The event gets under way
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This year saw the 4th annual North-west junior fish-in hosted at Higher Hall Flash in Leigh. Sixteen lads and two girls took part in the event, which was more than in any previous year. The fish-in started at 7.30 am on Saturday the 2nd of July and ran till 4.30pm Sunday.
So at 7.30 sharp myself and the other excited youngsters arrived laden with tackle ready for the weekend. Experience levels varied from four years carp fishing to having never carp fished before.
Mike Breen
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Once everyone had arrived we were introduced to our adult helpers and shown to our swims, some were doubled up and the less experienced received one to one help.
Unlike in previous years, where the lessons have been held on the Sunday, Ozz and Jimmy saw that we were far more focused by holding the lessons upon arrival. Therefore all the lessons were held at 8.30am and concentrated on photography/fish care, bait application, Ben Aldred's 'effort equals reward', rig tying and bankside safety.
Lesson time
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Each participant received a goody bag after the lessons comprising of all manner of items from the fish-in sponsors which came in very handy. Bait was supplied by MB Baits who donated a kilo of Snail and Shell or a kilo of Black Pepper Extract for each of us and a 25 kg sack of Snail and Shell pellet, a 25kg sack of GLM pellet, and a 15 kg sack of bloodworm pellet.
Ben's effort=reward talk
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After the informative lessons that were completely taken in by the audience, there remained some serious fishing to be done, and at 12.30 the rods went in.
Some chose to spod, some just to cast out PVA bags, but it was noticeable that the fish were moving onto the wind and the middle of the lake. At 14.00 the call came that the first fish had been banked and what a catch it turned out to be. Within five minutes of each other Jenny Jackson in the MCF swim had hooked and landed two 18lb 8oz fish, one being a mirror and the other being a common, and both were PBs'.
Another one coming to the net
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As the mirror was being prepared to be photographed by Ozz, the common was just being slipped into the net! One fish came to a PVA bag and the other to a 10ft zig-rig. This set the pace for the rest of the event.
Jenny's brace
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A steady stream of captures ensued, with all the fish coming from swims on the wind, which had turned into a good southerly. By 14.00 most were trying the zigrig a few feet below the surface and so it came as no surprise when Ben Aldred, in the FISHINGmagic swim, hooked, but unfortunately lost, a powerful fish on one, and Lee Buchan in the Carpology swim next to the FM swim netted one shortly afterwards for his junior Johnny Clorley.
Jamie Margett's first carp
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Tea time was soon upon us and most chose to keep the rods in. A swim member collected the feast that Lanc's Lad and Dad had prepared (which was superb).
At 21.00 as the day began to draw to an end, most of the swims on the wind had taken fish leaving us on the back of it still to catch. Nevertheless we didn't have to wait long as Simon Davidson, whose helper was Gaz Fareham in the Selby Three Lakes and Curly's Fisheries swim hit into a screamer of a take which turned out to be a 15lb mirror and on the fish count for the day made it the 12th one. This was the first of three fish which would give Simon the biggest overall weight. By this time Ozz knew he was going to be in for a busy night!
Simon Davidson's 15.12 carp
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As darkness came in the steady stream of takes carried on and fish were being landed from all over the lake. As the wind dropped the fish seemed to disperse around the lake and most importantly were getting on the masses of bait that had been laid down for them.
After darkness a great social was had by all and it was a nice ending to a fantastic day. Throughout the night most swims received takes but it wasn't until first light that things picked up once more. Finally the Armaled and MB baits swims received some action. With one of Lee Anderson's lads taking a 6lb common and then my swim switched on and I was lucky enough to take three fish between 4.00 and 7.00 including a 12lb mirror and the 19lb 4oz common both to single hook baits.
Mike receiving his prize from Ozz
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However, as the day progressed the takes began to slow. Richard Thompson then received his first take in the Higher Hall flash swim with Andy Jackson, however a buzzer could be clearly heard but there was no movement from inside the bivvy. After 30 seconds Andy had to lean into the fish whilst Rich Freeman (Jenny's Instructor) from the MCF swim next door began the procedure of waking Richard who was 'in a coma' in his Easy Dome. When he came round he played the fish but proceeded to lose it in the marginal reeds. He was quickly labelled with the name 'Dickey Doe' in honour of John Doe!
By 12.00 the sun was once again giving the carp other ideas rather than feeding. Zigs were once again tried but to no avail and by the 15.30 pack up time only the odd take could be expected. All of the anglers were packed up by 16.00 ready for the final presentation.
Simon and Gaz with the winning fish
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There were awards presented for the biggest overall weight of fish, the biggest fish, for the child who put in the most effort and for who achieved the most. The biggest weight went to Simon Davidson in the Selby 3 Lakes and Curly's Fisheries, who's instructor was Gaz Fareham, and this couldn't have been closer between him and Will Mcgowan who was fishing out of the Gaz Fareham swim, with Jimmy Clarke as his instructor, with weights of 40lb 13oz, for Simon and 40lb 12oz for Will.
The biggest fish went to yours truly with the 19lb 4oz common, Phil Chadwick picked up the most effort award and, with Jenny Jackson taking the best 'Brace', Johnny Clorley and Jamie Margetts won the Achievement award after catching their first ever carp. We all received some great prizes including books, subscriptions, terminal tackle and luggage! Following from this a raffle was held where each of us picked a number to select a bag of tackle, and Gaz Fareham produced a drawing for the event which was printed for each child (at his own cost as well as having a nightmare drive up from London on the Friday night, to attend the event for us. (Thanks Gaz).
Simon, Gaz and Mike
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With 23 fish caught and four PB's the weekend was a resounding success. Out of 15 swims 10 caught and weights varied from 3lb 8oz to 19lb 4oz. In fact more fish were caught on this event than the last three put together. All of the kids including me went home happy after a very enjoyable weekend which I'm sure all will have benefited from, and will return to next year!
Of course the event could not have happened without some very special men. So a very big thank you to Austin (Ozz) Buchan and Jimmy Clarke for co- organising such a great event, thank you to all the adult instructors who attended and made the event possible and also Lanc's Lad and Lanc's Dad for once again providing an excellent barbeque on the Saturday evening and Sunday Morning!
Thank you to all the tackle companies and individuals who sponsored swims for the event; Armaled, Gardner, MCF, Mick Ball of M.B.Baits, Gold Rig Tailors, Angling Publications, CARPology, Gaz Fareham, BCUK, Enterprise Tackle, Selby 3 Lakes and Curley's Fisheries, Higher Hall Flash Syndicate, FISHINGmagic, Cakey, The Fisher Boys, and everyone else from FISHINGmagic who helped with donations, who all need to be praised for their generosity to fund the event.
The Gang
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Thank you to Lee Anderson who organised the use of the lake for the second year running. It certainly has some cracking fish in its depths!
Many thanks to the Trophy Sponsors: Romily Carp Specialists, B.A.S., Ecclestone Angling, Bailey's Bait and Tackle and Dave's of Middlewich.
Finally, Thank You Joe Goldson who had the original idea for the event and organised the previous three fish-ins which were all a great success and have benefited dozens of young carpers in the North-West. Joe is a cracking bloke and hopefully will be helping with the events in years to come.
THANKYOU !!!!! ;-)
Best regards
Mike Breen (Aka Lancashirecarper)
Higher Hall Flash in Leigh, Greater Manchester is available on a day ticket and has a night syndicate in operation. This is £42 per year at present. The lake holds around 250 fish in 9 acres up to 24 lb.
Woody!
