Sunday was an almost perfect day – for holiday makers, but not for casting! We experienced almost continuous sunshine, it was humid in the morning and less so later-on, but the worst part was an occasional puff of breeze from the north east or east, followed by completely ‘dead air’. The net result was that it was almost impossible to turn the line and leader over. Tough is hardly an adequate description and distances suffered, however, those present all seemed to enjoy their day. Results were as follows:

#5F – Mike Marshall  114′ ; Andrew Bagshaw  106′ ; Alex Titov  103′ ; Mick Bell  101′ 7″ ; John Reynolds  100′ ; Carl Malpass  97′ 10″ ; Kevin Knight   93′ 11″ ; Roger Miles  87′ 8″ ; Stephen Lindley  75′ .

#7F – Alex Titov  121′ 2″ ; Carl Malpass  117′ 9″ ; Mick Bell  115′ 10″ ; John Reynolds  107′ 7″ ; Andrew Bagshaw  99′ 10″ ; Roger Miles  98′ 3″ ; Kevin Knight  96′ 11″ ; Stephen Lindley  84′ 9″ .

T38 – John Reynolds  167′ 9″ ; Andrew Bagshaw157′ 7″ ; Kevin Knight  150′ 10″ ; Mick Bell  149′ 8″ ; Stephen Lindley 143′ 9″ ; Roger Miles  140′ ; Carl Malpass  116′ 7″ .

T120 – Alex Titov  178′ ; Mick Bell  169′ 1″ ; Andrew Bagshaw  148′ 3″ ; John Reynolds  144′ ; Kevin Knight  125′ 5″ .

Performance of the day has to go to Carl Malpass (15 yrs.), down from Durham, with his all round casting, but, in particular his 117’+ in #7F. What, in the future, is this young man capable of? It was good to see Alex Titov (Russian spoken here) cast so well to win the #7F and T120, the benefits of hard work if ever I saw them. Andrew Bagshaw’s PB of 106′ in #5F pleased him no end, particularly considering the conditions. New member Stephen Lindley, from the Sheffield area, came down for some help with his casting , ended up ‘having a go and cast 143’ 9″ in T38, incredible. Finally it was great to see old friends Kevin Knight and Mick Bell doing what their right arms were made for, after absenses due to pressure of work.

Reporter – Mike Marshall

Following Mike Heritage’s initial contact, Bruce Richards of Scientific Anglers has very kindly gifted two of each, #5 and #7 Mastery Distance Lines, to The BFCC. These will replace the inferior lines used with the Club outfits, thus giving all casters on an equal chance. This generous act is greatly appreciated and will serve us well for the future.

Reporter – Mike Marshall