Final Standings 2005 (18th September)
| 1st |
W. Spooner |
419lb 0oz |
| 2nd |
C. Scarff |
194lb 4¼oz |
| 3rd |
S. Gooderham |
160lb 4½oz |
| 4th |
R. Grimson |
149lb 1oz |
| 5th |
S. Scarff |
116lb 8¾oz |
| 6th |
B. Blowers |
107lb 5½oz |
| 7th |
H. Brighty |
103lb 6oz |
| 8th |
A. Scarff |
100lb 10¾oz |
| 9th |
S. Blowers (jnr) |
84lb 13¾oz |
| 10th |
R. Sustins |
83lb 12¾oz |
| 11th |
W. Tuttle |
78lb 1½oz |
| 12th |
B. Watson |
26lb 14½oz |
| 13th |
T. Rudd |
12lb 12oz |
| =14th |
H. Jermy |
- |
| =14th |
D. Rouse |
- |
| Total Weight |
1636lb 15¼oz |
Results 2005
Sunday 15th May - Barford Railway Lake
| 1st |
B. Blowers |
40lb 11oz |
| 2nd |
C. Scarff |
39lb 12oz |
| 3rd |
S. Gooderham |
39lb 10oz |
Another season has begun, and some things never change. The only island peg available went to the coconut-chucking Stan. Unfortunately there were no bridges to lurk under, so the Troll will have to wait until Bergh Apton to make an appearance. There were a couple of old wrecks on the bank, and two cars had been abandoned as well. The Buddha drew a corner peg, and after this display we can see why he was sent there. At least he had his mug of tea to keep him warm. Ben was fishing his first match as a senior, and showed he means business. Fishing close-in, he caught steadily to take first place. Second place went to 'The Clot' (never to be used again), who also caught close-in on corn. The island produced enough fish for the Chucker to finish third, just 2oz behind second :-) Hylton managed a respectable fourth place, maybe a change of fortune this season? Next up, Hinderclay. The Buddha will be absent, he's off to seek enlightenment. Don't worry though, he'll be there in spirit.
Sunday 29th May - Hinderclay Reed Pool
| 1st |
W. Spooner |
53lb 7oz |
| 2nd |
S. Scarff |
30lb 7oz |
| 3rd |
S. Gooderham |
18lb 9oz |
It's the Curse of the Buddha I tells ya! If the next match goes like this, I for one will hail to the Buddha, for He is great. His absence left half of the lake fishless, the half he would normally occupy. Instead, others had to suffer a match of few bites. Only one managed to avoid the Curse completely. Wayne romped to victory on a venue he seems to like. He tamed some beasts on the pole that others would have lost. In second, S. Scarff found sweetcorn to the fishes liking. His method feeder was the most successful of the bombs being launched around the lake, but only for the first half of the match. Third place again went to The Chucker, and he also had to endure long biteless spells (apart from when he was tucking into that bacon roll). One of the more optimistic anglers was Hylton, who had two nets in at the start. After the first match who could blame him? Obviously he didn't want to cram 2oz into one net, 1oz in each is much more humane. He gained more weight than that eating his sausage roll. It's Sternfield next, so the carp take a back seat for most. Bring on those proper fish.
Sunday 12th June - Marsh Farm - Sternfield
| 1st |
W. Spooner |
19lb 11oz |
| 2nd |
H. Brighty |
14lb 10oz |
| 3rd |
R. Sustins |
13lb 9oz |
Proper fish, what proper fish? The skimmers were in short supply for most, but yet again Wayne found himself with the fish at his mercy. Sweetcorn was the winning bait for the second year running (last time I give away my secrets). On pegs 4 and 5+1X, the yellow peril was not working as it should, but in between on peg 5 something strange was happening. Hylton was catching fish! More than that, he caught enough to finish second! With a broken tip! Or was that a swingtip? With the skimmers hard to come by, others resorted to targeting the smaller fish. Robin put his pole to good use, constantly swinging in rudd and roach for third place on the day. A. Scarff was opposite, and must have been feeling unwell. He fished the pole for nearly the whole match, only casting out a feeder so he could stuff his face. It got him fifth, and another family victory. It's Father's Day next week as he goes for the hat-trick. We'll not be bearing gifts. Oh yes, almost forgot, the Buddha returned. He's certainly enlightened, although not around the waist. His sticker seemed to work it's magic though. Now we await the 'Return of the Troll'.
Sunday 19th June - Bergh Apton
| 1st |
W. Spooner |
51lb 8oz |
| 2nd |
C. Scarff |
24lb 13oz |
| 3rd |
S. Gooderham |
21lb 12oz |
Phew. No, not the weather, I'm talking about the hat-trick. Father's Day it might have been, but the fish didn't know that. Even being by the bridge didn't stop A. Scarff's normality returning to Sunday morning. He had plenty of time to eat. Two pegs away, Wayne had his favourite peg. He started catching well down the edge, but once the water warmed up he hauled carp out of the reeds on surface baits. S. Scarff got the fancied side of the bridge, but then found that another curse, this time the Curse of the Troll, had been put on the peg. It was like an invisible force-field which wouldn't let either fish or feeders into the area. This was proved when his feeder bounced off it and landed on the island. A trip across the bridge followed, and he wasn't the only one... The Troll was in unfamiliar surroundings on the opposite side of the lake. His tactics involved scaring birds off the island to spook the fish on the other side. It worked well enough, with a third third place the reward. The Buddha came out in all his glory. Shame he was hidden in the corner. C. Scarff (that's me that is) got second place, catching in the margins to begin with. Should have stayed with that tactic, second overall would have been achieved. Now we head for the Yare. I hope you have your fingers crossed. P.S. If you wear shorts on a sunny day, remember to use sunscreen. If you don't, it hurts.
Sunday 26th June - Beauchamp Arms
| 1st |
B. Blowers |
3lb 10½oz |
| 2nd |
W. Spooner |
3lb 6½oz |
| 3rd |
A. Scarff |
2lb 14oz |
I thought the idea of fishing rivers was to catch something other than carp? I leave you lot alone for one week and you just can't help yourselves. A tale of fish lost is not uncommon for some of us, although bass were not in evidence this time. A carp 'over twenty pounds' (Note: Eye witness has history of exaggerating size/species) was played and lost by Robin, who claimed to be using double red maggot. With weights closer to those expected off the beach, this fish would have won the match, even a scale may have secured a top three spot. As it was, a bag of perch caught close-in was enough for Ben to take win number two. He also lost a big fish, which wasn't seen, but reports suggest it may have been a bass. Second went to Wayne, who extended his overall lead as Stan suffered. A Scarff got third, but it does help when you net other peoples' fish. Florence lake may require two nets, make sure you've got them. By the way, Buddha was there.
Sunday 3rd July - Hinderclay Florence Lake (Pairs match)
| 1st |
W. Spooner |
47lb 11oz |
| 2nd |
S. Gooderham |
23lb 12oz |
| 3rd |
S. Scarff |
22lb 2oz |
| Pairs Winners: W. Spooner + W. Tuttle |
66lb 8oz |
The first pairs match took place with an odd number of participants. Robin was absent, but still managed a respectable fourth place in the pairs thanks to S. Scarff. Team Buddha on the other hand came in a lowly last place.Two nets certainly weren't needed, unless the second was for rats. Even a bet with fishery owner Stuart didn't help. As has become the norm, Wayne showed the rest of us the way with another display of shallow fishing for carp. With the wind in his face, some of which seemed to be coming from peg 3, the fish were lining up for the last 2 hours. It would have been much more if he'd not wasted time on the feeder. Over on pegs 8 and 9 a battle was commencing for second place. S. Scarff and Stan were matching each other fish for fish. In the end Stan's tiddler-bashing was more effective than S. Scarff's pike float. Their combined weight wouldn't have been enough to overtake Wayne, and with his partner Will taking fourth place the pairs trophy was won with ease. I don't think that's the last trophy Wayne will get his hands on this season. At least there are NO CARP in the next venue. Lots of weed though, so bring your rakes.
Sunday 10th July - Marsh Trail Lakes
| 1st |
S. Scarff |
6lb 11oz |
| 2nd |
W. Spooner |
6lb 9½oz |
| 3rd |
S. Blowers (jnr) |
2lb 7¼oz |
So that's why everyone likes carp puddles. It doesn't help when you take out the best peg before the draw. Even then S. Scarff found it in the bag. That should have told us something, as he took his first victory of the season. How he got that tench out of the weed on 8 elastic I'll never know, but maybe he should give some tips to Hylton. The first battle he lost with a tench, the second with the weed. I'm sure I heard a cry of 'timberrrrrr' as a sickening crack signalled the end of his pole. The Buddha was hiding away again, getting tips and passing on abuse via mobile. I'm sure Robin will be drooling at the prospect of fishing here on August 28th. He should have A. Scarff for company. Wayne drew peg 1, and caught two tench early before giving up. It was still easily enough for second place. Everyone else had to make do with small roach, apart from Brian who had a couple of crucian. I thought there were no carp in this lake, but they must have heard we were coming. Sam took third place, even without his pole for part of the match (someone had broken theirs and needed to borrow it). A 9lb 3oz tench earlier in the week had obviously ruined peg 6, well that's my excuse anyway. As for Stan, he could have paddled in his peg without getting his knees wet. The snakes might not have liked that though. It's the long walk to Oby Dyke next. Time for some bream.
Sunday 17th July - Oby Dyke
| 1st |
W. Spooner |
22lb 3oz |
| 2nd |
P.B. Buddha |
22lb 2oz |
| 3rd |
R. Sustins |
18lb 2oz |
Fair play to the Buddha. So close! He put in a performance which nearly gained him victory. He should know by now though, Wayne doesn't let anyone else win if he can help it. While others headed for the mill, he opted for a shorter walk, and it paid off with bream of varying size. He even threw his biggest fish back, talk about confident! The Buddha did head for the mill, and ended just one eel short. Sitting out on the point, he was on view for all to see. He should be even more golden now. No need to top up that tan on holiday. Robin joined the Buddha pilgrimage, but couldn't beat him and had to settle for third. A. Scarff is thinking of taking shares in Kamasan after losing so many hooks. It was the same for the rest of us. The eels are back this year with a vengeance, and they're not over at Susan's house (It's a musical joke). They weren't particularly fussy which bait they took, double sweetcorn seemed to produce the best, and made them fight like bass. The Scarff brothers fought it out for fourth, with Chris just 'Edging' past Stevo. No photo in the paper this week then. Not many are expected at the Beauchamp Arms, which is a surprise after all those carp showed up last time. We then have a two week gap to brush up on our tactics. One last attempt to claw back Wayne's lead. Do well.
Sunday 24th July - Beauchamp Arms
| 1st |
S. Gooderham |
6lb 4¾oz |
| 2nd |
W. Spooner |
4lb 11oz |
| 3rd |
W. Tuttle |
2lb 7oz |
No reports of carp this week! Not much else to report either. Only two slabs were caught. The biggest went to Stan, and that was enough to give him his first win this year. The other fell to Wayne right at the start. The most notable catch went to Brian, who must've remembered his bait this week! Third went to Will, with everyone else struggling. The highlight of the day was seeing a young sailor lose their sense of direction and disappear into the far bank reedbed! Only the top of the mast and their head could be seen above the reeds! The rescue boat had to come and pull them out. A. Scarff found this very amusing, almost as funny as his weight. 1 eel, 1oz. I thought the rivers were his favourite? P.S. Who needs the paper when you can be on tv!
Sunday 14th August - Bergh Apton
| 1st |
W. Spooner |
24lb 2oz |
| 2nd |
S. Gooderham |
13lb 10oz |
| 3rd |
P.B. Buddha |
11lb 2oz |
O.k., so I wasn't on tv. They obviously didn't want me to show up the reporter. Anyway, back to the fishing. Copy and paste is very handy when it comes to the results. 'Wayne' and '1st' are used quite a lot. The fact he drew away from the reeds didn't stop him. Neither did the weather, which got worse through the morning. The Troll got the reeds, and after wasting time on the pole went back to what he knows: chucking coconuts. It worked well enough, second place was secured. Third place came from the opposite side, where Sam and the Buddha were fishing back to back. Sam's paste eventually proved to be less successful than the Buddha's imported Turkey cockroaches. I'm not sure they were legal anyway. A call to Customs might be in order.... The Troll's peg went to C. Scarff, and the 'walk of shame' across the bridge soon followed. Hylton may have needed to take that walk, had he not been using sea gear to trawl up other sets of tackle. It must have been some rig, he even managed to hook a fish through the back. At least he has some hooks for Oby Dyke, where the eels will no doubt be waiting.
Sunday 21st August - Oby Dyke
| 1st |
C. Scarff |
16lb 12oz |
| 2nd |
R. Grimson |
13lb 15oz |
| 3rd |
W. Spooner |
12lb 12oz |
Nuts! Losing one may have affected my barrow, but it didn't stop those bream finding my bait 'wheely' tasty. Catching skimmers and roach to begin with, but missing half the bites, the change of tide made the difference. S. Scarff next door was probably leading until then. Two large slabs found their way to the worm hookbait. They must have been using the tv aerial I caught to pick up signals from my bait. For the second Oby match running, the Buddha was showing those around him how to catch. He lost a bream at the net which would have won him the match. Such a shame. He almost missed out altogether, A. Scarff forgot about him when handing out the pools money. Wayne nearly profited, his third place was earned after balling it. The heaviest catch went to Stan, who landed a cushion. Best landing of the day went to A. Scarff. Standing in a hole not only soaked his foot, it made him lose his balance and fall face-first into a patch of stinging nettles. Ouchy. S. Scarff thought it was highly amusing. Hylton was more concerned for his scrag-end of sausage. A lamb was seen hobbling shortly after the match.
Sunday 4th September - Colton Lake
| 1st |
W. Spooner |
87lb 2oz |
| 2nd |
R. Grimson |
60lb 3oz |
| 3rd |
C. Scarff |
58lb 9oz |
Damn you Buddha! Just when you think you're safe as runner-up, along comes the Buddha to spoil your day. His last fish was landed after the end of the match, and those of us at the other end had only just started! The shout to start was obviously muffled by the Buddhas' ample frame, to gain more extra minutes advantage. When the match did get underway, the lack of a pellet-man altered the tactics of some. Unfortunately that included Wayne, who decided to fish in the margins and proceeded to bag-up. Somehow the Buddha came 2nd, and has bounced up the leaderboard to 3rd overall. The other big mover in the standings was Sam, who has climbed to 8th. In 3rd place on the day was yours truly, which could have been better if the match was 5 hours long for all of us (or 5hrs 2mins for Chosen ones). It was enough for 2nd overall, but dynamite might be needed to catch the leader. The second net was put to good use, following in the footsteps of Hylton at Hinderclay. Robin needed two nets from the off, one for fish with eyes, and one for the fish without. At least the phantom garage stench has been identified. Brian had a net, the problem was he missed it! S. Scarff didn't have the best of mornings either, and will be hoping he doesn't miss the net next week. It's grub time again for the rest of us, if Stan leaves us any.
Sunday 11th September - Hinderclay Willow Pool
| 1st |
C. Scarff |
12lb 14oz |
| 2nd |
S. Blowers (jnr) |
9lb 7½oz |
| 3rd |
W. Tuttle |
3lb 15oz |
Well at least the anglers were hungry, if not the fish. There was plenty of time to enjoy the bacon rolls, Stan again leading the way. Hylton nearly joined the fish, his staging tried to tip him in! Then he caught a fish before the start on a bare hook. Once the match had begun though, it was back to struggling with bait. Wayne found fish that did take the bait were in no mood to leave the safety of the reeds and lilies. Opposite, paste was getting the odd bite, but hooking them wasn't easy. In the end only four carp were needed to win. Sam had a late run of fish on the feeder to take second. Third went to Will, who got a rare victory over Wayne. With the weights not counting towards the final standings, everyone stays as they were as we head to Bergh Apton for the final match of this season. The Buddha won't be there, he's off on a magical mystery tour, so the Troll will be aiming for overall third. If we all join forces we might get a total weight to beat Wayne. Otherwise, there's a Lowestoft Cricket Club application form ready and waiting for next season with his name on it.
Sunday 18th September - Bergh Apton
| 1st |
W. Spooner |
73lb 2oz |
| 2nd |
A. Scarff |
22lb 1oz |
| 3rd |
S. Gooderham |
16lb 13oz |
Someone please sign him up. We can't take it any longer. Wayne started on the feeder, but after just one fish switched to the floating pole to remind us one last time why he is miles ahead this season. His pellet fished a foot deep accounted for numerous lumps that were lining up under his pole tip. We're all going to have to practice this shallow fishing lark, or it's more of the same next season I fear. In a surpising second place, A. Scarff beat the Troll on the other side of the bridge (where else would he be?). It took hunger pains for him to alter tactics, but casting out a feeder didn't give him time to eat as the bites came straight away. It took his total for the season over 100lb, which can't be right. Third went to the Troll, whose usual feeder-to-the-island approach caught a few. It also resulted in a walk of shame, with Will taking one too. Hylton didn't need to go as far, the reeds were just around the corner. On a peg he hates, he managed to catch enough to beat Ben on the day, but not overall, so drinks are on Hylton at the Presentation night. Brian fished the feeder with bread, and this time all except one fish went in his keepnet, the other being stored safely in the hedge behind. Another season has ended far too soon, but those bass are calling, so it's time to hit the beaches. Just hope Wayne doesn't turn up with his pole, or we're all in trouble!
Back to top
