#5F - Mike Heritage 125′ 1″; Jonathan Tomlinson 122′; James Evans 112′; Tom Festing 108′ 9″; Joseph Harris 89′; David Fisher 84′ 4″; Tracy Thomas 89′

#7F - Tom Festing 128′7″; James Evans 125′ 2″; Joseph Harris 124′ 5″ (junior 17 record); Jonathan Tomlinson 123′; Mike Heritage 120′ 7″: Tracy Thomas 90′ 3″; David Fisher 98′ 5″.

#9F New Saltwater Event - Joseph Harris 143′ (outright & junior 17 records); Mike Heritage 139′ 9″ (S60 record); Jonathan Tomlinson 135′ (SNR record); James Evans 133′ 6″; Tom Festing 127′ 3″; David Fisher 98′ 5″.

BADGES - Congratulations are due to - 25yds Richard Ellis. 30yds Don Andrews; Jamie Cushman.

 Those of us instructing had the time to give some real help to aspiring distance casters, and the club now has a few who have great potential.

There were some amazing casts in the competition as well. MM will confirm this when he posts the results, each event was hotly contested right up to the last cast. We even had an appreciative audience that whooped and hollered and clapped when a really good one went out. I have to say I particularly enjoyed that aspect. I will have to make sure we whip the audience up to a frenzy at future meetings. The encouragement was brilliant, thanks guys and gals.

And there were some outstanding casts to applaud. New member Tom Festing threw over 128′ and James Evans wasn’t far behind with just over 125′ in the seven weight contest. Tom would probably have done better but he just loves casting so much he can’t be bothered to allow many to actually land and record a score!

Tomo and I had a good tussle in the five and I managed to pip him with my final cast.

 As many members know, my real passion is full line casting. The club records for these events are world class. We can now add a nine weight event, a reintroduction to cater for the salties among us. Yesterday was the first time we cast it. We are limited at Sportfish to just the full line events, there are insurmountable insurance problems because of space, so the nine was re-introduced here to help fill the void.

The BFCC used to cast eight and nine weights in the old days. I don’t know what the records are, it doesn’t matter because at least three of us smashed them into oblivion. I believe we all held the record for a moment or two until, the next guy cast. The over all club record was not created until, literally, the very last cast of the day when 15 year old Joe Avery-Harris did a truly amazing 143′ to win the event by about four feet. Gutting and astonishing at the same time. Well done Joe.

 The full line event records are now held by a 15 year old, a forty year old and seventy something year old. Hence the title.

All Badge winners deserve congratulation but Don Andrews deserves special mention because he is a left hander and the wind wasn’t kind for lefties but perseverance and a slight alteration to the course was enough for him to nail his 30yd. badge.

 The BFCC, where there is hope for everyone.

 Mike H

#7F - 133′ John Reynolds, 123′ 10″ James Evans, 118′ Roger Miles, 113′ 2″ Mike Heritage, 112′ Lee Watts, 109′ 9″ Tony Bennett, 106′ 7″ Andrew Bagshaw, 99′ 8″ Mike Helliwell, 97′ 6″ Jonathan Davies, 87′ 6″ John Forbes, 84′ 8″ Ken Jones, 83′ 8″ Tracy Thomas,

T38 - 166′ 4″ Andrew Bagshaw, 156′ 4″ John Reynolds, 150′ 5″ Roger Miles, 143′ 7″ James Evans, 143′ 2″ Paul Brown, 140′ 3″ Mike Heritage, 112′ 10″ Tony Bennett, 107′ Mike Helliwell.

Badges - 25yds John Lomas, Edward Pugh. 30yds Dudley Savva, Andrew Parker, Peter Taylor, John Forbes, Clint Lloyd, Mike Roden, Mike Helliwell.

Wrexham

 It all started several months ago when JR (our own John Reynolds) said “What about Wales”.

Now I know what Mike Marshall is like, in a previous life he must have been a sniffer dog, because when he is on the trail, nothing distracts him.So it was with hundreds of telephone calls, scores of meetings and a lot of arm twisting that the Wrexham meeting was nailed down, by the boss.Off we went, myself,  Mike Heritage and Alex Titov, trekked on Saturday 12th June to Wrexham.We eventually got there five hours later, via looking at rivers, motorway cafes and goodness only knows how many smoke breaks.

 I should have known it was going to be a special meeting as we stayed at the “Beeches” Premier Inn at Wrexham on Saturday and also dined there.Alex and Mike found a bit of grass (Lawn) outside the restaurant so we went out there at eight o clock at night and started swishing around. There was a small crowd gathering as they probably have never  seen anything like this before. I am sure I heard someone mention me, in as much by saying “that short chunky one holding the rod has had one too many puddings”.Mike ended up trying to teach someone the roll cast only to be told by me “he cannot hear what you are saying Mike” “why not” Mike says “He’s deaf” I said. It ended up a real hoot.

 Mike Marshall has documented the sequence of events on Sunday at Wrexham and I can say that it was truly an extraordinary sight to see so many people with their fly rods “having a go”.

 Now on to a slightly different view on that day. A lot of the fly fishers out there, see and have always seen Qualified Instructors as sometimes unapproachable, that is probably, due to the fact that they cast so much better.

In the BFCC we have GAIA, AAPGAI, FFF, and other qualified instructors, so we encompass the whole spectrum of instructing and instructing bodies.At the Wrexham meeting there was a very good representation of the GAIA instructors, indeed some of the top guys.From the word go they got stuck in with helping out, laughing and joking and having a go at the competitions and badge schemes, and all the time encouraging the others to join in, in other words very very approachable.Although they are experts in their own right they were all humble enough to take a few pointers to improve their out and out distance casting.They still showed everyone that they could cast more than a 30 yard line on a five weight not an easy thing to do especially  given the conditions.On the subject of Instruction I think this was probably our biggest turnout as far as the amount people that was being taught at any one time.It is very hard to convey the sense of fun everyone had, but more than a few people asked if we could another one this year, so that alone speaks for itself.Mike Marshall has already given thanks to those that made it possible so I can only echo that with a few additions.

 A BIG congratulations to our very own James Evans for winning the five weight event. I know how long he has strived for this, so we all feel really happy for him.Thank you from myself, personally, to Louis Noble and Mike Roden for spending their time with me on Instructing matters.Thanks to Vera and  Bob for being so charming and witty, and of course helpful.To all you girls and guys that turned up to “your meeting” the BFCC says Thank You.

Mike Heritage tells me that he is thinking of learning sign language so whomever that guy was at the restaurant, watch out as “We Will Be Back”.

  Roger Miles 

It was also a great pleasure to welcome, in person, eleven new Members to the Club, who were as keen as mustard to learn new skills. They were not disappointed and took full advantage of their right to free tuition provided by the BFCC coaches, which took the form of short sessions throughout the day.

The day started with a brief demonstration by yours truly, particularly emphasising casting style, backcasting and minimal effort, while achieving a good distance. We then broke up into small groups with each of four coaches, where tuition aimed at individual requirements took place, and it was interesting to see the mixing of near beginners with comparative experts. Suffice to say that it worked brilliantly and everyone improved dramatically - the Welsh air perhaps? Following this there were further short sessions throughout the day.

We then went into ‘have a go for gold’ badge mode and several casters had improved sufficiently to achieve the following: 25 yards - John Lomas, Edward Pugh. 30 yards - Dudley Savva, Andrew Parker, Peter Taylor, Mike Helliwell, Clint Lloyd and Mike Roden. Well done one and all - it is not easy, but the most impressive thing was the number of casters vowing to practise for their next badge.

Then followed the somewhat abbreviated casting competitions due to the amount of tuition achieved and the results were:

#5F - James Evans 114′ 4″, Mike Heritage 111′, John Reynolds 108′ 10″, Alex Titov 106′ 7″, Jonathan Davies 104′, Lee Watts 101′ 9″, Andrew Bagshaw 96′, Mike Roden 93′, Louis Noble 91′ 3″, John Forbes 90′ 11″, Tracy Thomas 82′ 2″, Tony Bennett 80′, Ken Jones 76′ 9″.

#7F - John Reynolds 133′, James Evans 123′ 10″, Roger Miles 118′, Mike Heritage 113′ 2″, Lee Watts 112′, Tony Bennett 109′ 9″, Andrew Bagshaw 106′ 7″, Mike Helliwell 99′ 8″, Jonathan Davies 97′ 6″, John Forbes 87′ 6″, Ken Jones 84′ 8″,Tracy Thomas 83′ 8″.

T38 - Andrew Bagshaw 166′ 4″, John Reynolds 156′ 4″, Roger Miles 150′ 5″, James Evans 143′ 7″, Paul Brown 143′ 2″, Mike Heritage 140′ 3″, Tony Bennett 112′ 10″, Mike Helliwell 107′.

Well done everyone, having struggled with a very light and variable, generally southerly breeze. Special mention must be made of James Evans for winning the #5F, Roger Miles for a medal position in #7F and Andrew Bagshaw for his first in T38.

To close it must be said that our hosts Marlene and Roger Holloman, of Wrexham Rugby Club added greatly to the enjoyment of the day with first class facilities, drinks and sandwiches. Also, Mike Griffiths helped greatly with timing and recording. Thank you so much!

We went into the giant marquee,  to be greeted by the boss (Michael Marshall) with a big grin on his face.
That lifted my spirits straightaway, as with all our other  instructors away on other commitments, or far too ill to take part, I was a bit nervous, as to how we would cope.

Sure I can get the clients to have a lesson, but Mike who was our only instructor for the day is not a man in his early thirties, so I would have to pace things out. I was about  to be proved wrong.

It was very slow to start with but by 11 a.m. when people realised that it was going to be a dull weekend, weather-wise, they probably thought “stuff  this I am not going to let a bit of rain beat us”, the whole place started to buzz.

Mike Marshall took up his starting position, made up his trusty rod with the same care that an old battle weary warrior would do with his weapon of choice and then shouted out to me “send them out Rog”.

It was then that the British Fly Casting Club swung into action. I have done this a few times and it was with the ease of familiarity that myself and Jan started to take our eager clients out to meet Mike.

I was staggered that by 4.p.m. when things eased off,  he was not only still standing, but turned and said to me “is that all you got” with that same big grin on his face that he had from 8.30 a.m.
Mike had not had a single minute’s break

Sunday was virtually the same as Saturday, but with the arrival  of Alex Titov, another of our instructors it meant that we cranked things up a gear, which is just as well, because there were three times as many people to get through.

Truly an astonishing weekend.

I cannot leave this report without warm thanks to the following:

Firstly to my girlfriend Jan for the smiles to our clients, endless  cups of tea and also selling some of the books.

Matt Hayes for letting me drag him over for a picture session. Thanks Matty.

Gary Coxon of Sage. Thanks for the pics Gary (from your favourite West Indian)

Jerry Siem of Sage. I tried to get the girls (Jan and Tracy) to wriggle against him during the pics, but I did not get a free Sage Rod. What a nice guy.

Simon Gawesworth, who stopped his book signing session to be photographed on our stand, and also stayed for a cup of tea and a chat. Quite a unique person.

Alex Titov, has recently qualified AAPGAI, what a feat. He has only just returned from teaching in Russia. Over there you have to be extremely  good as they will still send you to Siberia, or worse, make you recite all the words from the film Taras Bulba.
Congratulations  Alex.

BFCC Members  James Evans and his lady Tracy Thomas for being there and helping out. Thanks Tracy and James.

Gilly Bate, a friend of Mike Heritage. Thanks for stopping by Gilly and making me laugh. By the way Gilly, the BFCC has its eye on you for the future.

Thanks to Richard Tallents of Masterline-Cortland for his donation of a Flyline to the BFCC.

Thank you to new members:
Mark Kirkhouse
Sally Taylor
Mick Copeman
Alan  Corker

A very  big thanks to all our new clients, you are the real stars of the show, we hope to see you at other “friendly” get togethers at the BFCC.
Sometimes the guys say to me “what is your secret to getting people to stop and talk to you”.
The answer is there is no secret. Fly Fishers, along with most anglers are kind, friendly, patient and very approachable, that is why they are the stars of the show, it makes what I do a real pleasure.

I will close now by saying that none of this would have been possible without our man on the inside, Jonathan Tomlinson, who worked like a beaver  to make it all happen

Thank you very much Jono.

Roger Miles

I have not had official word from ‘the horses mouth’ but Mike has just posted a general email and I think it is well worth putting up here.

I can only say that I am staggered that Mike survived to tell the tale and I am glad Alex was was able to help out on the Sunday or we may have been looking for a new chairman.

I think this proves conclusively that the BFCC are heading in the right direction and just a bit of tweaking to get the split between instructing and competing right and we will have a winning formula.

Right, over to Mr Marshall.

 Mike Heritage

Hello BFCC Casters,
 
In spite of overcast skies and drizzle with a nagging, cold northeasterly, the event was well attended by anglers keen to see an extensive show which was very well put together by our hosts. Apart from the usual tackle stands there were casting demonstrations, tackle testing, float tubing on the lake and, even, a cooking demonstration for the trout caught.
 
From a BFCC perspective we have never been so busy with tuition and our small team, at times, only just coped, but we did! Roger did his usual welcoming performance to get people involved, assisted by Jan who added glamour to the proceedings and Alex, newly returned from teaching in Russia, taught on Sunday. As a club we owe them a lot for their efforts and the funds raised, which will be very useful in future.
 
Of personal interest was, really for the first time, there were repeat visitors who had been to previous BFCC Meetings and also brought friends this time, which shows we must be doing something right! As an example, one client from July last, had improved so much that I just wish we had the space to do ‘the have a go for gold badges’ - he would have managed 30yds for certain, whereas last year he was in the very low twenties. It just goes to show what a little encouragement and practise will do. Anyway, all is not lost as he could not be kept away from this July’s Meeting.
 
Please have a look at Roger’s pictures of well known demonstrators on our stand. Mike, also returned from a trip north of the border, will post these on the website as soon as possible.
 
Following our exploits at Reading I am sure you would like to join me in welcoming four new Members to the Club. They are: Sally Taylor; Mark Kirkhouse; Mick Copeman; Alan Corker.
Their casting sessions were very rewarding because good progress was made, and with more to be expected. To this end it is my sincere hope that they will be able to come to the July Meeting when, hopefully, things will be less frenetic so they will have time to chat and so find out yet more about casting.

 
Our next meeting is at Wrexham on Sunday June 13 at 10am, so please let me know if you can make it. I will be very grateful if you can pass the word around as The BFCC is trying
very hard to spread its geographical range and this is published in Trout Fisherman Magazine.
 
Sincerely,
 
Mike Marshall

Everyone did a great job.

John Reynolds showed what ‘True Grit’ was, turning up and checking us out for safety etc.. and continued instructing even though he was not his usual 110%. Thanks big fella.

Mike Heritage worked all the time teaching and still had a joke for everyone. Now that he doesn’t eat breakfast anymore he turns up even earlier, putting us all to shame.

Jono managed to thrill all the crowd with his one man shows and still found time to help us out with teaching (oh! and beat Mike Heritage in the shootouts LOL). I have known some of the great demonstrators at shows over the years, and I will predict here and now that Jonathan Tomlinson is going to be amongst the best of them.

Alex flew all three flags. Russian British and Polish, what a guy, thanks Alex.you are the Мужчина (for you english speaking only that is Russian for Man). Alex did not even get time to buy a coffee, as he was busy teaching.

Mike Marshall did what he does best, make sure it all runs smoothly and was, as usual, the last man standing.

A special welcome to Mark Surtees, he stayed on the field 100% in all weather and taught effortlessly to the newcomers - really put them at ease. What a find Mark is for the BFCC, I hope he joins us full time.

Lastly but not least, I must thank Dr. Vernon Wood for his help on the stand. Vernon was professional, witty and had a very gentle way of persuading potential clients to try us out. More than once or twice the ladies stopped and listened to his charming voice. The only trouble was that he then gave them to MM for lessons, as Jono said earlier. Oh! and he got his 30 yard badge, congratulations you old dog.

 We are limited to casting in two directions. The direction was ok for right handers but, especially on Saturday, it was a bit of a pain for left handers. Luckily there is plenty of room to cast outside our designated competition area so tuition for left handers wasn’t a problem. Lefty’s casting for their distance badges may have struggled a bit though, sorry about that.

 Nasty cold and biting east wind most of the day on Saturday so the casting comp was virtually across the wind. Although not conducive to huge casts some of the distances were still pretty impressive. Well done Tomo who won both the five and seven events ( said through gritted teeth because I was second in both events!).

 Roger and Dr Vernon Wood provided a steady stream of people to instruct interspersed with the occasional cup of coffee (thank you Roger) to make sure none of the instructors actually suffered acute hypothermia and frost bite.

 This year we had more instructors on the field and it gave us the chance to have the odd break, which was very welcome.

 Now for the difficult bit. All the instructors did a fantastic job but most of us have done this sort of thing for a while now, so we know what to expect. Mark Surtees is a new member and came along for the first time. Mark would be the first to admit he is not a distance freak like most of the rest of us, however he proved to be an outstanding instructor, especially with beginners and improvers. He certainly dug me out of more than one hole. I’m the first to admit I struggle with absolute beginners but he had them casting a nice loop in the allotted time.

 John Reynolds got off his sick bed to be with us and Alex Titov was in shorts and tee shirt because he said it was so warm after Siberia (not really, he was shivering like the rest of us).

 Tomo helped out between other commitments and Mike Marshall only taught pretty women, how much he paid Roger to arrange this I have no idea.

Very well done to all those who achieved their distance badges and a special mention to Chris Walker who tried to wear me out. I expect you to be near the 35yrd mark next year Chris, you don’t want Bigfoot or Richard to beat you.

 Casting again, wonderful

 Mike H

It was good to see that our tuition is increasingly popular with the public and our visiting Members, with some from 2009 returning for a ‘refresher’. However, I suspect the Badge attempts are growing in popularity, with people returning to try for a longer distance and, even, some local fun-rivalries being settled!

The weather was generally good, if overcast to start with and very cool throughout. There was a gusty easterly wind which did not help when teaching or when the competition took place.

Competiton Results:

#5F  -  Jonathan Tomlinson 119′ 2″,  Mike Heritage 118′ 5″,  James Evans 101′ 10″,   Andrew Bagshaw 101′ 6″,  Alex Titov 98′ 5″, Mick Bell 97′ 7″, Carl Malpas (jnr) 96′ 7″,  Steven Lindley 89′ 1″,  David Fisher 82′ 5″.

#7F - Jonathan Tomlinson 128′ 5″,  Mike Heritage 125′,  Carl Malpas (jnr) 111′ 9″,  Alex Titov 109′7″,  Mick Bell 108′,  James Evans 106′ 10″,  Andrew Bagshaw 101′, David Fisher 86′ 9″,  Steven Lindley 82′ 4″.

There were some very close results at the top, which added spice to the competition, but special mention must go to Carl Malpas who, as a junior, came third in #7 - in his first casting competition!

Badge Successes:

25 yards - Paul Speed, Christopher Walker (14yrs), Richard Walker (12yrs), Peter Boyle, Simon Kearns, Alan Bath.

30 yards - Vernon  Wood, Chris Tong, David Walker.

35 yards - Terry Mann, Toby Merigan, Karl Humphries.

From a personal point of view it was great to see so many smiling faces following successful tuiton and badge attempts, which is good for the future of the Club. So, please make an entry in your diary for our next scheduled meeting at Reading on Sat. 10th July.

Reporter Mike Marshall