Simple Match Fishing Forum

Well I was a bit quiet on the forums last night, reason being I was ‘enthralled’ reading the content and in particular the match results in the Anglers Mail from week ending the 7th Mar 1992.

They bought back a few memories, plus there was a mention or two of a couple of forum members.

Kicking off on page one of the results was a Joffie territory result.  Interestingly a ‘mercenary’ from this neck of the woods took the first price dosh.

The name – Jake Fletcher – who used to run the Crock & tackle in Brownhills. Bought back a memory or two also as his dad, Jack (John) was TK’s ‘mentor’ for many a year in the 80’s, both fishing the TK Grueller series that far back and also knocking me up a float or two (or 50!!!) in his workshop at home . RIP ‘ole Jack’  

The result read as follows ‘Jake Fletcher (Fletchers Tackle) won the Sunday’s Loughborough open on the River Soar at Cotes Mill with 7-15-0.
He drew the Abbey section and took roach, dace and perch on maggot and waggler.
Roy Henson (Daiwa Trentmen) landed a 4lb pike in his 6-15-0 catch taken on two red maggots near Toon Island.
Others
Gordon Parker (Keenets Central) 6-6-0
John Fox  (Fletchers Tackle) 5-9-0
K Wilson (Birstall Social) 5-6-0

Turning over the page was a Broomhill report

‘Steve Thomas (Fletchers Tackle) won the latest Broomhill Open on the Staffs-Worcs canal at Otherton Lock with two carp and 80 gudgeon for 2-6-7 to pinkies and squats opposite one of the reed beds. John Watkins (BBL) was second with 2-1-5 of carp and gudgeon
Others
Barry Millward (Walsall) 1-9-0
Bill Edwards (Bhills MG) and Jason Cunningham (Fletchers Tackle) both 1-7-8

On the same page was the Wolves report……….

‘Paul Turner (Nige Williams Tackle) maintained his excellent for with a 2-7-2 win in the 75 competitor Wolverhampton Open on the Staffs-Worcs canal near Penkride.
The winner drew near the Crossover Bridge and used caster for a hefty perch plus a couple of roach worth £160.
Kevin Hibbert (Mitchell IW) also picked up over £100 when he tempted 1-12-2 of roach and gudgeon to bread punch and squatt off the roadside
Andrew Clarke (Coventry) had 1-10-9 of roach, perch and gudgeon for 3rd

And you think my matches are gruellers………….. mind some good memories there – around 240 gudgeon at 80 to the lb used to get you there, or there about for a section win on the Broomhill matches in the 80’s.  

Anyway, turning the page and I’m greeted by a youthful, curly headed and sun tanned face beaming at me with the headline


[move] ‘£112 Ian missed out’[/move]





It read……….
‘Ian Moulton (Mohmar) just missed out on 4 Kamasan points in the Hodnet-SHAC Open on the Shropshire Union at Goldstone and Soudley.
The attendance was just under the qualifying 60 , but the Cheshire based star was compensated with £112 and current top placing in the aggregate series.
He drew peg 11 on the hospital stretch and fished bloodworm well over to take a net of roach to 6oz for 5-15-11.
Jimmy Jackson (Trev’s Wilmslow) also worked with bloodworm on both short and long pole to take 5-5-7 of small roach, perch and gudgeon opposite the barn
Chris Tudor (Mohmar) maintained his club’s stranglehold on these events with 4-1-8 of caster roach and gudgeon near the overflow.’

Also on the same page above was another Wolves open report……….

‘The Staff-Worcester Canal at Awbridge near Wolverhampton has been seldom match fished because of parking problems but now they’ve been solved Wolverhampton organised an Open.
Paul Kidd (Woodwards) won with three carp and three roach for 4-1-2 to caster fished against a reed bed.
Alan James (P I Tipton) had a carp and three roach for 2-5-12 and second.
Peter Plant (Browning Starlets) was third with 1-14-2 of gudgeon and John Cox (JTE Wolvs) had a carp and two roach for 1-9-12.’

Sounds like another grueller!!!

Turning the page again, there was one more headline that caught my eye…………


[move]Tony left it late[/move]






It read………….’Three caster roach in the last three casts gave Tony Keeling the verdict in the Potteries mid week open fished either side of the Swivel Bridge at Great Heywood on the Staffs Worcester Canal.
Two of the late roach were around 1lb apiece and with 15 skimmer, perch and ruffe on bloodworm, the Team Uniprint angler’s weight totalled 9-6-8.
Previous week winner Dave Berrow (Browning Starlets) had lots of ruffe and gudgeon plus some skimmers on bloodworm for 8-1-14.
Dave Barnard (Team Uniprint) was third with 6-12-12 of small gudgeon, roach and perch on a three metre whip.
Peter Price (Mohmar) was fourth with 6-12-9 of mainly skimmers
Others : Ian Sinker (Highfield AS) and Bradley Titmus (Sensas Intermatch) both had 5-13-12.’



Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did……………..

sound TK spent a lot of time behind roy henson,robin grouse,george bott,ted stokes,john dean and many of the other trent boys when rivers were packed every peg
i'm not sure if thats the year the winter league semi was on the river soar and it was frozen
TK where have you founds these reports

roy henson won the soar championship with 19lb of roach off the brinks section the peg now never goe's in any matches, but back in thous days we had 40 pegs on the brinks
this year we had ten how time has changed

I fished that AT semi on the Soar when the river was frozen bank to bank.
It did thaw during the day but the qualifying tems were those that had most 'catchers'.
There was one section where nobody caught anything.
No prizes for guessing which one I was in!!

THIS WAS WHEN MATCHES WERE MATCHES.

TK where have you founds these reports

Hi Joffie - all those above were from the Anglers Mail dated March 7th 1992

I think the AT semi on the frozen River Soar was around 1986

i'm that old

One for the 'Suveners', just in case they feel left out with all these 'Midlands' results

From the Anglers Mail Aug 22nd 1992.........

'A1 Angling veteran Kenny Farrell (pictured) caught almost all of his 7-14-8 in the opening three hours of the Harefield Open on the Grand Union Canal at Northold.
Drawn 36 on the boats, Kenny used whip and squatt for more than 80 small roach and added a few larger samples on the far bank bomb and caster to earn 120.
Chris Vandervleit (Team Robbos) used squatt on both whip and long pole for 7-6-0 of roach plus a couple of bonus 8oz skimmers a peg 42.
Richard Lattimer (Milton Keynes Angling Centre) was right by the railway bridge and he used squatts for 7-5-0.
Others:
Steve Davis (A1 Angling) 6-13-8
Dave Vincent (Browning Trev's) 6-1-0
Mark Hoye (Browning Future) 6-0-0

Thumbing through the Match News in the Anglers Mail dated 4th Jan 1992 made interesting reading, some ‘mega’ turnouts to matches and with a few forumites again getting a mention………..

A cancelled RAF open saw Rugeley stage a match at Wolsey Bridge…….whilst it was won by Paul Boothby (Starlets) with 4-11-7, he was chased home by non other than Bill Yards fishing for team Uniprint who had 4-9-0 of roach on caster and bloodworm

Elsewhere, on the Lea Navigation, ChrisV (Team Robbos) earned a further 3 kamasan points from an unfancied peg 225 where he took 15-10-0 of quality roach after an initial groundbait barrage, just missing out to ‘Polish’ John Neiuwerf who won with 16-8-8.

Onto Frank Barlow’s weekly column. What a brill column that used to be.

Boris would have pushed me close for the BDM title with the no of cesspits, parrot cages and crap draws he copped for.

ChrisV gets anothert mention as Frank relates a match on the Grand Union canal at Long Buckby with the ice 4 inches thick. It reads…………’On the next peg I had Chris Vandervleit, a nice lad from Essex who is having a good season. He was rather sceptical on whether or not we would catch…………….’

Then low and behold, to finish off in the same column, recounting the Stretton Fur and Feather on the canal Frank writes about after the match and states ‘I was in the company of Big Baz Astbury, Twink, Terry Blyde and a host of other and we had a great time’

That reminds me…………………just where has Twink got to after fishing a few of the last grueller series, don’t tell me he’s took up golf

Thats when i use to catch fish
Makes me feel old.

sorry to say chris your six pack is sitting more like a carrier bag now fulll of carling

How about this report from the Anglers mail weekend 2nd May 1992?


The headline ran

[move]BATTLER BENNY[/move]



‘The legendary Benny Ashurst demonstrated once again that means nothing when it comes to match fishing as he won the Castleblayney three day festival in Southern Ireland.

The 79 year old match fishing maestro from leigh, father of England star Kevin, headed the talented field with 55-14-0 worth about £600.

Lough Muckno was the venue and Benny got his challenge off to a good start with 13-13-0 on the first day from Black island. He had three bream and some small fish on worm and chaster to win his section.

Next day, the retired maggot breeder fished on White Island and secured second in his section with 33-0-0 which included a bream of 6lb7oz.

Benny rounded off the festival with 19-1-0 from Toome Shore which gave him third in section.

Heaviest catch of the competition was 38-2-0 of bream taken by Chris Walker (Chester). He was on Black Island on the last day and used swimfeeder with redworm and caster for bream and his first brace on the scales went 11-8-0.

Overall result
Benny Ashurst (Leigh) 55-14-0
Jimmy Douglas (Belfast) 54-15-0
Del Wilson (Castleblayney) 49-14-0
Chris Walker (Chester) 48-14-0’

Presumably this was decided on weigh? Or was it points?

Anyway, what a result at 79 – will any of us still be competing and getting results at that age

Good stuff TK      


A few words on here cant begin to describe how good an angler Benny Ashurst was    think he was suffering with bad health around the time he won that particular festival which makes his achievements even more remarkable      


Bill Yards knows lough Muckno very well ...... think its possibly the best and most consistent venue in ireland today  

What about hemp Dodge – does anybody on here use it today as a ‘killer’ bait?

The July 25th 1992 edition of the Anglers Mail reported a match with a familiar ring to it those days…………the winner regularly featured in the results and probably more than most used the ‘seed’ to remarkable effect ………..like he did yet again on this occasion


The headline


Pete’s from start to finish

‘Pete Jayes (Keenets Central) caught roach from the start of the Peterborough Open on the Nene at Orton, and was still catching them at the final whistle.

Drawn at peg 529, end downstream peg but one, he found the roach had a liking for pole fished hemp, and by the end had 19-7-0 of fish to 12 oz in the 130 pegger.

On peg 455, above the locks, Geer’s Bruce and Walker’s Malc Payne also relied on the hempseed for 11-8-0 of roach ahead of two eel catches, 9-3-0 from team mate Alan Dean at peg 479 and 9-1-0 from Octoplus Peterborough Ken Wade at peg 401.

Others
Les Smith (Kirkstead) 8-15-0
Paul Jepson (Yaxeley Team Sheltons) -8-8-8
Mark Walter (Middle Nene) 8-6-0
Edgar Purnell (Geers Bruce & Walker) 8-5-8


Yet another 130 pegger again……………and remarkably PJ finished streets ahead of 2nd spot.


Is this area of the Nene used in the final? But if so I dare say it's 'mood' has changed since those days?

i'm sure he was above the lock at orton i rememberwalking by the good pegs that day

i rememberwalking by the good pegs that day

Dont tell me Joffie - you copped for a peg that day that would have done the Bum Draw Master proud

Lough Muckno,
The best roach fishery in the world.
The Huntsman, Castleblayney, the best pint of Guinness in the world.

We used to say, quite a few still do, that you have to keep one step ahead of the rest in match fishing. Kevin Ashurst was three ladders ahead in his prime! He is still absolutely magic in Ireland and Baz Smith is the ideal partner. Great blokes to draw by too, fantastic banter no matter how much thet stuff you by.

Just for Dodge today...............w/e June 20th 1992



GRUELLER ON THE BRIDGEWATER

The Bridgewater canal has been fishing below expectations and Thursdays Trafford Angling Supplies Open on the Kraft Arm was no exception.

Host team member Adge Woodward topped the 46 angler field with a mixed 8-2-0 net including two bream on pole and caster at peg 89.

John Edwards (Leigh) included a 1lb 8oz hybrid in his similar 7-2-0 at peg 79.

Third was Adge Frayer who got snapped up twice on pinkie but still managed to weigh in 7-1-0 at peg 120

Nice one TK  


Little bit before i started match fishing seriously was 1992      

They used to come from yorkshire and all over for the thursday night opens on the bridgy TK which brian wade who then owned Trafford Angling used to run. I fished with Adge Woodward for a few years when i was with Team Trafford . Adge had a brilliant record on the bridgy especially when caster fish were showing .....  top bloke  ;)

Peg 120 near watersmeet used to be a flyer for bream, big tench and skimmers ........ all the buildings / factory,s on that length (Trafford Park) have been knocked down now leaving the canal featureless and wide open plus the biggest flock of cormorants you have seen roost about half a mile away on the booms in Salford Quays   :( :(   directly behind Man Utds ground  

Loads of anglers would settle for 7 or 8lb weights nowadays from the bridgy       

have been knocked down now leaving the canal featureless and wide open plus the biggest flock of cormorants you have seen roost about half a mile

Sad to hear Dodge............spose that's 'progress'




ps - what's Adge 'short for'