Match results/Events info

Interclub (Saffron Walden)

Bordeaux Pit (Saffron Walden water) - venue change

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Bishop's Stortford won with 48 points to Saffron Walden's 56 1st Rob Calderon 5lbs 5oz 2nd Fred Hunt 2lbs 12oz 3rd Steve Foster 1lbs 9oz 4th John Todd 1lbs 8oz Silvers Clive Bradford 2lbs 8oz

Rob's day Hi All At Bordeaux today for the final match in the series of four against Saffron Walden. Seven a side today and Fred decided to return all carp over 2lb back immediately and count as 5lb. All carp under 2lb and F1s silvers etc to count in the silvers net – there was a separate pool for silvers. Drew peg 33 which apparently can throw up a few F1s but we didn’t know how hard the fishing would be today – apparently a north east wind didn’t bode well. Decided mainly on a silvers approach today with a couple of light rigs for out long – and a couple for closer in including a margin carp rig in case they came in later. First hour passed biteless – little action around the lake although Fred had landed some type of crucian hybrid around a couple of pounds and one or two roach caught on the opposite bank. Then the float dipped slightly and an instinctive strike was met with something solid. Took my time and trusting the 20 hook and 0.11 bottom would hold and eventually slid the net under a common around 10lbs. After that very little action for the next 5 hours – 4 micro perch and a small chublet was all I could muster – although it seemed hard for everyone so the carp could be the difference. Funnily enough on the last match Phil caught the only carp on that day from the same peg! A couple of hard luck stories from our team at the end – Tony had lost a 4lb+ tench at the net when his hook length snapped, and Toddy had lost a carp that made it into the marginal weeds. At the weigh in Clive Bradford weighed in 2lb 8oz to claim the silvers pool from peg 25 opposite the island but overall a good performance from all our team on a hard day. Luckily I just needed the carp to come first, Fred second with 2lbs 12oz from peg 1. Steve Foster and John Todd completing the frame with 1lbs 9oz and 1lbs 8oz. Team result was a win for Bishop's Stortford 48 points to 56 – completing a 4-0 win in the series. Well done to our team and a thank you to Saffron Walden for hosting us today – especially Fred for his hard work in organising the match.

Club Match / Outing

Home Farm Small Lake

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1st Tony Cruci 45lbs 2oz 2nd Gary Pickard 20lbs 15oz 3rd Rob Calderon 18lbs 14oz

Gary's day Today was a trip to Home Farm's small lake which was still very low at around half it's normal already shallow depth. Out of the bag was peg 6 for me today with the rest of us spread around the lake. On plumbing up I had at best 2 foot of depth anywhere with inches along the edges. I started at about 10m on the pole with hard pellets. Rob on peg 5 also started long and was getting bites from the off. Half an hour in I had had one tentative bite I missed and Rob had good carp in the net. It was fishing hard. By the midway point I was down to trying a small method feeder as I could not buy a bite anywhere. By now Phil over on peg 1 had a carp in the net after bumping one as had Darren. Tony seems to be the only person getting regular bites and was slowly putting a few carp together. A nice roach after 4 hours was followed by nothing more long. It was going to be the margins or nothing it seemed. At this point I was well and truly lying in last. With just over an hour to go I saw a bit of mud kicked up to the left margin and a quick go found me a bite which I missed and a fish bow waved out of the margin. By feeding some corn and groundbait and being careful with rig placement I started to get a few signs and after bumping a carp finally had one in the net. Tony was still catching and Rob and Phil also had a couple more each. In a busy finish I ended up with 5 carp in the net and a couple bumped so it looked like it was going to be close for runner up spot. Tony was today's run away winner with 45lbs but then it was only a small carp separating the next 3 of us with my 20lbs just beating Rob's 18lbs and Phil missing out with 17lbs. Photo today is Tony before the all in with Phil in the background.

Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall - venue change

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1st Rob Calderon 88lbs 5oz 2nd Bill Beeston 88lbs 2oz 3rd Fed Hunt 78lbs 11oz

Rob's day Hi All At a wet and windy Beggar's Hall today although the promise of early downpours did not materialize and we had a mostly dry but blustery day. Only 5 on today due to a lot of members attending Don Copping’s funeral. Due to the numbers decided on a walk off today – a choice of pegs 16-22. Into the bag and out came my name first, so it had to be peg 18! Graham opting for 17, Dennis 16, Fred 19 and Bill 20. As on Sunday, with the water down decided to set up at water level, fine when your down there but not so easy getting out (thanks to Bill for helping me with my nets and box at the end). Set up a method feeder a few rigs for the margins – along the margin to my right and by the reeds to the left. A quiet start with no bites for an hour on the feeder then a couple in quick succession – one about 1lb then a proper one around 8lbs. Fed the margins early and the carp came in both sides and looked to be big fish. Had a couple on paste by the reeds straight away – both doubles. Took some getting in a they charged out in the middle and had to hold 12 meters of pole out in the wind hoping everything holds! A lot of fish in the right hand margin but couldn’t get it right – either the feeding or where exactly to fish – 1 foot tight in then slopes down to about 3 foot a meter or so out – I’ll have to ask Gary how it's done! Foul hooked more than properly hooked. Apart from one down the edge on the feeder, alternated the sides for a couple of more carp but ended up thinking I should have caught a lot more seeing the amount of fish in the swim. No idea what else had been caught so started the weigh in at peg 16 – Dennis 21lbs 4oz and Graham 50lbs 11oz. I had clicked 40lbs on the first net but it seems the fish were bigger than I thought so this went 51lbs – knocked back to 50lbs for a total of 88lbs 5oz. By the sounds of it was going to be close – Fred on 19 weighing 78lbs 11oz – caught on the feeder. Bill next and was having trouble lifting the first net out – reason being this went over 57lbs and proved a bit costly as he weighed in a total of 88lbs 2oz! So a win but by default – well done to Bill for actually catching more than peg 18 – as has been mentioned before at the moment the middle pegs on the high bank fishing best.

River Stort Canoe Club event

River Stort (main river)

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Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall

Ralph Jarvis Rose Bowl 2 of 2

1st Gary Pickard 125lbs 3oz 2nd Kevin Turner 99lbs 11oz 3rd Fred Hunt 58lb 14oz

Gary's day Today was a trip to Beggars Hall with autumn well and truly with us: a colder start and very wet finish to the day. Out of the bag came peg 18 which I was very happy with as it has been doing well in the last few matches. The plan was to fish further out on the pole with hard pellets, a feeder for if the wind picked up too much and then down the edges. As the water was well down I ended up putting the box down below the platform so I was not going to see anyone else today down there. It was a steady start with the odd bite on hard pellet and an hour so in I had 3 carp in the net. Despite a bit of fizzing over my feed getting a bite took lots of tweaking of how I laid my rig in or changing the size / colour pellet on the band. A couple of quick tries on the feeder whilst I rested the pole line had indications but only 1 bite. I could hear the odd splash to my left so either a few carp were being caught or the ducks were going nuts. To my right it seemed pretty quiet. With a couple of hours to go it was time to try the margins. The left hand side near the reeds was a bit of a bust with 1 bite and a huge lump of a carp lost at the net when the hook pulled. The right though seemed to have fish there but I needed to fish long to get past some weed along the edges. By the end the bites were coming thick and fast - just as the rain rolled in. Kevin to my left also sounded like he was catching well too. Elsewhere Darren on peg 17 was having a nightmare with fish coming off. The middle pegs seems to fish better on the day with lots of tales of carp lost. 1st Gary Pickard 125lbs, 2nd Kevin Turner 99lbs and 3rd Fred Hunt 58lbs. Picture today is my peg before the off - sorry nothing from the end as it was lashing down.

Summer league results

Various

Wednesday Club Summer League

1st Rob Calderon 57 points Jt 2nd Peter Green and Bill Beeston 55 points Jt 3rd Fred Hunt and Jeff Pearson 52 points

It all came down to the last couple of matches with Rob just doing enough to keep ahead of Peter and Bill but with only 6 points splitting the top 5 1st Rob Calderon 57 points Jt 2nd Peter Green and Bill Beeston 55 points Jt 3rd Fred Hunt and Jeff Pearson 52 points

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

Summer League 6 of 6

Low bank 1st John Carter 83lbs 6oz 2nd Jeff Pearson 52lbs 14oz 3rd Peter Green 37lbs 8oz High bank 1st Fred Hunt 48lbs 6oz 2nd Graham Carter 44lbs 13oz 3rd Bill Beeston 39lbs 10oz

Rob's day Hi All At Hall Farm today for the final round of the Summer league – forecast to be rain and wind today. Had a bit of a lead in the league so just hoping for a reasonable draw today – anywhere in the 20s would be good. No peg 13 today – put in 14 instead – couldn’t draw that could I ??? Anyway setting my box up in peg 14, put up a feeder rod and a few pole rigs – for 10m out and the margins. Started on the feeder and after an hour had one carp around 3lb and a F1 about 1 ½ lb. No more so onto the pole for no bites. Fed the margins and after a few minutes noticed 2 carp on the feed – seemed to be the larger ones in Hall Farm. Tried all baits, corn, maggots, paste etc but nothing would take the bait – carp really spooky. Happy to come in close but as soon as they saw the line/hook bolted out. After around 3 hours all quiet my end of the lake – Terry opposite on 12 just a few roach (although ended up with a couple around 10 – 12 oz) Barry, Phil and Ray just a couple of carp between them. Eventually put a grain of corn on a carp’s nose and it took it – after a good fight landed a 12lb common. This turned out the last bite and ended up with 17lb 7oz At the weigh in, as expected the deep end struggled but some good weights elsewhere, notably John Carter's 83lbs 6oz from peg 4 to top the low bank. Jeff second from peg 1 with 52lbs 14oz and Peter third with 37lbs 8oz from peg 2. On the high bank Fred came top with 48lbs 6oz from 24, Graham 44lbs 13oz second from peg 20 and Bill third from 26 with 39lbs 10oz. Today's picture is Peter - next time Rob will get the rest of him.

Interclub (Sawbridgeworth / Abbey Cross)

Sawbridgeworth club lake

Triple Cup (Sawbridgeworth / Abbey Cross)

Bishop's Stortford did it again with 43 points to Abbey Cross on 59 and Sawbridgeworth on 63 Section A 1st Kevin Turner 81lbs 15oz 2nd R Brace 41lbs 9oz 3rd Bob Fox 41lbs Section B [TBC] 1st 2nd 3rd Section C 1st Jeff Pearson 120lbs 70z 2nd M Bailey 114lbs 1oz 3rd Mark Halverson 111lbs 10oz

Gary's day Today was the Triple Cup versus Sawbridgeworth and Abbey Cross with Sawbo hosting this year at their club lake. It was going to be an interesting day. The lake is full of fish but carp were going to dominate the weigh sheets. As each carp counts as 10lbs that gives you an idea of how big they are in the lake. Out of the bag came peg 14 for me. On arriving at the swim the first impression was not good. I was in a small channel off the main lake with pegs either side and only 11m wide. I had an inviting lilly bed stretching across most of the channel to my right but it screamed lost fish. My plan was to fish to the left and hope the fish ignored dashing into the lillies. With only limited water in front of me set up was simple: a couple of pole rigs and a small method feeder. At the all in I fed a few micros and dropped in with an expander on the hook looking for a few skimmers to get team points on the board. The float dipped and the strike was meant with non-bream like resistance as a carp charged into the lillies and was gone taking a bit of my rig with it. About 20 mins later the float went under again and another carp was on running left this time towards the main lake. My left hand neighbour also struck into a carp at the same time. After a few minutes things felt a bit odd and we found ourselves tangled as our carp had crossed. In fact it was a perfect hook to hook connection. Thankfully the carp started to stay on the hook and a few were getting to the landing net. To my left the anglers in the main lake were also starting to hook and sometimes land carp. A couple of tench and decent skimmers were a nice break from turbocharged carp for me. By the midway point I had 5 carp but bites were slowing and it was only carp now with no signs of silvers. And far too many were now deciding to charge round the point of the channel straight into a sunken tree. I could hear that others on the lake were having similar issues with an expense crunching noise at one point echoing over the lake My battle with my left hand neighbour was tight with us seeming to take turns in getting a carp. In the end it was a 9 carp each draw but with my silvers edging me in front. It was a case of far too many lost today for me trying to keep them out of the snags. An enjoyable but frustrating day. With a lot of carp being caught and plenty lost we did not have a clue as to who had won. We knew we had done pretty well with some decent results but you can only ever see a few pegs on this lake with its twists and turns. In the end our consistency meant we ended up with a comfortable looking win on paper but a few carp either way could have swung it. Bishop's Stortford did it again with 43 points to Abbey Cross on 59 and Sawbridgeworth on 63. And well done to Rob Calderon who ended up with 22 carp

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

Beggar's Hall

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Bishop's Stortford won with 40 points to Abbey Cross' 38 points - another tight result High Bank 1st Peter Green 52lbs 5oz 2n Rob Calderon 47lbs 11oz Low Bank 1st Phil Whitmill 48lbs 5oz 2nd Martin Adams 28lbs 13oz

Rob's day Hi All At a very wet and windy Beggars Hall today for another Interclub match with Abbey Cross. 13 on today so 7 v 6 in favour of Bishop's Stortford so we would discount the lowest weight. I drew peg 19 – not my favourite on the High Bank but has been producing a few fish recently. The level is still down so it seemed a long way to the water – set up a feeder and a bomb rod and a couple of pole rigs: one for the left margin at 3 feet; and another for next to the tree on my right, again in around 3 feet. Paying the top two on each bank today – it wasn’t going to be easy trying to match pegs 16, 17 and especially 18 (Peter Green on this peg). Started on the hybrid feeder and waited around 45 minutes before the first bite – a good fish around 10lbs. Another one followed 30 minutes later around 8lbs – then went quiet. Could hear some splashing from my right so knew Peter was having some action – also Alan netting a couple on 20. Fred seemed to be having some fun with the lily pads on peg 21 – apparently losing a few – not so much fun when he came up to borrow a landing net head – a 15lbs carp going through a tear in his net after unhooking and disappearing into the depths! On the other bank, after a few small fish, Phil and Martin looked to be catching a couple of carp each from their margins. Into the last 2 hours and a try on the pole to the left produced nothing so onto the right by the tree produced a jumping bream around 2 ½ lbs then a carp well into double figures. After a strategic trip to Hall Farm to investigate their facilities, back to the tree and another carp which was the last one on the pole. Phil looked to be catching a few over on peg 3 – some big fish by the look of it. I had one more on the tip down the edge while packing up the pole. Lake fished ok today given the weather forecast (which was not as bad as we feared) – Pete topping the High Bank from peg 18 with 52lbs 5oz, my net of 5 carp and a bream 47lbs 11oz second – closer than I thought. On the Low Bank Phil weighed a good 48lbs 5oz to win his bank, Martin second with 28lbs 13oz. Team Result Bishop's Stortford 40 Abbey Cross 38 – thanks to Martin for weighing in the Low Bank today – much appreciated.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm Small Lake - venue change

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1st Peter Green 38lbs 12oz 2nd Darren Cope 34lbs 3rd Mark Halverson 15lbs 8oz

Gary's day With MBL still being weedy today's match moved to Hall Farm's small lake. With 8 of us here it was going to be cosy. Out of the peg came the one peg I did but want - peg 5, the only peg in the bag without any reed bed for cover. It was going to be a hard day. Set up was pretty easy: one pole rig for out long on pellets to avoid the small fish; one rig for the edge; and a small method feeder if I got desperate. It was a slow start for me but Darren got off to a flyer with a run of small carp from down the side of the reeds near him. Peter opposite me was also starting to get a few fish. Finally my float wobbled and I had a small mirror carp of half a pound or so. A lovely little fish but I was falling behind quickly. John over in the far corner also then had a decent carp and I was even further behind. After that first bite the float was wobbling all over the place as the pellets were being attacked by very small fish. A try with the feeder did not help so it was back to the pole and hoping something bigger would push out the small fish. Peter and Darren were still catching although with the odd quiet spells and Rob was also now starting to get a few fish. For me it was not going well, the occasional couple of small fish and then nothing but roach wobbles. A late decent carp on corn down the edge helped but it was the one and only margin fish. Peter looked to be a runaway winner today but it was a lot closer than we will all expected. Peter putting 38lbs on the scales and Darren's 2 late lost carp leaving him 2nd with 34lbs and then it was down into the teens with Mark picking up third with 15lbs. Picture today is Peter with a net of lovely looking carp putting on weight quickly.

Club Match / Outing

Wickham Hall

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1st Tony Cruci 6lbs 11oz 2nd Rob Calderon 5lbs 11oz 3rd John Todd 2lbs 9oz

Rob's day Hi All At Wickham Hall today for a change of venue from Malcolm Barkers. Only 6 today due to other commitments so could spread ourselves around the pathed area of the lake. Question is would peg 12 win again after this peg has won the last few matches. Tony drew this peg today – myself next to him on 14. Peter drew peg 5 up the other end with Tony Parker, John Todd and Barry in between. Decided on just 2 tactics today – 4m whip for the small fish and a feeder for the carp (maybe a long pole for the bream might have been a good idea?) but last visit saw a lot of small rudd in the margins so fancied going for them. As it happened didn’t see one rudd all day! Started with a quick cast on the tip for a lucky carp, but no bites so onto the whip with white maggots at 3 meters in 4 foot of water. (Stansted Angling had sold out of reds!) after 15 minutes first bite and a 3oz chublet. Bites few and far between but when they came were chublets or some nice roach – a couple around 5oz or so. Then a carp around 4oz but a couple of hours in the wind started to cause problems. This only effected Tony and myself on the far bank – the wind blowing in left to right – the rest of the lake not effected as much. Looking over the car park bank John Todd looked to be getting a few small fish including a couple of 4oz carp and Peter on peg 5 seemed to be having problems keeping the carp out of the weedbeds – apparently losing several fish. Tony was a bit quiet but was getting some action with the bream – also losing a carp near the end. Tony also struggling to get good presentation with the wind. Into the last 10 minutes and decided to chuck a feeder into the middle while I looked to tidy up. The tactic worked again and at 15:28 the tip went round for a 3lb carp on the whistle – which coincided with the second downpour of the day. At the weigh in Tony did well with the 3 bream and a few bits going 6lbs 11oz for first place, my carp boosting the weight to 5lbs 11oz for second and John Todd third with 2lbs 9oz. Barry completed the weights today with 5oz – the carp coming out on top on Peter's peg.

Club Match / Outing

Wickham Hall

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1st Gary Pickard 21lbs 6oz 2nd Darren Cope 13lbs 11oz 3rd Fred Hunt 7lbs 3oz

Gary's day After the excitement of yesterday's match at Hall Farm we were expecting today to be a lot harder and slower over at Wickham Hall. With the bright sunshine and warm temperatures I was not expecting any of the bream to put in an appearance. At the draw I pulled out 1st pick and decided to fish over in the far corner on peg 12 (or Rob's peg as it is now known ;-) ). Fred decided to join me over on the other side of the corner and the rest chose to stay over at the entrance end. Tactics today were to just catch fish of any sort so it was maggots on a shorter pole line which I was fishing with a whip and then a longer line in deep water to sit and wait for a bonus fish on maggots or corn. At the all-in I fed 6 large balls of groundbait long and then settled in to catch some small fish closer whilst that settled. The warm weather has certainly stirred up the small rudd and roach and I was struggling to get the float to even cock before the maggot was being hammered by small fish. It was busy fishing but trying to get the better stamp of fish was hard - corn occasionally worked but was slow. When the rudd started to get even smaller I decided to give it a rest and dropped on the long line. Putting a piece of corn on let the bait get to the bottom in the 12ft of water. I was just about to go back to the rudd when the float dipped under and I struck into not a rudd. A couple of minutes later a skimmer of about 1lb was in the net but that was it for that visit. I dropped in some more groundbait and went back to the rudd. Around the rest of the lake only small fish seemed to be coming out although Darren in the corner ahead of me had a run in with a carp early on. Around 12 Fred dropped a method feeder in the edge toward the weed bed and the tip went round mid-sandwich. And then it went round again a few minutes later. My hard mornings work was quickly being caught up. After a try on the feeder whilst I ate a bit of lunch (no bites for me) it was time to try the long line again. After a nice little chub the float wobbled and went under again and something a bit bigger was on the line. After charging around the place I also had a small carp in the net and then a bream of about 2lbs. Swapping around a couple more times found me 2 more bream and a nice hybrid with the last bream coming just before the all out. Perhaps bream do like sunshine after all. I could see Darren had been catching small fish at a quick rate the last couple of hours or so of the match whilst I had been sitting it out for another arrival. At the weigh in my bonus fish made the difference although it could have been a lot closer if Darren had started after the silvers earlier and Fred's carp had stayed. Picture today is me with a very fit roach/bream hybrid of about 2lbs.

Water booking

Hall Farm Small Lake

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Charity match (BreatheEasy)

Hall Farm Large Lake

Charity match (BreatheEasy)

1st Kevin Turner 71lbs 14oz 2nd Martain Adams 59lbs 13oz 3rd Davie Sellick 34lbs 2oz 4th Gary Pickard 31lbs 10oz And just under £300 was raised for BreatheEasy

Phil's day Morning to all, I fished our charity match at Hall farm on Saturday, I drew peg 5 in itself it's a good peg but I struggled all day with a few roach and rudd the match finished at 3.30 and I hooked and landed a 6lb carp in the last 4 minutes, at least the charity had a good result with over £300 so in the long run it was a good match. Gary's day It fished pretty hard today with so many on the lake. There were lots of carp and F1s cruising around from the off but they really did not want to feed and any shadow from your pole had them heading off at high speed away from it. I ended up fishing down pretty much the same spot all day out at 13 metres. Feeding a few 4mm and 6mm pellets and either trying to get a fish shallow (not very successfully) or on the bottom - a little better but with far too many fish being lost. Dave over on peg 1 was having fun and games with the carp charging off at high speed for the lilies every time he hooked one but fish were few and far between on the low bank it seemed. Over to my right I could hear plenty of splashing and assumed it was Martin bagging up on favoured peg 26 in the corner. It turned out there were 2 of them doing well that way down the lake with Kevin getting a fair few. 1st Kevin Turner, 2nd Martin Adams, 3rd Dave Sellick , 4th Gary Pickard with 3 section wins Jeff Pearson, sec Bob Fox and Willy Ramthorn. The pic is the Lord Mayor and the Diane from BreatheEasy Bishop's Stortford.

Water booking

Hall Farm Small Lake

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Interclub (Saffron Walden)

Hall Farm Large Lake

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Bishop's Stortford won with 73 points to Saffron Walden's 63 points High Bank 1st Fred Hunt 64lbs 3oz 2md John Carter 24lbs 5oz 3rd John Todd 23lbs 10oz Low Bank 1st Brian Mizon 39lbs 7oz 2nd Graham Carter 32lbs 12oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 26lbs 9oz

Rob's day Hi All We were at Hall Farm today for the 3rd leg of the Bishop Stortford/Saffron Walden interclub matches. Weather a bit different than has been recently – temperatures lower and a wind blowing into the car park bank. Definitely needed a draw in the shallower end today so no surprise when I pulled out my favourite peg again – 13. A bit despondent but you never know in fishing. Started out on the feeder for half an hour then onto the pole 10m out on hard pellets. Had my one and only bite after an hour and landed a carp around 3lbs. No signs of any fish today either on the top of crashing out only fish I saw was during the weigh in – seemed to be a few coming in close on the lower numbered pegs near the car park. Opposite me on peg 12 Peter Mottram had a few roach and rudd but no carp, Ray on 10 had landed 2 or 3 carp and saw Terry on 7 catch a couple, not sure how the rest of the lake had fished, but no doubt a few fish caught further up the lake. Luckily as we had 10 anglers to Saffron Walden's 8, I could discount my 3lb. As it turned out Saffron Walden had the top 3 weights with Fred (apparently escaping from Hospital the previous day) topping the day with 64lbs from peg 26. After the week he has had we will let him have that. Second Brian Mizon – 39lbs from peg 4 and third Graham Carter peg 2 with 32lb. Despite that Bishop's Stortford had the better back up weights to take the match 73 points to 63. Lower weights today overall – no doubt due to the weather and having 18 anglers descending on the venue. Well done to the team and also thanks to Saffron Walden and Mark Evans for weighing in the high bank. BS take a 3 – 0 lead into the last match on SW waters in September.

Club Match / Outing

Home Farm Big Lake

Stone Cup 1 of 2

1st Gary Pickard 105lbs 12oz 2nd Kevin Turner 86lbs 15oz 3rd Rob Calderon 72lbs 10oz

Gary's day With the current hot weather today's match at Home Farm was going to be a bit different with a mid match weigh in. Out of the bag came peg 5 for me. One away from the top corner where I had been last time. There were lots of fish cruising around as we set up so I did a long line shallow rig for some mugging, 1 for the deck out long on pellets and then a rig for the edge on paste. There might have been lots of fish cruising but they were not that interested in feeding and 45 mins later I was getting tired but not many fish with 3 small carp for all the effort. Around me everyone else was struggling but Kevin on peg 6 seemed to be getting a few by being patient out long so a change was needed. That seemed to work. It was steady rather than hectic but the bites and fish kept coming and by the midway point I had 48lbs with Kevin having about 18lbs. I had been trickling some feed down the edges from early on and the mud plumes showed a few fish were coming into the margins. There were plenty of indications but not many bites and I wasted far too long for 1 carp. Whilst I was wasting my time Kevin seemed to have it cracked fishing long and shallow on the pole and my lead was getting pulled back. Rob on peg 3 had also gone rather quiet and a stream of splashes sounded like he was also doing well. He had managed to get the margins working whilst the rest of us were struggling. It was time to go back to Plan A. The carp were smaller than down the edge but at least I could catch them fishing a 6mm pellet on the bottom. It was then a pretty busy last couple of hours but had I changed back quick enough? It was definitely a match of 2 halves today with myself, Kevin and Rob all getting a few bites in the end but the others really struggled. At the final weigh in I had 105lbs, Kevin had a really strong second half for 86lbs and Rob's margins got him out of jail with 72lbs. Picture today is Kevin.

Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall

Summer League 5 of 6

Low bank 1st Bill Beeston 66lbs 4oz 2nd John Carter 26lbs 9oz 3rd Ray Gibson 25lbs 2oz High bank 1st Rob Calderon 103lbs 5oz 2nd Dennis Gowlett 74lbs 9oz 3rd Peter Green 58lbs 14oz

Rob's day Hi All At Beggar's Hall today – also the 5th round of the summer league. Going through a bit of a heatwave at the moment and today was forecast to be another hot day. Most lakes are low at the moment, Beggar's being no exception, so some issues with placing the keepnets today, and drawing most swims on the low bank meant setting up below the platforms near the water. I drew peg 18 – so looked promising for a few fish seeing the weights on Sunday, although these pegs have been hammered a bit lately so who knows. Plenty of fish up in the water to start – many crashing around and a few cruising so started on the pellet waggler. Also set up a feeder rod and pole rigs for the right margin and left close in by the reeds. Hooked first carp on the waggler after 10 minutes but for some reason snapped the hooklink. Next cast in landed the first fish – a carp around 7lbs then no more bites. Onto the feeder expecting an early pull round but nothing so back out on the waggler. After a few casts then had two on the trot before the wind picked up a little making it more tricky. Didn’t get any more bites on the waggler. Back on the feeder but no signs so after about 3 hours went on the pole next to the reeds. Instant bite on paste and a good carp – then foul hooked and lost a couple. Onto maggots and another carp around 10lbs which put up a good scrap on the pole despite using 18 elastic – 9lb line and a 7lb bottom with a 12 hook. Had been feeding the right margin and several fish had moved in although difficult getting clean bites. Had one on corn then another on maggots – all good sized fish, but lost a couple not hooked in the mouth. Into the last half hour now – not sure how my bank had been fishing – Peter had caught a few but I could only see Ray on peg 4 who had two or three near the end, Steve on 5 who was struggling with one fish, and John on 12 who looked to have a few. Terry on 13 also struggling. Chucked out a feeder down the edge so I could start packing up the pole in readiness for the weigh in (always good for a bite) – and had a couple of wrap rounds and two carp to end the day. Not too many fish today, but all a good size and weighed in 103lbs 5oz. Second on the high bank Dennis Gowlett from peg 17 with 74lbs 9oz and third Peter Green from peg 19 with 58lbs 14oz. Bill had a good catch of 66lbs 4oz to head the Low Bank with John Carter second with 26lbs 9oz and Ray third with 25lbs 2oz. Picture is the lake from peg 23 showing the water levels – no fishy pictures today as some lightning and rain during the weighing!

Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall

N/A

1st Darren Cope 92lbs 13oz 2nd Kevin Turner 74lbs 3rd Gary Pickard 63lbs 1oz

Gary's day Today we were at a bright and hot Beggars Hall. With little wind and high pressure I was expecting the fish to be high in the water and a good day on the pellet waggler. Out came peg 5 for me which I was pleased with as you have plenty of water to go at. First rod out of the bag was the waggler rod with a feeder and then the pole. The day almost got off to a flying start with a bite on the pole out long with hard pellets on the bottom in the first few minutes. A couple of minutes later back came a scale: fish 1 Gary 0. The next couple of hours saw me wasting my time on the waggler with the carp always just out of reach and not wanting to come into the feed. Darren on the opposite bank on peg 18 was not having the same issues and had a steady stream of carp going in his net. Our low bank was not doing well. Finally I had a couple of small carp fishing a feeder under the pellet waggler line. But then it went quiet. Another small carp out on the long pole had hopes up but that was the second and last bite on this. Darren was still catching and so was Kevin on peg 19 and Tony on peg 17 also seemed to be tangling with a few. A few more carp followed on the feeder: lots of liners when I fed some pellets and then the tip would occasionally fly round. It was time to try the margins with 90 mins to go but it had been strangely quiet. I should have stayed on the feeder as 1 lost carp was my lot for the margin and the lake was really slowing down in the last hour with even Darren now struggling. Having seen Darren catching most of the day he looked to be the runaway winner although Kevin next to him had also been sneaking a few in the net. In the end it was closer than expected with Darren having 92lbs, Kevin 74lbs and myself 63lbs. Photo today is Darren with a nice little tench in the weigh bag you might just spot.

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

Taylor's Lake (Abbey Cross water)

N/A

It was a close finish with Abbey Cross winning with 90 points to Bishop Stortford's 80 1st Rob Calderon 17lbs 13oz 2nd Steve Foster 13lbs 12oz 3rd Steve May 13lbs 5oz 4th A Barker 7lbs 5oz

Rob's day Hi All At Taylor's Lake today for an Inter club match with Abbey Cross. 18 on today – originally was going to be over both lakes, however, as work was done on the weeds during the week, Martin decided we all fish the Top Lake. I drew 51 which was on the narrow arm coming out of the Top Lake. Never fished here, but plenty of room and a lot of lilies either side meant that main attack would be over the far side. Abbey had done a good job clearing the weeds although still plenty for the fish to bury in if we hooked any. Set up pole rigs for across and close in, although the depth, just over 4 foot, was the same all the way across. Fed a couple of ball of groundbait across and started on just a top kit on maggots to try and get some fish in the net to avoid a DNW. Started catching a few small roach and perch, then an hour in hooked a better fish and landed a 2lb F1. Noticed some bubbling over on the 13m line so went out with maggots. After a few small roach intercepted the bait, had a better bite and hooked something a lot bigger. Unfortunately, half way back, the fish tangled up in a weed bed and came off. Next cast another bite and again went straight into weed. Luckily the weed was loose and a great clump came back and I notice a head in the middle. Netted it all and detangled a 3lb tench. No more bites except micro roach on maggot – tried expanders and corn for no bites so alternated my short and long lines on maggot for a couple of more small fish. More bubbles so back out at 13m and another bite resulted in an angry F1 which managed to shed the hook. Was getting a bit frustrated but next cast hooked another large fish. Wasn’t sure what this was as it felt a bit strange then, as it got close, a pike around 10lb or more leapt out the water and dived at some pace into the lilies. Broke off and came back with a broken float. Middle of the match very slow with little signs but into the last ½ hour and more bubbles coming on the feed over the far side. Had one good bite and managed to net another F1 around 2 ½ pound. Last 5 minutes and another bite resulted in the best fish of the day – F1 over 5lb. Finished with 17lbs 13oz – wasn’t sure how the lake had fished as could only see Jeff on the other bank, but the weigh in showed it had fished hard with my weight being top with Steve Foster coming second with 13lbs 12oz. Abbey Cross members filling the next 3 places and only 3 weights were in double figures today. Abbey won the match today 90 points to 80 – thanks to Martin and all at Abbey Cross for hosting the match today. Picture is my fishy, but snaggy peg.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

Malcolm Barker Rose Bowl 2 of 2

1st Rob Calderon 72lbs 12oz 2nd Gary Pickard 72lbs 4oz 3rd Fred Hunt 62lbs 13oz

Gary's day It was back to Hall Farm's large lake today. With a possible thunderstorm later, getting a few fish in the net early on could be crucial. Today I was back down in the deeps on peg 10 although this end of the lake has been fishing quite well lately. I decided to start with a short line on hard pellets (still in 7ft of water) and feed a longer line to try and get them shallow later. Within a couple of minutes the float slid under and a small skimmer was heading into the net. A very odd start followed shortly after by a nice crucian and then a gudgeon. A bumped carp put paid to the short swim. A try out long found me one fish but they were hanging back and cruising along the far side. The rest of the lake also seemed very quiet although you cannot see your own bank for the bushes hemming in this peg. By half way desperation was setting in and I was trying maggots on the shallow line. This found me a few roach and rudd but they were much too small. Mark then came along to see how we were all doing and the most anyone was admitting to was a couple of carp. It was fishing hard A try back shallow after a bit of rain passed through found me a few more carp but far too many were coming off. With a couple of hours to go it was time to try the margins as Rob on peg 8 looked to be catching a few close now. I had a couple on paste but then the bites went funny and I spent the next 30 mins getting more frustrated. A change to hard pellets instead brought instant results with clean bites and fish heading to the net rather than coming off. It was a busy finish to the match but would it be enough to beat Fred on peg 2? With Fred not admitting to more than 60lbs and both me and Rob guessing similar weights it was going to be a close one today. At the scales it ended 1st Rob Calderon 72lbs 12oz, 2nd Gary Pickard 72lbs 4oz and 3rd Fred Hunt 62lbs 13oz. Photo today is Phil.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

High Bank 1st John Carter 93lbs 7oz 2nd Bill Beeson 56lbs 5oz 3rd Fred Hunt 54lbs 4oz Low Bank 1st Phil Whitmill 61lbs 14oz 2nd Peter Green 49lbs 1oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 30lbs 8oz

Rob's day Hi All Back at Hall Farm today after some good weights at the weekend. 14 on today. Hoping for a draw in the shallower water at the car park end but first name out of the hat and drew peg 13. Thought I was in for a struggle today and was not disappointed. Set up a feeder and some pole rigs for out long, shallow and for the margins. Started with a quick go on the feeder for no bites, then onto the pole at 11m with around 9 feet of water. In the meantime, Ray opposite had already had one carp and lost another (which he blamed me for!). No bites on this so out shallow at 13m on 4m pellets. After 30 mins had one take and landed the first carp at around 3lb. No more bites on this so trying the shallower water to my left by the reeds. One or two carp topping up to now, but very few signs of any fish this end. With the wind blowing down the lake, these end pegs were always going to struggle. Could see Peter and Jeff on 8 and 10 now get a few fish but, apart from Ray who had one more carp, wasn’t sure how the lake was fishing, although looking to the right could see several carp topping and cruising around. No signs where i was though. With around 2 hours left concentrated on the margins where I had been feeding, although no signs of life down either side. Eventually caught a couple on corn/meat although nothing on paste. Foul hooked a couple including one around 8lb which after a long scrap managed to land – (amazing how far 17 elastic can stretch). Ended with one down the margin on the feeder while packing the pole away. Ended with 32lbs 14oz but knew that would be a poor weight for today. On the High Bank John Carter had his second win of the week at Hall Farm with a good 93lbs 7oz from peg 20, Bill second with 56lbs 5oz from 22 and Fred coming third from peg 26 54lbs 4oz. On the Low Bank Phil on peg 2 topped with 61lbs 14oz, Peter second from peg 8 49lbs 1oz and Jeff third from peg 10 (where John won from on Sunday) with 30lbs. This Sunday’s match is back at Hall Farm – peg 26 would be nice!!

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st John Carter 99lbs 13oz 2nd Darren Cope 92lbs 2oz 3rd Fred Hunt 73lbs 13oz Silvers - Peter Green 8lbs

Gary's day Today was a cooler and cloudier day at Hall Farm's large lake with the water levels still well down. Peg 21 was my home for the day; half way along the high bank. The plan was: long pole shallow with 4mm pellets; a shorter line with 6mm pellets; and then down the edges on paste or corn. It was a slow start all around the lake with just the odd silver fish being caught early on. Eventually I had a bite on the short line and a small carp was in the net. And this is how it went for pretty much the first half of the match with a steady flow of bites - not quick but steady. More of a breeze than expected put paid to the long line. By the midway point I was doing well with about 40lb on the clicker and the rest of the lake still fishing harder than expected. With a few fish now showing in the edge on some pellets I had been throwing in it was time to try them. And at that point the wheels fell off my day. I spent the next couple of hours trying to persuade the carp from looking away from the reeds and at my bait as they buried into the reedy edge hunting for food. The rest of the lake had now come alive and I could see my lead disappearing with Darren opposite me having a good run of edge fish. I could also hear a few big splashes coming from my right where Tony and Fred were drawn. The poor second half of the match was going to be costly for me with my fish going 63lbs with 2/3rds of that coming in the first half of the day. Time for a rethink if I draw along the reeds again. Well done to John who just missed out on 100lb by a few ounces, closely followed by Darren Cope on 92lbs and Fred coming in 3rd with 73lbs. Peter (today's picture) was a convincing winner of the silvers pool with just over 8lbs.

Interclub (Saffron Walden)

Bordeaux Pit (Saffron Walden water)

N/A

Bishop's Stortford won with 59 points to Saffron Walden's 47 points 1st Brian Newman 17lbs 8oz 2nd Phil Whitmill 8lbs 9oz 3rd Steve Foster 7lbs 11oz (all silvers and taking the silvers pool) 4th Clive Bradford 5lbs 11oz 5th Rob Calderon 5lbs 1oz

Rob's day Hi all At Bordeaux Pits today for an interclub match with Saffron Walden – weather looked good for a few fish – warm and overcast. We had 7 a side today so spread around the lake in pairs (carp today would need to be weighed in immediately) there was a payout for the top silvers bag so plenty to go for today. I drew peg 28 – didn’t mean much to me but looked ok with a bit of space. Set up a feeder rod, a couple of rigs out long for maggot and pellet and some margin rigs for the carp although the margins were very deep here – over 4 foot. Had a quick look on the feeder for no signs so ditched that and went onto the long pellet line – hard 4 mils. Heard a shout for scales to be brought to Phil’s peg, so a good start for us - turned out to be this 6lb plus carp Phil caught was the only one of the day! No bites on the pellet so swapped to maggot and after a while had a few bites from small roach and perch. No carp showing so decided to stay on the pole and maggot picking up a few fish but really small. Not a lot happening around the lake as far as I could see – Bill struggling from peg 25 to my left (narrow section opposite the island) but saw Tony land a 2lb F1 opposite on peg 10. Graham Carter next to him was having fun with the carp, losing a couple in the lilies. A few fish lost today including Barry also breaking his top kit! I was now getting a few small chub around 4-6 oz each which were more than welcome although coming in small bursts of 2 or 3 fish then disappearing. Did feed the margins and tried a couple of times for the carp – but didn’t see any signs. Back to the pole to finish and a couple of more chublets to weigh in a hard earned 5lbs 1oz. Elsewhere Brian Newman had top weight for SW from fancied peg 36 with 17lbs 8oz including 4 F1s and a tench. Bishops Stortford looked to have done ok with Phil weighing in 8lbs 9oz for second, Steve Foster having a good net of silvers, mostly small roach for 7lbs 11oz for third and my net coming fifth (default to 4th place as Steve took the silvers pool). Clive Bradford completed the frame with 5lb 11oz which including some good sized crucians. So, a good result for Bishop's Stortford, taking the match 59 points to 47 – well done to all in our team on a pretty hard day, and thanks to Fred for his hard work in organizing a good match. Today's photo is Tony in the distance - not the most flattering angle.

Club Match / Outing

Home Farm Small Lake

N/A

1st Rob Calderon 71lbs 14oz 2nd Gary Pickard 36lbs 11oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 32lbs 2oz

Gary's day Sunday saw us at Home Farm's small lake with a forecast of possible thunderstorms and rain for much of the day. Before the off we had sunny skies and carp cruising around but come the all in whistle the clouds had gathered and fish disappeared. I was in the middle of the lake today on peg 3 so with plenty of room but not one of the favoured end pegs. It was a very slow start for most of us with only Rob in peg 5 catching (or at least hooking) a few fish. The water was well down after our long dry spell. It was proving very frustrating. I could see fish were near my pellet feed from the bubbles and plumes of mud but I could not get a bite. Trying shallow got me one bite but it quickly fell off after charging across the lake. After a couple of hours I finally started getting the odd bite on paste but was missing too many bites and was having issues with foulhooked fish in the very shallow water. At least I was off the mark. Phil and Tony were also still struggling and Rob was still catching. A try down the edge early when I saw some signs of fish did not work so it was back long on paste. Another try in the margins finally got me a carp on corn but the bites were not coming. I decided to try paste shorter near the tree to my right on hopefully a less silty bottom and that seemed to work. I had a good run of decent sized carp with 90 mins to go but then I went back to bubbles and no bites with most fish coming off. A very frustrating finish for me. Rob was also slowing down but Phil was starting to catch a few. It was pretty obvious who was going to win today's match but not so clear on second and Phil had had a good finish. Given that Rob seemed to have a fish on every time I looked his way we all thought he had a lot more but still comfortably won with 71lbs with me just edging out Phil by a fish with 36lbs to Phil's 32 lbs. Today is my peg just before the off with the clouds rolling in.

Club match / Outing

N/A

His 'n' Hers Cup

Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall

Summer League 4 of 6

Low bank 1st Rob Calderon 81lbs 2nd Phil Whitmill 49lbs 5oz 3rd Tony Cruci 47lbs 6oz High bank 1st Richard Beeston 77lbs 11oz 2nd Graham Carter 70lbs 6oz 3rd Peter Green 56lbs

Rob's day Hi all Back to Beggars today for the 4th round of the summer league – 7 on each bank. I drew peg 13 – never caught much from this area – had Terry next to me on 12 and I had a good view to pegs 16 and 17 so thought at least I would see some fish although fisheries never seem to fish the same one day to the next. The levels are way down at the moment so had to set up in the water (and mud) in order to get the keep nets out. Margins here are full of roots and only a few inches deep. Set up a feeder rod and pole rigs for near the lilies in 5 feet of water and down the side – around 3 feet from the bank in 1 ½ foot of water. Wasn’t sure the carp would come in that close on this peg. Started on the feeder about 20 meters out and had a small carp half an hour in followed by a larger one around 7lbs. Had fed the lilies to my right heavily from the start with particles and notice a lot of bubbles coming from this area. Tried the pole here for one fish (F1/crucian?) and then hooked another that went straight into the lilies and came off. Decided to fish the feeder close in by the lilies and started to get several liners and one or two strange bites which resulted in a couple of more F1s (I think). Seemed that these smaller fish around 3lbs each were causing the bubbling. Amongst these also had a few good pull rounds for decent carp but also a few foul hookers and a couple that came off. Had to put a lot of pressure on when hooking to persuade them not to visit the pads. Into the last couple of hours – Terry to my right was struggling with one carp – Steve and Peter on pegs 16 and 17 were getting a few but not one a chuck. Not many fish showing today but did notice one tail in the margin so went down the edge. First on paste for a missed bite, then dead maggots for an instant bite and before I knew it the elastic was coming out of the lilies – another lost fish (around 10 today) managed to land one more from the edge before the next one trashed my rig so finished up on the feeder. Had another 3 fish including a couple of bigger doubles, before I blew the whistle. Finished with 81lbs – more than I thought I would get from peg 13. The lake fished well today all round with Phil coming second on the low bank with 49lbs 5oz from peg 6 and Tony Cruci third with 47lbs 6oz – peg 5. Tony Parker had previously weighed in a 15lbs carp in his 30lbs (2 fish). The high bank also produced good weights – Richard topping with 77lbs from peg 20, Graham Carter second with 70lbs 6oz from peg 18 and Peter third 56lbs peg 17.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Gary Pickard 119lbs 11oz 2nd Peter Green 53lbs 8oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 47lbs 4oz

Gary's day Today we were over at Hall Farm's large lake with a cooler start forecast. A welcome relief after the recent hot spell. Out of the draw bag came peg 1 for me, a flyer so the pressure was on. On plumbing up I was surprised to find so little depth with 1-2 foot at most but it did not seem to be putting off the carp that were cruising around the area. It helped cut down the prep though as my shallow rig could fish on the deck. I spent the first hour or so fishing shallow trying to mug the odd carp cruising past. It was a steady start with every carp going nuts when it was hooked and charging over towards either the lillies to my left or the weed bed in front. After an hour I had half a dozen small carp - slow but steady. To my right on peg 2 Tony was busy catching roach and rudd with the top end of the lake seeming fairly quiet. The middle of the match was much the same but feeding a few 6mms seemed to help. A quick try on the method feeder midday allowed me time for a bite to eat. I had a couple of carp on this but getting them past the reed bed on the left was tricky with a shorter rod. By now the pegs up the lake were starting to wake up with the occasional net going out for a fish. It was time to give paste a go again and this time they seemed interested. And that was pretty much it to the end of the match alternating pellets or corn as feed. There was the inevitable spells of missed bites and lost fish but, thankfull, more stayed on than came off. The middle pegs of Mark, Jeff and Peter also looked to be having a good finish too. With the sun coming out and the temperature rising the final whistle was welcome. I had had a busy day and I finished with just under 120lbs for 1st. The rest of the lake had also fished pretty well and it was all down to who had managed to land the carp they had hooked. Peter managed to nudge Jeff into third place with 53lbs to Jeff's 47lbs with Mark and Fred nipping at their heels. Today's picture is Tony with a tidy net of silvers.

Club Match / Outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

N/A

1st John Carter 9lbs 9oz 2nd Bill Beston 9lbs 3oz 3rd Dennis Gowlett 4lbs 4oz 4th Peter Green 3lbs 15oz

Rob's day Hi At Barker's today – a good turnout of 14 although that meant a few “dodgy” pegs needed to be put in – although the weed had been professionally treated and Gary had done a good job getting weed out of some pegs a couple of weeks ago, this was going to be an issue for some. Drew peg 16 in a reasonable area although no lily pads here apart from the ones in the middle opposite peg 17. Set up a waggler rod and a couple of pole rigs for short and long. Fed a couple of balls of groundbait on the long swim and started on the waggler. No bites after 45 mins so went on the long pole line with maggots. Apart from a couple of tiny rudd, no bites – weed being a problem getting hooked up nearly every put in. Nothing close in so tried the waggler shallow for a few small rudd. Meanwhile Dennis on my left had a few better rudd and perch then a tench around 2 ½ pounds. On the other bank Bill on fancied tench peg 3 had a couple of tench and looked to be leading – adding one more before the end. Decided to fish the long pole line for the rest of the match and a couple of hours to go had a good bite that turned into a small tench around 2lb. No more bites though. John Carter then landed 3 fish (2 bream and a tench) in quick succession on the feeder in peg5 and Peter next door had landed one bream. At the weigh in it was close between John and Bill – John’s 3 fish going 9lbs 9oz to Bill's 9lb s3oz. Dennis was third with 4lbs 4oz and Peter's fish going 3lbs 15 oz for fourth. Although the weed is still causing problems to some, better catches today with some nice bream and tench.

Club Match / Outing

Beggar's Hall

Ralph Jarvis Rose Bowl 1 of 2

1st Rob Calderon 170lbs 7oz 2nd Peter Green 97lbs 8oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 38lbs 14oz

Sorry not a lot of detail for this one at the moment as I was away on holiday. It looks like the carp decided to feed at Beggar's Hall with Peter just falling short of 100lb with 97lbs 8oz but still a long way behind Rob who weighed in 170lbs 7oz to up the lake record again. Amongst those were 2 rather large carp with one coming in at 23lbs 11oz. Most frustrating match went to Tony who had a hard time landing the carp he kept hooking in peg 18. 1st Rob Calderon 170lbs 7oz, 2nd Peter Green 97lbs 8oz and 3rd Phil Whitmill 38lbs 14oz. Sorry no photos either.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

Over 65s Cup

1st John Carter 129lbs 10oz 2nd Graham Carter 87lbs 4oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 70lbs 2oz

Rob's day Hi All Back at Hall Farm today for the over 65s match – a warm day expected with apparently light winds. We had 9 at the draw today so decided to put in all 12 low bank numbers and see what comes out. Peg 10 for me not where I wanted to be in the first few pegs. In fact after we drew the three numbers left in the bag were 1, 2 and 3. Maybe though this would be a fairer match although John Carter on peg 4 would seem to have the best draw with all the lake to his left free. Set up some pole rigs for close in at 6 foot, further out at 9 foot, margin and shallow, although the margins are not great here – a few inches at 1 ½ foot then slopes sharply down into the depths. No bites on the pole short or long so decided it had to be shallow although not many fish showing. Took a while on the jigger to get the first fish, but started picking up a few. The wind was proving an issue now though, difficult to hold the pole out at 13m – a couple of times almost blowing into Tony’s peg to the right. Still getting a few though – mainly small carp and F1s. Jeff to the left had a few carp short on the pole – Tony struggling on peg 11 – couldn’t see anyone else although Peter Green appeared half way through to say the early pegs were doing well (no surprise). Into the last hour and tried the margins – had one carp on pellet to my left before trying the paste. Not easy as the float wanted to disappear down the slope but had 3 better carp in the last 15 minutes to weigh in just over 60lb. This was never likely to compete with pegs 4, 5 and 6 though and this is how it turned out to be. John topped the weights with a great 129lb from peg 4, Graham Carter second with a creditable 87lb 4oz peg 5 and third Phil with 70lb 2 oz for third from peg 6. Thanks for everyone who turned up and congratulations to John Carter.

Inter Club (Abbey Cross)

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

Bishop's Stortford won with 44 points to Abbey Cross' 34 points. Low bank 1st Peter Green 72lbs 14oz. 2nd Martin Adams 65lbs 11oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 47lbs 4oz High bank 1st Bill Beeston 71lbs 7oz 2nd Rob Calderon 45lbs 15oz 3rd Fred Hunt 40lbs 5oz

Rob's day Hi All At Hall Farm today for another Interclub match with Abbey Cross. We had 8 on today to Abbey's 6 so would discard 2 weights – Abbey discarding 2 pegs. After the heat of the last few days, a completely different day weatherwise with rain forecast for most of the day and temperatures 10 degrees lower. I drew peg 19 – not the best and up against the better pegs in the 20’s but who knows. Started on the short pole with pellets and had a good start with 3 F1s in the first 20 minutes. Had a couple more after an hour or so, but fish were very small at all under 2lbs. Bites faded so tried shallow on the jigger for a couple more but thing were getting harder. Into the afternoon and a couple more small carp – struggling to land fish trying to thread the pole and landing net through the brolly and railings! Luckily the rain subsided and the brolly could come down. Onto the margins but these were a disappointment, a couple of foul hookers on paste before hooking and landing a couple of better carp, but no more bites on paste. Tried hard pellets down the edge but nothing. Couldn’t see anyone on my bank but a few fish coming out opposite. I could see Tony Parker and Phil on pegs 1 and 2 getting a few – also Martin on peg 4 after catching silvers in the morning was now getting into the carp. Ray also getting a few on the feeder, but best of all Peter on peg 6, who looked to have a slow start but was now catching one a chuck on the feeder. Had one more on the feeder down the margin and ended the match with 45lbs 15oz. Not bad for peg 19 but thought I would be beaten by all to my right. As it turned out the high bank did not fish great – although Bill made no mistake from peg 26 with top weight on the bank 71lbs 7oz. My weight second and Fred third with 40lbs 5oz Some good weights on the low bank, notably Peter's winning weight of 72lbs 14oz. Martin did well to finish second on 65lbs 11oz from peg 4 and Phil third with 47lbs 4oz. It ended with Bishop's Stortford winning with 44 points to Abbey Cross' 34 points. Good to see weight coming from most areas today although as expected the shallower end fishing better than the deeps – thanks to Martin for weighing in the low bank.

River Stort Canoe Club event

River Stort (main river)

N/A

Club Match / Outing

Malcolm Barker Lake - venue change

N/A

1st Gary Pickard 9lbs 6oz 2nd Mark Halverson 3lbs 9oz 3rd Tony Cruci 1lb 10oz

Gary's day Today was a very hot day at MBL with the temperature climbing to around 30C by the end. We were going to be pretty well spread around the lake and I ended up on peg 3. A good peg but with a horrible high bank behind which makes shipping a pole hard work. The main plan was to fish to the lilies in front for tench on the pole and to the left of the lilies with a waggler for small fish. I also set up a pellet waggler rod in case the carp decided to feed. I had a good view of Mark over on peg 18 and he was going to be my gauge as to how well the lake was fishing. Rob was to my right on peg 2 - a hit and miss peg. The start was encouraging with a few roach and rudd on the waggler with maggots but they were quite small. After about 45 mins I tried the lillies but could not get the bait to bottom for small fish. Back to the waggler for a few small fish but the bites were tailing off and the fish were hanging out closer and closer to the cover of the lillies as the sun got higher. On the rest of the lake Mark was getting a few small fish but Rob was struggling and so was Tony on 28. With some bubbling coming from near the pads it was time to try for a bonus fish again. Whole worms still caught roach so I gave an expander a go and the float slid under and I was into a better fish and a 4lb tench was soon in the net. It was a frustrating day with lots of bubbling near the pads each time I dropped in some groundbait but bites were hard to come by. It was still just the odd roach until I had a brief encounter with a carp about 12.30. I managed 1 more tench at about 2 just after Mark lost a good fish over on 18. After that it was a slow finish - even the bubbling stopped in the last hour with just the odd roach going in the net. Rob also lost a decent fish towards the end, however, it had been a tough day on peg 2. It proved to be a hard day with bonus fish making all the difference. 1st Gary Pickard 9lbs 6oz, 2nd Mark Halverson 3lbs 9oz and 3rd Tony Cruci 1lb 10oz. Picture today is me with my best tench and a curious neighbour in the background.

Water booking (until 12 noon)

Hall Farm Small Lake

N/A

Water booking

Hall Farm Small Lake

N/A

Interclub (Saffron Walden)

Beggar's Hall

N/A

Bishop Stortford won with 58 points to Saffron Walden's 47 points 1st Rob Calderon 80lbs 5oz 2nd John Carter 64lbs 8oz 3rd Steve Foster 51lbs 10oz

Rob's day Hi all At Beggar's today for the first Interclub match of the season with Saffron Walden. We had 9 on the match today to Saffron Walden’s 7 so would discount 2 of our weights. With 16 there were a few not so great pegs in today – Fred drew the odd numbers so maybe we would have the best of the draw. Luck has it I drew 18 so knew I would be on a few fish. With the weather to be hot today, and a few fish showing on top I started on the pellet waggler – also setting up a bomb rod, method rod and a couple of edge rigs for the pole. A bite on the second cast brought a 6lb carp – a few minutes later foul hooked one in the tail – which turned out to be the really fat carp with a bent tail – now over 10lbs – bit of a struggle but somehow managed to get it in the net. No more bites on the waggler so tried the bomb over the same line – but nothing. Onto the banker line – to the right on the feeder. Another fish after about 20 mins so stayed on that having a good run a couple of hours in so at halfway had around 50lbs. Started feeding the margins, thinking a big weight was on if they turned up there, but in the end the margins were a disappointment, a couple of fish seen on the feed, but only managed a carp of around 7lbs on the pole. Back to the feeder for a couple of more fish, but the second half of the match was not as good as the first – the temperature had dropped a bit in the afternoon – sun really hot around midday, wishing I had kept my long trousers on and not exposed my knees! At the weigh in I had 80lbs with the rest of the bank fishing ok – Steve Foster doing well from in form peg 22 with 51lbs for third in match and Fred 48lbs for Fourth from 17. I had decided for this match to not split the banks and just pay out the top 5 so it was good to see some decent weights coming from the low bank, notably John Carter’s 64lbs from peg 12 for second in the match – maybe the best weight I’ve seen from that peg, also a 36lbs and a 27lbs from pegs 3 and 5. Bishop Stortford won the match 58 points to 47 – thanks to Fred and his team for the help in weighing in today. Picture is Ray with a shy carp.

Club Match / Outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

Malcolm Barker Rose Bowl 1 of 2

1st Gary Pickard 100lbs 11oz 2nd Mark Haleverson 89lbs 2oz 3rd Fred Hunt 65lbs 15oz

Gary's day Today saw us at a hot Hall Farm with 27c+ predicted but cooler than the day before. It was peg 4 for me, at the right end of the lake so I was looking forward to a few fish. It was going to be hard pellets on the deck long, a go at shallow and then down the margins later with paste or corn. I had a good start with 2 early small carp in the first 15 mins but then started getting bites I could not hit. I finally hooked what was causing the problems - a small gudgeon taking a liking to 6mm hard pellets. With the bottom being solid with small fish it was time to try shallow. Just as the wind picked up. I ended up fishing closer and closer as the wind strengthened with it changing directions every few minutes. A couple of hours in I was struggling. Above me Mark on peg 8 had 7 or 8 carp and Tony a few but Fred on 2 had a slow start A change to loose feeding 4mms got a bit more activity shallow but it was hard work with the arms feeling it by the mid point. At this point I had maybe 40lb in the net so was having a steady day. With the wind not dropping it was time to try the edges which were a little calmer. A few indications led to a couple of carp on paste but that swim went quiet. A try on pellets and corn to the other side got an instant response. I ended up swapping left and right to the end with a couple of fish before it went a bit funny each time. Fred on 2 was having a good finish fishing a method feeder and Tony was still catching. Mark was out of sight behind a couple of trees. At the weigh in I just snuck over 100lbs but it ended up being a lot closer than expected as Mark's 65lbs went 89lbs including losing a few pounds when he went over on one net and Fred in third not that far behind with 65lbs. With the lowest weight coming in at very respectable 44lbs the lake fished really well despite it being its third match since Weds. Photo today is Mark with his smaller net of carp.

Charity match (BHF)

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

Water booking (until 12 noon)

Hall Farm Small Lake

N/A