2017 Championship: Round 4

Match 4, Reach Lode, Upware 16th July 2017

A much nicer day than our last match here saw some reasonable nets and a total of 68 lb weighed in, an average of 4¼ lb per competitor. The last Upware match was won with only 4 lb 7 oz.

At the draw bag, Trevor Sturge was cursing himself for picking a boat less swim, which he himself had mistakenly included when pegging. He got something right though and managed to land top weight of nearly 9½ lb. He was chased by Jason, Mike and Kevin with only ounces separating them. Man of the match however was Rob Turner, now named the LodeStar for his big fish guiding qualities, for while only achieving 5th place he netted four lovely rudd to 1¾ lb, true specimens.

The rest of us settled for mainly small roach and rudd but with the odd 8 – 12 oz skimmer to boost weights, if these manage to avoid the plentiful pike and transform to proper bream we will have double figure weights before too long. Talking of pike, poor Simon seemed to attract more than his fair share and he was seen transporting them to the end of the match length after they had intercepted a good few fish before they could reach his net.

Our next match on 30th July will be on The Old West, a favourite venue for many of us, despite a poor match there last year. With the recent significant rain we should see a few tench feeding, maybe even some bream! As usual please book your place via Trevor, details as per the club book.

Ian Claydon