9th Leg Winter Accumulator and Sabre Tackle Winter League Round 4
Sunday 1st March 2015 - Kelling
Doom and despondency was spreading through the membership as forecast after forecast was reporting storm force winds with north in them along with a 10ft swell for this match. Contingence plans were then hatched to switch to Gt. Yarmouth North Beach to fish over the ebb and flood which a number of the members were looking forward to particularly as there had been reports of codling and lots of dabs from this venue. Fortunately, the weather gods were for once working in our favour this time as the wind although strong but not storm had a bit of south in it not north and the swell was no more that 3-4ft and not 10ft. In the end the sea was flat and with the sun turned out to be a very pleasant day but they did get the brief sharp shower ½ hour from the end at 5:30 right.
With the venue confirmed as Kelling the usual healthy turn out were soon gathering at the Muckleburgh Collection main gate for an early afternoon start apart from the Gorleston contingent who still didn’t believe the forecast was wrong and ended up struggling at Hopton. Pegs were soon drawn amongst the banter particularly that surrounding the pink “no longer pointless” hat and all were soon off to search for their allotted slot. Well nearly all and there always has to be one, not “last cast” Watts who was there spot on his 12:00 prediction but “rover” Scarff who was in his usual mode of being the very last to draw and was soon off to join the rest. Pegging for this one was the usual 6 pegs to west of the small cliff in front of the radar and the rest under the small cliff and east towards the wreck giving no real hiking on shingle. Fishing 3 hours up and 2 down on a neap tide meant none of this chasing the tide and buddies were soon strategically placed to minimise effort on the shingle and to avoid any sudden surges on the incoming tide.
All were more than ready at the whistle with the usual Kelling tactics being employed from the off. The gutter bashers were gutter bashing, the casual 60 yard casters were casual casting and the serious blasters were doing exactly that. This has now become a venue where you really do have to find the fish and everyone will initially use their well worn techniques to achieve this. It was soon apparent that the fish were there particularly dabs as cards were being marked and fished observed being thrown back. Not lots of fish but enough to make all the effort preparing for the session worthwhile. Fish were being found at all ranges but the majority once again at this venue seem to be coming from the 60-80 yard range. Not too much tide to be a problem but a little of that stringy fine weed to be a bit of a nuisance at times.
Fish were coming ashore at a regular rate throughout the match and the two ends of the stretch were again producing the same good results as in previous matches. Quality dabs and some sizeable whiting from these pegs along with a respectable codling from the wreck end kept the adrenaline running in those with these fish. It was therefore inevitable that the podium winners came from either end of the stretch which prompted our Youth International to comment that this has for now become a very peggy match stretch. Even so for a change there were plenty of fish caught with 145 being recorded which were 130 dabs, 1 flounder, 8 whiting, 1 codling and 5 rockling weighing 30lb 4oz and a vast improvement from our last match at this venue.
On the individual performances, with cracking fresh early morning lug “heacham” Needham thought all his Christmases had come together when he pulled out end peg 25 and in shooting distance of the wreck. Not so, as cast after cast brought in bucket loads of vermin including two of an edible variety and with a small v’s big baits dilemma he only could manage to winkle out 2 small dabs and one sizeable whiting for 25 points, the shingle really is not being kind to him these days! In contrast, “last cast” Watts on next peg 23 was hauling in dab after dab after finding a couple of sizeable whiting. With his usual touch of range he was even finding double shots along with the occasional vermin attached giving him a total of 222 points from 22 fish and a certain shot at the podium. Another up and coming star in “taxi” Kendrick (peg 22) had to find his customary rockling early on then a surprise slack line saw him land a nice 42cm codling placing him well on course for a top spot. A few dabs followed to boost his total points to 154 from 10 fish and a possible shot at the podium. A young man who you can never keep down is “silver fox” Neave (peg 21) who was filling up his card with plenty of dabs but they were all small and a serious total of 17 only gave him 112 points.
Another person into small dabs was “earl” Spencer (peg 17) on his first real club outing, welcome aboard Nigel, managing to card 8 of them for just 55 points, there will be more to come from “earl”, no doubt! In similar form was another regular “inspector” Morse (peg 16) who was finding slightly bigger dabs and a sizeable whiting to finish up with 86 points from 7 fish. Still coming to terms with the shingle was “i’ll do it my way” Waldren (peg 15) who could not find that monster flounder of the last match and had to be content with 3 small dabs for 22 points. Into codling mode was “blacks” Bulch (peg 12) who was determined to make a charge for the Winter Accumulator title but alas his only round fish was a 27cm whiting and with a further 6 smallish flatties could only amass 65 points but he will have one more shot at Bacton. Performing well for a late starter was “rover” Scarff (peg 10) who was into a series of 22cm dabs along with a chubby 26cm rockling giving him 80 points from 9 fish. Trying to keep pace with “rover” was “yoda” Thomas (peg 10) who was playing catch up with the young man but after using every variety of rigs, bait and range managed to eventually find 99 points from 10 dabs and 2 of those chubby rockling.
It was a dire day for “the chef” Parks (peg 9) who probably wished he stayed at home in his brassiere but eventually he did find a smallish 22cm dab which kicked off his total of 5 for 42 points. Probably his big mistake was not to wear his new pink cap but then everyone would want one, business opportunity Mr Bulch? On the next two pegs were the Brown’s in their usual competitive mode not only with everyone else but between themselves. “young catcher” Brown (peg 8) was seen quite late into the match doing one of those flounder walks in rather despondent mood with no points on his card only to go back and reel in, yes you’ve guessed it, a nice 27cm flounder. This was the only flounder of the match and he followed this with 3 dabs one of which was 25cm to give him 52 points and sort of reminiscent of our young Henry’s flounder tactics, England are you taking note?. “super sub” Brown (peg 7) had already a few flatties on his card before this happened along with a rockling and a couple more dabs gave him 51 points, yes Danny had beaten his dad (again?) by just one point, another one for the record books.
The competitive spirit is certainly floating to the top with “big flounder” Beresford (peg 6) who is starting to show his form. Once again he found a cracking 29cm dab along with a few other big ones along with a sizeable whiting to give him 110 points from 10 fish. Back on one of his favourite pegs known in the club as the “Hunn spot” where young Dennis used to whop us, was “steady” Carter (peg 5) who has had some good results of late from this exact spot. Yet again he performed finding a 28cm and a couple of 27cm dabs to go with a few other good dabs finishing with 172 points from 16 fish and a certain shot at the podium. Then there was “hokey pokey” Loke (peg 4) who was coming then not coming then coming who was tortured by the forecast the missing carvery and the cold but as the sun came out and the wind dropped he was certainly glad he had decided to be on the shingle although the late shower may have dampened this thought. Nothing really to do with the fishing but he did manage to find 12 dabs one of which topped 25cm, one of 23cm and a three of 22cm but not enough to do any real damage giving him 103 points in the rain. Final man on the stretch and way out on his own on peg 1 was “off duty” Gibbs and you knew he was going to do some real business as he hauled in a 22cm dab followed by another cracking 29cm specimen. He then continued to have a steady flow of fish throughout the match which included a couple of sizeable whiting, a 28cm dab, a couple of 26cm along with ones of 25cm and 24cm giving him 233 points from just 19 fish and a certain shot at top spot.
In the end in the rain it was the radar end that triumphed, so much for the barren radar myth as Tom “off duty” Gibbs took the honours with 4lb 13 2/3oz from 19 fish.
Runner-up from the other wreck end was Mike “last cast” Watts with 4lb 10oz from 22 fish with John “steady” Carter back at the radar end taking final podium slot with 3lb 9 1/3oz from 16 fish. Heaviest flat on the day was shared by Mark Beresford and Tom Gibbs with their 29cm (9oz) dabs and of course the heaviest round that 42cm (1lb 9oz) codling to Paul Kendrick. Once again a very interesting match and good to see the fish back at this venue, not serious numbers but as Mr Watts commented “caught more on this one than all the last few put together”. Surprised about the lack of flounders but it was a small tide and they’ll be back for our summer campaigns and hopefully at Bacton in our next match. The vermin seem to be on their way back which is rather early which means even now the water must be warming up, could be an early Spring!
These match results have propelled John (C) with his sterling performance into pole position just 2oz in front of Tony (T) in the Winter Accumulator. Mike (W)’s usual consistent result puts him just 10 points behind Tony (T) in the Overall League after 38 matches but with a zero score to drop in the final match he is certain to take Overall title at the last match.
The final Club match of the season and final round 6 of the Norfolk National Sea League along with Round 5 of the Sabre Tackle Winter League will be at Bacton via Castaways on Sunday 1st March fishing 11:00-4:00 with HW 8:00 LW 2:33 and a 4.8m tide. Draw will be in the Jolly Roger Bar from 9:15. There will be a buffet after the match along with a short league meeting and presentation of the League shield and League winnings. There will also be a raffle so club members please bring along a raffle prize.
Club Match Result Top 5
1st Tom Gibbs 4lb 13 2/3oz (19 fish)
2nd Mike Watts 4lb 10oz (22 fish)
3rd John Carter 3lb 9 1/3oz (16 fish)
4th Paul Kendrick 3lb 3 1/3oz (10 fish)
5th John Neave 2lb 5 1/3oz (17 fish)
Winter Accumulator Current Standings Top 5
1st John Carter 17lb 0oz
2nd Tony Thomas 16lb 14oz
3rd Peter Morse 15lb 7oz
4th Ivan Allison 11lb 14 1/3oz
5th Christian Bulch 11lb 11 2/3oz
Overall League Current Standings Top 5
1st Tony Thomas 469 points
2nd Mike Watts 459 points
3rd Ivan Allison 446 points
4th John Neave 434 points
5th John Carter 406 points
------ ... ------
