100-up as the Glam members enjoy a Manor Farm break
GLAMORGAN AC members organise a holiday at a fishery each year and this year 16 anglers spent the week at Manor Farm Leisure near Evesham.
A series of matches ended with Russell Palmer, from Rhiwbina, being the most successful with two wins including two catches of carp that weighed over 100lb.
Robert Michael and Dave Pike also topped 100lb on the days when they were the winners.
Back on home ground the club match at Llantrithyd Lake ended in a dead heat when Jim Palmer, from Rhiwbina, and Bridgend member John Cox both weighed in 25lb 4oz of small bream and roach with Palmer catching on maggots and Cox taking slightly bigger fish on casters.
Third place went to Dave Pike with a weight of 22lb.
Sirhowy AS member Rob Jones started well by winning the first day’s match on the Match Lake at White Springs with 92lb and then followed up next day with a third placed 66lb 14oz from the New Canal to clinch victory in the two day fixture with four penalty points.
Andrew Wray was one point behind after a second place on the New Canal with 58lb 10oz and third on the Match Lake with 77lb 12oz while third with six points was Dan Bowen who had won the day on the New Canal with 64lb 9oz.
The mid-week open at White Springs was won by Chris Oag who was on the New Canal and pole fished pellets for a carp catch weighing 96lb 8oz to beat Alan Godrich with 54lb 4oz and Dan Bowen with 31lb 8oz.
The Wednesday open at Redhill Fishery ended with venue pace setters Mike Yandle and Howard Green among the front runners but both out fished by Welsh National Champion from Risca Zac Williams.
He was on Sophie’s pond peg 19 and caught all carp for a weight of 174lb 4oz.
Tredegar angler Mike Yandle weighed in 142lb for second place while Howard Green had to settle for third place with 131lb and Brian Prothero, from Merthyr, came in fourth with 90lb.
Housing developments on part of what had been the fishing lake at the Llanwern Steel Works has left Spencer Works AC with no club water so the latest match was at Redhill, where the members filled the pegs on Penny’s Pond and new member Gareth Gronow, from Cwmbran, won with 121lb of carp caught fishing pellets up in the water.
Newport anglers Dave Turberville and Phil Rawlings filled the next two places with 94lb and 84lb 4oz.
The large entry meant that Tilley’s and Penny’s ponds were pegged for the weekend open at Redhill Fishery but no one could stop Howard Green carrying on his winning way although the field were hot on his heels.
Carp caught on pole and maggots gave the Pontllanfraith tackle dealer
147lb 2oz and relegated Ebbw Vale’s Dave Crandon to second place with 145lb 3oz leaving John Hannam, from Cwm, third with 141lb 6oz.
Just eight carp made up Alan Davies’ winning 88lb 2oz when he took part in the Heads of the Valley AC match at Mathern Mill while Sirhowy AS member Tip Byard had nine for 84lb and second place while Newport angler Steve Harris came in third with 81lb 11oz.
Winner of the Friday match at Mathern Mill was Josh Anderson, who also caught double figure carp for his weight of 100lb 7oz.
Big bream made up the winning catches in the Yorkley Charity Match at Cannop Ponds, where £600 was raised for Macmillan Nurses.
Brian Andrews caught four on feeder and maggots to win with 15lb 14oz and it was the same number for runner up Barry Smith with 14lb 6oz and Derek Hale two ounces behind in third place.
Ash Lewis took the big fish prize with one that weighed 5.75lb.
Being able to catch a lot of small fish is the skill required for successful canal match fishing and Rhymney AS secretary Jesse Pugh knows how to do it and showed it with a winning 3lb 8oz of small roach caught on punched bread when the club fished at Llanfoist.
Colin Whitehouse also pinned his hopes on punched bread and came second with 3lb while in third place with 1lb 3oz was Brian Rees.
For the second week it was Mark Williams, from Abertysswg, pocketing first prize at the end of an Aberglais AS match, this time on the Match Lake at White Springs where he pole fished sweetcorn and caught 70lb 3oz of carp.
Merthyr angler Paddy Payne was two pegs away and second with 58lb 6oz and then came Merthyr’s Terry Jones and Graham Davies from Cefn Coed sharing third billing with matching 55lb 3oz catches.
Dave Wells was the winner when New City Anglers started the new competition year at Lliswerry Pond.
He drew a peg opposite the cabin, baited with prawns and landed five tench to 6lb as well as two big eels to turn the scales to 24lb 2oz.
Mike Perry baited with maggots and caught five tench to 4lb with roach and rudd to come second with 23lb then it was Steve Cowhen third with 21lb 8oz of tench and bream.
Norman Sterry took a break from organising matches at Mathern and headed into Somerset where his catch of carp weighing 247lb 9oz made him the winner of a sell-out fixture at Viaduct Fishery.
Cardiff angler Steve Shaw was fifth with 148lb while Phil Weaver, from Newport, on the next peg to the winner, collected the top pay-out in the silver fish pool after catching 24lb 12oz of roach and bream.
One of the biggest River Wye salmon of recent years has been caught and returned from the Upper Bigsweir beat on the England/Wales border.
The fish was landed by John Stanard after it took a single hook lure.
Merthyr Tydfil AA members Ceri Thomas and Rhys Morgan had a good day at Talybont Reservoir, where the Association controls the fishing, as they offered small flies on long leaders and caught and returned trout between 12 and 17 inches long.