Match results/Events info

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm (Large Lake)

Ralph Jarvis Cup 2 of 2

1st Darren Cope 113lbs 11oz 2nd Gary Pickard 68lbs 15oz 3rd Fred Hunt 67lbs

Gary's day It was Hall Farm today for us – still very low but with a forecast of heavy doses of rain for the day. And yes I had left my brolly at home. Out of the draw bag came peg 7 for me – sort of in the middle in terms of lake and how it usually performs. And I had left my deeper water rigs at home which needed some adding of line to the heaviest rig I could find in the box. Darren had drawn today's flyer in peg 3 with the shallower end of the lake having been dominating matches recently - no pressure. For company I had Tony to my left on peg 6 and Fred to my right on peg 8. Even with the water being down it soon drops off into the deeps here so it was going to be: one line at about 6 metres with hard pellet in about 7 feet; another out at 13 metres where they would hopefully come shallow again om pellets as they had about 10 feet of water below them; and something for the edges which started shallow but then dropped away quickly. A start at 6 metres produced a couple of small carp then, as his line often does, it fizzled to nothing. I seemed to be doing OK though with only Darren catching. A try out long produced an instant couple of small carp shallow but that was it. The bottom though was fizzing quite a lot where I was feeding long. An hour or so in I had 4 small carp and had not broken into double figures yet – they were nice looking fish but I needed their bigger parents. About this time Tony and Fred also got off the mark. Everyone else was a mystery as there are just enough bushed along the bank to stop you seeing anyone. A quick carp fishing on the bottom out long on the pole as I tried to find out what was causing the fizzing looked encouraging but that was it – just the one bite on the pole. A go on a small method feeder on the fizzing produced a couple more small carp but I was going nowhere fast. We then had the first of what was going to be a few very heavy downpours. Tony had clearly thought it was time to make something happen and what sounded like the best part of a tin of sweetcorn went in down his margins whilst I was back on the 6m line. It worked though and he was soon into another decent looking carp worth 3 of mine. Fred was also now starting to get a few fish dropping a feeder in quite short. It was all going to be down to my margins as the 6m line was steady but too slow. The margin slope was horrible so I ended up fishing a bit away from the bank to try and find a flattish area with hard pellets to pin the bait in place. Slowly the margins started revving up and I had a nice finish – the fish were not much bigger apart from one which was to be crucial with both Fred and me shouting "fish on" at the whistle. With Tony and Fred having a good finish, and Tony's fish looking a better stamp than the ones I was catching it was going to be close for second and that was without knowing what others had been catching. Darren looked to have been catching well all day so first place looked sown up. As expected, Darren finished well ahead with 113lbs making no mistakes on peg 3 and then it was very close for second with my 68lbs just beating Fred who just beat Kevin and the rest wree not far behind too. Photo today is the lake before the off whilst it was still dry.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm (Large Lake)

N/A

1st Bill Beeston 91lbs 13oz 2nd Fred Hunt 68lbs 7oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 43lbs 1oz 4th Graham Carter 36lbs 8oz

Rob's day At Hall Farm today on a cooler day with a fresh breeze blowing into the car park end. With just 10 on the match today and levels even lower I decided to just use the low bank – pegs 3-12 with a half time weigh in. I drew peg 4 – have not been there for a while so reasonably happy although Bill to the left had end peg and the fish in the shallow water around pegs 1 and 2 to draw from so would be difficult to beat today. Just set up a feeder, pole rigs for shallow and at 9 meters in around 4 ½ foot, and some margin rigs. Started shallow at 13 meters but the wind proved difficult so onto the shorter line. After a couple of small carp no further bites – a quick go on the feeder proved fruitless so just the 2 fish at the half way mark. Bill had been catching a few – mainly on the tip and weighed in 18lb to my 6lb. Further along Jeff had landed a decent carp near the whistle (in fact air horn, thanks Graham for donating this) and Fred had a good morning – 21lb 6oz on the tip. Apart from that just one or two fish caught so all to play for in the second half, would be down to who caught most in the margins late on as has been the case on most of the recent matches here. Into the second half – a look on the short line nothing so down the margins where one or two fish had been showing, but not many. No problem for Bill who had a quick 2 or 3 short and was now catching good sized carp in the margins. Eventually had a couple on maggots down the edge but didn’t seem many fish coming in – had a good run of another 2 or 3 with an hour to go then nothing, no bites in the last 45 minutes. At the weigh in Bill had continued to catch (for the second match running I’ve watched my neighbour continually catch while I’ve struggled to get a bite!) and weighed in a good 91lbs 13oz for a comfortable win. Fred ran him reasonably close with 68lbs 7oz from peg 7 for second, Phil having a good second half after a fishless first with 43lbs 1oz for third and Graham coming fourth with 36lbs 8oz So most catching a few today – fishing pretty well despite the low water conditions, most fish caught in the margins. Does seem that a lot of the fish are increasing in size, some good sized fish around 7-8lb caught today. Hopefully as we move into Autumn the levels will come up at some point so we can safely fish the high bank swims again.

Interclub (Sawbridgeworth / Abbey Cross)

Sawbridgeworth club lake

Triple Cup (Sawbridgeworth / Abbey Cross)

1st Sawbridgeworth 44.5 points 2nd Bishop's Stortford 49 points 3rd Abbey Cross 70.5 points Carp counting as 5lbs Section A 1st Rob Brace (Sawbo) 56lbs 14oz 2nd Mark Vobe (Sawbo) 42lbs 2oz 3rd Darren Cope (B/S) 32lbs 4oz Section B 1st Gary Pickard (B/S) 55lbs 2nd Peter Green (AC) 28lbs 15oz 3rd Martin Gibbons (Sawbo) 25lbs 2oz Section C 1st Mark Halverson (Sawbo) 102lbs 15oz 2nd Steve Muzz (Sawbo) 79lbs 7oz 3rd Bill Beeston (B/S) 63lbs 13oz

Gary's day Today was the annual Triple Cup match against Sawbridgeworth and Abbey Cross. It was our turn to host, however, the low water levels at Hall Farm meant we could not find the 30 pegs needed. Many thanks to Sawbo for the use of their lake. Carp usually count as 10lbs here in Sawbo matches (with some much bigger lumps) but were going to be 5lb each today to give the silvers a chance of making a difference. My peg for today was 12 only 2 away from where I was in last year's Triple Cup so I knew which direction to walk around the lake. Our section was a funny one starting in the little bay I was half-way along the bank of and then wrapping around a long strip island where it narrows to about 11 metres until re-emerging into the main lake and the usually brilliant peg 21 on a point. I was glad to not be in the narrow section like last year but was not expecting much from my peg as the one to the right, where it started to narrow looked, very good with plenty of cover and seemed to be where all the fish would head. Darren was opposite me but in a different section. I decided to feed a longer line heavily with 4mm pellets, a shorter line with 6mms and was not sure about the margins which were a bit odd with a slope up to nothing at the bank. A start on the short pellet swim produced a quick bite and the first carp to come off of the day. Alan Sims to my left had a quick start too with his carp getting to the net though. Another bite on the short swim ended with a carp in the net so I was off the mark. Darren opposite was getting a few bites and his swim was bubbling like a jacuzzi and Mark Vobe in the corner was also getting a few. Martin to my right was having a slow start too. A swap to the long line trying both pole and a method feeder was worryingly quiet despite a regular show of bubbles on this. Back to the short pole line found another carp and swapping back and forth kept the odd bites coming. By the midway point I was on 5 carp and looked to be doing OK as it was pretty quiet to my right as you went along the channel. The middle of the match was very, very slow with only Mark and Darren (not in our section thankfully) seeming to still be getting bites if not fish in the net. Everything they hooked charged up and down their margins looking for snags. In the last 90 mins or so the short pole line suddenly came good and the bites started flowing but only if I was careful not to fed too much which was quite difficult in the sudden excitement. By the end another 6 carp (including some real brutes) were landed with, thankfully, not too many falling off or being foul hooked. I never got near the margins in the end. Our section seemed to fish pretty tricky with quite a lot of carp lost as there are plenty of lily beds and other snags for them to charge into in the channel. There were a lot of people with the odd tench which was good to see – the only silver I saw was a small roach that fell off out at 13 metres. With 11 carp that gave me a section win and my job for the team was done. Weighing in my section showed it could be tight. If every carp hooked had been landed the results could have been quite different with some very close weights. In the end Sawbridgeworth won the Triple Cup this year with 44.5 points, Bishop's Stortford chasing them hard with 49 points and Abbey Cross coming in third with 70.5 points. Many thanks again to Sawbo for use of their lake. Photo today is our little bay with Mark V left and Darren right.

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

Taylor's Lake (Abbey Cross water)

N/A

Bishop's Stortford 78 points to Abbey Cross's 54 points 1st Keith Hicks 22lbs 8oz 2nd Bill Beeston 19lbs 14oz 3rd Fred Hunt 19lbs 11oz 4th Rob Calderon 17lbs 11oz 5th Martin Adams 16lbs 8oz

Rob's day At Taylor's Car Park Lake this morning in a rearranged match – Abbey Cross kindly offering us the lake as Beggar's Hall is still very low which would have caused issues finding 17 or 18 swims able to place keepnets in properly. Now officially Autumn with much lower temperatures today with some showers. With our nine and Abbey's eight on today a lot of swims in – I drew peg 11 – a good peg with some success recently. It was almost the same depth from the margins out to the lilies at 11 meters – so just a couple of rigs to fish maggots, corn and worm, hopefully for bream and the odd F1. Also, a short whip to start and try and get a few early fish in the net. I had a few small perch and roach on the whip but these quickly died out so onto the long pole. No more bites until three hours in when a quick dip of the float brough a small skimmer of around a pound. Elsewhere a few were fish coming out caught – mostly bream – Bill was on about three good bream across on peg 21 and next door Alan Fox on 22 also had a couple. Peter next to me started slowly but had a couple of bream later on. News was that Graham further down had one bream and a carp. Martin on the point swim (9) was busy catching some good quality roach and also had a good bream. The only other person I could see was Fred on 18 and I saw he had landed at least three bream – on the feeder I think. With a couple of hours left another bite on worm and a good F1 hooked – straight in the lily bed but managed to free the fish from these when the hook pulled! Into the last 45 minutes and no more fish so started packing the odd top kit away thinking mine might be the weight discarded when I noticed some bubbles around the float (had been feeding groundbait throughout the day). Seconds later the float disappeared and I hooked a decent fish. Guiding it away from the pads the fish (I thought a big bream) it managed to pick up a ton of weed, making playing and getting the fish up difficult. After ten minutes or so I managed to get the fish and weed close in and could see a swirl under the weed so still on. Eventually I saw a head and managed to scoop up the weed and the fish. No bream but a carp around 15lb! At the weigh in my 2lb of silvers added to the carp went 17lb 11oz enough for fourth place. Keith Hicks on peg 25 topped with 22lb 8oz with some nice bream, Bill second with 19lb 14oz and Fred third with 19lb 11oz. Martin completed the frame with 16lb 8oz including 12lb of roach. Teamwise a good performance from BS – winning 78 points to 54 – our lowest weight 5lb 11oz Thanks again for Abbey Cross for allowing us to use the lake and helping with the weigh in.

Club Match / Outing

Wickham Hall

N/a

1st Darren Cope 18lbs 2oz 2nd Gary Pickard 12lbs 3rd Rob Calderon 5lbs 8oz

Gary's day After the heavy rain of Saturday we were hoping for a dry day, although rain was threatened for the end of the match. With the water level still well down we were all fishing off the platforms today with peg 19 for me. An end peg but not the corner of the lake I fancied with Darren having drawn that. With a breezy day forecast I left the whip in the rod bag and set up a lightly shotted pole rig at 6 sections in about 7ft and a heavier rig for 13m in about 11ft. The last rig was a cage feeder for further out in the deeps. Rob and Mark got off to a quick start with a couple of nice rudd/roach whilst I was still feeding my swims. I had decided to be give them a good feed to start with hoping to pull in some of the bream or carp. Whist these settled I started on my short swim just fishing maggots and there were signs straight away. An extra shot on the rig made the world of difference and I could see the bites much clearer. I was getting a steady run of small rudd and roach of about 1-2 ounces but Mark and Rob were still getting quality fishing further out but not as quickly. Tony to my right was having a slow start with lots of small fish plaguing his long line. And John was struggling to get bites over on the other bank. Darren then netted his first decent fish, a 2lb hybrid, which wiped out mine in one go. A try on the long line and feeder produced bites but the fish were now bigger than on the short line. Rob started to get a few chublets a couple of hours in which pushed his weight up and Mark was still catching the odd nice rudd/roach. I was still ticking over with the small fish. Lots of bites but was I being a busy fool as Darren landed a feisty carp and I slipped further behind him? This became a familiar pattern. I was catching steadily but Darren was creeping ahead landing another 2 carp before the end. A couple of chublets and what might have been a small ide were my bonus fish for the day - I did manage a few carp but none of them went over a couple of ounces with most much smaller than that (I was in the nursery swim). Mark and Rob ended up struggling towards the end with the fish seeming to have moved away from them. With Darren managing to land 3 of the crazy Wickham Hall carp there was only going to be one winner and so it proved as Darren strolled home with just over 18lbs. 2nd was not so clear cut. I thought I had been catching pretty steady most of the day but small fish tend to look a lot smaller in the keepnet at the end of the day and Mark's and Rob's fish looked to be a better stamp. Rob was ahead of Mark with 5lbs to 4lbs and then it was my turn and I was very surprised when Tony called out 12lbs - I was thinking more 7-8lbs. Photo today is Darren's winning net.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm (Large Lake)

Summer League 5 of 6

Low bank 1st Peter Green 58lbs 2oz 2nd Bill Beeston 53lb 9oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 32lbs High bank 1st Tony Heath 55lbs 12oz 2nd Bob Fox 47lbs 6oz 3rd Rob Calderon 45lbs 2oz

Rob's day Back at Hall Farm today for the 5th round of the Summer League – the forecast was to be thundery showers which never materialized so nice cooler weather to start although the temperature did increase by the afternoon. With the low water levels we needed to be careful with the swim selection today, we had 6 on the low bank and 5 on the high - leaving out the higher numbers which are a bit shallow at the moment. We also had a half time weigh in today. I drew peg 20 which was in fact end peg so quite happy. Tactics were just to fish the first half shallow, then have margin rigs and a short pole line for the second half. Also a bomb rig if the fish went to the bottom on the shallow line. Started well on the shallow rig with a 6lb carp after a few minutes, then went over an hour biteless. Eventually had another small carp and an F1 shallow before a quick go on the bomb produced another small F1. Nothing on the short rig. It didn’t take long to complete the half time weigh in as most struggled in the first half – Tony Heath weighed 10lb 2oz from next door peg 19 but apart from one fish from Graham no more carp caught on the high bank – mine went 14lb 9oz for a first half lead. Difficult on the low bank although Phil on peg 3 weighed in 17lb 40z – Bill on peg 4 3lb 1oz but that was it on the low bank. Into the second half – no more fish on the shallow rig so went short on pellets. Three fish hooked but only one landed – one that came off looked a good fish. Maybe due to the conditions the fish seemed to go a bit crazy when hooked today. So onto the margins and again fish seemed really spooky, coming in but difficult to hook. A few splashes from Tony next door and a couple of big fish landed so he was definitely in front now. I eventually managed to land a few fish putting the rig tight into the margin reeds and finished with 45lb 2oz – a reasonable day but a few fish short I thought. Tony Heath finished with 55lb 12oz for a good win (and golden peg) – reward for donating a keepnet and bag to someone at the draw. Bob Fox second with 47lb 6oz and mine third. The second half was also better for most on the low bank although Phil wasn’t having the best of times adding 15lb to finish with 32lb and third. He also deposited some of his pole in peg 3 which he retrieved at the end. I have the pictures of a stripped down Phil coming out of the water but I think I’ll keep those to myself (and Bill who took the pictures). Bill in fact had a good second half mainly down the margins to end with 53lb but was pipped to first place by Peter on peg 10 who had a great second half after being fishless at the half-way point finishing with 58lb 2oz.

Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall

Stone Cup 2 of 2

1st Gary Pickard 95lbs 11oz 2nd Kevin Turner 89lbs 12oz 3rd Mark Halverson 50lbs 7oz

Gary's day It was Beggar's Hall today for us with us all along the low bank to get plenty of water over the nets and a half time weigh in. It was deja vue for me as peg 6 came out of the bag again. On getting to the peg though it was very different to my last visit 6 weeks or so ago with the lake a lot lower. Hopefully the rain will arrive soon. There was the odd small fish topping whilst setting up but no signs of anything bigger which was odd given it is still quite warm. The plan was: a long pole line with hard pellets on the bottom; feeding some 8mms further out for bomb or pellet waggler; and then the margins with a few worms for the hook. The first hour flew past and was hugely frustrating with all 3 carp I looked on the long pole coming off for no apparent reason. Mark over on peg 12 was having similar problems with plenty of bites casting a feeder to the island but getting them past the lilies proving tricky. Kevin on the other side of the willow to my right sounded like he was doing better with landing carp. A swap to pellet waggler did not produce any bites but trying a bomb and pellet finally got a nice carp of about 7lb in the net and then a couple more before the line faded. A try back on the long pole produced another quick bite and another lost carp. One more carp on the feeder before the half time weigh took me to 22lbs. Kevin was leading with 44lbs and Mark with just under 20lbs. After a slow restart there were suddenly some carp cruising around on the top and the pellet waggler was starting to come good. It was not fast and furious action but the size of the carp meant the weight was adding up quickly. Mark was also getting a few and it sounded like Kevin was too on peg 5. With the last hour upon us it was time to try the margins. In went a couple of big worms over some micros and the float shot under promptly followed by a small perch flying through the air after an overly enthusiastic strike. A few more perch later something better finally ate the worms and a chunky carp was in the net. The small perch proved a real pain but 2 more big carp also took a fancy to the worms before the all out whistle sounded. After the first half I had a bit of catching up to do and Mark was close behind. It looked like it could be a tight one as Mark looked to have been catching well and there were regular splashing noises from the other side of the willow for Kevin. The couple of late big carp helped me sneak out ahead of Kevin with 95lbs 11oz to Kevin's 89lbs 12oz and Mark coming in third with 50lbs 7oz. Photo today is Phil heading down the beach for his net on peg 3.

Water booking

Hall Farm (Small Lake)

Open weekend

Water booking

Hall Farm (Small Lake)

Open weekend

Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall

N/A

Low bank 1st Rob Calderon 58lbs 9oz 2nd Phil Whitmill 54lbs 8oz 3rd Bob Fox 38lbs 10oz High bank 1st Tony Parker 49lbs 6oz 2nd Ray Gibson 42lbs 3oz 3rd Fred Hunt 41lbs 10oz

Rob's day At Beggar's Hall today with the temperatures much lower than has been recently, but water levels very low at present as with most fisheries. The priority was to make sure the keepnets were submerged today – ok on the low bank as most pegs had a ‘beach’ but trickier in some of the high bank swims. No problem for me as drew peg 10 and easy to get into the water. Plan was to start on the feeder across to the island and by the pads and then the margins on the pole. Had around 1 ½ foot close in both sides deepening to 4 foot a couple of meters out. Also set up a deeper rig by the lily bed further out in around 6 foot. No bites on the feeder at all so a quick go on the deep pole rig bought a nice roach, a rudd and a carp around 3lb. Couldn’t see much from peg 10 but Graham over on 16 looked fishless and Tony Heath on 12 seemed just to have one fish. Into the last couple of hours and after feeding the margins noticed a few swirls from good carp close in. First try to my left under the willow produced an instant bite and a decent carp around 8lb. Strong gear on the pole prevented any chance of the fish getting near the pads. More fish seemed to be on the right margin so concentrated on that side. Couple of bites produced two good carp – both doubles. Nothing on paste or corn today – all on dead maggots. Graham across looked to be having a good finish on the feeder near the island, not sure about anyone else. Finished with two or three decent carp by the edge – not too many fish today but of a good size. Just one fish lost today in the pads. Weighed in the low bank first – Tony Heath 17lb 13oz, mine going 58lb 9oz, enough to top the bank, Bob Fox on peg 6 38lb 10oz for third which included 3 or 4 bream, Tony Cruci on peg 5 weighing 28lb 4oz, but had lost several fish today. Further down on 4 Peter weighed 23lb 13oz after a good start and Phil on peg 3 had a good match weighing 54lb 8oz for a close second on the bank. Also close on the high bank with all catching a few, Tony Parker on inform peg 19 first with 49lb 6oz, second from peg 17 (again) Ray with 42lb 3oz and Fred third from peg 21 with 41lb 10oz.

Club Match / Outing

Home Farm (Large Lake)

N/A

1st Gary Pickard 92lbs 11oz 2nd Darren Cope 75lbs 2oz 3rd Tony Cruci 20lbs 13oz

Gary's day Today was the monthly visit to Home Farm but on the Large Lake today. I was left with peg 13 opposite the island so a good draw and with room to my left - well until the pleasure anglers started showing up in the afternoon. Setting up there were a few carp moving around on top which looked encouraging and we were due for a much cooler day. Rob got off to a quick start with a carp in the first few minutes. It was a bit quieter in my swim but soon there were a few signs where I had been feeding some 6mm pellets out at 5 sections. The float shot under and I completely missed it. A few more missed bites later a carp was in the net. I had a slow but steady run of bites but started foulhooking fish as they dug out the silty bottom. Darren was also now catching a few carp fishing shallow out long. I had been feeding a few pellets near the island but nothing seemed to be doing shallow. Coming back short things had calmed down and I was now converting more bites into landed fish. Towards the top of the lake things were a lot less busy with Rob, Bob and Tony struggling for anything but roach. With a couple of hours to go I fed the edge and it soon started colouring up. After a few more fish on pellets short and more signs down the edge it was time for a try. Despite lots more signs of fish all I could seem to hook cleanly were perch and roach. Some nice roach but not the target. After the match it sounded like I was not only the one frustrated by the margins today. After staying down the margins for far too long without catching fish I had lost track a bit as to who was catching. Darren was having a strong finish but up the lake seemed quiet still. So it proved at the weigh in with the weights getting better as you came down the lake. Tony had 20lbs for third and then it was down to the last two with Darren and me to weigh. I had my weight at around 80lbs so, with Darren having three nets in I thought I had been overtaken. Darren ended up with 75lbs as some of the carp were on the smaller side and my 80lbs went 92lbs.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm (Large Lake)

N/A

1st Rob Calderon 88lbs 3oz 2nd Jeff Pearson 72lbs 15oz 3rd Tony Cruci 68lbs 13oz

Rob's day At Hall Farm today – another hot one – due to the weather and holidays, numbers down today so only six on the match today and it would be another half time weigh in. The level is right down at the moment and the first two pegs so shallow I left them out. All on the low bank today so with pegs 3, 4, 6, 8,10 and 12 in I drew peg 8 somewhere in the middle. Hadn’t given fishing shallow a good runout at Hall Farm this summer so decided just to fish the jigger for the first 4 hours and finish in the margins. With little wind, good conditions for fishing out long and soon had a couple of F1’s in the net. Not easy but a take every 10-15 minutes or so kept putting something in the net. Twelve a clock had the half time weigh in not knowing what had been caught although, as expected, a lot of fish showing in the early numbered pegs. Weights lower than I thought with Tony’s 18lb 4oz second to my 26lb 13oz at the half-way stage. With the second half starting and no more shade with the sun appearing around the tree now on peg 8 carried on shallow although started feeding the edge. A few more carp and F1’s kept it worthwhile continuing shallow although not frantic. A few splashes being heard now down the lake and a few fish showing in the left hand margin so, with an hour to go, dropped the shallow rig and concentrated close in. A few liners and a foul hooked fish showed it wasn’t going to be easy – I have had trouble catching the margin fish at Halls all summer. A quick change to the (dare I say it) feeder rod down the edge brought a couple of better carp but no more so back to the pole – groundbait and corn – had a couple more before I blew the whistle. As expected the second half weights were better – Bob on peg 12 weighing 33lb after a fishless first half. Peter had a good finish on peg 10 to register 58lb 8oz and mine went 88lb 3oz. Further down Jeff took second spot with 72lb 15oz, Fred 34lb 9oz and Tony on end peg 3 came third with 68lb 13oz. Very hot at the end but at least we all caught some fish today – hopefully some cooler weather and some rain to come soon.

Club Match / Outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

Malcolm Barker Rose Bowl 1 of 2

1st Kevin Turner 9lbs 2oz 2nd Mark Halverson 8lbs 14oz 3rd Fred Hunt 8lbs 5oz

Gary's day Today was a visit to MBL with the hot weather and the charity match the day before meaning we were missing a few regulars. It was going to be another hot and bright day so not what you really want for bream or tench. Out of the bag came peg 17 for me which is usually a good peg. The options were pretty straightforward today: one line near the lilies to my left; and another as far out as I could get before hitting weed (about 10m). To the right was pretty much out of the question due to weed. A quick try short on maggots whilst the groundbait on the other 2 lines settled produced a quick bite and a tench - but of just about an ounce. And that was the only bite I had there. A try by the near lilies produced a small perch but it was very quiet on what I expected to be my best line. Tony on peg 18 was getting a few small silvers on the other side of the lilies so this was very odd. Next bite I hooked into a small fish that suddenly became very big. When half a hooklength came back with frayed ends the culprit was clear I had a pike sitting where I hoped to be catching. An hour in I was really struggling and then Fred on peg 3 had a bream shortly followed by Kevin too on peg 10. Mark and Tony were also catching a few and I was looking at the wooden spoon. A couple of small silver by the lilies had me hoping the pike had moved off until one turned into a pike again. After a couple of minutes it decided to let go of this rudd. It was clearly still hungry and I had another rustle with it again about 30 mins later when it snaffled the fish I had on. Out long was no better with only the odd small rudd showing up. That was until I hooked something better which slowly moved off towards the weeds before breaking me. The fish just did not seem to like being anywhere near the lilies. Fred by now had a tench and Kevin soon had another bream. With a couple of hours to go I set a float very shallow and started flicking it towards the weedy right and started to get a few small rudd of maybe 1/2 ounce. It was a long way to ship the pole for not much weight. Fred had by now managed another tench and Kevin had lost a good carp and a tench. It seemed like every decent fish hooked today was heading into the nearest patch of lilies today. Over at the far end Mark had also been having a steady day with a bream and small fish from the off. It was a very close finish with less than a pound separating the top 3 today. Kevin's 2 bream taking him to the winner's spot with just over 9lbs; Mark with 1 bream and a good net of small silvers with just under 9lbs; and Fred's 2 tench and bream putting him in third spot. Today's photo is my peg with the pike filled lily bed to the left.

Charity match (Breathe Easy)

Hall Farm (Large Lake)

N/A

1st Gary Pickard 45lbs 8oz 2nd Fred Hunt 41lbs 10oz 3rd Alan Fox 40lbs 4oz Low bank section Peter Green High bank section Graham Carter 37lbs 15oz

Gary's day We were at Hall Farm today for the Breathe Easy charity match. After a few words from the Bishop's Stortford mayor it was time for the draw and out came peg 20 for me. What seems to be my traditional half way along the high bank. After walking past the car park end pegs and seeing all the fish moving around in them, those of us down the other end thought we were fishing for third at best. With a few fishing moving around on top I set up a shallow mugging rig on the pole and also a pellet waggler. With a couple of edge rigs for paste or corn and another rig for in front in about 7ft - I was done just as the all in sounded. It was a very slow start with no signs on the 7ft swim and the cruising carp seemed to be spooking away from loose feed out long. Mark opposite on peg 4 got off to a good start with an early carp and it sounded like the pegs to my right were catching too from the splashing. I finally started getting a few bites fishing out long and shallow with one in the net after about 45 mins. I then had a horrendous hour losing fish for no apparent reason. Finally another made it to the net but I was falling behind Fred and Peter in favoured pegs 1 and 2. The rest of the day was pretty much a case of trying shallow and mugging the odd carp away from the feed. The edges never kicked in. With about 45 mins to go I latched into what was to be my last fish with a mirror of about 11lbs making it to the net. All I could then do was watch Peter and Fred still catching the odd carp and John was also making a bit of a late run from peg 7. It looked like it was going to be pretty close over on the Low Bank with Fred and Peter being pretty much fish for fish and looking to be the winners. Over on our bank it was going to be down to how well the higher numbers fished and there had been lots of splashing sounds during the day from that direction. The match ended up very close with one decent fish covering the top 5. I managed to nudge into the lead with 45lbs with Fred on 41lbs, Alan on 40lbs, Peter on 39lbs and Graham with 37lbs. Well done all and we managed to raise around £500 for Breathe Easy.

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

Taylor's Lake (Abbey Cross Water)

N/A

Abbey Cross won the day with 59 points to Bishop's Stortford's 46 points 1st Tony Cruci 19lbs 3oz 2nd Fred Hunt 18lbs 1oz 3rd Peter Green 16lbs 4oz

Phil's day (Rob still on holiday) Morning to all. The Weds club fished its monthly match against Abbey Cross on their water Taylor's Lake at the car park end. I drew peg 8; it's an ok peg but you are piggy in the middle with 7 and 9 and all 3 fishing towards the same small island. I made up 2 lines on the pole at 6ft deep and found 2 rigs that did the job perfectly. Cupped out some red maggots and sweetcorn with micro pellets. This was my plan for the day which started off really well on corn getting half decent roach and rudd but that didn't last long before it tapered off. Then down to working both swims to get the odd fish. I changed over to maggots and kept the lines going but it was getting so you just got one fish every 20 minutes but I enjoyed my day - caught a few fish and weighed in 3lbs 8oz. The pic is my peg for the day and comfortable it was. Abbey Cross won the day points with 59 to 46. Well done to Tony and Fred for top weights on the day 19lbs 3oz and 18lbs 1oz with Peter Green pushing them close with 16lbs 4oz for third.

Club Match / Outing

Wickham Hall

N/A

1st Gary Pickard 12lbs 1oz 2nd Mark Halverson 7lbs 1oz 3rd Kevin Turner 6lbs 8oz

Gary's day Today we were back at Wickham Hall. The last match here was a bit of a grueller with not many small fish showing. Wednesday's match suggested things had picked up. Out of the bag came peg 11 which I was happy with being near a corner and plenty of space. I set up a deck rig for out at 11m - a full top 3 in 11ft or so and a whip for closer in 7ft. The waggler rod also got a dusting off in case I needed to go chasing small fish further out. The far bank looked really inviting today as they had a bit of shade with the 3 other banks being in full sun on what was due to be another hot day. It proved to be a very slow start for all with just the odd small rudd coming out. About 30 mins in I had 1 of the small chub and I was off the mark. Bites though were very few and after an hour I had 3 small chub. There just did not seem to be any rudd or roach in my swim. Elsewhere others were struggling but with Darren now on 2 lost carp on peg 5 which is very weedy at the moment. A try on the waggler near the lillies to my left produced a few very small rudd but only if I cast very close to them. The long / deep pole line was a waste of time - I did not have a sign on that all day. By half way through I had had a couple more small chub and then hooked something much bigger. After a few hairy moments on the whip I had a 4lb carp in the next. It was a good thing too as Mark opposite had also just landed one on the feeder. Darren was still having a nightmare losing carp and Kevin over on peg 1 was also now getting a steady run of small fish. I needed another bonus fish. A try on the feeder to the lillies whilst I had something to eat had the tip hammering round as the carp charged into the lillies and off it came. Back to the whip and the bites were still few and far between and only seemed to be the small chub. 30 minutes after the lost feeder carp the float went under and the chub suddenly turned into a carp and went charging off. Straight to the lillies and it was carp 2 Gary 1. The last 90 mins was a case of working the whip line but having moved the whip rig onto a top kit as the wind had picked up. I had another couple of bonus fish with a hybrid of a couple of pounds and a bream. As long as Darren did not start landing carp I was looking good. After another hot day it was time for the weigh in. My 3 bonus fish were heavier than expected taking me to just over 12lbs. I was pretty sure that would be enough as I had only spotted Mark with a carp although Kevin had been catching quite a few silvers. Mark's carp made all the difference edging him ahead of Kevin with 7lbs 1oz to Kevin's 6lbs 8oz.

Club Match / Outing

Wickham Hall

Summer League 4 of 6

1at Rob Calderon 11lbs 2nd Jeff Pearson 8lbs 4oz 3rd Steve Foster 5lbs 11oz

Rob's Day At Wickham Hall on another hot day – temperatures around 30c and little wind. Numbers down today with seven on the match but welcoming David for his first match with us. I decided to leave the corner pegs out today to try and make it fairer – pegged 3 across to 14. I drew peg 19 near the bottom of the slope – the level was down so set up the box in the water today. Decided just to go for small fish today with the hope of a bonus fish or two – set up a couple of whips and a pole for out long – no rods today. A few small fish swimming close in when we arrived but these disappeared at the start so went on the 5m whip in around 6 foot of water. Fed the long line with a couple of balls of groundbait and concentrated on the whip. After a few minutes starting getting bites albeit from small fish but never the less bites. Tried the long pole a couple of times on corn and maggot but same size fish as on the whip so spent most of the day short. Seemed to get a run of small fish (with a few better fish around 3 oz or so) then they would disappear for a while before returning. Bill had a good start with a few fish including a 4oz carp on peg 2 and Steve on my left seemed to be catching a better stamp of fish including a few nice chublets around 6-8 oz. Fred quiet on peg 3 with strict orders not to cast past peg 4s platform, Jeff looked to be leading – the only one to get into the bream, landing 3 although claiming 5! Into the last couple of hours and struck into something bigger, after a struggle on the whip landed a hybrid around 2lb. A final try on the long pole was cut short (literally) when the 7 section broke in half – nice! At the weigh in David over on peg 14 had a tough day – losing 3 good fish, Jeff's fish went 8lb 4oz, and Tony weighed 1lb 3oz. My fish went 11lb for top spot, Steve’s 5lb 11oz and Bill’s 5lb 6oz So pleased with the amount of bites today despite the small size of the fish, most of us catching a few. Thanks to David for the delivery of cold drinks today and commiserations on the lost fish, hopefully see you again soon.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm (Large Lake)

N/A

1st Phil Whitmill 150lbs 2nd Kevin Turner 124lbs 4oz 3rd Bob Fox 79lbs 12oz

Phil's day Hi to all. The Sunday BSDAS lads fished its match at Hall Fm big lake . The temperature was a much better 25 degrees with a strong wind blowing and for good measure 15 minutes of light rain. I drew peg 2 not a bad peg and has done well lately, what with the wind I only fished one margin on the pole top kit plus 2 sec. Started off trying different baits but just the odd roach and rudd but little else so decided I would adopt the tactics from Weds match and about 11ish had my first carp about 5lbs this was a smart move because throughout the day with the odd change of bait when it dulled down it kept the fish coming . I ended my day filling 3 nets with carp of all sizes. ... Well done Phil with Kevin also having a good day with 124lbs and then Bob just piping Darren with 79lbs.

Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall

N/A

Low Bank 1st Phil Whitmill Phil 82lbs 5oz 2nd Peter Green 77lbs 10oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 34lbs 6oz High Bank 1st Rob Calderon 72lbs 13oz 2nd Fred Hunt 50lbs 3rd Bob Fox 45lbs 12oz

Rob's day Beggar's Hall today – bit cooler than late but warm and virtually no wind (rare for Beggar's). A couple of matches ago I did say that I never wanted to draw peg 21 again after losing so many fish, so not surprised when out of the bag came 21! Also one of the golden pegs although I wasn’t sure I could match a couple of the other pegs, notably peg 19 where Fred managed to draw again! After the last time on peg 21 when a lot of fish ended up in the large lily bed, a had set up a heavier feeder outfit just in case so at least I could put that to use. In addition I also had a couple of margin pole rigs, one for paste, one for dead maggots/corn. Also a pellet waggler rod although very few carp cruising around at the start. Started out in front on the feeder and after 20 minutes had a good pull round and an 8lb carp landed- followed by another smaller one and a crucian around 1 ½ pound. A quick go on the waggler produced nothing so back to the feeder. After a quiet spell tried down the left near the pads and had an instant bite – the gear held up and another good carp in the net. Next one hooked made it to the pads so first fish lost. The problem fishing close to the pads is that they are already in them when picking up the rod – something about these pads that makes the fish crazy! About half-way now and a try on the pole – first maggots but too many small perch so onto corn and 5 minutes later a good carp in the net around 10lb. Onto paste and again an instant bite followed by a good fight – just managed to get the fish away from the pads and landed a good sized carp – looked bigger than the 16lb it weighed. Also another crucian around 2lb. At this time only one fish lost but that was about to change – next three came off . Managed two more on the tip before a quite last 30 minutes when I packed away the pole thinking the pegs to the right had done better – a lot of splashing from Bob on the next peg (20). You can’t see a lot from peg 21 although I could see Peter's landing net come out a few times on peg 4. Weighed in the High Bank first – after Tony Cruci’s 33lb from peg 22 my fish went 72lb 13oz. Bob not as much as I thought next peg but still had 45lb and Fred had an even 50lb making up the top weights on the bank – Graham on 16 with a hard luck story, losing one that he reckoned to be over 20lb at the net near the end. On the Low Bank – Jeff third with 34lb 6oz from peg 12 but two good weights and a close call for first and second – Peter's 77lb 10oz from peg 4 just beaten by Phil’s 82lb 5oz from peg 10 – a great weight from a peg that hasn’t been producing recently. So we all caught a few today – nice to see the top two weights coming from the Low Bank.

Club Match / Outing

Home Farm (Small Lake)

N/A

1st Gary Pickard 102lbs 2nd Darren Cope 99lbs 13oz 3rd Tony Cruci 38lbs 15oz

Gary's day It was a trip to Home Farm's small lake today and, with a bit of break in the weather (only 20c today), we were hoping it would fish a bit better than recently. Today I was going to be on peg 5 - one I have been waiting to draw for ages. Phil on peg 1 looked to have lot of fish in front of him and there was the odd fish moving around before the off. Plumbing up I found my shallow rig was also pretty much my bottom rig with about 20 inches of water in front of me. The water level had really dropped on the lake. It was to be a start out at 6 sections pinging a few pellets over the top and looking around for cruising carp to have a flick at with the bait. About 20 mins in I found one willing to take the pellet - and it fell off. I needed the fish to stay on the hook as nothing was really being caught. Darren on peg 3 started catching about that time too and the fish were pretty big according to Rob over on peg 7 who was keeping tabs on me and Darren. Slowly I started getting a few more bites but was having issues keeping them on the hook. About 90 mins in it was Gary 3 carp 3. A try on paste proved a bit of a waste of time with fish in the area but not taking the bait. Fred opposite me on peg 6 was having the same issue with fish showing but not wanting to feed. Coming up to the half way mark I was falling behind Darren who was still catching whilst I was struggling to get a bite. A quick run of carp fishing a 6mm pellet on the bottom on my longer line was welcome and I was back in the race. Coming up to the last 2 hours it was time to see if anything was in the margins. The answer was yes with lots of signs but getting them on the hook was a different matter. Double corn and patience seemed to work and they were a good bit bigger than the fish out longer. Tony was also having a good finish with a few decent carp heading to his net. The opposite bank was first to weigh and, apart from Tony who had had a good finish, it was tough going. Phil down on peg 1 had a mixed day with a few good carp but quite a few lost. It looked like it was between me and Darren and I knew he had some decent carp. After admitting to 15 carp and probably around 70lbs his 2 nets went 99lbs. I thought I had about 90lbs and when the first net went 46lbs, a little more than I expected, I knew it was going to be close. I ended up just edging past Darren with 102lbs.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm (Small Lake)

His 'n' Hers mixed pairs

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm (Large Lake)

N/A

High Bank 1st John Carter 144lbs 2nd Matt Mountain 84lbs 7oz Low Bank 1st Jeff Pearson 51lbs 14oz 2nd Peter Green 45lbs 12oz

Rob's day It was Hall Farm today with another hot day forecast – ten on the match so five on each bank including Matt who joined us for the first time. Left out pegs 26 and 25 today to try and even out the High Bank but the pegs in the 20s still favoured on the High Bank. Out of the bag came 16 for me so was going to be hard to keep up today. With another hot day we again split the match into 2 halves with a mid-match weigh 09:30 – 12:00 and 12:30 – 15:30. I was mainly going to focus short and in the margins today so just set up rigs for corn and a paste one. Quite a strong wind blowing left to right today and no fish showing (all seemingly up around pegs 1 and 26!) so ruled out shallow. Started short with pellets for just one roach in the first hour so tried closer in with paste. After a couple of missed bites had one carp but no more bites. A few fish in the margins now so a try with corn bought three more carp before the half time whistle. Fish very spooky as usual. Weights relatively low after the first weigh in although Jeff on peg 2 led the Low Bank with 15-6 and on the High Bank Matt topped the weights with 33-6 to John’s 26-6. My four fish went 13-4. Onto the second half and more fish were showing in the margins, but not hanging around long and disappearing out of the peg after a quick munch. Paste proved a bit of a disaster (again) with a run of foul hooked and lost fish, so ditched that and just concentrated on groundbait and corn. Fish didn’t really switch on until the last 30 minutes when I had a run of fish to boost my weight up to 59lb. I knew there were going to be a few better weights further down the High Bank – they also seemed to be catching well on the Low Bank – at one point looked across to see all five playing fish. John Carter came good in the second half from peg 24 (might as well have put pegs 26 in (will do that next time – I wouldn’t have had to put peg 16 in!) ) with a total of 144lb – second Matt with 84lb 7oz from peg 20 (well done Matt for your first match with us). On the Low Bank predictably Jeff on peg 2 came out top with 51lb 14oz but was pushed close with Peter second with 45lb 12oz from peg 6. So, all caught a few fish in the only on a nice warm day! Today's photo is new boy Matt.

Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall

Ralph Jarvis Cup 1 of 2

1st Gary Pickard 124lbs 7oz 2nd Darren Cope 100lbs 1oz 3rd Mark Halverson 51lbs 5oz

Gary's day After another red hot week it was going to be sunny and windy for us today at Beggar's Hall. After the last few matches we were all wanting peg 19 so I was very happy when it came out of the draw bag for me - the pressure was on. A try out on the long(ish) pole with pellets to start with produced no bites but it gave time for the sun to swing around so I could see the water in front of me. It was then time to try a pellet waggler where I had been feeding from the off. Nothing to start with but the odd carp was starting to show further over. About 30 mins in Mark on 21 and then Darren on 20 had carp and I was 1 down. It was then my turn for a bite only for it come off near the net (it was not going to be the only one that got way today). Thankfully I had another quick bite and this time I was off the mark. Fred over on peg 18 was having a slow start and also having problems with lost fish. Darren though was now starting to get a steady run of bites out on a waggler whilst I was struggling to get decent presentation out in front. A swap to a bomb and pellet seemed to be the answer with a quick bite but then lots of liners and no bites. Swapping between bomb when the wind was playing up and waggler in the calmer spells kept the fish ticking over but I was losing far too many. Darren was still doing well and Mark was also catching a few. I could also hear the odd splashing down towards Fred on 18. It was feeling like I was slipping behind Darren who was having a very steady day. Changing to a different hook pattern (a Guru QM1) seemed to help with the lost fish and I was finally landing a better proportion. Time for a try in the margins with about 90 mins to go. I had been feeding to the right near the bush and the first put in looked encouraging with a few signs on the float. They turned out to be small roach despite fishing double corn on the hook. I fed more heavily with corn and also dropped some to the left edge before heading back out to the middle on the bomb as the wind was quite gusty now. After a couple more fish I tried the right margin again and it was still full of small fish so I ditched that edge. Back to the middle as the wind had dropped got me another good carp. Then it was down the left margin for the last 25 mins or so and they had suddenly arrived and I had another 3 good carp in quick succession. Unless Tony way up on peg 17 had been bagging and keeping it quiet it looked like it was between me and Darren. The flurry of margin fish was crucial and made all the difference giving me 124lbs to Darren's 100lb and with Mark having 51lbs including some nice crucians with one over 2lbs.

Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall

Low bank 1st Bill Beeston 63lbs 1oz 2nd Tony Heath 58lbs 15oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 15lbs 3oz High bank 1st Fred Hunt 104lbs 3oz 2nd Rob Calderon 80lbs 3oz 3rd John Carter 48lbs 2oz

Rob's day It was a game of two halves today at Beggars Hall – literally. With the high temperatures at the moment, we had a half time weigh in today (hydration break) so the match was split into two halves – 09:30 - 12:15 then 13:00 – 5:30. Thanks to John Carter today for his help on the first weigh in – it was hard work in the hot weather. I drew peg 18 today, not a peg you would be displeased with although there is little shade that side of the lake. Set up a feeder and a pellet waggler rod - also a couple of rigs for down the edges. Very shallow to the right in about a foot of water on the ledge (very weedy down there) and by the reeds to the left in around 2½ foot. Started on the pellet waggler without a bite – few fish showing at this point, so went on the feeder expecting a pull round at some point. Nothing straight out so down to the right. No bites so after another try on the waggler and a quick go on paste by the reeds, we were at the half-way stage and fishless. On the other side Tony Heath looked to have had a good start landing a couple of quick carp and Bill also catching a few. At the half time weigh in it looked to be hard on our bank – Bob one carp on 21, Peter fishless 20, Fred 2 carp on 19 and further up nothing for Ray on 17. Up to John on 16 where the warm wind was blowing into the island and he had a good morning – weigh in 37lb 4oz on the feeder. On the low bank – Bill and Tony being the only ones to have had a few weighing 21lb 5oz and 19lb 6oz respectively. After feeding the peg before the half time whistle, returned to find a few fish in the right hand margin – had one straight away but they were proving tricky to hook – seemed to be preoccupied feeding on the bankside vegetation rather than taking the hookbait. Eventually had a run of fish – all a good size and ended up with 9 fish for 80lbs. This was no match for Fred though next door who caught well in his margin and ended up winning the Bank with 104lbs 3oz. John only added two carp in the second half to finish with 48lb 2oz for third. On the low bank it was close with Bill's 63lb 1oz pipping Tony's 58lb 15oz with Jeff third on peg 10 with 15lb 3oz. There were a number of very small carp caught today – some under a pound – have not seen too many of these in the past and a good sign for the Lake. Glad to get back to the car for a drink today (thanks Tony). Photo today is a very happy Fred.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm (Large Lake)

N/A

1st Gary Pickard 111lbs 3oz 2nd Darren Cope 81bs 10oz 3rd Fred Hunt 76lbs 11oz

Gary's day It was Hall Farm today, it's 4th match in 8 days so it could be a tough one. Waiting for the draw there were a few fish topping which looked a good sign. With us all on the low bank you were after a low number and I was happy when peg 4 came out for me. I decided on the usual: long line to try and get a few shallow; a shorter line; and then the margins. With a bit of a breeze blowing the long line was going to be hard work today. It was a slow start on the short line but it looked a slow start for all. After a couple of fish in the net the next 2 came off so it was time to try the long line. Almost straightaway I hooked another shallow which also fell off. The next one made it to the net but shallow was not really working. Fred in peg 2 was having a slow start as was Tony to my right on peg 6. Everyone else was hidden by the bushes along the edge and the wind meant you could not hear much. Slowly the short line sorted itself out as did the long line fishing on the bottom rather than shallow and by the midway mark I was flying with 1 net full and onto the next net. The curse of the next net then struck and I went through another spell of lost fish. With 90 mins to go it was time to try the margins using double corn as there were lots of silvers about and they were quite deep. A couple of good fish was encouraging but then it was a frustrating end to the match with lots of foulhooked fish and others coming off for no reason. More work to do in sorting out the HF margins. Whilst I was having a poor finish Fred looked to be hauling them in on the feeder and my lead looked to be getting smaller by the minute. It sounded like it had been tough in the deeper water pegs although there had been the odd splashing and Fred was catching well towards the end. It still looked like it was going to be the expected battle between pegs 2 and 4, however, Darren decided to muscle into the frame with just over 81lbs off peg 12 - the best it has done for quite some time. At the scales I ended up with a winning 111lbs with Fred taking 3rd with 76lbs. Today's photo is Darren borrowing one of Fred's nets of fish as I forgot to take a photo earlier.

Over 65 Match

Hall Farm (Large Lake)

Over 65 cup

1st Graham Carter 86lbs 6oz 2nd John Carter 86lbs 3oz 3rd Tony Heath 75lbs 3oz

Rob's day Back to Hall Farm, this time for the over 65's match – nine on today so all on the low bank – 1-10 (no peg 7 as a few wasps around there causing issues). We all wanted a low number peg today so a bit disappointed to draw peg 9 – in between Peter on 10 and Jeff on 8 Just set up a couple of shallow rigs and a couple for the margins today – also a feeder (also for close in). Not the greatest peg for the margins – a small shelf right in at about 2 ½ feet sloping off into the depths at 7-8 foot then deeper further out. Started on the shallow rigs and a fish after 5 minutes promised a lot but sadly this was the only bite after a couple of hours. A quick try on the feeder short bought a quick pull round but this somehow came off. With 2 ½ hours left it was the margins or nothing. Jeff looked to be having a good start with a couple of carp and three skimmers, Peter also now catching a few. Laying the rig in with bait going down the slope was always going to be an issue with foul hookers and that’s what happened. A couple of carp landed but was losing half of what I was hooking. Eventually started to get proper bites and caught reasonably well till the end to weigh 60lb 13oz – way off the top weight I thought – if we were catching well for the higher number pegs surely the lower numbers would be bagging up. Peter had a really good finish – Jeff also catching. At the weigh in a lot closer all round than I thought. Peter put 70lb on the scales and Jeff 61lb 13oz. The better weights did come from the car park end but not by the amount expected – John Carter's fish went 86lb 3oz from peg 6, Tony Heath 75lb 3oz from 5 to take third place and John Todd 31lb 6oz from peg 4. Fred's fish went 64lb 11oz from peg 3. Next was Graham on peg 2, firstly weighing 4oz of roach which would be crucial, others had put back their silvers. With Graham's two carp nets his total was 86lb 6oz – pipping John by 3oz. Finally, Bill on peg 1 weighed 54lb 5oz but apparently losing a lot of fish around the reeds. Well done to Graham today (and today's photo) for his win and thanks for all taking part.

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

Hall Farm (Large Lake)

It was a Bishop's Stortford win today with 42 points to Abbey Cross's 36 Low bank 1st Fred Hunt 76lb 2nd Peter Green 74lb 11oz 3rd Graham Carter 55lb 2oz. High bank 1st Rob Calderon 66lb 1oz 2nd Alan Fox 61lb 2oz 3rd Bob Fox 58lb 5oz

Rob's day Hall Farm today for an Inter club match with Abbey Cross – some good weights recently coming from here so should be a good day with hopefully all catching well. This is the second of four matches scheduled within 8 days on this lake. Drew peg 23 today with Alan Fox to the right of me on peg 25 – no peg 26 in today. Decided on mainly fishing shallow today – then into the margins – also had a short pole rig set up for 6 meters in around 4 ½ foot. Started shallow – although a fair wind blowing down the lake into peg 26 today causing a few problems. Not a sign on this after 45 minutes so tried to short line. Had a couple of carp and a roach – then lost one (foul hooked). Had fed a few pellets down the edge and after a couple of hours the carp had started to come in really close – had several good size fish rooting around my keepnets. Couldn’t ignore these so a quick look on paste brought a decent carp, but no more on paste the rest of the match despite trying a few times. No more bites out on the short line or shallow so concentrated on the margin fish. Feeding a small amount of groundbait and fishing just a top kit being patient brough a few bites but also a few foulhooked fish lost. At times about a dozen fish close in feeding so a bit frustrating I wasn’t catching more – I have to work out a better way of getting more clean bites. Not sure how my bank was fishing although heard a few splashes from either side, Alan and Bob on 21. On the other side after a slow start could see Jeff, Phil and Peter all catching well going into the last couple of hours, and Fred was getting one a cast fishing the feeder to his left. A couple of more carp to finish and one on the whistle, (some better size fish today – two or three around 7-8lb) and that was it. At the weigh in, close on both banks – my 66lb just beating Alan’s 61lb and Bob’s 58lb. The low bank mainly fished well – with the exception of the higher numbered pegs, Fred winning with 76lb with Peter second with 74lb 11oz and Graham third with 55lb 2oz. It was a Bishop's Stortford win today with 42 points to Abbey Cross's 36 - a tight match Thanks to Alan Fox for his help with the scoresheet and Ray for giving me some water after I left all my drinks in the fridge.

Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall

Stone Cup 1 of 2

High bank 1st Kevin Turner 249lbs 3oz 2nd Rich Beeston 130lbs 6oz Low bank 1st Gary Pickard 152lbs 10oz 2nd Mark Halverson 107lbs 2oz

Gary's day After a very hot week it was thankfully a lot cooler for today's match. Out of the bag came peg 6 for me - not too bad I thought. When Kevin picked out peg 19 again where he won it from last time we were here he looked like the man to beat It was an eventful walk to the pegs when Bill's wheel sheared off his trolley. After helping Bill move his gear we then found someone was already fishing the peg he had drawn! After that drama the plan for today was going to be simple (if the wind allowed): a longish pole line with hard pellets to start; pellet waggler and bomb towards the island; and then down the margin(s) at the end. The pole line was a waste of time as it seemed to be full of roach even on 6mm pellets - some nice fish but not the intended targets. After 30 mins or so I had seen a few carp milling around where I had been firing out pellets for the waggler and I was soon into a decent carp and off the mark. The next couple of hours were pretty good with the odd carp showing each time I was just about to switch from the waggler. A quick go on the bomb and pellet under the waggler line also produced a few carp but seemingly a bit smaller ones. About the half-way mark I jumped off my box, which I had set out into the lake as the water level has really dropped, to get another drink and wandered down to see Tony for some info as you cannot see anyone else on peg 6. Tony had had a couple and Kevin was flying catching steadily from the off. After catching a few more on the pellet waggler and bomb it was time to try the margin. My options were quite limited as the willow has really grown and there was no way I could get under it. Fishing corn and micros there were some encouraging signs on the float after a few minutes and then it shot under and I was into another carp. It came in with quite a lot of weed up the line and it looked like I was on the edge of an unseen weed bed where I had chosen to fish the edge. Not ideal. The last hour was frustrating - there were fish there but getting a clean bite was not easy with the wind gusting and willow breaches waving around. I had just started to work it out when the whistle went and that was it. It was a busy 6 hours and plenty of fish - a lot better than my last visit to Beggars on peg 7 for just the 2 carp. It looked like Kevin had walked the match but Rich had also been catching on peg 21 (after doing a bit of wading out to start with to rescue a pole section) and so had Mark on peg 4. Beggars had fished its socks off today with the top 4 weights all over 100lb. Well done Kevin with a huge 249lbs and a new lake record with myself next with 152lbs, Rich with 130lbs and Mark 107lbs. Picture today is Darren with a rather lump caught on the pole and weighing in at just over 20lbs.

Charity match (BHF)

Hall Farm (Large Lake)

Water booking (from 6pm)

Hall Farm (Small Lake)

Club Match / Outing

Cancelled due to heat wave Wickham Hall

Club Match / Outing

Home Farm (Small Lake)

N/A

1st Kevin Turner 72lbs 3oz 2nd Peter Green 42lbs 5oz 3rd Gary Pickard 35lbs 1oz

Gary's day And we are back after the close season break for official Club matches and we picked the start of a scorching few days. It was off to Home Farm's small lake today which has not been fishing great this year so far with the fish seeming to favour one end or the other with those on the wrong end only being able to look at others catching. Out of the draw bag came peg 9 for me - in middle of the lake so equally good and bad hopefully. As we were setting up there were carp milling all around on the surface and looking like they might be up for feeding today as a few were gobbing at bits on the surface. Come the all-in whistle they had done their usual disappearing trick but did come back on top eventually. The plan today was to catch loads shallow (it was only about 3 feet deep anyway) towards the middle at around 10 metres and then keep filling the nets down the margins. Whilst I waited for the carp to come back on the surface I tried 6mm hard pellets on a shorter line and had a very encouraging small carp about 3lbs after 20 mins. After that though it was just small fish nudging the pellet around. It was also proving a slow start on the rest of the lake. A try out long trying to mug the carp cruising around was frustrating: you needed the Sun out to see the fish but the slightest shadow of the pole being cast over the carp you were after sent it swimming off at high speed. Eventually I connected with one only for it to fall off. It was still proving hard on the lake although Kevin on peg 7 was now getting a few and a few foulhooked fish too. I managed 3 more carp by the half-way mark but it was proving difficult. Peter on hotly favoured peg 1 after recent results was also now catching and his fish looked much bigger and then everyone suddenly seemed to have 1 or 2 carp in their nets which levelled things up. Kevin meanwhile had been having a steady run of carp also fishing long trying to mug fish and was looking a run away winner. The second half of my match was hard work only stringing together another 4 fish with a couple more lost along the way. Peter was still catching, although slowing towards the end, and Rob on peg 2 also getting a bit of a late run of fish. No one though looked to have caught up with Kevin and so it was: Kevin ended up with 72lbs, Peter 42lbs, myself sneaking in next with 35lbs and then Darren with 26lbs. As ever though at Home Farm there were plenty of fish that failed to get in the net that could reshuffled the results.

Water booking (to noon)

Hall Farm (Small Lake)

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm (Large Lake)

Summer League 3 of 6

Low bank 1st Tony Parker 41lbs 12oz 2nd Peter Green 38lbs 7oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 37lbs 12oz High bank 1st John Carter 142lbs 10oz 2nd Bill Beeston 56lbs 10oz 3rd Rob Calderon 55lbs 11oz

Rob's day At Hall Farm today – a warm day promised with no rain. Fourteen on the lake today – had to split it eight on the low bank and six on the high bank. All wanted a draw at the car park end but out came peg 18 for me so was going to tough to compete with the pegs in the 20s especially 26. Kept it simple today – thought I would fish shallow for most of the day and the edges later. Quite a few fish showing on top at the start. Did set up a rig for the bottom at around 6 foot but only one foul hooker lost on this line today. Started shallow at 13 meters and a good start with two carp in the first 20 minutes and a couple of foul hookers lost. Kept on this for a couple of hours but surprisingly no more bites. Tried the short line a couple of times but nothing. From early on a few carp had been visiting the left hand edge – not so much colour in the lake now and could see the fish clearly – some good commons but as usual very spooky and disappeared when putting a rig in. Tried the shallow rig a couple more times but nothing so concentrated on the margins, just dropping the rig in with a bit of groundbait and being patient. Had a couple on this but very few proper bites. Could only see the other bank but seemed very hard for pegs 13, 10 and 8 – Jeff had caught a few on the pole and Tony Parker seemed to be doing well on the tip. Further down Phil seemed to be finding it hard (maybe with peg 1 in) but Ray was catching a few next to him. Not sure about my bank but no doubt they were catching on pegs 24 and 26. Into the last hour – fish still very spooky – could see them coming in briefly, swimming out, circling and coming back in again. A change to a lighter rig helped and managed a few at the end to bump my weight up. At the weigh in – on the low bank the high number pegs did fish hard, Adrian's one carp the only fish from the first 3 pegs. Better further down with Jeff's 37lb 12oz good enough for third, Peter second with 38lb 7oz but Tony Parker taking top weight with 41lb 12oz from peg 5 On the high bank my 55lb 11oz made third place just behind Bill’s 56lb 10oz from peg 24. Only problem for John Carter on peg 26 was not having enough nets – he weighed in 142lb 10oz for an easy win (would have had over 160lb) Picture today is Tony Heath with his biggest fish – weighed at just over 14lb

Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall

N/A

Low bank 1st Mark Halverson 67lbs 8oz 2nd Fred Hunt 50lbs 10oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 50lbs High bank 1st Bill Beeston 62lbs 13oz 2nd Graham Carter 49lbs 7oz 3rd Tony Parker 44lbs 6oz

Rob's day We were at Beggar's Hall today – after some warm weather temperatures down a bit today with the promise of thundery showers. I drew peg 21 – the end peg today on the high bank, but a peg with bad memories for me. Last time I fished this I hooked a lot of fish but most ended up in the large bed of lilies to the left of the peg (hopefully that won’t happen today). A bit of a strange peg this – quite deep close in and no real margin to fish to – just a stump close in to the left then deepening off to the lily pads. A quick look on the pellet waggler for nothing, then a cast to the left near the pads on the feeder. This brought a quick bite and a 10lb carp quickly followed by another around 8lb. Things were looking good and soon after had another couple of small fish – a 2lb crucian (I think) and a 1lb carp. No fish in the lilies yet but that was about to change! Next four fish hooked dived straight for the pads and no amount of pressure could stop them. After another two lost fish tried away from the pads for no bites so back near the pads for another lost fish (and the second hybrid feeder lost) Also had a size 10 QM1 straightened! Half-way through we had the forecasted thunder showers (torrential rain) for a short while although still managed a savage pull round during this (also lost) A quick try on the pole now – nothing to the right but an instant bite on maggots to the left. Fish hooked but despite 21 elastic, 9lb line straight through to a 12 hook – couldn’t prevent the fish charging into the pads. Couldn’t put any more pressure on as I thought something would break. Another couple lost on the pole had me throwing that up the bank. Back to the feeder and managed to land a couple and lose a couple more before admitting defeat and hoping never to draw this peg again. Next to me Tony Heath had been struggling and had only one carp on the waggler. Elsewhere on the high bank Bill had done well from in form peg 19 and topped the bank with 62lb 13oz, Graham second 49lb 7oz from peg 17 and third from golden peg 18 Tony Parker with 44lb 6oz. Some good results from the low bank with Mark Halverson winning the bank and having top weight on the lake from peg 4 with 67lb 8oz – some good sized fish caught on paste. Next on the bank Fred with 50lb 10oz from peg 5 just pipping Jeff who had 50lb from peg 10. Nice to see some good weights coming from all over the lake today, not just the favoured pegs on the high bank. Today's photo is Mark.

Canoe Club event - Southmill to Sawbo Locks

River Stort

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

Taylor's Lake (Abbey Cross water)

N/A

Abbey Cross won with 46 points to Bishop's Stortford's 33 1st Alan Sims 21lbs 12oz 2nd Bill Beeston 16lbs 5oz 3rd Tony Parker 11lbs 10oz 4th Martin Adams 9lbs 3oz

Rob's day At Taylor's Lake today for another Inter Club match with Abbey Cross. Fishing the Top Lake as a large amount of the lilies were removed at the weekend. I drew peg 33 – a few pegs before where I fished last time, maybe not the best area but it looked ok – opposite the aerator. I was told (reliable sources) that this was a good feeder peg which didn’t help me as I had left the feeder rods at home! Decided on fishing out in front at around 11 ½ meters and close in on the 2 ½ meter whip – the depths about the same at around 5 foot. Fed the long line and started on the whip – interrupted after a couple of minutes by Barry at the next peg landing a tench that apparently turned into an F1 at the end! Catching quite well on the whip – small roach, perch and some rudd around 3-4 oz so kept on this a while. No signs on a couple of tries out long so back to the whip. Elsewhere a few fish coming out – Bill looked to have had a couple on peg 37, Alan Fox a good F1 opposite on 52 and a bit later on Fred had one on the feeder. Another try half-way through on corn bought an instant bite and a 1 ½ pound skimmer but no more. The wind was swirling around at this point causing issues with pole presentation, it also started to rain which seemed to put the small fish off. Unable to get any more bites on the whip, finished the match out long but sadly just a couple of small fish on maggot before the whistle blew. The lake fished better than recent matches with top weight going to Alan Sims with 21lb 12oz from peg 38, Bill Beeston second with 16lb 5oz (four F1s), Tony Parker 11lb 10oz third from peg 50 and Martin fourth from peg 9lb 3oz. Mine going 8lb 12oz to equal Jeff's weight. Team wise an easy win for Abbey Cross today 46 points to 33 – thanks to Martin and Alan and Abbey Cross for hosting us today.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

Low bank 1st Jeff Pearson 62lbs 3oz 2nd Peter Green 61lbs 7oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 48lbs 6oz High bank 1st Gary Pickard 84lbs 8oz 2nd Rob Calderon 48lbs 7oz 3rd Graham Carter 46lbs 11oz

Rob's day At Hall Farm today after a week of temperatures into the 30’s. A bit cooler today but still sunny with a gentle breeze blowing across the lake into peg 26. Wasn’t too sure how it would fish today due to the recent heat and the fact that it was noted that the fish were spawning at the weekend. Walking round the lake early on, a lot of fish swimming around in nearly all pegs and many fish sitting around in the margins, especially on the low bank. I drew peg 26 – didn’t win a couple of weeks ago but a peg you would definitely have, always some fish close in and across to the reeds. Set up a short pole line, margin rigs and a couple of shallow ones as it looked like the fish could have a feed on the top. Started trying to mug a few swimming around, but no success as the fish seemed very spooky. No bites short on the bottom so tried the method across to the reeds. After several line bites managed a couple but didn’t really want to fish the tip so went back to the pole shallow. In retrospect maybe should have spent more time on the feeder, as had one fish on the jigger then nothing. After a couple of hours fish were appearing in the margins – close to the keepnets – some good fish including a couple around 10lb or so. This is where it went a bit wrong – I spent most of the remainder of the match trying to catch the margin fish – they were very spooky and I foul hooked more fish than properly hooked ones including a fish around 8lb hooked in the tail that took around 15 minutes of tug of war before somehow netting it. Definitely should have rethought the tactics for the last couple of hours as despite the number of fish ended with 48lb 7oz – not a terrible weight but not great for this peg in May. That was enough for second on the high bank though with Gary Pickard weighing in a creditable 84lb 8oz from peg 18 – a great result – a lot of fish caught shallow I believe [About 50:50 - Gary]. Third on the bank Graham Carter with 46lb 11oz from peg 22. The low bank fished well with peg 2 winning the day, Jeff Pearson weighing in 62lb 3oz, Peter Green second with 61lb 7oz from peg 6 and Phil completing the frame with 48lb 6oz from peg 8 So we all caught some fish today – maybe a rethink before the next Hall Farm match needed. Thank to Gary today with the help in weighing in and well done on top weight on the day. Photo today is a very happy Jeff.

Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall

Summer League 2 of 6

High bank 1st Bill Beeston 38lbs 1oz 2nd Tony Parker 34lbs 10oz 3rd Graham Carter 19lbs 13oz Low bank 1st John Carter 38lbs 15oz 2nd Rob Calderon 31lbs 2oz 3rd Bob Fox 6lbs 11oz

Rob's day At Beggar's Hall today – 14 on the lake today with a brisk wind blowing down the lake into the car park side. Hadn’t fished the high bank for a while so fancied a draw on that bank, so no surprise when I drew peg 12, next to Ray on 13. The lilies had now grown on these pegs so just set up a feeder rod for by the lilies and further out to the island, and a couple of pole rigs for close to the lilies and down the edge. After a slow start finally got a bite on the feeder and landed a small carp around 3lb. Ray then had a couple – a small carp around a pound and a tench. Looking across Tony looked to be fishless on peg 16 but next to him on 17 Bill had caught a couple of decent carp. A change to the pole with dead maggots on the hook resulted in a quick bite and straight in the lilies! Next put in and managed to get the carp away from the snags – just – and landed a good double. A bit frustrating as the next two resulted in the hook being transferred from the carp into the lilies – the fish seem to be already in them when striking. Tried a bit away from the pads but no bites. The next couple of hours was quiet – into the last 45 minutes and had packed up the pole (not a sign in the margins) and concentrated on the feeder by the pads. Had 3 more pull rounds in the last 30 minutes, one small carp about 2lb, one decent fish around 8lb and a 3lb bream. Ended the match with 31lb 2oz, so reasonably happy with that from peg 12. Ray didn’t have any more fish. Weighed in clockwise around the lake – Tony Cruci had a small carp but didn’t weigh in – Bill had 5 carp for 38lb 1oz and top weight on the bank. Some struggled for carp on the high bank but Tony Parker managed a few for 34lb 10oz and second from peg 21 and Graham made third from peg 18 with 19lb 13oz. On the low bank my catch was good enough for second with John Carter winning with 38lb 15oz from peg 5 which included a good double caught down the edge. Apart from Ray’s small fish, no more carp caught on the low bank with Bob Fox’s 6lb 11oz of roach giving him 3rd place on the bank. So, a few carp feeding but difficult today for most of us to get bites, with very few carp apparently coming into the edge yet. Photo today is Tony Parker.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

Low Bank 1st Phil Whitmill 46lbs 10oz 2nd Jeff Pearson 39lbs 10oz 3rd Peter Green 26lbs 13oz High Bank 1st Rob Calderon 72lbs 3oz 2nd John Carter 46lbs 13oz 3rd Bill Beeston 44lbs 9oz

Rob's day At Hall Farm today – first thing the lake looked good with little wind and blue sky but that was about to change. Twelve on the bank today, seven on the Low Bank and five on the High. With pegs 18 and 20 in I really wanted one of the pegs nearer to the car park so was not unhappy to be left with peg 24 in the bag. Had John Carter to my left on 22 and Bill on peg 26. At the start of the match the wind was not so bad, blowing into peg 26. Decided mainly to fish hard pellets at around 6 meters today, also setting up a couple of margin rigs in around 2 ½ foot. After about 20 minutes started to get a few bites – mainly smallish carp and F1s but already the wind started to be a problem with a strong tow on the water right to left. Looked to be quiet on the Low Bank with one or two carp coming out and a few splashes from peg 26. Still getting a few bites, some missed bites and a couple of foul hookers, maybe the fish coming off the bottom. Fed a bit heavier to try and keep the fish down and had one or two runs of a few bites. Half-way through I had 45lb clicked so moved onto the second net (always a tricky manoeuvre) and that’s when the weather took a turn for the worse. Along with a couple of rain bursts the wind increased and gusted about causing some of the biggest waves I’ve seen at Hall Farm! This made fishing the pole almost impossible at times but I was cheered up with the sight of Barry on peg 2 fighting with his brolly in the wind! When the wind dropped a bit I managed a few more carp but the second half of the match was tricky for me – tried the margins but no signs so kept out at 6 meters. Wasn’t sure what had been caught but Phil on peg 3 looked to have a good second half with some good carp down his edge. At the weigh in Bill had 44lb 9oz, my first net did not go 45lb but went over by several pounds (have to work on the clicking) I think the carp were going heavier than we thought today. So knocked back to 50lb my total was 72lb 3oz to win the High Bank with John Carter second with 46lb 13oz and Bill third with 44lb 9oz. On the Low Bank Phil’s 46lb was enough to top the bank with Jeff’s 39lb 10oz from peg 5 second and Peter on the more sheltered peg 12 third with 26lb 13oz. So all types of weather today, high winds, rain and at times sunshine, maybe with better conditions in the second half I could have had more, but possibly the winds help churn up the water and caused the carp to feed today with most catching a few.