See you next month !!.

Although the fishing wasn’t as good as previous years it was still interesting at times and I’ve learned a lot for future trips. My best weight during my stay was just over fifty pounds of bream on the pole but I’ve managed to win almost one thousand pounds in section and minor placing payouts. I also went in twenty five per cent shares with Darren Davies in the final weeks festival and he won me nearly two hundred pounds, courtesy of his third place overall thanks Darren !! The first weeks festival, the Mahon’s Hotel festival turned out to be the best festival of the lot as there were a lot of roach to be caught if you drew well. Andy Leathers took the best roach weight of the week with 54.100kg (that’s ll91bs) from the Queen Elizabeth road section in the narrows. All his fish came to strong pole tactics with bunches of maggots on a big hook. Popular festival winner was big Gary Drew of the Delcac team from London. After a blistering final days performance where he recorded 49.650kg from the top end of the Trory section his total of 110.650kg (2431bs) put him clear of the chasing pack. Week two saw four hundred and twenty anglers doing battle on the Erne for the coveted Guinness Classic title, and although many struggled (including me) there were still a lot of fish to be caught. The total amount of fish caught during the week amounted to 6 tonnes 453kg 180gms that meant an average per angler of 5kg 126gms over the three days. Festival winner was Simon Young from Windsor with 61.580kg (1351bs). This won Simon over five thousand pounds in prize money on top of some exciting fishing. Runner up was seventeen year old Martin Price from Gloucester on his first ever visit to Ireland. Martin totalled 50.940kg (1121bs) and won him three thousand pounds in prize money so I’m sure it will be the first trip of many for him !!! The third festival was the Cliff Smart Gold Cup where, to qualify for the final, you either need to win your section or finish as one of the next best six aggregate weights. This gives a forty eight peg final split into four sections of twelve. Going into the final qualifying day I still hadn’t got through with a section win but caught enough to sneak in fourth on weight. The final, for me, was a disappointment but one man who wasn’t disappointed was festival winner Simon Dromgool of Warners tackle. Simon was at peg 14 at Portora and recorded 26.310kg for a victory worth £3500. Next came Neil Perry from Walsall with a level 17.000 from the top end of the Rossahilly airport section. The final festival I competed in during my stay was the Keith Boswell invitation event. We had a great week in the company of some smashing people and it was interesting to see just how much the fishing had changed since I had first arrived at the end of April. During May lots of bream and roach move into the Enniskillen town river sections for spawning. Once this has happened they eventually move back into the lakes and you’re left with resident fish to go for. Week fours festival saw hybrids play a major part in competitors catches and one man who sorted it out was festival winner Alan le Patourel from County Durham. Alan enjoyed a consistent week to finish with fifty eight section points. Second was Alan Robson on fifty six points and third my “sponsor” Darren Davies on fifty five points. Top weight taken during the week was Bob Hursey’s 29.600kg of bream from Trory peg ten. In this festival there is also a drawn out teams of five and my team “Dave Harrell’s Merry Men” ran out clear winners with a total weight of 216.310kg ahead of Kevin Ashurst’s team “Big Kev’s Bandits” on 202.520kg. And so, another trip to Ireland was over. I’m already looking forward to my next visit in September when there are several festivals to compete in as well as the International pairs event which I understand has a first prize of £10,000. My journey home from Ireland proved to be a nightmare. I was booked to come back on the Sea Cat ferry service from Belfast to Heysham, near Morecambe. That would have given me a steady two hour drive home at the end of the crossing at a reasonable time of night. When I got to the port at Belfast the ferry had been cancelled due to technical problems and I was now on a ferry from Belfast to Troon in Scotland. Now I’ve got nothing against Scotland but it’s an awful long way from Walsall where I live and after four tiring weeks in Ireland and a hectic last night’s presentation evening it was the last thing I wanted. After docking at Troon I had two choices. I could either get some accommodation and travel the next day or just get it out of the way and go for it on the night. Five hours later I was pulling onto my drive at home almost zombiefied. I certainly slept well after that !! It’s now all systems go for the start of a new season here and I’m really looking forward to it. My first major event is the Kamasan British open on the Warwickshire Avon at Twyford near Evesham. It promises to be an interesting affair with bloodworm being allowed on a venue where it is normally banned. We saw the potential of bloodworm on the river in last years John Smith’s championships at Evesham. Unfortunately the powers that be decided to ban the bait there after the championships which I still think was a backward move. The River Avon is only a patch on what it used to be ten years ago but at least with bloodworm we were able to catch a few fish. With the bait now in for the British Open it will be interesting to see what happens. Twyford has, in the past, been a good early season venue for most species, particularly roach. With over eighty of the best anglers in the country competing it should be a fascinating event for spectators to watch. No doubt some of the competitors will put a lot of faith in a bloodworm and joker approach whilst others will fish for big fish like barbel or bream. If there is colour in the river I think it will be a good match. If it’s clear I predict it will be a difficult event. Match winning areas are difficult to pinpoint early season but if it’s a barbel job, permanent pegs 100 to 103 and 110 to 112 could be worth a look at. For bream pegs 16 to 21 have seen some massive catches down the years. Roach are spread throughout the length but the best pegs in my opinion are in the thirties or the sixties. If Georges field and Wilmots are used there could also be a few chub to be caught. If you get the chance to come along I reckon you will see a cracker of a match so don’t forget the date. It’s June l9th at Twyford Farm. Two weeks after the British Open I shall be competing, along with my M.A.P./Garbolino team mates in the Drennan Superleague final over two days. The first match is on the River Trent at Long Higgin below Nottingham and the second at Heyford fishery near Northampton. There are several of the countries top teams competing and again spectators are welcome to come along. The Trent match is always an interesting battle between pole and swimfeeder approaches. Some of the pegs are perfect for the pole whilst others are better with a swimfeeder approach. Then you have to decide whether it’s a blockend or open end swimfeeder job. The Heyford match will also be a real cracker. This venue is full of carp, some of them into double figures, and spectators will be able to watch some epic battles with big fish on the pole, I am sure. All the competing teams will be putting in a lot of practice time to try and win the title and it will be important to try and find some vital edge over the rivals in order to pick up extra points. The draw will also play a big part and any team that can come out of day one with a lead has to fancy their chances with a good draw on day two.Obviously these events are going to take up a lot of my time early season but I also intend to compete in matches on several other popular stillwaters. Earlswood lakes have been a favourite haunt of mine for many years and already the signs are good with some very big bream catches coming out. I understand there are also some big roach being taken on the pole as well. I hope to get a ticket at some stage at Trentham Gardens another popular bream and roach venue. I also intend to fish a few matches on the JCB complex at Rocester. I fished a match on the North lake last winter and although conditions that day were difficult I saw enough to convince me that the venue could be well worth focusing on.At the end of next month I am in the England team travelling up to Scotland to compete in this years Home International. There are several new caps in the England team and I’ll tell you more about them and the venue next month. Until then it’s going to be a busy start to the campaign so it’s back into the garage now to get some rigs done.

See you next month !!.