Eight TWFFS members were able to come to Chalybeate Springs to contest the Reg Littlechild Memorial Trophy and to help raise funds for the Hospice in The Weald. Reg was a very popular member of TWFFS for many years but sadly passed away in 2013. He was a passionate supporter of the Hospice and any funds raised at this event and through the year are presented to the Hospice. Once again we are able to benefit from a matching scheme offered by Fidelity Investments. The grand total will be revealed later in the report. So now onto the competition:

Early weather was misty with a definite chill in the air. Wind was ENE and we were in for a mostly bright clear day. After discussion with Jim and all the competitors, it was agreed that we would run the competition on a catch and release basis with a total of 6 fish to be caught and released by each angler. If an angler caught 6 fish then a time bonus would be applied. Pegs would be changed every 30 minutes. With the draw for pegs completed and tasty breakfast rolls consumed (thanks Cathy!) we were ready for the off

Last years champ, Martyn Gray, was hoping to make it a double but from the off it was yours truly who came out of the blocks fastest with three fish on the first swim. That doesn't happen often I can tell you! But after the feast came the famine! Martyn Gray, Peter Thomason, Nick Cox and Graham Morgan-Plumb all picked up their first fish in the first few swims. Then Mark T-C came into the fray with a nice brace on the tough peg eleven. Micky H picked up his fourth fish just before lunch

The afternoon was tough with fish proving difficult to catch. However Nick and Graham kept picking off the odd fish and suddenly we had a three-way tie for top spot! Then Nick went and spoilt the dilemma by catching a fifth fish. Could anybody sneak up on the inside rails? We were now into Mark Tremain-Coker time - Mark always catches late in the day doesn’t he? Micky H caught a fifth fish in the last but one peg - could anyone conjure a sprint finish in the last swim and snatch the trophy. Martyn Gray and Mark T-C caught one each in the last half hour to move to four! Could they catch any more to cause any excitement and challenge for the top spot? Could Nick or Micky catch a sixth and final fish? Not to be on this occasion and a close-run race came to an end

As Nick Cox caught his fifth fish before Micky H then our Reg Littlechild Memorial trophy winner for 2018 is Nick Cox - well done Nick! Runner-up spot went to Micky Heasman

Fund Raising for Hospice in the Weald

A fabulous £123 was raised on the day which gets added to the TWFFS Hospice in the Weald fund-raising pot and gives us a grand total of £1037. This is a fantastic total and with matching by Fidelity Investments means that TWFFS will be presenting a cheque to the Hospice for £2074 - a fantastic effort well done to all!

Final Results

• 1 - Nick Cox - 5 Fish
• 2 - Micky Heasman - 5 Fish
• 3 - Martyn Gray - 4 Fish
•      Mark Tremain Coker - 4 Fish
•      Graham Morgan-Plumb - 4 Fish
• 6 - John Hancock - 2 Fish
• 7 - Peter Thomason - 1 Fish
• 8 - Neil Osmond - 0 Fish

Many thanks to all for making the day a great success

Perfect conditions, a lake full of fish and 7 keen young anglers attended the juniors day at Chalybeate springs

With casting assistance from parents and guidance on fly choice all who attended caught fish and had extremely large grins on their faces

Cristopher (Simon's son) caught first but after a long battle the fish broke free before the net

Eddie drew first blood catching on a green Damsel

Tiny Ellie (One of Keith Lawrence's many) was first to catch her bag of 2 using a green Nomad Damsel with a decent fish too

Both Scarlett (Graham Morgan Plumb's little one) and Christopher finished ahead of time followed by Eddie and James (John Deleu's grandson) little Finlay persisted through to the end and caught both his 2 in the last half an hour once he had finished eating his Chewits

Cane finished with one fish and did a grand job on improving his casting

The result was really tough with a draw on weight between Ellie and Christopher, and was then decided on heaviest fish

• 1 - Ellie Lawrence - 2 fish - 4lb 6oz - Heaviest 2lb 11oz
• 2 - Christopher Gregory - 2 fish - 4lb 6oz
• 3 - Eddie Benton - 2 fish - 4lb 2oz

Well done to all juniors and thank you for the support of the parents

Four members travelled up to Draycote and were met with seemingly perfect conditions - cloud cover and a light south-west wind and hopes were high after a couple of recent gruelling trips to both Grafham and Bewl. On the way up to Rainbow Corner, where the fishery staff had advised us to start, neither boat saw a rise but plenty of green algae instead . Most started with floaters or midge-tip lines and it was these that took just three fish by lunchtime - DI3 and DI5 lines being tried without success. After a short break Keith and Graham persisted in Rainbow Corner while John and Ray ventured further out to B Buoy and late in the day as the wind changed to south-east, found quite a few fish near Draycote Bank while fishing midge tip lines washing line style with a Booby on the point and Bibio Hoppers on the droppers

At the weigh in the results were:

• 1 - John Hancock - 5 fish - 10lb 13oz
• 2 - Ray Burt - 4 fish - 7lb 4oz
• 3 - Keith Lawrence - 3 fish - 6lb 4oz
• 4 - Graham Morgan Plumb - 1 fish - 2lb 0oz

Three members and one guest began this expedition into the sweltering Midlands with a trip to Grafham

As expected conditions were difficult, but fish were caught early in the day along North Shore with Boobies and nymphs predominating but fished very slowly or static. The main bowl towards the dam was also productive but as the day progressed, conditions got tougher as participants either boiled or poached in the sun

With a nice fish late in the day, John Hancock led the way with 4 fish, Russell and Trevor Bourne managed 3 each and Ray French 1

Following an excellent dinner and stay at the Worlds End in Picton (lovely pub close to Pitsford) we were joined by 3 more members for the points day. If Grafham was hard, Pitsford was granite, with few signs of fish, fewer takes and even fewer to the net

Sticking mainly to the main bowl and the dam, with a couple of boats going dangerously near the bubbles, we soon reverted to our "4 points for a fish, 3 for a take..." method of scoring which resulted in the following finish:

• 1 - Ian Watts - 3 fish 5.5lbs on a snake, a booby and a nymph
• 2 - Russell Bell - 0 fish but 4 takes on dries
• 3 - Mark Tremain Coker - 0 fish but one take on a nymph?
• 4= Ray French - 0 fish and no takes
• 4= John Hancock - 0 fish and no takes
• 4= Graham Morgan Plumb - 0 fish and no takes

Of course all of this pain was taken in great spirit, with the usual banter and allegations of spurious behaviour in the pub afterwards. Congratulations to Ian for earning maximum Championship points and well done to the rest of the party who earn 2 points each for participating

Just three members went up to Farmoor 2. We were joined by two people from Ouse Valley and one from North Kent Flydressers to fill the three boats that were left after I had cancelled the other three. What a day was missed by those who did not come!

The fish were feeding on buzzers in the gin clear water and were bars of silver. After checking with the fishery staff we were told that catch and release was allowed after your six fish limit. We had about sixty fish between us several in the region of 4lbs plus but had decided to kill just four and add 2lbs each for the other two of our six fish limit and not count other returned fish as was done recently at Chigboro

The results were:

• 1 - Ray French - 12lb 9oz
• 2 - John Hancock - 12lb 6oz
• 3 - Ray Burt with - 11lb 9oz

Nine members fished this event where each had the choice of boat or bank fishing – four electing for boats and five for the bank

The weather was mostly sunny and warm with occasional cloud cover and a moderate but gusty wind from the north which made for awkward fishing from the dam. Good Mayfly hatches had been occurring in the previous weeks but fewer were in evidence on this trip. The four boat anglers each managed to catch their six-fish limits of hard fighting good conditioned trout. A variety of methods proved successful; Blobs fished on intermediate lines, nymphs, wet flies and dry flies fished on floating lines. The bank anglers fared less well with only four fish between the five anglers although many had fish showing interest in dry flies but not connecting

A total of 28 fish were taken, giving a rod average of just over three per person. However, if the average is calculated for the four boat anglers it results in six per person

The average weight was just under 2lb and the best fish of the day was caught by Bob Holland and weighed 3lb 3oz

Despite the paucity of fish from the dam and bank, an enjoyable time was had by all at this most pleasant of reservoirs

Results

• 1 - Bob Holland – 6 fish 12lb 2oz
• 2 - Ray Burt – 6 fish 11lb 9oz
• 3 - Peter Thomason – 6 fish 11lb 4oz
• 4 - Russell Bell – 6 fish 10lb 5oz
• 5 - Graham Morgan Plumb – 2 fish 3lb 5oz
• 6 - John Hancock – 1 fish 1lb 14oz
• 7 - Micky Heasman – 1 fish 1lb 10 oz
• Robin Starkey and James Dench were without fish but each earned 2 Championship points for participating

The day was ended in conviviality at the nearby Queen’s Head in Sedlescombe.

Six members of the Society dusted off the Factor 30 and travelled down to Arlington for the second trip of the season to the reservoir

Following a satisfying breakfast at the Willow Cafe, fishing commenced with half the contingent turning left out of the lodge toward the bay and the remainder turning right towards the willows and beyond to the dam. Advice being provided by the old hands to the three anglers who had not fished this water before

The weather was warm and sunny with a moderate ESE breeze veering to SE as the day wore on. This did mean that those of us who had elected to fish the bay were casting into the wind

As the morning progressed, it became evident that the bay was not fishing as consistently as it had recently and the dam was probability the better prospect

Lunch was taken in the sunshine outside the lodge where we were briefly joined by Bob Holland who had been fishing independently and had managed five fish. Ray Burt was leading our own party with six fish. Mickey Heasman left us at lunch for a prior appointment

After lunch, a certain member, who shall remain nameless, headed for a part of the dam descriptively called Duffers Corner, with an alacrity of which Usain Bolt would have been proud! The remainder followed at a dignified pace more befitting serious fishermen. Buzzers were the order of the afternoon, fished more effectively by some than by others. With all anglers now fishing the dam, the banter was certainly flowing even if the fishing had slowed up but at the end of the day, everyone had caught

The final scores on the doors were:

• 1 – Martyn Gray – 6 Fish 10lb 14oz
• 2 – Ray Burt – 6 Fish 9lb 10oz
• 3 – Dave Crouch – 1 Fish 5lb 1oz
• 4 – Micky Heasman – 2 Fish 3ib 8oz
• 5 – Mick Priest – 1 Fish 2lb 4oz
• 6 – Graham Morgan Plumb – 1 Fish 1lb 10oz

The largest fish was caught by Dave Crouch at a 5lb 1oz

The day concluded with a welcome pint at the nearby Plough public house. The consensus of the day was that Arlington was in a beautiful, peaceful location and the fishing was certainly worthy of further visits

Seven members of the Society travelled to Bewl Reservoir for the first boat event of the season. After the initial disappointment of finding that the Waterfront Café was closed for breakfast, anticipation was high after a rather mixed opening day earlier in the week

After drawing for boat partners, the fleet of TWFFS boats departed for the four corners of the reservoir. The day was overcast with a chill, if light, south-easterly breeze

At the lunch time stop, tactics were swapped and it became clear that Ian Watts was showing how it should be done, with eight fish to the net. Anglers had travelled far and wide across the reservoir in an attempt to find the elusive trout. Whatever, breeze there had been in the morning had dropped to a near calm as anglers boarded their boats for the afternoon challenge

The afternoon proceeded in much the same way as the morning with most anglers adding one or two fish to their morning tallies. The favoured flies by both anglers and trout, appeared to be Boobies fished on a variety of lines

At the weigh in, the party was joined by James Dench, who had fished the bank down Hook Straight way and had landed five fish for a very creditable 18lb 3oz including a best fish of 4lb 14oz

The final results of the day were:

• 1 – Ian Watts – 8 Fish 21lb 8oz
• 2 – Peter Thomason – 5 Fish 14lb 4 oz
• 3 – Ray Burt – 4 Fish 9lb 10oz
• 4 – Nick Cox – 3 Fish 6ib 13oz
• 5 – Mark Tremain-Coker – 2 Fish 5lb 5oz
• 6 – Dave Crouch – 1 Fish 2lb 9oz
• Graham Morgan Plumb earned a well-deserved "Blankers" badge

Following the tribulations and successes of the day, a small but highly select band of anglers, adjourned to a local hostelry (or should that be an Italian delicatessen!), for a refreshing pint or two

The club's midweek trip to Arlington was attended by four members but found Bob Holland fishing there as well to bring the number up to five

Although it was sunny there was a very strong south-east wind which made fishing in the bay, where most of the fish are congregated at this time of the year, very difficult because it meant casting directly into the wind. Four members braved it out till lunchtime for just three fish caught

Dave Crouch went back and faced the wind for another half hour but didn't add to the total