Kelling Sunday 18th December 2011 – Ken Brown Cup & Xmas Open
With a touch of Winter and strong North Westerlies forecast the competition from round the corner and Suffolk thought it was just a bit too much for them so Trev had to pull the Avenue Angling Challenge as there was only himself left. Just as well as he had a touch of the rear end wobblies so they’ll have to wait another day for a risk of being beaten. Anyway no such concerns for the hardy men of the north as they gathered at Muckleburgh Collection gate risking life and limb in ice and snow travelling from the far reaches of Norfolk, Suffolk and deepest Cambridgeshire. The challenge was off but the club match and open were definitely on with the competitive spirit certainly there from the pre-match banter.
With overnight showers and strong north westerly wind the sea had been churned up but for some reason the wind had switched to a biting west south westerly. This resulted in smoothing of the surface but with a swell of up to 10 or more feet pounding the foreshore. With plenty of colour and movement this was a perfect cod sea so pegging was around the wreck to the right of our parking area to maximise chances of this species. After a couple of days of strong northerlies the shingle bank had been built up to a considerable height and as we were fishing over the top everyone had to perch high on the shingle. This meant a “mountain hike” for each cast and returning of fish but at the whistle the majority decided to welly it from the top.
With conditions as they were, this was a match where the first few casts would really tell if the fish numbers of the previous match at Cley were hanging around or if they’d gone off to calmer climes. Unfortunately, it soon came apparent that the latter was the case as cast after cast, particularly on the high number pegs to the right of the wreck produced almost untouched bait. The trusty dabs of previous weeks had certainly gone to ground, probably put off by the relentless crashing of the waves. As the first hour past the high number pegs were barren but it was observed that the odd whiting was appearing to the left of the wreck. With a quick scurry along the stretch it was found that “smooth” Conway (peg 5) had managed to find 4 reasonable whiting and a dab, “last cast” Watts (peg 2) a couple of whiting, “last man” Gooch (peg 1) a small dab and whiting but as usual “bass man” Beeton (peg 4) was doing the business with a dab and 5 good whiting. Using his specially prepared worm/mackerel combination at medium range to find the fish it was much to the frustration of “smooth” and “last cast” who just could not match him for numbers of fish.
Back at the other end things were dire as “yoda” Thomas (peg 16) and “ steady” Carter (peg 9) managing to find only a single whiting apiece with everyone else having an empty card. The Dereham brigade were particularly having a torrid time with the Ellis duo and “dereham man” Allison finding it tough in the heavy swell. The fish were probably slightly beyond their current range and they are certainly on a steep learning curve but it is good to have them aboard. With a slight change of tactics, “yoda” decided to try a bit of distance and this resulted in a few whitings starting to appear on his card which was also the case for “steady”. “inspector” Morse’s wait for a fish eventually paid off as he found a sizeable whiting but he certainly is currently going through a bad patch especially after last match.
In contrast, as the tide reached top and the weed started to become a bit of a nuisance the fish began to appear at the other end. A change of tactics by “smooth” to that of “bass man’s” (worm tipped mackerel) saw his fish count go up which included a nice 26cm dab and he started to home in on “bass man”. Then it happened, a 41cm codling and 68 points on his card, the match was then really on with “bass man” as “smooth” could be seen dashing up and down the steep bank. The adrenaline was now flowing and all he had to do was to match “bass man” fish for fish to do the business. Others around these two were catching but not at a match winning rate.
Back at the other end “yoda” and “steady” managed to find a few more fish but for them they too switched off. “inspector” could not improve his score and others including “end peg” Allen (peg 14), “silverfox” Neave (peg 6) and wreck man “sandy coke” Loke (peg8) failed to get their cards marked all match. The Dereham brigade could only muster 5 fish between them but their day will come. As the wind switched and strengthened to North Westerly the squally showers of rain and sleet started to appear. With temperatures beginning to dip even further everyone for once was eagerly waiting for the whistle.
When it came the codling man Dene “smooth” Conway had done the business with 6lb 14oz from 15 fish followed by Bill “bass man” Beeton with 5lb 11oz from 14 fish. Although he tried hard Mike “last cast” Watts could not match the top two for numbers of fish and took the final podium slot with 3lb 13 2/3oz from 11 fish. Both heaviest flat and round on the day went to Dene with his 26cm Dab and 41cm codling.
This was a match of two halves where those fishing to the right of the wreck were fishing in relatively shallow water where the fish had probably gone further off. Whereas, to the left of the wreck the water was far deeper although it was the apparently muddy bottom patch that produced the fish. A lesson for future matches at this venue in these conditions.
The next match is the Janet Waller Cup and Rocket House Open at Salthouse on Tuesday 27th December 2011 fishing 10:00-3:00 followed by the Nelson Shield and New Year Open at Kelling on Monday 2nd January 2012 also fishing 10:00-3:00. The postponed North Norfolk Team Challenge with Avenue Angling will be rearranged for later in January. Please check out club mobile number (07899032984) voice mail for match status of both these closer to the event.
Open Match Result Top 5
1st Dene Conway 6lb 14oz
2nd Bill Beeton 5lb 11oz
3rd Mike Watts 3lb 12 2/3oz
4th Mark Gooch 3lb 4 2/3oz
5th= John Carter 3lb 3oz
5th= Tony Thomas 3lb 3oz
Club Match Result Top 5
1st Dene Conway 6lb 14oz
2nd Bill Beeton 5lb 11oz
3rd Mike Watts 3lb 12 2/3oz
4th= John Carter 3lb 3oz
4th= Tony Thomas 3lb 3oz
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