offered to put the winner or the biggest pike & biggest local pike onto canvas for the lucky winners! He has also offered one as a prize up for grabs at the December meeting, all the lucky winners need to do is supply a photo of their prize catch, this is a great prize (thanks mate)
WIN A DAYS FISHING WITH ERIC EDWARDS ON WINDERMERE IN HIS BOAT - £1 PER ENTRY (ENTER AS MANY TIMES AS YOU LIKE) – DRAW TO TAKE PLACE AT DECEMBER MEETING - Runner up prizes may include a small taster of some of ET’s new gear!
Region Blog
Again I must say well done to John Woods for setting up the club blog, he has done a great job, please send some photos so that he can add them to the blog. Articles etc are also welcome.
Amendments
The Eagle eyed amongst you will have picked up that I did not put a photo of Peter Waterfield in the last newsletter accompanying his article it was infact a photo of one of Peters members of the NAC, my apologies to Peter for this, my mistake. Peter I shall have to call you ‘Mr Incognito’ mate!
Canvas Prints
Region member Stuart Randle as already mentioned does canvas prints from photographs, so if you want any family photos putting onto canvas or a photo of you with your prize catch on canvas he is the man to see. Stuart has kindly donated some as prizes to the club. Thanks mate.
Name our newsletter
There were numerous entries & I have opted for an entry made by Kev from platt bridge of ‘The Piking Times’ however to make this more bespoke it will be edited slightly to the ‘North-West Piking Times’. Thanks to all those who submitted names & Kev will win a small prize of a couple of ET Original tackle items (thanks to ET for letting me donate these)
Custom Made Lures
At the last meeting some of the wood chuckers amongst us were like kids at Christmas with some custom made lures. These beauties are hand crafted by Region 31 member Mark Berrisford. Even a rubbish lure angler like me can’t fail to catch a few fish on these. If you are interested please contact Mark directly. Here is a photo of the ones he made for me:
Contact details are:
mark@gatley4c.freeserve.co.uk
http://lures.mysite.ogange.co.uk
Local Scene
Further to the recent letters that I sent out we have has some response. Wigan flashes management committee have been in touch & invited us along to the meetings, so we now have a foot through the door or so to speak.
The Pennington flash senior ranger has been in touch about the Polish taking fish & he has been onto the Environment Agency & has got some fish welfare posters etc in Polish – hoping that education is the key, so at least they are trying to do what they can.
Myself & Kev attended a meeting with the management team & other interested parties of a local area that is set to become another nature reserve – Low Hall (Sammy’s), there were about 10 attendees from the local community & 4 officials at the meeting the main issue raised was off road motorbikes & they are looking to install a barrier, however they raised the current situation with angling as a problem (litter, discarded line etc.), I said that this was because the water is not currently managed which no one disputed, there was one other angler present. Both myself & Kev have signed up as members of the local nature reserve & I have got some more forms if anyone else wants to come along (please do!) as a voice for anglers in the local area it would be great if we could retain fishing on the water in question & also I would like to build a good working relationship with the local nature reserves for mutual benefit as has worked well in other areas e.g. Wakefield region. If we allow such chances to pass us by then make no mistake that angling could be lost on such venues, which would not paint a very rosy picture for angling in the local area.
I have continued to pass Lancashire newspapers (Wigan Reporter, Wigan Evening Post, Wigan Observer etc) some details of our events, catches etc to get us some good press for the region.
So at least we are getting ourselves established locally & the region is getting in there & doing a bit. I will receive copies of minutes from the management committee meetings & I will try to get along to as many as I can, if we could show a presence of more than just me at the meetings that would be great!
Angling Coaching
As already stated the first angling coaching session for the region has been undertaken & I’ve made the offer to local angling clubs to do events for them if they wish to take us up on the offer.
Steve Ormrod asked me to do an article on the event which should be in the November issue of pike-lines.
The PAAS already have an angling development/coaching section & I’ve contacted the PAC committee to see if the PAC intend formalising angling coaching a bit more within the club although so far the feedback is to support other initiatives on this rather than do their own thing.
I have made the offer to the Low Hall Nature Reserve Group to do a free of charge angling coaching session for them.
I’m planning to do my advanced coaching certificate in 2008.
Raffle Prize
I tried & failed to win a fox rod to raffle off in P&P’s Fox big fish competition anyhow I managed 2nd place with the 26.8 landing a set of fox jerk-baits, these critters will be raffled off at the December meeting, I will get our guest speaker for the night Gray Knowles to do the draw for me, we will also draw the win a day’s boat fishing with Eric Edwards at the December meeting too.
Situations Vacant
I am very pleased (relived!) to announce that we have filled all of the positions that we needed to get things reasonably well organised. However anyone who wants to lend a hand is always more than welcome to do so. The press ganged conscripts include –
James Dean – Assistant R/O
Dave Cottrial – Treasurer
Pete Kendrick – Club outings liaison officer
John Woods – IT/Blog master
Martin Sailsbury – General assistant officer (Martin will help out the above & adjudicate/audit the club accounts)
The above will in effect be the ‘committee’ to assist me in running the region.
Club Boat!
The club boat has now moved home with me from Ashton to Abram, it is now insured & ready to go if you want to book it (must be both a region 31 & PAC member to use the boat) it would be nice to be able to include a nice photo of a club member in the boat with a nice pike. Remember that you can book the boat for club outings (provided the venue permits access for fishing boats)
Club Insurance
We have now received all the policy documents for our 3rd party liability insurance for all club activities including the club boat & teach-ins, this has relived us of the club funds! However in these days of a ‘claims culture’ that we live in it’s an absolute necessity for the club & it is something that we cannot afford to operate without. Our insurance covers juniors under tuition but it does not cover junior members if they are the perpetrator of an incident leading to a liability claim, hence unfortunately it will have to be a club rule that junior membership is at own risk, this will need to be signed off by a parent/guardian.
Newsletter & Slideshows:
The First newsletter was distributed at the last meeting & due to high colour content & hence high associated printing costs & to save paper (think of the environment!) going forward I will e mail the newsletter out & I will bring a few copies along to the meeting for those who aren’t on e mither! I hope you enjoyed reading the newsletter as it certainly took me a long time to put together, indeed it took time & effort from everyone involved so my thanks again to all contributors. Thanks to all of those who gave me feedback on the contents & lay-out.
Please e mail me at – roregion31@blueyonder.co.uk or jon.neafcy@dhl.com with your e mail address if you have not yet received anything from me by e mail (either I don’t have your e mail or the e mail address I have for you is incorrect).
Our first slideshow at the November meeting will be another milestone for us & I hope that the meeting is well attended.
Before you get to read this I will have done a slideshow for SPAG (Group who run the Piking on Blithfield) they must be desperate for speakers I hear you say to ask for me! The PAC banner will be flown & membership forms taken along……………………………………………………………….
I’ve already started to book people in for next season & I’ve enticed Steve Ormrod to do a slideshow at our Christmas meeting in December 08, I am sure that Steve needs no introduction to most of you. Damian Wood (Woody) from Abram who I used to fish along side way back in the early 90’s has been sowing me his photo albums of big fish, from Eels to Perch to Carp & even some nice pike, Woody has kindly offered to do a slideshow on his angling exploits for us, so I will see if he can do the October 2008 meeting & I think this will be a most enjoyable & varied slideshow by a local angler.
If any region members would like to do a slideshow for the region &/or other regions in the 08-09 Season then please let me know.
9. Club Awards
Remember that you have got to be in it to win it! (AWARDS RUN 1ST MARCH – 1ST MARCH)
SO THE 1ST YEARS AWARDS RUN FROM 1ST MARCH 2007 – 1ST MARCH 2008
Entries:
It’s very early days yet, but we have 3 entries for awards already!
I will make the first entry for Biggest Pike with the 26.8 pictured earlier, although I’d like this to fall to another member – preferably by the capture of a magnificent 30+ fish by a club member, indeed with the quality of membership so far & the diversity of waters fished I will be amazed if the 26.8 is the best fish falling to a region member’s rods this season!
Region 31 member Steve Timmis has also made the 1st entry for the biggest local pike trophy with the 16 pictured earlier, this was recently beaten by Paul Houghton with a slightly bigger one of 16.12.
These entries set the ball rolling & give other members something to aim to beat……
Just a reminder of what’s up for grabs & the entry requirements:
Award
Details
Club Outings Trophy
Most points from club outings league table
Biggest Pike (weight)
Speaks for itself!
Biggest Local Pike (Weight)
Within 30 mile radius of HQ
Most Doubles Caught
Speaks for its self
Pike Angler of the Year
This award will be based on contribution to the club & to pike fishing NOT just on numbers of big fish caught (votes to R/O please)
Significant Achievement
(R/O’s Award)
This award will be presented at the R/O’s discretion for any special or significant achievements
Pennines challenge trophy
South Lancashire V’s Wakefield PAC Regions annual event (trophy for biggest haul of pike by an individual)
Club Outings Points Awards
Club outings points are based on trust however all doubles should be weighed & where ever possible witnessed & a photo is always appreciated for the club archives/newsletter etc.
Fishing times will be agreed in advance, you may fish before & after these times however your fish will not count towards your points.
Criteria
Points awarded
Attending Club outing & fishing
10
‘Jack’ (under 10lb)
5
Double 10-15lb
10
Double 15.01-19.15
15
20+
25
25+
35
30+
50
All club awards will be presented at the April meeting, the winners name will be engraved on the trophy (all trophies to be returned the following year) for this our first year I have booked angling legend, Radio presenter & all round great angler Martin James to do the honours of presenting the trophies to the winners.
Stuart Randle has kindly donated an A4 canvas print for the winner of the biggest pike & biggest local pike all the lucky winners need to do is to supply a photo of their prize catch
Please send ALL entries for club awards to me directly please include a photo.
Please e mail all details from club outings to Pete Kenrick
Here is a photo of the trophies (as displayed at the last meeting)
The club trophies – I think Garswood trophies did a good job for us (Jon)
Current pole positions from entries for club awards are as follows:
Award
Details
Club Outings Trophy
Club outings points league table to follow
Biggest Pike (weight)
26.8 R/O Jon Neafcy
Biggest Local Pike (Weight)
16.12 Paul Houghton
Most Doubles Caught
To be announced after 1ST March 2008
Pike Angler of the Year
No entries passed to R/O yet please pass entries to Jon Neafcy by 1ST March 2008 (one vote per member only)
Significant Achievement
(R/O’s Award)
To be announced after 1st March 2008
Pennines challenge trophy
Event takes place 6th January 2008 at Market Weighton Canal (away venue)
Remember that club awards run upto 1st March so I will keep the above regularly updated each month as the entries come in
Tight Lines
Jon Neafcy
R/O Region 31 PAC GB
Wigan Piker!