Holt SAC West Norfolk Challenge 2015 - Round 4 (Final Report)
Sunday 23rd August 2015 - Kings Lynn Estuary
The final round of Holt SAC’s 2015 West Norfolk Challenge Series was played out on the Central stretch of the Kings Lynn West Bank which was the venue of the excellent 1st round of this year’s series. The chase for the title was going to be a close affair with 3 league members on just 3 points once their worst score was deducted with another 4 within 3 further points from them. The Mystery Pairs competition was still very tight with the top 5 pairs within 2 ½ lb of a top combined weight of 15lb although the Free Pairs competition was almost sealed. All of this was billed to make this a competitive climax to this year’s Challenge and we were not disappointed.
The weather forecast was sunny throughout the match with the rain switching on at the presentation and they were spot on. As we arrived the wind was a brisk south easterly which started to become a bit breezy towards the end, handy thing these wind turbines these days! We also noticed a couple of buoys in the middle of the river at the start of the stretch, strange we thought not been there before. Somebody mentioned powerboat racing but thought no not in this river, how wrong we were.
With the gate just opened on time all were soon making the procession through the grass to the draw just south of the Treatment Works and Pylon. Well not quite all as it soon came apparent that the peeler drought had hit the match quite seriously with even some of the contenders not able to make it due to the lack of the creatures. It was therefore to be a low turnout for this final match but it was great to see England International George Smith making the long trip down from Grimsby. A long journey for such a small gathering when there were other matches closer to home but he really does like fishing the Ouse estuary, many thanks for your support George. With Mr Organiser skied out young Henry took up the baton which he did not drop to distribute the pegs in the long grass, many thanks Henry!
With pegs drawn all were then debating which were the hot pegs and with either end doing the business on this stretch in round 1 was this going to be repeated in this one on an opposite tide. To try and return eels alive the club had decided for this match to measure eels as with other fish rather than retaining for weighing at the end. Tubs of sand were made available at the draw to assist in their measurement. All were then soon off to find their pegs in the long grass and to erect bivvies and other contraptions on the dry mud which thankfully was relatively dry this time. Even with the tide well into the flood this time there was not too much flow so all the options were open at the whistle; close, mid-stream and long.
It soon came apparent that we were not going to have a fish fest at the start of this one as rods remained motionless except for one young lad who found a couple eels straight off. Reporting later that the tub of sand did the trick but had to nick it from someone else. Motionless was the correct description for poor old Jeff (S)’s (peg 19) rod as his woes continued at Kings Lynn this year without a solitary fish. Struggling at the start was Peter(L) (peg 16) who could not repeat his previous match’s performance only managing to find a couple of flounders and a smelt for 27 points. It was a similar story for “Speedy” Muirhead (peg 5) who repeated his previous match’s performance with just one eel but not bad at 45cm giving him 28 points, at least he’s consistent.
Another person having a dip in performance on the river is Alan(D) (peg 18) who just managed to find a couple of decent flounders for 52 points. Although at one stage he could blame a wayward speedboat for cutting off his line. Also having a quiet time in the river this year was Tony(T) (peg 17) who had a very quiet start and knew it wasn’t to be his day when an early 25cm bootlace appeared on his card. Things did improve as the tide began to ebb finding five further flounders to finish on 84 points. Unable to repeat his big eel and big flounder start of the previous match Gary(M) (Peg 6) had to be content instead with a 44cm eel and 26cm flounder. He did however manage to find a further 4 flounders and an eel to finish on 111 points.
Then there was the story of those buoys almost in front of peg 1 and yes indeed “Speedy” was right it was powerboat racing in fact it was water ski racing. We just happened to have chosen the weekend when Hunstanton Ski Racing Club were hosting a round of the Hanseatic Ski Race League. This involves competitors from all over Europe competing in formula 1, 2 and 3 races using high-tech racing boats capable of speeds up to 100 mph, not exactly conducive with our sport. Anyway it just happened that we had pegged a stretch that was to be included in the first lap of the first two races with the rest of these races and the third race to be around a lap in front of South Quay. The guys from Hunstanton came along and did a great job in warning us about what was to happen. In the end it was only disruption for a few minutes and we got a grandstand view of some excellent skiing and superb racing boats.
For young Henry he was impressed and it even livened up a few flounders for him but for poor old Alan his trace is probably still revolving around the prop of one of those boats.
Back on the slightly quieter scene George(S) (peg 7) was getting somewhat frustrated as his bucket started to get filled with crab, not his peelers but those out of the river. With just one flounder on his card the sight of others on the lower pegs hauling in fish did not help but as the tide started to ebb he found the fish finishing up with 10 flounders for 146 points. With some decent crab at last Mike(W) (peg 4) was really ready to change his fortunes and do the business. He thought he was certainly achieving this when he found two 32cm flounders which added to his other nine good flounders giving him a total of 187 points. One of the leading contenders for this year’s title was Ed(D) (peg 22) and he knew he had to perform in this one to keep his title hopes on course. He certainly was doing this as he found flounder after flounder amassing 13 on his scorecard including two of 28cm although he probably needed them a bit bigger giving him a total of 200 points.
Richard(B) (peg 20) knew he was still in with a chance for the title but he also knew he would have to beat everyone around him to achieve this. A 45cm eel and then a raft of good flounders with one of 34cm worth 48 points certainly kept him in the hunt. A total of 8 fish gave him 210 points but his luck ran out with his 9th fish a 44cm Shad worth 64 points but unfortunately Shads cannot be recorded, shame! Making amends for his previous dismal performances at Kings Lynn was Mark(B) (peg 2) who had managed to acquire some Welsh crab and we all know where they came from, Wales! These helped him to kick off with a small eel and then 14 flounders with including ones of 30cm giving him 269 points. A certain match winning total but all this was to change in the last cast of the match.
No title intentions for Dave(R) (peg 3) but he was after top spot on the day. With 3 reasonable eels early on he then started to make a charge with a raft of flounders including two 29cm and a 30cm version which put him well in contention but not in the lead. However, this was all to change with his last cast when he found a 23cm and another 30cm specimen to put him on top with 307 points from his 16 fish. It was also his unlucky day being yet another person to find a Shad, slightly smaller this time at 35cm worth 31 points which of course did not count. Then there was that real title contender Henry(R) (peg 23) who said he wasn’t going to fish all the rounds but did and for this one pulled out end peg, yes end peg for Henry, no contest! He really knew it was going to be his day when he found a double shot of eels on his first cast worth 60 points altogether. A further 49cm and then a 52cm eel gave him 67 points plus a 31cm and other good flounders put him in contention for the day and the title but not quite there yet. He then heard from the bush radio that Dave was just 10 points in front of him even before Dave’s last cast so he decided to try harder and out into mid-stream he went with a rolling lead for his last cast. Result a flounder double shot, one of 28cm and one of 34cm yes 34cm! worth a total of 72 points giving him a final total score of 325 points from 14 fish, nice one Henry!
In the end it was that last cast tussle that determined the day winner with Henry Randell yet again doing the business with 6lb 12 1/3oz from 14 fish. This meant that Dave Read had to settle for runner’s up slot with 6lb 6 1/3oz from 17 fish. Final podium slot went to Mark Borley who with 15 minutes to go thought he had at last cracked it but with no last cast activity ended up with 5lb 9 2/3oz from 15 fish. Heaviest fish on the day was shared by Henry and Richard Burt in their 34cm (1lb) flounders and unluckily for Richard his 1lb 5oz Shad did not count. Altogether there were 106 fish (83 flounders, 12 eels and 1 smelt) recorded weighing a total of 40lb 9oz.
On the club front, Henry took top spot with Mark Borley 2nd and Mike Watts 3rd with 3lb 14 1/3oz from 11 fish. Club heaviest flat went to Henry with his 34cm (1lb) flounder and Henry also took the heaviest round with his 52cm (12oz) eel.
On the League front, Henry’s resounding victory in this match ensured he became Holt SAC West Norfolk Challenge Champion for 2015 with 4 penalty points (805 fish points). Runner up was the 2014 Champion in Richard Burt with 6 penalty points (745 fish points) followed by Ed Driver on the same score of 6 penalty points (657 fish points) but with less total fish points.
Henry Randell
Day Winner & West Norfolk Challenge Champion 2015
In the FREE Pairs competition Richard Burt and Ed Driver walked away with it accumulating 29lb 13oz from 61 fish. Runners up were Peter Loke and Henry Randell with 25lb 5oz from 59 fish followed by Tony Thomas and Mike Watts with 19lb 6oz from 56 fish. The MYSTERY Pairs was closer because of the way the pairs were selected with Richard Burt and Kev Sealey taking the honours here with 18lb 7oz from 37 fish. Runners up were Ed Driver and Matt Frost with 17lb 7oz from 39 fish followed by Jeff Stannard and Tony Thomas with 16lb 1oz from 38 fish.
Well that’s the West Norfolk Challenge Series finished for another year and yet again a highly competitive competition for Holt SAC. Turnout was slightly higher than 2014 but could have been a lot better if the crab situation had not intervened. If Holt SAC runs the event in 2016 it will work on this numbers issue and maybe start the matches earlier in the year to avoid the crab availability problem. It was also noted that the 1st match was far the best fished on the ebb and in this last match the fish were certainly coming on when the ebb got into full flow. So from our experience we need to fish these Kings Lynn matches on the ebb. As for the eels, the tub of sand worked well so looks as though we'll be measuring eels in future rather than weighing them.
Holt SAC would like to thank everyone for supporting the club and the Series and hopefully we will be back in 2016 so if we are see you all there!
West Norfolk Challenge Round 4 Result Top 5
| Posn. | Member | Weight | No. Fish | Weight Points | |
| (lb) | (oz) | ||||
| 1 | Henry Randell | 6 | 12 1/3 | 14 | 325 |
| 2 | Dave Read | 6 | 6 1/3 | 16 | 307 |
| 3 | Mark Borley | 5 | 9 2/3 | 15 | 269 |
| 4 | Richard Burt | 4 | 6 | 8 | 210 |
| 5 | Ed Driver | 4 | 2 2/3 | 13 | 200 |
West Norfolk Challenge League Final Top 5
| Posn. | Angler | League Points | Total No. of Fish | Total Weight Points |
1 |
Henry Randell |
4 |
42 |
805 |
2 |
Richard Burt |
6 |
29 |
745 |
| 3 | Ed Driver | 6 | 30 | 657 |
| 4 | Dave Read | 7 | 31 | 587 |
| 5 | Mike Watts | 8 | 35 | 601 |
Free Pairs Final Top 5
| Posn. | Pair | No. Fish | Weight Points | Weight | |
| (lb) | (oz) | ||||
1 |
Richard Burt & Ed Driver |
61 |
1432 |
29 |
13 1/3 |
| 2 | Peter Loke & Henry Randell | 59 | 1216 | 25 | 5 1/2 |
| 3 | Tony Thomas & Mike Watts | 56 | 930 | 19 | 6 |
| 4 | Christian Bulch & Mark Sharman | 43 | 883 | 18 | 16 1/3 |
| 5 | Gary Medler & "Kipper" | 34 | 771 | 16 | 1 |
Mystery Pairs Final Top 5
| Posn. | Pair | No. Fish | Weight Points | Weight | |
| (lb) | (oz) | ||||
1 |
Richard Burt & Kev Sealey | 37 | 885 | 18 | 6 5/6 |
| 2 | Ed Driver & Matt Frost | 39 | 836 | 17 | 6 1/2 |
| 3 | Jeff Stannard & Tony Thomas | 38 | 771 | 16 | 5/6 |
| 4 | Jeff Stannard & Mark Borley | 41 | 760 | 15 | 13 1/6 |
| 5 | Mark Sharman & Andrew Muirhead | 35 | 746 | 15 | 8 1/2 |
Club 16th Leg Summer Accumulator Result Top 5
| Posn. | Member | Weight | No. Fish | Weight Points | |
| (lb) | (oz) | ||||
| 1 | Henry Randell | 6 | 12 1/3 | 14 | 325 |
| 2 | Mark Borley | 5 | 9 2/3 | 15 | 269 |
| 3 | Mike Watts | 3 | 14 1/3 | 11 | 187 |
| 4 | Tony Thomas | 1 | 12 | 6 | 84 |
| 5 | Alan Doy | 1 | 1 1/3 | 2 | 52 |
Full Round 4 & Final League Results
------ .. ------
