Some good weights despite the January snow, date set for AGM in April

Some good weights were caught in Match 7 despite the snow. Pleasure anglers have also been successful, which is a good indicator of the health of the pond, and the skill of those fishing. As the season draws to a close the date of the AGM has been set. It is a good evening out, meeting fellow anglers and receiving well earned trophies from the 2012/3 season.

Match 7 saw the Carp show and the snow

Only one match was fished during the cold January month that saw heavy frosts and snow. On Sunday 20^th January with snow still thick on the ground four anglers braved the cold and turned up at the South pond for the 08:30 am draw. With many of the minor roads still iced up Roger Pilling who lives in the village was unable to get his car off the drive and so walked down. Steve Edge and Paul Collins both managed to drive and Rod Langthorne one of our associate members and a regular at the matches managed the long drive from Four Marks sticking to the major roads.

Dressed warmly with extra layers and armed with a flask of hot coffee there was talk of carp being caught. Reports had been received from pleasure anglers that carp were still showing to a well-placed feeder and a waggler. The South Pond looked good with snow on the ground and despite all the frosts remained ice free due to the high volume of water still flowing through from the North pond. The extra water is flushing the pond and even though water is running through both outflows the water levels remain high and many of the swims are still out of use.

With reports of carp being caught, anglers had the choice of either the ground bait feeder waiting for the carp to show or the waggler trying to catch the silver fish. Roger Pilling drew peg 13 and with his peg underwater set up his trusty bolognese rod (very long telescopic rod) and using bread punch went for the silvers. Rod Langthorne drew peg 15 and set up the ground bait feeder casting to the straw bales hoping for the carp to show. Steve Edge and Paul Collins on peg 17 and 18 set up the waggler and pole also hoping to catch some silver fish.

Steve in the snow

During the match Roger managed to land some small silvers to weigh in 1.5lb. Rod, who stuck with the feeder throughout, landed carp, skimmer bream and roach using maggot. Casting close to the straw bales in the centre of pond, he weighed in a very good winter weight of 20lb. Steve, using the waggler, struggled to catch the silvers when casting into open water. It was only when he fished short, close to the inside straw bale, did he find some silvers of any size. Paul who started on the pole at 11 meters managed to land some very small fish, almost the size of the bait he was using. A change to the feeder and worm close to the apple tree beside Fairlawn's house saw Paul land three carp for a total of 10lb.

The match was cut short by one hour due to the cold clear conditions and empty flasks. Despite the wintry conditions everyone enjoyed themselves.

The final results were:

Peg 13	Roger Pilling	2lb
Peg 15	Rod Langthorne	20lb
Peg 17	Steve Edge	1.5lb
Peg 18	Paul Collins	10lb

March & April activities

The last match in the Match Series, Match 8, was on 17^th February. The final match of the season is the 'Points Only' match to be fished on 10^th March, draw at 9:00am, fishing from 9:30am to 12:30pm. There is then a pause in match fishing activity until June. Pleasure fishing continues through April, May and June.

AGM to be held on Friday 12th April

This years AGM will be held in the Priory (back room) on 12^th April, from 7pm for a 7:30pm start. Please return trophies to Roland or Paul before March 18th so that they can be engraved with the names of the 2012/3 winners. There will be a free buffet. Junior members will be very welcome to attend to receive their trophies and have their photo taken. Parents, or other family member, are welcome too. Trophies can also be returned to Paul at the match on March 10^th.

Joining the Club

It is rare for anglers not to catch fish at the pond. With fish like carp, roach, rudd, bream, perch and the odd eel there is something for everyone. There are carp to 10lb plus, many between 6lb and 8lb, lots of roach, bream and also perch over 1lb. If you love your fishing and don't want to travel far then join us - your local club. Its always nice to see new anglers on the bank and hopefully we will also see you at the matches. For details of how to join please see below, and on our website (details follow). New and renewing membership will be starting in April after the AGM, for Parish residents. Existing members will be sent a renewal form.

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. The membership year starts in mid-June.

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. Associate membership places were full for the 2012/13 season and there is a waiting list 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