Holt SAC West Norfolk Challenge 2016 - Round 3 (Report)

Sunday 12th June 2016 - Kings Lynn Estuary

 

 

 

Rounds 1 & 2 of this year’s West Norfolk Challenge showed a marked reduction in productivity on our traditional West Bank Great Ouse stretch way north of the A47 bridge. It was therefore time for a change and after Mr Organiser had done a recce just south of the A47 resulting in a few flounders and some big eels it was time to check out this stretch for round 3. With the club having easy access to the whole West Bank these days we had the scope to go anywhere from the A47 bridge all the way to St Germans but opted this time for a close drive in front of Palm Paper’s complex. An easy smooth flood bank to drive along, hard grassy stretch right up to the water’s edge (none of this muddy stuff) and once George Smith had sussed access it was fishing from the motor from the off.

 

However, there was one wee potential problem and that was the heifers who could be seen in the distance in inquisitive mode and soon they were sauntering down to us. In heifer avoidance mode Peter Loke made a dash for the open grass but we all know that Honda is still under powered this year but he has a Toyota, never mind he failed and had to suffer having selfies taken with the heifers. They (the heifers) soon got fed up with this and spotted Simon Drayton setting up stall on end peg (yes end peg AGAIN) and cantered down to his camp. Fortunately, they soon got bored with looking at his rigs and peeing on his peg and sauntered back south towards St Germans. No wee problem just the turd problem, gets everywhere but we can suffer that for a good days fishing. Many thanks to farmer “Giles” for allowing us to us his meadow, a really nice chap and plenty of scope for the club to go anywhere along this seriously long stretch, perfect for a big Open on the right tide and right conditions.

 

Enough of this pre-ambling, what about the fishing? The weather gods had promised us a light southerly with an overcast sky with a little of the wet stuff and they were spot on. Fishing 2 up and 3 down on a small tide would give us some slack water midway with a slight tide either side and this former duly occurred although surprisingly didn’t last too long. However, we were then all rather surprised how it ripped through once the ebb started, any bigger tide could be difficult to fish in these West Norfolk rivers. The summer sun (if we have had any) had done its job on the marshes and upstream producing lots of that ‘bed’ weed particularly when the tide was running although not really a problem just a nuisance.

 

For once a low turnout with the majority taking advantage of the pre-kids holiday on Chesil or relaxing at Pontins and other salubrious places or showing the locals a thing or two in Yorkshire, well done Readie! or doing a bit of dog watching or on domestic duty or just having a break. Anyway it was good to see a number of the region’s top match anglers supporting the club, very much appreciated! and we should have a full complement at the final round. With a latish 10:30 start all were there nice and early for the usual banter although Richard Ling had a small problem or should we say big one as he hadn’t got the restricted access text. Thankfully the Sharmo gang were late as usual and Richard was grateful for their help to get in but he did wish they’d been there at the end . Pegs were drawn and all were soon driving to their allotted slot either literally of parking up, damn easy venue to fish as Sharmo commented afterwards.

 

It was soon apparent from the off that this venue was not going to produce bucketfuls of fish but it did produce some quality Flounders and surprisingly some good Eels which have been really absent from the last two rounds. For most the match was split into three, a slow start whilst the flood was finishing, a flurry of activity when the flood was petering off to a quiet period as the flood really kicked in towards the end. However, it was not like this for all and it varied depending on each individual’s river techniques. Renown for these is Mark Gooch on end peg 2 who like most kicked off with a couple of reasonable Eels but the flow of fish was not up to his usual standard. A 28cm Flounder and a 52cm Eel towards the end saw him end up with 2 Flounders and 6 Eels for 4lb 1oz being beaten by just two points by next peg. On that peg 3 was Richard Burt kicking off with a good 56cm Eel to which he added later 4 more good Eels up to 57cm and a small Flounder for 4lb 2oz. Mark Sharman (peg 5) was also into Eels although slightly smaller with 5 on his card. However, he also found a nice 30cm Flounder to go with 3 other good Flounders to give him 4lb 11oz at the end.

 

Unfortunately, it just wasn’t Jeff Stannard’s (peg 6) day, this top river man has yet to find a fish in this series although he did miss the last match. Never mind, he will persevere and will soon be back on top. Big van man Richard Ling (Peg 7) is just getting the hang of this river lark and did manage to find 2 reasonable Eels for 1lb 5oz. A star performer on this river is George Smith (peg 16) whose techniques were catching when others were not, at the beginning and the end. A total of 9 Eels and a small Bass have him 4lb 13oz with his last Eel of 58cm thrusting him into a podium slot. New comer to this river lark was Paul Kendrick (peg 17) who knows he’s got a lot to learn and his array of spot on peelers and rag did not help him to find a single fish. He will be back and they will come once he has mastered these river techniques. Then there was the dark horse of the river in Ed Driver (19) an avid RG supporter who was really struggling early on in this one. Then he broke out his light gear and sure enough he was into a couple of Eels and then a couple of Flounders one of which was a stonking 38cm when his small hooks let him down leaving it high and dry on the mud. Thankfully he was able to dive in (into the mud that is) to save it and that along with a couple of reasonable Eels at the end gave him 5lb 1oz from 8 fish and a shot at a podium place.

 

Having an equally poor start finding an heft in front of him was Tony Thomas (peg 20) he was staring a blank in his face after 3 hours. Time for a change of tactics casting slightly further out with lighter gear and drifting around in the tide did the trick with a reasonable Eel followed by a couple of Flounders and another Eel. Unfortunately, that was it ending up with 2lb 3oz from the 4 fish.   Peter Loke was struggling early on but with his moo-ving experience a distant memo he suddenly latched on to a 57cm Eel which made his day. Spurred on by this and the driving force of his Mystery Pairs partner next door gave him a good Flounder and two more reasonable Eels ending with 2lb 11oz. Finally, there was the man of the river who repeatedly says he’s not too good in this river who was on his 2nd high order end peg 22 in a row. Again a slow start with an Eel but he soon found the fish and was bring in a procession of Eels and Flounders throughout the match. Except for a stonking 34cm all of his other fish were of a good size and adding good points to his card. With 11 Eels and 6 Flounders for 9lb 6oz he had nearly double the weight of his nearest rival.

 

It was therefore not surprising that Simon Drayton took the honours with his 9lb 6oz from 17 fish. Runner up was Ed Driver with 5lb 1oz from 8 fish followed by George Smith with 4lb 13oz from 10 fish. Zone A winner was Mark Sharman with 4lb 11oz from 9 fish and Zone B winner was Simon. Heaviest fish was Ed Driver’s 38cm (1lb 5oz) Flounder. Top clubman on the day was Peter Loke with 2lb 3oz from 4 fish followed by Tony Thomas with 2lb 3oz from 4 fish with no other club weighers. Heaviest club flat was a Flounder of 29cm (9oz) shared by Peter and Tony and heaviest club round was Peter’s 57cm (13oz) Eel. Altogether 68 fish (19 Flounders, 48 Eels and 1 Bass) were recorded weighing 38lb 4oz.

 

In the League Simon continues in top spot with 4 penalty points, followed by Ed on 8 pps and Richard Burt on 12 pps. Current Mystery Pairs leaders are Simon Drayton & Peter Loke with 18lb 12oz from Richard Burt & Tony Thomas with 11lb 15oz and Ed Driver & Phil Read on 10lb 11oz. In the Free Pairs Simon Drayton & George Smith are leading on 24lb 7oz followed by Richard Burt & Ed Driver on 16lb 15oz and Mark Sharman & Mark Gooch on 15lb 7oz. With the worst scores being dropped after the final match this could make the results very interesting although looks like Simon Drayton has already taken the title.

 

Not a brilliant match for numbers of fish but certainly for quality as the total weight was more than the previous round with half the turn out. A venue which can only really be fished over High Water and one that would be worth using again. Then there is all the river south from here where there has to be some real hot spots particularly for Flounders which be worth investigating next year. The final round 4 will be north of the A47 (exact venue to be announced) on Sunday 17th July fishing 10:30 – 3:30 LW 12:45 4.2m.

 

Next club match is at Bacton on Saturday 18th June via Castaways fishing 12:00-5:00 LW 12:40 HW 6:21 4.3m with Draw from 10:30.

 

Top 5 Results…

1…Simon Drayton..……..9lb…6oz………..(17 fish)

2…Ed Driver…………………5lb…2/3oz……...(8 fish)

3…George Smith.…………4lb…12 2/3oz…(10 fish)

4…Mark Sharman.……….4lb…10 2/3oz….(9 fish)

5…Richard Burt………..….4lb…2oz……….…(6 fish)

 

Current League Top 5…

1…Simon Drayton………..4pts

2…Ed Driver………………… 8pts

3…Richard Burt……………12pts

4…George Smith………….13pts

5…Tony Thomas.………….16pts

 

Current Mystery Pairs Top 5…

1…Simon Drayton & Peter Loke………18lb…12 1/3oz

2…Tony Thomas & Richard Burt………11lb…15 1/3oz

3…Ed Driver & Phil Read…………………..10lb…11 1/3oz

4…George Smith & Matt Frost ………….10lb…2/3oz

5…Albert Randlesome & Richard Ling...6lb…7 2/3oz

 

Current Free Pairs Top 5…

1…Simon Drayton & George Smith…...24lb…6 2/3oz  

2…Richard Burt & Ed Driver……………….16lb…14 2/3oz

3…Mark Sharman & Mark Gooch ……..15lb…6 2/3oz

4…Mike Watts & Tony Thomas ………….7lb…11oz

5…John Carter & Albert Randlesome. …6lb…12 1/3oz

 

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