Matches cancelled as the pond was frozen, Hangover match fished through the ice, Heron visiting garden ponds

Matches cancelled owing to ice on the pond

Matches were cancelled for the whole of December owing to the thick ice which covered the pond. At times, with a layer of snow on top of the ice, it looked more like a snowy field than a pond. There were some excellent views though, looking very "Christmassy" of the old mill building and the Palace ruins seen across the snowy pond

    

Hangover match fished through the ice

We finally had a match on Sunday 2^nd January after several weeks of no fishing. It was the hangover match. After a week of breaking the ice, some of it up to four inches thick, we managed to clear enough for us to fish. Paul Collins had to use a sledgehammer to break it and even that at times just bounced.

The boat was put into the pond on the Wednesday before the match, with Steve Edge paddling and Paul ice breaking. They managed to clear enough ice from pegs two to nine for anglers to fish out to about five metres. On Saturday Rod Langthorne did the paddling whilst Paul continued to break up more ice. Together they managed to clear the ice back another 5 metres and clear it from the swims down to the duck feeding area. The water must be warmer that end as the following day all of the chunks of ice had gone.

The match was a little disappointing as we all expected more fish to show, still the weather was dry and the sun shone. Four hardy anglers turned up with bottles in hand.

Rod Langthorne won on the day using liquidised bread and bread punch, fishing the pole at 9 meters. Steve was second using the waggler and maggot in open water. Both Roland and Paul struggled using the pole and maggot. Rod had managed a quick practice on the previous Thursday, which paid off on the day.

The results for the match were:

Pos	Name	Weight lbs-ozs
1	Rod Langthorne	3lb - 12oz
2	Steve Edge	3lb - 2oz
3	Paul Collins	1lb - 0oz
4	Roland Palmer	0lb - 3oz

The fish caught were all small roach, except for a couple of bream

Heron resorts to fishing in garden ponds

The heron, which is usually seen fishing in the South Pond, moved to garden ponds to try to find food. With ice covering the pond for several weeks the heron's usual haunts were not available for fishing. The heron visited my garden on several occasions. On 19th December it sat in a small conifer for about three hours watching the pond, which was partially clear of ice as I have a pump running. I thought my pond was secure as I have metre high netting all around the edge. Just before dusk the heron launched itself out of the tree towards the pond and plucked a large goldfish from the surface and flew off with it. I did not realise that herons could do this - it is more of a manoevre associated with ospreys or fish eagles. Although I was not keen to lose a goldfish, at least the heron had something to keep it going until it could fish in the South pond again.

February & March activities

As weather conditions in January can be severe, there is only one match scheduled. This is match 7 in the match series on 17^th January, with the draw at 9am and fishing from 9:30 to 13:30. There are several matches to catch up on which were postponed/ cancelled during December owing to the ice on the pond. If the weather is not too severe in January and February it may be possible to fit in the cancelled match(es).

The last two matches of the current season are in February. These are the final Match Series match on 7^th February and the Points Only match on 21^st February. Both matches are from 9:00 to 13:30. Fish can be hard to catch at this time of year and the Points Only match uses a different method for calculating results, with one point for each fish caught, irrespective of size.

Joining the Club

If you are interested in joining the club please contact our membership secretary Cathy Naylor on 01489-890086, or contact our chairman Roland Palmer (after 6pm) on 01489-894063 for an application form. More information is available, and a form can be downloaded, from our web site at www.bwpfc.org.uk.

Subscription amounts were kept the same for this season. Membership is open to anyone who lives in Bishops Waltham, plus a small number of associate membership places (for those living outside the Parish). Priority is always given to Parish membership, especially juniors. All of the associate membership places have been taken up for the 2010-2011 season and there is a waiting list for places for next season. Anyone living outside of the Parish wishing to join should contact Cathy to put their name on the waiting list.

Club web site

For more information about the club and its activities, the club's web site can be found at:

www.bwpfc.org.uk