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Rolf’s Pairs Tournament 2008.
Having been fortunate enough to receive an invite to Dave Moore’s Birthday Bash the previous day, I woke up to a beautiful sunny morning as I looked out of my bivvy on Saturday morning in preparation for the weekend ahead. However as I stuck the kettle on for an early morning cuppa I noticed Teepee sitting on the bench that looks out over the Little Lake. Strolling over for a chat with him it was soon obvious that all was not well, as his face was as white as a sheet. A quick chat revealed that Tony was in a fair bit of pain, and while he thought he ought to go to hospital, he was reluctant to go in case he got stuck down in Oxford. Luckily a few of the lads that had fished Dave’s match had stopped overnight and they volunteered to take Tony home to Rotherham, so we bade him farewell before the weekend had had a chance to begin. ( Subsequently Tony had to undergo an operation to fix a hernia and he’s thankfully fully recovered. See you soon Tony, you’ll be due a result next year)
So with the Draw for The Pairs not due to take place till 11am to allow those traveling down from far away places ample time, a few that had fished the previous day made some running repairs to depleted rigs etc while others geared up in anticipation for battle with Rolf’s “Babies” .
Webbo was manfully struggling trying to tie some hair rigged pellet bands and suddenly realised he could see once I’d popped a pair of reading glasses on his nose, should have gone to Spec-Savers fella !!!!!
So with the Draw for The Pairs not due to take place till 11am to allow those traveling down from far away places ample time, a few that had fished the previous day made some running repairs to depleted rigs etc while others geared up in anticipation for battle with Rolf’s “Babies” .
Webbo was manfully struggling trying to tie some hair rigged pellet bands and suddenly realised he could see once I’d popped a pair of reading glasses on his nose, should have gone to Spec-Savers fella !!!!!
By 10am the car park had filled up once more as the usual suspects and a couple of new ones assembled. The Malman brothers had arrived, announced by a blast on a airhorn and a few of us had made a beeline to Gaz’s motor to stock up on floats while stocks lasted, Others were setting about getting their bivvies and tents pitched, while John and Pauline were doing a roaring trade in pellets and advise about what to expect in the couple of days ahead.
11am and Dave and I did the all important draw for The Pairs. With Teepee’s unfortunate departure young Mitch who had travelled up to watch on Friday was the fortunate recipient of the spare place while Steve B was promoted to the Venue Expert/Experienced Matchman class, with the draw over there was quite a bit of discussion as to who would be the pairs to beat and favoured swims prior to the draw for the actual match. Noon and draw time, with us fishing the match from 1·30pm till 6·30pm in an effort to get the best from the venue, however with the temperature steadily rising I did have a few miss-givings .
Into the draw bag and 26 was mine (it had fished well for teepee the day before), a nice short walk to the car park bank and it would be shaded as the match progressed, which was most welcome after my treks round the lake on Friday, and my partner Paul(tommyturtle)Thompson had drawn peg 40 which I felt would be good for a few fish. Simon had drawn peg 2 for the second day in a row and practically ran to his peg having 200lbs+ from it the day before. Tony(spamwham)Roberts had peg 9 which had fished really well on Friday and appeared to be one of the form pegs.
I had Alex and Ady(biglad) for company on pegs 25 & 24 so £1 side bets were struck for fun, along with one with Chin and another with Vince.
11am and Dave and I did the all important draw for The Pairs. With Teepee’s unfortunate departure young Mitch who had travelled up to watch on Friday was the fortunate recipient of the spare place while Steve B was promoted to the Venue Expert/Experienced Matchman class, with the draw over there was quite a bit of discussion as to who would be the pairs to beat and favoured swims prior to the draw for the actual match. Noon and draw time, with us fishing the match from 1·30pm till 6·30pm in an effort to get the best from the venue, however with the temperature steadily rising I did have a few miss-givings .
Into the draw bag and 26 was mine (it had fished well for teepee the day before), a nice short walk to the car park bank and it would be shaded as the match progressed, which was most welcome after my treks round the lake on Friday, and my partner Paul(tommyturtle)Thompson had drawn peg 40 which I felt would be good for a few fish. Simon had drawn peg 2 for the second day in a row and practically ran to his peg having 200lbs+ from it the day before. Tony(spamwham)Roberts had peg 9 which had fished really well on Friday and appeared to be one of the form pegs.
I had Alex and Ady(biglad) for company on pegs 25 & 24 so £1 side bets were struck for fun, along with one with Chin and another with Vince.
Settling into the swim I elected to keep it simple with a line at 5mtrs straight out in front and another to the edge of the bushes on both sides. I also set up my pellet waggler and feeder rod as I had both of them with me in their ready sleeves. Tommy came along for a chat along with a cold can for refreshment, and soon we were ready for the off.
1·30pm rolled round and with the All-in called we were off, 2 good handfuls of pellet onto the 5mtr line and 1 each to the edge of the bushes, Alex had opted to go shallow at 13mtrs and it would be interesting to see who’s approach worked.
1·30pm rolled round and with the All-in called we were off, 2 good handfuls of pellet onto the 5mtr line and 1 each to the edge of the bushes, Alex had opted to go shallow at 13mtrs and it would be interesting to see who’s approach worked.
Well I wish I could say that the sport was fast and furious, but for the vast majority of us it was anything but, With temperatures pushing into the 30′s and fish crashing around I got the distinct impression that the temperature increase had made the Carp think about spawning for a 2nd time. The big problem for most appeared to be foul hooked fish and it didn’t seem to matter how you presented a bait, up in the water or hard on the deck, everyone seemed to be having problems. Also the ever present silvers didn’t seem to want to play either. Alex was faced with a swim that resembled a jacuzzi and it seemed that every fish he hooked came adrift at some point.
By halfway I’d managed 4 Carp when Webbo appeared for a chat as he was fishing my peg (19) from the previous day, Apparently Tony(spamwham) and Vince were doing OK on pegs 9 & 10 and Clive had got among a few on peg 31 but most were finding it hard. Fortunately I connected with another Carp on cue which gave Dave the opportunity to do the honours with my camera.
By 4pm we had some relief from the sun on the car park bank as it became shaded by the trees, and John was doing a roaring trade in cold bottles of water and cans of Coke that he’d thoughtfully laid on. I managed another 4 fish in the last couple of hours but others weren’t so fortunate and it was probably a relief to most when the All-out was called at 6·30pm.
The weigh-in told the tale of the day. Simon on peg2, was unable to repeat his feat of the day before, struggling to put just 52½lbs on the scales, Chris(cybermanc) had got off to a flyer fishing the feeder on peg 7 only to see it die and weighed 81¼lbs. Tony however had made the most of peg 9 with a fine 161¼lbs for the win on the day, Next up Vince on peg 10 put 96lbs 14ozs on the scales for 3rd on the day, just missing out on a 1st Rolf’s Ton. My 9 fish came to 72lbs and at least gave me the consolation of a section win while Clive on peg 31 weighed 117¾lbs for 2nd overall and just the 2nd Ton recorded on the day.
So, at the end of day one Ant(antwood)Haywood and Tom(tommodiesel)Little were leading with 25 points from Dave(DTF)Collier and Vince on 23 points and Clive and Tim Westmoreland in third on 21½ points.
So with the gear stowed away it was time to fire up the barbecue and start the inquests. Dave and I shot off to Asda for some grub, but were dragged kicking and screaming into the pub by Dirk, Paul, Chris, Vince & Tom and forced to drink cold beer before returning. Sitting round with a beer later in the evening spirits soon started to rise in anticipation of the day ahead. Tales and jokes were told, beer cans exploded on barbecues and Dave came up with one of those ideas that only he can. Needless to say it scared the life out of John Bennett, but that’s all that can be said for the time being. Gradually folk drifted off to bed, and it was gone 1am when I finally climbed into my sleeping bag for some much needed sleep.
So, at the end of day one Ant(antwood)Haywood and Tom(tommodiesel)Little were leading with 25 points from Dave(DTF)Collier and Vince on 23 points and Clive and Tim Westmoreland in third on 21½ points.
So with the gear stowed away it was time to fire up the barbecue and start the inquests. Dave and I shot off to Asda for some grub, but were dragged kicking and screaming into the pub by Dirk, Paul, Chris, Vince & Tom and forced to drink cold beer before returning. Sitting round with a beer later in the evening spirits soon started to rise in anticipation of the day ahead. Tales and jokes were told, beer cans exploded on barbecues and Dave came up with one of those ideas that only he can. Needless to say it scared the life out of John Bennett, but that’s all that can be said for the time being. Gradually folk drifted off to bed, and it was gone 1am when I finally climbed into my sleeping bag for some much needed sleep.
Sunday, July 27, 2008.
7am Sunday morning and another bright sunny day greeted us as we rose from our slumbers, I boiled up the kettle for a cuppa while Gaz and Alex got the barbecue fired up to cook everyone breakfast. Time to get the bivvy packed away as it was planned to be a 10am draw with fishing from 11·30am – 4·30pm so that people could get away. After a couple of sausage rolls and a coffee I somehow managed to get the bivvy and all the kit packed away and into the car just as Keith(Fisherman’s Blues)Arthur pulled into the car park closely followed by Pete Archer. For the 2nd year running they had both agreed to come down and fish with us on the Sunday (Pairing up with the lowest placed pair from Saturday) and Pete once again brought some goodies from his sponsors Vespe to give out.
All to soon 10am rolled round and it was draw time. Peg 32 for me…
7am Sunday morning and another bright sunny day greeted us as we rose from our slumbers, I boiled up the kettle for a cuppa while Gaz and Alex got the barbecue fired up to cook everyone breakfast. Time to get the bivvy packed away as it was planned to be a 10am draw with fishing from 11·30am – 4·30pm so that people could get away. After a couple of sausage rolls and a coffee I somehow managed to get the bivvy and all the kit packed away and into the car just as Keith(Fisherman’s Blues)Arthur pulled into the car park closely followed by Pete Archer. For the 2nd year running they had both agreed to come down and fish with us on the Sunday (Pairing up with the lowest placed pair from Saturday) and Pete once again brought some goodies from his sponsors Vespe to give out.
All to soon 10am rolled round and it was draw time. Peg 32 for me…
…….and another short walk to the car park bank peg that Malc fished yesterday. Clive drew well with Peg 8 but had Pete Archer for company on peg 7.
Paul my partner was on peg 23, a peg Colin struggled on yesterday. I’d got Chris(looney)Kendall for company on peg 31 with Terry(WilyCoyote)Goff opposite on 9 and Alex and Webbo on 10 & 11. A quick chat with John Bennett led to me choosing the end of the bush and out at 8mtrs as the 2 lines of attack for the day. It was double or quits for the £1′s I won from Alex and Chin yesterday and the chance to get my £1 back from Vince that he took from me yesterday.
11·30am and at the All-in I fed a handful of pellet to the end of the bush and a big pot of pellet at 8mtrs. Straight over the potful with an 8mm banded pellet and the float buried!!!! Happy Days NOT as a foul hooked Carp took off at a rate of knots towards the Little Lake before the hook pulled. So started one of the most frustrating 5 hours fishing I’ve experienced in all the time I’ve fished at Rolf’s.
Pete Archer was off to a flyer, fishing shallow at 16mtrs he’d taken 3 weigher’s in his first 3 put ins. Chris next to me was fishing long on the deck and soon had a swim that was bubbling away, but he started to suffer with foul hooked fish. Me? 3 more bites resulted in 3 more foul hookers and no fish in the net.
Terry was starting to find a few fish and seemed to be alternating between Carp and 2″ Perch........
11·30am and at the All-in I fed a handful of pellet to the end of the bush and a big pot of pellet at 8mtrs. Straight over the potful with an 8mm banded pellet and the float buried!!!! Happy Days NOT as a foul hooked Carp took off at a rate of knots towards the Little Lake before the hook pulled. So started one of the most frustrating 5 hours fishing I’ve experienced in all the time I’ve fished at Rolf’s.
Pete Archer was off to a flyer, fishing shallow at 16mtrs he’d taken 3 weigher’s in his first 3 put ins. Chris next to me was fishing long on the deck and soon had a swim that was bubbling away, but he started to suffer with foul hooked fish. Me? 3 more bites resulted in 3 more foul hookers and no fish in the net.
Terry was starting to find a few fish and seemed to be alternating between Carp and 2″ Perch........
While Webbo appeared to be doing a serene impression of Buddha ……………
I finally managed a weigher to get me off and running, but I was already trying to play catch up. Dave”Yorkie”Moore was tucked away on peg 5 and starting to find a few close in at the bottom of the shelf.
opposite him though things appeared to be slow with Vince and Paul(nomorelongwalks)East struggling to get any action from their pegs.
Halfway through and I was struggling with just 1 more weigher and another in the net while Chris was starting to put a run of fish together, Clive was getting into his stride on peg 8 as well and had probably edged ahead of Pete Archer …
Looking around I could see that a lot were struggling like yesterday, Dave the Fish was sticking at it over on 14 with little to show for all of his efforts .
but Webbo finally had a fish on only to have his landing net head fall off. Alex lent him his landing net, but then hooked a fish of his own while Webbo was still playing his, and Terry couldn’t lend his to Alex as he was also into a fish of his own. Great entertainment for all of us watching and finally resolved with all fish landed safely.
Steve B over on peg 34 in the corner was plugging away and finally getting a few ………
Steve B over on peg 34 in the corner was plugging away and finally getting a few ………
Keith Arthur had taken a Carp that would prove to be a contender for Largest of the Day at 17lbs 07ozs, while Dave(rockyroads)West had a happy smile on his face having bagged a PB carp of 17lbs 04ozs .
In the last couple of hours Chris(looney)Kendall was absolutely flying and well on the way to a Ton+ bag .
Chris(Cybermanc) and Tom(tommodiesel) had been having a rare old tussle during the match on pegs 29 & 30, and Chris was more than a little chuffed to get a new PB in the shape of this glorious 14lbs 4oz Common Carp…
My day was summed up with a half hour to go as what would have been my 7th Carp disappeared under my platform and smashed me. 4·30pm and the All-out signalled the end of my torture and at least I didn’t have far to carry my gear to the car.
Once again the weigh-in told the tale of the day. Steve B missing out on a Ton by just 8ozs from peg 34. Dave Moore’s 101½lbs giving him 4th on the day while Pete Archer’s 116½lbs took 3rd place. Clive had come good, using his experience of Rolf’s to muster 166¼ lbs for the match win, while Terry had managed a very creditable 90¾lbs. Chris had managed 148lbs for 2nd overall on the day, but for many the shock of the day had to be Malc’s DNW.
So prize giving time and the Winners and MD’s Pairs Champs for 2008 proved to be Ant(antwood)Haywood and Tom(tommodiesel)Little, finishing 10 points clear of the field with 49 points after a very consistent weekends fishing …………
So prize giving time and the Winners and MD’s Pairs Champs for 2008 proved to be Ant(antwood)Haywood and Tom(tommodiesel)Little, finishing 10 points clear of the field with 49 points after a very consistent weekends fishing …………
Thanks must go to John & Pauline Bennett for allowing us the use of their fishery for the weekend, a pleasure to visit as always.
To Webbo for making sure it all happened, Keith Arthur, Pete Archer and Vespe.
To Webbo for making sure it all happened, Keith Arthur, Pete Archer and Vespe.
Finally to all of the anglers that attended and helped to make it the event it is.
Let’s do it all again next year.
Let’s do it all again next year.
| Position | Pairs | Points |
| 1st | Ant Haywood & Tom Little | 49 |
| 2nd | Chris Ellis & Terry Goff | 39 |
| 3rd | Steve Bowman & Dai Thomas | 38 |
| 4th | Clive Pritchard & Tim Westmoreland | 36½ |
| 5th | Gaz Malman & Adrian Wood | 35½ |
| 6th= | Dave Collier & Vince Gould | 35 |
| 6th= | Dirk Williams & Dean Marsh | 35 |
| 8th | Alex Malman & Chris Kendall | 34 |
| 9th | Dave Moore & Paul East | 32 |
| 10th | Simon Mound & Dave Webster | 31 |
| 11th | Peter Morton & Paul Thompson | 29½ |
| 12th | Tony Roberts & Mitch Auger | 29 |
| 13th | Malc Doyle & Alan Loader | 28 |
| 14th | Dave West & Pete Archer | 25½ |
| 15th | Ian Ward & Gemma Doyle | 24 |
| 16th | Colin Sharrard & Keith Arthur | 14 |
| Saturday Match | |||
| Position | Peg | Angler | Weight |
| 1st | 9 | Tony Roberts | 161lbs 04ozs |
| 2nd | 31 | Clive Pritchard | 117lbs 12ozs |
| 3rd | 10 | Vince Gould | 96lbs 14ozs |
| 4th | 4 | Ant Haywood | 84lbs 00ozs |
| 5th | 7 | Chris Ellis | 81lbs 04ozs |
| 6th | 26 | Peter Morton | 72lbs 00ozs |
| 7th | 29 | Steve Bowman | 71lbs 12ozs |
| 8th | 37 | Dirk Williams | 70lbs 10ozs |
| 9th | 28 | Dave Collier | 65lbs 00ozs |
| 10th | 34 | Chris Kendall | 61lbs 00ozs |
| 11th | 14 | Gaz Malman | 59lbs 08ozs |
| 12th | 19 | Dave Webster | 57lbs 04ozs |
| 13th | 38 | Ian Ward | 56lbs 12ozs |
| 14th | 32 | Malc Doyle | 52lbs 12ozs |
| 15th | 2 | Simon Mound | 52lbs 08ozs |
| 16th | 20 | Tom Little | 43lbs 12ozs |
| 17th | 35 | Dai Thomas | 40lbs 12ozs |
| 18th | 5 | Paul East | 40lbs 04ozs |
| 19th | 11 | Dave Moore | 36lbs 00ozs |
| 20th | 16 | Alan Loader | 35lbs 12ozs |
| 21st | 15 | Dean Marsh | 34lbs 12ozs |
| 22nd | 25 | Alex Malman | 31lbs 08ozs |
| 23rd | 18 | Gemma Doyle | 23lbs 12ozs |
| 24th | 23 | Colin Sharrard | 22lbs 12ozs |
| 25th= | 24 | Adrian Wood | 22lbs 08ozs |
| 25th= | 8 | Tim Westmoreland | 22lbs 08ozs |
| 27th | 40 | Paul Thompson | 22lbs 00ozs |
| 28th | 17 | Mitch Auger | 12lbs 00ozs |
| 29th | 13 | Dave West | 5lbs 00ozs |
| 30th | 22 | Terry Goff | 1lb 12ozs |
| Sunday Match | |||
| Position | Peg | Angler | Weight |
| 1st | 8 | Clive Pritchard | 166lbs 04ozs |
| 2nd | 31 | Chris Kendall | 148lbs 00ozs |
| 3rd | 7 | Pete Archer (Guest) | 116lbs 08ozs |
| 4th | 5 | Dave Moore | 101lbs 08ozs |
| 5th | 34 | Steve Bowman | 99lbs 08ozs |
| 6th | 9 | Terry Goff | 90lbs 12ozs |
| 7th | 17 | Gaz Malman | 66lbs 02ozs |
| 8th | 29 | Chris Ellis | 58lbs 08ozs |
| 9th | 4 | Ant Haywood | 58lbs 04ozs |
| 10th | 18 | Tony Roberts | 58lbs 00ozs |
| 11th | 30 | Tom Little | 55lbs 00ozs |
| 12th | 26 | Keith Arthur (Guest) | 50lbs 09ozs |
| 13th | 32 | Peter Morton | 43lbs 04ozs |
| 14th | 40 | Alan Loader | 42lbs 00ozs |
| 15th | 35 | Dirk Williams | 41lbs 08ozs |
| 16th | 27 | Dean Marsh | 38lbs 12ozs |
| 17th | 20 | Ian Ward | 37lbs 12ozs |
| 18th | 16 | Adrian Wood | 36lbs 08ozs |
| 19th | 15 | Simon Mound | 36lbs 04ozs |
| 20th | 11 | Dave Webster | 34lbs 00ozs |
| 21st | 37 | Vince Gould | 27lbs 00ozs |
| 22nd= | 13 | Dave West | 26lbs 12ozs |
| 22nd= | 23 | Paul Thompson | 26lbs 12ozs |
| 24th | 19 | Gemma Doyle | 23lbs 08ozs |
| 25th | 14 | Dave Collier | 18lbs 00ozs |
| 26th | 38 | Paul East | 13lbs 00ozs |
| 27th | 25 | Dai Thomas | 12lbs 04ozs |
| 28th | 22 | Colin Sharrard | 11lbs 00ozs |
| 29th | 24 | Mitch Auger | 9lbs 04ozs |
| 30th | 10 | Alex Malman | 8lbs 00ozs |
| 31st | 2 | Tim Westmoreland | 1lb 04ozs |
| 32nd | 28 | Malc Doyle | DNW |
