Match results/Events info

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Small Lake

N/A

1st Phil Whitmill 29lbs 10oz 2nd Rob Caldron 20lbs 12oz 3rd Tony Cruci 12lbs 3oz

There was a change of venue to the Small Lake on Sunday after the Charity match on the Large Lake the day before 1st Phil Whitmill 29lbs 10oz, 2nd Rob Caldron 20lbs 12oz and 3rd Tony Cruci 12lbs 3oz

Charity match - Breath Easy Bishop's Stortford

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Mark Halverson 53lbs 14oz 2nd Darren Marder 42lbs 2oz 3rd Fred Hunt 41lbs 7oz

First a big thank you to all that came along helping raise £285 for a worthy cause. [match info to add] In a tight finish Mark took top honours off red hot peg 2 (don't believe Mark when he says he doesn't like it) - 1st Mark Halverson 53lbs 14oz, 2nd Darren Marder 42lbs 2oz and 3rd Fred Hunt 41lbs 7oz.

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

Green Lanes Nazeing (Abbey Cross water)

N/A

A tight finish with Abbey Cross winning with 48 points to Bishop's Stortford's 47 points 1st John Carter 103lbs 8oz 2nd Martin Adams 59lbs 10oz 3rd Ray Gibson 38lbs 15oz 4th Tony Cruci 36lbs 9oz

Phil's day Hi to all, the Weds Club was at Nazeing, an Abbey Cross venue, for the interclub match. The day was due to be a right drenched with rain from start to finish, however, for the most part, it was quite dry - all except the last one and a half hours when it tipped it down. I drew peg 19 not a bad area I thought but was soon told that it blanked the previous Sunday - never mind it was then and this is now. Only two lines of attack today: feeder and pellet waggler with the wind blowing I stayed on the feeder. I fished pellets on a band and corn had nothing on pellets but got my first fish on corn. Played it all the way in only to get my line cut on zebra mussels under my feet (bugger) waited till 2ish for my next bite and kept it up in the water so as not to repeat the last episode. It was only 6 lbs but saved the blank. I went on to catch 2 more of 7 and 8lbs but word was there were plenty of big doubles being caught so at least I held my side up. Aat the results it was the closest match for a while Abbey Cross 48 points Bishop's Stortford 47 points and second place first John Carter with 103lb 8oz, 2nd Martin Adams with 59lb 10oz, 3rd Ray Gibson with 38lb 15oz, 4th Tony Cruci with 36lb 9oz and I got 5th and thanks for coming. Pic is myself on peg 19

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

N/A

1st Mark Halverson 115lbs 12oz 2nd Fred Hunt 71lbs 6oz 3rd Peter Green 56lbs 4oz 4th John Carter 52lbs 2oz

A number of the lake's bigger residents made their appearance in Sunday's match with plenty of carp in the low doubles coming out and soon bumping up weights. Mark took full advantage of in form Peg 17 to come out a clear winner on the day with the top 4 weights all clearing 50lbs. 1st Mark Halverson 115lbs 12oz, 2nd Fred Hunt 71lbs 6oz, 3rd Peter Green 56lbs 4oz and 4th John Carter 52lbs 2oz

Interclub (Saffron Walden)

Bordeaux Pits (Saffron Walden water)

N/A

Saffron Walden won with 79 points to Bishop's Stortford's 59 1st Roger Phillips 8lbs 14oz 2nd James Gillard 8lbs 10oz 3rd Chris Monk 7lbs 12oz 4th Fred Hunt 6lbs 11oz 5th Barry Cornel 6lbs 6oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds club fished an interclub against Saffron Walden on their lake this week. We were a bit short handed so we acquired a couple of their guys to fish in our team to even out the numbers they were both secondary members of Stortford club. We drew our pegs and I drew peg 26, not too bad as I drew it last year and did OK so with confidence I knew what to expect. I fished mainly for silvers and f1s, fished corn and pellets over groundbait with red maggots as a fall back. This worked well until the carp moved in - if I wasn't foul hooking them I was getting snapped up on them so left that area and went for perch down the margin hoping a f1 might show. I had a couple of perch and a few small roach then the carp showed up. Altogether 12 King carp on - lost 9 and landed 3 but in this match big carp did not count - still exciting landing 15lb fish on 4lb line with 18 and 16 hooks. 1st Roger Phillips with 8lbs 14oz, 2nd James Gillard with 8lbs 10oz, 3rd Chris Monk with 7lbs 12oz, 4th Fred Hunt with 6lbs 11oz and 5th Barry Cornel with 6lbs 6oz . A big well done to all the team , pic is Fred Hunt on peg 29.

Club match - His n Hers mixed pairs

Hall Farm Large Lake

His n Hers mixed pairs

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Tony Cruci 73lbs 3oz 2nd John Carter 68lbs 3rd Peter Green 60lbs 7oz 4th Jeff Pearson 51lbs 9oz

Phil's day Good morning to all, the Weds Club fished its club match at Hall Farm. It was a funny ol day with the promise of rain that never came. Drew peg 8 a good peg on and off well I picked an off day and I struggled to get any kind of bite and ended up with a very poor 14lbs. The lake fished well otherwise with good weights caming from all over (not just peg 2) and the winning weight came from a very unexpected peg. 1st Tony Cruci with 73lbs 3oz, 2nd John Carter with 68lbs, 3rd Peter Green with 60lbs 7oz and 4th Jeff Pearson with 51lbs 9oz

Club match/outing

Home Farm Small Lake

Stone Cup (1 of 2)

1st Fred Hunt 77lbs 6oz 2nd Phil Whitmill 77lbs 3oz 3rd Gary Pickard 69lbs 15oz

It was a very blustery Home Farm for us today. For a change we did a rover/walk off - so only ourselves to blame for a bad peg. As last to choose a peg it was a choice of the calmer end of the lake on peg 2 or down the other end on peg 5. I chose 2, was it the right choice? It was a very slow start for us all. Lots of fish cruising around but not wanting to feed. An hour in I had 2 small carp and was really struggling to get past the roach even with a 6mm pellet on. The lake here is also around 2 feet so foul hooking was also a real issue with the wind blowing the pole about. A try on paste closer in was equally fruitless with just a few signs likely from silvers. So it was the margins or bust. Slowly the carp started to arrive but so had they for Phil. It was a case of setting a trap with a bit of bait and then waiting whilst trying not to strike at liners - harder said than done when you can see the water clouding up and know a fish is near your hookbait. The odd cruising fish did eventually feed too and I nicked a couple whilst giving the margin a rest. Again, another close finish with lost fish making all the difference - well done to Fred who did something a bit different on a tricky day and caught most of his fish on the feeder. 1st Fred Hunt 77lbs 6oz, 2nd Phil Whitmill 77lbs 3oz and 3rd Gary Pickard 69lbs 15oz and all to play for on the second leg of the Stone Cup (top weight over 2 matches) in August.

Charity match - British Heart Foundation

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

Water booking

River Stort Backwater

N/A

Summer League

Beggars Hall

N/A

1st Jeff Pearson 74lbs 11oz 2nd Terry Moranda 60lbs 9oz 3rd Peter Green 59lbs 8oz 4th Steve Foster 54lbs 3oz

Phil's day Good morning to all, the Weds club fished its 4th round of the summer league at Beggars Hall. I drew peg 10 a very good winter peg but not so good in the summer and to add to the mix I was in the shade all day with the wind blowing straight at me by 11 am put on jumpers and coat. To say I had a really boring morning was an understatement - not a sign. By 2 ish I started to see some movement down the margin so changed tack and rigged up for the margins. This proved a life - saver hooked 4 and only managed to land 2 for 18 pounds and a broken power top seems to be a habit over there. 1st Jeff Pearson with 74lbs 11oz, 2nd Terry Moranda with 60lbs 9oz , 3rd Peter Green with 59lbs 8oz and 4th Steve Foster with 54lbs 3oz. Pic is Tony Cruci on peg 12 (what not peg 18 again! - Ed)

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Mark Halverson 129lbs 13oz 2nd Gary Pickard 118lbs 3rd Phil Whitmill 114lbs 2oz

Gary's day Hall Farm had a busy week with Sunday's match being the third in 5 days - would the fishing hold up? The weather gods were kind to us: warm, a bit of cloud, light wind and dry. Out of the draw bag came peg 8 again for me, it would be nice to see the other end of the lake. But with us all having a bit of room it looked like it would be a pretty fair match. With Mark on peg 4 into a fish before I had a rig in the water the pressure was on. I had a great first hour on hard pellets at 4 sections before they backed off. A few fish had been showing on the top so it was time to try shallow. With searching around the feed area a few fish kept coming but far too many were slipping the hook. Every fish was going nuts - they have definitely woken up after the long cols spring - and would not give up until in the net. At the halfway point I was on about 70lbs and hopes were high for a big weight. The second half was hard work, the fish were there in the edges but lots of tree roots made it difficult to get good presentation. At the weigh in it was again a case of lost fish making all the difference and not just for me. I just pipped Phil but Mark had pulled ahead. 1st Mark Halverson 129lbs 13oz, 2nd Gary Pickard 118lbs and 3rd Phil Whitmill 114lbs 2oz. Photo is Mark with part of his winning catch.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

Over 65s cup

1st Terry Moranda 122lbs 4oz 2nd Phil Whitmill 90lbs 15oz 3rd John Carter 85lbs 15oz

Phil's day Hi everyone, the BSDAS club held it's annual over 65s match at Hall Farm on Friday, only 7 contested the trophy so the match was held on one bank. Jeff Pearson was organising the match and all went smoothly. I drew peg 3 in itself a good peg but peg 2 was the outright flyer so the fight was on, Terry had peg 2 and I know he is in it to win it. The only other peg that I thought was threat was peg 8 that had produced the goods 2 days ago. The match has been in progress for a couple of hours and Tel was thrashing me - he probably had 50lbs to my 5lbs so all was not looking good but never say die. My fish started to move to the margins by 1 pm and I started bagging - I knew it was all too late but you can never tell. I finally ended up weighing in with a respectable 90lbs 15 oz 1st Terry Moranda with 122lbs 4oz, 2nd Phil Whitmill with 90lbs 15oz, 3rd John Carter with a credible 85lbs 15 oz, well done to all on a blazing hot day. Pic is of Terry Moranda the new champ.

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

Abbey Cross won the day with 74 points to Bishop's Stortford's 61 points 1st Martin Adams 71lbs 9oz 2nd John Carter 56lbs 4oz 3rd Fred Hunt 46lbs 1oz 4th Jeff Pearson 40lbs 15oz 5th Barry Cornel 36lbs 5oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds Club fished its interclub match against Abbey Cross at Hall Farm club lake. I drew peg 16 - not a good peg by any means that's the draw bag for you. I made two lines: 1 in the margin, that's where I was banking on; and 1 at 12 meters at 12ft deep so not too confident at that depth; and, of course, a feeder for a bit further out. Started off feeding the various pole lines with corn and pellet in the deepest line and pellet and maggots in the margin. First hour spent on the feeder that produced a carp within 15 mins and nothing else for the rest of the day so onto my long line. This produced bites but I couldn't hook anything - my guess small roach. So onto my margins and after a hour I got another carp then a few bits but they didn't want to know. Then, in the last 30 minutes, they turned up but it was all too late - weighed in 28lbs 11oz 1st Martin Adams with 71lbs 9oz, 2nd John Carter with 56lbs 4oz, 3rd Fred Hunt with 46lbs 1oz, 4th Jeff Pearson with 40lbs 15oz and 5th Barry Cornel with 36lbs 5oz. Abbey Cross won the day with 74 points to Bishop's Stortford's 61 points

Club match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

Malcolm Barker Rose Bowl (1 of 2)

1st Gary Pickard 6lbs 6oz 2nd Mark Halverson 4lbs 13oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 4lbs

Gary's day Today's match was a lake of 2 halves. Those of us over on the railway bank side were in T shirts but a cool wind had those on the less sheltered river side in coats. Out of the draw bag came peg 3 which I was pretty happy with as the weed did not look too bad and I had a big lily bed to the right. But what to fish for: anything that swims or sit it out for tench. Anything that swims won so it was waggler to the more open water and a pole for near the lilies. It was a slow start broken up by Mark and John over on the far side having some pike bother - John got a small jack out later that decided it wanted to eat his feeder on the retrieve! After an hour or so finally a few fish arrived but the bites were very delicate and the float needed to be dotted down. It was not quick with roach and a few small skimmers coming in 2s and 3s. By the midway point I seemed to be doing OK but then the odd tench started showing, although most made it to the safety of the weed. With an hour to go I had a small tench of about a 1lb and then really struggled for bites until the last 10 mins when the roach showed again. Typical! It was going to be a close weigh in and I thought Jeff had the match won from peg 10 as it sounded like he had 3 tench. At the scales my mixed bag of small fish was enough to win with Jeff having just the 1 tench and not the 3 I thought he had. 1st Gary Pickard 6lbs 6oz, 2nd Mark Halverson 4lbs 13oz and 3rd Jeff Pearson 4lbs. Pic today is my Mr Crabtree looking peg 3 - Tony over on the far right.

Water Booking

Hall Farm Small Lake

N/A - 1st Thorley Scouts

Interclub (Saffron Walden)

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

Bishop's Stortford won with 97 points to Saffron Walden's 74 points 1st R Phillips 95lbs 3oz 2nd James Gillard 56lbs 4oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 53lbs 12oz 4th Tony Parker 43lbs 9oz 5th Terry Moranda 41lbs 12oz

Phil's day Good morning to all, the Weds Club fished an interclub match against Saffron Walden club this week and it was a good turn out with 9 aside. I drew peg 26 - it's a good peg and has produced high weights of late so was full of confidence. Made up two pole lines, 1 at 10 meters and 1 along the margin to my right and, of course, the feeder for distance work. At the all-in I cupped in some 6mm pellets and a bit of corn on both lines. I started off on the feeder for the first hour and caught 3 out of 7 carp - for some reason they were not taking the bait. So onto the pole and didn't get a bite at 10 meters so on to the margin. Got a couple but very slow so back to the feeder and started to cast about looking for the odd one. This resulted in 4 more fish before it died. So back to the pole in the margins with bread - this produced some better fish but still slow until the last half hour when I landed two carp for 18lbs 4oz to finish my match. 1st R Phillips with 95lbs 3oz, 2nd James Gillard with 56lbs 4oz, 3rd Phil Whitmill with 53lb 12oz, 4th Tony Parker with 43lbs 9oz and 5th Terry Moranda with 41lbs 12oz. Bishop's Stortford won with 97 points to Saffron Walden's 74 points. Well done to both teams. Pic is peg 26 my peg.

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

R Jarvis Rose Bowl (1 of 2)

1st Phil Whitmill 69lbs 2nd Tony Cruci 60lbs 9oz 3rd Mark Halverson 55lbs 10oz

Sorry a bit of a short report this week as I could not make the match but did swing by early on. It was a very hot day along the dam bank of Beggars with no shade to be had. The carp did not seem to mind it though as there were signs of them down the edges from early on - but seeing them does not mean you can catch them. Phil on peg 20 was having a tricky start catching plenty of different species but not the bigger carp you need at Beggars. Mark on 19 had them at his feet from early on. Tony on peg 18 (again!) was having a steady start with a couple in the net when I left and over on peg 17 John was having a bit of a nightmare with lost fish. Well the fishing must have improved and it was a close finish with one good sized between the first 3: 1st Phil Whitmill 69lbs, 2nd Tony Cruci 60lbs 9oz and 3rd Mark Halverson 55lbs 10oz Pic is Tony just having netted a good sized carp.

Club match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

N/A

1st Phil Whitmill 8lbs 7oz 2nd Tony Parker 5lbs 15oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 5lbs 10oz 4th John Carter 4lbs 13oz

Phil's day Good morning to all, the Weds Club fished the Malcolm Barker Club lake. It was going to be a hot day so hoping for a shady peg but that wasn't to be - drew peg 23 in the sun all day but there was a saving grace that there was a very stiff breeze. I have fished this peg a couple of times it can be very good got 2nd last time I fished it. Made up two lines - one at 10 meters and one by some pads in the margin. Started off feeding bit of groundbait about the size of a golf ball and a few red maggots as this was going to be my main line today and the pads as a backup. It was very quiet for the first hour then got a small perch then it slowly picked up and a few roach starting showing but not the size I hoped for. By 2 pm I got a tench about 2lb so this has boosted my hopes. Got a few more roach and perch but very small so on to my backup lily pads. Got 3 perch of a couple of oz then it died - put more bait in but it would not respond so back to my long line with an extra couple secs of pole and picked off a couple more. I weighed in 8lbs 7oz, pic is peg 23 my home for the day, 1st Phil Whitmill with 8lbs 7oz, 2nd Tony Parker with 5lbs 15oz, 3rd Jeff Pearson with 5lbs 10oz and 4th John Carter with 4lbs 13oz

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Phil Whitmill 123lbs 2nd Gary Pickard 116 lbs 3oz 3rd Mark Halverson 114lbs 4oz

Gary's day Today was the first match of the 2023/4 season with a trip to Hall Farm. After a very hot week the weather forecast was looking grim with thunderstorms forecast. Thankfully, despite quite a few rumbles of thunder in the afternoon, we were spared a drenching. Out of the draw bag came peg 10 for me. Not a surprise as I can't remember the last time I was in the low numbers. With the hot weather, fishing on the deck was off the cards. Peg 10 is a top 3 deep at 4 sections. So a couple of rigs for down the edges and a shallow rig had me set up quickly. I had a great start just tapping in a few 6mm pellets and waiting for a bite. An hour in I had about 15lb in the net. But I kept hearing the odd splashes from Mark on 8 and Tony on 12. With bushes either side of me all I could see was Phil on 26 who seems to be very quiet for sitting on a flyer. And so the day continued, shallow was a waste of time as they were not quite interested. Swapping to paste down one edge and corn and micros down the other kept them coming with the odd quieter spell. A plague of lost fish with hook pulls was going to come back to bite me though. At the end it had been a busy match with Mark sounding to have had a similar day from the splashing next door. At the weigh in it was ridiculously close. I had 116lbs to Mark's 114lbs but we were both taken out by Phil, who had NOT been having a quiet day, weighing in 123lbs.

Charity match - Fishing in Mind

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

Summer League

Beggars Hall

N/A

1st Fred Hunt 49lbs 12oz 2nd Bill Beeston 41lbs 5oz 3rd Tony Cruci 29lbs 11oz 4th Phil Whitmill 24lbs 14oz

Phil's day Good morning to all, the Weds club fished it 3rd round of the summer league at Bbeggars Hall club lake. I drew peg 13 - I have not fished it for a long time so not sure what to expect. Now the lily pads are up and flowering it gave me some features to fish to so I made up two lines - one at 12 meters and one at 7 meters. I fed pellet and corn on my longest line and maggots and micro pellets on my short line and a feeder to 18 meters just to the very tip of the lily pads. Well the feeder produced absolutely nothing all morning couldn't believe I could not get a bite on red maggots not even a micro perch. On to plan f dobbing bread at 12 meters about 12 inches deep. This produced 3 good carp and I got beaten up on 3 more - one lost carp went straight through the pads and appeared on the opposite. At 15 or so pounds so he was never coming back the way he went - I got my rig back minus hooklength. First place Fred Hunt with 49lbs 12oz (less a fish of about 7lb that leapt out the keepnet), second Bill Beeston with 41lbs 5oz , third Tony Cruci with 29lbs 11oz and fourth Phil Whitmill with 24lbs 14oz. Well done to all in sticking it out through such high temperatures.

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

Hunters Hall (Abbey Cross water)

N/A

A win for Stortford with 87 to Abbey Cross' 84 points 1st Peter Green 30lbs 7oz 2nd Bill Beeston 20lbs 11oz 3rd Tony Parker 17lbs 8oz 4th Phil Whitmill 16lbs 15oz 5th Steve Foster 14lbs 15oz

Phil's day Morning to all. The Weds Club fished its monthly match against Abbey Cross at their water Hunters Hall.. It's mainly a tench and bream water with a good stock of rudd and roach - it makes a change from carp and more carp. I drew peg 15, it's a good peg but a bit exposed to the elements. I made one line on the pole at 7 metres, one along the edge of the lily beds and a feeder for a long chuck. Started off with pellet and corn on my 7 metre line with a ball of groundbait and did the same in my lily pads except added a half a cup of maggots. I first tried the feeder but couldn't settle on that so on to the lily pads for some roach and rudd on maggot. I had a dozen very small roach and quickly changed to a bigger bait (corn) for better quality roach and rudd. They soon disappeared so on to my 7 metre line on 6mm banded pellet. This got me a few more good roach then, out of the blue, my first bream of about 4lbish then that died so back to the lily pads for a spell while the groundbait I had just put in settled. Got the odd roach but it was clear they had gone not just for me but for 4 pegs around me so back out in front add got another bream and lost a bream. Then a quiet spell until I got a couple more after that just the odd bit but little else till the end. I have enjoyed my day and weighed in 16lbs 15 oz First Peter Green with 9 bream for 30lbs 7oz, 2nd Bill Beeston with 5 bream for 20lbs 11oz, 3rd Tony Parker with 17lbs 8oz, 4th Phil Whitmill with 4 bream for 16lbs 15oz and 5th Steve Foster with 14lbs 15oz. Today's pic is Peter Green on the platform next to me. A big well done to the Stortford lads for coming 1st points are Stortford 87 Abbey Cross 84

Water booking

Hall Farm Small Lake

Coaching for beginners session (members & non members welcome - juniors & adults)

Water booking

Hall Farm Small Lake

Coaching for beginners session (members & non members welcome - juniors & adults)

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Terry Moranda 102lbs 7oz 2nd John Carter 72lbs 5oz 3rd Tony Cruci 56lbs 4oz 4th Steve Foster 55lbs 13oz

Phil's day Morning to all, the Weds Club fished its match at Hall Farm. It was a bit chilly and a little damp but easy to ignore. I drew peg 4 - it's a peg that has not produced large weights for a while but today might be the day. I made up two margin lines and a 10 meter line for the pole and, of course, a feeder rod for distance work. Cupped out a small amount of corn and micro pellets with a golf ball sized ball of groundbait and down the margins maggots and pellets one side and groundbait and 6mm pellets on the other. Started off on my 10 meter line catching good roach and rudd - tried out several hook baits but just silvers. So on to my feeder for absolutely no results. By this time its 12.30, half way through the match with only 3 lbs of silvers, so on to the margins. Pretty much same story there but stayed with it. In the last hour the carp showed up and I put 24lbs of carp in the net to finish with 27lbs 4oz 1st was Terry Moranda with 102lbs 7oz, 2nd John Carter with 72lbs 5oz, 3rd Tony Cruci with 56lbs 4 oz and 4th was Steve Foster with 55lbs 13oz Pic is Tony Parker and Ray Gibson

Water booking

Hall Farm Large Lake - pegs 1 -13

N/A

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

N/A

1st Tony Cruci 52lbs 8oz 2nd Steve Foster 37lbs 9oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 21lbs 4oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds Club fished the club lake at Beggar's Hall this week. The weather was warm and comfortable if you were drawn in the sunshine or, like my peg in the shade all day pretty chilly. There were only 8 of us this week so all good pegs went in the draw bag. I drew peg 10 it's has had its moments so I was full of hope. Made up two pole rigs and a feeder, made two pole lines: 1 at 10 meters with pellet and red maggots; and a margin rig with bread and corn; and the feeder over to the island or thereabout. Had my first carp at 11.30 - a common of 8 lb or so on my pellet line using 6mm banded hard pellet banded. I continued on this line for another hour but nothing so back to the feeder for more nothing so tried my margins. It was about the right time but all I could catch was a couple pounds of perch so back to the feeder. It got to about an hour before the end so decided to pack the pole away and tidy away the bits I didn't need when I noticed a big drop back. Thinking it was a missed bite I struck it anyway and it was game on - after about 15 minutes I landed him a common carp of at least 12lb or so and that was my day over. 1st Tony Cruci with 52lbs 8oz, 2nd Steve Foster with 37lbs 9oz, 3rd Phil Whitmill with 21lbs 4oz , not bad for just two carp. Pic is Terry Moranda on peg 6 the flyer.

Summer League match

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Terry Moranda 84lbs 11oz 2nd John Carter 83lbs 9oz 3rd Bill Beeston 71lbs 3oz 4th Tony Cruci 67lbs 12oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds Club fished its 2nd round of our summer league at Hall Farm. I have drawn peg 16 not what I wanted but it is what it is. Decided to fish the margins and a feeder to the middle and pellet waggler. I fed pellet and corn on one margin and maggots and micro pellets in the other margin - on feeder I fished maggots and rotated with 6mm pellet. Fished the feeder for the first hour and a half with nothing so onto my margins on pole and managed to get a carp on red maggot but got bitted out so tried bread which got me a run of carp but it was too slow. Finished the match with 25lbs 14 oz. There was some very good weights from all over - 1st Terry Moranda with 84lbs 11oz, 2nd was John Carter with 83lbs 9oz, 3rd was Bill Beeston with 71lbs 3oz and 4th Tony Cruci with 67lbs 12oz. Pic is on the steps side with Bill getting set up.

Club match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

N/A

1st Steve Foster 8lbs 10oz 2nd Phil Whitmill 8lbs 2oz 3rd Terry Moranda 8lbs 1oz 4th David Jones 6lbs 10oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds Club fished its match at Malcolm Barker Lake. It was a trial match to see if it had improved any on the previous outing there. I was first to draw and pulled out peg 23 - I blanked off this peg 2 months ago so was just a bit apprehensive to say the least. I made two pole lines and a margin line by some lily pads I cupped out just a handful of red maggots with some micro pellets and a golf ball of groundbait. I had two rigs for my 10 metre lines - one with a 2lb hook length with an 18 fine wire hook and my second rig was a 4.6lb hooklength with a 16 bronzed hook just in case a carp wanted to play. Started off on double reds and caught from the off with small skimmers, roach and rudd. I managed to keep just enough feed going in to keep them there for the whole day with only a couple of dead spells. Then about 2 pm the obvious happened and I struck into one of the largeish carp in MBL - it took me from one weed bed to another then back again. Not surprisingly I lost it. Finished the match with 8lbs 2oz and enjoyed my day. 1st Steve Foster with 8lbs 10oz (2 tench), 2nd Phil Whitmill with 8lbs 2oz, 3rd Terry Moranda with 8lbs 1oz (2 tench and some bits) and 4th David Jones 6lbs 10oz (1 tench and roach and rudd). Pic today is Steve Foster on peg 18.

Interclub (Abbey Cross) match/outing

Beggars Hall

N/A

Bishops Stortford won with 49 points to Abbey Cross with 29 points. 1st Steve Foster 53lbs 5oz 2nd Dave Fuller 47lbs 13oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 43lbs 7oz 4th Ray Gibson 43lbs 3oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds Club fished its last interclub match of our season with Abbey Ccross at Beggars Hall. I drew peg 23 not a good peg but at least it was a different one. Pegs 3, 4 and 5 were left out as they have been rubbish all winter. I made up two pole lines and, of course, a feeder one on cage and a second feeder on method. On the pole lines I did a maggot line and a pellet line at 10 meters to left and right, started off catching small roach and perch on the pole . I gave it an hour then tried the feeders this proved fruitless so back on the pole for a few more small fish then, by luck, got a good double carp on. He gave me a good fight and just as I was about to land him he came off. That was my one and only shot at a decent carp. I ended up with 4lbs 4oz 1st Steve Foster with 53lbs 5oz, 2nd Dave Fuller with 47lbs 13oz, 3rd Jeff Pearson with 43lbs 7oz and 4th was Ray Gibson with 43lbs 3oz. Bishops Stortford won with 49 points to Abbey Cross 2nd with 29 points. A big well done to the Stortford team. Final tally Abbey Cross win 7 matches to Stortford's 5 matches it was close run. Pic is from peg 23

Summer League match

Beggars Hall

N/A

1st Terry Moranda 61lbs 3oz 2nd John Carter 43lbs 6oz 3rd Bill Beeston 33lbs 5oz 4th Peter Green 32lbs 14oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds club fished its 1st round of 6 summer league matches at Beggars Hall this week. I drew peg 4 it's a nothing peg and has been a total waste of space since the end of last summer and today was no different so on to the other anglers. The lake in general, from mid-point to peg 20, was very good with some very good weights. It's important to do well and get in the high range points so you have a cushion for the next summer league match next month. 1st Terry Moranda with 61lbs 3oz, 2nd was John Carter with 43lbs 6oz, 3rd was Bill Beeston with 33lbs 5oz and 4th Peter Green with 32lbs 14oz, well done to all anglers. Pic is Tony Cruci on a very wet peg 5.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st John Carter 63lbs 8oz 2nd Bill Beeston 41lbs 4oz 3rd Ray Gibson 40lbs 4oz 4th Fred Hunt 25lbs 5oz

Phil's day Hi to all, the Weds Club fished the club lake at Hall Farm this week. The good weather has finally arrived - what a smashing day. I drew peg 6, not a bad peg on the day, but would have preferred the opposite side of the lake but at least I was in sunshine all day. I made up 2 pole lines and my feeder. My pole lines were at 8 meters at 8ft deep and my margin at 3ft deep. I fed my 8 meter line with corn and micro pellets and down the margin left and right side red maggots and 6mm pellets. I started on my feeder with a 6mm pellet with a small cage feeder with green swim stim after 45 minutes with several casts not a bite so on to my long line. This got me a carp and a small bream of about two and a half pounds may be a tad more but more amazing where did it come from as I have not seen a bream at Hall Farm for 5 or 6 years - we thought they had all died. I then had nothing else on this line so onto my margins not had a bite on my right side so onto the left got a bite within 15 mins and lost it on the way round to land it then nothing except small perch and roach. With 30 mins before the end of the match they turned up and had 4 more carp for 19lbs 10oz. 1st John Carter with 63lbs 8oz, 2nd Bill Beeston with 41lbs 4oz, 3rd Ray Gibson with 40lbs 4oz and 4th Fred Hunt with 25lbs 5oz. Pic is Bill Beeston on peg 2 thinking how am I going to win this match from the flyer.

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

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1st Darren Marder 70lbs 7oz 2nd Bill Beeston 60lbs 5oz 3rd Tony Parker 50lbs 1oz 4th Fred Hunt 29lbs 15oz

Phil's day Morning to all, the Weds Club fished our match at Beggars Hall club lake. We had a good turnout on a day that promised to be very unfriendly with high winds and rain. I drew peg 6, it's a peg that throws up the odd fish throughout the winter. The water levels were very high and over the bank at one place which meant most of my rigs were going to be very short with no time to make new rigs so mend and make do was the order of the day. Anyway most of my day was going to be feeder fishing. I baited up a couple of areas close in at 7 meters and a long cast to the mid way point. Got my first carp about midday then nothing for a hour then John came down for a chat from peg 4 as he hadn't had a bite and as we chatted I got my second carp of about 10lb then nothing till 3 pm and got two in succession and lost 3 more likely foul hooked. Ended my day with a windswept 29lbs 11oz Pic is John Carter topping up on coffee at peg 4 . 1st Darren Marder with 70lbs 7oz, 2nd Bill Beeston with 60lbs 5oz, 3rd Tony Parker with 50lbs 1oz and 4th Fred Hunt with 29lbs 15oz.

Interclub (Abbey Cross) match/outing

Green Lanes Nazeing (Abbey Cross water)

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Bishop's Stortford won the day with 69 points to Abbey Cross' 66 points 1st Martin Adams 34lbs 6oz 2nd John Todd 33lbs 4oz 3rd Alan Sims 25lbs 6oz 4th Phil Whitmill 24lbs 5oz 5th Terry Moranda 12lbs 12oz

Phil's day The Weds club fished its inter club against Abbey Cross on their water at Nazeing. I was hoping for a good peg and was not disappointed when I drew peg 52 - a good peg and its always in the top 5 on match days. I decided to keep it simple and most importantly keep the tackle light for bream and F1s and this worked a treat. I made up the feeder but my money was on the pole I made 2 rigs only and that was all was needed. I cupped in some SwimStim and red maggots with a good helping of micro pellets and in the first hour was beginning to think I got it wrong but then the float went under and then came my first F1 then onto my second then the bream showed up and I soon put 4 of these in the net along with a few roach. The carp showed up for a couple more and a lost carp and I was 11.30 and but then the peg just died on me with the odd roach for the rest of the day. I weighed in with a healthy 24lb in keeping with the peg Bishop's Stortford won the day with 69 points to Abbey Cross' 66 points 1st Martin Adams with 34lbs 6oz, 2nd John Todd with 33lbs 4oz, 3rd Alan Sims with 25lbs 6oz, 4th Phil Whitmill with 24lbs 5oz and 5th Terry Moranda with 12lbs 12oz. The pic is Jeff Pearson in front of my peg.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st Steve Foster 38lbs 5oz 2nd Bill Beeston 32lbs 5oz 3rd Ray Gibson 29lbs 8oz 4th Terry Moranda 17lbs 9oz

Phil's day Hi all, we fished our Weds match at Hall Farm. I drew peg 2 really didn't want that bank but it is what you draw. It's had one good outing in the past 8 weeks but very poor before and after that. I started off on feeder but nothing was happening so onto my margin line the carp were there but didn't want to know. Managed to catch 3 throughout the day and a few silvers but foul hooked and lost 5 not a good day but at least the rain held off. 1st Steve Foster with 38lbs 5oz, 2nd Bill Beeston with 32lbs 5oz, 3rd Ray Gibson with 29lbs 8oz and 4th Terry Moranda with 17lbs 9oz. Pic is peg 10 with Peter Green

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st John Todd 47lbs 12oz 2nd Mark Halverson 27lbs 8oz 3rd Gary Pickard 19lbs 3oz

Gary's day First off a big thank you to Tony for sorting out the Sunday Club matches over the season . Today was the last match of the 2022/23 season which saw us at a very wet Hall Farm. As I was guesting today as match organizer peg 8 was definitely not in the draw bag. I have had that peg way too many times this year. Of course I drew peg 7, out came the spare top 3 again as these pegs are 10ft+ at 5 sections. Whilst setting up there were a few fish topping but Phil on 6 and I knew we wanted to be at either end of the lake. A slow start on cage and maggot feeder whilst feeding the pole line let me know the roach and rudd had woken up, lots of bites but at 1oz a fish I was going nowhere. On the pole it was the same issue, a bite a chuck but tiny fish. Maggots were the wrong choice. Trying shallow finally produced a F1 around 12 but then it was back to bits. At this stage John wandered past whilst going to his car and mentioned he was struggling with just (!!) the 4 carp on end peg 12. We had also been seeing Mark hooking a few fish so Phil and I knew we were not doing well. Thankfully the rain stopped around 1pm and I started to warm up a bit - it was getting pretty chilly. With 2 hours to go I decided I had nothing to lose so I dug out a 2 gramme rig from the bottom of the box and upped the feed rate. The plan being to bomb the bait to the bottom for bigger fish and feed off the small stuff. Well it worked for about 3 drop ins until the tiny fish learned they needed to be quicker. Amongst the small fish there were a bigger few and I ended up with some roach and rudd up to the 10-12oz mark - a good sign for the future. With 15 mins to go I decided to give shallow one more go and, you guessed it, the F1s had rocked up. 3 fish before the end was much too little and too late. I ended up with just over 19lbs with the silvers adding more weight than I thought to the 4 F1s. The end pegs though dominated with John an easy winner but with Mark ruing a lot of lost fish with needing to try and stop them charging through the reeds in peg 1. 1st John Todd 47lbs 12oz, 2nd Mark Halverson 27lbs 8oz and 3rd Gary Pickard 19lbs 3oz. Sorry no pictures today - my phone was buried under so many layers to keep it dry I completely forgot to take any.

Winter league results

Various

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The Weds Club Winter League winner overall was Steve Foster with the last match proving decisive. 1st Steve Foster 43 points 2nd David Jones 42 points 3rd Phil Whitmill 41 points 4th Terry Moranda 37 points

Winter League match

Beggars Hall

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1st Steve Foster 25lbs 12oz 2nd Tony Parker 18lbs 6oz 3rd Terry Moranda 18lbs 1oz 4th Tony Cruci 10lbs 5oz

Phil's day Hi all, we fished our final Weds Club Winter League match at Beggars Hall. It was a wet and windy start to our day but not cold. I drew peg 10 and I couldn't have wished for a better peg - it's one of the top 4 pegs on the lake. I fished a tight match avoiding hit and miss casts on the feeder but it wasn't going to happen, fell back to my pole line and had a good roach and a really good perch of about 1 1 /2 pounds and a few bits and that was my day. I did get a carp on but it spat the hook out just before the landing net - not one of my best days 1st Steve Foster with 25lbs 12oz, 2nd Tony Parker with 18lbs 6oz, 3rd Terry Moranda with 18lbs 1oz and 4th Tony Cruci with 10lbs 5oz. Pic is my peg 10

Club match/outing

Home Farm small lake

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1st Toni Cruci 37lbs 12oz 2nd Phil Whitmill 36lbs 10oz 3rd Peter Green 34lbs 9oz

Gary's day At last a warmer week if a little wet. At the draw the lake was looking quite coloured with a bit of a ripple and looking good for a few fish. Out of the bag came peg 8 - again. In fact, our bank was a rerun of last match with me on 8, Tony on 7 and Mark on 6. At least that made setting up a bit quicker. With a stiff breeze forecast it was time to gamble - did I start at 6 or 7 sections? Phil got off to a flying start with a carp in the net in the first 5 minutes. For the rest of us it took a while longer. Next was Mark to get in on the action with a run of carp but annoyingly only the one getting to the net. And then it was Tony and John picking up carp. At this stage Peter and I were stuck in the middle of the lake with just a few roach between us until Peter found a carp down the edge. It was now 12:30 - 3 hours in and things were not looking great for me - I was well and truly in last position. Finally, I hooked a carp only to have a very large scale come back on the hook after a short tussle but at least it was not a roach. A hopeful drop back in the same spot just produced a roach - not going well at all. Around me the carp kept coming with Tony steadily adding a few with Phil, Peter and John also picking off the odd better fish. At about 1pm I at long last had a carp out in the middle, only small, but worth a lot of the tiny roach I was catching. But that was it, back to the roach. With nothing to lose it was time to put a bigger pot of maggots down the edge to hopefully feed off some of the small fish and it worked. Between the roach a few carp put in an appearance with just the one more scale coming back with a foulhooker. It was too little too late in what was a lot closer finish than I thought it would be - Peter opposite looked to be emptying the place and we all thought he had walked it. In a very tight finish (under 5lbs between the top 4) - 1st Toni Cruci 37lbs 12oz, 2nd Phil Whitmill 36lbs 10oz and 3rd Peter Green 34lbs 9oz. Sorry Tony not quite quick enough on the camera button before you looked down. There was also around 6lbs of mostly decent perch to go with these carp.