Kelling Sunday 6th November 2011 – Annual Open & Roy Waller Memorial Cup
A very strong Northerly seriously dented the turn out for the Club’s Annual Open with the majority of the open’s regulars opting for a more comfortable session at Felixstowe or just having a restful weekend at other pleasures. With a good 5 to 6 foot swell the sea was ideal for some serious fish and with no white water the sea could only improve as we were fishing all the flood. With no rain forecast the usual bunch of regular optimists plus a couple of additional opportunist gathered at the Muckleburgh Collection main entrance gate.
With a small turn out all the pegging was to the right of the small cliff, up and around the wreck area to give the advantage of the slightly deeper water. The sea in this area was really rolling in but surprisingly very little white water and the weed although still there looked manageable. A sea that could keep the dabs and whiting off if they were there but perfect for those elusive codling and with the sea still warm ideal for those late season bass. At the off everyone had the dilemma of what distance to fish but it soon became apparent that with the strong northerly it was as far as you could chuck in a head wind.
The first couple of casts always gives an indication if there is at least some fish around and this was soon proven to be the case. Within minutes of the start “yoda” Thomas from end peg 1 had his customary first fish on the beach in the form of a 26cm flounder which was quickly followed by a cracking 36cm version. This demonstrated that quality fish were there and we were in theory in for a good session. However, things were very slow, well actually dire except for “sandy coke” Loke on peg 14 just to the right of the wreck. For him the fish were there at his range as he soon had a 38cm bass and a 30cm flounder double shot followed shortly afterwards by another 40cm bass / flattie double shot pushing him well into the lead.
Although at a slow rate, fish were beginning to come in and “last cast” Watts next to “sandy coke” on wreck peg 13 started to find the small dabs using his usual bait combination at range. However, others were struggling, in particular “class act” Thorburn , “moto maint” Conway, “silver fox” Neave, “no hat” Attew, “steady” Carter and “inspector” Morse with some just finding the odd flattie. In contrast “yoda” was stacking up the points with a number of flatties including a 30cm flounder/32cm dab double shot. As the tide started to flood the sea began to build pounding out tons of shingle creating massive gullies in the gutter and more bass started to appear.
With just a small dab his card “inspector’s” day soon brightened up as he locked into a 41cm bass . This was the same for “steady” as he also grabbed a 41cm version followed shortly afterwards by one of 40cm. However, “moto maint” who was still inflicted by his Eastbourne experience could only find the odd small dab and was thoroughly demoralised; had the success of the previous weeks deserted him? “class act” was equally becoming disconsolate and threw away his game plan after picking up just 3 small dabs and focused on the bass with big baits. The reward soon came as he carded a 41cm version quickly followed by a 40cm fish.
In contrast, “steady’s” fortunes suddenly changed as he too soon had a 45cm followed by a 42cm bass in his bag. “sandy coke’s” early success had dried up as he was being rapidly caught by “last cast” with a succession of flatties and then a 38cm and a 36cm bass. “silver fox’s” success at Bacton had deserted him as he could not find even a small flattie all match. Likewise “no hat”, winner in previous matches only managed to find one small dab and was finding it difficult to hold bottom. As the flooding tide got into full throttle the pounding increased and the fish started to switch off. “yoda” had accumulated a mixed bag of 11 small and large flatties but needed a quality fish to be in contention and an hour from the end this duly came in the form of a 43cm bass.
In the end it was Tony “yoda” Thomas who won the day with 6lb 1oz from 12 fish followed by John “steady” Carter with 5lb 2/3oz from just 4 fish. Mike “last cast” Watts’s determination paid off taking the final podium slot with 4lb 9oz from 11 fish. Heaviest round fish on the day was John’s 1lb 14 2/3oz bass and heaviest flat Tony’s 1lb flounder. Considering the condition a most enjoyable Annual Open and just a pity about the turn out.
Due to the SAMF Masters event at Orford the next club match is at Kelling on Sunday 20th November 2011 via the Muckleburgh Collection fishing 10:00 – 3:00. This is also the 2nd round of the North Norfolk teams of 5 Sea League and anyone wishing to fish in a club team please send text to the club’s mobile or contact the chairman. The 2012 National Sea League Final will be held in North Norfolk on the weekend of 21st /22nd October and all teams in this league will be eligible to fish in this Final. If you want to be involved in this prestigious event please join one of the club teams on 20th November.
Club Match Result Top 5
1st Tony Thomas 6lb 1oz
2nd John Carter 5lb 0 2/3oz
3rd Mike Watts 4lb 9oz
4th Peter Loke 4lb 5 1/3oz
5th Paul Thorburn 3lb 4 2/3oz
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