Kelling Sunday 22nd January 2012 – 3rd Leg Winter Accumulator, Winter Open and North Norfolk Team Challenge
Our 3rd attempt to run the North Norfolk Team Challenge against the boys from down South once again came unstuck, maybe they really don’t want to take us on. With some handy Westerly winds with a touch of North forecast the southern contingent were having none of this particularly as there were other lucrative deals closer to home so they opted out. The hardy men of the North were also having none of this and unanimously agreed to continue with the club, open and team matches. With the strength of the wind unpredictable a contingency plan to fish west bank Kings Lynn was put in place to check out the winter flounder situation and do this in relative comfort. A 7:30a.m. check at Kelling gave strong South Westerlies and a reasonable sea but more than fishable although the wind was forecast to pick up by midday and veer West and a bit North. By 8:00a.m. all were informed that Kelling was the confirmed venue for the day, handy bit of technology this club phone as it reverberated to each member checking out which direction to head!
With all informed of venue it was Paul “sparks” Hudson who rolled up first at Muckleburgh Collection gate even though he had the furthest (Haverhill) to travel. The rest soon arrived in quick succession including “moto maint” and the “dereham boys” who were all crammed into one vehicle and stacked high with gear. Well soon for some, all except Andy “no buddy” Turk who misjudged his timing from wayward Coltishall. Even with a low turnout the Team Challenge was on with the POLICE X team taking on the HOLT CLUBMAN team with other club members being assigned to each of these teams.
Pegging was from the right of the small cliff up to the wreck which at least guaranteed some deeper water. Fishing over the bottom gave us relatively flat shingle to set up on. Clear bright skies were again forecast so the chance of locating any stonking whiting here was going to be remote but maybe this time they would disregard the bright sunshine. In such windy conditions everyone was very cautious to get their buddies set up correct and well dowsed in shingle, well all except “bassman” Beeton and “no buddy” Turk who decided to brave it out in the fresh air.
At the “whistleless” off everyone opted for their own obligatory casting distance. A distance where everyone felt comfortable whether it be a gentle lob or an outright cast. In the strengthening wind, not too certain if the comfortable bit is appropriate. At least initially with the wind over your left ear casts were clean and some were finding their target sea bed as the odd small Dab started to appear on the beach. At least we were not in for a totally barren day as “sparks” Hudson (peg 11), “smooth” Conway (12) ,”captain” Ellis (9),”new gear” Vertican (8) and “yoda” Thomas (10) all started to record those odd small dabs and a just sizeable whiting for “sparks”. Further down the stretch towards the low numbers it all looked very quiet. Even “bassman” Beeton was not pulling his usual trace full of dabs and even had time to erect his brollie so you knew it was grim.
As the tide dropped further and the wind picked up the fish became smaller with undersize dabs and whiting becoming the norm for most. All except “smooth” Conway who managed to find a nice 28 cm Pout worth 22 points which got his adrenalin flowing as he uncharacteristically “cantered” across to cadge some silvers. For the sake of the team he muttered as he went off to target more of the point scoring Pouts from shore side of the wreck. Unfortunately, they too had gone back to the relative safety of the wreck as everyone started to struggle with the tide reaching bottom and slack water appearing, if you could call the wind swept sea slack on this day. The lower order pegs were struggling with “the consultant” Allison (1), “silver fox” Neave (2), “no hat” Attew (3) and “sandy coke” Loke all struggling to find even one sizeable fish. In contrast, “no name yet” Ellis (5) and “inspector” Morse (6) were finding a few fish which included a 24cm flounder for “inspector”.
As 1:00 p.m. approached the wind became serious and backed Westerly but everyone’s buddies and brollies held firm including “yoda’s” which started to resemble a wind break. No problem for “no buddy” Turk except he had to chase his rod bag scurrying half way to Weybourne to retrieve it. He was having a torrid day on end peg 13, not finding a single fish but a little assistance from “smooth” with his traces helped him locate a solitary rockling. A steep learning curve in these conditions but let’s hope he returns for more of the real action as there is acres more knowledge to pick up for this venue. As the tide started to flow it was “new gear” and “captain“ who started to find the odd fish which were going to help them and their teams in the rankings. With the fish starting up again and the wind easing slightly all were optimistic of a bonus end but all had forgotten how fickle the tide can be. With tide and wind joining forces along with some unwanted weed, grip leads were no match for this surge as the last half hour saw traces swept eastward and into the pounding waves as soon as they hit the water.
In this match it was imperative to get a good start as conditions worsened from then on and this was proven to be the case. On the day the honours were shared by Bill “bassman” Beeton with 1lb 7 2/3oz from 10 fish and Dene “smooth” Conway with same weight from 7 fish. Final podium slot went to a delighted Ashley “new gear” Vertican with 1lb 5oz from 8 fish. Heaviest flat fish points on the day went to Ivan and Ashley for 25cm Dabs and heaviest round to Dene for his 28cm Pout. The most remarkable result of the day was in the team event where both POLICE X and HOLT CLUBMAN both recorded a total combined weight for their 6 team members of 298 points or 6lb 3 1/3oz. It was agreed that there should be no count back as with all club matches but POLICE X did manage 36 fish against HOLT CLUBMAN’s 35 so amongst whoops of cheering at the end they took the moral victory. So in theory they should both share the 2012 Avenue Angling shield but we don’t know yet if this will materialise as the AA team were not participating. Many thanks to all including Hunstanton Tackle who donated prizes for the raffle which provided handy income for the club.
In the club’s overall league competition after 27 matches, Dene with this win and heaviest round has crept into the lead on 289 points after 5 worst scores have been deducted closely followed by Tony on 287 points. Third place is currently John (Neave) on 254 points and again closely followed by Peter (Loke) on 253 points. With just 7 matches left it is going to be a close contest and nip and tuck to the end. Next match is back to a pure club match with the 4th Leg of the Winter Accumulator and Foreman Cup at Cley on Sunday 29th January 2012 fishing 10:00 to 3:00 with HW at 10:14. Please remember to return all club trophies to John Neave by the end of January.
Club & Open Match Results Top 5
1st= Bill Beeton 1lb 7 2/3oz
1st= Dene Conway 1lb 7 2/3oz
3rd Ashley Vertican 1lb 5oz
4th= Richard Ellis 1lb 2 2/3oz
4th= Paul Hudson 1lb 2 2/3oz
Team Challenge Result
1st = POLICE X 6lb 3 1/3oz 36 fish
1st = HOLT CLUBMAN 6lb 3 1/3oz 35 fish
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