Kelling Sunday 10th February 2013 – 6th Leg Winter Accumulator & Teams of 5
After a number of cracking matches where the whiting came on strong we were all wondering how long our luck would continue for these points scoring specimens. We were not to be disappointed as this was probably one of the club’s best matches for years and maybe the best ever. The weather was also playing ball although we were promised some significant white stuff later in the day which never materialised. Instead, the wind was in the right quarter, south easterly, rather stiff and chilly but more than acceptable. However, we did have to contend with steady rain for the first half of the match but the action was such that no one really noticed. With conditions and sport as such it was satisfying to see an excellent turn out of club members also probably the best for years with just 8 club members left in the starting blocks. With no southern league match numbers were also boosted by a small contingent from Suffolk in the shape of Alan, Dave, Ed and Phil trying their hand at a bit of this shingle stuff, thanks lads for your support!
The sea itself was perfect, flat at the start with a 2 to 3 foot swell with plenty of good colour stirred up by some strong northerlies towards the end of the week. Fishing 3 to the bottom and 2 up on a relatively big tide meant we would have tide and hopefully action throughout the match and we were spot on. From previous match experiences at this venue, the winners have come from both the block house and wreck ends. With this in mind 3 sections were located at the wreck end westward and 2 sections from the block house westward, complying with express instructions given to TT by young Henry that block house pegs to be on the Salthouse side. The club now has the parking sussed at this venue and all were soon off to park up at the closest point to their respective pegs. Fishing well into the ebb meant that everyone could set up well down the ebb’s shingle slope with none of this steep shingle bank to negotiate much to Ivan “consultant” (A)’s relief.
With so much action going on along the whole stretch it’s difficult to relate all this but a section by section activity is probably the best approach. In Section A, well to the west of the block house, there was mixed results with Bill (B) (peg 1) and Tom (G) (peg 2) both getting off to cracking start with double and treble shots of whiting coming with the odd dab which immediately showed that the whiting were still there. Both were getting them at range and were matching each other until Tom started to find just dabs and undersized whiting. This left Bill with his whiting hat on at last to take the section with 667 points from 40 fish. In contrast, at the other end John (C) (peg 6) was struggling to find fish but did manage a couple of 34cm whiting and Andy (T) (peg 7) a similar specimen at close range but he too was short of fish and in the end both had to be content with the minor section placings.
In section B, there was much expectation of some good weights as winners of recent matches have come from this stretch. However, John (N) (peg 15) on the hot peg just to the right of the block house was uncharacteristically struggling to find whiting in numbers and had to be content with a card full of low points scoring small dabs. The Suffolk boys, Alan (L) (peg 11) and Phil (R )(peg 13) were getting to terms with the shingle but they both were also plagued with small dabs which prevented them featuring in the final section result. Paul (H) (peg 14) was experimenting with some new rigs which did find him some whiting , a few small dabs and one of just two nice flounders caught in the match but he was well down on fish numbers to contest the section. The real battle for the section was between Ramon (C )(peg 10) and Tony (T) (peg 11) who were initially trading points with double shots of whiting and the odd small dab. This continued until Tony started to find treble shots of whiting cast after cast allowing him to pull away. This activity for him was short lived as he was unable to find any fish for a good hour towards the end but resorting back to range resulted in a flurry of treble shots of good whiting and 100 points in the last half hour comfortably sealing the section for him with 536 points from 33 fish.
Section C was pegged from the small cliff below the small gate eastwards to try and avoid the armies of small dabs that seemed to gather at the other end of the small cliff. This proved to be the case and the whiting were the predominant species here with the results in the main being far closer. To confirm this Robin (S)(peg 23) in his first real teams match managed to card only whiting but struggled to find numbers of them. Richard (E )(peg 18) as usual got off to a flyer with some whiting but soon came unstuck as he was uncharacteristically plagued by small dabs and the only person to really find them in this section which snookered his section chances but he was rewarded with a monster 28cm rockling towards the end. Suffolk man Dave (R )(peg 19) was really finding the whiting and was rewarded with a couple of beauties of 37cm and 38cm but his close battle with Peter (M) (peg 22) was to no avail as he was also finding whiting but less dabs and with same number of fish managed to pip Dave to 2nd in the section by just 2 points. Top man in this section was Mike (W)(peg 17) who was up to his usual trick of finding multiple whiting at range and a couple of 34cm versions late on helped him take the section with 567 points from 32 fish. Not too certain how busy he actually was as he did say he was watching others pulling in treble after treble so was he really busy, was there room for improvement!
Further down the stretch into section D, things were really hotting up as the whiting were really on the ball or should I say bait and the dabs had almost gone to ground. Another Suffolk man “lucky” Ed (D)(peg 27) was really enjoying himself finding a raft of whiting early on but a few dabs towards the end prevented him taking the section by just 4 points. In any case he did comment at the end that it was probably one of the best matches he has fished, well done Ed! Clubman Ashley (V) (peg 29) was back in whiting mode but lacked numbers and big fish to threatening the section leaders but would have been a commendable performance in any other match. Club stalwart Sam (A)(peg 31) was up to his usual trick of catching fish and for once the vast majority were whiting which managed to give him 3rd overall place in the section. Not such a good day for Ivan (A)(peg 26) who just could not find the fish but it was probably his first recorded fish that summed up his day, a rockling! Back on peg 25 Cromer man Ricky (H) was putting his freshly dug Overstrand yellas and blacks to good use finding a number of whiting and the odd dab but he needed bigger specimens to bump his score up. Top man in this section was Peter (L)(peg 30) who managed to keep his hands just warm enough to land 29 whiting and a solitary dab to give him 578 points. Bet he gave the wrigglers and that flounder trace a rest on this occasion.
Now for the real action in this match and an astonishing whiting fest in Section E. It is well known that the wreck can produce some good results but on this occasion the sea, the rough and strong northerlies had contrived to produce a small fish soup of shrimp, razors and fry which always seem to come shoreward in this part of the Kelling/Weybourne bay in front of the wreck. This of course sends the whiting ecstatic and those in Section D really did take advantage of this action and one angler in particular. From the off it was apparent here that the closer you were to the wreck the quality and numbers of fish improved. Paul (T)(peg 33) was finding the whiting at range and with just one small dab he was mounting up the points but with just one decent 35cm fish his other whiting were just not big enough to put him in contention for the section. However, he did manage to overcome Dick (E )(peg 34) who had a couple of fish less and an additional small dab. Further down the stretch Dene (C )(peg 35) was up to his usual trick of finding numbers of whiting with double and trebles but although he had a 35cm specimen and a few of 30 & 31cm he needed bigger versions to boost his score. However, in the early stages he was certainly in contention for the section and match but a choice saunter to young Henry’s tent to find the heap of tail clipped whiting behind it and 1000 points on his card put paid to that conclusion.
In Section E the match was being played out on the end two pegs between Henry (R )(peg 38) and James (P)(peg 39). This is where the whiting were gorging on that fish soup with both hauling in treble after treble in exhausting regularity. Initially, James was keeping up with Henry and with just one dab on his card he was getting the points but his whiting were small and thus reduced his score accordingly. In contrast, Henry was getting stonking whiting, 5x33cm, 4x34cm, 3x35cm, 3x36cm, 1x37cm and 1x38cm. Every cast was banging away as soon as it touched the water even before the previous treble had been recorded and rig re-baited. He used up all his blow lug and blacks and had to resort to straight Budgen’s mackerel with the trebles still coming in and as he said afterwards “I could have used half a frozen brussel sprout and still caught them”. Even at the end he was getting the monsters helping to overshadowed just two small dabs which made no difference to his score. With fish every cast and the majority trebles he was in for a match breaking record in both numbers of fish and weight. He of course took the section with 1294 points, yes 1294 points! from 58 fish, yes 58 fish! Well done HENRY!!!
In the Open Match top man was Henry Randell with 26lb 15 1/3oz from 58 fish which was more than double the majority of everyone else’s weight. Next was James Pearce with 15lb 6oz from 41 fish and not too far behind was Dene Conway with 14lb 2/3oz from 37 fish. This was also the club result with Mike Watts taking the club’s heaviest flat fish points with his 28cm (11 1/3oz) dab and Henry the club heaviest round fish points with his 38cm (13 2/3oz) whiting.
In the Team event, Henry and James took the top 2 individual spots and Bill Beeton 3rd with 13lb 14 1/3oz from 40 fish. North Norfolk Lads was top team with 6 points, followed by The Gutter Bashers with 7 points and Holt Crack Offs with 11 Points.
Certainly a match to remember particularly for one young lad which will now go into the annals of the club for time immemorial . In recent history, 58 is the largest number of fish caught in a single match beating Joc Goudie’s record of 56. The weight of nearly 27lb is also the largest weight of recent time but the club probably had heavier weights when the Cod were prolific. This weight has now thrown Henry into a commanding position in the club’s Winter Accumulator which is contested on overall weight over the 10 matches. In total 647 fish were caught comprising of 520 whiting, 122 dabs, 2 flounders and 3 rockling weighing an astonishing 229lbs or just over 1/10th ton.
A match when we at last got everything right including weather, sea state and tide but the problem is how do we now match this one. For once the wreck end certainly out fished the block house and the conditions were such to allow this to happen. The next club match is the 7th Leg of the Winter Accumulator on Saturday 16th February at Kelling fishing 10:00 to 3:00. No prizes for guessing where we will be pegging this one!
Open Result Top 3
1st Henry Randell 26lb 14 1/3oz (58 Fish)
2nd James Pearce 15lb 6oz (41 Fish)
3rd Dene Conway 14lb 1/3oz (37 Fish)
Club Result Top 5
1st Henry Randell 26lb 14 1/3oz (58 Fish)
2nd James Pearce 15lb 6oz (41 Fish)
3rd Dene Conway 14lb 1/3oz (47 Fish)
4th Bill Beeton 13lb 14 1/3oz (40 Fish)
5th Paul Thorburn 12lb 3oz (32 Fish)
Teams Individuals Result Top 3
1st Henry Randell 26lb 14 1/3oz (58 Fish)
2nd James Pearce 15lb 6oz (41 Fish)
3rd Bill Beeton 13lb 14 1/3oz (40 Fish)
Teams Result Top 5
1st North Norfolk Lads 6 points
2nd The Gutter Bashers 7 points
3rd Holt Crack Offs 11 points
4th Holt SAC A 12 points
5th Holt SAC B 20 points
Please use this link for full set of club match results … Holt SAC Match Results (10Feb13)
Please use this link for current league table… Holt SAC League Table (10Feb13)
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