Winter League semi Final

[joffmiester]

Just before i start i would like to thank the Boat pub for opening up and doing breakfast cobs they have only just taken on the pub and without them we would of been stuck for a lot of parking
I would also like to thank Brian Hull for all his help as you know Brian doesn't always fish so giving up your early sunday layin to run matches is beyond the call of duty

Well the run up to the semi final could not of gone any better a bit of a blip on our pegging as we didn't know what to expect but after listening to the anglers and what they wanted everyone seemed happy even putting the drawback to 9am when we changed the clocks . I also think we should all take a note of the time of year we fished this semi final as the sport was second to none as fish prepared to spawn plus the mild weather. After the wet and windy winter is was nice to smiling faces and not draped in Gor-tex and Hoodies perhaps something to note for the future
It was a early start for Brian Bob and myself as we dashed around pegging out two pegs miss a peg worked brilliantly as the difference between right and left was minimal and cutting the gaps down ment end pegs were not so hot . As we pegged out it was noticeable that the fish were right over in the shallow water something to do with the colour and temprature. the weights had come from all parts of the canal not one section had fished bad .





Sorry i didn't get the individuals so ive written in ruff ::)



On the whole from team to individual it turned out a very close match

[joffmiester]

I had a call from the Wigan MG and because of their own league commitments they were hard pushed to practice .But had stated they hadn't ordered any B/J in time and should they try and get some .From some of the stuff knocking around i didn't think it was wise to use it with the like of Drennan North West ,Shakespeare Leicester bait tech mosella and sensas north for three places would be a very big long shot whether the other teams had it i dont know. Danny asked about casters worm hemp and bread as thats the baits they fish all the time . Easy answer bread is a real winner at this time of year as it seems to catch the skimmers and hybrids more so than Bloodworm and its instant caster was working and worm had worked but it was all about timing,The perch were big and full of spawn as were a few of the roach the big problem would be how long before they'd stop feeding  in two matches i'd caught 6 big billies but i felt they'd switch off anytime bread was getting stronger .once a line had died you could start another one up and catch a run of fish and so on and the final match i did catch on hemp only one but it was worth it .After telling Danny all this he couldn't wait to fish it but i did say its only a chance for that 3rd spot and you'd get a couple of bad areas and points but the better pegs should yield a better stamp of fish.and the last thing i said to Danny was to grab everyone's boll#cks and squeeze them to make sure they did it to a man  one chance it could be third or last but thats the only real way to go the rest is history they didn't come in third they came in one better 2nd
Pete Scott has a knack when it comes to big matches on the canal and produced an excellent winning bag of fish on both B/J and Caster for 5kg690g
i didn't get a photo of pete's catch 

Shakespeare stormed the team event after last years result they wanted to put things right



Wigan Mg i think they were the last to leave the pubs



Even though the North west canal scene is not what it was you can never rule out these boys



4th was bait-tech just missing out and 5th Leicester i spoke to the lads and i think it caught them by surprise how well it fished .the best part of the semi is everyone had a few fish even the teams that hadn't seen the canal before and no one gave the organisers any hassel





and some of the canals best fans

[joffmiester]

Quite a few Tench had been caught during the semi final this stunner came to a 0.7 and 22s

[joffmiester]

Here's John Freeborn worked his socks off in the middle of the scrapyard section not the best ares by far yet the section above the lowest weigh was 2kg600g

[joffmiester]

look out for the Canal Masters

[scotty85]

well done shakey and north west and a big well done to wigan,well ran bri and bob and for your help running the matches as well joff.

[CHOPWORM HERO]

Yep agree with Pete, a good semi, well ran, congrats to the qualifying teams and to Pete for the individual win. Obviously well to to Joff, Brian and Bob who put the effort in to give us anglers a good day out Now its a rest and back to the rivers soon !!!!

[scotty85]

well done on your section win ritchie.

[joffmiester]

Thanks for the Beer scotty i might name a section after you now
SCOTTY STREET
SCOTTIES WHARF
DUKE OF SCOTTY BRIDGE

[NoCarpPlease]

well done to all the qualifiers from all the semis

I was offerred the "opportunity" for a trip to the dark side by turning out for Quorn on Lindholme (don't worry I was registered for the league and did fish the last round at Sutton Bonnington).
First time on a commie since 1999 (hence my username).

I was completely out of my depth as I expected .... would have done a bit better with some practice but to be competitive at that type of fishing would take a reasonable apprenticeship (I reckon 10 or so matches to get anywhere near).
We (Quorn) all agreed that we'd not be rushing back!

But very well done to Maver Midlands, Drennan Barnsley and Chambers Champs.  And really bad luck to Mosella Quaker - who missed out by 1 point.
On a personal note it was nice to catch up (very briefly) with Stu Palser, Tony Watling jnr and Martin Caldecoat again.

Anyway - back to the canals and rivers for me!


Edit - actually - Clive fletcher did mention that he'd be going back to Lindholme to fish the open this coming weekend! Must have some good drugs in Nottingham

[scotty85]

I like that pal,peg 211 on Scotty street,pmsl.

[MrWright]

Pete fantastic individual performance! Where did you draw pal? And another well done to Shakespeare and the rest of the teams for qualifying, looked like a great match fished at exactly the right time of year!

[scotty85]

i drew on glebe street pal 211 a peg to the left of the street entrance ,the whole sections full of fish well truth be said the canal was full of fish the pactice matches were just as good,it just shows with a rest and planning how good the canal can be in big matches.

[joffmiester]

Yes scotty i think we should all take note a couple of practice matches where every team should fish stop the fishing a week before and alicate pegs for those who want to practice so the match pegs don't get hammered
weather and time of year also helped

i think the winter league should mix it up a bit as well maybe 4 river 2 canal
anglers do turn out when they know the walks are minimal and this years will be the best ever for sure
1Leicester
2 Trentmen
3 Quorn
4 wigston
5 long eaton
6 matchmans
7 loughborough ?
8 MAS
9 Starlets
10 could be Bennetts of mountsorrel as he is keen to put a team in and sponsor it as well

[scotty85]

it will be the strongest and best league in the country and the best natural league, the system around the soar is increible pal it just gets better and better the water balance must be bang on for the fish to spawn and prosper ,long may it be.

[joffmiester]

Also we have been allocated some fish stocks i've just had the news through could be in the next couple of weeks or the Autumn great news for the canal
John Ellis has been working with our club and understands more about our problems with the decline of members fish theft, boats mooring all over the canal ,Dog crap everywhere and lack of signage . These matters have been asked to be looked into for the past couple of years . Like most thing the powers above are slow to back him and his team . Never say never this is the first step and hopefully more in the future. we also had help clearing trees and bushes that overhang the canal for the semi final
I have also put forward a parking warden system for these boats that insist on mooring on the natural banks of the canal without paying a penny for the right and then refuse to move their boats on competition days . I feel Hoares plant hire would of fished brilliantly yet we couldn't use it yet we pay for the rights to fish it
Like they say Rome wasn't built in a day even though this has been going on for years. Times are changing and with councils having to save money on their budget there is a lot of income to be found along the canals
The canal and river trust seem to be putting things together and we have learn to
Notice boards along the stretch will help also prewarns the joggers ,bikes and the boats