Well he went and done it, drew peg 11, and he had the cheek to tell me some of the others in contention for the KOC had drawn well over the past 3 matches.

Derek struggled early on with just the 1 chub up until about 2 hours to go then had 5 more on the usual waggler and maggot.

Brian was on the grill in the mill pool and managed to snaffle 3 Chub from the peg which was good going as this peg has fished very hard this season.

Steve was on Dolphin bridge and had a couple of skimmers to the pound mark in his weight with the rest being made up of roach.

Wally Thomas had a nice Chub of 6-2-0 from peg 35 and Stuart Turk had one of 5-11-0 off of peg 39 which we put in as it threw up some nice Chub when Cliff moved on there in the last match, who said we know the good pegs.

Derek won the KOC with 2 wins and a second counting out of the 4 matches, he was 7th in the match knocked off so he done very well overall to get that amount of points, and he said others drew well.
I would like to thank all the members who attended the matches over the season and to all who helped with the pegging and draw bags on the day.

Lets hope we can get a few more bodies to join us for the coming season and make it as good a day out as it as been this one. I would like to thank Bob Hawes who is standing down from his role as Asst Secretary and the Committee after approx 15 years for all his work with me, on both work parties and match days, Hopefully he will still attend on the matches as I wont have anyone moaning at me if he is not there. But all joking aside thanks a lot mate, and there will be a fuller write up on new Committee etc in the May newsletter.

So heres looking forward to next season and dont forget you can attend any work party to get them swims all nice and lovely for you.

Don

This match was moved to the Colne as the Cherwell was still out of sorts as it has been for most of the season.
Derek and Martin were the only 2 to fish as I was laid up after my recent visit to hospital to get the metalwork out of my knee and a lot of the boys had other plans.

Derek went onto the point swim and had 5 Chub for his weight on the waggler, Martin went down to peg 47 and had 2 Chub one of which went 6-0-0.

I think Derek only went onto peg 11 on the point to practise in case he drew it on the last King Of the Colne, and what did he go and do, read the last report to find out.

Don

This was a hard day due to the water being very coloured and blowing a really cold wind all day.
There was only another 3 of us turned up and myself and Bob called it a day at 12-00 and Martin had 14 ounces so it shows how hard it was

Cliff had the usual small roach on the punch and pinkie as did Brian, Derek had a few more perch on small bits of worm, but overall i think me and Bob done the right thing as we were in the pub by 1-30.

Don

Derek went into the draw bag early and came out with the point peg the lucky so and so, he then went and had 6 chub on the waggler and feeder.

Bob was another who dipped early, I think the 5 best pegs on the river at the time came out in the first 6 draws, he got 47 on the main river and had 7 good Chub in and out the swim all day, he managed to trick 3 of them on the waggler and maggot.

Martin was on 56 to the right of the elliott bridge and had about a foot of water, he had some lovely Dace on the waggler and maggot,this was a terrific weight from this peg in clear conditions

The rest of us did not have so much luck with only 6 out of 16 weighing in with the back stream and main river not playing the game, we feel that the water quality seems to be putting the fish off in some sections, but as I write this I have had reports of 7 chub from one of the swims that blanked, I wont tell you all that Richard Smith blanked on it as that would not be nice.

Also Ken Rogers putting back a Perch of about 4 ounces then the mystery weight coming out at 9 ounces and he would have picked up the kitty, you cant beat bad luck.

So if you are having a day on the Colne it may pay to drop into a few swims and give them a try.

Don

I think these were the only 3 to weight in as the rest of the river was right out of sorts.

Cliff was on the same peg as Bob Hawes in the last match and had 3 Chub on the maggot, Garry was on Dolphin bridge and I think he needs a bit more practice as he has not been out so much lately, wether that's got anything to do with him getting married, who am I to say, he had an all Roach catch trotting the far wall on maggot

All joking aside its nice to have you back Garry. Derek was on the next peg down and the fish seem to be shoaled up under the small bridge at the moment and he had a few good Dace and roach for his weight

Don

Sorry for the late write up but I was waiting to get the final total of money paid to the Charity.

But first to the match itself, Bob was drawn on Dolphin Bridge and caught steady all day on the waggler and maggot, his catch was nearly all Roach so you can see what a great day he had.

Nick was on the point and had 5 Chub for his weight, Bob was on the main river and he had 2 Chub on the waggler and feeder.

For more info about the day and total raised please go to the news page section.

Don

We put match on the Island as the canal was frozen over in places and 11 hardy souls (or nutters did I hear you say) turned up to fish.

Cliff got the point swim (again) and after loosing 2 good Chub early on the float he sat it out on the feeder and had 5 throughout the day, he was sitting under his brolly with his little stove on to keep him warm, ah bless.
Derek also drew one of his favoured swims but after a couple of hours was having a wander and thinking of moving but went back and had a Bream of about 5 pound, we questioned how big his lunch box was as we thought he brought with him, then he had a Chub late on as well to double his weight.

I drew Dolphin Bridge, well not drew, it was the last peg left,I was well pleased until I got to the swim and it was going around like a washing machine, with a calmer channel along the far wall the only bit I could trot properly, Kev gets it smack on and I get it like this, still at least I had a few, nearly all roach but only in spurts through the day.

To show how the water was out of sorts due to the salt and other bits washing in off the road and a bit of a push on it, Martin drew 55 near the bridge and never had a fish for 3 hours, this peg is normally full of small roach and chub, but at least he moved and had a few fish from a swim not normally fished so we can use it in the charity match.

Talking of which dont forget you can still sponsor me to fish, just send in the money and I will add it to my sheet.
I hope all the members had a good Xmas and New Year, and as I sit writing this a bit late due to computer problems I cant see when we will get on the bank again due to the freeze up.
If you do venture out to fish please be careful,and dont test the ice on the Arm.

Heres hoping we all catch a few until the end of the season.

Don

To say it was a cold day would be an understatement, when Bob picked me up at 6-20 near Watford it was minus 6, but luckily enough it warmed up a bit over in Uxbridge it was only minus 4.
Still off to the cafe, and if you thought we were mad the golf boys were there, the fact that there was 4 inches of snow on the course was a bit of a problem they said.
I think they needed balls with flashing lights on them.

At the match Kev drew dolphin bridge,( as he usually does) and had a catch of nearly all roach on the punch and maggot, the swim was in perfect nick with just the right amount of colour to keep the fish shoaled up and he started catching from the off.

The same could not be said for the rest of us as it was a real struggle to keep your rod rings from freezing up with the cold, I done the usual and put vaseline on the rings,( vaseline around a ring that could sound rude), only I over did it and spent the next 20 minutes trying to poke it all out as the line would not go through.
Ken was on the shooting tower and lost 2 good Chub early on, but he persevered and had 2 late in the match on stick and maggot.

Dan was on the lawn and had 1 Chub and bits for his weight.
There were 10 blanks on the day with the last 5 places only having a pound between them, but we soon warmed up with a pint and a sandwich in the Dolphin afterwards.

I would like to thank the 23 who attended and brought along prizes to make it a cold but enjoyable day, it was nice to see Tony Carter on the bank, as we usually only see him when the sun is shining, also Terry Burgess who as not been well of late, nice to see you on the bank again Terry.

Don

We switched to the Colne from Northfields for this match as it was in the fields down there.
We done it as a walk off and Stuart chose to go in the mill pool and it paid off with 4 chub and a few bits on the stick and maggot for his weight, I was glad he won it as it stopped him being in the mystery weight which he has won about 4 times this year, he also lost another 3 big fish and with reports of some carp being seen in this section he thought one of them was what he lost.

Derek went into Dolphin Bridge and had small fish for most of the day on punch and maggot, he may of pushed Stuart a bit closer but for a couple of pike being around and nicking a few fish.

Dan had 3 chub and bits fishing peg 46 on the main river which had a fair push on it after all the rain.
There were good back up weights with Kevin Burroughs having 4-8-0 from the last peg downstream on the point, which goes to show the fish move in when the waters up.

The best one I heard all day was Martin Harper, he went up the sluice to peg 9 has he knew some big chub hang out on that peg when extra water is going down, he then hooked into one of them and proceeded to lose it (wait for it ) under the SOFA, yes anyone else loses money under theres but the flow had pushed a sofa onto a tree in the water, and Martins fish fancied putting its fins up for the day and have a chill out on the sofa, so if the armchair was to come down it will be a definite armchair swim, oh the wit of this writer.

Don

The match was won with 7-2-0 going to one of the Twyford boys,it looks from the results as if Brian and Dave are the only 2 fishing these matches, there was 32 of us on the day and it was like the good old days seeing the brollies up down the bank.

The being up is the word, as it peed down all day making it very hard to just keep your bait dry.
The winner had most of his fish on the bloodworm and joker just past the gate, Brian and Dave again had fish on various baits, the amount of time these 2 spend practising down there british waterways are going to charge them mooring fees soon.

Don

We got a call from the Twyford boys on the Wednesday before the match to see if they could come along with us, it being no problem we had 28 fishing.

The good thing is they peg it for us so I can get down for some Brekkie and arrive a bit later.
Dave caught on various baits from joker to punch and pinkie, Bobs catch was nearly all punch except a few roach and a veggie perch on punched cheese,now theres a new one.

Brian again caught on a lot of different baits,the back up weights were all in the 3 to 4 pound area and considering it was blowing a gale the venue fished very well.

Don

We turned up all raring to go has we have not been able to fish this section for a while in matches due to weather conditions, as soon as we stepped out of the cars it started pouring down and stayed that way all day.
It was a case of holding on to your brolly as it was also blowing a gale with lumps of trees falling onto your gear and in one case busting a feeder rod, with the leaves blown into the water adding to the problems it was a nightmare, who said fishing was relaxing.

Still we all stuck at it and Derek got into his favourite swim on the shallows, he must be a bit mad to fish it as he was standing in the water in those conditions, I think they are coming to take him back to the home soon
He had 2 chub late on and a few dace and roach on the waggler and caster, Lee got it right, he was sat under his umbrella watching the grand prix on his top notch phone when he noticed the rod going off the rest, he then struck into a Bream of about 5 pound and got it in to go with a few bits, Martin said that the swim he was in was so shallow that the bream must of imitated a flounder to get to his bait.

Dan was down by the ray and started ok with 4 small chub, then it went dead for long periods and he only added a few bits to his early total.

I threatened to throw John Taylor out of the match, has someone told me he was dredging his swim, when I found out it was his brolley floating down the river with him chasing it and trying to drag it back in I realised what nice friends he has.

Again we seem to have just struck unlucky on the day with the conditions but it was pleasing to see the river looking in good nick and it will be well worth a visit when the weather settles down.

Don

This was the team match held each year as an invitational one arranged by Martin Harper. Mark drew peg 47 which was a good peg on the day as the water was still low and more like tap water. He had a chub of 5-6-0 and roach and perch on caster, this is the second time he has won this match so he seems to enjoy it.

Steve returned to his old fishing grounds after moving to Hayling Island and drew 24 and had 2 chub and bits for his weight, he stated that he will start sea fishing now he has got his sea legs living on an island, i said it was about time he has only been there 2 years.

Dave stuck it out on peg 31 which has been a bit patchy this year and had 2 chub late on with a few bits.
The average weight on the day was 4-10-0, considering we had to put in a few iffy swims because of the conditions it fished very well.

The team event was won by them old bandits the Dolphin Allstars, Derek, Keith, Brian and Steve.
The Apollo team were second and Martin informs me that they have been in this position for the last 5 years on the trot and 11 times out of 13, now that's what you call bad luck.

Don

We turned up to have the first frost of the year which did not bode well for the day, but the river looked in good nick with a bit of colour and a low flow. That was the only good part of the day as it proved to be e real struggle, with very few small fish it was a case of wait for a bite from something and hope a bit.

Lee had 7 small chub on the feeder with maggot, and even these bites hardly moved the tip and it was very hard to hit them.

Bob had 1 good Chub of 5 pound and a few little bits also on the feeder.

Kevin had just bits on the pole and stick but in general it was really hard to even get a bite, and when you did it was from little roach about an inch long, or little gudgeon.

It was a pity as this is a cracking bit of water when on form and we hope to hit it better next year.

Don

This was a bit of a struggle as the water was very low and clear and we even had to leave out one good swim as the keepnet would have been out of the water.

Ken was on the main river and had 4 chub with the best one going 5-2-0, he was on the pole with maggot and caster as bait, he also lost 3 bigger fish.

Derek drew Dolphin bridge house which we had cleared the day before and it was an armchair swim, he had all bits, catching most of the day, some on punch but most to the maggot.

Bob was on the point and it proved even more difficult to fish in the clear conditions, he had 3 small chub and bits on the maggot waggler.

The rest of the anglers all had over 2 pounds which was still good in these conditions.
I would like to thank Bob Horwood for bringing the boat down for us to do a work party on the Saturday and to all those who attended to make the venue fishable.

Don

This was a funny sort of match with the fish coming in little spurts to most who were fishing,

Steve managed to keep them coming for most of the day on various baits on the feeder.he had mainly small carp with 10 pound being made up with skimmers.

Willy who is making a habit out of coming second fished similar on the next peg so the fish seemed to be in this area where it was slightly shallower than some, the bit I was on took the feeder 10 seconds to hit bottom, my maggots were asking for pressure suits before going down there.

Rob was on the earlier pegs and fished the same except for a few fish up in the water on the waggler late on, this put him clear of Dave Dorsett who had to pay Rob the princely of 50 pence for beating him, I bet that goes a long way in the piggy bank collection.

We may have to alter the format on this venue for next season as it was a bit tight in areas for casting, it was rumoured that Tommy Clements was really clever, he just shut his eyes when he cast and took pot luck where it landed, usually across Stuart or Martins peg. So we may make it pole or float only next time, mind you with some of them splashing wagglers you could still cast across the lake.

Richard Smith likes this venue but again he was not able to attend through both family commitments and the problem with his broken wrist, we hope to see you out and about in the near future Rich.

A few of us went to Garry Youngs wedding to Tina the day previous,I think he was way out of order preferring to go on honeymoon to the West Indies instead of fishing with the lads, still it may have been for the best has he is known to do a Tommy and shut his eyes to, only he casts further usually and fishes 4 swims. All joking aside Garry I am sure you and Tina will be very happy together and thanks for a great day.

Don

Dave had good quality roach on the hemp and caster for most of the day catching from various areas in the swim.
Willy had mostly roach on the punch, with a few perch thrown in on the maggot.
Bob fished similar tactics for his weight.

This match fished very well considering you could not put a float in on the Tuesday due to floating weed which had been cut for the Slough Boat Festival, so a vote of thanks must go to Derek for getting B/W to get down there and clear it up or the match would have been cancelled.

If you get a few hours in the week this is the water to get to for a few fish, nice and simple fishing on either the pole or the waggler,and any bait is producing fish, the lowest weight on the day was 1-12-0 and there was a lot of 3 and 4 pound weights so get with us for our next match there.

Don

We were invited down by Twyford A.S. to fish this match with them, after getting the result we did it might be the last time. Derek had nearly all roach and dace on the maggot and caster, Stuarts weight was made up mainly of 1 Chub, and perch and few dace.

Mine was nearly all dace and a few roach, I actually caught a few fish on the wheat which Bob had stewed up on the saturday, it was nice to see the float bury with this on the hook as I have not tried it for such a long time.
The twyford member whos name I forgot to take down had a Barbel of about 6-0-0 and just a few bits.

This is a cracking little backstream off of the Loddon, and it was lovely to trot a float down through the streamer weed and to see the fish come out to pick up the bait.

We also took along the mystery weight sheet, when it was selected Bob though he was in the money had he had 3-7-0 and 3-8-0 was the figure then from the back of the car park someone reminded the organiser that his weight was rounded up to 3-8-0 after a small fish was found in his net, Bob was nearly doing a runner and trying to escape the car park, not really he just looked gutted, as was I because we go half each.

But I would like to thank John Green for a great day out and hope to return next season.

Don

Kev was drawn on the point which was very low and clear and he could see the fish he was going for dropping into the deeper hole if front of him, he had 6 Chub and a few bits on the waggler with maggot.

Derek was on the backwater down from the lawn and had nearly all bits for his weight, it was one of the swims we cleared on the Saturday so he had a lovely little trot through, it was on his usual small waggler and maggot.

Graham showed he is not past it with 3 Chub from the main river, he did not go in the sweep so lost out on a bit of coin, cant beat bad luck.

Don

Only Derek and Brian braved this match as the stretch of the Thames they were on with Twyford had been fishing so bad, it proved to be so with Derek coming 2nd on the day with 3-9-0 and Brian struggling also for 1-2-0, the winning weight was only 4 pound something and that was only one fish so it shows how bad it was.

Don

We were allocated the Dam wall section again, but at least it fished better than last year when most of us blanked.
Mick came as a guest and had 7 Carp on various baits on the method feeder.

Kevin fished like wise for his weight with 6 fish, Willy had a few more fish but a bit smaller.
The wind was straight in our faces all day which did not allow for the wagg and pellet method which has been working well at this venue, those who tried the pole only seemed to pick up roach.

It can be a bit frustrating on here, has Bob Hawes had a fish on and lost it first chuck, then went out again and had his first fish, then sat there for a good 2 hours for another bite.

This seemed to happen to most of the boys, I had 8 people standing behind me playing a fish and Willy and Lee though it would be a good idea to catapult pellets at me at the same time, so no pressure then, but seeing as I am now a specimen hunter after the Carp at Wraysbury I stuck with it and had a Carp of 15-12-0, I went on to have 4 fish for 45-2-0 so it goes to show you dont need many bites to crack the ton. Heres hoping we can get some of the better pegs for next year.

The final word must go to Richard Smith who asked me to get this venue in the summer, he went along with a friend on the Wednesday for a bit of practise, after packing up he walked down a steep slope beside the stairs, after it had been raining a fair bit and was surprised to go bum over boobies and broke his wrist badly and ended up at Banbury hospital for 4 hours so could not fish the match on the Sunday.

Myself and Bob popped around to see him and cheer him up, I cant think why he would not give me his bait as he was not using it, we just told him how much we were looking forward to the Sunday and what a pity he could not make it, now that's what friends are for, and has Richard knows you cant beat bad luck.
All joking aside we wish him a speedy recovery from what seems to be a nasty break..

Don

This being round one in the summer for a change we had to go down and clear a few swims the day before and Cliff drew on the point, it would have been unfishable if not for our visit Saturday
He went on the feeder and lost a couple of fish, then switched to the waggler down the right hand side along the bush and had 5 Chub for his weight.

Dan was on the mill pool and had 2 Chub on the waggler again, the match was fished until 4-00 but Dan misheard at the draw and packed up at 3-00, who knows he may have pipped Cliff in the last hour.
Cliff also needs a new watch for Xmas as he was fishing after time and blamed it on a broken watch, I think we just about believed him, I dont think it is fair to call him Pinnochio from now on, he did adjust his weight accordingly but still won anyway.

Richard was drawn next to the Elliott bridge and had a bit of a moan about the peg, but this peg is proving to be one of the most consistent in matches on the venue.

The rest of the river seemed to be fishing well for bits and the odd Chub until the sun hit the water and it was like flicking a switch as it got very hard after that to get a bite, I was drawn on peg 24 which has thrown up a few Chub this year and really struggled for 1-9-0, all caught before 11-00, except 1 Perch at 3-50.

Don

This match was fished with the Twyford lads and we told them how good it had been fishing, (kiss of death). Although the top weights were ok the rest of the match was a bit of a wipeout with quite a few blanks.

Martin was in between the willows on the shallow side of the lake and had 7 Bream with about 2 pound of small Perch, a few Perch came on the waggler then the Bream moved onto the feeder line, Martin was using chopped worm with a small piece of worm on the hook with red maggot, he had to use a long tail and smaller hooks to get them.

John was on the road bank and had 1 Bream and 1 Tench on the feeder against the weed bank. George done the best thing, went for a kip in his van as the fishing was that good, then when John had his Bream he cast out the feeder and had his only bite all day.

The venue has now got permanent peg numbers on both the fence behind the pegs, or on the platforms, we are hoping to put new posts in soon and have them all numbered.

Don

Richard drew right on the peg that he had watched a guy bagging up on the day previous on peg 28, he went out on the feeder and the fish were just sitting there, I think he had landed 2 fish before I even cast for the first time. He was fishing an in line method feeder with small white boilies and pellet getting most fish, I think Stuart is going blind as he said he never see Richard landing anything, either that or he was asleep.

Brian was also on the far bank in peg 27 and again had most fish on the feeder, he is on the lake so much in matches I think the Bream are on first name terms with him. Dave was on the car park bank and guess what, he stopped moaning for most of the day, I kept sending someone around to make sure he had not fell in as I could not hear him having a go about something. He also was on the feeder with pellet.

Willy was on the road bank and started to get the fish on the pole late on,for 4th with 36-4-0 but it seems the fish are not coming onto the pole line as they used to on this venue.

Don

As you can see from the weights it was a day to forget, we fished this with the Twyford boys who told us it was a good venue if the Bream showed, well just our luck I think they were on holiday.

One of the Twyford boys won the match with 1 Bream of 3-2-0 and Brian was second with his weight, I dont think I need to say more except to hope the Bream are around on the 23rd Aug when we fish it again.

Don

Well what can I say, we were worried about the lack of small fish but had a great match dominated by big fish with a lot of good back up weights.

Stuart had a terrific weight when you realise he only had 6 Bream, he was on the shallow bank between the willow trees. He went out on the feeder with red maggot and had 2 fish quite early then had to wait for the rest in the last couple of hours.
I was on the island and punched out the method feeder to a clear spot in the weed and was rewarded second cast with a personal best carp of 24-2-0 (pictured right), to say it was a dodgy pants time on a feeder rod would be an understatement. The fun kicked in when i tried to fit it in my little match landing net, I hope to have a pic soon and I will put it on the news page. I had 3 other fish all Bream, the best going 9-0-0 so you can see how good Stuarts fish were, my fish all came to pop up baits with dummy caster getting 2 and corn the other 2.

Martin was on the next peg to Stuart and was also on the feeder, I know he put out a fair bit of worm and along with a good Tench and Big Bream, and lost 2 good fish, he also had quite a few Perch so it seems the small fish are still around. The back up weights consisted of Kev Burroughs having 8-2-0 which was 1 Bream of about 6-0-0 and bits from the road bank.

Brian Eggleton 7-15-0 again 1 Bream and bits from the culvert peg, then 4 or 5 of the boys having 3 or 4 pound and a couple of 2 pound weights. When you consider that this same match last year was won with 1-3-0 you can see why we were so pleased with the result.

We are to undertake a weed dragging programme in the next few weeks as we believe that it had a good effect when done on the work party as the top weight and third came from dragged swims, if you fish these pegs there is no need to cast a long way out, about 20 yards and you will be on the dragged area.
Also if you drag a swim please put the weed well back from the bank.

The lake will still be open when the dragging is taking place and signs will go on the gate beforehand.

Don

When we turned up you would think you had no chance of good weights on the day, it was like tap water and most pegs were weeded up to a degree, but Brian Dart managed to peg it for us with a lot of name calling depending on what bit you drew on.

Dave drew up past the kissing gates and had fish in the swim most of the day coming to various baits, I was watching him for a while and he was getting Rudd on the waggler with caster, then going back on the pole and picking up Perch. He caught a better stamp of fish late on with hemp.

Willy was the first peg past the gates and had mainly Perch on the worm or maggot, I was next to him and had to look at that body all day as he stripped off, still I managed to keep my dinner down when I got home. Rob had Tench early on with a few bits and also lost 2 other Tench, he was in the slightly deeper water just past the fence of the factories.

Dave Sephton also had Tench from this stretch and Roy Perry had a Bream so it would be the area for the bigger fish if you fancy giving it a go. To show how clear the venue was we were dropping bits of bread over the bridge before the start and the Roach were going for it on the surface, as it sunk to the bottom we watching the Tench swim out of the reeds and having a munch, needless to say this swim was not in the draw.

Dont forget this venue on your club card as it is well worth the visit, dont worry about the clarity as in my peg I could see all the way across the canal and watched the fish take my bait but still had 3-6-0, the only downer on a good day was as said earlier watching Willy sunbathe. New signs are going to go up on this section and hopefully get Bailiffed more so please make sure you have your I.D with you.

Don

This being the first match and the fact it was Fathers day we had a good turnout, lucky we all love our kids. Martin had mostly Bream for his weight, all but 2 fish on the feeder with red maggot and worm the baits on the day.

He was on peg 29 and dropped just short of some lillies and caught most of the day. Brian was 2 pegs down on 27 and he had most of his fish in the first hour and a half also on the feeder with red maggot, he would have tripled his weight i would think if the fish stayed there.

Kevin was on the road side in peg 11 or 12, he had most of his fish on the pole which had not been the case on this lake so far this year. There were good back up weights all around the lake, except yours truly who hooked a Bream 5 minutes in to the match and then never had another bite from a Bream all day.

Garry Young put in an appearance and I had to show him how to set up it as been so long, what love does to you eh. I sat behind Kev as he lost a Bream on the whistle, he knew what I was going to say and got in first with you cant beat bad luck, which is true Kev.

Still I bet he went home to nice prezzies as his little un is only 3 months old. If you fancy a day on the feeder this venue is worth a try, with a nice pint in the clubhouse after if you fancy it, speak to Bob or Buzz in the shop and they will put you straight on where to fish.

Don

Dan drew one of the fliers on the main river and went on to catch a superb Barbel of 13-0-0 on the pole,to say it tested his elastic would be an understatement, with the top 3 in his hand and approx 20 foot of elastic going down the river it was new pants time. But he held on to it and after a good old scrap safely netted it, if some of you have hit into big Barbel on the full strebgth gear you will know how good this effort was from Dan, he then went and had a Chub to make up his weight. The picture shows Dan with the fish.

Derek drew on the mill pool and had 3 Chub to the usual waggler and maggot, its nice to see this peg producing again. Kevin was on Dolphin Bridge and caught mostly roach on the waggler and pole for his weight.
It goes to show how hard it is to get the pegs right on the day as myself and Bob sorted the pegs after a visit on Saturday, 2 members were not catching anything in the pegs they drew so moved to some not in, one of them had 2 Chub and lost 2 and the other had 1 and lost a good fish, who said it was a game of chance,still you cant beat bad luck.

I would like to thank all the members who attended the matches over the season and to all who helped me both on the matches and prior to them, so if you fancy a good day out next year just give ma ring and then pop along.
I would like to finish by wishing Nobby Bridle all the best in his move to Devon and thank him for his support of the matches over the years.

Don

There was only one twyford member in front of us today with a winning weight of 4-10-0.
Brian was struggling late on in the match then had 3 or 4 quality roach on the big maggot to nick second.
I had an all roach catch on the punch, I think I may of nicked the match if it was not for a pike in my swim for the last hour when I only managed about 5 fish, and I was drawn next to the winner so had to watch him pull away from me catching in that last hour, still as Bob said when we shared the winnings, not bad for cripple as I am still limping away.

Dave had his usual good result on this venue with a mixture of baits for his fish.
I would to thank Vic Sexton of Twyford Valley who we tag along with on these matches on the Arm, he goes down and pegs the matches each time with his helpers, and we normally have between 28 and 36 fishing so he covers a fair bit of ground before we even draw, and I must say sorry for the crap pegs I seem to draw for him, heres looking forward to next season Vic and I will draw you a flier, (promise).

Don

Some of the river fished very hard due to having a lot of extra and cold water going in the days previous.
Steve won it from peg 24 which had not produced a lot in the matches prior to this one, he had 7 chub a couple of which were of the pound to pound and a half mark which was nice to see as they have not showed for most of the season.

Terry was on the backstream opposite the nursery, again he had an all chub catch which is unusual on this peg as it normally holds a few roach and dace, Bob said he looked like he had been under a sun ray lamp with all the orange on his face from the maggot dye.

Dan was also on a swim that as not been producing, so it was nice to see that he winkled out 3 chub and lost 2 more from the grill in the millpool, its a nice comfortable swim with the new platform so its good that its throwing up a few fish, it does seem to do better when there is a bit of colour in the water

Don

This match was switched to the Island on the Colne due to high water levels and was held with a walk off.
Derek managed to get on the point and had 5 Chub for his weight on the usual waggler with maggot.

Dave was on the noted peg downstrem on the main river and had the same Chub at 6-4-8 as Keith had in the charity match, he knows it was it as he took the photo of Keiths fish which you can see on the news page.
He also had 2 other chub and a few bits.

Brian was on the backstream and had mainly bits for his weight on the small wag and maggot and punch.

Don

Steve was drawn on the backstream down from the lawn and was having a real struggle with a couple of hours to go as the river was right out of sorts on the day with a lot of water and colour, we expected it to fish much better than it did.

He had 2 good chub late on fishing waggler right down the peg with maggot.
Keith was on one of Dereks noted pegs and his weight consisted of 1 chub, not bad for a beginner.
Derek was on the Elliott bridge and had mainly small fish most of the day also on waggler and maggot.
For a full report go to the news page under charity match.

Don

This match was held with the Twyford boys and a couple of there members had 8 pound weights with a few 7 pounds as well.

Dave fished the punch and squatt for this weight, he should do well on there as him and darty seem to live down on the bank. Dave had his fish on the bloodworm, as did Willy, this venue continues to throw up consistent weights and we are getting more clubs wanting to book matches on there for the coming year, which helps to generate funds for the club.

So if you fancy picking up a few fish dont forget it is fishable in the close season, make sure you carry your I.D or you will be asked to pay a day ticket fee.

Don

Only 7 hardy souls turned up for this one,and it proved a bit hard on the day with what it seemed a near freezing river.

Derek had 2 chub of 5-8-0 and 5-3-0 for his win,from a swim that Richard Smith had fished and moved out of, you cant beat bad luck Rich. Kevin had 3 chub that were a bit smaller then Dels and if he never caught them early he would have been off home as his partner is expecting anytime now, glad to see you got your priorities right Kev, fishing first. Brian stayed in the back stream brook for mainly bits with one small chub of about a pound.

I would like to thank all the members who have wished me luck in recovering from my broken knee cap which is now held together with a few bits of wire and screws, i am hoping to get back on the bank maybe this coming Sunday on the Arm or if not then Definitely on the Colne for the charity match, the boys have offered to cart my gear to my peg, i bet i go and draw the furthest from the draw knowing my luck.

Don

Bob drew the lawn swim and had a nearly all roach catch with just a few perch and dace mainly on the punch in about 10 inches of water, he told me that after every other trot down you had to de-ice your rod so he went onto the 5 metre whip for a long spell and caught just in front of him.

Roy was on dolphin bridge and had one of the best weights from that area for a while with 1 chub and bits on maggot. Terry was also on the backwater and had bits on the maggot, again in just about a foot of water so the low levels and clarity does not seem to put the fish off of feeding.

The main river was again pretty hard with most anglers having just one chub off of a few pegs and a few blanks on the day, still we can drop our worst weight at the final tot up.

Don

Derek drew one of his favourite pegs on the point of the sluice and had a couple of chub and bits on maggot, the chub did not show in numbers as they can do on that peg, but at least he had some fish from the main river as such because some parts were really hard.

Lee was on the backwater and had mainly bits on the small waggler to maggot. Eric was on the apple tree and had the best weight off of there for some time with 2 chub and a few bits. Bob was down in the 40s and had 1 chub and a few bits and lost a couple of good chub, this peg as thrown up a 6-2-0 chub at the time of writing, which is Jan 15th due to me forgetting to do them.

Out of 31 anglers there was only 6 dry nets, when you consider it was freezing for most of the day it was a good result.

Don

This was the first King of the Colne match and with a severe frost the night before and the early part of the match being fished below zero it was very hard indeed, so most who fished will be happy that we are having 4 K.O.C matches this year with the worst result being dropped.

Kevin was on the backwater down from the lawn and had most of his fish in the early part of the match before the sun got onto the water which made it very hard.

Terry was on Dereks swim of 47 and had 2 chub and bits for his weight, Roy was on the lawn and caught small fish most of the day.

Dave Wollington had a chub of 2-14-0 on freelined bread, so it proves something different works has we have not seen a chub this year from the swim he was on, the rest of the main river fished very hard with a few fish here and there, but when you consider what some venues fish like in those conditions it was not a bad day with only 2 out of 20 not weighing in,i must admit i was quite comfy laying on my sofa not able to move my leg, so at least i was a bit warmer than them who fished as i kept phoning Bob and telling him.

Don

Ross was drawn on the backwater and had mostly small fish on the maggot for the winning weight.

Richard was a few swims up and had his weight on the punch, Barry showed he can catch in England as well as the far flung venues he usually frequents by having a few bits and a chub from the main river.

As you may know this was our 75th Anniversary match with 25 members fishing, yours truly missed it as i have broken my kneecap doing the extreme sport of ten pin bowling and i am now on crutches for 8 to 10 weeks, i will do anything to get out of dancing over xmas.

I would like to thank Derek, Bob and Martin for running the match and for sorting out the spread in the Dolphin afterwards, also to your chairman Derek for making a donation to the club for funding the event.

We had purchased a carriage clock for Tom Judd who is the longest serving member, but due to bad weather he could not attend so it was presented to him at the December Monthly meeting, well done Tom and thank you for your input into the club over them years.

Don

We had a joint match with Twyford Valley on the boats and it was good to get a turnout of 32 anglers with 3 more doing a no show on the day.

It was won by a Twyford member with 10-1-0 but this was followed up by Brian who had most of his fish on the punch and squatt.

Dave also fished the same with the fish shoaled up tight in some areas and struggling to put a couple of fish together in others.

Cliff and Bob caught on mixed baits most of the day but had a smaller stamp of fish.
The person that was last, (no not me) had at least 1-8-0 so it shows how consistent this venue is fishing at present, so if you fancy catching a few fish get along for a try.

Don

We had a joint match with Twyford Valley on the boats and it was good to get a turnout of 32 anglers with 3 more doing a no show on the day.

It was won by a Twyford member with 10-1-0 but this was followed up by Brian who had most of his fish on the punch and squatt.

Dave also fished the same with the fish shoaled up tight in some areas and struggling to put a couple of fish together in others.

Cliff and Bob caught on mixed baits most of the day but had a smaller stamp of fish.
The person that was last, (no not me) had at least 1-8-0 so it shows how consistent this venue is fishing at present, so if you fancy catching a few fish get along for a try.

Don

Jon won the match with a new venue record beating the previous one by 5 pound, he drew the point with the resident chub in a hungry mood, he went on to have 14 out on the waggler with maggot on the hook, and feeding at least a couple of pints of both caster and maggot.

Mick was next to the bridge opposite the general elliott, he had all small fish for his weight on the maggot.
Andy drew downstream on peg 47 which was producing good bags of chub, but only one played the game on the day and with a few bits got him 3rd, he went up to 46 at the end of the match and saw 6 big chub looking at him, who said fish were daft.

The rest of the venue fished a bit worse, with the frost the night before and the water looking like it came straight from a tap did not help.
Just a mention for the Dolphin Allstars, who had Keith Arthur putting in a guest appearance and the return for one day only, of Steve Johnstone,( they were last), I wont mention that the other 2 members of the team were Derek Turton and Brian Dart, oops silly me.

We told Steve the Mackerel feathers would not work on the colne like they do on Hayling island.

Don

Just our luck again, turn up when the place decides to turn off, the fishing had got very hard in the few weeks prior to this match and it stayed that way on the day.

We were on the dam wall,I think a few of us called it worse than that by the end, the wind was blowing straight into our faces and the only saving grace was it did not rain as it would have been unfishable under a brolly.
I would like to thank a few of the Barnet boys and a couple of Fishermans Cabin who made up the numbers on the day.

Mick being one of them, he had 6 carp for his weight on the method with various baits, I think he had the tools with a 15 foot rod that seemed to cast a bit further than most against the wind.
Kevin went onto the maggot feeder and was picking up roach with 4 carp slung in for good measure.
Mick the Panel, has we forgot to put his second name had 4 carp late on also on the method feeder.
He was also known throughout the match as the Russian, Iver Crackoff as he got in the habit of loosing feeders with line catching on the bail arm.

The fact he was between me and Ross meant not a word was said, as we rolled around on the floor laughing.
Sam Brown is beside himself with grief having to give up his Kingfisher Trophy,it better not come back with a lolly stick as a beak.

If you want any advice on arctic conditions,ask Geoff French, he went back to his car for cold weather gear and come back fully geared up,he looked like an extra from Scott of the Antarctic, we though he had lost his huskies.
Mind you it was that cold.
Don

If you did not know better and looked at the last Thames match you would think these 3 were the only ones fishing, the river looked smack on and you though that any swim will produce but it was a real struggle.

The rain all day and storms did not help much. Will fatnav Noble had a day to forget as he went 2 junctions past the turn off on the motorway and then dropped all his bait in the river when he finally started fishing, you cant beat bad luck Will.

Brian went downstream past the ray, as usual, and had some nice roach with a few skimmers, he could have doubled his weight except for pike trouble.

Derek was on the shallows and struggled for the one chub and a few bits, when you think the same swim threw up 36-0-0 at the last match it just goes to show how finnicky things can get.

Graham was just near the gate downstream and mainly bits, but he done enough the help himself and Brian to the pairs trophy, we have to let the old boys win something every now and again.

Don

I dont know where to start with this one, it had produced a few fish the week before and we though we had a chance of a good day, it just goes to show what we know.

Out of the 6 of us hardy soles who braved it, I had one bite, the rest never had a thing, and Bob won both the match and the Senior Citizens with the 1 ounce which consisted of 2 small roach,he went after a few perch that were chasing them but the roach probably though they were better off on the hook than down the throat.

Bob was on the shallow bank for his winning weight, I dont know how he managed to lift the keepnet out.

Don

Derek the Thames Turton has done it again, he certainly knows what it takes to get the fish when the river is running a bit which it was on the day.

The swim where the Thame comes into the Thames was at a standstill and you needed about 70 grams to hold bottom down the middle.

Bob went all the way down there and it was nearly unfishable.

Derek went onto the long rod, 15 foot I believe and a big stick similar to the bolo floats and run it down the edge most of the day, he had nearly all roach, he said at the weigh in, he forgot to mention the chub of about 4 pound he had as well, most of his fish came to bronze maggot.

Brian had all roach also fishing a bit lighter and so caught a smaller stamp of fish.
Graham did not fancy a walk and stopped right where we did the draw and caught in a slack most of the day with some quality roach included.

Don

There was a lower turnout for this match compared to the previous one and we was able to space the pegs out a bit more, this went in Richards favour as he went on the waggler and pellet to get the fish up in the water, no one near him fished this way so he caught fish most of the day once they were in front of him.

His weight was all carp, Chris just popped down from Loughborough Uni to show us how to do it (his dad included), he had a mainly skimmers catch with pellet and maggot on the pole, they must have to much time on there hands these students.

Dave was also on the pole for his weight which again was good skimmers, Kev moaned (your skimmers are bigger than mine) I did not want to know about his personal life then remembered he was talking about the fish.There were some other good weights to back these up and it was nice to get most of the boys weighing in a few fish.

This is well worth the tenner for a day ticket, and it being local to most members wont break the bank with the petrol, all baits will catch with pellet and maggot the most productive.

Don

We had a bit of luck this weekend,the river looked smack on conditions wise, only the fish did not think that way in some areas.

To start with Richard Smith could have been disqualified for becoming a human plummet when the bank gave way under him, and he got a full length ducking, so he went home early the big baby, not really it was a bit to cold and windy to be sitting on the bank after that. Still cant beat bad luck, now to the fishing.

Cliff and Dave went down into the bottom field and both caught a couple of decent bream to go with a few bits, mainly on the maggot, Cliffs bream were just a bit bigger than Daves, there was an unconfirmed report that cliff was feeding them in the net as he thought it was a bit closer on the weights.

I had my weight in the bottom field also with a Chub of about 1-8-0 and the rest small roach and a load of gudgeon, i was even getting them on the drop.

There were other weights in the 3 to 4 pound bracket with Derek also having 6-0-0 with a bream, if the fish had put there heads down all day you would have needed 10 to 12 pound to frame as there are a lot of fish on this venue and it is well worth the visit as you never know what will turn up with some of the boys losing carp on the day.
Don

If you need any advice where to fish etc please dont hesitate to give me ring

Just our luck again on the Thames, it was smack on for the weeks prior to this match then after the last lot of rain we had it was pushing through a bit hard and coloured, so the usual hemp and tares were not going to work.

Derek had mainly roach with a few perch on bronze maggot on the pole, stick float and feeder, he drew a bit of the stretch that was a bit slower on the inside, as some of us, me included drew a swim that was belting along and 12 foot deep under the rod top, that's my excuses out of the way.

Cliff also had mainly roach on the stick and feeder, and his swim was only about 8 yards long along a ledge, if he went off the ledge it was about 14 foot deep, it was still 8 foot where he caught.

Brians catch was similar and also the tactics, nice to see him back again as we thought he did not love us anymore and was 2 timing us with the Twyford boys.

If the fish had put there heads down for most of the day instead of just in patches I think Derek would have needed closer to 20 pound to win the match.

Graham nearly took Bobs crown as top moaner, but just before the start someone put there box in the way of Bobs trolley and his bag fell off, after some choice comments and superb moaning Bobs crown was safe, well for now anyway as Graham has got his sights on it.

Don

As you can see it was a bit grim again with only 5 of us turning up, one of which was Dan Richardson fishing the venue for the first time, and maybe the last as he did not have a bite.

The fish were showing in a lot of places but just would not put there heads down and feed properly.
I sat it out on the method feeder on the right hand bank and once i found a clear spot in the weed just kept plonking it out and had 2 bites which were a Bream Of 8 pound and a Tench of 6 pound.

As you can see in the photo, it looks like I was cold as it seems I have man boobs, still the Bream looks better than me. Derek had a few bits on the same bank, he had Bream, Tench and skimmers and Perch from the same swim a few days prior so it goes to show that the fish are just being fussy at the moment.

Bob had his usual fight with a big fish and lost,he thinks it was a tench, and then had a few bits for his weight, he nearly had the T,Shirt printed for Wraysbury Bob after the past couple of matches on here which he has won,still cant beat bad luck.

Don

Rob was drawn on the river bank swims and cast over to Martin on the opposite bank, he asked permission first and I bet Martin wished he had said no when sorting out the casting areas as it was a bit tight. Still Rob went on to have a few Bream for his weight on mainly white mini boilies on the feeder.

Richard was pegged on the car park as was Bob next to him and they caught mainly on the pole and pellet, also bream being the dominant fish. This venue fished very fair with fish showing in most swims, it was very hot and clear so it was not ideal bream conditions but they have stocked the venue over the past seasons with a lot of them and it made a nice change to fish a commercial water for other than all out carp.

If you go for the roach and perch on maggot you will be catching all day and can have a good bag of either fish so its well worth a visit, phone first in case they have a weekday match on there. I was on peg 29 and was told the method does not produce, but after having just 1 fish on the feeder with an hour to go I gave it a try, lo and behold 5 fish later in that hour I weighed 14-12-0 so it goes to show give anything a try on there at present.

The one bad thing was that the bar was shut after the match, Cliff Fox disappeared in a cloud of dust out of the car park to his local, as did a few others.

Don

Once again we had a poor day on the lake as you can see from the results page, we must now call him Wraysbury Bob, he has been called worse I can assure you.
Bob fished on the shallow side at the far end and went and got a sneaky bream of about 6-8-0 in the first hour of the match, then had a few little perch for his massive weight, or massive at present on Wraysbury.
John was on the island in a swim he got smashed up in the day previous but the big fish did not show and he had a few small perch and roach on the maggot for his enjoyable day.
Martin was also on the shallow side and had a few small perch also, I thought he was having a fit when he hooked his first fish after about 4 hours but it seemed it was only a celebration dance.
At least a few more fish were caught this time, not by me I might add, they keep calling me a blanker, I hope I spelt that right as I may of misheard them.
If you are going for a pleasure day do not be to put off as a lot of the daphnia is dying off and a few tench are being caught also a few bream, lets hope they show for me in a couple of weeks.
Dont forget to read the news page for the restocking report of the bream up to 16-0-0, if Bob gets that one he will be known as lucky, lucky Wraysbury Bob.

Don

This was just the luck of G/X on the matches, this lake was booked by my good self in November of last year and has been throwing up weights of 100 pound plus on a regular basis, 4 weeks before we are due on there they have a fish kill which accounted for a large head of carp, the lake as now been sorted out but reduced the chances of the bigger weights, you cant beat bad luck.
Martin ignored the banter from the 3 stooges on the opposite bank, namely, Willy (who else) Richard and Ross, and went out at 13 metres with chopped worm and had a few small carp and skimmers for his weight, Ross was out on the waggler and pellet and had all carp, with Richard and Willy next to him he never had a quiet moment all day, mind you if you heard Ross singing it would be enough to make you want to go home.
There was bit of a cock up on the weights as i think the 2 people who weighed Ross in were most definitely not in the top ten at school with the maths, as they put Ross down for 28-8-0 and he was not paid out in the pools,sorry about that mate but there was nothing i could do as they had all gone home when we found out, now that really is cant beat bad luck.
Dan was on the pole with pellet over groundbait and caught steady most of the day,again small carp and skimmers.
After the problems with the fish we had to weigh in halfway into the match, this seemed to put the fish off for a while when the weighed fish were put back and it was hard to get them going again, well that was my excuse anyway.
It was nice to see a few of the new members attending and they were not let down with the sympathy vote when they lost fish, we all just said, jolly hard luck old boy, or was it (you cant beat bad luck) or something like that.

Don

11 hardy souls turned up for this match as it was peeing down nearly all day, the river looked in good nick with a nice flow and a bit of colour.
Derek drew the last number and was pleased to see no one went to one of his favoured swims on the shallows,i think he as squatters rights on this one, he then put together a nice bag of fish with nearly 12 pound of bits and the rest made up with Chub, he had to stand out in the river and get a soaking for his troubles and looked just a tad wet at the end of the match.
Bob fished next to Richard in the tunnel section above the bridge, i think these 2 are joined at the hip, as where one goes the other seems to follow, Bob just nicked a few more bits than Richard who also had a Chub of about 2 pound in his weight, the rest of the weights were in the 4 and 5 pound areas.
The main thing on the day was the conditions which made fishing very difficult so you can see how good Dereks weight was on the day.

Don.

As you can see from the result not a very good start to the new match season, 14 members attended, I was at a wedding in Christchurch so i was lucky and missed it, i thanked my Niece for her timing with the dates.
It was so bad that the mystery weight was won by putting the peg numbers back in the bag and drawing one out, that went to Willy, or fat nav as he is now known for passing the junction when he went to Wraysbury before.
There seemed to be a lot of natural food in the lake and they did not want to know on the day.
Bob had 1 eel for his weight and Roy had a few small perch, there were a few bigger fish lost on the feeder but other than that a day to forget.

Don