Salthouse Sunday 13th January 2013 – 2nd Leg Winter Accumulator & Teams of 5
It was the 2nd Sunday in the month so it was time for the 4th Round of the North Norfolk Sea League which this year is being managed by Holt SAC and certainly helps to keep match numbers up. This match was also the 2nd Leg of the Winter Accumulator where the total weight over the 10 legs determines the Winter Accumulator Cup winner. A chilly but bright start with a moderate East North Easterly putting a nice swell of 2 to 3 feet on a well coloured water and it was dry. Thankfully peg man “young” Henry was back in business for at least one Sunday after being reprieved a “hardcore” reed cutting session but being currently motorless this left him with another problem. However, a quick pick up by TT enabled him to relate about his Friday night exploits at Spalla Gap ending up with the odd good whiting and getting lost driving from the beach, probably because he was using a “Self” drive vehicle. Anyway “young” Henry, “captain” and TT were soon pegging our favourite slot between Little and Great Eye mounds during which “young” Henry commented on how good the sea looked but there’d be no whiting about today, how wrong he was to be! During the pegging the group came across a scattered tent along with a cooking burner , frying pan with half cooked chops along with a load of other rubbish. One can imagine who would be blamed for this mess so the whole lot was gathered together and dragged back to the car park, well done Henry & Richard!
Salthouse is a popular venue for most members and the usual regulars were arriving nice and early including “new buddy” who is becoming a real regular plus a semi-repaired “inspector”, welcome back Peter. Also there was “steady” or should we say “john solo” as he now weekly makes the trip up on his own from round the corner, ‘no problem’ he says ‘I just like the shingle’. The Ely, Dereham and Heacham contingents were running slightly late and also in the mix after a surprise call was DC who had a touch of over-night man flu and couldn’t face the early rise for Sizewell which was probably just as well after hearing their results. With pegs drawn and team orders laid down all were soon off to their respective slots including the so called smart guys now dubed the “trolley dollies” by someone who wanted to remain anonymous, “ mr turkey”. Fishing the back end of the ebb and an hour of the flood meant setting up below the high water mark and again none of this hiking up and down the shingle bank. However, it was a biggish tide so there was still a big expanse of shingle to negotiate as the tide dropped away, ‘nothing like fishing at the water’s edge’ said “class act”.
With everyone being more than organised these days all were fully prepared for the whistle and eager to get their leads in the water. However, it was noticed that some are getting a little canny by just hesitating before casting to see where everyone else was placing their bait. In general, it was the 40 to 60 yard Salthouse chuck that was adopted by most casting into the gully on the shoreside of sand/chalk bar. It was soon evident that we were in for a reasonable match as buckets could be seen being filled along the stretch. In section A, kicking off his session nicely was end peg 1 “consultant” Allison as he carded a few small dabs but it was a slow start for “steady” Carter (peg 2) who eventually managed to find a sizeable whiting and then a few small dabs. “yoda” Thomas (peg 3) got off to a bright start with a dab and whiting double followed by the odd small dab and then a succession of good whiting. In contrast, next peg 4 “new buddy” Turk, “no name yet” Ellis (peg 6) and “sparks” Harvey (peg 7) were struggling to find sizeable fish but did manage the odd whiting and small dabs.
Further down the stretch in section B, “class act” Thorburn was only finding a few small dabs and whiting but a change of tactics to a bit of distance produced some bigger whiting. Unfortunately, his day went downhill from there as some new mono was parting company with bait and rig as well as potential fish when he gave it the big heave. Also having a grim day was “captain” Ellis (peg 11) although it seems the norm for him at the moment, the odd whiting and dab but needs to increase fish numbers, they’ll come one day Richard! He was at least keeping in touch with the rest in zone C where the dab machine “sandy coke” Loke (peg 12) had found the dabs at his range along with “no cley man” Hayward who had dusted off his rod for his second session of the year. Man flu man “peep peep” Conway was probably thankful he had not made the tortuous trip to Sizewell and was up to his usual trick of small dabs and then finding a succession good whiting to keep him in the frame in section C.
Observing the section D stretch there seemed to be plenty of action with fish after fish being returned at regular intervals. Here, “silver fox” Neave (peg 19) and “mobility” Morse (peg 17) were also finding small dabs and whiting but “ex-dickleborough man” Camilleri’s form of late was deserting him as his fish rate was slow although he did get the only rockling of the match. Star in this section was “last cast” Watts (peg 18) who had found the whiting at his medium range. No doubt, he was putting his lug tipped with blacks and squid or mackerel to good use. Meanwhile, ‘Battle Royal’ was being played out in end section E where some tough competition was creating some interesting results. For once, “no hat” Attew (peg 24) could not take advantage of his end peg from where he has thrashed the field on previous occasions but on this day could only find small dabs and just a handful of whiting.
The contest in section E was therefore between the remaining protagonists, “off duty” Gibbs (peg 21), “hard core” Randell (peg 22) and “better booms” Beeton (peg 23). All were finding small dabs and some nice whiting but it was those who could find the whiting in numbers who would win this battle. “off duty” Gibbs was well on his way when he latched into a points earning 34cm but stuttered slightly with a lot of small dabs until he found a series of good whiting. In contrast, “hard core” Randell after just a few dabs found a lot of good whiting, that is until his specially prepared PS blow lug ran out. No such bait problems as the dab machine “better booms” Beeton was finding the small dabs and odd whiting but needed whiting to score points. For once he was being upstaged by next peg “hard core” and left him frustrated at not being able to find the solution this time. His day became even more lively as some ‘London mutt’ peed on his buddy resulting in some choice words that could have melted all the snow that has fallen in Norfolk this week.
With a nicely ebbing sea we had tide during the whole match which resulted in fish throughout. This provided the serious competition for section E but the real action was being had back in section A where “yoda” Thomas had found the whiting almost from the off. With singles, doubles and trebles coming in every cast in contrast to those around him who could only find small and the odd whiting. With some of them being stonking whiting up to 39cm he was soon massing a big score. Some of this success was probably down to advice he was given at the New Year Open, ditching the trusty booms for short snood flappers and big hooks, thanks dingit! The whiting here were not close in but just inside the bar and others like “last cast”, “hard core” and “off duty” were also finding them at this range. The whiting were certainly the fish to target as they were worth far more points than the small flatties but in the dying moments of the match “peep peep” Conway restored the flattie creditability by finding a superb 35 cm flounder worth 52 points.
In the end it was that continuous run of whiting that gave Tony “yoda” Thomas the match with 12lb 7 2/3oz from 31 fish. Next was Mike “last cast” Watts with 7lb 14 2/3oz from 24 fish followed by Henry “hard core” Randell with 7lb 2oz from 21 fish. Heaviest club flat points went to Dene with his 35 cm (1lb 1 1/3oz) flounder and heaviest round to Tony with his 39 cm (14 2/3oz) whiting. Super Pools winners were the same as the main match. On the teams front it was much closer with North Norfolk Lads taking the honours with 6 points followed by The Gutter Bashers with 7 points and Holt Crack Offs with 8 points.
Another excellent match for the shingle with 300 fish (165 dabs, 133 whiting, 1 flounder and 1 rockling) being recorded. The whiting and stonking versions at that have at last arrived but they won’t be here for long as they’ll soon be off to spawn. With other venues struggling North Norfolk has demonstrated once again how consistent it is as a match venue.
The club’s next match is the 3rd Leg of the Winter Accumulator at Kelling on Sunday 20th January fishing 9:00 to 2:00. However, the weather and subsequent forecasts at time of press could mean a move to Salthouse to avoid the Muckleborough hills and a time change to 10:00 to 3:00 or even cancellation. All members will be informed by text on the final decisions for this match.
Club Result Top 5
1st Tony Thomas 12lb 7 2/3oz (31 Fish)
2nd Mike Watts 7lb 14 2/3oz (24 Fish)
3rd Henry Randell 7lb 2oz (21 Fish)
4th Tom Gibbs 6lb 10oz (20 Fish)
5th Paul Thorburn 5lb 8oz (15 Fish)
Teams Result Top 5
1st North Norfolk Lads 6 points
2nd The Gutter Bashers 7 points
3rd Holt Crack Offs 8 points
4th Holt SAC A 16 points
5th Holt SAC B 20 points
Please use this link for full set of club match results … Holt SAC Match Results (13Jan13)
Please use this link for current league table… Holt SAC League Table (13Jan13)
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