Oct 07

NEWSLETTER
REGION 31 PAC GB
SOUTH LANCASHIRE
Issue 1 -10/20007
Contents:
This newsletter is a bumper edition to aptly mark the formalisation or the newly re-formed region 31
Newsletter Standard format Agenda:
Item
Page Number/s
R/O’s Introduction:
Mark Barratt PAC GB General Secretary - Introduction
Region 31 re-visited Jon Neafcy R/O
The history or Region 31 Eric Edwards
Expectations by Andy Cooke
Good luck – Martin James BBC Radio Lancashire
Predator anglers unite by Peter Waterfield
3
4
5/6
6
7
8
2. Meeting
9
3. Fish in/Club Outing
9/10
4. Members profile
11
5. Fishing photos
12, 13, 14
6. Catch Reports
15, 16, 17
Feature Article/s
Penning a piece
Region 31, the PAC & my journey so far – by Jon Neafcy
Putting the band back together – by Gary Knowles
17
18/19/20/21
22/23
Funny’s & Other stuff
Funny’s
Angling Coaching
Festivities
Local Scene
Situations Vacant
Club outings
PAC late summer evening lure fishing event
Club boat
Newsletter & slideshows
Adds
23/24
25/26
27
27
27
27
28
29
30
30
Club Awards
Conclusion
31
R/O’s Introduction
I would like to use this our first newsletter to introduce myself to you as the Regional Organiser & to communicate to you things to come for the Region (although it is very early days for us yet), so I’ve included as much info for you as I can making it a bumper edition. I have been impressed by all those of you wanting to help out so far, your help is much needed & much appreciated! Thanks lads!
I hope that everyone reading this, our first newsletter enjoys it, it has certainly took some time to put it together I can tell you! I always intended for this to be a bumper edition to start us off in style, however I have been overwhelmed by the support & assistance received, with several people kindly offering (Ok so I may have volunteered some!) to contribute to the newsletter. So what I originally planned to be about 10 pages or so is now over 30 pages! I won’t be able to produce 30+ pages every month (Pike& Predators Magazine only does about 60 pages & that’s including adds etc. & they have full time staff!) but with your support & assistance I should be able to ensure that we have a decent newsletter each moth. My thanks to all contributors (I owe that many people pints I think I have bankrupted myself) As well as my own comments, I have I am very pleased to include in this introduction section comments from the PAC GB General Secretary, PAC/Regional members old & new on what they expect from the region including a bit on the history of Region 31 & comments from other interested parties & well wishers, so the introduction section includes comments from:
Mark Barratt PAC GB Secretary
Eric Edwards (PAC Veteran)
Martin James (BBC Radio)
Pete Waterfield (NAC & ZAC)
Andy Cooke (New PAC Member)
MARK BARRATT P.A.C. G.B. GENERAL SECRATARY
It’s with great pleasure that Jon asked me to write a few words for the new region newsletter.
It is always a source of great pride to whatever committee is in place that a new region starts, or an inactive one is re-awakened. After all the PAC is a members club, and what better way to feel a part of the club, than by sharing a pint and a joke with like -minded individuals.
My admiration also goes out to the new R/O Jon Neafcy, for taking up the running of a region is no small task, and often a pretty thankless one. Hopefully from amongst the new regions membership there will emerge a few helping hands, for it is a hell of a job for just one man.
The PAC as a whole is enjoying a period of growth not seen for many years. In some respects this is a source of great inspiration for the current committee, however this could also be, because pike anglers’ are seeing more and more restrictions imposed upon them, only time will tell as to the reasoning, but I hope that you all get a great deal out of your membership, of both the club and the region.
Happy Piking
Mark Barrett
General Secretary
Mark with a nice brace of Pike
Footnote: Mark thanks very much for all your help & assistance with the Region so far-
Tight lines - Jon
R/O’s Introduction
‘Region 31 Re-visited!’
OK so now here’s my bit, so here it is, finally after many months of planning REGION 31 PAC GB SOUTH LANCASHIRE is finally up & running! I think that this is a very apt time to launch the Region what with the PAC celebrating 30 years as a club & some of the old pike fishing legends such as John Watson returning to the fold or so to speak. Some of you may remember that Region 31 used to be the old St Helens region that was disbanded many years ago, so Region 31 reaches another milestone being reformed & becoming South Lancashire (More on the history of the Region from Eric Edwards, Gary Knowles & myself later). If you are reading this then you have most probably turned up at the first informal meeting where this newsletter has been distributed. Maybe you saw the posters put up in local tackle shops, maybe you read the add in an angling publication such as P&P, Angling Times or maybe heard about the region on BBC Radio Lancashire or perhaps you got wind of the region from the old washer women’s forum sorry I mean the P&P web forum or from the good old grapevine. However you heard about the region if you turned up at the meeting (or are coming to future meetings) then thanks for your support. Both the first meeting & this the first newsletter are also milestones for the club & for us ALL & they could not happen without YOUR support & I hope that they are just the start of good things to come. I look forward to our as is our first fish-in this weekend on Pennington Flash (I hope it will be a good turn out) as it can produce good fish this time of year, I’m also looking forward to the more formal meetings with slideshows etc. over the coming winter months. I hope to get to know you all better & look forward to fishing with you all hopefully at some point. Going forward as we are in the electronic age I’m looking to just sent the monthly newsletter out by e mail (unless you don’t have e mither) as this will save costs & time, I will print a few copies off each month & bring them to the meeting with me. This is my first stab at doing a full fishing newsletter & it can only be as good as the material contained within it’s pages, so it’s over to YOU ALL going forward to send me your catch reports, photos, articles & all things Pikey for future newsletters, I’d like it to be much less about me & more about you all going forward. Remember that this is YOUR region as much as it is mine & I want everyone to enjoy being a part of the region, if we can promote pike welfare, catch a few nice pike & have a few laughs along the way then that’s what it’s all about.
If you think that there is anything missing from the contents or format of the newsletter, or if you would like to discuss anything regarding the region please let me know. I’d also like to again express my thanks to those who have already committed their support to the Region & have helped me so far along the way (you know who you are lads!).
Remember that ALL levels of pike anglers are welcome to join the region not just well seasoned veterans. Personally I don’t care if members have caught over 100 20+ pike, or if they are still trying to catch their first 20+ (or even their first pike) or any where in-between. I’d like the region to cater for all levels of pike angling ability with everyone being welcome. I’m sure that the more experienced lads can advise/assist the newer lads without giving away too many secrets & if we all put something into the region then I’m sure that we will all get something out of it.
I myself am a self confessed Piking nut, nowadays that’s all I fish for (I take this piking game a little seriously), I fish both from the bank & by boat, from Scotland to Norfolk, Lake-district to Wales & many places in-between. Pike fishing has took its effect on my life in many ways when moving house one of my absolute must requirements was somewhere to store the boats/trailers & space for all the fishing gear, the car I drive is a people carrier & I have removed the additional seats to make room for my fishing gear, most of my holiday entitlement from work is spent fishing as are my days off at the weekend, most (if not all) my disposable income is spent on tackle, Permits, lures, bait, boat maintenance etc. etc. need I go on…………….? I’m sure that this sounds all too familiar to some of you & to others it may be a cautionary tale of what you could be letting yourself in for. I hope that my enthusiasm for the sport is contagious! With a change of job role from a National to a more Regionalised position I am now able to commit to a local Region of the PAC.
The History of Region 31 by Eric Edwards
I’m sure Eric needs no introduction to many of you - Jon
As the Pike Angler’s club approaches its 30th anniversary, it’s perhaps a time to reflect on the past thirty years and my own small part in the club’s history. Things were different thirty years ago. Pike were regarded as vermin in many quarters (they still are in some) and there was little in the way of organisation between pike anglers. There were two levels of membership when the club first started. Senior members were vetted and had to be experienced pikers. They paid a lot more for their membership and received their own copy of the magazine. The rest of us, ordinary members, had to share a copy of the magazine that was sent to the regional organiser. I guess this served its purpose in that it helped to bind the regions together, establishing them as focal points for the members. It also gave the central committee the opportunity to assess the level of membership that could be expected and set the level of subscriptions and funding accordingly.
I was a fresh-faced lad of twenty-one when the club started but I can’t quite remember when I actually joined. Certainly it was within a year or two of the formation of the club. The St. Helens region, RA31 was run by Ronnie Pendleton in those days and meetings were held at the Ship Inn in Blackbrook. Ronnie ran the region for some years and set things on a sound footing. He had excellent contacts within the pike fishing world and this enabled him to get speakers and organise fishing for people. Ronnie was the first ever “Pike Angler of the Year”, a prestigious title and well deserved.
There were a number of regional organisers for the St. Helens region over the years. I did my stint as did Steve Redman, Ian Forsyth, Graham Jones, Kevin Glover, Dave Shaw and others. The region was, at times, one of the largest in the land with up to a hundred members – but it didn’t always run smoothly. Friction between members was always there, bubbling under the surface. Looking back it seems daft now, falling out with people over fish but at the time it was oh so serious. People don’t put up with friction for long and in times of strife members drifted away. There were good times though. The annual pike match between the St. Helens Region and our rivals from Cheshire was always well attended and always produced incident. I was proud as a peacock when my seven-year-old son Joe won the competition one year at Rudyard Lake with a weight of over 37lbs, despite not catching a single fish on his own rod! Regular speakers were always easy to find in those days, or so it seemed. Many many local members gave slide shows of their own and as the region became larger and well established, a growing bank balance enabled us to bring in big-name speakers like Derrick Amies and Bruno Broughton. We even got carp angler Julian Cundiff over once – a shameless and successful attempt to extort money from the areas carp anglers to raise money for pike fishing projects.
The region suffered tragedy too with the sad death of popular member John Potts. We commemorated John’s life for many years however with the annual award of the John Potts trophy. This was an engraved decanter which was awarded annually to the captor of the season’s biggest pike. I was fortunate enough to win the trophy twice myself and the largest pike ever to win it was a monster of 35lbs caught by Kevin Shore. The decanter had the name of the winner engraved upon it each year and it still exists somewhere. Many lasting friendships were formed in those days and even to this day, I often hear from people who speak of those days with great fondness. Trouble, it seemed, was never far away however and the region suffered a fatal blow in the early nineties. At the time the Water Authority were looking to introduce a ban on livebaiting in the Lake District (sound familiar) and RA31 sent two delegates to the PAC Working Dinner to appeal for help from the central committee. They didn’t get the support they asked for, they were told instead to “get into bed” with the water authority and they came away from the meeting feeling dejected. We fought off the livebait ban then, a battle we were to lose years later but the damage done to the region was irreparable and the region disbanded. The region number, 31, was immediately given away to another region by the sitting committee. That sealed the region’s fate really, with all the club’s trophies marked with 31 it seemed there was no way back for the members and they drifted away – some of them to move away from pike fishing altogether. The region lived on briefly as an independent fishing club, the St. Helens Pioneer Anglers but eventually that dwindled too and pike fishing and specimen fishing in general faded away in St. Helens.
That was then and this is now. The new South Lancashire region has taken up the number 31 and with a new organiser, new location, a powerful PAC committee in place and a surging interest in pike fishing the prospects for the future look bright.
Let’s see what we can make of it.
Eric Edwards
Eric sends his apologies that he can’t attend the first 3 meetings due to work commitments, however I hope that Eric will join us on the fish-ins to show us how it’s done – Jon
Expectations Andy Cooke (New PAC & PAAS member)
I used to go fishing as a lad (didn’t we all), we never took it very seriously (well except for Neafcy that is, I think he was into the Carp fishing back then!) & I enjoyed catching roach, perch & the like. When I left school the fishing took a back seat to work, going out drinking & doing all the things that young lads do. I didn’t fish for over 20 years! Last year I started back up fishing again & Jon took me to Coniston & lent me some tackle, I caught some perch & I also got my first pike & it was what Jon called a ‘double’ which I found out meant that it was over 10 pounds in weight. Since than I have spent a fortune well it seems that anyway on fishing gear (Cookey is a real tight wad – Jon) & I try to go fishing as much as possible, work & family commitments permitting (Cookey works more hours in a week than most of us do in a month! – Jon). I have had some good days fishing over the last eighteen months & I have travelled as far as Scotland & Norfolk on fishing trips, I will fish for just about anything that swims but I do like my pike fishing. I had a good day’s pike fishing on a big lake last year taking 3 doubles in a day (they all came within 30 minutes) & setting myself a modest new personal best of 15 pounds exactly, recently I bettered that with a slightly bigger 15 pounder from the lake district, then that same day I had a 19 pounder on a lure (footnote from Jon I told you that lure I lent you was a good one Cookey lad, even though you doubted it at the time!) it was a great fish & I really enjoyed catching it. I am looking forward to learning more about pike fishing through the PAC & Region 31 & I am looking forward to the slideshows, fishing on the club outings with other members & having a few laughs along the way. I may even bring my oldest son along to some of the club outings as I would like him to get into fishing. I mainly fish alongside Jon but I do fish on my own a bit as well. Fishing with Jon can be hard work as he always seems to be on the lookout for the next big pike, he is always mauling with his rigs & set up, he can be very particular about where, when & how he fishes. When we are on the boat he likes to us to move spot a lot normally when I’d like to have a brew & why is it when we are bank fishing he always picks waters that are miles away from a car-park & even then he still wants to fish the far side of the lake, when we fished a canal last year everyone else fished near the cars Jon insisted that we walk a mile & half before he would cast out – still we were the only ones that caught though. If Jon was doing a 5 mile run he would do 20 miles instead just for the hell of it! Jon is most definitely a madman – pike fishing mad that is. When he is not fishing Jon is on the internet on fishing web site or reading pike fishing books or researching the next fishing trip or he is mauling with one of his fleet of boats or his vast armoury of fishing tackle. Still he does catch a few good pike so I guess that there is a method in with his madness somewhere. I have had my photo in the Pike & Predators magazine in one of Jon’s articles & the biggest pike I have seen caught so far are a couple of 20+ pike that Jon caught & I am looking forward to catching my first 20+ (it was a close call with the 19), it would be good to catch a 20+ pike this winter. I like a bit of a laugh so don’t take my banter the wrong way (Cookey is a wind up merchant – Jon). I hope to see you all fishing.
Tight Lines
Andy Cooke
Good-luck – By Martin James of BBC Radio Lancashire:
‘’I would like to take this opportunity of wishing this new branch of the PAC and all its members a very successful venture. Hopefully you will all have lots of pulled strings and bent sticks’’
Martin James
At The Waters Edge Programme
BBC Radio Lancashire
Thanks for your kind comments Martin (Jon)
Here’s a photo of Martin with a nice pike caught on his favourite method fly fishing.
Predator Anglers Unite - by Peter Waterfield (NAC & ZAC):
First of all, I’d like to offer my congratulations to everyone who has put in the hard work from the PAC. I hope your new region will be long standing and successful.
I represent both the National Anguilla Club and Zander Anglers Club and have also been involved with the Manchester area of the PAC. I live locally and hope the relationships between the different clubs stays strong. After all, we are all fighting for the same side. Whether it is poaching of fish, the decline of the freshwater eel, the use of nightlines or live bait bans. These are all problems that need addressing from the viewpoint of the predatory/specimen angler.
Over the past decade we have been fortunate enough to witness the growth and success of Pike & Predator magazine. This in my opinion has accelerated the wealth of knowledge that is invaluable to all single species predatory anglers. Another notable advance is the difference in tackle available. No more do we as predator anglers have to manage with other specialist anglers tackle (modified to do our job). We now have our own, via Fox and other such companies.
The more that people get involved with the PAC and read and get involved with publications such as Northern Angler, Pike & Predator, Angling Star and other related organizations, will surely be beneficial in getting anglers opinions and suggestions aired. I think there are a lot of potential PAC members within the Wigan area, which will only strengthen the predator anglers voice in our locality in general.
Any info needed on the above clubs please ring me on 07842204173.
Regards & Good luck.
Peter Waterfield.
Peter with a nice snake! Thanks for your kind words Peter & I look forward to the clubs working together for mutual benefit.
2. Meeting:
As I’ve already said if you are reading a copy of this newsletter then you have probably turned up at the first meeting so thanks for coming along, my thanks to Alan at the Caledonian for being so kind as to provide the room free of charge. As a lot of people don’t pike fish in the summer our meetings will be Oct-April inclusive 1st Wednesday of the month at the Caledonian pub (our HQ) from 8pm onwards. I have arranged some great guest speakers from the November meeting onwards. The April meeting will be our presentation night.
I will be charging subs for the region Oct-Oct & this will be £10, this will be to cover any costs that we as a club incur & membership cards will be issued. Routine spends are likely to include things such as guest speakers expenses, maintenance of the club boat & not least 3rd party insurance for the club to legally operate. As we go forward it will be upto YOU the members how we spend this money, in the future a club water would be nice I think although that’s a long, long way off yet. The better the financial position of the club then the more we can do. If there are any budding accountants amongst you who fancy up keeping the clubs books then please let me know
3. Fish-in (Club Outings):
Fish-ins (club outings) will take place once a month from Oct-March inclusive (see programme of events issued with membership), some will be weekend trips (turn up & fish when you want) others will be just for a day, some will be local & others will be further away. Some also have boat access if you want to bring your boat along. Some of us may struggle with transport or need to minimise costs so if you can please consider giving another member a lift. Those of you taking boats (where permitted) may I suggest if you are able to do so you consider giving a none boat owner the chance of a day afloat with you even if every boat owner only did this once a year I am sure be appreciated. I may be able to offer both a lift & boat fishing to a member on occasion. I have arranged the Oct 2007 – March 2008 fish-ins in advance as there is a lot going on at the moment, this at least gives us something to go at & it’s one less thing to worry about, I figure the more notice that you have for the fish-ins the more chance you have of being able to sort your other commitments if you want to come along. Going forward I would like each member to give me the names of two venues for us to consider for the club outings – for us to discuss at the meetings to arrange future outings (you don’t need to give away your best peg or even your secret waters!). Remember that the venues need to be free fishing or day ticket or somewhere that we can book with enough car-parking & fishing space for us all & oh yes somewhere with a few nice pike in would be good too!
Can I just say that the fish-ins are NOT pike matches, generally it will just be like a group of mates fishing together, in most cases unless it is necessary to do so I won’t be booking the venues so it’s important to remember that there could be other people fishing & there will be no stewards, I won’t be implementing a rigid book of club outing rules, after all who would enjoy me checking rod licenses etc before we started fishing (I certainly wouldn’t!) I am not a bailiff so I won’t be doing that, no one would enjoy me making up a load of rules & who would come along if I did? (probably no one!) for me there enough rules & codes already, remember your responsibility as a pike angler & a member of the PAC & ensure pike welfare. Most places put the venue rules on the ticket, if there are any special area rules e.g. lake-district I will give an outline of them in the newsletter, however if in doubt ask the relevant people. In the event that any region member were to break any fishery etc rules then the Region & the PAC have NO responsibility for or association with your actions as an individual. Common sense to be used at all times. If there are any newcomers to pike-fishing I’m sure that an experienced piker can give you a hand if you come along to the club outings, it’s great reading things in books but I find that you only really learn from practical hands on experience by getting out there & fishing.
I look forward to this weekends fish-in at Pennington Flash, to the best of my knowledge there are no overly prohibitive rules & it’s a reasonable priced day ticket if the bailiff comes round. In our immediate local area ‘in our back garden’ or so to speak this has to be one of the better bets to catch a decent local pike. Without a doubt it has been hammered over the years however it can throw up a few decent fish & early season & back-end are a good bet. We will be fishing on the tip (canal) side & I hope to see you there (directions attached). I would like a member to provide a basic written summary of each club outing & send to over to me (e mail or on back of a fag packet etc.) so that I can include in the newsletter (volunteers please). Some of the pegs at Pennington can have litter in them so I will be taking along a bin bag to collect any rubbish that may have been left by others in the swim I’m fishing which I will take home & bin, whilst you don’t have to, if you would care to do the same then so much the better as we will then in-effect as a region start to have a positive impact right from the start. I will be on the bank from Friday late afternoon until Sunday afternoon, you are welcome to fish all weekend or any part of it that suits you. If anyone else is daft enough, I mean keen enough to join me all weekend then that’s great. I can give someone a lift to the venue if anyone is stuck for transport (I’m not giving you a lift with your gear on that long walk though!). It is a long walk from the carpark on Slag lane to the decent swims so its better to travel light rather than to load yourself up like a pack Mule like I sometimes seem to end up doing. Feel free to come & have a chat before you set up etc & I will wind my rods in & try to come & see you all at some point during the weekend.
Club outings take time & effort to arrange,& I know from experience that they can be a good laugh, a decent way to get to know the other lads & hey we may just catch a few nice pike too. Due to the time & effort involved in arranging these events I would like to think that they will be well attended – it is a fishing club afteral! I myself will be attending ALL of the club outings even if it means missing out occasionally on the odd day or twos fishing elsewhere to attend.
4. Members Profile:
Ok so I will be the first to give this one a go!
Name:
Jon-Paul Neafcy (Jon-Paul is my Sunday name!)
Age:
21 (OK so even I don’t believe that myself!) – 34 really (almost 35)
Family:
Partner Sharon & two kids Amy (7) & Leah (1)
Job:
International Man of Mystery (I wish) OK so I’m a Manager in the Logistics Industry, at least it keeps the wolves away from my door.
Angling Experience:
Fishing nut since the age of 5, have had a good few years when I couldn’t fish due to working away & other stuff. Used to be an all rounder specimen angler nowadays I only fish for pike. I’m a qualified angling coach which can be a rewarding task putting something back into the sport. I’m big on pike welfare & have been on air with Martin James on BBC Radio Lancashire on more than one occasion to air my views on the subject. I occasionally write for Pike & Predators & I wrote a chapter of the PAC book PAC 30.
Favourite methods & venue types
Boat fishing big glacial lakes & lochs & mobile tactics on drains & canals. Although it can be productive sitting behind 4 rods on pits & lakes with a multitude of gear I don’t enjoy that as much as I do being out on the boat or wandering along a canal or a drain with not much gear. Sometimes I think we all carry too much gear which is overly prohibitive to mobility & I am probably sometimes one of the worst offenders
Favourite Species & Best Fish
For me my favourite species is pike. I say best fish not biggest as I don’t consider my biggest fish to date to be my best fish. Predator wise I really enjoyed catching a wild perch years ago that went 3.6 & Pike wise for me a Coniston 20+ is a rare beast, I had a 23.7 from Coniston on a lure. My first 20+ pike that I caught when I was just 13 on a rod I built myself will always hold fond memories for me.
‘X’ Factor
I hold a Diploma in Environmental Management which can be handy to help understand what’s going on in the Environment. Quite well qualified in my profession & I now have more letters after my name than I have in it. I’m also a qualified angling coach.
Angling Targets:
To promote pike welfare & to enjoy my fishing. Region wise for OUR Region of the PAC to be an active one & to make a difference.
Favourite Drink:
A nice cool pint of bitter is hard to beat but a chilled Cobra Indian larger with lime is a close second for me.
Favourite Food:
Being a Wiganer a good old pie is a quick & easy meal, Chinese & Indian are firm favourites though
Fishing Vehicle
VW Touran 7 seater people carrier, (work don’t allow 4x4’s!) holds all the gear but is crap off road & rubbish for towing don’t buy one!
Interests other than fishing:
My family & collecting pike fishing books & pike fishing DVD’s & videos although as that’s obviously fishing related not sure that counts in this section, other than that none really I have put behind me my boy racer days of fast cars & my misspent youth!
Dislikes:
Anti anglers (especially the ones that did my car over once!), litter louts, Chavs, government policy makers (when they get it wrong anyway!), anglers who constantly squabble amongst each other & lower the tone of events, forums meetings & the like by hurling direct abusive insults at fellow anglers!
5. Fishing Photo’s:
I thought that I would start us off on this one with a couple of photos of nice doubles from Pennington flash, to give you a taster of the stamp of pike from the water (if you haven’t fished it before) one photo is from last year & one is from more years ago than I care to remember! It has done much bigger pike than the ones I have caught from it (my best from the venue going 16.15). Most of us have probably heard rumours of it doing 30+ fish from time to time & if anyone has a photo of a genuine 30+ from the venue then I’d like to see it. A 25+ fish that I know of came from a swim that I had pre-baited for three weeks a few years ago, it was caught on a day that I wasn’t fishing & it came to someone else’s rods but that as they say is fishing for you. If one of the bigger girls does come out I’d like to see it as I have yet to see one ‘in the flesh’ from the venue. Thanks to James & Dave for sending me a couple of photo’s to include & to Martin Sailsbury as I’m sure that no one wants to see just my ugly mug in the newsletter so please send me your photos new or old with a few words about the capture for me to include in future newsletters.
14lb Pike late September 2006 Pennington Flash to dead bait Jon Neafcy interestingly this pike was caught the day after my daughter Leah was born! (My mate Andy Blunty had a better fish of 17 on Pennington that weekend)
A nice Pennington Flash pike caught in winter many moons ago
Region 31 Recruit James Dean from Wigan with a horse caught from his boat
James’s mate Dave Cottrial with a boat caught lunker
Woody from Abram who I have not fished with since I left the local waters behind me back in 1994!
Woody knows the local waters as good as anyone & I’m trying to tempt him into pike fishing a bit. Here he is with a nice snake & a nice perch just two of the many species he has caught specimens of locally!
6. Catch Reports:
I guess that many of you will not have done much piking this season yet (?) or may not have even started your winter piking campaign yet. If not may I suggest this weekend’s fish in at Pennington flash as a good starting point to get a few fish on the bank (hopefully) with a bit of a social side to get to know the other members too. I currently only fish for pike, I am out most weekends (OK every weekend with few exceptions). Myself & Andy Cooke have both had a busy time recently with me moving house & Andy & his misses being blessed with the birth of their 3rd child (well done mate one junior fishing set coming your way courtesy of me). However we have still managed to get out their & do a bit, ‘living the dream’ as they say. Newly wed Martin Sailsbury has managed to get out & do a little piking taking a keen youngster with him (well done mate) & managing a few fish in the lake-district. Send me your photos of your catches for the newsletter, you don’t need to have the name of the venue or the location of your favourite swim in the newsletter! Here are a few photo’s of some pike caught in 2007 so far:
A nice Coniston fish for Cookey Spring 2007 (caught on one of Jon’s lures, Cookey doubted the thing worked until a nice double took it!)
A Bala Big-girl for Jon – 2007
(We have club outings this winter to both Bala & Coniston so don’t miss out!)
I thought it would only be rite to include a catch report & a couple of photos of pike caught in the immediate local area. Yes occasionally I have been known to fish in the local area (Ok just not that often in recent years!). Me & Andy Cooke have both had a couple of sessions locally around the Wigan & Leigh area & have taken pike into double figures.
Jon Neafcy with recently caught lean, mean Wigan pike
Andy Cooke with his first local double 2007 (unfortunately it bears scars of a previous capture)
Pike from further away…………………………..
Myself & Andy Cooke have had a few Scottish trips this year taking some nice pike, we started off in South-West Scotland progressing to Central Scotland. We have had some productive trips taking some nice hauls with some good doubles & I’ve been fortunate enough to have them to upper 20.
A nice lean, mean Scottish fish for Jon on one of the trips over the border this year
Here comes Eric(Hope)! The picture explains why I love fishing Derwent water anyway (Martin Salisbury)
Jan Detko, 11 years old, from Preston with his biggest pike (pike held by Eric Hope)
Sunset over a Moody Loch Ard in the shadow of the mighty Ben Lomond. An Awesome place! – by Jon Neafcy (taken from the club boat)
Rod bending action for young Jan & Eric Hope on Derwent water
7. Feature Articles:
Penning a piece…………………..
I thought that in addition to Eric’s piece of the history of region 31 (thanks Eric) that I would give you an insight into how we have got to where we are with the region to start us off & also use this as a bit of an introduction for myself. Gary Knowles has also been kind enough to write an article on his previous experiences of the PAC & Region 31 (thanks Gary). I would like anyone who has articles to send me something as I don’t want this to become the Jon Neafcy show! If you haven’t wrote an article before why not have a go we have some experienced angling authors within our ranks (Eric Edwards, Gary Knowles etc.) & at least one recruit Martin Salisbury has already wrote a published fishing book! I don’t mind giving anyone a hand with an article if they need any help either. Personally although it’s great to read about someone catching a huge pike I’d rather read something interesting & enthusiastic rather than just a list of numbers of big fish caught by the author. Adding scenic photos or photos of rigs or just you & your mates out-there fishing as well as photos of the pike you have caught can add variety & interest to your article as can sharing funny fishing stories.
Region 31 PAC, the PAC & my journey so far……….. By Jon Neafcy
I caught my first pike when I was about 7 years old, I caught it from Grassmere in the Lakdistrict just past the infamous road lay-by swim, it was an awesome monster of a fish of about 8 pounds, (8 pounds is a big fish to a lad of 7 years old I can tell you!) me & my uncle were the only ones fishing the venue that day, we rarely saw another angler up there in the days when it was free fishing before it was ‘discovered’. Looking back that day it could be said that the event changed my life, so I think that first pike hooked me really! Never then was I to realise what a grip on my life pike fishing would have. I doubt that pike had ever seen a hook before & I often wonder just how big it grew to be & I still have the photo of me with the fish, anyway I digress.
The story of my association with the PAC & Region 31 begins a long time ago, almost exactly 20 years ago in fact. I never though back then that one day I would end up as Regional Organiser for Region 31 of the PAC (however it may seem a little more obvious to some) I will recount events as I recall them.
I guess that for me with the PAC it all started for me way back when I was 15 years old during the autumn half term holidays, me already being a keen pike angler by that age my mum had dropped me off to fish one of my favourite local venues Pennington flash. I had fished the venue a bit since I was 13, on my first trip I lost what I still think to this day was a very large fish which in my younger years gave my an obsessive passion for the venue, although I rarely bother with the place today I do still give it a go a couple of times a year, anyway again I digress. On the day in question I met a fellow from St Helens & he encouraged me to join the PAC & he asked if I was interested in joining the local Region, Region 31 St Helens. I remember this encounter well for this poor chap, I think he fall asleep for a little while during the autumn afternoon sunshine, as I recall it he managed to get a little sunburned, well at least one side of his face did, one side of his face was white & the other was bright red, which although I found it funny was a bit of a dilemma for him as he was going out with his wife & friends that night! In years to come I was to be in awe at some of the catches that this fellow would make. Any guesses who this fellow is? Eric Edwards!
Eric had been the R/O of the region 31 previously, I joined the PAC as a junior member & a while after at the age of 16 as a college student I started to attend the Region 31 meetings, the R/O in them days was Kev Glover (he is doing a slide show for us in November) he & his dad were kind enough to take me on the club outings & on my first trip on an outing to the Bridgewater canal I took the pot for biggest fish with a nice 16+ fish. That ‘pot’ was enough to buy me a new rod that I had my eye on. I have fond memories of the monthly meetings at Shaw Street Social Club & the fish-ins that I attended. On one occasion after a poor catch rate on a fish in a Tatton Park in Cheshire on a club outing, myself & Steve Plant who I fished with in the early days arranged a St Helens V’s Cheshire event on Rudyard lake. Heading up the Cheshire region was none other than uncle fester himself Neil Wheater, he was a good guy what ever happened to him? The event was very well attended & most people managed to catch & there were lots of nice doubles caught, that was a very good event & one I will always remember with fond memories even if the fellow who was on the next peg to me was a right pain constantly bragging about how many big pike he had caught & how far he could cast & generally making a bit of a nuisance of himself with his over inflated ego (despite his self proclaimed ability I don’t think he caught anything except a specimen sized tree whilst he was casting out!)
Here is a photo of the 16+ fish that bagged me the pot for biggest fish on my first ever PAC fish in! I hope that we see a few fish of this stamp (or bigger) come out on some of our outings!
For political reasons that I won’t go into here (Eric has covered more in-depth in his bit) Region 31 opted out of the PAC & became the St Helens PAC (Pioneer Angling Club), around this time I had a change of career & left the area which prevented my fishing. Not too long after this I believe that St Helens Pioneer Angling Club disbanded for one reason or another. I had some great experiences with Region 31 PAC & St Helens Pioneer Angling Club & I made some good mates, although there was a negative side to my experiences with the minority spoiling a fantastic club for the majority (again Eric has already touched on that in his bit) & I won’t bore you with details here (its ancient history anyway!), overall although I have fond memories of my association my experience was bitter sweet.
One of my old photos from a old Region 31 Newsletter way back when……… (Sorry for the poor quality it’s a scanned image of a photocopied newsletter!) Incidentally the fish in the photo went just shy of 20! (one of my collection of 19’s!)
Since then I have been a member of many angling clubs, I was at one time a bailiff for Wigan Anglers, I have been a member of the Catfish Conservation Group including membership of two Syndicates Crackers Meadow (Owned by Kevin Maddocks) & Adams Pool. I was for some time a member of Bolton Specialist Anglers Group (BSG) & I had some cracking times with Greg, Tony & the lads. One of the best events I went to with BSG was to a local reservoir when a lad (Andy Thorpe) who had been a keen piker for years caught the infamous big girl from the water at 25+ it was his first 20+ & what a way to catch it fishing with a load of mates.
During my fishing ‘career’ I have fished for most species of freshwater fish with a reasonable degree of success from Trout to Eels, Carp, Perch, Tench, Bream, Barbel & Chub, Catfish even once catching a sturgeon although the Pike has always been my firm favourite. Anyone who has known my through school to college to work knows of my passion for angling.
V
arious reasons have seen me still as a PAC member but not bothering with the regional scene for many years. Then whilst being based in West Yorkshire with work I came across a right character called Pete Green a PAC Committee Member none the less & all round good guy & a great pike angler. Pete put me onto waters that saw me catch many good doubles & my first Yorkshire 20+ Pike. Pete invited me along to the region that he runs in Wakefield (a most kind gesture what with me being a Lancastrian from ‘over the hill’ & all!). I attended the meetings, fish-in’s & contributed to the newsletter, all of the lads to every man were welcoming to me & I can honestly say that I really enjoyed my time with the region (which is a credit to Pete & Mick who run it & to the PAC). I even managed to nab 3 annual awards biggest lure caught pike, most doubles caught in a season (setting a new regional record) & the precious club outings trophy, I was picked at the post for biggest pike by Chris Betts (incidentally it was the same fish as my own entry for biggest fish caught at mere ounces bigger!). If our region can be half as good a club as the Wakefield one then I’ll be happy.
Receiving 1 of 3 trophies I was lucky enough to win amid stiff competition from good anglers at the Wakefield Region of the PAC during 2006 presented by ex PAC Committee member & Wakefield R/O Mick Culpan. Either Mick has lost weight or this photo is off my bad side! (ha ha) Jon.
Receiving the Trophies at the Wakefield Region of the PAC
There have been changes at work within my role & my career & fortunately I now no longer work all over the country working now (well not as much anyway) more of a regional basis & I am able to get home almost every night. I had enquired about what was available locally within the area PAC region wise & it was confirmed that there was not an active region in the immediate local area. I received an e mail from Eric saying ‘why not start a region, I’ll come’. so an idea, a suggestion, a pipe dream, a pie in the sky (well I am a Wiganer!) was started. Others said that they would be interested including my mates Andy Cooke & Paul Houghton, Gary Knowles (who I also knew from the old St Helens days), Martin Sailsbury amongst others, so I was volunteered, or so it would seem, to start a region. Myself & Eric agreed that it would be nice to use the old St Helens regional number 31 & the name ‘South Lancashire’ was opted for, Mark Barratt Secretary of the PAC committee was kind enough to permit us to use both the name & the number (thanks Mark).
This summer I have had to arrange a venue for meetings & line up guest speakers, no easy task I can assure you. Just as I thought I had a venue sorted I got let down when the owner decided to charge for the room, fortunately Alan at the Caledonian was happy to help. Slide show guest speakers can be elusive & I managed to net us a good line up for the Winter months, Gary & Eric were kind enough to volunteer (thanks lads). Speakers need something to project their slides/PowerPoint with so I have bought some slide gear & a data projector. Martin James was kind enough to have me back on his BBC Radio show to promote the region & the region has also been promoted in Pike & Predators (P&P) (thanks James) & elsewhere (thanks to everyone who has helped).
Most clubs that I have been a member of over the years have some form of club awards so I have splashed out & donated some trophies, I hope that these will give us something to aim for. Personally I think it only right that at some point we should all try to fish together, it is a fishing club after all. So I have taken the plunge & arranged monthly fish-ins over the winter, we have to start somewhere & as I have had so much to do I’ve opted for the first year to arrange there in advance (see fish in section of this newsletter). So their we have it a brief summary of the journey so far from my first association with the PAC as a junior member to my becoming the R/O of Region 31. I am keen to promote pike welfare & any ideas for how we do that in the region are welcomed.
Pike Welfare going on Air with Martin James of the BBC & Martin Sailsbury author of fishing in Lancashire
Putting the band back together by Gary Knowles
So it appears we have come full circle, the famous (or maybe infamous) region 31 is to be reformed. When Jon Neafcy emailed me to tell me in True Blues Brothers Fashion he was “putting the band back together” I couldn’t help but raise a smile. A whole host of memories came flooding back to me, weekends in Scotland, holidays in Wales, trips to Yorkshire, drunken presentation nights and social gatherings…oh, and a little fishing thrown in too. One thing you could never accuse this region of was being boring and the friendly rivalry we had between ourselves and the Cheshire Branch of the PAC had to be seen to be believed. Smoking ferrets, kidnapped pets, ransom demands, slide show stooges, strippers, poaching each others swims and sabotaging tackle were just a few of the goings on that I would dare put into print, there are even more stories that must remain secret forever, or at least until you buy me a drink or two at the next meeting. One thing is for sure though; they were happy days, times which I now look back on with great nostalgia and fond memories.
Looking back now I’d say it’s about 15 (or is it 20) years since I last attended a region 31 meeting. Back then we were known as the old St. Helens Region whose members had a bit of a reputation, well a lot of a reputation actually and that reputation spanned our exploits both on and off the water! Still, needs must, and when I joined I was a relative novice to specimen angling, and I considered it a great opportunity to learn from other, more experienced anglers so I rolled up every fourth Thursday to see what all the fuss was about and I loved every minute of it!
Over the next few years I threw myself into the group, attending all the meetings, fish-ins and competitions and soon became a regular member. As time passed I made some great friends in the group, some of which, like Eric Edwards, Kev Dunne and Steve Plant, I still occasionally fish with. Fishing and socialising with these guys had a real influence on me and I have no doubt in my mind that joining this group made me the angler I am today, the advice support and even p*sstaking that came my way as I embarked on a massive leaning curve meant that not only did I soon become as successful as the other guys in the group, it also ensured I grew a skin as thick as a rhino’s hide.
Don’t get me wrong, the more experienced guys didn’t give all there secrets away readily, and why should they, specimen fishing in the North-West is as hard as it has ever been so why should people who have put huge amounts of work into location, bait, techniques, etc. spill the beans to a new kid on the block, that would be plain stupid.
No, what I did was listen, both to the guys in the meetings and to those people generous enough to give talks and slide shows. Slowly I learned from these anglers, I also continued to learn from my own experiences, not just in pike fishing but for fishing for large bream, tench, barbel and chub. It was then I started to give a little info back, not to everyone but to those who I trusted and knew wouldn’t take advantage of the information. From here on it was plain sailing, and I began to really reap the benefits, remember that openness, trust, integrity and respect, are all things that can only come with time and need to be earned rather than expected. Once you are in a position to give something back then you will see just how readily people will offer help, advice and the odd secret location.
I suppose what I’m saying is in joining a group like this, don’t expect it to be an instant gateway to all the best waters in the North West, that simply won’t happen. First you should immerse yourself in the club, the people, the outings, etc it is really only by doing this that will ensure you reap the benefits, and make no mistake, they are many.
Give Jon your support, he’ll need it, I know I helped out as RO, events organiser and several other roles when I was in the old Region 31 and it can be a hard, thankless task. Attend the fish-in’s and social occasions; (even now some of my favourite memories are from club outings and piss-ups) you won’t be disappointed.
Personally I fully support Jon’s efforts in reforming the Pike Anglers Club Region 31 and will be doing what I can to try and make it a success. For my part I’ll be contributing the occasional piece for the newsletter and be attending as many of the meetings as I can. Hopefully I’ll see some of you at the monthly meetings, if so please come and say hello…I’m looking forward to it already.
Gary Knowles
Gary thanks for your input & support mate, much appreciated & I look forward to your slideshow in December - Jon
8. Funnies & Other Stuff
Funnies:
I thought I would re-count the tale of my dog Rocky & the bull. For anyone who knows my dog (he often accompanies me on fishing trips) he has a long line of misdemeanours under his belt which including shitting in a hire car, eating all the BBQ food of the worktop & chewing my misses car interior. Now the Rock is a placid meek & mild (although very mischievous) sort & he likes folk & dogs alike. What he does not however like is farm yard animals. We were fishing from a farmers field & there were 3 bullocks in the field, although fully grown they were (I was told) not mature & the farmer assured us they were harmless. Rocky decided to have a bit of a stand off with one which ended up in both dog & bull backing off, lucky though I! Anyway we were about to go & I was packing the car when I heard one hell of a commotion going on Rocky (ever sneaky) had done one & was having another crack at the bulls this time the biggest one! Now this thing was NOT going to back down, trouble was neither was the Rock! As bull charged dog darted, on realising it was not one of his better moves the dog bolted – straight for me! So there was I right next to the water car almost packed – no time to jump in & start it up, dog running towards me, bull in hot pursuit. Quick thinking I thought if I stay in the water (still had my waders on) & I grab the dog & move the bull will go straight over the drop off into 20+ feet of water! This was the plan, one that should suffice to give us time to make good our escape, OK so the plan was flawed the bull may drown & I’d have one not very happy farmer after me instead! So dog continues to try to get away from the bull, at one point its hoof caught him on the side of the head as he darted underneath it (cutting around his eye) he gains a little ground on the bull & legs it & jumps at me with the bull still in hot pursuit! The dog jumps at me & I grab his collar & throw him into the deeper water (although he doesn’t like doing he can swim) & I leg it along the margins the other way. The bull on hitting the water stops dead & retreats, moments later its quietly going about its business with its brothers. I guess that Bulls don’t like water! Me & the Rock made good our escape. Now he is a Staffordshire bulldog, but that’s taking the piss! On looking back we were very lucky I should not have trusted that sneaky dog of mine & should have kept him on the lead (I thought he was in the car when we were going but he had jumped back out) that Bull was BIG, I reacon that it could have knocked my people carrier over if it had charged it head on from the side of the car. The dog cried like a baby all the way home. Were I to take him back there again would he go for the bull again, you bet he would – he will never learn!
Send me your funnies to put in the newsletter - Jon
The rock enjoying a quieter moment!
Other Stuff:
Angling Coaching
A fair bit of my job at work involves presenting training of one type or another so last year I took the plunge & took the first sport Angling Coaching level 1 qualification WADAA were kind enough to sponsor me for this training. I completed my training in the Lake District, made some new friends & useful contacts. There is a lot more to it than just the fishing as you can imagine including having to undergo Police vetting to work with kids, indeed angling coaching teaches you nothing about fishing its all health & safety, child protection, codes of conduct & the like. This year I have done a bit of coaching & a bit of guiding. In June along with other coaches from WADAA I attended the Jackie Charlton Disabled anglers federation event at Esthwaite water, acting as a ghillie/guide for two severely disabled fly fishermen from the North East, as I told WAADA manager Neil Birkshaw I don’t fly fish but they just wanted me to control the boat for them & take them to likely spots around the lake & do the safety bit. One lad was wheelchair bound & the other was a hunchback with a club foot so as you can imagine it was a bit of a challenge getting onboard one of the standard trout fishing boats. Both of these lads had to take numerous tablets whilst we were fishing. Sod’s law it was windy & cold for June & it also threw it down with rain (not ideal conditions for fly fishing from a boat), however never have I met two more good spirited anglers, mad keen who love their fishing, not once did they complain about the weather or anything, I know some able bodied anglers who would have been moaning most of the day about the wind & the rain. That day Esthwaite didn’t fish it was highly coloured due to all the rain & it contained a lot of algae, its certainly not the Eshtwaite that I knew of 20 years ago, however despite that the lads couldn’t thank me enough for the days fishing & I think that next time anyone is tempted to moan about conditions not being right on the day they are fishing or other such trivialities they should spare a though for these two lads who were an inspiration to us all. I am looking forward to (hopefully) completing my advanced angling coaching level 2 qualification in the near future if I can find a sponsor!
Eric Edwards contacted me about setting up a teach-in in the local area for juniors & newcomers to the sport. I thought this was a fantastic idea as it’s good to put something back into our sport & I think this is definitely a way to shape future attitudes to pike angling in the area. Eric went along to the St Helens AA meeting & obtained permission to use a section or Carmill Dam. Eric mithered fellow anglers to donate gear for the event & he was inundated with stuff which included about 9 rods & 6 reels, my thanks to all who gave (the rods & reels will be retained for future events). We nearly had a show stopped when the PAC said that the insurance would not cover the event, my coaching insurance said they wouldn’t cover it either & in the claims culture we live in I just couldn’t risk running the event without adequate 3rd party liability insurance, this was a bit of a nightmare to obtain many insurers just would not take the risk, one insurer quoted over £1000! But after a bit of negotiating & limiting the number of events I finally obtained it to cover 3rd party liability for club meetings, outings, events & the club boat for £190 + tax. Myself & Eric co-ordinated the event & Eric made up 25 pike packs for participants. We promoted the event on the internet, in local tackle shops via a flyer that I made up & event in the local press. I had to make up a safety briefing, lesson plan & risk assessment for the event all pre-requisites enforced on us angling coaches by the powers that be. Myself & Eric met up the week before to finalise our plans. Although there was a lot of interest in the event you can never be certain that any number (if anyone) will turn up to these events, or on the other-hand you could be over-run with attendees. The unknown variables including the weather could make or break the event. The weekend of the event arrived & late notice I also had the nod from the solicitor that me & my family were moving house that weekend, hectic to say the least. I put up posters around the event area informing others not to fish there whilst Eric was busy sorting all the tackle for the event. I returned home Saturday to complete my move, early to bed & up & down at Carmill for 8am. Eric was already there waiting as was one young lad who had peddled down on his pushbike with full kit! Eric was I think close to the point of being thrown in by two burly match-men, the area had been double-booked for us & a match! Anyhow we negotiated a compromise with the Match lads moving round & we all managed to stay dry.
We had several stewards & assistant coaches including James Dean, Dave Cottrial, K. Devlen, John Woods, K. March, N. Stubbs & Dennis Bird. The event was split into 4 sections to cover various methods – ledgered dead-bait & trace making, float-ledger, lure & drifting & paternoster, the event ran 10-2 this giving 4 of 1 hour slots of each method. We had 4 coaches & a steward to accompany each group with a couple of extra stewards to take photo's take the registration, now all we needed were some attendees. By 10 we had about 25 kids accompanied by parents & about 5 adult newcomers to piking & the show was well & truly on the road. It was a bit repetitive for the coaches going through the same subject with 4 different groups, but the feedback from the coaches & the stewards was that they all very much enjoyed it, the kids were very well behaved & no doubt some very keen young anglers amongst them. All the kids received one of the pike starter packs made up by Eric from the stuff that had been donated.
Overall the event was an astounding success, even the idiot in the speedboat couldn’t spoil it for us despite his best efforts, St. Helens AA have kindly left an open door to us for future events. My thanks to everyone who attended & to all those who gave gear for us to give away, without each & every one of you the event could not have succeeded. My special thanks to Eric Edwards for all his time & effort in co-ordinating the event with me. Sadly we never got chance to show unhooking a pike as we all blanked, well you cant have everything can you now!
Jon Neafcy explaining ledgered dead-baiting to a group of prospective pikers
Eric Edwards has them enthralled with the art of the lure
James Dean showing them how It’s done with the paternoster
Dennis Bird showing attendees the business end of things on the float ledger rig
Festivities
I’m thinking of making the December meeting a bit of a festive do, we already have a great guest speaker for the night (Gary Knowles) I’ve told Gary that the Father Christmas outfit is optional! I’m prepared to put on a sandwiches & pies etc. if anyone thinks that would be a good idea? (let me know lads!) For the April meeting our presentation night I’m not booking a slide show as there will be enough to go through & I’m sure that Martin James will keep us entertained anyway, I am however thinking of doing a pike fishing quiz as a bit of a laugh with a prize for the best score I’m also thinking of a tackle auction (10% towards club funds) as this has gone down well with other regions. Remember that it’s YOUR club so your ideas, suggestions & help are much needed.
Local Scene
I’ve wrote to local angling clubs informing them of our Region in an attempt to promote pike welfare in the region. I’ve wrote to the Wigan flashes management committee informing them of the club & what we are about, I’ve offered to attend their meetings & I await their response. I am also offering local angling clubs free angling coaching sessions for their new/inexperienced members who fish for Pike as well as offering to do a talk on pike fishing. As I’ve already said Eric Edwards & myself have kicked this off with the 1st local coaching event to get us started. If anyone is interested in helping me make contact with the local angling clubs then please let me know
Situations Vacant
Assistant R/O
I’m looking for an assistant R/O to generally help me out with the running of the club, if you have a little spare time & you think that you could help me out please let me know, I’m sure that we can sort out the who does what between ourselves over a pint, it would be nice to have a few fishing trips together too.
Blog Master
Dave Lumb has been kind enough to set up a blog for the region (cheers Dave) however I’m looking for someone to keep it upto date & jazz it up a bit (OK a lot as there is next to nothing on it at the moment!) as my PC skills aren’t upto the job, so this is one either for the Assistant R/O or another member. If you have a look at the Lincoln region’s blog they have a great blog & I’d like to aim for something like that if at all possible (I’ve been in touch with the Lincoln Region & they are willing to give our blog master a hand)
Club Outings
I’m looking for a volunteer to upkeep the scores from the club outings if you would like to do this please let me know (maybe this is something the assistant R/O could do?)maybe going forward this could include helping me organise the club outings.
Club Accounts
I’m looking for someone to do some very basic accounts for us to keep a track of club funds, this could also include taking the money on the door for slideshows etc.
Personally I’m not bothered if the same person does all of the above or if a few members do one of the above tasks each (Jon)
PAC late Summer evening Lure Event
In August I attended a summer lure event with the Wakefield region of the PAC, it was for 4 hours in the evening on the River Hull, it was just a bit of a laugh & it was more to get the lads together before the ‘Piking season’ got going. As my parting gift to the region (other than me leaving that is!) I donated a trophy for the biggest haul of pike which I presented on the bank. The Wakefield region are making this an annual event & I wondered if anyone would be interested in us doing something similar? If so I’m sure I could arrange it for one Saturday evening in September 2008, maybe I could even arrange a BBQ or a few butties at a local pub (maybe at the Caledonian?) or at mine after if anyone is interested let me know & I will add it to our calendar of events.
Presenting the lure outing trophy for Wakefield Region at the river Hull to Andy Naylor
Club Boat!
Region 31 recruit James Dean from Wigan (not the James Dean) has kindly given me a 9.6ftx4.11ft fibreglass dinghy – thanks mate. The boat is in it’s original gel coat & has had no major repairs, it has built in buoyancy tanks in the front & rear & two bench seats & its quite stable for a little boat, I field tested it up at loch Ard in Scotland & it performed fine. We tried to get permission to leave the boat up at Bala but for various reasons that I won’t bore you all with here we failed. So I will leave the boat at my house, it is car topable & can easily be carried by two men, members can use it for a few quid by booking it though me. I have a spare life jacket & I’m sure I can sort a set of oars & some basic anchors if anyone needs them I will also supply a couple of ratchet straps. Going forward maybe we could look to use some club funds to buy a small electric or petrol outboard for the boat (its short shaft & would take upto a maximum of 4 hp), but lets see if we can get one for free first, so if anyone is replacing an old electric or petrol outboard then please consider donating your old one to the club & if we are being really cheeky maybe someone could donate a leisure battery too?! I wouldn’t advise to use a small boat like this when the weather is too rough or on a massive water, anyhow it should be fine for when the weather is not too bad on the majority of venues & should help none boat owners get afloat for a day if they want to try boat fishing out without the expense of buying their own boat. With a sensible amount of tackle it’s ideally a one man boat however it may be OK for two for just a bit of lure fishing or with the absolute minimum of gear. I will be doing the boat up a little bit adding a wooden floor, carpet & filling the buoyancy tanks with buoyant foam. If you haven’t boat fished before have a good chat with someone who is an experienced boat angler before going afloat (there are a few experienced boatmen around) if you can get someone else to show you the ropes before you go afloat alone so much the better & NEVER compromise your Safety. Any use of the boat will be strictly at your own risk, it’s there for your own benefit as a regional member. I have paid the 1st years third party liability insurance which covers any club members use of the boat (3rd party liability only), transportation of the boat is not covered & you will need to check this with your own car insurance to ensure that you are covered. Whilst fishing all PAC members are themselves covered by the PAC’s insurance however this does not extend to 3rd party liability for boating accidents or to the boat hence our including the boat in our policy. Some anglers also take out separate tackle insurance however etc. that’s up-to you. To use the boat you must be both a PAC & a Region 31 member for insurance reasons. All I will ask is that you use the boat safely, sensibly & responsibly & you look after it, if anyone damages it then I’d expect them to make good the repairs. If your coming to the club outings some of the venues permit boat fishing & the club boat is available for booking (I can’t guarantee it but I may even be able to transport it to the venue on outings for you if need be!)
The club boat in all it’s current glory:
Newsletter & Slideshows:
As I‘ve already said I will look to produce a newsletter Oct-April so any material that you can send me would be much appreciated. Maybe we can even forward some stuff (articles etc.) to Mr Fickling for use in Pikelines which would be good press for the region. I’m looking for a name for the newsletter, please send my your ideas, prize for the one we use. If you are able to put together enough material to do a slideshow then please let me know & I will book you in for next winter, it is not just our own but other regions who would be interested I’m sure as speakers can be in high demand & short supply, they must be as a few have even booked me to do a slideshow for them! Seriously though if you haven’t got enough material yet to do a slideshow but you would like to be involved then forward some pics & details to me & I could put together a ‘Region 31 Road Show’ Power-point presentation with sections on beginners, veterans (Eric!) etc. & on different specialities e.g. big water piking, local waters etc. this way is you want to be involved you could have a go at presenting a section of the slideshow.
Adds:
I have included some useful local tackle shop adds, these guys I hope will be supporting the club, so in return if we can support them by shopping there then that would be good.
EAC sponsored our angling coaching session on Carmill dam – thank-you
Platt Bridge Tackle 01942 864777
Platt Bridge Tackle have kindly offered to give Region 31 members a discount if you show your membership card
Harry’s Tackle on Old Road in Ashton has been providing a quality service to local anglers for many, many years – 01942 728532
9. Club Awards
I have donated some trophies to give us all something to aim for & details of the club awards are as follows.
Club awards will run from 1ST March – 1ST March, presentations will be made at the April meeting.
Photos are to be submitted to the R/O for adjudication for club awards (a few words on the capture is not essential but would be appreciated for the newsletter etc.)
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.
I’m paying the balance on the trophies & collecting them from Garswood Trophies in time to show them off at the first meeting. I will include a photo of them in the next newsletter.
Conclusion:
I hope that you have enjoyed this our first newsletter & that it has given you a taste of the things to come & that it has given you a flavour for what a few blokes who go Pike fishing can achieve collectively if they put their minds to it! Last but by no means least my thanks to Pete Green & Eric Edwards who have been my ‘mentors’ on the road to becoming R/O & who’s advise & guidance have been most valuable to me.
Tight Lines
Jon Neafcy
R/O Region 31 PAC GB
Wigan Piker!