Holt SAC 2017 North Norfolk Bass Festival (Report)
Saturday/Sunday 13th/14th May 2017 - Cley and Kelling
Holt SAC is pleased to report another successful 5th Annual North Norfolk Bass Festival over the weekend of 13th/14th May 2017 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 Maver and supported by Country Cars of Cromer 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, 108 match anglers entered the event including a number of Internationals and top match anglers from around the country with 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 and Kelling. There were 60 pegs at each venue and each angler would fish one venue one day and the other the next day. At last year’s Festival it was requested we increase the number of Zones to improve the chances of everyone on peggy stretches and to avoid the exceptional walk at Cley. So this year we had 8 Zones with pegging at Cley Zones A& B west of the car park from the fishing boats towards Blakeney Point and Zones C & D east of the car park from the other side of the wreck towards East Bank. Parking at this venue was in an area set aside by the Norfolk Wild Life Trust for the event and the club would like to thank the Trust for their support. Pegging at Kelling was from a short distance west of Weybourne wreck up to and 4 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.
For 3 weeks prior to the event there had been persistent strong North Easterlies with big swells which had put a good colour in the water. The wind was forecast to moderate and switch to South Westerly and the odd shower was predicted during both days. Each 5 hour match was fished from High Water down with a 9:30 a.m. start to provide more time for the results preparation on the final day.
Day 1 saw the forecast spot on with the wind moderating and turning South Westerly with the odd shower during the day and a nice swell still rolling in. From the off it was soon apparent that this match had been hijacked by Smoothhounds as they were coming in within seconds of the start with rods bending over as soon as the bait hit the water. Hounds of all sizes were been recorded from pups to a few really serious fish with an amazing 317 being recorded over the two venues. This Hound activity was more intense whilst the tide was strong and eased over slack water but returned although not so intense as the tide picked up again. Dabs were also there in their usual serious numbers but a lot was required to compete against Hound points. Some big Flounders with useful points were recorded along with a number of good Dogfish, a few “lost” Whiting and the odd Turbot and Ray. The Hounds had pushed the target species, the Bass into the background but they were still there with 63 being recorded although the majority were small Schoolies.
Total weight recorded was a staggering 1415lb which is around 2/3rd ton and number of fish at 1838.
At Cley Zone A was taken by LEE ADAMS (Peg 4) with 10lb 1oz from 28 fish and Zone B by SIMON DRAYTON (Peg20) with 15lb 7oz also from 28 fish with these two Zones together producing 45 Hounds. Zone C was won by COLIN PROVINS (Peg 40) with 32lb 13oz from 27 fish and Zone D by DARREN CHAMBERLAIN (Peg 59) with 16lb 11oz from 22 fish and there were 71 Hounds caught in these two Zones.
At Kelling Zone E was won by STEPHEN ADAMS (Peg 64) with an astounding 50lb 1oz from 46 fish with one of them being a 9lb 7oz Hound and the winner of Zone F was MARK PINDER (Peg 88) with 39lb 13oz from 23 fish who also had a 9lb 7oz Hound. These two Zones produced 88 Hounds. The winner of Zone G was ALBY CLEMENT (Peg 95) with another amazing weight of 51lb 7oz from 27 fish including a 11lb Hound the heaviest fish of the Festival. Zone H was taken by GEORGE SMITH (Peg 107) with 41lb 6oz from 37 fish with included a 7lb 4oz Hound and these two Zones produced 113 Hounds.
Winners on the day were …
ALL FISH …………………….. 51lb 7oz ……..Alby Clement Peg G95
BASS ONLY ………………….. 9lb 8oz ………Jack Akester Peg C41
NON- BASS ………………….. 8lb 5oz ………Alby Clement Peg G95
HEAVIEST BASS …………. 3lb 7oz ………Jack Akester Peg C41 & Andy Gallacher Peg C33
HEAVIEST FLAT FISH …. 1lb 4oz ……….Henry Randell Peg A11
TOP LADY ……………………. 8lb 15oz ……..Adele Smith Peg G94
TOP JUNIOR ……………….. 3lb 5oz ………..Daine Bradshaw Peg A24
TOP TEAM ……………….. 127lb 6oz ……....Breakaway
Day 2 was almost as forecast with early dampness disappearing leaving bright blue sky and moderate wind off your back. The swell had further subsided leaving an almost flat calm but the annoying May weed had started to appear becoming rather a nuisance when the tide was strong. After the appearance of the Hounds the previous day everyone was highly optimistic of a similar performance particular as there was more of the top of the tide at the beginning. However, fish are so unpredictable they just don’t work that way and it was soon apparent that the majority had gone to new pastures with just 27 recorded during the whole match with just 2 at Cley. With the Hounds almost gone it was down to the more traditional shingle species of Dabs, Flounders , the odd Bass and Whiting which were still hanging around to make up the score. There was also a few Dogfish which are becoming more common here giving good points but the main points earners were the stonking Flounders and big Dabs of which there were quite a few. Disappointingly, the Bass numbers were down at just 22 with the majority small Schoolies.
Naturally the total weight recorded was down on the previous day at 423lb less than a 1/3rd of that match but the number of fish was only just slightly down at 1535 where the Hounds had been replaced by Dabs and Whiting.
At Cley Zone A was taken by COLIN PICKARD (Peg 8) with 4lb 6oz from 158 fish and Zone B by KARL NANGLE (Peg 26) with 5lb 14oz from 30 fish. Zone C was won by RICHARD BURT (Peg 33) with 6lb 3oz from 15 fish and Zone D by Paul Kendrick (Peg 50) with 4lb 2oz from 8 fish which included a rare Bass of 2lb 5oz and 2nd heaviest Bass of the Day.
At Kelling Zone E was won by CHRIS SPALL (Peg 63) with 10lb 3oz from 32 and the winner of Zone F was IAN BOWELL (Peg 88) with 19lb from 25 fish which included 5 Hounds the biggest being 6lb 6oz. The winner of Zone G was DAVID READ (Peg 92) with 8lb 15oz from 25 fish. Zone H was taken by SIMON DRAYTON (Peg 120) with 11lb from 30 fish.
Winners on the day were …
ALL FISH …………..………….. 19lb 0oz ……..Ian Bowell Peg F78
BASS ONLY …………………….. 3lb 0oz ……..Craig Buy Peg B16
NON- BASS …………………….19lb 0oz ……..Ian Bowell Peg F78
HEAVIEST BASS ……………. 3lb 0oz ……...Craig Buy Peg B16
HEAVIEST FLAT FISH ……. 1lb 0oz ……...Tom Gibbs Peg E74
TOP LADY ………………………. 3lb 10oz ……..Kimberley Lawn Peg A2
TOP JUNIOR ……………………. 6lb 12oz …… Adam Molloy Peg G93
TOP TEAM ……………………... 28lb 8oz ………Team Breakaway
Fish numbers and weights for the two days were …
TOTAL FISH…………….………3373 (Day 1 - 1838, Day 2 - 1535)
TOTAL FISH WEIGHT……1838lb (Day 1 -1415lb, Day 2 - 423lb)
TOTAL BASS…………………..…85 (Day 1 - 63, Day 2 - 22)
TOTAL BASS WEIGHT…...68lb (Day 1 -38lb, Day 2 - 32lb)
The Event was advertised and treated as two separate matches with prize money and Kelling Heath Trophies being paid out and presented to the winners in these matches. The results were also pulled together to determine 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 glass trophies for the Day winners. For Day 1 GEORGE SMITH received Third Place trophy, STEPHEN ADAMS the Runner-up and ALBY CLEMENT the Winner’s trophy. For Day 2 CHRIS SPALL took the Third Place trophy, SIMON DRAYTON the Runner-up and IAN BOWELL the Winner’s trophy. There was also a similar trophy for the Heaviest Catch of the Festival which went to ALBY CLEMENT for his superb Day 1 performance.
Highlight of the Festival is the biggest Bass prize a Short Break Holiday at Kelling Heath Holiday Park along with a glass trophy which this year was shared by JACK AKESTER and ANDY GALLACHER with their 3lb 7oz Bass.
JUNIORS OVERALL
This year the Juniors seem to have got this competitive bug and were noticeable keeping an eye like the seniors on what their competition were catching and recording. Not many Juniors this year but Daine Bradshaw, Luke Brierley, Danny Brown, Rory Mickelson, Adam Molloy and Jack Topping are a solid group to build on for next year’s Festival and hopefully more Juniors. Each received a Goodies bag from Breakaway which was really appreciated. Third place went to LUKE BRIERLEY with 7 penalty points although Jack Topping also had the same points but less Fish Points. Runner-up was DAINE BRADSHAW with 5 penalty points who could not sustain his Day 1 win performance in Day 2. Overall Junior Champion was last year’s Winner in ADAM MOLLOY with 3 penalty points who after a relatively slow performance on Day 1 by his terms got his act together on Day 2 to do the business. For his win he received a Large Maver Accessory Bag, £50 Breakaway voucher from Country Cars, £30 voucher from Ian Bowell and the Country Cars Perpetual Shield.
LADIES OVERALL
This year saw a big reduction in the Ladies numbers primarily due to financial commitments on the International scene. However, it was good to see some new comers from the other end of the match scene so let’s hope that the new comers increase and the Internationals return next year so that this competition can survive. Third place went to ADELE SMITH with 6 penalty points who after winning Day 1 stuttered dramatically on Day 1 and received a TronixPro Envoy Fixed Spool reel. Runner-up was BECKY ADAMS with 3 penalty points receiving a TronixPro Envoy rod. Overall Ladies Champion was again last year’s winner in KIMBERLEY LAWN also with 3 penalty points but with just a 27 Fish Points advantage over Becky. A victory achieved through a sterling Day 2 performance in conditions more suited to her well honed shingle skills for which she received a TronixPro Viper rod and the Tronixpro Perpetual Shield.
MYSTERY PAIRS
A new competition was introduced this year called 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 BECKY ADAMS & TARRICK BRIGHTON taking Fifth with 19 Zone points and £60 with GEORGE SMITH & HARRY BROWN also with 19 Zone points but with a superior Fish Points total taking Fourth and £80. Third place went to MATT LAY-FLURRIE & ANDY GALLACHER with 17 Zone points and £100 with Runner-up slot going to RICHARD BURT & ROY HADDOCK and £200. Overall Mystery Pairs Winners were ALBY CLEMENT & CHRIS SPALL with 13 Zone points winning £300.
SHANNOCK QUADS
This Teams of Four event saw only 11 teams participating which is disappointing as this only accounted for 44 of those competing and this small number was 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 TEAM BREAKAWAY winning £20. Third place went to IPSWICH SEA ANGLERS winning £40 and Runners-up ANYFISH/ASSO taking £60. Winning Team was BREAKAWAY comprising of STEPHEN ADAMS (Captain) RICHARD BURT, CRAIG BUY and ROB TUCK winning £100 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. In Fourth Place was RICHARD BURT with 3 Zone points and 2280 Fish Points winning £100. Third place went to STEPHEN ADAMS also with 3 Zone points but with 2676 Fish Points winning £200. Runner-up was ALBY CLEMENT again with 3 Zone points but with 2679 Fish Points only 1oz ahead of 3rd place winning £300. Overall Festival Champion worked hard both days to secure Zone wins on both particularly on Day 1 where his Fish Points were way down on others elsewhere but much better than others around him and this was sufficient to take the Zone. This was SIMON DRAYTON who took the Kelling Heath Perpetual Shield and £400, well done Simon.
The above trophies and prizes monies were presented at the Presentation Evening which for once was achieved almost on schedule. Many thanks to everyone who support what was a cracking event this year.
Holt SAC will continue to run the event under Kelling Heath sponsorship in 2018 and the date for this will be weekend 19th/20th May 2018 which is a week later than this year so we hope the May weed hasn’t settled in. The event format seems to be working well so we will keep this the same but we may change the Non-Bass category to a pure Flattie category which will give everyone another target to challenge. The eight Zones and match venues seem to have worked well so these will remain as they can accommodate a few more pegs.
That’s the Festival for another year and hopefully see everyone again in May 2018.
Full Match Results are on the Club’s website at …
Holt SAC 2017 North Norfolk Bass Festival Results
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