THE forthcoming Grimsby Angling Club Championships are now full – all 11 spaces have been filled
Several of the teams have been practicing on the various lakes at Wold View Fisheries, Claxby.
The event is not until September, but there is already a lot of friendly banter between the clubs taking part.
The last time the championships were held was in the late 1970s.
Among the favourites to take the title are the very experienced NATs team, who feature Paul Mountford. Also hotly-tipped are the LOR team, who are managed by one of the area's top anglers in Keith Easton.
Mountford organised a match on the Ultimate lake at Wold View last Saturday, and he himself took the honours with a creditable 48.6lb bag. He caught on the pole from peg 13.
He said that it was so hot, the fish were not really interested.
Next in was an angler who is currently doing very well – Scott MacAteer. He had 48lb from peg 10.
Third was Steve Riley with 37lb off peg 12.
Tomorrow, many of the top local anglers are descending on Bradley Ponds.
Tony Booth, who does a fantastic amount of work encouraging people to take up the sport, is holding a charity match in aid of St Andrews Hospice. The draw will be at 9am and anglers will fish from 10am-4pm. Pools money on the day is £15.
First prize will be £125 plus a trophy, second prize is £75 plus a trophy, third prize is £50 plus a trophy, fourth is £25.
Contact Sharon or Tony on 07501719025 or Ben on 07707295502 to book in.
Pelham AC travel to the Great Ouse in Cambridgeshire on August 3 for the Division Two national.
For some strange reason, Pelham have asked me to fish, which will be interesting to say the least. By all accounts, it will be a struggle.
I am sure all of you wish the team all the best. We will see if we can gain promotion to Division One.
Westlands AC went to Moon Lakes at Tattershall and it was case of hero to zero for club secretary Graham Rouse. After his sterling performance on the last match, he failed to get a single bite in this match.
But it was a struggle for most as the fish did not seem to be interested.
There were no problems for Paddy Ballans. Fishing down the edge on pellet with the pole, he weighed in with 42lb. Next in was present Dave Edwards Junior with 29lb. He was fishing with the 16-metre pole and using pellet as bait.
The weights then plummeted to 8lb for Billy Braithwaite. So it was certainly a hard-fought match.
Carr Lane AC were at Spilsby, on the Woodlands Lakes.
There were a lot reeds that had been cut down, but the roots were still there. They provided ideal escape routes for the carp.
Many anglers lost several feeders, floats and fish. Jez Waters, who has benefited greatly from his lesson from Lee Kerry, used several methods to catch 62lb of quality carp – doubling the weight of the next angler.
Healing AC were in action at Messingham Sands on the Swan Lake and it was Martin Young who showed the others how to do it.
He had 13 fish for 104lb, all on the pellet waggler.
Second was Trevor Oliver. He had 63lb, again using the pellet waggler. Third was David Selby with 58lb.
Oberon AC were in action at Messingham last Sunday. John Agnew was first – fishing off peg 37, he weighed in with 119.5lb. Second was Paul Jaycock with 56lb off peg 35. John Davies was third with 36lb. He said that he lost lots of bigger fish in the reeds.
Over at Saltfleetby Fisheries, a match on the main lake was won by Glen Tucker with in 55lb. Lewis Jones was second with 48lb off peg 8 and Trevor Fretwell was third with 40lb off peg 3.