FAA Carp Fishing Champs 2006

The Scene

The FAA Carp Fishing Champs were held over the weekend of the 16/17/18 of June 2006, hosted by SWW Lakes Trust at the Tamar Lakes complex near Bude in Cornwall. The 16 competitors attending represented RNAS’s Culdrose and Yeovilton as well as RAF Wittering and the Plymouth area. The event organisers, Si Baker and Si Gay, arranged to meet the on site Ranger, Ray, at the venue late afternoon on the Thursday to peg out swims and carry out some last minute recon (i.e. pre bait every swim just in case). With England v T &T looming and the generous help of Ray all was achieved in good time, and kick off at the London Inn successfully negotiated.

Friday morning was met with the arrival of the first competitor, despite being the farthest traveller. LAET Maskery appeared nursing a broken Turbo and a sore head, the latter being a common theme for the morning post England’s 2-0 victory. As Maskers set off to gather Intel before the watercraft draw, others began filling the special competition car park with 702 squadron arriving in convoy.

The Draw

The 1000 draw was delayed by 30 mins due to the late arrival of LAET’s

Reed and Ross from Culdrose, the extra time being used to further examine the lake, interrogate the ever-helpful Ray or pacify the now standard hangover. The draw was soon under way with the higher pegs proving favourite. Third out of the bag Team Maskery/Lamb. After much conferring and face pulling Maskers opted for the furthest away peg 18, almost causing Lambie to spill his “hair of the dog” Stella. Fears of the long walk in rapidly climbing temperatures and with fully loaded Barrows were soon quelled when Ray once more came to the fore with the offer of a tractor and trailer ride to the halfway point, which we all took thankful advantage of. Team Baker and Gay came out third last and amid much heckling from the gathered carpers confidently picked peg 3 suggesting we knew something the rest didn’t. Most failed to realise that we were now the closest to hot and cold running water, ice cream and flushing toilets! Such were the facilities on offer.

Draw over and plans hastily being made, the long trek to the chosen swims began with 1 hour to plumb and pre bait before the 1200 start. At this point special mention must go to LAET Fisher for possibly the fastest bivvy erection and rods at the ready ever seen. He obviously has never had an erection problem in his life. Another mention in despatches for CPO Evans for managing to navigate his garden refuse look-alike wheelbarrow to his swim without causing the local wildlife injury by falling from a tree or fence in hysterics.

Midday was soon upon us and most were up and fishing, Lambie being one exception still recovering from his shortened but none the less perilous hike to peg 18. With the lake water levels rising rapidly due to the kilos of spod mix and bait being introduced, the Bream were quick to take advantage with most alarms merrily beeping away and most anglers cursing their very existence. In the relaxed climate of the match Team Jones took advantage of the non-counting third rod rule and half mackerels were soon whizzing through the air. Their swim was full of excited chatter with talk of 9lb eels and maybe a pike or two. Each to their own! The late arrivals of PO Cowe and LAET Hosie due to work commitments saw us up to full compliment by 1900 and the competition got into full swing.

The Fish

Despite almost constant attention from the bream, the day finished carp-less, not surprising considering the heat of the day and uninterrupted sunshine. All settled for the night hoping for better results in the cooler temperatures. Right on cue Andy Ross was first away with a 9lb 12oz common at 2355, followed in the night with fish to Si Gay, Si Fisher and Maskers.

Saturday morning 0800 and Si Fisher lands his second to take the early lead with a total weight of 14lb 1oz. He was soon left behind when Maskers baged his second, the largest of the match at 13lb 14oz, closely followed by his teammate Lambie with a 5lb 8oz Common. Si Baker took advantage of the empty pegs at the Dam end to temp a 7lb 8oz’er from the Dam wall after spotting several carp feeding in the corner as he returned from an ice-cream break.

The evening brought a change in the weather with some cloud cover and thick heavy fog for the night. At 2200 Lambie got his second and then between 0005 and 0430 the fish really started to get their heads down. Si baker had his second, Si Gay added another 2 but Lambie also followed up with 2 more for a total weight of 24lb 1 oz. Later Sunday morning with the smell of eggs and bacon wafting up and down the banks Steve Jones had his first fish and at last knockings Julie Andrews, from Team Broughton and Andrews, landed the seconded biggest fish at 12lb 4oz.

At the 1200 hooter the match finished with a total weight of 119lb 14oz between 8 anglers. A special mention should be made for Team Cowe and Reed. Despite 4 or 5 (they were to embarrassed to say how many) screamers they ended the weekend with a total of 0 fish. Reedy tried explaining this was due to the mental anguish suffered when he found a snake in his bivvy. Others suggested they tie some hooks to their rigs next time!

Steve Cowe, Jonah, Neil Jones, Tim Broughton, Steve Jones, Lambie, Kev Hosie, Julie Andrews, Maskers, Si Fisher, Reedy, Si Gay, Dave Downing, Andy Ross, Crash Evans, Si Baker

The Meeting

The main reason for the weekend was to gather as many like-minded people, i.e. carp anglers, in one place to discuss the future of Carp Fishing within the RN. So at 1800 on Saturday night the match was suspended for a pair of hours as we all had a social BBQ and a serious chat on the subject. It was explained to everyone how the Army Carpers had set up their own club and the success they had had in the past few years. This includes trips to France and subsidised matches held at all the top venues throughout UK, and the sponsorship of a team of six into the BCAC nationals. Also the RAF had got their own version up and running this year, which left the RN distinctly trailing.

Much behind the scenes work has been carried out over the last few years into starting an RN version and some progress has finally been made. All those attending the weekend match were encouraged to join the RN & RM AA at a cost of £10 and to promote the club to anyone else they knew within the service. It was explained that it would basically come down to a numbers game, and that after we had sufficient members within the RN & RM AA we could push for our own section alongside the Coarse, Sea and Game sections.

The idea was met with no small amount of enthusiasm and several anglers offered their help with positions within the club. Tim Broughton was a big help passing on his experience within the RN & RM AA and his position within Heron Angling Club. It was agreed that Si Gay and Si Baker were to arrange a few more matches during the year and to try and get them into the official match calendar.

The Results

Everyone gathered in the car park on completion with most competitors packed and ready for the drive home. Rays services were once more called upon to present the Trophy, donated by LAET Hosie and previously held by LAET Lines of RNAS Culdrose. Despite his reluctance on the Friday to take the long trek to peg 18, congratulations go to LAET Lamb who received the Trophy with the highest overall weight of 24lb 1oz for 4 fish.

The Future

After such a successful and enjoyable weekend expect more matches to follow. Ray at Upper Tamar has already challenged us to a match vs. the local bailiffs and the search is on for other venues that can handle up to 30 anglers or more. Spread the word and we can’t press enough how important your support is by joining the RN & RM AA. Membership forms are available from Si Gay and Si Baker at RNAS Culdrose and Tim Broughton At RNAS Yeovilton. Remember to annotate them “Carp”.

The RAF has extended an invitation to attend their Champs in September (limited numbers) and The Army are finalising details for theirs in October. Hopefully before long an exped to France will be on the agenda, probably for 2007. Willing helpers will be a must, so if called upon to help organise a match or other event in your local area please be generous. Many hands and all that.

There is a need to set up some form of database to keep track of you all, which the two Si’s at Culdrose have started. Keep them informed of your movements so as not to drop off the plot (Hosie that means you!) and as soon as your membership is in tell us as well. The more members we have the bigger the case for our own section.

Tight Line