10th Leg Winter Accumulator, North Norfolk National Sea League Round 6 and Sabre Tackle Match 5
Sunday 8th March 2015 - Bacton
The 42nd and final match of a long 2014 season had at last arrived and there still was plenty to play for in the various competitions. In particular, the Winter Accumulator winner would be determined in a very close contest and the top five contenders were all still in with a chance in which a codling or two could well elevate any of these to the top spot. The Overall League champion over the whole season was now a two horse race but baring a major upset the winner was already a foregone conclusion. Likewise, baring a serious a real serious upset the North Norfolk National Sea League Champion Team had already been determined from previous results but you can never tell in this sport. The Sabre Tackle Winter/Spring League had already reached an interesting stage and this match would determine if the leader board would tighten up or open out to give real contenders for that title.
With a lot at stake a serious excellent turnout were soon gather at Castaways Jolly Roger and tucking into bacon rolls and the usual hot beverages . Again the club must thank Ana and Richard for allowing it to use their facilities as it certainly helps to make the match far more enjoyable and relaxing for all. With poor results over the past 4 weeks from this venue it was decided to invoke the 18cm size limit rule for this match which turned out to be the correct decision by the end of the session. To attempt to maximise the catches from this venue the pegging was around the known hot spots for this venue with Zone A Mundesley side of the third pipe, Zones B and C either side of the second pipe and Zones D and E either side of the first pipe. This would mean a long walk for Zone A competitors but the sand was relatively hard so just a bit of pacing ones effort to get there with energy left for the battle. Fishing 3 hours down and over the ebb meant being on the beach from the off and chasing the tide until bottom but being a medium tide this did not present too much of a problem to most. The sea had a nice colour and very flat with just a hint of a swell not true ideal conditions for any serious quarry but there we always complain about something these days. The weather gods were at last working in our favour giving us a bright warmish of late mornings with a hint of rain at the end, again not ideal conditions but nobody was complaining.
Team and Individual pegs were soon drawn and everyone was off meandering to their allotted slots and it was soon apparent that we were on one of those flat sandy beaches chasing the tide as not one buddy was seen to being erected. Disappointing for some, with this being the case it was difficult to hide those special traces and concoctions that have evolved in ones years of Bacton campaigning. As usual all were more than ready for the whistle and all were soon into Bacton mode trying to find the fish. Had they remained on what was left of the flat beach or had they moved into the encroaching gully of had they opted to move right off beyond the inshore sand bar. It was soon apparent that we were not going to have a repeat of the previous tough matches at this venue as scorecards were soon being filled in, not at a rapid rate but at least there was fish there. It was also apparent that these fish were at all ranges although some of the zones did have their differences. A pattern soon emerged that showed fish being there early on but easing off on the ebb before starting to feed again as the tide flooded. The bottom of the ebb and flood produced its own problems with that fine clingy weed which was nuisance when trying to bring fish in through the small (very small) breakers.
As expected Zone A to the west side of pipe 3 produced more quality fish rather than the biggest with flounders being the main stay here. In total there were 54 fish recorded in this zone but although this was not the highest catch their combined weight of 13½lb was by far the heaviest zone weight. As usual, the star in this zone was Henry (R) peg 2 (Gutter Bashers) who found a raft of flounders early on to take the zone with 3lb 12oz from 16 fish. Runner-up was Tony (T) peg 7 (North Norfolk Lads) with 3lb 2oz from 13 fish of which 11 were flounders up to 28cm. Third place in this zone was Shane (B) peg 8 (Sabre Tackle A) from just 5 fish helped by a flounder of 29cm. However, he did have a prime spot being adjacent to the pipe and you could tell he was using this peg well with a few excursions along the pipe to retrieve his line that had been blown around the end of the woodwork. Other contenders in this zone were Alan (D) peg 5 (Avenue Angling) 1lb 6oz from 6 fish, John (N) peg 6 (Holt SAC) 1lb 6oz from 5 fish, Mark (Be) peg 3 (Holt Crack Offs) 1lb 5oz from 5 fish and Christian (B) peg 1 (Sabre Tackle B) 13oz from 4 fish. Young Sam (B) was fishing as an Individual on peg 4 but just could not find a fish to put on his card although he did hook into an undersize whiting which he then promptly used his coarse skills to live bait with, unfortunately without success.
Zone B was west of pipe 2 and surprisingly produced the 2nd worst Zone score on the day even though this included a small 42cm codling. A further mixture of small dabs, flounders and whiting gave a total of 29 fish with a combined weight of just 7½lb. The codling man in young Danny (B) peg 9 (Sabre Tackle B) took the honours in this Zone with just 2lb 2oz from 2 fish with his other fish being a nice 29cm flounder. Runner-up in this Zone was Peter (F) peg 13 (Avenue Angling) who found a mixture of 10 fish including a 28cm flounder for a weight of just under 2lb. Third spot went to the inevitable Dick (E) peg 11 (Holt Crack Offs) who could not find a real serious fish to end up with 1lb 3oz from 6 fish. Other Zone members were Kevin (G) peg 15 (North Norfolk Lads) just under 1lb from 5 fish, Paul (H) peg 10 (Gutter Bashers) 10oz from 3 fish, Andy (G) peg 14 (Holt SAC (for the day)) 7oz from 2 fish. Poor old Dave (L) peg 16 (Sabre Tackle A) was really struggling and although he was in prime spot adjacent to pipe 2 his big baits could not find anything like his bass there in round 1 and could only find one small whiting for 4oz.
Zone C was east of pipe 2 andwas the worst Zone for fish and weight on the day even though this included a 44cm coding and heaviest fish of the match. Altogether just 18 fish came out of this Zone with the usual mixture of species giving only 5½lb in total. Naturally, Cain (P) peg 22 (Holt SAC) took the Zone with his early codling along with some whiting and a dab to give him 2lb 13oz from 6 fish. Runner-up was Willy (G) peg 23 (North Norfolk Lads) with a 21cm & 28cm flounders along with a couple of small whiting for just under 1lb. Third Zone slot went to Paul (K) peg 24 (Sabre Tackle A) who managed to find a reasonable 27cm flounder for just over 9oz from 3 fish. Other Zone participants were Jeff Stannard peg 21 (Avenue Angling) just under 9oz from 3 fish, Peter (L) peg 18 (Gutter Bashers) just over 6oz from 2 fish and Spen (W) peg 17 (Sabre Tackle B) with just over 2oz from 1 fish although he’ll probably not forgive me for mentioning this here but he will certainly be back to show us the business.
Zone D west of pipe 1 normally contains the hot spot and was certainly in contention for this with Zone A having the highest number of fish recorded in 56 and the second heaviest combined weight of 10½lb. A Zone where the small whiting prevailed backed up with some nice flounders and a few small dabs. In his usual manner Mike (W) peg 31 (North Norfolk Lads) took the Zone with 2 small dabs and 19 similar whiting giving him 4lb 6oz. Runner-up here was Mike (T) peg 29 (Avenue Angling) again with a raft of small whiting and 2 flounders up to 28cm for 2lb 2oz from 11 fish. Third spot went to Richard (E) peg 27 (Holt Crack Offs) whose 5 better whiting and flounder gave him 1lb 5oz from 6 fish. Other Zone competitors were the ever consistent Paul (T) peg 28 (Individual) with a mixture of dabs, flounder and whiting giving him 1lb 1oz from 7 fish, Charlie (N) peg 25 (Sabre Tackle B) with 3 whiting for just under 10oz, John (C) peg 26 (Gutter Bashers) with 4 small dabs for 9oz and Dave (P) peg 30 (Holt SAC) just under 8oz from 3 fish. Young Jack (T) Aldeburgh Blind 2014 runner-up, on peg 32 fished as an individual and managed to find one small flounder, certainly a young lad to watch at our Juniors Tournament in May.
In contrast to initial predictions, Zone E east of pipe 1 fished particularly well compared to previous matches with 43 fish being recorded for a combined weight of 10½lb. Winner of this Zone was Keith (M) peg 36 fishing as an Individual with a mixture of dabs, flounders and whiting including a cracking 34cm flounder to give him 2lb 9oz from 9 fish. Runner-up was Trevor (E) peg 37 (Avenue Angling) who again with a mixture of dabs, flounders and whiting recorded 2lb 6oz from 12 fish. Third spot went to Ivan (A) peg 35 (Holt Crack Offs) with 1lb 13oz from 5 fish which also included a 34cm flounder which looked very similar to Keith’s, probably came back for afters. Other scores in this zone were Peter (M) peg 34 (Gutter Bashers) 1lb 12oz from 9 fish, a rejuvenated Phil (I) peg 38 (Holt SAC) 1lb 3oz from 5 fish, Mark (Bo) peg 33 (Sabre Tackle B) just under 8oz from 2 fish and Shane (S) peg 40 (Sabre Tackle A) just over 4oz from 1 fish.
In the end it was tactics and range that won the day with Mike Watts taking the individual honours with 4lb 5 2/3oz from 21 fish followed by Henry Randell with 3lb 11 2/3oz from 16 fish. Final podium slot went to Tony Thomas with 3lb 2oz from 13 fish. The team winners on the day was a tie between Avenue Angling & North Norfolk Lads with 9 penalty points with third place also a tie between Gutter Bashers & Holt Crack Offs with 14 penalty points.
On the club front, the result was the same as the teams match. Heaviest club flat of the day was shared by Ivan Allison and Keith Morley with their 34cm (1lb) flounder(s) and heaviest round fish to Cain Plumb with his 44cm (1lb 12 2/3oz) codling. Total number fish caught was 180 (43 dabs, 50 flounders, 82 whiting, 2 codling and 3 rockling) weighing 41lb 5oz. A surprisingly good result considering the experiences of recent matches at this particular venue. Maximising the match stretch probably helped by clustering the Zones around the pipes and although the walk for some was long it was on hard sand and it paid dividend. Much learnt for future matches at this venue.
After the match it was back to the Jolly Roger for a hearty buffet and yet again many thanks to Ana and Richard for sorting this out for us. This was followed by a much belated celebration of “young” John Neave’s 80th birthday on 12th January 2015. Today he showed us all up by selecting peg 6 which was way past the third pipe a long, long walk, well done John!
This was followed by a brief meeting which included a brief review of the year and a clarification of the National Sea League Final in Eastbourne on the weekend of 28th /29th November. The meeting also agreed that all 2015-16 North Norfolk National Sea League matches will be fished to size limits for the three species Bass, Codling & Whiting and there will be no optional 18cm limit for the 1st and last matches. This ruling will be implemented by the 2015-16 League Organiser. The meeting was also given provisional dates and venues for the 2015-16 League which were as follows …
Date Tide Height Venue Time
1 Sunday 11th October 2015 LW1:23 p.m. 4.7m Bacton 9:30 - 2:30
2 Sunday 8th November 2015 LW11.09 a.m. 4.4m Kelling 9:00 - 2:00
3 Sunday 13th December 2015 LW2:07 p.m. 4.7m Cley 10:00 - 3:00
4 Sunday 10th January 2016 LW1:14 p.m. 4.7m Salthouse 10:00 - 3:00
5 Sunday 7th February 2016 LW12:12 p.m. 4.5m Kelling 9:00 - 2:00
6 Sunday 13th March 2016 HW9:21 a.m. 4.9m Bacton 12:00 - 5:00
These dates and venues will be agreed by the Team Captains and League Organiser closer to the date of the first match. No other topics were discussed and the meeting was closed .
This was then followed by the presentation of all the League monies for the season and the result of this match confirmed that AVENUE ANGLING were the North Norfolk National Sea League Champions for 2014 and retaining the League Shield which they duly received. Well done lads! The full League result is detailed below.
This match also confirmed the Holt SAC Overall League Champion as MIKE WATTS with the Winter Accumulator going to TONY THOMAS. Again the top five results in these categories are detailed below.
The next club event is the AGM and Presentation Evening at Kelling Heath Holiday Park on Saturday 14th March 2014. Will club members please provide a raffle prize for the evening. The next club match and first one of the new season is provisionally scheduled for Sunday 12th April at Kelling fishing 10:00-3:00 HW 12:30 tide 4.1m.
As current Club Chairman I would like to thank all those that have supported the club through the 42 matches of this interesting season and it’s been a pleasure being involved with you in what has been a rather tough year.
Individual Result - Top 5
1st Mike Watts 4lb 5 2/3oz (21 Fish) - North Norfolk Lads
2nd Henry Randell 3lb 11 2/3oz (16 Fish) - Gutter Bashers
3rd Tony Thomas 3lb 2oz (13 Fish) - North Norfolk Lads
4th Cain Plumb 2lb 13oz (6 Fish) - Holt SAC
5th Keith Morley 2lb 9oz (9 Fish) - Individual
Teams Result
1st= Avenue Angling 9 points
1st= North Norfolk 9 points
3rd= Gutter Bashers 14 points
3rd= Holt Crack Offs 14 points
5th Sabre Tackle B 15 points
6th Holt SAC 16 points
7th Sabre Tackle A 19 points
Final Teams Positions
1st Avenue Angling 38 points
2nd North Norfolk Lads 44 points
3rd Holt Crack Offs 55 points
4th Gutter Bashers 62 points
5th Sabre Tackle B 76 points
6th Sabre Tackle A 106 points
7th Holt SAC 117 points
Heaviest Flat Fish - Top 3 only over all 6 Rounds
1st Mark Borley (Sabre Tackle B) 1lb 5 1/3oz Flounder Rnd 1 Bacton
2nd=Christian Bulch (Sabre Tackle B) 1lb 4oz Flounder Rnd 1 Bacton
2nd=Willy Groombridge(North Norfolk Lads) 1lb 4oz Flounder Rnd 2 Kelling
Heaviest Round Fish - Top 3 only over all 6 rounds
1st Kevin Green (North Norfolk Lads) 2lb 8 2/3oz Bass Rnd 1 Bacton
2nd Dick Ellis (Holt Crack Offs) 2lb 4 2/3oz Bass Rnd 1 Bacton
3rd Cain Plumb (Holt SAC) 1lb 12 2/3oz Codling Rnd 6 Bacton
Holt SAC Overall League Final Result - Top 5
1st Mike Watts 489 points
2nd Tony Thomas 476 points
3rd Ivan Allison 454 points
4th John Neave 438 points
5th Richard Ellis 416 points
Holt SAC Winter Accumulator Final Result - Top 5
1st Tony Thomas 20lb 0oz
2nd John Carter 17lb 9oz
3rd Peter Morse 17lb 2 2/3oz
4th Mike Watts 15lb 12oz
5th Ivan Allison 12lb 8 2/3oz
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