WADE ON WATER with Richard Wade

LYCHGATE Fisheries’ Wednesday Open was won yet again in fine style by Suzi Smith.

Drawn on peg 77, Suzi started on pellet feeder but finished on the pole, catching fish through out the match to finish with a 53lb 8oz catch of mainly carp.

Colin Chapman landed three carp in the first 30 minutes, but sport slowed, and he had to settle for second place with a 18lb 12oz catch.

Robert Orton finished third, catching 12lb 4ozs from peg 66 while Paul Bates came fourth with 10lb 14ozs.

There was a bumper turn out for the final Wednesday open of the year at Maynes Lakes.

Paul Reynolds took the overall win with a fine 41lb catch of carp.

Results; Pool One. Section One - Darryl Moore peg 40, 8lb 4ozs. Section Two - Karl Downing, peg 32, 9lb. Pool Two, Section Three - Paul Reynolds peg 1. Section Four; Gary Reynolds peg 9, 11lb.

This year’s Species Competition, fished for throughout the Wednesday series, was for the biggest goldfish caught, this year’s winner was Alan Wilson who landed a 1lb 12oz specimen.

Mill on the Soar’s Tuesday Open was won by Dave Cleaver who pole fished pellet on peg 8 to land 15lb 14ozs of carp and bream. Terry Sanderson finished second with a 14lb 3oz catch of carp on bomb and corn tactics.

Lychgate Fisheries Christmas Eve Open was won by Colin Chapman with a 29lb 14oz catch on a method feeder from peg 76.

Steve White also used feeder tactics on peg 63 to finish second with 25lb while Steve Brindley pole fished pellet to take third place with 21lb 12ozs.

The Boxing Day Open was won by Danny Ross with a 30lb 6oz catch from peg 62 again on pole fished pellet. Terry Brindley finished second with a 21lb 13oz catch.

Higham Lane Fishery Holiday Open was won in fine style by Andy Findley. Fishing from peg 2, “The Fin” caught fish steadily through out the match to finish with an impressive 90lb 13oz catch of carp. Dave Hurlston finished second, fishing a small pellet feeder on peg 23 to catch 39lb 7ozs. Paul Gardener came third, catching just three fish to weigh 22lb 13ozs.

Lychgate Fisheries midweek open match was won by Jeff Robertshaw, who included a superbly conditioned common carp of around 15lbs in his 24lb 8oz catch, he also qualified for the Lychomania final with this result. Danny Ross pole fished maggot on peg 55 to catch 9lb 7ozs for second place while Ian Shirley finished third with 8lb 14oz catch.

There was a terrific end to the year in Maynes Lakes’ New Year’s Eve Open with a big turn out and plenty of fish caught. Top catch on the day was made by Gary Reynolds who pole fished bread to the island on Pool One to catch 40lb of carp. Results: Pool One, first - Gary Reynolds peg 37. Pool Two, first - Alan Wilson 21lb from peg 7. Pool Three, first - Martin Checkley, 31lb 2ozs from peg 48.

The New Year‘s Eve Open match at Lychgate Fisheries was won by Paul Bates. After a number of near misses Paul took the honours with an 18lb 8oz catch taken on pole fished maggot from peg 56.

Dave “Stretch” Armstrong finished second from peg 76 with a 14lb 2oz catch, while Suzi Smith rounded off another successful year by finishing third with 13lb 6oz from peg 58.

Mill on the Soar’s Tuesday Open match was won from peg 31 by Dominic Lanni with a 29lb 8oz catch of mainly carp. Wayne Smith finished second from peg 6 with 26lb 12ozs while the evergreen” Tom Watt weighed 17lb 10ozs from peg 24 to finish third.

The New Year’s Day Open at Higham Lane, rearranged after the Saturday match was cancelled due to the ice, found the fishery at its hardest.

Winner Max Higgott wasn’t complaining too much on peg 4 as he found a few feeding fish to keep him warm and he finished the day a very easy winner with 55lb 9ozs.

Terry Sanderson came second with a three carp catch that weighed 19lb 12ozs, while Paul Gardener finished third with 7lb 11ozs.

Higham Lane Fishery have open matches every Thursday and Saturday, draw at 9am.

Lychgate Fisheries have open matches planned for Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday, check with Paul for draw times.

Shackerstone have an open match this Sunday, draw 8am at the Rising Sun.

Mill on the Soar have an open match every Tuesday, draw 8.30am.

Maynes Lakes have an open match every Wednesday, draw 10am fishing 11am till 3pm.