Holt SAC Rocket House Open and Janet Waller Cup (Report)

Tuesday 26th December 2016 - Salthouse

Tradition dictates (and we are always into tradition) that the Club’s Rocket House Open is on the day after Boxing day and this year it was no different. A match that was conceived a few years back by that arch rival “Greasy Pole” champion of the mid 60s in the one and only Billy Temple. Shortly after this it was then dubbed the “Rocket House” Open in memory of the folly that used to stand on “Great Eye” mound facing seaward.

A folly that was built in the mid 18th century by a wealthy London property tycoon called Onesiphorus Randall who originated from Cley ( No! he can’t be part of that dynasty, it’s got an “a” not an “e”) and it was labelled “Randalls Folly". On the seaward side of the building there was a great expanse of grass called “Flat Eye” which was connected to “Great Eye” by a bridge. Onesiphorus who was fond of women built it with big doors at either end so that he could bring them into the house in his carriage. He would then open the seaward door drive over the bridge and turn the carriage around on “Flat Eye” and depart back through the house.

Towards the end of the 18th century the folly was then bought by the Board of Trade and housed the village’s life-saving brigade’s rocket cart and associated equipment. The brigade would use a rocket which was launched from the Cannon in the drawing to fire a Breeches Buoy to those in distress saving many lives around the turn of the century. It was this activity that gave it the name “ROCKET HOUSE”.

After various uses during WW1 & WW2 it was turned into a domestic home by the Joplings. Can always remember this iconic building rising high above the shingle on the horizon whilst sitting on Salthouse green taking down car numbers which was as boring as waiting for a codling these days. By then the great expanse of “Flat Eye” had been lost to the sea and the 1953 flood took half the building away which was then totally demolished. Subsequent storms and surges have removed all but a small mound of earth of “Great Eye” leaving just “Little Eye” to the west as a reminder of the past. In this match end peg 25 was situated almost where the Rocket House stood, how times have changed!

Well enough of the history lesson and back to the match where it was the Club’s only length match of the season with no size limits so everything counted. In hind sight this saved the day with lots of very every small whiting snatching the bait but handing out extension cards to everyone for more than 48 fish probably put the mockers on that happening. It was a bright chilly morning with a gentle westerly and a 3-5 foot swell rolling in curtesy of Storm Conor as it brushed the tip of Scotland. A good swell and High Pressure are not good for the shingle pushing the fish off shore and slowing their feeding habits as was the case in this match. To add to this fishing over the bottom and the start of the flood is never really good on the shingle for numbers of fish and this was certainly the case in this one but we could not control this for a daylight match.

Pegging for this one was from just before the remains of “Great Eye” west with peg 1 being at the start of the iron works. Well done Henry! your 27½ paces were just perfect.   There was a better than usual turn out for this match with support from Gorleston, Oulton Broad, Kings Lynn, deepest Suffolk, Ely ,Corby and we would have had a Grimsbyite if his turbo hadn’t packed up at Sutton Bridge, hope it’s fixed for the next one Mr Burr! A relatively early start of 10:00 meant the prime slots for parking on the beach road. Cannot understand why the Parish Council haven’t resurrected the car park at such a popular beach for everyone unless of course they have some other selfish agenda.

Anyway pegs were soon drawn and everyone was hiking through the shingle to their allotted slots. Salthouse’s shingle is the worst on the shingle ridge to walk on as it is just the wrong size but thankfully as we were fishing the ebb there was plenty of hard stuff for those at the iron works. For this one it was interesting to notice where the buddies were being positioned, the cautious ones perched on top of the last shingle bank and the more ambitious at the bottom of it but as it happened the tide did not quite reach anyone.

At the whistle everyone was straight into Salthouse mode at 40 to 60 yards with the odd caster having to get his adrenaline running. All were expecting immediate action and rods to start bouncing around but this just was not happening. The odd bucket was seen being filled up and the odd fish being returned but none of this treble shot frenzie we were expecting. Looked like we had wasted the distribution of that extra card.   For some the odd 12cm whiting and slightly larger dabs helped to make their card respectable but for others it was a real waiting game. Early on the tide was pushing through a bit, at least helping to bring along some fish however small but it did also bring the weed. Not real serious stuff but just annoying enough to have to clear the leader knot on each retrieve.

During the first couple of hours the small whiting were predominant with a few small dabs and the odd serious flounder. As the water slackened off the weed disappeared but so did the fish except for a few scrawny dabs. Once the flood started bringing the tide things started to pick up especially dabs where double and the odd treble shots were coming ashore. For some the surge boosted their scores helping them to encroach on the leaders and for others a saviour from embarrassment on the way home with their only fish of the match. Certainly the end of match was how we wanted it throughout but there we can control what part of the tide we fish at this time of the year. In total, 236 fish were recorded (95 Dabs, 5 Flounders, 135 Whiting and 1 Rockling) recording a combined length of 4858cm.

In the end it was the Suffolk long distance traveller CHRIS “WHIZZY” SPALL who did the business by a healthy margin with 529cm from 27 fish. Fishing from effectively end peg 2 as there was no one on peg 1 he managed to find 11 fish over 20cm which along with 6 more fish than anyone else was the key to his victory. Runner-up on the day was another traveller in PAUL MARSHALL from Corby on peg 9 who managed 479cm from 21 fish which included 19 fish over 20cm and just two under 20cm. Final podium slot went to yet another distance man from Ipswich in JOHN SMITH on peg 22 with 407cm from 19 fish which included some serious Dabs for this match with 12 fish over 20cm.  

The longest flat fish went to another Suffolk man in JACK AKESTER who really does know how to catch big Flounders with his 37cm specimen. The longest round fish at last went to a local man in HENRY RANDELL who always seems to appear in the credits somewhere with his 35cm Whiting. In the zones, Zone A was taken by CHRIS and PAUL respectively followed by HENRY RANDELL on peg 7 with 347cm from 17 fish. Zone B was taken by JOHN followed by TONY THOMAS on peg 24 with 359cm from 20 fish and JACK AKESTER on peg 17 with 328cm from 15 fish.

Another excellent competitive Rocket House Open where numbers of fish was the deciding factor and if you could get these over 20cm you were in the frame. Unfortunately, as of late the numbers of fish did not come up to expectation with the weather and high pressure contriving to do their worst but at least what action there was kept the cold at bay.

Next Club match is for the Nelson Shield and is the NEW YEAR OPEN at KELLING on SUNDAY 1ST JANUARY fishing 10:00 – 3:00 HW 8:14 4.6m. Draw at the Muckleburgh Collection main gate from 8:15.

Top 10 Individuals (on the day) …

1…Chris Spall……..529cm..….(27 fish)
2…Paul Marshall….479cm…….(21 fish)
3…John Smith……..407cm…….(19 fish)
4…Tony Thomas….359cm.....(20 fish)
5…Henry Randell….347cm……(17 fish)
6…Jack Akester…...328cm……(15 fish)
7…Peter Simmons…297cm..…(15 fish)
8…Billy Temple……..292cm…...(15 fish)
9…Paul Kendrick..…280cm…….(13 fish)
10.Paul Thorburn….273cm…….(13 fish)

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