2nd Leg Winter Accumulator & North Norfolk National Sea League Round 4

Sunday 11th January 2015 - Gorleston

For this match the Jet Stream was once again causing a nuisance by sending serious storms across Scotland and creating high winds and storm surges down the North Sea.  This meant that the proposed venue of Salthouse for round 4 was not really a starter and an early decision was made to decamp to Gorleston.  On arrival it was obvious from the weather perspective it was the right decision with a flat sea and the effects of the previous night’s surge clearly visible on the sandy beach and some seasoned anglers were surprisingly concerned about this and were worried about being “cut off”.  This weather also took its toll on the Sabre Tackle teams as they were bombard with tidal surge and mounds of weed warnings which kept them under the sheets or was it really the night before exuberances. Anyway none of the predictions materialised so they missed a pleasant match, maybe next time you can show your metal, boys!.

With a good ebbing tide there was plenty of beach to play with but not south past the wreck as even well after high water the sea was breaking over the rocks and revetments.  Pegging was therefore on the sandy beach to the north infront of Jay Jays Café or should we say beach restaurant as Dick Ellis was most impressed with his bacon butty and waitress service on the beach.  Unfortunately, this stretch of Gorleston was renowned for not holding fish unlike the other direction and of course it is also a favourite Sunday promenading beach for pooches.  It became obvious this was the case as throughout the match we were “dogged” by mutts leaping and sniffing around your rigs requiring an eager eye to be kept on each passing mutt. Would have been a good test for these new fangled contraptions for protecting bait and hooks from inquisitive pooches.

Anyway back to the fishing and for once no moans about the pegging which was close (not continental style just close) and clearly visible from the cliff top car park.  Even so some decided to motor it to their pegs although not certain what they gained, probably needed the extra exercise.  Zone A was the longest walk which was where the action began at the whistle.  This stretch was pretty shallow particular as the tide ebbed further but a bit of local knowledge helped to find the fish.  Holt Crackoffs’ Richard Ellis (peg 4) was soon into the dabs with a nice 29cm specimen to bump up his score but as is the norm for Richard this early form soon petered out.  Our young International in Henry Randell (Gutter Bashers) (peg 1) was uncharacteristically having a struggle from the start but a late switch to the gutter before the tide receded too much gave him a double shot of good flounders. A rare species for this venue but there it was Henry on the rod and we all know flounders are his favourite species.  Having a dire day was Alan Doy of Avenue Angling (peg 2) which seems to be the norm for Alan of late and only managed to find 4 fish and one of those was a rockling.  Local knowledge was certainly the victor in this section as Clyde Leggett of North Norfolk Lads (peg 3) with a steady flow of dabs and a rockling gave him the section win with 14 fish with Richard second with just 7 fish.

Zone B saw just three anglers contest this Zone with a similar result to Zone A.  Ray Camilleri of Holt Crackoffs (peg 12) got off to a great start with a 25cm dab but he soon knew it wasn’t going to be his day when his second fish was a rockling. He did manage a few more dabs and yet another rockling but was pipped at the post by Gutter Bashers’ John Carter (peg 9) who although having one less fish managed just slightly bigger dabs to take Ray by one solitary point.  Star in this Zone was Mike Topping of Avenue Angling (peg 10) who showed that his old skills had not deserted him by taking the section comfortably with 11 fish including a stonking 36cm whiting.

Zone C in front of Jay Jays which managed to attract the pooches but afraid not quantities of fish.  Tom Gibbs of Holt Crack Offs (peg 20) really struggled and took nearly two hours to record his first fish and treble 22cm with a 26cm dab gave him a respectable score. Similarly, Gutter Bashers’ Peter Loke (peg 17) was struggling but 23cm and 24cm dabs helped him improve his score and beat some of the opposition. Likewise, Martin Waters of Avenue Angling (peg 18) was finding small fish but he really did need a serious specimen to give him a chance in this Zone but this did not materialise.  Having a major inconvenience in this Zone was Kevin Green of North Norfolk Lads (peg 19) who had a heft immediately in front of him at medium range.  Undeterred and after losing 3 sets of gear he soldiered on and managed to find just 5 quality fish which gave him the section by 5 points from Martin.

Zone D appeared to be mutts paradise as this seemed to be the point were they were realised to steam up the beach and through the rods.  Here Paul Harvey of Gutter Bashers (peg 25) went off like a train with a double shot of dabs on his first cast including one of 26cm and then another on his second cast. This early start soon came to an abrupt end with only 3 more small dabs being added to his total by the end.  As for Tony Thomas of North Norfolk Lads (peg 27) he never really got started and it was 2 hours before a very small dab appeared on his card.  Like his nemesis Mr Doy he was also having a dire day only finding 3 fish the whole match.  Only marginally better was Trevor Elliott of Avenue Angling (peg 26) who became increasingly frustrated as undersized fish and empty traces came ashore but he did manage a 26cm dab , a couple of small dabs and rockling to save him embarrassment. Dick Ellis was keeping the flag flying in this Zone for Holt Crack Offs (peg 28) and easily took top spot in this section with 8 fish boosted by a couple of sizeable whiting with all his 5 dabs being in the 20s cm range.

Zone E was definitely where the fish were feeding as there was a real contest for fish numbers here.  Uncharacteristically, Mike Watts of North Norfolk Lads (peg 35) was finding some serious competition for a change in this Zone.  Although finding a good whiting early on his subsequent fish were all very small dabs or rockling and a late 26cm dab really did nothing for his standing in the Zone.  Avenue Angling’s Jeff Stannard (peg 34) normally does well at this venue but although he also had a good whiting and a 26cm dab along with a couple of 24cm late on, these could not put him in the frame.  In contrast, Peter Morse of Gutter Bashers (peg 33) found a good whiting early followed by two more later on which were supplemented by eight reasonable dabs.  These gave him a shot at the Zone prize but end peg man Ivan Allison of Holt Crack Offs (peg 36) had cut that notch for himself.  A steady flow of reasonable dabs including one of 28cm and a sizeable whiting towards the end gave him 12 fish and enough points to secure the section from Peter.

Although Zone E performed the best it was the consistency in Zones A & B that produced the Individual winners with Mike Topping taking the top spot with 3lb 4oz from 11 fish followed by Clyde Leggett with 2lb 14oz from 14 fish.  Finally podium slot went to Ivan Allison with 2lb 9oz from 12 fish.   The team winners on the day were Holt Crack Offs with 6 penalty points from Avenue Angling with 9 points and a tie for third place between Gutter Bashers & North Norfolk Lads with 10 points.

On the club front, Ivan Allison took the honours followed by Peter Morse with 2lb 6oz from 11 fish and Richard Ellis with 1lb 13oz from 7 fish.  Heaviest club flat of the day went to Richard Ellis for his 29cm (9 1/3oz) dab and heaviest round a 28cm (5 1/3oz) whiting shared by  Dick Ellis, Jeff Stannard and Mike Watts.

A most interesting match which demonstrated that whatever the weather conditions we can still fish our matches if there is a chance of a solution.  This was a true fishing match where local knowledge and the skill of the angler won the day. Round 5 will in theory be back to home territory on the shingle at Kelling on Sunday 8th February fishing 10:00-3:00.

Individual Result Top 5

1st Mike Topping               3lb 3 2/3oz     (11 Fish)   - Avenue Angling

2nd Clyde Leggett              2lb 13 2/3oz   (14 Fish)   - North Norfolk Lads

3rd Ivan Allison                  2lb 8 2/3oz     (12 Fish)   - Holt Crack Offs

4th Peter Morse                  2lb 6 1/3oz      (11 Fish)  - Gutter Bashers

5th Richard Ellis                 1lb 131/3oz     ( 7  Fish)   - Holt Crack Offs

Teams Result

1st     Holt Crack Offs             6 points

2nd     Avenue Angling            9 points

3rd= Gutter Bashers             10 points

3rd= North Norfolk Lads        10 points

7th= Sabre Tackle B              28 points

7th= Holt SAC                       28 points

7th= Sabre Tackle A              28 points

Teams to date 

1st     Avenue Angling            34 points

2nd=  Holt Crack Offs            41 points

2nd=  North Norfolk Lads       41 points

4th     Gutter Bashers             48 points

5th     Sabre Tackle B             66 points

6th     Sabre Tackle A             87 points

7th      Holt SAC                   105 points

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