Holt SAC North Norfolk Bass Festival 2019 (Report and Results)
Saturday and Sunday 18th/19th May 2019 - Cley-Salthouse-Kelling
Holt SAC is pleased to report another successful 7th Annual North Norfolk Bass Festival over the weekend of 18th/19th May 2019. The festival was again sponsored by Kelling Heath Holiday Park and supported by Sea Angler magazine. The event this year again included the UK Ladies Championships sponsored and supported by Tronixpro, the North Norfolk Juniors Tournament sponsored by Holt SAC, Birds Tackle and Breakaway and the teams of four competition in the Shannock Quads supported by Sheringham Carnival. Holt SAC would like to thank these organisations for their continued sponsorship and support of this event
In total, 116 match anglers entered the event including a number of Internationals and top match anglers from around the country and once again a lot of new faces. Head Quarters for the event was the Kelling Heath Holiday Park complex which was just a short distance away from the match venues of Cley, Salthouse and Kelling, with Salthouse being a new venue for the event. There were 30 pegs at Cley & Salthouse and 60 at Kelling with each angler fishing Kelling one day and either Cley or Salthouse the other. There were 8 Zones with Zones A & B at Cley pegging from just west of the car park towards Blakeney Point and parking at this venue was in an area set aside by the Norfolk Wild Life Trust and the Club would like to thank the Trust for their support. Zones C & D were at Salthouse pegging west from beach road. Pegging at Kelling was from a short distance west of Weybourne wreck up to and 17 pegs beyond the pillar box at Kelling and on to Kelling Hard with Zones E, F, G & H being at this venue. Access to the venue was via The Muckleburgh Collection with parking at the Club’s licensed area at this venue.
In the week prior to the event High Pressure had been dominant with fresh north easterlies and a good swell putting plenty of colour in the water and the prospect of lots of fish if the wind abated. Conditions were reminiscent of the previous two Festivals and there was high prospect of the Smooth Hounds once again making an appearance particularly as they had already made an appearance for a day at one of the venues. The late forecast for the weekend was that the wind would drop and turn more easterly at least for day. Match times on both days was 5 hours from 9:00 a.m. with High Water just before the start of each match and a good 4.8m tide on each day.
DAY 1 weather was as predicted with a light east south easterly and overcast. A flat sea but there was a good swell rolling in which was surprising considering the relatively quiet conditions over the previous 24 hours. Conditions were similar to the previous two years but this time Hounds and Dogs were just not there in any numbers. However, the Dabs and Flounders were there along with a significant number of Bass which was the most the Festival has ever recorded. There were also a few Hounds along with the odd Dog and Whiting but nothing like the numbers of the previous two Festivals and the number of species recorded was down.
Cley Zones A & B produced 51 Flounders with both Mike Topping (peg 6) and Jason Banham (peg 23) finding a 37cm specimen. 113 Dabs were recorded along with 54 Bass with Shane Russell finding 13 of them from peg 29 and Bill Lindfield a 60cm specimen mid-way through from peg 1. A Solitary Whiting made up the 219 fish recorded at Cley.
Salthouse Zones C& D produced the most Bass of the day with Zone C way out performing the higher order pegs of Zone C. Zone D was by far the worst zone of all the venues. Plenty of Founders here with 56 recorded with Ian Bowell finding one of 35cm from peg 43. Just 70 Dabs plus plenty of Bass with 64 caught with plenty in the 30-50cm range and a cracking specimen of 60cm to Mark Harvey on peg 38. A single Hound of 44cm to Ben Price peg 33 and Dog of 55cm to Kimberley Lawn on peg 45 plus another solitary Whiting made up the 194 fish at Salthouse.
Kelling Zones E & F were located either side of the block house on Kelling Hard and produced a different pattern of fish to the other two zones at Kelling. Surprisingly, less Flounders here than the other two venues with just 37 being recorded with Paul Thorburn on peg 73 finding a 37cm specimen. Plenty of Dabs here with Zone F way out performing Zone E with 244 recorded. Bass were also prolific here with 60 recorded and plenty in the 30-50cm range with George Smith finding one of 51cm from peg 66. George also found a 88cm Hound which was one of 5 caught and yet another solitary Whiting made up the 357 fish recorded here.
Kelling Zones G & H were in front of the radar and west of the wreck and was the best stretch on the day. Just 23 Flounders were recorded with the best another 37cm specimen going to Ed Driver on peg 107. Plenty of Dabs with 339 caught and Zone G in front of the radar the best of all zones. In contrast just 48 Bass the lowest of all zones were recorded with majority slightly smaller than elsewhere with Dave Hutchinson finding a 56cm specimen from peg 105. More Hounds here with 12 recorded and the best one of 82cm to Colin Provins on peg 117. Seven Whiting, 1 Dog and a Gurnard made up the 436 fish recorded here.
Altogether 1201 fish (776 Dabs, 226 Bass, 167 Flounders, 18 Hounds, 10 Whiting, 2 Dogs, 1 Gurnard and 1 Coalie) were recorded weighing 500lb.
Zone A at Cley was taken by BILL LINDFIELD (Peg 1) with 7lb 11oz from 15 fish seriously helped by his 3lb 7oz Bass. Zone B was taken with a big margin by SHANE RUSSELL (Peg 29) with 15lb 14oz from just 19 fish which included a few good Bass. Credit must also go to England Ladies International HEATHER LINDFIELD (Peg 30) who was runner up in the zone with 5lb 13oz from 20 fish. Zone C at Salthouse was taken by IAN BOWELL (Peg 43) with 10lb 9oz from 10 fish again helped by a 3lb 10oz Bass on his last cast. Zone D went to ADAM KINGDON with 6lb 10oz from 12 fish.
Zone E at Kelling was easily won by GEORGE SMITH (Peg 66) with 19lb 6oz from 16 fish which included 2lb 11oz Bass and 7lb 9oz Hound. Winner of Zone F was NATHAN ELLIOTT (Peg 83) with 10lb 5oz from 32 fish which comprised of Flatties and a couple of Bass one of which was 3lb 7oz. The winner of Zone G was as last year CRAIG BUY (Peg 97) with 7lb 10oz from 18 fish and Zone H was taken by COLIN PROVINS (Peg 117) with 16lb 6oz from 32 fish seriously helped by a 5lb 13oz Hound.
Winners on the day were …
ALL FISH …………………….. 19lb 6oz ……..George Smith (Peg E66)
BASS ONLY …………………. 13lb 10oz …..Shane Russell (Peg B29)
FLATTIE ONLY…..………….. 5lb 13oz …….Colin Provins (Peg H117)
HEAVIEST BASS …………… 4lb 3oz ………Mark Harvey (Peg C38)
HEAVIEST FLAT FISH ….. 1lb 4oz ……….Mike Topping (Peg A6)
(Flounder)..……………………..……………………Jason Banham (Peg B23)
………………………………………………...……………Paul Thorburn (Peg E73)
……………………………………………………...………Ed Driver (Peg H107)
TOP LADY …………………….. 5lb 13oz ……..Heather Lindfield (Peg A30)
TOP JUNIOR ………………... 4lb 11oz ……..Jimmy Shaull (Peg C44)
TOP TEAM ……………….….. 32lb 4oz ………Asso Anyfish Anywhere
DAY 2 was almost identical to 2018 day 2 with light winds and a sea mist rolling in overnight which took a while to move as the a gentle north easterly picked up but remained overcast all day. The swell had eased but was still there even until the end but nowhere like the previous day. Less of a lump tends to help the fish come in at these venues but as normally happens in two day matches on the same venues the numbers of fish reduces and this was no exception.
Cley Zones A & B produced 48 Flounders with Bob Gascoigne (peg 11) finding a nice 35cm specimen but it was Alby Clements (peg 20) who was the flounder king with 18 fish all Flounders with 10 of them 30cm and above. The Bass numbers were well down on day 1 at just 15 but Bob Gascoinge (peg 11) found another decent fish of 57cm. The 91 Dabs helped to keep the cards flowing and just Bass, Dabs and Flounders made up the 164 fish recorded at Cley.
Salthouse Zones C& D struggled to find the numbers of fish of day 1 and Bass numbers were surprisingly low. A good number of Founders here with 49 recorded with Dave Wright finding one of 36cm from peg 36. An identical number of Dabs as day 1 of 70 Dabs were recorded. Just 22 Bass were caught with a few into the 40cm plus an excellent fish of 55cm to Chris Cannell (peg 54). In contrast to day 1 Zone D performed best with 141 fish recorded at Salthouse with one solitary Whiting to add to the Bass, Dabs and Flounders.
Kelling Zones E & F at the block house end produced a similar distribution of species as day 1 but less fish. Zone E produced two of the three Hounds of the day and were instrumental in determining the final results with Garry Hutson (Peg 61) finding one of 84cm and Gary Medler (Peg 67) one of 63cm. Just 33 Flounders were recorded with Chris Spall (Peg 89) finding a real specimen of 38cm. Again a good number of Dabs 153 along with 6 Whiting made up the 241 fish recorded in these zones.
Kelling Zones G & H again out performed all other zones although fish numbers were down on day 1 but the distribution of species through the two zones was similar. Zone H produced the third Hound of the 3 of the day to Jack Akester (Peg 109) of 67cm which again seriously influenced the final result. Flounder numbers were again down to just 17 but young Junior Jack Topping (Peg 98) found a monster of 39cm and the biggest of the Festival, well done Jack!. The most Bass of the day came from these zones and even more than day 1 with 55 recorded and the biggest being a healthy 50cm specimen to local England Ladies International Kimberley Lawn (Peg 115), well done Kim! Again plenty of Dabs with 251 recorded and a further 11 Whiting plus one Sole contributed to a total of 335 fish for these zones.
Altogether 881 fish (565 Dabs, 138 Bass, 157 Flounders, 3 Hounds, 17 Whiting and 1 Sole) were recorded weighing 315lb.
Zone A at Cley was taken by BOB GASCOIGNE (Peg 11) with 7lb 5oz from 11 fish helped by a 3lb 10oz Bass and 1lb 1oz Flounder. Zone B was taken by ALBY CLEMMENTS (Peg 20) with 9lb 14oz from 18 fish consisting solely of cracking Flounders. Zone C at Salthouse was taken by DAVE WRIGHT (Peg 36) with 4lb 7oz from 7 fish helped by 1lb 1oz and 1lb 3oz Flounders. Zone D went to GRAHAM WOOD (Peg 47) with 6lb 8oz from 5 fish which included a 3lb 7oz Bass..
Zone E at Kelling was easily taken by GARRY HUTSON (Peg 61) with 9lb 1oz from 7 fish which included a 6lb 6oz Hound. Winner of Zone F was ROB TUCK (Peg 81) with 10lb 15oz from 23 fish which included 9 Bass up to 1lb 7oz. The winner of Zone G was HENRY RANDELL (Peg 100) with 5lb 4oz from 14 fish and Zone H was taken by JACK AKESTER (Peg 109) with 16lb 6oz from 32 fish seriously helped by a 2lb 10oz Hound.
Winners on the day were …
ALL FISH ………………………..10lb 15oz …..Rob Tuck (Peg F81)
BASS ONLY ……………………..7lb 6oz …….Rob Tuck (Peg F81)
FLATTIE ONLY…..……………..9lb 14oz …..Alby Clements (Peg B20)
HEAVIEST BASS ……………..3lb 10oz …..Bob Gascoigne (Peg A11)
HEAVIEST FLAT FISH ………1lb 5oz …….Chris Spall (Peg F89)
(Junior not included)..………1lb 7oz……..Jack Topping (Peg G98)
TOP LADY ………………………...4lb 10oz …..Kimberley Lawn (Peg H115)
TOP JUNIOR ……………….......5lb 4oz …….Mark Banham (Peg H113)
TOP TEAM ……………………..…22lb 15oz … Team Breakaway
The Event was treated as two separate matches as well as an overall 2 Day competition. Prize money and Kelling Heath Trophies being paid out and presented to the winners in each of the day matches. The results also produced Overall winners of various trophies, material prizes donated by the sponsoring and supporting organisations as well as further monetary prizes.
KELLING HEATH TROPHIES & FESTIVAL HEAVIEST BASS PRIZE
Kelling Heath donated finely engraved salver trophies for the Day winners. For Day 1 SHANE RUSSELL received Third Place trophy, COLIN PROVINS the Runner-up and GEORGE SMITH the Winner’s trophy. For Day 2 JACK AKESTER took the Third Place trophy, ALBY CLEMENTS the Runner-up and ROB TUCK the Winner’s trophy. There was also a similar trophy for the Heaviest Catch of the Festival which went to GEORGE SMITH for his superb Day 1 performance of 19lb 6oz.
Highlight of the Festival is the biggest Bass prize a Short Break Holiday at Kelling Heath Holiday Park along with a salver trophy which this year went to MARK HARVEY for his Day 1 Bass of 4lb 3oz at Salthouse.
JUNIORS OVERALL
This year we managed to attract five Juniors and good to see a new face amongst the usual group. The Juniors comprised of Breyden Aldous, Mark Banham, Daine Bradshaw, Jimmy Shaull and Jack Topping who demonstrated their abilities to compete at a high level, let’s hope we can attract more next year. Each received a Goodies bag from Breakaway and the Day Winners a Birds Tackle Rod which was really appreciated. Third place went to BRAYDEN ALDOUS with 5 penalty points receiving a £20 Holt SAC Prize. Runner-up was MARK BANHAM with 4 penalty points receiving a £30 Holt SAC Prize. Overall Junior Champion was JIMMY SHAULL with 3 penalty points winning a £50 Holt SAC Prize, TronixPro Cool Bag and the Country Cars Perpetual Shield
LADIES OVERALL
This year some of the “old” faces were back with eight Ladies contesting the event and was as competitive as ever. Third place went to WENDY METCALFE with 6 penalty points and received a TronixPro Cool Bag. Runner-up was HEATHER LINDFIELD with 4 penalty points also receiving a TronixPro Cool Bag. Overall Ladies Champion was KIMBERLEY LAWN with 3 penalty points winning a TronixPro Reel & Cool Bag and the Tronixpro Perpetual Shield. All both Day winners received a TronixPro Rod and all Ladies received a TronixPro Cool Bag.
MYSTERY PAIRS
A favourite competition, the Mystery Pairs where pairs are determined by randomly pairing the top half on Day 1 performance by Zone points with the bottom half. Their accumulative Zone points would determine the winners with their total Fish Points determining any ties. There were 5 monetary prizes in this competition with CHRIS SPALL & BILLY TEMPLE taking Fifth with 23 Zone points and £40. GARRY HUTSON & PAUL HARRISON with 20 Zone points took Fourth and £60. Third place went to STEPHEN ADAMS & CHARLIE FRARY with 17 Zone points winning £80 with Runner-up slot going to GEORGE SMITH & MIKE WATTS also on 17 Zone points but with superior fish points winning £100. Overall Mystery Pairs Winners were BOB GASCOIGNE & NEIL CUTLER with 15 Zone points winning £200. An excellent close competition demonstrating that those who had a poor Day 1 can score on Day 2.
SHANNOCK QUADS
This Teams of Four event saw 12 teams participating which is less than last year and again is disappointing as this only accounted for 60 of those competing and this small number is therefore reflected in the prize money. Winners were determined by the accumulative weight of the team members over the two days and fourth place went to BIRDS TACKLE winning £50. Third place went to THE POD BASHERS winning £60 and Runners-up ASSO ANYFISH ANYWHERE taking £70. Winning Team was TEAM BREAKAWAY for the 4th year in a row comprising of STEPHEN ADAMS (Captain) RICHARD BURT, CRAIG BUY and ROB TUCK winning £120 and the Sheringham Carnival Perpetual Shield.
BASS FESTIVAL OVERALL
The Overall Winners were determined by their Zone points total over the two days with their total Fish Points used to break any ties. This year it was extremely competivive, a true match with all top 5 accruing the same number of penalty points with the final result determined by total fish points. This meant that those Hounds recorded during the weekend were very important. In Fifth Place was HENRY RANDELL with 3 Zone points and 557 Fish Points winning £80. Fourth Place went to BILL LINDFIELD also with 3 Zone points but with superior Fish Points of 580 winning £100. Third Place went to JACK AKESTER also with 3 Zone points but with superior Fish Points of 643 winning £200. Runner-up was DAVE WRIGHT also with 3 Zone points but with superior Fish Points of 666 winning £300. Overall Festival Champion also on 3 Zone points but with 703 Fish Points was GARRY HUTSON winning £400 and the Kelling Heath Perpetual Shield, well done Garry!
Please note that this was a Penn Plus event which means that the top ten will receive Penn Points along with others. Many thanks to Sea Angler for giving the event such support.
The above trophies and prizes monies were presented at the Presentation Evening after the event by SIR MICHAEL SAVORY ex Lord Mayor of London and current owner of the Muckleburgh Military Collection. Holt SAC would like to thank Michael for his support of this event and others held recently.
Another cracking Bass Festival with not quite the numbers of fish of previous years. The Hounds and Dogs stayed away allowing the matches to get back to a more traditional Bass scene which is what the Festival is really all about. This year saw 364 being recorded over the two days which is the highest number caught over the past 7 years. No really outstanding fish but a lot of healthy decent fish to make the adrenalin run a bit. Let’s hope this bodes well for the future.
Many thanks to Kelling Heath for their support and sponsoring of the event and to the other organisations for their sponsorship and support, Birds Tackle, Breakaway, Holt SAC, Sea Angler Magazine and TronixPro. Many thanks to Holt SAC members who helped to run the event and to all the participants without whom this all would not happen. A lot of new top match anglers this year let’s hope you return for the challenge next year and hope we can attract a few more.
Provisional date for 2020 is slightly earlier on the weekend of 9th/10th May. Tides dictate that it has to be this date or 2 weeks either side but this has to confirmed by Kelling Heath. Hopefully see you all there and yes we will have a simpler match card next year.
Full Match Results at … Bass Festival 2019 Results
Tony T
Holt SAC Chairman
