Match results/Events info

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st Steve Foster 47lbs 4oz 2nd Tony Cruci 38lbs 15oz 3rd Terry Moranda 10lbs 8oz

Phil's day Good morning to all, the Weds club fished its match at Hall Farm this week. The weather was going to be favourable but we started the day with a heavy frost - that's never helpful. I drew peg 4 it's a bad peg this time of the year but I lived in hope. Made up 3 lines for the pole and a feeder for distance work. Started off on the feeder with no success so onto the pole tried out at 10 meters but nothing so onto my margin lines. Got small perch and roach but that's all and the peg to my left has already got 5 carp so in for a right pasting. Finished my day with two carp for 5lb 5 oz and saved the blank 1st Steve Foster with 47lbs 4oz , 2nd was Tony Cruci with 38lbs 15oz and 3rd Terry Moranda with 10lbs 8oz. Pic is from peg 4.

Club match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

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1st Fred Hunt 1lb 2nd John Todd 2oz Only 2 caught

Gary's day Today was the last match of the 22/23 season and we were heading to Malcolm Barker Lake. It was a lovely spring day with a bit of sun and even the wind was quite warm - a big difference to the week which saw snow and lots of rain. We were all expecting it to be a hard match as MBL has not fished well over the winter so I was very happy to draw peg 2 - one I have been wanting to draw for a long time. Expecting it to be hard, I started off on bread punch at around 8 metres on the pole. Despite working down the punch sizes I had no signs. And the same at 11 metres with maggot. And on the waggler a bit further out. An hour in it was clear it was not going to be a great day's fishing as no-one had had a bite. Then over on peg 18 Fred had a tangle with a carp. Then all quiet again until Fred finally had a roach about 90 minutes in. Fred kept on sneaking the odd small roach out throughout the day. At about the half way point we had a bit more excitement as Jeff tangled with a carp on light waggler gear - it was soon carp 2 anglers 0. About 3 hours in now John had a small run of little perch. Try as I might I just could not buy a bite even with little bits of worm down the edge looking for micro perch and it was my first DNW of the season. It was a quick weigh in with just Fred and John catching - well done to Fred for sticking it out for small roach ending up with around 30 fish for 1lb and the win with John catching 6 small perch scratching for bites for 2oz and second. Today's photo has Fred over on the far bank getting ready for the all in.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

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1st Mark Halverson 43lbs 15oz 2nd Gary Pickard 34lbs 8oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 21lbs 8oz

Gary's day After seeing Wed's results from Hall Farm it looked like today was going to be a tough match. It was to be peg 10 today for me and I was very happy with this as this peg has a bit of winter form but never seems to do as well in the warmer months. Down to my left was David on Peg 12, Tony opposite on peg 16 and Fred to my right on peg 6. Well it fished as hard as expected with bites few and far between. Phil had a great start with a carp in the first 10 mins or so and then I had one after about 30 mins on bomb and bread. A lost fish after another 30 mins was going to prove costly later - it shot off for Tony opposite and then decided to go round the back of the island before leaving me snagged up in an overhanging bush. It was one of those fish that knew where it wanted to go and nothing was going to stop it getting there. Then news came that Mark had a carp on the other side of the island. 90 mins in it was anyone's match. A dropback bite and another carp in the net had me hoping for more a few more. It was going to be a long wait though. At a bit past the halfway point Mark had a flurry of activity fishing long on the pole with 3 in 3 puts in and we were all then playing catch up. With an hour to go suddenly I had my own little flurry of bites after going back to the bomb as both method and maggot feeders were proving hopeless - 3 bites, 2 carp in the net and 1 hook pull. It was then a long wait for the whistle with the tip refusing to go round again in the last 45 mins. In the last few minutes I just made out Mark scooping another carp and Phil also had a last gasp carp. Well done to Mark for bucking the trend and fishing the pole rather than sitting it out on a feeder - 5 carp and a bream for 43lbs 15oz and 1st today, my 4 carp went 34lbs 8oz and Phil had 3 carp and a few good silvers for 21lbs 8oz. Today's photo is me with a couple of cracking Beggars Hall commons both over the 10lb mark.

Interclub (Abbey Cross) match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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Bishop's Stortford won with 57 points to Abbey Cross's 32 1st Steve Foster 26lbs 8oz 2nd Terry Moranda 7lbs 7oz 3rd Fred Hunt 3lbs 8oz 4th John Carter 3lbs 3oz.

(not) Phil's day A good day to all, the Weds Club fished its inter-club match against Abbey Cross at Hall Farm. I myself could not go as I was laid up with a bad back, so I handed the captain's job to Tony Cruci and what a good job he made of it. It inspired the team to a very convincing win with Bishop's Stortford winning by 57 points to Abbey Cross's 32 1st place was Steve Foster with 26lbs 8oz, 2nd Terry Moranda with 7lbs 7oz, 3rd was Fred Hunt with 3lbs 8oz and 4th John Carter with 3lbs 3oz. Well done Stortford - pic is from peg 5 across the lake.

Club match/outing

River Stort Backwater

Stort Cup 2 of 2

1st Mark Halverson 5lbs 6oz 2nd Jeff Pearson 3lbs 7oz 3rd Fred Hunt 3lbs 1oz 4th John Todd 2lbs 2oz Winner of the Stort Cup is Mark Halverson - points TBC

Sorry just a short write up today as I could not make the match - many thanks Phil for the info It sounds like the bright sunshine and clear water put paid to many plans of sitting it out near the boats for some of the big perch that hunt the Backwater and it was a day for the smaller stuff with small roach and rudd dominating the top weights. Mark must have had a busy day for his 5lbs+ and was clear winner on the day and also picks up the 2 leg Stort Cup this year. 1st Mark Halverson 5lbs 6oz, 2nd Jeff Pearson 3lbs 7oz, 3rd Fred Hunt 3lbs 1oz and 4th John Todd 2lbs 2oz. Weigh sheet to follow when I next see Tony.

Club match/outing

River Stort Backwater

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1st Phil Whitmill 5lbs 5oz 2nd Peter Green 5lbs 1oz 3rd Steve Foster 4lbs 11oz 4th John Carter 3lbs 15oz

Phils day Morning to all, the Weds club fished the River Stort Backwater. It was going to be a very damp day with bad light conditions but not a bad thing when it comes to rivers. With only 10 anglers I put all the favoured pegs in so should be no blanks. I drew peg 12, a much favoured peg in my books and had all the right rigs for the job so very little setting up was needed. I made 3 lines up: 1 right over to the barge; 1 down the margin 5 meters down stream; and 1 middle of the track. Tried all three lines and the most productive was down the middle for a better stamp of roach and rudd with the odd dace and chublets. For the main I was kept busy all day for a weight of 5lbs 5oz 1st Phil Whitmill with 5lbs 5 oz, 2nd Peter Green with 5lbs 1 oz , 3rd Steve Foster with 4lbs 11 oz and 4th John Carter with 3lbs 15 oz . Pic is just to the left of my peg on the Stort.

Club match/outing

Home Farm small lake

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1st Mark Halverson 44lbs 12oz 2nd Peter Green 32lbs 7oz 3rd Gary Pickard 30lbs 12oz

Gary's day Another mild if a little windy week saw us at Home Farm. Despite the sun it was colder than I was expecting in the wind and I was glad to find a hat tucked in my coat pocket. Out of the draw bag came peg 8 which I was pretty happy with as there was no one to my left. Just the pole came out of the bag today with a light and heavier rig for long (it was going to be another breezy day) and a random shallow rig I could use for dobbing along the reed lined edge. Kicking off with micros and expanders was slow going and when the float did go under it was only roach. Time for trying maggots. Again still just roach but a bit quicker. At about an hour in it was hard going all round but then the carp started feeding with Mark, over at the top of the lake, hooking 2 and landing 1 in quick succession. The roach I was catching were just not going to cut it despite a few around the half pound mark. Finally, a bit after the half way point, a couple of small carp showed up for me fishing to my left. I had been ignoring this area as seeing the float was a nightmare amongst the shadows, however, after the quick flurry, it was back to the roach. At this stage Mark was still catching carp as was Peter now on peg 1 and Phil over on peg 5 opposite Mark. Time for a gamble along the left margin which was about the deepest part of my swim. Finally the bites started coming with a few carp getting to the net but with a number of foulhooked fish coming off. At the weigh in I had 30lbs including 6lbs of roach with the lost fish proving costly. Runaway winner on the day was Mark. 1st Mark Halverson 44lbs 12oz, 2nd Peter Green 32lbs 7oz and 3rd Gary Pickard 30lbs 12oz Today's photo is me being too slow for a catch shot of Mark's winning net - think of it more as a release shot.

Winter League match

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st Phil Whitmill 36lbs 2oz 2nd Gary Pickard 16lbs 9oz 3rd Steve Foster 12lbs 1oz 4th Dave Jones 10lbs 15oz

Phil's day Hi to all, the Weds club had its match at Hall Farm large lake. It was going to be a very good day as far as the weather was concerned. I drew peg 26, phew bit of luck, it's been a good peg through the year so had some hopes that it will still produce. Made up two lines for the pole 1 at 13 meters the other in the margin. Cupped in some groundbait and red maggots and on my long line pellet and corn, but the feeder was going to be my main method with a cage feeder and double maggot on the hook.. I fished the feeder for the first hour but nothing so onto my margin line with the pole. It was very difficult to see the float because of the light patterns from the trees but, after about 5 mins of moving it about so I could see it, the float went under and got my first carp. Stayed with this line for another hour and nothing so on to my long line and still nothing. With only a couple of hours to go I went back to the feeder and within 20 mins got another carp this carried on for the rest of the match for a good weight of 36lbs 2oz. Many thanks to Gary for helping with the weigh in. The pic is peg 26. 1st Phil Whitmill with 36lbs 2oz, 2nd Gary Pickard with 16lbs 9oz, 3rd Steve Foster with 12lbs 1oz, 4th Dave Jones with 10lbs 15oz , with it being the 5th round of the winter league I needed this win.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Small Lake

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1st Mark Halverson 4lbs 7oz 2nd Phil Whitmill 4lbs 3oz 3rd John Todd 3lbs 14oz

Gary's day In a change of plan we headed to the Small Lake at Hall Farm rather than Malcolm Barker. After another cold week the hope was we would get a few more fish. We ended up with a pretty mild day if a bit on the cloudy side but no wind thankfully as I was expecting any bites to be pretty difficult to see. Out came a corner peg for me and I set up a couple of rigs expecting to need to fish a long pole in the shallow, clear water. Well the fish were not playing ball. An hour in and not a sign and I was not the only one. Time to try something else. Finally I had a bite down towards some reeds, only a small roach but something. Phil to my right also started picking up the odd roach as did Mark opposite but it was very slow going. John then had a carp over in the far corner which wiped out the small roach so far caught and that was pretty much the pattern for the day. A few small roach and then the odd carp coming out. Sadly my carp was just a baby and I needed his older brother or sister. 1st Mark Halverson 4lbs 7oz, 2nd Phil Whitmill 4lbs 3oz and 3rd John Todd 3lbs 14oz. The photo today has Mark over on the left, John in the middle and Fred to the right - and a mirror calm lake.

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

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1st Steve Foster 69lbs 9oz 2nd Bill Beeston 16lbs 3oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 16lbs 2oz 4th Phil Whitmill 9lbs 13oz

Phil's day Good morning to all, the Weds club fished its match on Beggars Hall. It was a good turn out considering it was 5 degrees below and the lake was part frozen over. I did manage to find 13 pegs that were clear or part clear of ice but it was going to be hard. By the time we got on our pegs the sun was shining and it wasn't too bad. I drew peg 20 it's a summer time peg and in the last 4 matches pegs 20 and 19 have blanked so I didn't hold out too much hope and just fished for a bite really. Made up two pole lines and a feeder rod. Fished all morning without a bite not even a tiny perch then, out of the blue, at midday a bite on the feeder for a delicately landed carp. It was my only bite but it saved a blank. Thanks to Peter Green helping with the booking in in the morning while I walked the lake as Terry Moranda was taking yet another day off. 1st Steve Foster with an amazing 69lbs 9oz, 2nd with one carp Bill Beeston with 16lbs 3oz, 3rd Jeff Pearson with 2 carp for 16lbs 2oz and 4th Phil Whitmill with 1 carp for 9lbs 13oz . Only 5 anglers caught today. Pic is my peg 20 with plenty of ice down the margin.

Club match/outing

River Stort Backwater

Stort Cup 1 of 2

1st Gary Pickard 3lbs 15oz 2nd Terry Moranda 3lbs 12oz Jt 3rd Phil Whitmill 2lbs 12oz Jt 3rd John Todd 2lbs 12oz

Gary's day At last a warm, dry and sunny day - maybe not the best conditions for the Stort but a lot better for me. Out of the draw peg came peg 12, one off the corner peg 13 but not a bad peg for a few small fish. With a low and clear river everyone was gearing up for a few roach on bread punch and then praying for a few big perch amongst the boats and hopefully not too many pike making an appearance. With a couple of small fishing topping whilst setting up it looked like I would get a few more bites than last weekend (given I only had 1 bite it would not take much). A quick look over for perch did not produce any bites so it was time to concentrate down the middle on bread punch. There were plenty of fish there but not the quality hoped for with a lot of small dace and roach that must have been 3 to the ounce. Fred above me on peg 13 was having similar problem - lots of bites and a few fish but not much by way of weight. After an hour or so it was decision time - sit it out for perch or try to catch small fish as fast as I could. As the bankside rumour was it was fishing hard and the perch not showing and being a sucker for getting bites it was the small fish route for me and it was time to set up a whip along with maggots to try and get the micro roach and dace in as fast as I could. It was a very busy 5 hours with a bite a chuck but lots missed as the fish must have been tiny given what I was actually managing to hook. I soon lost count of the fish but had well over a 100 and finished with 3lbs 15oz and a surprise win. 1st Gary Pickard 3lbs 15oz, a close second with 3lbs 12oz was Terry Moranda who sat it out for some good perch and joint 3rd Phil Whitmill and John Todd (with a rare skimmer) on 2lbs 12oz just pipping it from a chasing pack of another 3 anglers. Today's photo is Steve Foster plumbing up before the off complete with sunken boat for added perchy cover (Phil just in shot)

Interclub (Abbey Cross) match/outing

Hunters Hall (Abbey Cross water)

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Abbey Cross won with 42 points to Bishop's Stortford 0 points 1st Barry Cornel 5lbs 5oz 2nd John Carter 4lbs 6oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 3lbs 11oz 4th Alan Fox 3lbs 0oz

Phil's day Morning to all, the Weds club fished its monthly match against Abbey Cross at Hunters Hall. This is going to be a short write up because it was a match of 14 anglers and 10 of us blanked - not even a bite. I was sat in the coldest bit of the lake and froze. Four people did manage to get 1 fish each all bream and 1 was in the last 2mins of the match which got him 2nd. First and well deserved was Barry Cornel with 5lbs 5oz, 2nd John Carter with 4lbs 6oz, 3rd Jeff Pearson with 3lbs 11oz and 4th Alan Fox with 3lbs 0oz. The end results Bishop's Stortford 0 points and Abbey Cross 42 points convincingly winning it. Pic is peg 21 - my peg for the day.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st Phil Whitmill 44lbs 2nd Peter Green 8lbs 13oz 3rd Mark Halverson 5lbs 10oz

Gary's day After a slowly warming week most of the ice had melted at the lake with just the first few pegs near the car park unfishable. At the draw it was deja vue all over again as peg 8 came out for me, I really would like to fish another peg soon. At least the setting up was quicker which was handy as I set up a bit of everything as we expected it was going to be a hard day given the ice water that had gone in. Mark got off to a quick start on peg 6 followed by Peter on peg 7 about 30 mins later. By the halfway point I was biteless with not a sign on feeder or pole (and lunch already eaten). Time for an emergency trip to Phil on peg 12 to cadge a slice of bread. Phil was seeing a lot more action with 4 carp at the time of my visit. Well the bread did not work either. Peter and Mark were still getting a few bites but it was looking very quiet on the lake. Finally the tip went round with 20 mins to go and a small mirror was very carefully played to the net and a DNW avoided. And that was it for me. Phil ran away with the match with 10 carp with the rest of us struggling for the odd bite - roll on Spring. 1st Phil Whitmill 44lbs, 2nd Peter Green with 8lbs 13oz and 3rd Mark Halverson with 5lbs 10oz. Photo today has us getting ready for the off - Phil in the distance, then Dave and Jeff.

Winter League match

River Stort Backwater

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1st Jeff Pearson 4lbs 7oz 2nd Phil Whitmill 4lbs 0oz 3rd Terry Moranda 3lbs 15oz 4th Dave Jones 3lb 9oz

Phil's day Good morning to everyone, the Weds Club fished its 4th round of the winter league on the Backwater of the River Stort. It was a very frosty start with temps of below zero but all pegs were clear of ice and easily fishable. I drew peg 12, not a bad peg, so I fancied my chances today. Made two lines with a clear run through on my middle track that was going to be my main line and an overdepth line for perch over the back next to a barge. Started off on red maggots for the roach with a backup of bread punch if it didn't pan out. Started catching more or less straight away small roach and rudd with the odd dace. This carried on for most of my day until the temperature dropped and the drizzle of rain started then it died so over to my long line by the barge. Got a small perch within minutes then a few more roach and stayed there till the end of the match. I weighed in 4lbs and hoping to beat Dave on the next peg who was leading the league at the time. 1st Jeff Pearson (I might as well go home now at the draw) with 4lbs 7oz , 2nd Phil Whitmill with 4lbs 0oz, 3rd Terry Moranda with 3lbs 15oz and 4th Dave Jones with 3lb 9oz. Well done to all for being there in such cold conditions, the pic was taken in warmer days - John Todd on Peg 5.

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

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Match cancelled as all club lakes frozen solid

Match cancelled as all club lakes frozen solid

Club match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

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1st John Todd 0lbs 8oz 2nd Terry Moranda 0lbs 1oz 3rd Fred Hunt 0lbs 1/4oz

Phil's day Good morning to you all, the Weds Club fished the Malcolm Barker Lake in zero degrees temperature that was bloody cold. I was half hoping it would be frozen over so I could cancel the match but no such (bad) luck as it was virtually free of ice. I drew peg 23, a fair to good peg, but sat there and didn't get a bite all day. It was the same story for 5 out of 8 people - only 3 anglers caught. First John Todd 8oz, 2nd Terry Moranda with 1oz and 3rd Fred Hunt with quarter of an oz. Well done to you all for fishing it out, the pic is of peg 23.

Club match/outing

Home Farm small lake

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1st Gary Pickard 35lbs 2oz 2nd Jeff Pearson 31lbs 15oz 3rd Peter Green 31lbs 2oz 4th Mark Halverson 30lbs 12oz

Gary's day Today was our rescheduled Xmas match arriving between a week of wet weather and the next cold snap. Thankfully it was a dry if rather breezy day. The lake is pretty fair with each peg having its day. Out of the bag came peg 8 for me - towards the top end with Phil and David opposite me and Mark to my left. With some room to my right I was pretty happy with the draw. As the lake is so shallow (about 3 ft) it is an out and out pole venue, however, with the high winds about 7 sections is all that could be fished with any sort of control - even then the odd gust had me letting the pole blow round rather than risk a break. With the good head of silvers here I started out on micros and expanders to be a bit more selective as you need a lot of roach to match a carp. 30 mins in without a sign (or at least one I could see in the wind) meant it was Plan B time - out with the maggots for anything swimming. Things then started coming together with a couple of small carp to kick things off and avoid a blank. Up in the low numbers Jeff and Tony were pulling a few fish together with it being a bit slower down our end. With nothing more to show but a few small roach and the wind really blowing it was time to try a quick go on a maggot feeder and a cup of coffee to warm back up. Well that did not work so it was a question of slogging it out on the pole - setting a trap and waiting for a bite. Slowly they started coming but so did they for Phil and Peter on the other side and Mark next to me. And I could see Phil's and Peter's were a better stamp. At the all out it was going to be close but we all thought we were fishing for second behind Jeff who had been catching steadily all day. At the weigh in my 9 carp and bits went just over 35lbs for a win but it was very close and one fish amongst the top 4 would have made all the difference. 1st Gary Pickard 35lbs 2oz, 2nd Jeff Pearson 31lbs 15oz, 3rd Peter Green 31lbs 2oz and 4th Mark Halverson 30lbs 12oz. Photo today is us before the draw with Peter handing around some of his famous sloe gin.

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

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1st place Steve Foster 32lbs 14oz 2nd John Carter 10lbs 5oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 9lbs 9oz 4th Ray Gibson with 7lbs 8oz

Phil's day Good morning to all. The Weds club fished its match at Beggars Hall. We knew it was going to be hard as it's predominantly a big fish water so it's a waiting game this time of the year. I drew peg 17, not a bad peg although last match there it blanked. I set up two lines on the pole and doted it about on the feeder - nothing worked. I had a roach for 4oz that saved a blank but believe it or not got me 5th place. It was a nice day weather wise until the last 20 minutes then the rain turned up just in time for the weigh-in [of course it does - Ed] 1st place with 32lbs 14oz was Steve Foster, 2nd John Carter with 10lbs 5oz , 3rd Jeff Pearson with 9lbs 9oz, and 4th Ray Gibson with 7lbs 8oz. The pic is my peg to the island,

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st Mark Halverson 28lbs 10oz 2nd Fred Hunt 12lbs 4oz 3rd Gary Pickard 9lbs 12oz

Gary's day After a mild week and some decent weights on the Weds match I was hoping for a few bites. The BBC's weather forecast ended up wrong (very wrong) and the chances of showers later turned into heavy rain, strong winds, hail and even a clap of thunder. I pulled out peg 9, in the deeps with Phil to the right on 10 and Dave to the left on 8. I was pleasantly surprised when 5 mins in the tip went round and a 4lb carp was in the net. It was a false dawn though. Another small carp 45 mins later still had me hoping but it was clearly fishing very difficult despite odd fish topping all day - obviously always just beyond the mid-way mark in no man's land. A few tries on the pole at 6 sections, even 4 sections was unfishable later due to the wind, ended with a nice roach before the wind and rain meant it was back to the tip. Tries on the pole during the day (when the wind dropped enough to hold the pole still and the rain eased off enough to see the float) found me another small F1, a small perch and a gudgeon that was bigger than the perch. Tony had mercy on us and the match finished at 2.30 rather than 3. My fish went just under 10lbs with Fred's 2 late carp pushing him into second. Mark on peg 5 had a steady day with his 6 carp on the feeder easily winning. 1st Mark Halverson 28lbs 10z, 2nd Fred Hunt 12lbs 4oz and 3rd Gary Pickard 9lbs 12oz. Sorry no photo today as it was still raining at the weigh in.

Water booking - Abbey Cross

River Stort Backwater

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M.Adams 3-10-0 A.Fox 2-11-0 J.Smith 1-13-0

In case you were wondering how it fished - here is the AC write up Our first match of the new year was fished on a backwater of the River Stort, close to Taylor’s, which is owned by the Bishop's Stortford club. At the start of the day the flow and colour were good, but heavy rain during the morning led to a lot of debris and dirty water entering the river, which severely limited catches in the afternoon. Top on the day was myself with 3lbs 10ozs, Alan Fox was 2nd with 2lbs 11ozs and Jo Smith was 3rd with 1lbs 13ozs. M.Adams 3-10-0 A.Fox 2-11-0 J.Smith 1-13-0 A.Sims 1-12-0 W.Ramthor 1-11-0 K.Shaw 1-9-0 B.Cornell 1-3-0

Interclub (Abbey Cross) match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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Stortford were the winners with 76 points to Abbey Cross's 62 points 1st Alan Sims 23lbs 8oz 2nd Bill Beeston 21lbs 14oz 3rd Terry Moranda 20lbs 12oz 4th Tony Cruci 19lbs 13oz 5th Phil Whitmill 18lbs 2oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds Club had its monthly match against Abbey Cross on our water at Hall Farm. It was a very dark and drizzly morning but it was mild with the promise it was going to be dry later. I drew peg 26, an absolute flyer of a peg in the summer but shallow water not what I needed. Made up two pole lines for maggot and pellet and a feeder for when all else fails. Started off on my 10 meter line and soon got a perch - not too concerned at this stage as it's a points match but it didn't get much better by the end of the morning so on to my feeder. Still nothing so tried the search method - here, there and anywhere. By 1.30, with a hour to go, got my first carp this was followed by 4 more carp in quick succession then all quite until the last 15 minutes with my 6th carp and I weighed in 18lbs 2oz. 1st Alan Sims with 23lbs 8oz, 2nd Bill Beeston with 21lbs 14oz , 3rd Terry Moranda with 20lbs 12oz, 4th Tony Cruci with 19lbs 13oz and 5th Phil Whitmill with 18lbs 2oz. Well done to my Stortford team overall winners today with 76 points to Abbey Cross 62 points.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

Xmas match

1st Steve Foster 21lbs 5oz 2nd Ray Gibson 10lbs 10oz 3rd John Carter 9lbs 6oz 4th Peter Green 7lbs 11oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds Club fished its Christmas match at Hall Farm. It's become a tradition now for us to have a few sausage rolls and a drop of Peter's sloe gin before the draw. I drew peg 18 yet another bad draw but at least we got clear water with no ice just a bit at one end but we pegged round that. Started off with just two lines and a feeder; my feeder line produced nothing not even a micro perch so stayed with the pole for the rest of the day. I got my first perch, not too bad about 1oz, so carried on with my 10 meter line but this produced nothing must have been just an odd fish. Stayed on my margin - this got me another 6 perch and a roach then about 1 ish got my first carp and lost it at the landing net. Went on to hook 3 more carp and lost every one of them. To be honest I was glad when 2.30 came round to finish the match. 1st Steve Foster with 21lbs 5oz, 2nd Ray Gibson with 10lbs 10oz, 3rd John Carter with 9lbs 6oz and 4th Peter Green with 7lbs 11oz I would like to thank Gary for doing his side of the weigh in and Terry and Peter for supplying booze and sausage rolls, wishing you all out there a very merry Christmas.

Club match/outing

Home Farm

Xmas match

4 inches of ice meant the match was cancelled

Winter League match

River Stort Backwater

N/A

1st Dave Jones 1lb 11oz 2nd Steve Foster 10oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 4oz

Phil's day Hi all, winter league 3rd round was held on the Backwater in Pig Lane lucky enough the only water around that wasn't frozen over. I drew peg 13 in itself not a bad peg but, because of the extreme cold, who knew. Started off on bread punch and crumb and within an hour started getting bites but could not connect with them. Then I finally caught one a roach of about 1oz that was my best fish of the day . I weighed in 4 oz I thought last week was bad and couldn't get worse but I was wrong but at lease I didn't blank 1st Dave Jones with 1lb 11oz, 2nd Steve Foster with 10oz and 3rd Phil Whitmill with 4 oz

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

N/A

Match cancelled as Beggar's Hall and Hall Farm were frozen over

Gary's day It was short! With the ice at Beggar's Hall being over an inch thick the day before we had a try to fish at Hall Farm. Sadly, Phil's ice breaker proved to be under gunned for Hall Farm's ice so it was an early finish without a line being wet. Today's photo is not an arty black and white shot but there was no blade of green to be seen between the fog and frost.

Water booking

River Stort Backwater

N/A

11 fished with a winning weight of 3lb 15oz

Interclub (Abbey Cross) match/outing

Taylor's Lake - Car Park (Abbey Cross water)

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Bishop's Stortford won the team match with 85 points to Abbey Cross's 42 1st Steve Foster 4lbs 8oz 2nd Ray Gibson 3lbs 11oz 3rd Tony Cruci 12oz Jt 4th Bill Beeston 11oz Jt 4th Alan Fox 11oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds club fished its monthly interclub match at Taylor's Lake - but the much more difficult Car Park end. It was always going to be hard going with 2 heavy frost but you never know. I drew peg 16 and didn't have a clue what it's like so fished very light looking for the odd roach or perch. As I suspected, it was a very hard day with only 4 bites for me - the end result being 4 roach for 5 oz and saved the blank. 1st Steve Foster with 4lbs 8oz, 2nd Ray Gibson with 3lbs 11oz, 3rd Tony Cruci with 12oz and joint 4th Bill Beeston and Alan Fox with 11oz, pic is my swim for the day. And Bishop's Stortford won the team match with 85 points to Abbey Cross's 42.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st Gary Pickard 36lbs 1oz 2nd Peter Green 27lbs 5oz 3rd Tony Cruci 27lbs 4oz

Gary's day It was a cold start but thankfully not freezing. Today's peg for me was number 4, middling in many ways and not where I fancied. There was the odd fishing topping when we set up which was encouraging. With it being a shallower peg, I decided to fish long on the pole and feeder ignoring the margins. I also set up a waggler, not something I usually do at Hall Farm, but the conditions were perfect. A start on the feeder did not produce anything so time to try the waggler line which I had been firing a few maggots over. A quick bite, which I completely missed, was encouraging as the lake seemed to be fishing hard. A few minutes later I had a small F1 in the net and the blank was avoided. 1 more F1 but no more so time to try something else and out went a maggot feeder. A wrap around bite with nothing to show and then another fish falling off after a few seconds was not a great start but it did get me a rare skimmer. Time for the pole. The bites were slow in coming but came just often enough to make it worth staying on especially when one was a bonus carp of about 9lb. Along the bank I could hear the odd splash and see the ripples to show others were catching too. Disaster struck though with a bit over an hour to go with a sickening crunch letting me know all was not well with my number 8 section. A couple more small F1s on the feeder was me for the last hour. Whilst waiting for the tip to go round I could see Peter on peg 2 catching up with a late run of fish. At the weigh in it was going to be close. Thankfully I had done enough pre-pole disaster. 1st Gary Pickard 36lbs 1oz, 2nd Peter Green 27lbs 5oz and 3rd Tony Cruci 27lbs 4oz. Today's photo is proof there are still a few bream in Hall Farm.

Water booking

Hall Farm Large Lake

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Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

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1st Ray Gibson 31lbs 4oz 2nd Fred Hunt 17lbs 1oz 3rd Barry Cornel 10lbs 0oz 4th Terry Moranda 5lbs 6oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds club fished Beggars Hall club lake this week. I drew peg 5 not what I wanted but it is what it is. Made up two pole lines and a feeder, to say the least it was not a good day. I managed 4 good roach and lost a big carp with 5 mins to go to the end. I weighed in a 1lb and thanks for coming. The pic is from my peg as I didn't have much else to do. 1st Ray Gibson with 31lbs 4 oz, 2nd Fred Hunt with 17lbs 1oz, 3rd Barry Cornel with 10lbs 0oz and 4th Terry Moranda with 5lbs 6oz - well done to all.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st Gary Pickard 51lbs 5oz 2nd Mark Halverson 38lbs 3oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 26lbs 13oz 4th Peter Green 25lbs 12oz

Gary's day A change of venue today, Hall Farm rather than MBL after Wednesday's match on MBL turned into a grueller for most. Today's forecast was 50:50 whether it would rain or not - it was spot on with rain for about half the match! Thankfully though it was pretty mild and the wind forecast did not materialize. Now the draw bag and out came peg 8 for me. I was not overly happy as I had the peg a couple of months back and really struggled to get past loads of small silvers. With pegs 1 and 2 in it looked an uphill struggle. I started out on the feeder whilst feeding some maggots on the pole lines and some early indications got the spirits lifted. The first 2 came off as I seemed to be foulhooking them on a feeder, the second got over the net before coming off - nobody likes to see that. Thankfully the next couple of small carp stayed on and I was off the mark. There were a few fish topping and Jeff on peg 10 was getting a few. The bush to my left meant I had no idea what was happening beyond Peter on Peg 7. Time for a try on the pole after an hour or so on the feeder. A roach and then a few chunky gudgeon had me fearing another day of being bitted out. It then went very quiet on the pole line but thankfully the carp had arrived. From then on it was a steady day, not a huge number of bites, however, when the float went under, it was usually a carp. To the left Peter was catching steadily on the feeder and they looked a better stamp and Jeff started catching again towards the end. It looked a close one. At the weigh in I completely underestimated and my mid-30s guess was miles out with the carp net just going over 50lb. For the end of November the lake fished really well with lots of 20lb+ weights. Photo is Jeff who just pipped Peter to their ongoing 20p side bet. 1st Gary Pickard 51lbs 5oz, 2nd Mark Halverson 38lbs 3oz, 3rd Jeff Pearson 26lbs 13oz and 4th Peter Green 25lbs 12oz.

Winter League match

Malcolm Barker Lake

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1st John Todd 3lbs 8oz 2nd Tony Cruci 1lbs 7oz 3rd Terry Moranda 7oz 4th David Jones 6oz

Phils day Good morning to all, the Weds club fished the Malcolm Barker Lake for its 2nd round in our Winter League. I drew peg 3 not a good peg this time of the year but you got what you got. I made up two lines for the pole one at 14 meters and one about 10 meters, the bait of the day was red maggots and bread punch. Well that's about it as the day went really bad - the fish just were not interested at all. I ended with 3 micro perch and 4 roach for 4 oz every bite was hard fought for and I was glad the end of the day came round. Well done to those that stuck it out which was everybody. 1st John Todd with 3lbs 8oz, 2nd Tony Cruci with 1lbs 7oz , 3rd Terry Moranda with 7oz and 4th David Jones with 6oz.

Club match/outing

Home Farm small lake

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1st Mark Halverson 25lbs 15oz 2nd Jeff Pearson 23lbs 2oz 3rd David Jones 11lbs 10oz

Gary's day Today we were back to Little Walden's Home Farm and it was a very wet drive there - I had no idea it had rained that much overnight. Thankfully the rain held off until we headed home as it was cold enough without getting wet. When we got to the lake I think we were all a bit surprised to see it back to normal levels - a few weeks ago it was 2ft down. For me it was peg 1 and I was pretty happy with the draw as this peg normally does well - it is on its own down the narrow end of the lake. With it being colder, I started long on hard pellet - optimistically on 6mms and then quickly to 4mms when it became clear it was not going to be a bagging day. After 30 mins or so without any indications it was Plan B time - micros and expanders. That did the trick and I had a couple of indications and then a small carp. But then nothing more. So time for Plan C - micros and some dead maggots raided from the freezer. That got me a couple of indications but then I bumped a couple of fish and that was it for that line for the rest of the day. It looked like the sudden top up of water had the fish unsettled and off the bottom as there was regular mutterings throughout the day as people hooked and lost carp. With a couple of hours to go it was decision time. Another try as far out as I could on the pole did not get me any bites and the leaves on the surface made it hard work. For the final hour it was out on the feeder (about Plan K by this time), not something I normally do here as it is quite a small lake, however, this found me a couple more carp but my final 10lbs ish had me languishing in the middle order. Mark and Jeff at the other end of the lake had a steady day with around 5 carp each and Phil and David towards the middle had a day of catching big perch. 1st Mark Halverson 25lbs 15oz, 2nd Jeff Pearson 23lbs 2oz and 3rd David Jones 11lbs 10oz. Photo is David about to land a carp.

Club match/outing

River Stort Backwater

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1st Peter Green 5lbs 14oz 2nd Barry Cornel 4lbs 11oz 3rd Steve Foster 2lbs 14oz 4th David Jones 2lbs 13oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds BSDAS club fished its weekly match on our private stretch of the river. It was a good turnout considering the amount of rain. I put in all the best pegs and spaced us out to give everyone a decent chance of a few fish. I drew peg 7 not too bad a peg and decided I would concentrate on roach today so down the centre of the river and a line to the barge. It was breadcrumb and punch with the odd look on maggots. Steve next to me was all out for perch. The day went as I thought it might - a lot of small roach and dace with the odd rudd. I did get 4 decent roach to weigh in with 2lbs 9oz 1st place was Peter Green with one very good perch and other silvers for 5lbs 14oz, 2nd Barry Cornel with 4lbs 11oz mainly perch, 3rd Steve Foster with 2lbs 14oz mainly perch and 4th David Jones with 2lbs 13oz mixed silvers. Well done to all it made a pleasant change from carp bashing PS if you want a few pike there were plenty active including one that took a liking to Steve's plummet before the match start.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

Brandon Shield

Stortford retained the Brandon Shield with 144lbs 15oz to Sawbridgeworth's 72lbs 5oz 1st David Jones 37lbs 1oz 2nd Colin Hawkins 33lbs 14oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 27lbs 14oz 4th Mark Halverson 21lbs 9oz

Gary's day After a wet couple of weeks the mild weather continues but it was dry at long last. Today was the Brandon Shield with us fishing against Sawbridgeworth at Hall Farm. The Sawbo team looked to be under strict instructions to get there early as a few were queueing up when Tony arrived to open the gate. The B/S team were not so early. At the draw Tony pulled out the odd pegs for us and then it was peg 19 for me. It has been a while since I fished this bit of the lake and I had forgotten how deep it gets. Thankfully we were on a 10 start so I had time find some more suitable rigs after I completely misguessed the depth by a couple of feet. With the weather being all over the place at the moment a careful start was called for until I could work out if the fish actually wanted to feed. I still haven't quite worked that one out even after the match! It was a very odd day with fish topping all day down the middle of the lake and in any pegs that had noone on them - they knew where the gaps were - but they never seemed to actually get their heads down to feed despite all the activity. Typical moody F1 behaviour. I did though have plenty of bites but mostly from silvers. Just when I thought I had managed to feed off the smaller stuff a new wave of them appeared. Amongst these I did manage a few F1 and carp but it was never going to be enough to compete with pegs 1, 2 and 3 on the other bank who all had a steady day which I had a great view of . At the all out I had more than I thought with 15lbs 10oz but needed double that to make the frame. Stortford managed to retain the Brandon Shield with 144lbs 15oz to Sawbridgeworth's 72lbs 5oz Individually it was 1st David Jones 37lbs 1oz, 2nd Colin Hawkins 33lbs 14oz, 3rd Jeff Pearson 27lbs 14oz and 4th Mark Halverson 21lbs 9oz.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st Gary Pickard 45lbs 10oz 2nd Tony Parker 25lbs 13oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 19lbs 0oz 4th Peter Green 14lbs 10oz

Phil's day Hi to all, the Weds club fished its club match at Hall Farm and the weather, although windy, was dry at last. I drew peg 24, a good peg, so had confidence in catching a few fish. I made a feeder for 20 meters and two lines for the pole - one at 7 secs of pole and in the margins. I fed pellet and corn at 7 secs and red maggots in the margins and started off on the feeder. I had my first carp about 30 mins later for about a pound and carried on with this for another 2 hours and got a second carp but it was obvious they were not having it so onto my pole lines Started off on my 7 secs line and had very small roach and perch so down on the margin lines. I carried on with this for a couple of hours before I got a carp - it was a better size so continued till the end of the match for 2 more carp to weigh in 14lbs 2oz 1st Gary Pickard with 45lbs 10oz, 2nd Tony Parker with 25lbs 13oz, 3rd Jeff Pearson with 19lbs 0oz and 4th Peter Green with 14lbs 10oz, well done to all. Today's photo has those on the other bank heading to their pegs for the day.

Club match/outing

River Stort Backwater

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1st Mark Halverson 2lbs 11oz 2nd Tony Cruci 2lbs 8oz 3rd Gary Pickard 2lbs 1oz

Gary's day It was another very wet match with the rain finally easing about lunchtime. After the rainy week we also faced a heavily coloured river that was pushing through. But it was still mild so a few fish should show. It was a short walk for me to peg 2 with Tony downstream on peg 1. After seeing the river, I found a 2 gramme rig I made up a couple of years ago when we had a winter of storms. It was just about running through OK if I could dodge the leaves and bits of branch coming downstream. A small roach after 20 mins got my hopes up but that was it for another 3 hours or so. In the meantime, Tony had picked up a big perch so it looked like the match was over! After a walk to warm up and seeing few small fish were showing well off the bottom, David was having a bite a chuck but from very small fish, I dug out a light rig for fishing half depth and the float started going under. I had a busy last couple of hours putting 40 or so small fish in the net but it was too little too late and a lesson learned. 1st Mark Halverson 2lbs 11oz of small fish, 2nd Tony Cruci 2lbs 8oz with a perch of 1lbs 10oz and 3rd Gary Pickard 2lbs 1oz. Honourable mention to David Jones whose 90+ fish came in at 1lbs 12oz. Photo today is Tony and his chunky perch.

Canoe Club race 11:30am - 2:30pm

River Stort - Bishop's Stortford to Sawbridgeworth

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