colly best of luck

joffmiester · #1

Wasn't easy down Monks today on Puma. Having said that I weighed in 27-8 and there was a 60 caught on that pole from one of the really shallow pegs where it is about 2-3ft deep!

The wind was very cold

Four 60+ weights today at Puma - Will Raison winning with 69lb. A 50+ and a 40+ and lots of 30+ weights - I'd say it was pretty good considering the cold wind.

Weights didn't seem so good where I was the guy to my right only had 18lb and the left 2

about the only info i can find for you mate these are comments off another site

joffmiester · #2

Think the Southern Semi at Monks will be very hard. Very strong easterley winds will ruin sport and it will turn into a feeder match.

#3

Joff - Thanks for this mate.

Not taking this too seriously - just a days fishing on a new venue (albeit a 300 mile trip!). None of us have seen the place before, not fished a commercial all year and will be one short

Bring back regional semi finals!

Hope it doesnt turn into a feeder match!!!!!! Havent fished the feeder since Castle Ashby Winter League in 2007

can see me drawing next to Will Raison in a cross wind - first chuck CRAAACKKK

Figers crossed, Matt

#4

Monks Lakes Semi Final will not be remembered as one of my best matches. After a 4:00 am start from Market Harborough - I was the first there first and had to wait for the gates to open. I got out of the car and it was freezing cold with a biting wind.

I drew on Lake 3, peg 94 and was told that I was fishing for a bite - no change there after my recent drawing form on the Wigston League. In fact I felt at quite at home at Monks - one of the rules was that all nets had to be bone dry before fishing - perfect mine have been dry for 2 weeks now!! The week before there had been loads of blanks on Lake 3 and I knew I was in for a real grueller.

Alternated between a method feeder half way and a couple of pole lines - but could only put together 2 skimmers and 5 roach for 12oz

I beat the Farnborough guy on the next peg, but on the other side Derek Gladwin (Delcac) and the bloke next to him were first and second in the section with 8lb and 10lb. There were a few blanks and a couple of 'weights' off the 3 end pegs in my section

- so I finished 8th. Team wise with 9 men, no practice and 1 blank we were always going to struggle and we beat just 1 team, finishing 11th. On the plus side had a massive 1/2 lb cheeseburger from the burger van afterwards which was a definate highlight!!

Delcac won, with Thatchers 2nd I think and Dorking 3rd. Well done to Delcac especially Derek Gladwin who I drew next to and who was very forthcoming with info and a top bloke - good luck in the final to all teams.

This match does beg the question of why a team from the midlands has to go to Kent for a semi final - on a venue where several of the teams have fished a round of their leagues on. I am not having a pop at Ken Wade (who does a great job with very little in return) but surely there is a better way. What was wrong with the regional semi's last year!! A lot of teams especially from the north east and south west will probably be used to travelling this far for big matches and perhaps anglers from the midlands do benefit - but surely it is not sustainable to make people drive this far in a recession and with team fishing in decline!!

The issue of the where the 'line' is drawn to determine which leagues fall in the north or south has always been 1 for debate. This year the East Midlands division which is not fished in the east midlands, but predmoninatly in Cambridgeshire falls within the north, but our Chiltern league which takes place around Northampton and Milton Keynes is in the south. I remember my old team captain Ted Yearby being upset a few years ago when ours Dams and Lock Team fished the southern semi on the Kennet and Avon, while the northern semi was being held on the Dams and Lock stretch in Birmingham - where we had fished most of our rounds - maddness!!

What do other people think about this?? Would north, midlands and southern semi's better, or back to regional semis like last year - or do people think that smaller more local semi's devalue the competition??? Am I just a miserable bas**rd who was caught 8 fish in the last 4 weeks - probably

MC

Guest · #5

Colly,
Totally sympathise with you mate. Its not much fun traveling 100’s of mile to catch very little……. However, that’s winter league fishing for you. (Sometimes)

My thoughts on the semi venue’s are similar to yours,

We fish the East Mids division which is as you say based around Cambridge. How on earth you can justify fishing semi final venues in the north I feel is too much. Trying to motivate team mates to travel 100’s of miles to practice (When its ice free) is impossible. If one or two local teams have semi home advantage then its makes it twice as hard to justify. Is it indeed possible to create totally fair semi’s. ?

How about a consultation between every team captain, Ken Wade and the Angling Times??? After all, isn’t it our winter league? Whilst we are at it, why not also run a national summer league run on the same basis?????????? After all the winter league format works in most places, Angling Times could then have a clean sweep of all the team fishing news ???????? Now that would be something for a sponsor to put money into???

#6

Maidstone is at "The End Of Earth" innit ?

We have had many conversations / debates over A/T winter lge semi final venues on here over the years ..... even had KW explaining some finer points on here ! ...... yes he does look in. 2 years ago Drennan NW had to travel to Monks (Maidstone Kent .... The End Of Earth) from Manchester / Liverpool for an A/T semi ....for obvious reasons they only had one days practice and failed (unluckily) to qualify for the final ....... athough travel costs etc were phenominal to say the least !!! Remember KW saying that situation (Drennan NW) would never happen again ! ........

Well Ropa,s team from Sunderland (Browning Quaker) have had to travel to the midlands, Gibbos team from east anglia area have had to travel to heronbrook aswell and collys team have had to travel to Maidstone !! I am sure there are other teams who prob had to travel even further to semi final venues this year aswell.

Seems KW was talking utter ballacks yet again !

joffmiester · #7

id like to here from the teams that didn't like the local semi finals

everyone i have talked to said they did like them

is it a case where ken doesn't have a big say in the final decision and has to be a yes man

i don't know and now four teams are qualifying on each semi :-/did i misunderstand earlier in the season that the final was being cut down and three teams qualified

joffmiester · #8

colly bad luck mate you had a mountain to climb just put it down to experience at least you can look forward to the wigston league this sunday

joffmiester · #9

Delcac won, with Thatchers 2nd I think and Dorking 3rd. apollo 4th

#10

Delcac won, with Thatchers 2nd I think and Dorking 3rd. apollo 4th

All LOCAL teams ...... nuff said ! ::) ::)

Whoops ..... apart from Thatchers