North Norfolk Bass Festival Report & Results – 11th/12th May 2013

Holt Sea Angling Club is pleased to inform that the inaugural North Norfolk Bass Festival over this weekend was an outstanding success with plenty of good bass being recorded. The Festival comprised of two separate matches fishing the beaches of Kelling and Salthouse with 2 sections at each venue on both days. Altogether 64 match anglers fished the Festival with each angler fishing both these venues on the two days. Head Quarters for the event was Kelling Heath Holiday Park who were also major sponsors for the event. Holt Sea Angling Club would like to thank Kelling Heath along with Hunstanton Tackle for their support in making the Festival a big success.

Day 1 started off in very calm bright conditions with a moderate South Westerly and a good ebbing tide. Sections A & B were at Salthouse and this is where the bulk of the bass were found in this match with the lower peg numbers being more successful. Sections C & D were at Kelling where the fishing was tougher with just one bass found at the low end of section C and the remainder at the high end of section D. In general dabs and some good flounders were found throughout the match with the bass coming near the start and towards the end when there was a good tidal flow.

Bass winner on the day was Suffolk’s Ian Bowell who was really putting his continental style to good use as well as giving the locals and other top match anglers a lesson by finding 5 good bass for 6lb 5oz. Next and flying the flag for Norfolk was Peter Loke who managed to find 2 good bass in the final hour for 3lb 1oz. Final podium bass spot went to another Suffolk man Dave Cook with 2 bass for 2lb 9oz. The “All Fish” winner was of course Ian Bowell with 8lb 4oz from 15 fish followed by a Cambridge ex-Norfolk boy Mike Watts with 4lb 9oz from 12 fish. Final podium place went to another Suffolk man Mark Pinder with 3lb 10oz from 9 fish who also shared the heaviest bass prize with Ian Bowell and Peter Loke with a 1lb 11oz bass. All these winners came from Salthouse and predominantly from section A but in contrast the heaviest Flat was taken by Suffolk man Steve Durrant from Kelling with a 1lb flounder (34cm).

Day 2 saw conditions improve significantly with an overnight moderate West North West wind producing a perfect bass sea with a slight swell under an overcast sky. Section placings were the same as previous day at both venues but with slight adjustments to the pegging after feedback from Day 1 results. This contributed significantly to a reversal of fortunes for the two beaches with Kelling producing the vast majority of good bass. This beach also produced the heaviest bass of the Festival of 3lb 13oz to Mark Pinder on his very first cast from a low end peg . As with the previous day the majority of the bass coming at the start of the ebb and towards the end with dabs and more good flounders throughout. Unlike the previous day Salthouse section A just produced 4 bass whereas at the other end from section B, 11 bass were recorded. In contrast, at Kelling section C produced 22 bass with section D producing an astonishing 33 bass.

Bass winner on the day was again Ian Bowell with 8 good bass for 9lb 4oz followed by Suffolk man Matt Lay-Flurrie with 5 good bass for 7lb 13oz. Final podium slot went to Nick Haward who managed to find 4 bass with two cracking fish in the final hour for 6lb 12oz. The “All Fish” winner was grand slam Ian Bowell with 13 fish for 11lb 2oz followed by Dave Cook with an astonishing 24 fish for 11lb 2oz. Final podium slot in this category went to Mark Pinder with 12 fish for 9lb 8oz. The heaviest bass of the day and of the Festival was Mark’s 3lb 13oz fish which also won him a “Short Break” holiday at Kelling Heath Holiday Park . The heaviest flat of the day went to Matt Lay-Flurrie at Kelling with a stonking 1lb 7oz (39cm) flounder.

This was an outstanding event where Bass Festival really did mean Bass with a capital “B”. A healthy 22 on the first day with just 3 undersize (less than 36cm) and 72 on the second day with just 6 undersize. The smallest bass of the weekend was 29cm and all the sizeable bass were fine specimens demonstrating we do have quality fish for match angling on the North Norfolk coast. There was extremely positive feedback from all after the event with just one question being asked, what is the date for next year’s event? Looks like we have another annual fixture for the match calendar on the North Norfolk Coast.

Holt Sea Angling Club would like to thank all those match anglers for supporting and participating in the event and hopefully see you at the 2014 Bass Festival, yes! 2014 Festival.

Day 1 Results …

Bass Only

1^st Ian Bowell           6lb 5oz    (5 Fish)
2^nd Peter Loke           3lb 1oz   (2 Fish)
3^rd Dave Cook          2lb 9oz    (2 Fish)

All Fish

1^st Ian Bowell           8lb 4oz    (15 Fish)
2^nd Mike Watts         4lb 9oz    (12 Fish)
3^rd Mark Pinder       3lb 10oz (9 Fish)

Day 2 Results …

Bass Only

1^st Ian Bowell           9lb 4oz     (8 Fish)
2^nd Matt Lay-Flurrie 7lb 13oz   (5 Fish)
3^rd Nick Haward       6lb 12oz (4 Fish)

All Fish

1^st Ian Bowell           11lb 2oz (13 Fish)
2^nd Dave Cook             4lb 9oz (24 Fish)
3^rd Mark Pinder        9lb 8oz (12 Fish)

Please use this link for full set of results … Holt SAC 2013 Bass Festival Results

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