Bishops Waltham Parish Fishing Club
Bishops Waltham Parish Fishing Club
The final two matches of 2015 were both won by Roger Pilling using his only bait, bread, although it is rumoured that he has been seen with maggot. With the warmest December on record and heavy rain colouring the water the fish stayed nearer the bank than is usual at this time of year. Sadly the safety equipment at the South Pond has been vandalized again.
The Silver Fish match challenges competitors to use a different approach
The early match in December was the Silver Fish Only match forcing competitors to fish for something other than carp. It also forces them to fish with a float, rather than a feeder and with a running line, rather than a pole. The pond is well stocked with silvers, such as Roach, Rudd, skimmer Bream and Perch. There are also some larger Bream and hybrids (a cross between Roach and Bream) but sadly no Tench.
With December being one of the warmest on record, the fish were still being caught close in, having not moved to deeper water. Because of the lack of frosts plus torrential rain, the water remained coloured allowing the fish to move around without fear of being seen.
The Silver Fish match was attended by five anglers on a dry day, once again fishing the south bank. With all anglers fishing the "waggler" the silver fish in the pond were to be found in the darker water where the trees cast a shadow or where a weed bed is still present. With plenty of free offerings, like bread or maggot, keeping the fish interested it was now down to the angler. They needed to present their bait in a way that the fish wanted, in order to catch as many as possible.
After five hours the final weights were:
The Hangover Match at year end
With Christmas over the Club held its annual Hangover Match, which is a short three hours match. The winner gets first choice of the drinks provided by the competitors. This match gives anglers a chance to get out the house and get some fishing done (and also allow them to get rid of any unwanted drinks that they may have received over Christmas!). Any method can be used during the Hangover Match and with the weather still warm Roger went after the carp whilst everyone else decided to fish for the silvers using either the pole or waggler. Roger had the straw bales to himself (and during the match it was noted that he fished to most of them). The "Prof", one of our club members was home on leave boosting the numbers to seven, so one extra peg was added to the hat. During the match the wind blew and the showers came and went, but nothing too bad. Andy Weavil on peg 10 lost carp on the bomb but did manage to land a specimen bream of 2lb. Roger, the only one fishing for Carp, landed five to go on and win the match with 15lb 6oz. The remaining anglers weighed in plenty of silvers with good numbers of Roach and the odd skimmer Bream.
The final results were:
Life-saving equipment vandalized again
Before the Hangover match it was noted that the pond lifesaving equipment had once again been vandalized with someone removing the Perry Buoy (life ring) and cutting the cord from it. Another Perry Buoy was also found but this one did not belong to the South Pond, so if anyone knows where one is missing from will they please contact the club. Although the South Pond is not deep, the silt is. If you fell in the margins you would find yourself on semi-solid ground. If you ventured any further out you would sink into the silt and find yourself stuck until help arrived. The Perry Buoys are there to preserve life and with one damaged there is now a gap meaning that someone would have to go further round until they found one. Please let the Club know if you see lifesaving equipment missing.
Perry Buoy
Perry Buoy holder
February to March activities
The Match series continues with the final match in February on Valentines Day (weather & partners permitting). Only one match per month is scheduled in the new year to allow for adverse conditions. If the pond should be frozen then there are other weekends available to reschedule cancelled matches. The final match of the competition year is the Points Only match on 7th March.
The full set of competitions is in the latest version of the Match Calendar which can be downloaded from the website.
Joining the Club
If you are interested in joining the club please contact our membership secretary Cathy Naylor on 07934-895513, or contact our chairman Roland Palmer (after 6pm) on 01489-894063 for an application form, or download one from our website. The membership year runs from mid-June. Membership is open for renewals and new members. Applications can be done by downloading a 2015-16 form from the website and sending, with an SAE, to our membership secretary (details above and on the web site).
Membership is open to anyone who lives in Bishops Waltham, plus a number of Associate membership places (for those living outside the Parish). Priority is given to Parish membership (especially juniors), but anyone living outside of the Parish wishing to join should contact Cathy for an Associate Membership space for the 2015/16 season. Reduced membership costs apply in the New Year, up to the renewal of annual subscriptions in June.
It is rare for anglers not to catch fish at the pond, which makes it ideal both for more experienced anglers and for youngsters starting out. As a mixed fishery, 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.
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
Paul Collins and Barry Jerome