Match results/Events info

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

Taylor's Lake (Abbey Cross water)

N/A

Bishop's Stortford won the match with 68 points to Abbey Cross 36 points 1st Rob Calderón 23lbs 5oz 2nd Fred Hunt 21lbs 5oz 3rd Martin Adams 13lbs 2oz 4th Bill Beeston 12lbs 15oz

Phil's day Good morning to all. The Weds club fished against Abbey Cross on their lake for our monthly interclub. The weather wasn't too bad apart from the odd downpour and high winds. I drew peg 44 it's a peg that can throw up the odd good weight - you might not win from there but you could easily frame from there. Made up two pole lines and a feeder spot just off some lily pads. I fed micro pellets and a small ball of groundbait with red maggots. Started off with absolutely no response from anything this lasted till 11.30 when I got a good F1 about 5lb. I thought they were ready to feed but no - went on for the whole of my lunch and still nothing tried the feeder but it was so windy by this time I couldn't cast to where I wanted so gave up on that idea. Back to the pole with a lot more effort to hold the pole still then had a bite - it was a skimmer of 14oz then 15 mins later got myself into my second and last F1 for another 5lb. First Rob Calderón with 23lbs 5oz, 2nd Fred Hunt with 21lbs 5oz, 3rd Martin Adams with 13lbs 2oz and 4th Bill Beeston 12lbs 15oz. Bishop's Stortford won the match with 68 points to Abbey Cross 36 points. Well done to all the team. Pic is my peg - it's good to see some colour on the trees.

Weds Club Winter League Results

N/A

N/A

1st Steve Foster 55 points 2nd Rob Calderón 53 points 3rd Bill Beeston 52 points 4th Fred Hunt 47 points A big well done to all who had taken part.

Winter League

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Steve Foster 62lbs 2nd Rob Calderón 61lbs 2oz 3rd Peter Green 24lbs 3oz 4th Bill Beeston 23lbs 1oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds club fished its last round in their winter league at Hall Farm lake. The gap in the weather allowed us to fish most of the match in the dry and where I was was out of most of the heavy winds. I drew peg 24 - it's a good peg so not disappointed at all. I fed a 10 meter line and a margin line and a feeder for just in case. The 10 meter line was blowing all over the place with no presentation so stuck to my margins but not even a roach let alone a carp so onto the feeder with a 8mm wafter. Got my first carp at midday then two more through the afternoon - lost one at the net but that's how your luck runs sometimes. Ended up with 12lbs 10oz First was Steve Foster with 62lbs, 2nd Rob Calderón with 61lbs 2oz, 3rd Peter Green with 24lbs 3oz and 4th Bill Beeston with 23lbs 1oz.

Club match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

N/A

1st Fred Hunt 7lbs 14oz 2nd Jeff Pearson 6lbs 15oz 3rd Rob Calderón 2lbs 15oz 4th Steve Foster 2lbs 12oz

Phil's day It's a good morning to all. The Weds club fished the Malcolm Barker Lake today. It was always going to be hard going for some even with hand picked pegs. I drew peg 8 but donated it to Fred who drew 2 - it's very awkward to get down with the steps almost vertical so that's not going in anymore. I fed red maggots and a golf ball of groundbait with micro pellets. It was 2 hours when I got my first bite, Steve next door on peg 3 was catching well and decent roach as well then his swim died and that's when I started to catch the odd few. Weighed in 1lbs 1oz First Fred Hunt with 7lbs 14oz, 2nd Jeff Pearson with 6lbs 15oz, 3rd Rob Calderón with 2lbs 15oz and 4th Steve Foster with 2lbs 12oz. Pic is Steve Foster on the next door peg 3.

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

N/A

1st Terry Moranda 46lbs 2oz 2nd Bill Beeston 35lbs 9oz 3rd John Todd 35lbs 3oz 4th Rob Calderón 27lbs 15oz

Phil's day Good morning to all - the Weds club fished its match on Beggar's Hall this week. It promised to be a good day with no rain and mild temperatures. I drew peg 12 not a good peg but it has turned up a few weights in the summer months. I made up two lines on pole, one at 10 meters and the margin, and, of course, a feeder for long distance. I fed my pole lines with pellet and maggots and for the margins tried the same with a cup full of groundbait . Went out on the feeder to start with and within ten minutes had my first and only carp to weigh 6lb 10 oz. 1st Terry Moranda with 46lbs 2oz, 2nd Bill Beeston with 35lbs 9oz, 3rd John Todd with 35lbs 3oz and 4th Rob Calderón with 27lbs 15oz. Today's pic is Peter Green chatting with Darren Marder on peg 6.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Phil Whitmill 40lbs 6oz 2nd Mark Halverson 22lbs 10oz 3rd Fred Hunt 20lbs 15oz

Gary's day Today was the last match of the 2023/4 season and had us at a very wet Hall Farm. The forecast was for rain all day and it was spot on. After seeing the low weights on Wednesday's match pretty much every peg was in with a chance and I was happy with Peg 6 which is normally pretty consistent in winter. A start on cage and maggot feeders did not get me any indications but plenty of fish were showing on the top. Well out of pole range of course. After 45 mins or so it was time to try the pole; this is one of the deep pegs with 9 feet at 5 sections and still dropping away. And not a sign even from a few silvers. This was not looking good. Phil on peg 2 was starting to get a few fish and then Fred on peg 4 got in on the action. 90 mins in I finally had a bite and a fish, a small carp of 3lbs or so on a maggot feeder. The deeps were fishing slow and it looked like the fish wanted the shallower, warmer water today. No more bites on the feeder or another go on the pole and then one on a hybrid feeder. Phil was still catching and Rob on peg 10 also seemed to be getting a few. A go at getting the attention of the topping fish on a waggler got me another carp a bit past the midway point and then it was just 1 more carp out of the blue on the feeder. I never had a bite on the pole line. It was 4 fish for 16lbs and a thanks for coming for my closing match. Phil had an easy win off peg 2 and then it was very close for second with 2lbs between 3 anglers. Today's very soggy results were 1st Phil Whitmill 40lbs 6oz, 2nd Mark Halverson 22lbs 10oz and 3rd Fred Hunt 20lbs 15oz - and pic is Phil with his winning net of fish.

Club match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

Pike cups

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

Bishop's Stortford won with 60 points to Abbey Cross's 44 points 1st Martin Adams 31lbs 1oz 2nd Tony Cruci 16lbs 14oz 3rd Rob Calderón 16lbs 2oz 4th Jeff Pearson 13lbs 6oz 5th John Todd 11lbs 6oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds club fished its monthly inter club against Abbey Cross this week. It was a good turn out on what should have been a good day - the weather was good, the lake looked very good but that's where it stopped. I drew peg 17 but for weighing purposes I swapped with Tony on 7. I made two lines on 7 meters and both margins and a feeder at 25 meters and that's where it stopped until 15 mins before the end of the match. I was thinking "not another blank" when the feeder went round and got a 2lb 14 oz carp. 1st Martin Adams with 31lbs 1oz, 2nd Tony Cruci with 16lbs 14oz, 3rd Rob Calderón with 16lbs 2oz, 4th Jeff Pearson with 13lbs 6oz and 5th John Todd with 11lbs 6oz. It was a very good win for Bishop's Stortford with 60 points to Abbey Cross 44 points. Well done to the team. Pic is peg 7 - my spot for the day.

Club match/outing

River Stort Backwater

Stort Cup 2 of 2

1st Phil Whitmill 4lbs 14oz 2nd Mark Halverson 2lbs 2oz 3rd John Todd 1lbs 8oz Phil wins the Stort Cup on weight with John and Mark also on 4 points

Gary's day It was the second leg of the Stort Cup today on the Backwater. Another rainy week meant it was heavily coloured and pushing through: fishable but were the fish catchable? It was peg 18 for me, a good peg but the big question was how quick the water was coming through from the weir. A bit too quick was the answer for fishing anywhere but the far side of the middle. The inside was boiling and also full of branches. The plan was to be positive, a couple of big balls of heavy groundbait and then maggots over the top. An hour in the plan was not working as I had not had a sign. A random 3oz roach then showed up but it forgot to tell it's mates. Down on peg 14 Phil seemed to be catching a few and seeing him swing a couple of 3oz roach confirmed this; these are usually netters on the Backwater. Time for a change. In went the rest of the groundbait and a short walk to chat to Phil and John whilst I ate my lunch. The fish were either going to be queueing up on my return or I would have killed the peg. A quick run of 3 small dace on my return got the hopes up but then they disappeared. A try at 14.5m to the boat a bit downstream proved hard work for 2 tiny fish and a lot of sticks. The River had started to slow a little so I changed to pinkies as loosefeed and this helped. Not many fish but the quality was pretty good. It was a surprise 1lbs 7oz on the scales; 1lbs 4oz more than I was expecting half way through but I had found them too late in the day. A few big pike strikes near the end cleared up why the fish kept disappearing. 1st Phil Whitmill 4lbs 14oz, 2nd Mark Halverson 2lbs 2oz and 3rd John Todd 1lbs 8oz. Phil wins the Stort Cup this year on weight with 4 more ounces than John and with Mark also on 4 points. Picture today is the view from my peg to the weir in full flow.

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

N/A

1st Tony Cruci 44lbs 3oz 2nd Fred Hunt 43lbs 7oz 3rd Peter Green 23lbs 9oz 4th Phil Whitmill 20lbs 1oz

Phil's day Morning to all, the Weds club fished its club lake at Beggars Hall this week. I drew peg 19 - it's a middle of the road peg but glad to say there was a lot worse draw. Made up two lines for the pole and a feeder line about a third of the way across the lake. I started by feeding my pole lines with red maggots and micro pellets then left this and fished the feeder on method mix and 6 mm pellet. I was just thinking to myself to try the pole as it had been a hour then the tip went round and I landed my first carp. So stayed with this method and 45 mins later got my second carp a bit bigger than the first. Went out there again and 30 mins later got a third one then nothing. I then moved onto my pole line at 10 meters but not a touch so onto my rushes line had a bite straight away - small roach - then second put in got a roach a good 8 oz third put in nothing so stayed with it hoping a carp had moved in and scared the small stuff away. The float goes under and a perch about the size of my little finger had taken the bait. So back on the feeder for the last hour - I had two liners one of which nearly pulled my rod off its rest but that was it. I weighed in 20lbs 1oz. First Tony Cruci with 44lbs 3oz, 2nd Fred Hunt with 43lbs 7oz, 3rd Peter Green with 23lbs 9oz and 4th Phil Whitmill with 20lbs 1oz.

Club match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

N/A

1st Rob Calderon 8lbs 4oz 2nd Mark Halverson 4lbs 1oz 3rd Tony Cruci 3lbs 10oz

Gary's day After another very wet week we were on Malcolm Barker rather than the Backwater this weekend. We were greeted by a cold and foggy start but the lake had fished OK the weekend before so we should get a few bites. Out of the bag came peg 17 which I was pleased with; it is to one side of the large lily bed in the middle with a smaller lily bed to the left. The plan was: waggler or small feeder to the central lilies; a pole line with groundbait and maggot out front at about 11m; and a line just off the lillies to the left. At the all in I went out on the waggler after feeding my swims. Half an hour flew by without a bite. By this stage only Rob on 15 was catching anything with a steady stream of small roach. Time to try the long pole. No signs so out on a small cage feeder to give the pole lines a bit more time to fill with fish. With no signs on the feeder it was back to the pole. After 2 hours I completely missed the bite on the long pole line. There was no second chance. The short line was next. Finally a bite and a very small roach was in the net. Things were not going to plan. About this time Tony on peg 3 landed a good sized tench and John on peg 10 had a few roach. Rob was still catching well and I could not buy a bite. 3 hours in and it was time for a big fish gamble as a carp had just topped on the far side of the central lilies. The next 2 hours had me working through meat, bread, a couple of big chunks of worm and wafters. The fish had suddenly switched on for Mark on peg 28 but the rest of us were struggling. Well the gamble did not pay off, perhaps a liner in the last 5 mins but no bites. The blank was saved but only just. Rob had a great day weighing in 8lbs 4oz of silvers with a couple of perch, Mark had a mad final 1.5 hours for 4lbs 1oz and Tony's tench went 3lbs 10oz. Today's pic is Rob's winning net

Winter League

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Rob Calderón 49lbs 1oz 2nd Peter Green 40lbs 11oz 3rd Fred Hunt 29lbs 4oz 4th Tony Cruci 24lbs 11oz

Phil's day Hi to all, the Weds club fished the club lake at Hall Farm in very soggy conditions with a fairly windy day. Iit was our 5th leg of our winter league so I was hoping for a good draw sadly not to be. Peg 8 which has not done very well over the winter. Well it fished pretty much how I thought it would. When I hooked a carp it would slip the hook. Got to the last 10 minutes and just as I was thinking 3rd blank of my season my feeder pulled round and saved my day with a lone f1 carp. 1st Rob Calderón with 49lbs 1oz, 2nd Peter Green with 40lbs 11oz, 3rd Fred Hunt with 29lbs 4oz and 4th Tony Cruci with 24lbs 11oz. Pic today is Fred (Two Brollies) Hunt on peg 7.

Club match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

N/A

1st Steve Lucas 7lbs 12oz 2nd Mark Halverson 5lbs 8oz 3rd Gary Pickard 5lbs 3oz

Gary's day After a very wet week it was a very wet start to Sunday at Malcolm Barker Lake.  Today was going to be a bit of an unknown as last Summer's weed explosion meant it had been a while since most of us had fished MBL. Out of the bag came peg 27 for me, a very short walk to an OK peg. With no lilly pads to fish to it was going to be long pole and waggler.  With wind forecast for later, on top of the rain, I kept to 11m and groundbait and maggots.  A skimmer mix to the left and a traditional hemp/roach mix to the right. A try on waggler at the start (thanks Mark for the lone of a waggler, I had brought my rod but not any wagglers) got me a small roach and the blank was avoided.  That was it though on the waggler with a facing wind picking up meaning I could not fire maggots much beyond my pole lines anyway. Mark started picking up a steady run of roach on the pole so time for a switch.  I had a good start with half a dozen roach quite quickly but then the right hand swim died.  A try to the left got me a roach first drop in and then nothing more.  Mark was still catching regularly and then new boy Steve on peg 3 suddenly had 5m of elastic stretching out of his pole and a tench in his net.  I was falling behind. The top end of the lake was fishing hard and seeing Rob on 15 netting something that looked like a small roach spoke volumes. At our end the bites slowly came back for me:  feed the right swim; fish the left to rest the right and maybe get 1 roach; feed the left; then back to the right for 2 or 3 roach; and repeat.  Mark was still catching and then his elastic shot out and a decent fish was on.  This one though went straight into weeds and, on a 1.5lb hooklength, it was only ending one way.  10 mins later the same thing happened for Mark with the fish getting the upper hand.  I was still in the running. The middle of the match was tough for all with more heavy rain showers and gusty wind not helping as the bites dried up.  Into the final hour things were getting desperate.  The left swim slowly started coming more to life and Mark's had slowed after a pike took a roach on the way in.  I was slowly making an inroad on Steve and Mark ... and then Steve had another tench and it was game over for the match.  At the end it was going to be tight between me and Mark for second.  Had my late run of fish been enough? At the weigh in it was 1st Steve Lucas with 7lbs 12oz, second Mark Halverson with 5lbs 8oz and third Gary Pickard with 5lbs 3oz. Pic today is looking down the lake from my peg during one of the dry spells.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Phil Whitmill 25lbs 2oz 2nd Jeff Pearson 19lbs 7oz 3rd Rob Calderón 16lbs 6oz 4th Fred Hunt 15lbs 5oz

Phil's day Hi to all, the Weds club fished its match at Hall Farm big lake this week. It was another dry day with a cold breeze so still got to wrap up well. I drew peg 12, it's a very moody peg with more off days than good ones so I didn't run to my peg. Before I could get started I had to lift the big rope out of the water - this is used as a bird scarer. I picked out two spots where I wanted to fish: one a pole swim and the other a feeder swim. I fed my pole swim with micro pellets and red maggots and then left this alone for an hour and started on my feeder swim. Within 40 minutes had a pull round but must have been a line bite. With no more indications I went on my pole line. By this time the wind had got a lot worse and, with no chance of decent presentation, I quit the pole after 45 minutes as it was to much of a battle. So back on the feeder and, by midday, got my first fish a carp about 3lbs then went on to catch the odd carp until the whistle went. I weighed in 25lb 2oz a good result for this time of the year. 1st Phil Whitmill with 25lbs 2oz, 2nd Jeff Pearson with 19lbs 7oz, 3rd Rob Calderón with 16lbs 6oz and 4th Fred Hunt with 15lbs 5oz. With no blanks a good day was had. When we arrived, we were met by a young swan on the lake a rare sight for this time of year. As soon as I set up he plagued me for a couple of hours before he took off for the river. Pic is peg 12.

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

N/A

1st Rob Calderon 41lbs 11oz 2nd Mark Halverson 38lbs 6oz 3rd Gary Pickard 13lbs 4oz

Gary's day After a very wet week Sunday was a break in the weather with sunshine and little wind for most of the day over at Beggars Hall. The draw bag was not kind to me and peg 19 was not where I wanted to be with the island area fishing much better recently. With lots of water to go at but the only features being down the edge the pole stayed in the bag as I could not see any carp coming in close. So feeder and bomb it was. I fed a long swim with a bit of groundbait and dead maggots to start and then it was a few casts around with bomb and bread to try find a carp. An hour in I had had no signs despite seeing the odd bubble and fish topping - but not in my peg. Everyone else down our end was having a slow start too. Rob on 18 then had a carp on the feeder and another one not long after. At long last I had a sign on my long line fishing a bit of worm and a small roach was in the net. The blank was saved. A few minutes later the tip moved again and this was no roach but probably the angriest 4lb mirror in the lake. That was it though for the long line; a few more small signs likely from small fish but no more bites. I had been firing a few bits of corn to the right from the off so it was time to try this again as the match was half way through. A slow pull round on the tip had me lift into something slow and plodding. The culprit soon revealed itself when a 3lb bream went into the net. You guessed that was my only bite from here too. In the meantime, Rob on peg 18 was still catching including on the pole near a big reed bed. John on 20 was fishless as was Phil on 5 and Tony on 17 and Fred on 16 were looking quiet too. Another small carp obliged about 1.30 taking a wafter on a hybrid feeder in front of me where I had been casting on and off all day. No signs until the tip went round. And that was it apart from an outrageous liner with 30 seconds to go trying down the edge again. At the weigh in my fish went a little more than I thought. Rob looked like he had been emptying it but had fewer fish than I thought. Phil had also snuck in a carp in the dying minutes. Mark on peg 10 was the unknown. In a tight finish Rob's better quality fish just pipped Mark: 1st Rob Calderon 41lbs 11oz, 2nd Mark Halverson 38lbs 6oz and 3rd Gary Pickard 13lbs 4oz. Pic today is Rob playing a good carp - they must have been confused thinking it was summer to come into pole range.

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

Taylor's Lake (Abbey Cross water)

N/A

Bishop's Stortford won with 66 points to Abbey Cross's 29 points 1st John Carter 32lbs 6oz 2nd John Todd 16lbs 1oz 3rd Bill Beeston 15lbs 4th Rob Calderón 9lbs 6oz

Phil's day Hi to all. The Weds club fished an inter-club match this week at Taylor's Lake against Abbey Cross. I drew peg 34 not particularly good but it's the luck of the draw. I started off on feeder while my pole line feed had a bit of time to work. Stayed with the feeder for a good hour then I decided it was time to try the pole as I didn't get any positive bites from the feeder. The pole line was pretty much the same story and that was my day on and off - pole and feeder and ended up blanking. Not to worry my team seems to have done the business. When the points were tallied up we won by a considerable amount Bishop's Stortford 66 points to Abbey Cross 29 points. 1st John Carter with 32lbs 6oz, 2nd John Todd with 16lbs 1oz, 3rd Bill Beeston with 15lbs and 4th Rob Calderón with 9lbs 6oz. A very big well done to the team. Pic is John and Rob by their pegs they came 1st and 4th.

Club match/outing

River Stort Backwater

Stort Cup 1 of 2

1st John Todd 5lbs 12oz 2nd Mark Halverson 2lbs 14oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 2lbs 10oz

Gary's day Today was the first leg of the Stort Cup so it was a trip to the Backwater. We were met with a clear river but it had a little flow so hope was not all lost. It was peg 12 again for me but thankfully with us spread out a bit more today so peg 11 below was empty. After catching micro roach last time, today I was going to fish more positively to see if they could be fed off. A start on bread punch got me some quick bites but from 1/2 oz roach and, given the number of bites I was missing, I suspect the average size was much smaller in my peg. Tony and Rob above me and Steve below were having an equally slow start with just small fish. A try over by the boats had me getting some very odd signs and strikes met with half a worm coming back. It looked like I was sitting on some crayfish. A try on maggot got me the occasional bite but the fish were no bigger. The odd look over by the boats finally got me a perch but one only one of the 3oz babies. John walked past from peg 18 about halfway through to get something from his car and mentioned he had about 1 1/2lbs and was getting plenty of bites. I was way behind this. Rob and Steve had some fun and games with the pike with Steve managing to land a couple but they don't count in our matches. No pike for me but plenty of fry jumping out of the water now and again as something spooked them. A swap to pinkies when the bites tailed off as the cloud cover disappeared kept bites coming but the fish were getting smaller. A couple more small perch from near the boats helped but it was a lot of effort for 2lbs 4oz on the scales. John took out the match with 5lbs 12oz from peg 18 with the rest of us hovering around the 2-3lb mark. Next was Mark Halverson with 2lbs 14oz and 3rd Phil Whitmill with 2lbs 10oz. Pic today is Phil with his hard day's work.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Steve Foster 22lbs 10oz 2nd John Carter 16lbs 6oz 3rd Fred Hunt 15lbs 12oz 4th Tony Cruci 15lbs 3oz

Phil's day Hi to all, the Weds club fished its match at Hall Farm club lake. We picked a good dry day for a change although it was cold on the edge of the wind. I drew peg 8 - not too bad and has its moments. I made my mind up to fish two pole swims: one in the margin; and the other in front of me at 14ft deep - power top and 4th and half the 5th joint. Started off on feeder with double reds and maggot feeder and sat on this most of the morning with no bites not even a line bite. Then on to my pole lines - this was the same story so back to the feeder with a couple of alterations and got my first carp about 6lb. Happy now I had not blanked but didn't get another bite until2 ish. When Peter came for a walk round the tip slowly moved back - I slowly tightened up struck for another carp. Getting close to packing up time so started to put a few things away in readiness for weighing in when the tip flew round. It was a panic reaction and I hit it too hard and snapped my hooklength. I weighed in with 12lbs 7oz 1st Steve Foster with 22lbs 10oz, 2nd John Carter with 16lbs 6oz, 3rd Fred Hunt with 15lbs 12oz and 4th Tony Cruci with 15lbs 3oz. Only one blank today and he was still in hols mode.

Club match/outing

Home Farm small lake

N/A

1st Mark Halverson 39lbs 1oz 2nd Fred Hunt 20lbs 9oz 3rd Rob Calderon 19lbs 6oz

Gary's day Today found us at Home Farm's small lake after a reshuffle from last week as it was frozen over. A couple of surprise frosts before Sunday was not good news. Out of the bag came peg 7 for me; in the middle and with the 2 end pegs on either bank next to me. Not where I wanted to draw. It was going to be day of fishing maggots long on the pole for anything swimming and maybe something in the edge later where I had a bush either side. Mark got off to a flying start with a carp in the first 10 mins. It was then though a long wait for us all bar Fred who was getting a few roach on peg 3. An hour in things improved with a few roach coming out and Fred starting to get a few carp. For me it was roach only until I found a small carp half way through down the edge on bread punch. But it was on its own. Some of the roach were nudging 6oz and worth catching but too few and too slowly to match the carp. As the day warmed up Mark, Rob on 5 on the other bank's end peg and Fred kept ticking over with the odd carp. Just the 1 more carp for me and the rest of my bank was painfully slow with Phil and Tony having a tough day. At the weigh in it was all down to quality with the 3 having around 6 carp each with Mark having a couple more carp but of a much better stamp. 1st Halverson 39lbs 1oz, 2nd Fred Hunt 20lbs 9oz and 3rd Rob Calderon 19lbs 6oz. Picture today is the lake - nice and clam before the off - Fred's peg to the left and Rob's to the right.

Winter League

River Stort Backwater

N/A

1st Rob Calderón 5lbs 3oz 2nd Steve Foster 2lbs 11oz Jt 3rd Fred Hunt 2lbs 9oz Jt 3rd Bill Beeston 2lbs 9oz

Phil's day Hi all, Weds club fished its 4th round of our winter league on our Backwater. For a few hours there I thought I would have to cancel because of the high winds but, by 8 am, the winds had almost gone. I drew peg 7 not been used for quite a while so didn't know what to expect. The water was in good condition but way too much flow but can't do anything about that. I fished bread punch and maggots - very slow to start with and that's how it went all day. I did manage to put 1lb 14 oz in the net for a few points 1st Rob Calderón with a very good weight of 5lbs 3oz, 2nd Steve Foster with 2lbs 11oz , joint 3rd was Fred Hunt and Bill Beeston with 2lbs 9oz. Pic is Fred Hunt on the next peg to me.

Water booking

Hall Farm Small Lake

N/A

Club match/outing

River Stort Backwater

N/A

1st Phil Whitmill 3lbs 13oz 2nd Fred Hunt 2lbs 5oz Jt 3rd Rob Calderon 1lbs 13oz Jt 3rd Gary Pickard 1lbs 13oz

Gary's day After a bitterly cold week that left all the lakes in the area frozen it was the Backwater for us this Sunday - the second time in a week for some.  It was a good choice as the trees kept the worst of Storm Isha at bay. Out of the bag came peg 12 for me, with the pegs in either side that does not leave you with a lot of river to play with but you do get a gap in boats across from you.  A pike swirling at fish as Rob on 13 was setting up made it clear there were going to be some pike problems today. A start on bread punch gave me a sail away bite on the first drop in which I completely missed.  A few runs through later I had my first fish; a very small dace.  Around me everyone else was having a slow start with just the odd small fish coming out.  A swap to maggot did not improve the quality but at least I got a few chances at hitting the small and quick indications I was getting on the float from the small fish.  As expected Fred, Rob and Mark all had run ins with pike and there were so long spells without bites as they were hunting in my peg.  About 12 I hit into something that was not the tiny fish I had been catching - was it pike or perch?  After extracting it from a weedbed I thought the job was done but a roll near the surface let it shed the hook before it was in netting range.  The flash I saw of it was looking a lot more perch than pike and a good one at that.   2 1/2 more hours of chasing bites saw about 70 fish in the net but they were mostly very small and did not even make 2lbs on the scales.  Over on peg 6 Phil took out the match with 3lbs 13oz of good perch and plenty of smaller back up fish.  A dozen or perch and small fish for Fred got him to 2lbs 5oz with Rob and I both with 1lbs 13oz of small stuff. Pic today is Tony doing the rounds with the scales and Rob looking like he is about to take a dive into the River.

Club match/outing

River Stort Backwater

N/A

Phil's day Hi to all on such a cold day. The Weds club cancelled their match on Beggers Hall Lake as it was frozen over, so a few of us had a match on the Backwater on the River Stort as this was clear of ice. I drew peg 6 not a bad peg but with this cold I wasn't sure what to expect. There was a nice flow and a bit of colour in the water. Started off on bread and crumb and gradually started to get a few bites and the odd fish so tried maggots for a while and picked up a few better but roach this didn't last long so back to bread. In the last hour the bites trailed off so it was down to a last resort of pinkies and I started picking up odd very small fish then, with half hour to go, I broke my hook length so on to my lighter rig which was set slightly deeper. On the first run through I had a small perch and, with 5 minutes , left had my last fish - a 5oz perch and a good way to end the match. Thanks to Terry for his help weighing everyone in, and a thank you to everyone in the team for my Christmas present. Pic is Terry and John (in the background) on pegs 12 and 11.

Water booking - Fishing in Mind

Hall Farm Large Lake

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

N/A

1st Mark Halverson 32lbs 3oz 2nd Rob Calderon 20lbs 1oz 3rd Gary Pickard 16lbs 9oz

It was a trip to Beggars Hall this week with the day being due to be cold but dry. Out of the bag came peg 10 for me; not a bad winter peg but the other side of the island has been better so far this winter. The plan today was simple - casting as close to the trees on the island as I dared and waiting for a bite. The target was 6 bites and, hopefully, 6 fish. Seeing the water being so clear had me thinking that was optimistic. It was going to be a day on the tip although I did set up a waggler just in case. The first hour had me searching around with a bomb with bread, corn and meat for no signs. It was not such a slow start for Mark, Rob and Steve who each had a carp about an hour in. John to my left then lost one. A swap to a hybrid feeder did not help and by 12.30 I had not seen a sign of life in my peg. By now Mark was on 3 fish. A swap back to bomb and bread finally got me a couple of liners and then a bite. You guessed it, it came off after the hard work of getting it away from the tree branches. The next hour was quiet for me but Mark added another couple of carp and was easily leading unless the other end of the lake was fishing well. About 1.30 the tip started moving a bit from liners and I had another bite. This time the fish made the net and a blank was avoided. Another quiet spell followed until getting lots of liners in the last half hour but no bites. It got so bad I was stood behind my box to make sure I did not strike at them. With a couple of minutes to go the tip went round and another carp of around 10lbs went in the net. That was it, the carp had shown up but too late for me. At the weigh in Mark had clearly won it with 5 fish but they were on the smaller side for Beggars. Rob was admitting to 15lb with one chunky mirror - it went 20lb on the scales! Mark's 5 fish went 32lbs 3oz for the win followed by Rob's monster at 20lbs 1oz with my 2 coming in at 16lbs 9oz . Photo today is Rob's 20lb - you don't need many bites for a decent weight at Beggars at the moment.

Water booking

River Stort Backwater

N/A

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Bill Beeston 21lbs 9oz Jt 2nd Barry Cornel 21lbs 4oz Jt 2nd John Todd 21lbs 4oz 4th Phil Whitmill 20lbs 15oz

Phil's day Good cold day to all. The Weds club fished its club match at Hall Farm large this week. This is my second day out since my illness must admit I wasn't looking forward to it especially the weighing in . I was lucky to draw a low bank peg so some of my battle was won. Ony 9 of us turned up so only 3 pegs on the step side high bank. Started off on feeder with pellet banded to a hair rig - this wasn't working so put a maggot rig on and a much lighter hooklength and, within 15 minutes, had my first carp. It's now 12.40 and I am down by 4 fish to my right and 2 fish to my left but plodded on to catch 4 more with a weight of 20lbs 15oz. First Bill Beeston with 21lbs 9oz , joint 2nd was Barry Cornel and John Todd with 21lbs 4oz and 4th place Phil Whitmill with 20lbs 15oz. Picture today is Bill.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st John Todd 15lbs 15oz Jt 2nd Phil Whitmill 11lbs 2oz Jt 2nd Rob Calderon 11lbs 2oz

Gary's day After a bit of a break for the Christmas/New Year period the first match of 2024 ended up on Hall Farm's large lake after some reshuffling due to conflicts and the River being in flood. Thankfully the day was due to be dry but it was a chilly start. The draw bag arm needs a bit of work as I pulled out peg 9 - not really where I wanted to be and with pegs 8 and 10 also in it was going to be a tough day. With the water still carrying quite a bit of colour the plan was the pole at 5 sections where it was 3 sections (10ft) deep and then a feeder out long plus pinging the odd bit of corn long for later. After an hour trying maggot, cage and hybrid feeders without a sign things were not looking good. Mark, on peg 8, then had a bite on the pole and foulhooked a carp on the strike which came off - at last some signs of life in the lake. Time to try the pole and .... not a sign. Back out on the feeder it was. Rob on peg 10 then had a carp on bomb and bread and Mark one on a method feeder. I was getting battered either side. Finally I had a bite on bomb and bread a couple of hours in and a small carp was safely in the net. Word came down the bank that Phil had 2 carp and John 1 so it was clearly fishing tough. Despite trying the pole a few more times there was nothing there - this seemed to be the case for everyone. Rob then picked up another couple of carp and it looked like a 2 horse race between him and Phil. I had 1 more bite before the all out but it came off pretty much on the final whistle and there ended my day - 2 bites and 1 carp for 3lbs 15oz. In the meantime John had snuck 3 more fish into his net to win with 15lbs 15oz with Phil and Rob sharing second spot with 11lbs 2oz. Picture today is Rob with his 3 carp on a very hard day.

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

River Stort Backwater

N/A

Match cancelled due to flooding.

Club match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

N/A

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

N/A

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

Xmas match

1st Steve Foster 33lbs 14oz 2nd Gary Pickard 23lbs 5oz 3rd Barry Cornel 17lbs 1oz 4th John Carter 11lbs 15oz

Gary's day Phil, along with a number of the other regulars, were out of action with various illnesses so we were a little down on numbers for the Xmas match but that just meant more mince pies and sausage rolls for the rest of us. Get well soon lads. I spread us about a bit so we all had a spare peg either side as the heavy rain the day before was likely to make it a tough day. I was left with peg 20 in the bag - an OK peg but not a flyer. With expecting a tough day I risked going out to 11 metres on the pole and hoped I had some shelter from the bank behind from the forecast wind. It was a very slow start with no signs at all on a maggot feeder. There were carp topping giving you a false sense of bites to come - I suspect that they were just looking for some warmth in the top layers. Steve though got off to a flying start with a couple of decent looking carp on the pole on peg 6. Finally, I had a small carp after an hour on a hybrid feeder but nothing more. Another hour in I finally had a couple of bites on the pole - the first one was foul hooked and came off but the next came in. Steve was also still catching the odd fish. I then had a quick run of 3 carp swapping left and right pole swims potting in maggots and a few micros but it did not last and the next hour was biteless. The lake switched on a little towards the end with Jeff on peg 24 getting a couple of carp and another showing up for me on the feeder. I could also see Tony on peg 8 had had a couple. Steve though had another quick flurry of fish on bomb and bread and it was game over. Today's results 1st Steve Foster 33lbs 14oz, 2nd Gary Pickard 23lbs 5oz, 3rd Barry Cornel 17lbs 1 oz and 4th John Carter 11lbs 15oz. Photo is Steve with his winning net of fish. A big thank you to Phil and Terry for running the Weds matches - have a great Christmas and New Year all.

Club match/outing

Home Farm Small Lake

Xmas match

1st Mark Halverson 27lbs 10oz 2nd Gary Pickard 27lbs 6oz 3rd Rob Calderon 27lbs 1oz

Gary' day Today was the Club's Christmas match at Home Farm's small lake. It was another mild day but with a brisk, cold wind. Out of the bag was peg 1 for me, a little out of the wind and with it sort of off my back for a change to being in my face. I started out as long as I thought I could hold if the wind picked up at 7 sections. There were some encouraging bites from the off but only small roach even on expanders. A try in a few places around the peg found more roach but no carp. After about an hour Rob on peg 3 hooked a carp so, hopefully, they were feeding now. It was time to risk the far bank with the pole at 14.5m, thankfully the wind was manageable. After a few roach I struck into something that was not a roach. After it finished tearing around the peg, a clear foul hooker, it finally came off way too close to the net. But I did get a free float that came back with my rig! I then had a quick flurry of 3 carp before they sulked off. The next 2 hours was a case of scraping together some more roach with Rob putting the odd carp in the net. The far end of the lake was also improving with Mark and Jeff tangling with a few carp . Finally, with 30 minutes to go, I found some more carp as close to the far bank tree as I dared to go. The first went charging under the tree and came off. The second was better behaved. I don't think it knew it was hooked and, after a few tense minutes on a 2.6lb bottom, a good double was in the net. That was it for the big fish. In a ridiculously close finish 1st Mark Halverson 27lbs 10oz, 2nd Gary Pickard 27lbs 6oz and 3rd Rob Calderon 27lbs 1oz. Picture today is John with a grass carp that decided to put in an appearance - you don't see many of them around here.

Winter League

River Stort Backwater

N/A

1st Bill Beeston 2lbs 6oz 2nd Phil Whitmill 2lbs 4oz 3rd Steve Foster 1lbs 8oz 4th Rob Calderon 1lbs 4oz

Phil's day Morning to all. The Weds club fished it 3rd round of our winter league on the River Stort Backwater. Got to the river at 7.45 to find it was running hard after a night of heavy rain. It had plenty of colour so, although not the best conditions, I decided we would not cancel the match. I drew peg 14. It's a good peg but today was anybody guess. I picked out my heaviest rig, a 1 grammer, and looked for a slightly slower run and that was full over to the barge. Only made 1 rig as I couldn't see any point in setting up any more. Fed red maggots and chopped worm - it was difficult to judge where to feed should have used a bait dropper but didn't. I got my first perch after 40 minutes and went on to catch a few more throughout the day mixed in with the odd roach. I weighed in 2lb 4oz and had a good day being busy most of the day. 1st with 2lbs 6oz Bill Beeston, 2nd Phil Whitmill with 2lbs 4oz , 3rd Steve Foster with 1lbs 8oz and 4th Rob Calderon with 1lbs 4oz. No blanks today. Pic is from my peg looking down river.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Mark Halverson 47lbs 5oz 2nd Phil Whitmill 29lbs 1oz 3rd John Todd 19lbs 2oz

Gary's day It was another mild but wet week which saw us at Hall Farm's large lake this week. Thankfully it was a lot less windy than the day before but was going to be wet. Out of the bag came peg 12 for me with us spread down the low bank. Peg 12 has its days, was this one? After 2+ hours of trying the feeder and a couple of pole lines it was not going well. Not a bite or sign of fish bar one small liner on the feeder. I had no idea how the rest of lake was fishing as the trees down the bank meant I could not see anyone. Finally I had a bite on the pole and the strike was met with solid resistance. But it came off. At last some encouragement. A few minutes later I had another bite and after some very careful playing ..... it came off. The day was going very badly. Another 20 mins passed and then another bite and another fish hooked and this one escaped after straightening the fine wire hook. Time for a stronger hook. Finally I had one in the net and then another 10 mins later. But that was it for the pole line - 45 mins of activity and then it died. A consolation carp on a maggot feeder was it for the day and the last 90 mins was biteless for me. Down the other end of the lake things went a bit better with the feeder accounting for most fish. 1st Mark Halverson 47lbs 5oz, 2nd Phil Whitmill 29lbs 1oz and 3rd John Todd 19lbs 2oz. Picture today is my very wet swim whilst packing up - thankfully the rain stopped.

Water booking

River Stort Backwater

N/A

Interclub (Abbey Cross)

Taylor's Lake (Abbey Cross water)

N/A

Bishop's Stortford won with 11 points to Abbey Cross's nil 1st Phil Whitmill 1/2 (0.5) oz

Phil's day Good morning to all, the Weds Club fished its inter club match against Abbey Cross on their Taylor's Lake. It was a very cold start to the day with frost and ice on the lake. We had a low turnout mainly due to a wave of bad colds. I drew peg 23. Not a bad peg but with the conditions I was hoping for a bite it was going to be a hard day. I fed just two lines on pole both at 10 meters but a left and a right. I fed a very small amount of groundbait with red maggots and micro pellets this got me a bite and a small perch so no blank for me today. I carried on trying both lines but that was it end result was half an ounce and that won me the match and Bishop's Stortford the win with 11 points to nil. 1st Phil Whitmill 0.5oz. Pic is my peg and next to me Martin Adams the A/C captain.

Club match/outing

River Stort Backwater

N/A

1st Tony Cruci 4lbs 1oz 2nd Mark Halverson 3lbs 1oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 2lbs 2oz

Gary's day After a cold and wintery week we headed to the Stort Backwater today. Expectations were for a tough day scratching around for bites as the river was quite clear. Out of the bag came peg 10 for me, not a peg I have ever fished before. It is one of the deeper pegs with 7ft off the bank but only a top 5 wide. A start on breadpunch about 3/4 of the way over had bites coming but the fish were tiny with anything near 1oz being a bonus. A swap to maggot made no difference but at least I got a few goes at hitting the very shy bites from the small dace I was catching. About half way through Phil over on peg 12 shouted over that Tony on peg 14 had just had a big perch. I was now a long way behind. The 3/4 line completely died after an hour and a half and desperation had me trying the inside on a top kit given it was so deep. A small perch of 2oz on the first drop in had me excited but that soon faded and it was back to micro dace. And that was it for me for the rest of the day: occasional flurries of small dace and a couple more small perch on the inside; a couple of 1oz dace on the 3/4 line; and not a sign over by the boats. At the weigh in I had around 70 fish but of much too small a size for a bit under 2lbs . The winner today was Tony off peg 14 who stuck it out for about a dozen perch for 4lbs, then Mark had a mixed net if smaller fish for 3lbs and then Phil with just over 2lbs. Picture today is Tony with a couple of his perch.

Water booking - Fishing in Mind

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

N/A

1st Peter Green 68lbs 2nd John Todd 36lbs 3oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 31lbs 5oz 4th Jeff Pearson 25lbs 6oz

Phil's day Good morning to all. The Weds club fished the club lake at Beggars Hall. It was a very cold and frosty day so we all were double wrapped up. I drew peg 16 not a bad peg but a long chuck to the island. Only fished the feeder with various baits on a method feeder. I got my first carp at 10 am, it was quite small for Beggars but grateful for the bite and I got my number six at 2 pm finished at 2.30pm I weighed in at 31lbs 5oz not too bad. First Peter Green with a very good winter weight of 68lbs, 2nd John Todd with 36lbs 3oz, 3rd Phil Whitmill with 31lbs 5oz and 4th Jeff Pearson with 25lbs 6oz . Well done to all for sticking it out in the cold snap, pic is my peg 16.