EFSA Wales Shore Championships

Eventually, the EFSA Wales Shore Championships, ostensibly for the year 2009, got under way well into 2010, in fact the weekend of 20th & 21st February to be precise. Originally scheduled for the weekend of January 9th & 10th, the extreme weather, snow and temperatures well below freezing, if you remember, gave the organizers no option but to postpone it from the original dates. Unfortunately, this did have the effect of reducing the entry, as some of the original competitors, for various reasons, couldn’t fish on the re-arranged days. It also meant that catches were likely to be down as very early Spring is not the most prolific time of the year for Sea Angling from the shore and so it turned out.

The first evening, the fishing was at Aberavon beach and though there were in fact plenty of fish, most anglers tempting numbers well into double figures, the majority were undersize, even though this catch and release event was being fished to a minimum length of only 20cm. The leader after this first day was in fact last years winner and title holder John O’Connor who managed to winkle out two fish, a Whiting of 28cm and a Five Beard Rockling of 20cm, to put him on 58points, there being one point per centimetre of length and five points per fish. However, the lead was only by a few points over Steve Rees and Phil Lustig who also managed two slightly smaller fish apiece. The other four anglers to record fish had one each and because of the small size limit were also not that far behind. So, it was Lougher first, Pembroke Dock second and Pembroke third with it all still to play for on the second evening at Freshwater East, but could the leader and last years winner maintain it and record back to back wins?

Whilst the weather on the first evening was fairly pleasant being fairly still, with only a gentle breeze from the south and not too cold, it was extremely parky on the second evening with a stiffer wind from the north/northeast and not long into the match, after darkness fell, temperatures rapidly dropped to below freezing. An incoming tide over ice cold sand was probably the most likely reason that it turned out to be a struggle to land anything, whether in size or not, having the effect of keeping most of the fish well offshore, beyond mere mortals casting range. However, despite the adverse conditions, a few fish were caught and recorded making this second evening of fishing a nail biting affair as to who was to triumph. The overnight leader John again managed to record another two fish to take his total points to 110 but it wasn’t to be enough with second placed Steve recording a further three fish, including the all important Lesser Spotted Dogfish, worth 35 points, for a total of 144, to get him the coveted Gold Pin which is awarded for first place. John had to be content with the Silver Pin for second, just managing to hold off another Lougher based angler, Dai Davies, who managed a Dogfish and a Whiting in this second session to go with his Whiting from the first evening giving him a points total of 93 and the Bronze pin.

So the final placings were:

1st & Gold Pin winner   Steve Rees                               5 fish for 144 points
2nd & Silver Pin winner John O’Connor            4 fish for 110 points
3rd & Bronze Pin winner            Dai Davies                    3 fish for   93 points

Pictured is the winner Steve Rees (left) receiving his Gold Pin from organiser, EFSA Wales Chairman and EFSA Shore Festival Officer Phil Lustig.

The 8th Wales Air Ambulance Open Beach Fishing Competition, organised by members from Pembroke & District Angling Club, Osprey Sea Angling Club, Haven Angling Group, Neyland Sea Angling Club and West Wales Match Anglers, was held on 3rd January 2010 on Amroth beach in South Pembrokeshire. Unlike the previous year, the weather was pretty good despite the biting cold easterly wind that prevailed all day. These cold conditions together with the state of the roads and the weather forecasts were almost certainly the reason entries were limited to 51 anglers, which included 3 Juniors and 1 Lady, who we thank very much indeed for their support. However, sea conditions looked nigh on perfect, with a nice low rolling surf caressing the sandy beach. The saying “when the wind is in the east the fish bite least” was well and truly debunked to the level of an urban myth as 24 anglers, including all 3 Juniors and the Lady, weighed in 89 Flounders, with many more undersized fish being caught and quite a few anglers not bothering to weigh in as they had, despite what could in the past have been thought of as decent catches, no chance of making the prize table. To my recollection, Amroth has not fished like this since my son, now 27, was 6 or 7 years old. One theory put forward is that since it had been so still and cold for a week or so prior to the match, with high pressure and flat calm conditions, the fish had not been moving, so this first day of breeze and nice surf really brought them alive and on the feed. But, with the poor catches of previous years where had they come from? Perhaps the commercials are no longer targeting them for pot bait and the beach netters have not been quite so active of late. Anyway it made for a brilliant competition with just about every angler catching something even if it was only a Rockling, which although did not count also turned up in numbers.

The winning angler who managed to land 7 decent sized flounder for 3Kg 720gms was local Pembroke Dock rod John O’Connor who also had the biggest flounder at 810gms or 1lb 12½ oz in old money. This netted him the first prize of £200 plus the pool of £51. Second was Cardiff angler Phil George, also with seven flounder, but slightly smaller, with an aggregate weight of 3Kg 035gms, allowing him to pick up the runner’s up prize of £50. In third place was another lad from the Cardiff area, Gerald John, who managed to catch the largest number of flounders at 9, but his smaller stamp of fish meant his bag only weighed 3KG 025gms, but it was good enough to get him the third prize of £25. John’s partner in the pairs competition, Andrew Skeels from Lamphey, Pembroke, also managed a good bag of 6 flounders for 2Kg 320gms which resulted in them also picking up the pairs pool of £48. International Lady angler Sally Owen, also from the Cardiff area, won the Ladies prize of £20 by catching 2 flounder for 825gms and as previously stated all 3 juniors weighed so all picked up a bit of cash for their trouble. 1st Junior, picking up £20 was Milford Haven boy Daniel Tucker with a good sized flounder weighing 725gms. This followed on from his spectacular win, in the autumn, in the Tenby Open, not the junior section, but the whole event. 2nd junior was Scott Brunton, down from Newcastle visiting his father in Lamphey, Pembroke, who caught 2 flounder for 490gms netting him £10 and third was Connor Williams from Milford haven with a flounder of 205gms, who picked up £5. We have to thank Daniel’s father Shane and Pembroke & District Angling Club member Alex Nicholas, who couldn’t be present due to family illness, for sponsoring the Ladies and the junior prizes.

Whilst on the topic of sponsorship the event’s future is secure and even brighter as West Wales Match Anglers sponsored the main prize table for this year’s event along with a donation to do the same for the next 3 years, thanks very much indeed. Also this year’s comp turned out to be a bit of an organiser’s benefit in that it was won by one of them and another was his partner in the pairs. Not only that, but the steward’s draw was also won by a third one of them, Leigh Rogers from Milford Haven. Considering this was the eighth year they’d helped run it then one could say it was sort of just desserts. Thanks must also go to Leigh’s wife Angela and her employers, HSBC banking corporation, as she, together with her daughter in law Tania Bowen, ran the magnificent raffle following the comp and her bosses agreed to match fund it with a donation equivalent to the raffle takings, excellent indeed. The other star man in the proceedings, to whom we are indebted, is another local Lamphey boy, Dominic Day, who just happens to play second row for the Llanelli Scarlets, in that he managed to obtain the first prize in the raffle for the event, a rugby ball signed by him and the other Scarlets’ players,. It certainly boosted the sale of tickets.
However, the most important result on the day was that the event raised over £1360 for the Wales Air Ambulance pushing the total raised over the 8 years this competition has been running, to over £11,000. To thank for this sterling effort we must first congratulate the anglers from the organising clubs, you know who you are, together with Roger Harris of the Amroth Arms who always puts his premises and valued support at this event’s disposal. Also we must mention local Air Ambulance contact Peter Kraus who always turns up on the day. Lastly, we must again thank all the kind and generous sponsors of the event, including those already mentioned, who donated cash, made collections and donated prizes for the mega raffle which ensured continuation of the event’s great success. These were, in no particular order, HSBC Bank, Pembroke Angling, Roger Harries (Amroth Arms), Haven Angling Group, EFSA Wales, Andrew Skeels, Alex Nicholas, Neyland Angling Club, Pembroke & District Angling Club, Pembroke Haven Motor Boat Angling Club, Osprey Sea Angling Club, Dominic Day, John O’Connor, Haydn Cole, Norman Johnson, Steve Parry, Gerald Wickland, Bill Brunton, Chris Wynn, Shane Tucker, Leigh & Angela Rogers.If anybody feels aggrieved that they have been missed off this list and we hope there isn’t, we are truly sorry, but thank you, most warmly, for your continued support.

Pictured (from left to right) are: Leigh Rogers, Angela Rogers, John O’Connor, Peter Kraus, and Andrew Skeels.

Joe Arch and Andy Hutchins with there trophies at the world Championships 2009.

 

The last weekend in November, 28th & 29th, saw the Annual Welsh Cod (boat) championships once again fished out of Birkenhead in the River Mersey, for the 6th year running. The number of competitors was markedly down on previous years, but why this was so was not obvious. Was it a result of the recession? Was it because the English section, of whom a number usually attend, were holding their competition in Dover a fortnight later? Or, was it because of the poor catches in 2008, as a number of regulars were conspicuous by their absence, although Dick Leggett and Dave Clark were there representing the English section. However, this did not deter the entrants, from having a great competition with bumper catches of Cod from the 3 boats used. 288, in all, were caught, measured and released over the two days, an average of close to 20 cod per angler and although quite a few were small, the biggest on each day was 54 cms in length, which also augurs well for the future. The weather gods were also relatively kind this year, it being a gloriously sunny and not too cold a day on the Saturday with a bit of soft rain coming in on the Sunday. It was only really in the last hour or so of the Sunday that it turned a little bit ugly with rain and winds simultaneously increasing, making the last of the fishing challenging, if not a bit uncomfortable. But that didn’t deter the eventual winner from snatching a couple of late fish to clinch the title, though he didn’t know that at the time.

In the end it was a very close run thing with John O’Connor, who was in the lead after the first day, with 16 fish, just holding on to his lead and winning the Gold pin, taking another 14 fish on the second day, for a total of 30 fish for 963 points, to win by one single point from Kevin Preston with 29 fish for 962 points, who took the Silver pin. In third position with 28 fish for 839 points, winning the Bronze pin was Rod Adamson.

Pictured (left to right) are Kevin Preston, Phil Lustig (Chairman & chief organiser), John O’Connor & Rod Adamson.

Kevin gained some compensation for his narrow loss by winning the team of 3 event with Tina Lustig & Steve Grant with 2131 points from Rod, Colin Crocker & Barrie Senior on 1948 points with Dick Leggett, Haydn Cole & Colin Crocker in third with 1945 points. John also had the longest fish on day 1 with Bob Pennick having the longest on day 2, as previously mentioned both 54 cms in length. Top boat was Tuskar with 118 fish for 3781 fish from Ocean Star and Warrior with 90 fish for 2730 points & 80 fish for 2506 points, respectively. Our thanks go to Phil for organising it, Stan Kucyj for helping get the bait, Barrie for taking the photos, the Central Hotel, Birkenhead, for their usual hospitality and the Skippers, Stan Dickinson (Tuskar), Ray Spotswood (Ocean Star) and Alan Tinsley (Warrior) for finding the fish. We look forward to more and even bigger fish next year and hopefully a bigger entry.

 

Shore Championships, Denmark 2009.

On Friday 6th November a team four intrepid West Waliens, members of the Welsh Section of the European Federation of Sea Anglers, set off for Harwich and then, by ferry, on to Denmark, eventually to Langeland, to represent Wales and compete in the EFSA European Shore Championships taking place the following week. These championships are in fact an individual and a five man international team event, so, just like their English counterparts, who also only had four anglers going, they were at a disadvantage as in the international section it is the best four scores out of five which count, the lowest score being dropped. However, having only gone thirty or so miles, one member had to turn back, as the angler with whom he was meeting up, so they would travel together, had got the day and date wrong and thought they were leaving the following day, so had gone to work as usual some one hundred miles or more away! Anyway, many frantic phone calls later and at great expense, the two laggards managed to get booked on the ferry two days later and would follow the now advance party, who would have the luxury of settling, fishing the practice day etc. Not an auspicious start.

The weather for the duration of the competition was very soft and Irish, slightly cold, with a bit of wind, so the Welsh team were very grateful to Ammo for sponsoring them with some warm clothing, in the form of fleeces and headgear for the competition.

The Welsh team (left to right) of  Matthew Lustig, Philip Lustig, Steve Lewis and John O’Connor are pictured in some of their gear. An awful lot of fish were caught, over the three evenings fishing sessions, forty plus per angler over five hours in some cases. However, the majority were undersize and thus returned to fight another day. The best recorded haul in one five hour stretch, over the three matches was twenty two sizeable fish and that was for Dave Lovelock, one of the English team members on the last night, fishing a known hotspot and on virgin ground, a good effort make no mistake. Most sizeable fish caught were Flounders, most undersize fish caught were Cod, which should auger well for the next couple of years if the commercial cowboys, yes they exist over there too, don’t mop them all up. A fair number of dabs were also caught along with a few Rockling, which didn’t count, not being one of the target fish on the list, together with the odd Sewin. Yes, they count in Denmark in shore competitions! In fact, a lot of visiting anglers to the region specifically target them.

Come the end, the lack of a fifth team member may have been crucial, especially to the Welsh, as they had managed to get into the Bronze medal position after two days but dropped to a creditable sixth at the end. England managed fourth with the Dutch A team taking Gold from the two German teams in Silver and Bronze. The individual event was won by Dutch Angler Jan Gorissen, who, thus, won the coveted Gold Pin and became the EFSA European Shore Champion for 2009. He will have to defend his title next year in Wales when the Welsh hold the Championships in Pwllheli in November 2010. Another Dutchman Frank Van Der Zande took the Silver Pin with the aforementioned Dave Lovelock taking the bronze Pin. Wales did Ok individually, though, having two anglers placed in the top ten, John O’Connor in seventh and Philip Lustig in ninth. John took third in the pairs with local angler Thomas Reinhardt and Phil was also third in the life member’s section. Brian Booker, from England, won the senior’s event from another Englishman, Reg Clough. The rest of the top ten individual places were mainly filled by German anglers, this area of Denmark, in fact, being their home shore grounds, as in Germany, due to the influence of the green party on their government, they are not allowed to run angling competitions.

Finally, the Welsh section would like to thank the German EFSA section and, in particular, Marcus Wuest and Thomas Reinhardt, for organising these championships and Ammo for the clothing that helped keep their anglers warm and the cold and rain out. The Welsh section also looks forward to renewing friendly hostilities with their European adversaries, when they host the Championships in Pwllheli in the week of 3rd to 7th November 2010. Further, information about and a brochure, electronic or hard copy, for, the 2010 EFSA European Shore Championships can be obtained from either

Phil (philefsa@aol.com) or John (aardvet@tiscali.co.uk)