Kelling Saturday 15th October 2011 – Nelson Cup
In an attempt to improve numbers this club match was brought forward a day to allow some to check out new venues with the big boys at the Aldeburgh Blind and others to challenge the weed on Gt. Yarmouth North beach in the Mark Alsop. The plan worked as double the turnout from previous matches gathered at the Muckleburgh Collection meeting point on a bright relatively warm morning. A slightly later than norm start (11:00) to catch more of the ebb but unfortunately “no hat” and “silver fox” hadn’t got the message and were there at the crack of dawn for an early (9:00) walking from Weybourne beach car park to cogitate on where everyone had gone. Not to miss a trick, they had set up camp near the wreck and were pulling out a dab or two a chuck but more importantly no weed, the spoiler in recent club matches.
With “silver fox” and “no hat” now knowing they were in for a match, they were joined by the other regulars along with “bass man” Beeton to kick off his winter campaign and the now “double dick gentlemen” Abel back from his Irish exploits, welcome back lads! With no one wanting a serious hike pegging was from the end of the small cliff east towards the wreck. As compensation for their early start “no hat” and “silver fox” were given wreck end pegs, was this a mistake? whilst “bass man” and “yoda” were at the other end with the rest making up the middle of the stretch. With a medium ebbing tide everyone tried to park themselves as close to the water as possible, well all except “moto maint” who set up high on the shingle, no doubt expecting a surge or two. That is, from an almost flat calm with just a hint of colour from a light South South Easterly giving a near perfect sea spoilt only by the bright sunshine but thankfully no weed.
At the whistle tactics seemed to be uniform along the stretch with everyone opting for a 60 to 80 metre chuck. Everyone was hoping that the big whiting were going to show but the target species for the day had to be dabs and flounders. First fish on the beach was a dab falling to “bass man”, not a big one (21cm) but on his card none the less and was to set the tone for the match. Next to card was “yoda” with same size dab but it was soon apparent there was fish all along the stretch as “no hat”, “silver fox” and “moto maint” were all seen to be scurrying around with buckets. It soon became obvious that the problem of the day was not going to be the weed as there was none but the vermin as everyone started resorting to 10 minute or less casts to retrieve their stripped hooks.
The middle of the stretch was having a slow start but “inspector” was soon into the act by finding a nice 24cm flounder which was followed by a few more quality fish which included dabs up to 26cm. Next to him was ”double dick” who was struggling to find fish but suddenly found that lug tipped bluey was the bait of the day and started to get into the fish which he unfortunately reported to “yoda”. The man having a dire day was “sandy coke” who was finding it difficult to even attract one fish and soon realised his mistake, the rejection of a bluey at the start. However, the fish were still hungry and he eventually found a very small dab for his card. With the tide ebbing fast “moto maint” decided to come off his high perch on the shingle and follow the tide like everyone else except “inspector” who preferred the comfort of his shingle camp.
With fish coming and going it was difficult to gauge who was performing but it soon became apparent that “inspector” was in with a shout as he carded a 29cm flounder. “moto maint” had also been busy with his bucket but the dark horses were “no hat” and “silver fox” who seemed to be steadily catching but difficult to judge numbers. At the other end it was “double dick”who had taken stock of the bluey situation and started reeling in doubles and singles from just 40 metres out. “sandy coke” started to find a few fish but “bass man” was struggling to find any fish even with his bluey tipping. “yoda” had found that for once wrigglers were just not working and opted for the lug/bluey combination after “double dick” had advertised his success. This resulted in “yoda” finding the fish again with a treble shot of dabs with half an hour to go. Realising one or two more of these could do the business he burst into life, rushing around like a maniac with concern for his health from “double dick”. Unfortunately, no more trebles or anymore fish and the result was going to be down to the wire with the majority have some nice weights.
In the end it was that man again for a second match in a row who took the honours, that is Sam “no hat” Attew with 4lb 4oz from 17 fish closely followed by his sparring partner John “silver fox” Neave with 4lb 0oz from 15 fish. Final podium slot went to Dene “moto maint” Conway who extensively exploited his pyramid techniques at close range to find a 27cm flounder at the end to give him 3lb 9 1/3oz from 12 fish beating Peter “inspector” Morse by just 1/3oz. For once an enjoyable highly competitive close match with the top 6 all within just over a pound in weight. An early start for the winners which gave them wreck end so was this a mistake but they still had to catch and do the business. This match proves the winter species are coming back but no whiting or round fish just yet, too much sunshine!!!
Next match is the rescheduled teams of 5 and club match at Bacton on Sunday 23rd October fishing 9:00 to 2:00 meeting at Castaways Holiday Park from 7:30 onwards. The club still has a few slots in its teams so please send a text on the club phone (07899032984) or leave a message if you are interested in being in a club team. This could be a good match as there are reports of whiting to 33cm and good dabs and flounders from this venue on a similar tide 10 days ago let’s hope the weed has gone.
Club Match Result Top 5
1st Sam Attew 4lb 4oz
2nd John Neave 4lb 0oz
3rd Dene Conway 3lb 9 1/3oz
4th Peter Morse 3lb 9oz
5th Tony Thomas 3lb 6oz
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