Venue: PARTRIDGE LAKES – COVEY 6 AND RIBBON

Date: 13.05.2018

35 Members joined us for match 4 of the 2018 calendar at Partridge lakes utilising Covey 6 and Ribbon where 7 sections were used for the first time, 5 men in each section with 10 on Ribbon and 25 on Covey 6. The weather was lovely for sitting in the garden drinking beer but hardly perfect for fishing with bright sunshine and a cool breeze only hitting parts of each lake with any consistency, this meant some areas hugely out fished others.

Section A – Covey 6 pegs 133 – 136 & 165 - 166

1^st = Ged Smith 90lb 14oz

2^Nd = Tommy Edwards 66lb 13oz

Section A on covey 6 saw the largest average weight recorded on the day with most anglers opting to fish caster shallow following on from recent reports that this method was doing the damage. Ged Smith picks up his second section win on the bounce with a cracking weight of 91lb caught shallow under the bridge whilst Tommy Edwards fought off close competition from Dave Bennett to pick up second place.

Section B – Covey 6 pegs 138 - 146

1^st = Eamonn Bolger 31lb 6oz

2^nd = Ste Hammerton 30lb 12oz

Eamonn Bolger picked up his first section win with SMAC registering 31lb 6oz from peg 140 down the back stretch which is usually the most difficult area of this lake so well done to him on that achievement and also well done to Ste Hammerton with a well-earned close second with 30lb 12oz – not far behind!

Section C – Covey 6 pegs 148 - 155

1^st = Daz Gabz 18lb 14oz

2^nd = Martin Cook 14lb 10oz

Section D was a really tough section with some very low winning weights. Daz Gabz picked up the victory from peg 151 which I think may also have been his first SMAC section win but not 100% sure so a massive well done to him! Martin Cook came second continuing a solid start to the year which sees him take the top spot in the individual league on weight. Well done guys!

Section D – Covey 6 pegs 157 - 163

1^st = Ady Wood 31lb 14oz

2^nd = Phil Zahra 20lb 1oz

Ady Woods topped section D with a good performance yet again scratching around to weigh in a respectable weight for the area and Phil Zahra picks up his first section frame of the year which is a very disappointing start for the multiple title winning SMAC legend!

Section E – Covey 6 pegs 167 - 173

1^st = Gary Marsland 55lb 11oz

2^nd = Steve Thomasobn 29lb 10oz

Gary Marsland continues a cracking start to his first season with SMAC picking up his 3^rd section win on the trot with a top performance off peg 172 weighing in a net full of carp caught on caster on his top kit! This moves Gary onto joint points with Martin at the top of the table only behind by 3lb on weight. Well done Gary. Second went to Steve Tomo off the next peg with 29lb made up of mainly silvers.

Section F – Ribbon pegs 2 - 10

1^st = Pete Boggiano 40lb 11oz

2^nd = Carl O’Brien 40lb 5oz

Pete Boggiano was back in action after missing the last match and ounced out last year’s champion Carl O’Brien to take the top spot in section F on Ribbon. Pete and Carl both fished similar tactics including worms and casters but trying to get a run of fish together was very difficult. Pete won the section with a foul hooked 6oz stockie which leapt from his net as he landed it but was safely landed the second time – jammy bastard!

Section E – Ribbon pegs 12 - 20

1^st = Tony Webb 29lb 2oz

2^nd = Chris Gabz 6lb 0oz

This was a horrific section! I really can’t believe how bad it fished – walking round doing the weigh in I had to be on suicide watch with 4 out of the 5 anglers failing to register double figures; Phil Topham followed his record breaking catch from the last match with 2lb 2oz!!! Steve Barlow only had 1 fish all day and that was on his first put in and Derek Wood who can usually whittle fish out of thin air in tough conditions really struggled too! Chris Gabz came second in the section with just 6lb and Tony Webb won it with 29lb which was where they must have all been hiding! Unlucky draw guys and well done for sticking it out!!

Below are the photos taken on the day

Venue: HALL LANE BESS’S

Date: 29.04.2018

The third match of the 2018 season took us to the immaculate hall lane fisheries on the popular bess’s lake, having booked 50 pegs we was again told that there was another match on the remaining 25 pegs and again same as last year the other club didn’t show which makes me believe that the owner doesn’t want us spread about so just tells us that there’s another match on? It was another cold day with a strong north easterly wind and with reports of both good and bad previous match weights over recent weeks most of us wasn’t sure what to expect. Another unbelievable turn out of 37 anglers made some pegs quite tight but everyone was up for it so it was game on 

Section A –Pegs 1-11

1^st = Ged Smith 59lb 5oz

2^Nd = Steve Barlow 49lb 3oz

3^rd = Jay Suggett 42lb 4oz

This was the most fancied section of the lot and getting his hand in the bag early Ged pulls out the dolly peg 1 “decent draw at last” he said to me and he didn’t disappoint catching mainly carp at 14 meters down the edge Ged wins his 1st section of the season, 2nd in the section and his 3rd on the bounce was new boy Steve catching on the far shelf with pellets which shoots him into 1st position in the league with 15 points, definitely one to keep an eye on well done chaps

Section B – Pegs 12-22

1^st = Phil Topham 147lb (161lb 11oz)

2^nd = Carl O Brien 74lb 8oz

3^rd = Dave Coleman 35lb 6oz

Yes you read that right a massive 161lb, committed smac and steering group member Phil absolutely smashes the match catching all his fish from peg 12 on the feeder and didn’t once pick up his pole, unfortunately for Phil 2 of his nets went over the tiny 50lb net limit rule that hall lane enforces which means they are docked down to 50lb but you can’t take nothing away from this guy the last 2 years has seen Phil go from strength to strength I don’t think there’s a better angler in the club if there having it on the tip. A new personal best weight for Phil and not taking into consideration the 14lb he’s been docked this is the best match weight caught by any member of a smac match ever and it just gets better this Huge haul of fish was caught in a match 1/2 hour less in duration than the 3 previous highest weights. Well done mate epic performance from a top bloke 2 section wins from 2 matches I’ll put money on you finishing in the top 5 this season.

2nd place went to last year’s champion Carl who’s finally found his form catching all his fish on the far bank from peg 18

Section C – pegs 24 to 31

1^st = Gary Marsland 18lb 8oz

2^nd =Paul Tighe 16lb 7oz

3^rd = Ady Wood 15lb 6oz

Section C was by far the worst preforming section on the day which is surprising as reports from the lads said that early in the morning before the draw it was solid with carp sucking the scum from the top of the water. Nevertheless last matches overall winner Gary fished a tidy match from peg 30 catching anything that swims on his favourite chopped worm method giving him an impressive joint 3rd league position just beating Paul Tighe from the peg next door but one fishing a similar method, Paul’s carp switched on in literally the last 15mins of the match but it’s was to late to catch up Gary 

Section D – pegs 33 to 41

1^st = Martin Cook 75lb 3oz

2^nd = Ian Coleman 72lb 1oz

3^rd = Joe Zahra 55lb 4oz

Martin fished peg 35 and pulled out the 2nd best overall weight on the day catching carp on the far shelf, this now boost him into 2nd place in the league just 1 point behind Steve Barlow excellent skills mate, This is a solid performance from a historically poor area and beating off very close competition from club treasurer Ian on the next peg along who also caught long swapping from corn and expander the keep bites coming after a poor start.

Section E – pegs 43 to 50

1^st = Tommy Edwards 70lb 4oz

2^nd = Eric Quinn 29lb 10oz

3^rd = Paul Pannett 28lb 15oz

Tommy pulled out end peg 50 and took the section by storm catching carp on pellet down the track, it’s not often you see him with a smile from ear to ear but after taking home cash from the section and super pools with 6 points to got with it he was all smiles on the journey home, a great win catching carp in a different style to everyone else from the deep water, Tommy’s 1st section win makes him jump up into top 10.

2nd on the day was the inform Eric catching anything that swims from corner peg 49 this shoots him into joint 2nd place just behind Martin on overall weight 

Below are the photos taken on the day [apologies to Gary Marsland for missing yours out]

Venue: OLD HOUGH FISHERIES; UPPER BENBO, PROSPECT & GOOSE

Date: 15.04.2018

The highest turnout for a SMAC match in recent years saw 38 out of 40 members attending Old Hough fisheries which was split across 3 lakes; Upper Benbo, Prospect and Goose. Most at the draw were fancying Upper Benbo with some decent weights the day before on the open and the car park side was, as always the sought after area. With a cold, strong wind blowing across the lakes fishing was really difficult for most and presenting a bait to the far bank was nigh on impossible on the pegs where the wind was hitting the worst.

As it turned out Upper Benbo was a big disappointment with some really low weights from the usual hot pegs and the winning weights in both sections A and B came from the complete opposite end than expected. The other two lakes were just as tough with only one or two pegs producing decent weights. Fishing in spring is always a bit odd, the fish never seem to settle into a regular feeding pattern or depth and after the winter we’ve had it’s not surprising it’s taking longer than usual for the fish to get their heads down to feed.

The teams of 4 competition is off to a good start and as the draw was seeded so well it’s looking like it could be a really close competition with only 10 points separating the entire league; hopefully it will stay this close throughout the year and we’ll enjoy a nice climax to the first year of this competition. Climax….. Love that word, oooo eeeerr missus.

Section A – Upper Benbo Pegs 1-12

1^st = Phil Topham 59lb 6oz  

2^nd = Stuart Ford 36lb 12oz

Travelling companions Phil and Stu attended their first match of 2018 after missing the first due to smashing the opens down at whiteacres and both managed to frame in section A from pegs 12 and 6 respectively. As the rain was pouring down I didn’t get chance to ask the guys how they caught but I’d wager a tenner Phil caught on the method feeder and Stu caught down the margins on Paste. After a cracking season last year Stu is now the go to man in the club for paste advice [Mr Zahra may need to see you soon haha] and Phil Topham is steady away no fuss, no messing – cast out the feeder and smoke 20 fags, easy this fishing lark isn’t it! Well done spud guy’s.

Section B– Upper Benbo Pegs 13-24

1^st = Gary Marsland 60lb 8oz  

2^nd = Jason Suggett 36lb 2oz

New Member Gary Marsland tipped 60lb on the scales which picked up his first section win and also an overall match win from peg 13 which he fished in the winter league but through 2ft of ice! I’d like to say conditions were a bit better for this match but they weren’t – well done Gary, a great performance. Jason Suggett puts his hand in the bag and pulls out the peg you’d choose to pleasure fish if you had the entire fishery to go at; and he does it every time…. How he does this nobody knows, maybe we’re all afraid to say he can actually fish a bit…. Errrrr no chance, he’s just a drawbag – no wonder he’s got all the best gear, bet he wins the lottery every week. Just kidding Jay, great performance from the wrong end of the lake, well done buddy.

Section C – Prospect pegs 1 to 8

 1^st = Ady Wood 48lb 5oz  

2^nd = Pete Boggiano 43lb 14oz

Ady Woods fished his first match of the year after missing the first one due to attending the high vis vest sales at Matalan, fortunately he was sat far enough away from me so I didn’t have to hear how he caught every fish as he landed it; oh my God did I just say that out loud?! Well done Adrian – definitely a title contender this year. Pete Boggiano came second - according to the ladies he always comes second, boom!

Section D – Prospect pegs 9 to 16

1^st = Ian Clarkson 24lb 8oz  

2^nd = Alan Hesling 12lb 1oz

Well, what a shit section this was! With some class anglers along the bank not troubling double figures it’s a sure sign the section was low on fish numbers. Lanky Bollocks Clarkson didn’t enter the pools due to the pressure of potentially winning a life changing £35 getting into his head to much, this resulted in a much calmer approach and also resulted in a section win…. Come on bully, show us what he could have won! Alan Hesling continues his steady start to the season with his second section second and he’s second in the league, hang on a second, how many times can you type second in a sentence?! Well done to all the guys in this section, it really was shit.

Section E – Goose pegs 1-5 & 17-18

1^st = Eric Quinn 32lb 5oz  

2^nd = Ian Coleman 28lb 6oz

Contrary to popular belief when Eric is catching fish he’s actually quite a nice guy, which meant today he was being exceptionally lovely to all passers-by, quite strange I know. Eric made use of a good draw on peg 5 to win the lake with 32lb followed closely by Ian Coleman on the next peg who is keen to show us all he’s the best of the Coleman bunch after Brother Dave was crowned winter league champion. Well done again Dave, you’re the best – Ian, pull your finger out man!!!!

Section F – Goose pegs 7-15

1^st = Chris Gabz 23lb 5oz  

2^nd = Steve Barlow 20lb 8oz

Some low weights in this section were expected to be honest, this part of the lake usually fishes much more difficult than the early pegs and the bridge pegs. Chris Gabz won the section with 23lb which is his second section win on the bounce and all is looking rosy as he sits at the top of the league on maximum points, nice one Chris, well done mate. Steve Barlow finished second in the section after his second at Bradshaws he’s another who’s steady away into the 2018 season, well done guys.

Below are the photos taken on the day [missing Tony Webb’s arse as he only weighed in 4lb off a flyer and took off in a right mood hahaha]:

Venue: BRADSHAW HALL FISHERIES – LAKES 3 & 4

Date:01.04.18

Welcome to the 2018 SMAC season to all our members especially the new guys who we hope 

Date: 01.04.2018enjoy fishing with us. We had a really good turnout of 34 anglers for the first match split into 5 sections over lakes 3 and 4 at Bradshaws. Pretty much everyone was hoping for a lake 4 draw with pegs 5 to 15 being the most fancied area, Lake 3 is a bit of a weird lake and although some recent open results were looking decent the weather was shocking for this time of year with wind chill factors down to -3 which definitely effected the fishing…. It’s spring! Where’s the sunshine?!

There’s a new competition which everyone is involved in, the teams of 4 competition is set to be a big hit with plenty talking about it at the draw, good luck to all teams and good luck also in the individual leagues and pairs leagues to everyone!

I’m uploading the reports slightly differently this year – I’m putting a gallery at the bottom of each report with all the pictures in rather than under each section write up as last year I ran out of space on the webpage – this gives us the opportunity to upload more pictures so if anyone takes any random pics at the matches please feel free to send them over to me and I’ll add them in….. as long as they don’t contain a naked Tony Webb that is.

Section A – Lake 4 Pegs 3 to 10

1^st = Andy Sonley 85lb 0oz  

2^nd = Alan Hesling 74lb 0oz

3^rd = Daz Gabz 60lb 5oz

Andy Sonley fishes his first SMAC summer league match after joining us for a few winter league matches and ends up winning the overall match! Andy fished a good match on the long pole shallow to weigh in a hefty 85lb to win the section and the match, well done mate and welcome to the club…. Any more ‘ringer’ performances though and Tony Might get his bare arse even closer to your head; god help you I bet it stinks! Alan Hesling wasn’t too far behind fishing a similar method from peg 7 to pick up second in section and second overall and Daz Gabz surprised us all with a 60lb net – well done guys!

Section B – Lake 4 Pegs 12 to 23

1^st = Chris Gabz 65lb 12oz  

2^nd = Derek Wood 45lb 3oz

3^rd = Mick Abdy 44lb 18oz

Chris Gabz allways seems to do well on Lake 4 and didn’t disappoint this time weighing in close to 66lb for a section win and third overall, I didn’t find out exactly how Chris fished the match but I suspect a method feeder may have been involved? Second in section was Derek wood from the early pegs on the wall side and third went to Mick Abdy on the unfancied causeway pegs – well done guys!

Section C – Lake 4 pegs 24 to 33

 1^st = Martin Cook 47lb 2oz  

2^nd = Steve Barlow 37lb 1oz

3^rd = Tommy Edwards 33lb 2oz

The cold wind was properly hitting this side of the lake and you can see the weights dropped compared to the early pegs on the other side. Martin Cook fished with a bad back and ended up catching short to win the section – well done mate! New member Steve Barlow gets in the section frame with a second placed weight of 37lb and Tommy Edwards surprised himself with a 3^rd place position, hopefully you’ve all warmed up a bit!

Section D – Lake 3 pegs 1 to 10

1^st = Tony Webb 32lb 1oz  

2^nd = Pete Boggiano 31lb 0oz

3^rd = Steve Tomo 26lb 11oz

The cold wind also effected this section on Lake 3 with frost being the only thing biting with any consistency…. Steve Tomo and Tony Webb kept themselves warm by being a pair of bitches moaning about who was casting into who’s peg, I was hoping it would turn into a real fight at one point as I like seeing Tony get his arse kicked hahaha. Throughout all the moaning Tony ended up winning the section with 32lb of feeder caught fish from Tomo’s swim…. He actually had his picture taken with Tomo’s fish just to rub it in! Pete Boggiano was second in section from the worst peg on the complex [haha no prizes for guessing who’s writing this] and Tomo was 3^rd with 26lb of Tony’s fish. Well done guys!

Section D – Lake 3 pegs 12 to 27

1^st = Dave Bennett 40lb 13oz  

2^nd = Stu Brown 33lb 11oz

3^rd = Pete Ransome 23lb 8oz

A busy day in this section for some with silvers making up the majority of the decent weight which suited Dave Bennett down to a tee – Dave weighed in an impressive 41lb of silvers from the causeway side which included the biggest fish of the year so far…. Believe it or not a 3lb 12oz perch found its way into Dave’s net, hopefully for everyone this doesn’t win the trophy! Stu Brown finished second from fancied peg 22 and Pete Ransome had a busy day from the other causeway peg. Well done to everyone in this section as it was by far the worst on the day.

Below are the photos taken on the day:

2017/18 Winter League Champion - Dave Coleman

Massive Congratulations to Dave Coleman for winning the SMAC 2017/18 winter league. This year was the closest ever with 6 people in the frame to pick up the trophy on the last match which was a tough day’s fishing in horrendous conditions.

3 anglers ended up tied on 28 points at the top of the league; Derek Wood [last year’s champion] Tony Webb and Dave Coleman. Dave won the title based on his weight of just over 70lb with Tony coming in second with nearly 57lb and then Derek Wood on 56lb! The entire winter has been a proper struggle with some of the worst and coldest weather we’ve ran matches in so thanks to everyone who managed to make the matches ….. Roll On Summer!!

Congratulations Dave Coleman!!