The predicted steady 10mph wind didn’t really materialise, there was a light breeze but it was inconsistent in strength and direction.  Casting started with the tournament gear, T120 & T38, and then the #5, #7 and ST27 events were completed after the lunch break (and a change of casting direction).

Distances are in feet and inches:

#5F – Mike Heritage 123.02;  James Evans 120.10;  Steve Parkes 119.07;  Mick Copeman 107.09;  David Fisher 96.08; Lee Martell 96.06;  Trevor Hayman 91.09;  Keith Jones 89.08;  Dan Shillabeer 89.05;  Tracy Thomas 85.04; Adam Ashwell 62.07

#7F – Steve Parkes 125.08;  James Evans 118.11;  Lee Martell 115.09;  Trevor Hayman 115.08;  Mike Heritage 111.10; Mick Copeman 110.05;  Dan Shillabeer 106.04;  Tracy Thomas 104.03;  David Fisher 104.01;  Keith Jones 93.02; Adam Ashwell 65.07;  Peter Lovett 63.07

B100 (#5 + #7) – Dan Shillabeer 195.09; Keith Jones 182.10; Adam Ashwell 128.02; Peter Lovett 126.02

B110 (#5 + #7) – Mick Copeman 218.0; David Fisher 200.09; Tracy Thomas 189.07

ST27 – James Evans 145.09; Lee Martell 137.00; Mick Copeman 131.05; Trevor Hayman 131.04; Mike Heritage 128.10; Steve Parkes 128.02; Tracy Thomas 127.10; Dan Shillabeer 121.10; David Fisher 113.10; Adam Ashwell 63.05

T38 – James Evans 163.07; Mike Heritage 159.04; Trevor Hayman 141.05; Tracy Thomas 138.02; Steve Parkes 138.00; Mick Copeman 134.08; Brian Szukala 130.06; Lee Martell 125.03; David Fisher 123.10

T120 – James Evans 204.00; Steve Parkes 178.06; Brian Szukala 177.11; Trevor Hayman 166.05; Mike Heritage 162.01; Lee Martell 159.05; Tracy Thomas 147.07; David Fisher 131.08

Meeting championship points – James Evans 7; Steve Parkes 17; Mike Heritage 18; Trevor Hayman 22; Lee Martell 25; Mick Copeman 28; Tracy Thomas 36; David Fisher 40

Mick Copeman extends his #5F and ST27 records in the S70 age class.

Congratulations to Dan Shillabeer whose practice has paid off with a 35yd badge with a #7 weight outfit.  Also well done to David Fisher for casting 40yds with the T38 outfit.

This report is going to be slightly different from the usual ‘what a great day we had’, even though we did. We had the usual mix of great competition and tireless and excellent tuition. For me the stand out feature of the event was how having the  event in a central area drew people from wide and far. People were prepared to travel from as far as Cumbria and Kent and Wales and the East Coast. For various reasons this particular event location may not have been ideal but it certainly highlights the fact that the BFCC should be looking for somewhere in the region so I would ask that if anyone who knows the area has any idea of a suitable location to contact Mike Marshall so that he can look into it.

Back to the event. Apart from seeing people from such a wide area turn up it was great to see Alan Bath is making a good recovery and was able to help out with the competition and Wendy back sorting out the admin. The nature of the gusting wind caused a few problems in the tournament events  where line management became a critical issue. Andrew Bagshaw is to be complimented on his outstanding ability to unravel the most horrendous mess of mono with superlative patience while dismissing my suggestion we get the scissors out. His reward was to win the B110. The outstanding cast of the day was John Reynolds 177′ 5” in the T27,  a new club record. That is an outstanding cast in any conditions.

As I was mainly dealing with the competition I can only comment that the instruction team of Mark and Sekhar were very busy doing their instructional magic all day. I know from experience just how tiring instructing all day is. John and I managed to chip in occasionally but it was Mark and Shaker who did the hard miles and deserve the compliments that we have received from some very satisfied people they instructed. Well done guys and many thanks.

If I have missed anyone out please accept my apologies and accept my thanks .

Mike

The Sportfish fund raising weekend was very successful for the BFCC and great fun, so many thanks to all those who supported us: Ally Bremner, Mark Surtees, Nicholas Surtees, Trevor Hayman, Brian Szukala, Sekhar Bahadur, Roger Miles, Paul Brown, Andy Parker, Gilly Bate and Alex Titov. Plus thanks to the Sportfish team, particularly Tom Festing and Jono Tomlinson. We appreciate how hard everyone worked to make it a success, not least Mark for donating two BFCC signs which greatly improved the look of the stand.

Special thanks go to Ally who braved the cold and strong winds who, with James, helped to adjudicate the spey casting competition run by Sportfish on Saturday. She provided advice and tuition to competitors in the event, which was won by James that day. Brian was amazing on the Sunday when he borrowed a kayak from an exhibitor to measure distances on the water, whilst Jono judged safely on dry land. New member Andy Parker was great as he supported me on the stand and also helped with running the competition.

All of us had a great time chatting with old friends, making new ones, promoting the club and providing tuition – Paul, Trevor and Sekhar were enjoying themselves so much on the Saturday on the tuition field, they forgot to take a break – when even the lure of the cakes I bought didn’t encourage them to stop for a while! However, young Nicholas more than made up for their absence! Paul and Trev supported both days, providing lots of tuition and advice. Mark, as always, was brilliant in offering tuition not just to the ‘punters’ but to the other instructors as well – sadly we didn’t have any veg for him to demonstate with. Everyone who took tuition came back with a big grin and an improved cast! Paul was impressed with one of the many young lads that came for tuition who, on his first lesson, was managing great looking loops and aerial mends around cones! With the usual BFCC team splitting resources to cover two events on the same weekend (a first for the club I think), it was lovely to have Roger back supporting the BFCC – he worked hard both days to make sure everyone had a good time and enjoyed themselves. I couldn’t have done without him and I hope to see at more of the Club’s events.

Thanks also to Charles Jardine who kindly lent us some hoops for target practise and to the Wild Trout Trust, who didn’t seem to mind when I used their trout cushions that were hanging from the roof of the marquee, as targets too! It was fun to watch the demos and Trev managed to get us a mention in one of them.

Tracy (& James)

Casting took place in good conditions, with a mixture of sunshine and cloud. The breeze was generally westerly at 13 to 15 mph, with an occasional stronger gust.

All distances are in feet and inches.

#5 – Mike Heritage 120.00; Kei Okamoto 118.00; Steve Parkes 110.00; Andrew Bagshaw 108.01; Mick Copeman 96.06; Nigel Conlon 90.06; David Fisher 89.01; Vernon Wood 87.11; Stephen Lindley 84.10; Angus McLeod 82.10; Leighton McDonnell 79.00; Peter Bainbridge 72.10.

#7 – John Reynolds 129.07; Mike Heritage 123.09; Kei Okamoto 118.05; Andrew Bagshaw 116.00; Steve Parkes 115.06; Mick Copeman 110.01; David Fisher 103.10; Nigel Conlon 101.08; Vernon Wood 100.05; Peter Bainbridge 92.03; Stephen Lindley 88.03; Leighton McDonnell 87.08.

B100 (#5 + #7) – Nigel Conlon 192.02; Vernon Wood 188.04; Stephen Lindley 173.01; Leighton McDonnell 166.08; Peter Bainbridge 165.01.

B110 (#5 + #7) – Andrew Bagshaw 224.01; Mick Copeman 206.07; David Fisher 192.11.

T27 – John Reynolds 177.05; Andrew Bagshaw 141.09; Kei Okamoto 139.00; Steve Parkes 135.05; Mike Heritage 133.05; Mick Copeman 118.10; David Fisher 106.02; Nigel Conlon 97.09; Leighton McDonnell 93.06.

T38 – John Reynolds 188.06; Andrew Bagshaw 158.00; Mike Heritage 152.08; Steve Parkes 152.03; Kei Okamoto 147.03; Nigel Conlon 131.00; Mick Copeman 128.05; David Fisher 117.04; Leighton McDonnell 102.08.

T120 – Steve Parkes 184.07; Mike Heritage 180.07;  Kei Okamoto 180.02; Andrew Bagshaw 172.01; John Reynolds 170.06; Nigel Conlon 143.03; Leighton McDonnell 139.11.

Meeting Championship points – Mike Heritage 13; Andrew Bagshaw 16; Kei Okamoto 16; Steve Parkes 17, John Reynolds 21 (no #5); Mick Copeman 32; Nigel Conlon34; David Fisher 37; Leighton McDonnell 48.