--MANDATORY NOTE TO ALL ANGLERS--
Due to a local outbreak of K.H.V. no keepnets to be
used on any still waters. Dip tanks are in place on all stillwaters. Nets, mats and slings MUST be
dipped
(FULLY immersed) for a minimum of 15 minutes. Keep nets are allowed on the River Stour (only) from the
start of the river season.
The last competition of the season for the Bateman Cup was held at Brook Lake. Twelve anglers took part with everyone catching.
Alan Smith was the winner with 16lb 8oz ahead of second placed Dan West with 15lb 5oz. Another good weight of 12lb 6oz gave Ian Ritchie third spot while Phoenix Minter won the junior match with 5oz.
Pole and feeder tactics were both successful, with maggots and soft pellet fished over groundbait producing fish at the popular lake in Minster.
Lots of small skimmer bream and roach were caught, with three tench also coming safely to the net.
Our annual Saunders Cup competition was held on the River Stour at Grove Ferry picnic site. The match was supposed to be fished at Fordwich however the river was very low, so a change of location was necessary.
Fifteen anglers including two juniors took part in the draw at 8 am and fished from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm in the silver fish only match.
Dave Wells was the winner with an impressive weight of 20lb 14oz all caught on hemp and maggot baits. Dave’s winning weight was enough to knock Steve West into second spot with an equally impressive 19lb 3oz ahead of Michael Wilson with 13lb 5oz and third place.
The winner of the junior match was Phoenix Minter with 6lb 2oz and Ben Lowery was the runner up with 2lb 12oz. All the competitors reported having an enjoyable day with plenty of small roach and a few skimmer bream coming to the net.
In the days before and after the competition there were reports of lots of small roach caught in the river, particularly at Grove Ferry with fish throughout that section of the river.
During a challenging period on our waters, pike fishing was also affected with only three small fish reported by the eleven anglers who fished this season’s Cooke Pike Cup at Fordwich and Trenley lakes in sunny and sometimes warm conditions.
Dan Boden caught the best fish of 5lb 10oz to secure the win. Dan chose to rove around the lakes with lures.
A jack pike of 3lb 6oz gave Nick Tedder second place. Winner of the junior competition was Harlee Collins with a scrappy 3lb 6oz pike. Harlee also used lures and roved around.
Prior to the bitterly cold northerly winds in November, the Association’s Match Group Cup was fished at Brook Lake, Minster.
Twenty anglers took part in overcast conditions with a light north easterly breeze. The match fished well with skimmer bream, roach, perch and a solitary tench caught.
The cup was lifted by Steve West with 26lb 4oz of mostly skimmers to 1lb 8oz, caught on the pole at 13 metres using pellet. Second place was secured by John Lovett with 16lb 7oz of mostly roach, caught on the waggler and maggot baits.
Ian Ritchie was third with 14lb 4oz of pole caught roach and skimmers. Fourth place was Alan Smith with 12lb, which included a 3lb tench. Top Junior was Phoenix Minter with 5lb 6oz of pole caught roach.
The Ron Edwards Roach Cup competition was moved from its usual location at Grove Ferry due to the high water at the time. The new venue of the River Stour at Fordwich was weedier than thought and weights were disappointing.
Seventeen anglers fished and at the 3.30pm whistle, Glen Brett was the 2021 winner with 2lb 13oz of roach, narrowly ahead of Nigel Mills with 2lb 10oz and third placed Wayne Beer with 2lb.
Evie Lilley won the junior match with 4oz in a tougher than expected day’s angling. The weather was clear all day and relatively mild for the time of year.
The Association held its Open Competition on the River Stour with forty three anglers taking part in the popular annual match.
This year’s clear winner was Lee Wakeman with a tremendous catch of 53lb 8oz from the Grove Ferry Picnic Site. Lee mostly caught bream.
Match regular Phil Haywood secured second place with a 25lb 14oz mixed bag taken from Plucks Gutter, ahead of local angler Michael Wilson who skilfully fished from his peg drawn at Cut End for another mixed bag totalling 19lb 2oz.
The river was especially coloured throughout the day as a result of the high tidal water and the conditions clearly helped junior angler Phoenix Minter who won the junior match with a mixed bag weighing 9lb 14oz from the Grove Ferry ‘boards’.
It turned out to be rather warm for the thirteen pairs of anglers who took part in the inaugural Jock White Memorial Charity Match fished at Stonar Lake.
There were lots of fish caught, albeit mostly small fish, but this boosted enthusiasm amongst all participants. The winner for this first memorial match was Michael Ripley, a novice carp angler who caught the three biggest carp of the weekend, but as the organisers could only record the biggest fish caught, he won with a fully scaled mirror carp of 17lb 6oz.
Second prize went to father and daughter, Craig and Felicity Wilson who also had three carp the biggest being 13lb. Nine year old Felicity fished especially well. Third place went to David (Gonzo) Stewart with a fish of 12lb 15oz.
A total of £1,505.13 was raised for Jock’s favourite charity the NSPCC. Thanks were given to all charity match participants, supporters and organisers who over the years have raised over £50,000 in charitable donations during such matches held at Stonar Lake
Fifteen anglers fished at Trenley Lake between 9am and 4pm.
This year’s cup was lifted by Dan Boden with 18lb 7oz of bream and rudd. Second place went to Glenn Brett with 11lb 3oz of rudd and roach, narrowly ahead of Alfie Richards in third with 10lb 11oz.
Alfie caught two sizeable bream and roach while rudd and roach gave Dave Wells 9lb 3oz for fourth during a tough day on the water for all the competitors.
The weather was very sunny and the fish were taken with a mixture of float fishing and feeder tactics, with the feeder proving to be the most successful.
Six anglers fished the 2021 Goldsmith Cup for CDAA junior anglers. This year’s match was held at Brook Lake, Minster.
The match started at 9.30 am. Five juniors weighed in a mix of roach, rudd, skimmer bream, tench and perch, and the clear winner was Phoenix Minter with 12lb 9oz ahead of Luke Harrop with 9lb 7oz for second place.
Henry Weir’s 7lb 1oz at the 1pm finish whistle gave him third with another good weight. Emmett Payne with 2lb 9oz and fourth, nudged Callum Morris into fifth with 2lb 2oz.
The first of this season’s Association competitions was held at Fordwich and Stour lakes for the Baldwin Cup. Carp and tench are the only fished allowed to be weighed in during the 24 hour overnight match.
At the 12 Noon final whistle, although 24 anglers took part, just three anglers had caught fish and weighed in.
Colin Hurst was this year’s winner with a fine 23lb 14oz fully-scaled mirror carp, well ahead of second placed Steve Simmons who landed a 13lb 13oz mirror carp. Yet another single fish proved invaluable and ensured Keith Minter a place on the podium. Keith hooked a 4lb 6oz tench for third in a particularly challenging match.