Coarse Section Annual Report 2008

Inter Command League - Round 1 - 4 Feb 08

Twenty four anglers contested the first round of the shortened Inter Command league for 2008 at The Viaduct fishery, Somerton, Somerset. This was the alternative venue as the original venue; the River Parrett at Langport was un-fishable due to heavy rain. As the original venue had been the river and the decision to change venues was always a possibility, only river baits were allowed at The Viaduct and only silver fish would count. A combination of the silver fish only rule and recent inclement weather ensured catches were reduced, especially without the usual carp weight builders.

PO Al Jones (HMS ASTUTE) was top individual on the day with a skimmer bream net of 31lb from peg 85 on Cary Lake. CPO Nick White (HMS HERON) was second with 22lb 03oz from peg 112 on Campbell Lake. Local knowledge helped CPO Keith Massheder (HMS HERON) to third place from peg 80 on Cary Lake with a weight of 18lb 11oz. The NAC scored 23 points from a possible 25 for first place, Scotland on 18 points were second and the RM third with 17 points.

Round 2 - 10 Mar 08

Woodlands Lakes at Thirsk, N Yorkshire was the venue for Round 2. Twenty seven anglers lined the banks on a cold and windy day to battle not only the fish, but also the elements. The cold and windy weather had a significant effect on catches, as did the day's previous match on the venue. CPO Nick Jones (HMS TIRELESS) weighed in 48lb 02oz from peg 12 on Dragonfly (this peg was placed in the match the previous day). AET Jason Screen (HMS HERON) weighed in 19lb 08oz for a well deserved second place. C/Sgt Marty Yardley (CTCRM) and CPO Mick Ezard (HMS SPARTAN) were equal third with 16lb 14oz each. The NAC were once again victorious with 23 points, Plymouth second with 19 points and Scotland third with 17 points.

The Inter Command League was won by the NAC with a maximum 10 points, Scotland were second with 7 points, Plymouth with 6 points were third, RM's fourth with 5 points and Portsmouth with 2 points were fifth.

The Inter Command Matchman of the Year for 2008 is PO Al Jones, scoring a maximum 10 points with a combined weight of 40lb 09oz. In second place again with 10 points, but a lower weight was CPO Nick White with 38lb 05oz. Third place went to CPO Mick Ezard with 19lb 13oz, who also scored 10 points.

The third round of the Inter Command League and Inter Command Championships were cancelled; due to the duty travel and duty status restrictions placed on angling in the 2007 Defence Information Notice (DIN). There is no restriction on the number of days Intra-Service events can last, only that the travel must be outbound and return within the restrictions of the DIN. Therefore in 2009, the Inter Command events will take place over two days in March and October. See the 2009 programme for details.

Strathclyde Police Open - 24 Apr 08

This event was not an event to which we had been invited to in the past. As this clashed with the Overseas Challenge, therefore a mixed Army and RN team represented our interests. This match did not attract duty status or duty travel either, hence the heavily biased Scotland attendees. The venue was Magiscroft Fishery, Cumbernauld, Nr Glasgow. The venue fished hard, with only five weighing in, on Island pool the Service team faired better with a 4th, 3rd and two 2nd's in section. The Services team included an Army angler, who won his section and the match with 13lb 10oz. In his first ever match LLogsTaff David (HMS Neptune) was only one of two anglers in his section to catch, his fish was 2oz smaller than the section winners. However, with all six anglers from the Services team weighing in, a well deserved victory was secured.

(Match report kindly provided by CPO Craig Walker)

Inter Service Championships - 14 May 08

The RN and RM were hosts and organising service for this year's event. In an attempt to provide a degree of "home" advantage, we decided to use The Viaduct as the venue. After an uninspiring practice, with the resident carp reluctant to feed; except some extremely large specimens, the teams lined Campbell and Cary lakes to decide the outcome of the 2008 event.

The random section and peg draw went the RN and RM's way (for once) with all four corner pegs on Campbell being occupied by an RN/RM angler. The carp decided to feed on Campbell and CPO Nick Jones weighed in 126lb 11oz for a section win, individual first place and the title Inter Service Coarse Angler 2008. CPO Dave Hillier (HMS SEAHAWK) just missed the "magic" 100lb weighing in 99lb 11oz for another section win and individual fourth place. (Although he estimated he lost more than he landed)!! PO John Lambert (HMS SEAHAWK) weighed in 108lb 05oz for third individual and another section win. His weight was all the more significant, as it was the first occasion at The Viaduct that over one hundred pounds of silver fish had been weighed in. 100lb 05oz was the total silver fish weight, of mainly Tench; a fantastic achievement. Three out of four corner pegs stowed!! Unfortunately, PO Al Jones was unable to make it a clean sweep from the fourth corner. WO1 Pete Edwards (HMS HERON) produced a section winning weight of 56lb 13oz from unfancied peg 116 on Campbell, by virtue of the Army angler in peg 115 losing the first five fish he hooked. PO Chris Yates (HMS EXETER) weighed in 56lb 11oz for two points from the sixth section on Campbell. A total of 15 points from a possible 18 from Campbell, would Cary be able to produce the points required for victory?

CPO Nick White (HMS HERON) led the way with a third place individual weight of 109lb 12oz and another section win. PO Richie Holmes (815 NAS) also won his section with a weight of 68lb 06oz from another unfancied peg. C/Sgt Kev Hurst (CDOHELFORHQ), CPO Tim Broughton (815 NAS) and PO Dodge Duan (848 NAS) all fished hard and contributed to the points total. Of the unfancied pegs in the RN and RM draw, CPO Keith Massheder (848 NAS) probably had the worst, his peg had no form, with no chance of a section win. A weight of 17lb 11oz was enough by only 4oz to secure the two points required, to secure an overall win. The first time in ten years the RN and RM have been crowned Inter Service Champions, the last occasion was on the Fossdyke canal in 1998.

The RN and RM scored 27 points, beating the RAF with a 26 point total for second place. The Army were third this year with 19 points.

RN and RM AA Coarse Angling Championships - 14 And 15 June 2008

Thirty one anglers competed on day 1 of the Championships at Poole Hall Fisheries, Alveley, Shropshire. All anglers caught with the highest weight being 48lb 8oz by Cpl Adz Palmer (RM) from Kingfisher. The lowest weight was just 4lb from Morehen. Other section winners were CPO Tim Broughton with 42lb 5oz, CPO Nick White with 39lb 10oz and CPO Dave Hillier with 34lb 4oz. Day two saw a shift to Heron Lake with thirty two anglers competing. Section winners were Brum Ashurst (Associate), who also won the day with 39lb 6oz, WO Bob Yeomans (Associate) weighed in 37lb also second individual, Oscar Wylde (Associate) was third individual with 36lb 8oz and CPO Tim Broughton was the last section winner with 18lb 12oz. The RN Matchman of the Year was CPO Tim Broughton with a maximum section points score of 16, CPO Nick White was second with 15 points who had a better two-day weight than third placed CPO Dave Hiller also with 15 points, but 1lb short of Nick's total of 66lb 6oz. The Associate Champion was WO Bob Yeomans.

The 2009 Championships venue has yet to be finalised, but due to travel restrictions a venue suitable for both coarse and carp anglers is being considered. At the time of writing, Lemington Lakes nr Moreton-in-the-Marsh and Celtic Manor lakes in Wales are shortlisted. If any members know of any suitable dual venues, please let the Coarse Sec know via the RN and RM AA website. Thank you.

Police Sports UK Invitational - 26 Jun 08

A return to Woodlands View, Thirsk, N. Yorkshire, saw fifteen teams of six compete for the Police Sport UK Invitational. CPO Keith Massheder scored a very creditable second place with 125lb behind an Army angler who weighed in 171lb. The Army also took top team honours dropping only 3 points in the process, the RN and RM side were 2nd with the Fire Service 3rd. The RAF trailed in 5th place, whatever next, twice in one year the RN and RM have beaten the RAF!! PO Al Jones was the RN and RM AA's only Section winner.

(Match report kindly provided by CPO Craig Walker)

Pre Division One National RAF Challenge - 29 Aug 08

The RAF Challenge is a preparation event to the Division One National. Two teams of six from the RN and RM AA contested this event against teams that read like a "Who's Who" of UK match fishing. The River Huntspill Nr Bridgwater, Somerset, was the calmest it had been all week and these conditions generally mean the fishing will be harder. Some excellent section results confirmed RN and RM Red won the day. A third victory over the RAF in the same year!! Usually we would expect to beat them three times in a decade, not three times in a year.

The Divison One National - 6 Sep 08

Held on the River Huntspill and King Sedgemoor Drain Nr Bridgwater, our practice session had established that on both venues the feeder worked well initially, with the odd chance of a bonus fish. The pole was the back up method on most sections to continue putting fish in the net; this lasted for only a couple of hours before the match became a scratching affair. CPO Keith Massheder was top RN and RM angler weighing in 3.7kg for 62 points and second in section. The total team weight was 14.720kg and a total points score of 303 placed the RN and RM team 38th out of the 63 teams. The RAF had their revenge (finally) scoring 401 points for 7th overall, the Army scored 283 for overall 51st. Next years event takes place on four sections on the Staffs-Worcs Canal, three on the Shropshire Union and three on the Trent and Mersey Canal the Stafford area on 8 Aug.

5 Services - 16 Oct 08

The annual 5 Services Challenge match was held at Tunnel Barn Farm at Shrewley, Warwickshire. This event was contested by sixty anglers made up of two teams each from the Army and the RAF, and one each from the RN and RAF.

Tactics were discussed between Cpl Adz Palmer and England International and local venue expert Des Ship. Unfortunately and true to form, an out of the blue and unpredicted frost scuppered the team plan and the fishing as a whole was poor by this venue's high standards

Army A team won this match by a large margin. Although the RN&RMAA came 4th overall, there was only 4 points to separate us from 2nd position. An Army angler weighed in 42lb 4oz for an individual win. CPO Hughie Welsh (HMS Neptune) 38lb 8oz won his section and lake to be 4th overall. Cpl Adz Palmer (CTCRM) won his section with 25lb 7oz. Associate member Owen Lester and PO Alan Jones (HMS Astute) were both section runners up with 31lb 2oz and 28lb 4oz respectively.

Next years venue is TBC and will be hosted by the RAF.

(Match report kindly provided by CPO Hughie Welsh)