Lloyd Durham Shield & North Norfolk National Sea League Round 3

Sunday 14th December 2014 - Cley

The third round of the North Norfolk National Sea League was played out on the shingle at Cley.  Forecast for the weekend had always predicted a windy session and with the “weather bomb” hitting the West Coast of Scotland they were certainly correct on that front.  However, wind direction which is so important at this venue had been a major concern with it varying from NW to SW depending which website one viewed.  In the end we were greeted by a moderate to strong SSW which was really spot on for this venue especially as it had some strength to it.   Although chilly it remained dry throughout and with a slightly overcast sky there were those remote hopes of a few sizeable whiting.  There was a good colour in the water and a slight swell which could help locating this species helped further by fishing over the top although it was a small tide and thus less tide to push them in.

 

Traditionally, the club fishes its team’s matches at this venue with zones to the left and right of the beach car park.  However, the National Sea League Final at this venue 3 weeks previous had thrown up some large flounders on the low order pegs far to the left of the car par so for this match it was decided to peg all zones to the left towards Blakeney Point.  With 40 pegs this meant a long walk for some but with a small tide there was plenty of low water sand to take advantage of.  This strategy was certainly proven to be correct and pegging even further would have been better but what a walk!  With the usual winter 10:00 a.m. start all the hardened team anglers were there bright and early for the draw but some of the newer teams found it difficult to tempt their members out on such a chilly morning. This left a few teams slightly short but undaunted the remaining members were more than keen to keep the flag flying.

 

With pegs drawn and zone slots assigned all were soon trudging west towards Blakeney Point.  Well not quite all, as the “Crack offs”  had been given bum information about Peg 1 being at the boats whereas it was at the other end a good 1000 yards away which gave poor old Ivan a near heart attack before he even started.  This was soon resolved and everyone were soon perched on the lowshingle bank preparing themselves for the encroaching tide.  Well that’s all the rather lengthy preamble, nothing too much about the fishing but had to do something to fill the space as there’s not too much to report about the fishing. A rather feeble whistle got the action underway and everyone was soon in Cley mode and in the main not too far out trying to tempt those stonking flounders generating big big points. There were of course the usual contenders who preferred blasting  to the wind farm but there that’s what they enjoy doing and usually they do the business.

 

All along the stretch it was a slow start except in Zone A where fish began to come ashore from the off.  At the beginning the water was slowly flooding but with really very little lateral movement of the tide there was not much flow to bring the fish through in numbers.  However, fish were being caught but the size was abysmal with lots of dabs under 18cm which was surprising for this time of the year.  With no real tide it was difficult to locate any proper  pockets of fish as they were there one minute and gone the next.  The top of the tide never reached the height expected probably due to the strong SSW wind which probably also contributed to the ebb receding quicker than expected.  Throughout the match the fish never really turned on in numbers particularly the last 1½ hours which was a really drag.  The only really interesting part of this match was the bull seals that were patrolling just yards off shore.  They’ve learnt quickly as they know when we’re around there is fish to be had particularly the returned ones that don’t make it to deeper water as they were also there in numbers during the National Sea League Finals on all the venues .  They also seem to have learnt that when you are reeling in they (seals) don’t look at you but where your line is coming from out to sea. Anyway they weren’t successful this time as there was no report of any retrieved fish been taken although there weren’t too many of those to target.

 

In contrast to the rest of the stretch, Zone A was bucking the trend throughout the match as Henry (R) (peg 6) (Gutter Bashers) was soon putting his International skills to good use by hauling in double and treble shots of dabs. For Henry it was his tray full of wrigglers and smelly mackeral that were doing the business but he would admit he really was after those monster flounders.  Likewise, Richard (E) (peg 4) (peg 4) (Holt Crack Offs) was hauling in double and treble shots of dabs with the odd whiting but in contrast he was using big lug baits tipped with silvers and finding the quality fish including a 31cm dab.  Next peg 3 was Peter (F) (Avenue Angling) who was pestered by undersize dabs although he was just about keeping up with the others by putting his tubs full of wrigglers to good used. Having a torrid day in this zone was Tony (T) (peg 2) (North Norfolk Lads) who could not find a fish for well over an hour and even having end peg along with similar bait combinations they did not bring the rewards. Eventually, a change of tactics found the fish and started to reel the others in particularly when they hit the 1½ hour to go stage but it was all just a bit too late. Finding the odd fish towards the end made it a two horse race and it was Henry with 2 dabs on his very last cast who managed to pip Richard by just 2 points (2/3 oz) finishing on 235 points to Richard’s 233 points.    

 

Zone B was not as fortunate as Zone A but the low order numbers did find some fish.  Those on these pegs were certainly into some reasonably sized small dabs, in particular John (N) (peg 9) (Holt SAC), Alan (D) (peg 11) (Avenue Angling) and Ray (C) (peg 12) (Holt Crack Offs) all who managed to find a few dabs up to 24cm. However, the star in this Zone was Kevin (G) (North Norfolk Lads) whose 2nd fish just happened to be a 32cm flounder giving him a whopping 40 points equivalent to eight 18cm dabs.  Unfortunately, the other end of the Zone were struggling with Christian (B) (peg 15) (Sabre Tackle B) and Paul (H) (peg 14) (Gutter Bashers) only able to find 5 small dabs apiece although Paul did manage a 27cm flounder.  Like the other Zones all suffered with the lack of fish towards the end but Kevin the star early on never dimmed with his second from last fish being a stonking 33cm flounder giving him 44 points and the victory in this Zone with 181 points from Alan with 148 points.

 

Zone C continued the trend of small fish and in fact was probably worse than Zone B. Mike (W) (peg 18) (North Norfolk Lads) was trying to take advantage of numbers of fish but none were of any size and his score only slowly crept up. In contrast, Mike (T) (peg 19) (Avenue Angling) was showing the lead with a monster flounder of 34cm (48 points) as his second fish putting him in a commanding position in this Zone.  Others in this Zone had to be content with just a few small flatties, like Tom (G) (peg 20) (Holt Crack Offs), John (C) (peg 22) (Gutter Bashers) and Charlie (N) (peg 23) (Sabre Tackle B) but Charlie did break his duck at this venue.  Mike (T) did not manage a lot of fish but finding 26cm and 25cm dabs towards the end secured his top spot in this Zone with 142 points with runner-up Mike (W) on 109 points who just could not find any big flatties.

 

Zone D was yet another repeat of Zone C with even less quality fish.  Word had spread along the line that this and Zone E were bagging up on whiting early on which was far from correct as although the whiting were there they were far from being sizeable.  Even so, Jake (C) (peg 27) (Holt SAC), Dick (E) (peg 28) (Holt Crack Offs) and Danny (B) (peg 31) (Sabre Tackle B) all managed to find a 27cm or 28cm whiting early on.  Jeff (S) (peg 27) (Avenue Angling) also managed to find one of these whiting as his first fish but then followed it by a 27cm dab which bumped his score up considerably. Not quite the same for Peter (L) (peg 30) (Gutter Bashers), Shane (B) (peg 29) (Sabre Tackle A) and Keith (M) (peg 32) (Individuals) who could only find a few small flatties in the whole match.  Jeff’s success continued  as he sealed the Zone victory with a 31cm Flounder and a 27cm dab for 121 points followed by Dick with 102 points. Undoubtedly, star of this Zone was youngster Danny Brown who with his 8 fish and 74 points beat a number of seasoned match anglers, well done Danny!

 

The final Zone E was a mixed affair and is usually a top match stretch being just to the left of the boats.  However, finding the fish is usually the problem here and this session proved to be no different.  This Zone certainly threw up a really mixed bag of results and for two it was a real torrid time with just a few small flatties for Luke (B) (peg 37) (Sabre Tackle A) and Bill (B) (peg 34) (North Norfolk Lads). Welcome back Bill, good to see you with your rods out again, probably a bit rusty though!  Whiting certainly made an appearance early on albeit a number just under 27cm but Trevor (E) (peg 35) (Avenue Angling)  at last found a sizeable one, along with Mark (B) (peg 39) (Sabre Tackle B) and Peter (M) (peg 38) (Gutter Bashers) with a couple. However, it was Paul (T) (peg 40) (Individuals) who found a proper size whiting of 33cm as his first sizeable fish.  He then followed this by a succession of small to medium sized dabs throughout the match but he was doing what he does best and putting his lug bait at distance. In contrast, Trevor was scheming to slaughter those around him with his tub of fresh wrigglers and he was doing just that as he recorded four 26cm flatties and a few just under this.  Ivan (A) (peg 36) (Holt Crack offs) made an early vain attempt to keep up but a single 27cm dab and a few lot smaller were just not good enough.  In the end it was Paul’s consistency at distance that gave him the Zone with 187 points from  Trevor with 168 points. However, Paul being an Individual gave the top team spot to Trevor with Peter taking runners up team spot on 89 points.

 

In the end it was a sterling performance from Avenue Angling with 3 Zone wins, a Zone 2nd and a Zone 3rd to give them 5 penalty points. Second spot was shared by Gutter Bashers and Holt Crack Offs with both having 11 penalty points.  The Individual spoils were taken by the top 3 in Zone A with Henry Randell claiming victory with 235 points (4lb 14 1/3oz) from 23 fish followed by Richard Ellis with 233 points (4lb 13 2/3oz) from 19 fish. Final podium slot went to Peter Fairclough  with 189 points (3lb 15oz) from 21 fish.  Heaviest flat fish was Mike Toppings 34cm (1lb) flounder and heaviest  round Paul Tovell’s 33cm (8 2/3oz) whiting.  Altogether there were 302 fish recorded (265 dabs, 19 flounders, 17 whiting and 1 rockling) weighing around 62lbs 9oz.

   

In the end a very competitive match with some clever tactics and extensive use of wrigglers doing the business. For once the vermin generally stayed away and allowed us to fish properly.   Some found it hard on this stretch of shingle particularly as it was Cley but the next team’s match at Salthouse in January will be another “ball game”.  Thank you all for participating in a true teams match!

 

The next club match is the XMAS FAYRE & TOWN TEAM CHALLENGE OPEN at Kelling on Sunday 21st December 2014 fishing 10:00-3:00 meeting at the Muckleburgh Collection main gate for the draw from 8:15 onwards.  Teams will fish for the Town Team Challenge Shield and Teams will registered at the draw.  Club members please bring raffle prize if possible and pre-booking is essential.

 

Individuals Result Top 10

1st Henry Randell             4lb 13 1/3oz   (23 Fish)   - Gutter Bashers

2nd Richard Ellis               4lb 14 2/3oz   (19 Fish)   - Holt Crack Offs

3rd Peter Fairclough          3lb 15oz         (21 Fish)    - Avenue Angling

4th Paul Tovell                  3lb 14 1/3oz   (21 Fish)    - Individuals

5th Kevin Green                3lb 12 1/3oz   (15 Fish)    - North Norfolk Lads

6th Trevor Elliott               3lb 8oz           (12 Fish)   - Avenue Angling

7th Tony Thomas              3lb 5 1/3oz     (18 Fish)   - North Norfolk Lads

8th Alan Doy                     3lb 1 1/3oz     (14 Fish)   - Avenue Angling

9th=  John Neave              2lb 15 1/3oz   (13 Fish)   - Holt SAC

9th=  Mike Topping            2lb 15 1/3oz   (11 Fish)   - Avenue Angling

 

Teams Result

1st     Avenue Angling             5 points

2nd= Gutter Bashers             11 points

2nd= Holt Crack Offs             11 points

4th    North Norfolk Lads       12 points

5th    Sabre Tackle B             18 points

6th    Holt SAC                      21 points

7th    Sabre Tackle A             26 points

 

Teams to date

1st     Avenue Angling           25 points

2nd    North Norfolk Lads       31 points

3rd     Holt Crack Offs            35 points

4th=   Sabre Tackle B            38 points

4th=   Gutter Bashers            38 points

6th      Sabre Tackle A            59 points

7th      Holt SAC                     77 points

 

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