Holly Farm Fishery. Trotters Lake. September 30th, 2006.

Disabled Angler.co.uk Charities Championship. The Final.

Saturday 30th September 2006 saw 38 qualifying anglers along with family, friends and helpers descend on Holly Farm Fishery situated just outside the village of Ashby Magna in Leicestershire for the Final of the Disabled Angler.Co.Uk Charities Championship 2006 to be fished on Trotters Lake. 1st order of the day for most on arrival was breakfast served up by Rita and her staff in the excellent onsite Café, before booking in and parting with their pools money under the eagle eye of Bucko, whereupon Linda parted them from yet more cash for the after match raffle. Thankfully the weather for the day promised to be a vast improvement from the previous day when the area had been hit by torrential rain for most of the day, however all that water into the lakes would probably have an effect on sport on the day. 9·30am and the draw saw anglers dispersing to their pegs, some more eagerly than others to prepare for the 11am all in. 11am and with a few anglers landing fish on their 1st casts, things were looking good, but alas for most sport didn’t continue at anything like that pace. A couple of hours in and it was becoming obvious that most were working hard for very little reward, with each fish being hard won. Just to put a further damper on things the rain then arrived, but thankfully after about an hour abated. What fish were being caught appeared to be coming from the first twenty pegs, while most of the rest struggled on with just the odd fish. 4pm brought the all out, and while everyone managed to avoid the dreaded DNW, the weights it has to be said weren’t the greatest ever recorded. With their gear packed away, everyone assembled back in the clubhouse for an after match meal prior to the prize giving and raffle. With everyone fed and watered it was time for the prizegiving, and it was lovely to see Steve Bishop in attendance to present the prizes. For those of you who aren’t aware Steve is the main sponsor of Disabled Angler.co.uk through his company BR Electrical, so a big vote of thanks is due to Steve. First off was the presentation of the medals for the team event which this year was won by the boys that qualified at Lindholme Lakes. Next it was the turn of the section winners on the day. Finally down to the main frame and in 3rd place it was D Ribbons……… In 2nd place overall and Disabled Champion for 2006 was Wayne Panting. while in 1st place overall and Non-Disabled Champion 2006 was Bob Reed. We than found time for a surprise presentation of a silver salver to John & Linda, by way of thanks for all the time and effort that they put into the organisation of the Charities Championship, and without which it would be impossible to run the event. Finishing off with the raffle with prizes provided by Mark Pollard (one of The Danglers patrons), Holly Farm and various individuals, brought the day to an end and a time for farewells. Thanks to Del & Rita Rogers and their staff for providing the venue and superb facilities for the Final. Thanks to all the anglers who have fished in the whole series of matches. Their efforts mean that the total being donated between Macmillan (Cancer relief) & Francis House (Children’s Hospice) stands at £ 2182, which at the end of the day is what the whole thing has been about. Very Well Done to All, Let’s do it all again next year.

This is my own individual take on the day…… Well, a restless night meant that I was up and on the road nice and early on my way up to Ashby Magna in Leicestershire for the Final of The Disabled Angler Charities Championship that was being Fished on Trotters lake at Holly Farm. A smooth trip up saw me arrive at the fishery at around 7·30am to be greeted by the smiling face of Del Rogers (The owner). A quick chat and looking round saw Stuart Joy, another Southern qualifier pulling in. Welcomes over Stuart and I went for a walk round Trotters to try and get a feel for the venue before adjourning to the clubhouse for Breakfast, where we were joined by Darren (badatfishing) and a few other early birds. Soon all the usual suspects were arriving, Lucky Wayne with his good lady Sharon and the kids in tow. Bucko and Linda ready to part us all from our cash and various other reprobates, including Vince who was looking for a 2nd victory over me to follow up his success at Lemington. All to soon it was 9·30am and draw time, 31 for me and 33 for Vince with 32 vacant meant that at least a bit of fun would be had, and after helping Wayne get his kit round to his peg I was soon setting up in preparation for the match. A small method feeder for tight across was set up, though things were tight with so many pegged closely on a tight bend. Pole for 8mtrs and the margin completed the set up for the day. 11am and all in, and 1st chuck across with the method the tip wraps round and a little Tench of maybe 1lb is soon in the net. Great Start. Unfortunately that was it, not so much as another knock or even a liner was to come my way from that line for the remainder of the match. Struggle was the least of it, with just a couple of small roach coming to the various pole lines despite trying paste (2 types) maggot, catmeat, pellet and corn at various stages. Sharon came round and I asked her to have a stroll round with my camera and try and get some action photos. It says it all for how slow sport was that she didn’t manage to capture a single fish being landed. Looking round, nearly everyone in the immediate area seemed in the same boat, though reports were filtering through of others round the other side getting a few. Vince had managed a couple of carp on the method at the start and was still getting indications, though unable to convert them to fish in the net. A couple of hours in Lucky Wayne’s better half, Sharon came round with a very welcome fresh brewed cuppa, and to be honest it looked like being the highlight of the day, as soon after it started to rain. All match long I had been trickling bait under a small bush to my right, and with a couple of hours to go decided to concentrate on it. After 10 mins something made off with the corn and there was a healthy amount of black hydro heading towards the island. 5 minutes later and I gratefully slid the net under a Carp around the 8lb mark. That was it however, despite nicking a few bits of prawn off Wayne having watched him catch late on, nothing else appeared from under that bush except another couple of small roach. Weigh-in just provided confirmation of just how hard it had been, but at least my 10lbs allowed me to edge out Lucky Wayne by a couple of ounces and double Vince’s 5lb. Back to the clubhouse for a meal and the presentations, followed by the raffle, where as usual I appeared to have every number but the winning ones. All to soon it was time for goodbyes and farewells, followed by a 3 hour drive home. All in all, not the best days fishing………but it was a great day out, in fine company. Well Done to all the Series Organisers and Competitors who over the Series raised £2182 for the respective Charities. Let’s see if we can beat that amount next year.