Well, the BFCC has been fortunate with the weather – until last Sunday that is! We had steady rain throughout the whole day, but it did not seem to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm and there were lots of happy casters.

You may have heard that our ‘pop-up’ tent died in action at Newark, so our new ‘Events Shelter’ rather like a giant igloo, was put to the test. Thankfully it passed with flying colours and will be a future asset in similar conditions.

It was good to be able to welcome on board new members Mike Roden, Bernie and Phil Ratcliffe, and I sincerely hope they enjoy future Meetings as much.

We were extremely fortunate to have a lot of help from people performing new tasks which made things move along well and I feel the following deserve special mention: Wendy Bath – admin.; Tracy Thomas – admin. and safety; Alan Bath – judging; Roger Miles – coaching.

Turning to the competitions the B100 was very popular with many entrants and the results in were:

B100#5 – Bob Carlson 93′, Mike Helliwell 89′ 1″, Alan Bath 87′ 3″, Pat Stevens 85′ 3″, Lois Noble 85′ 2″, Bud Budryk 84′ 6″, John Forbes 83′ 7″,  Stephen Lindley 79′ 7″, Tracy Thomas 77′ 3″, Nigel Rogers 77′ 1″, Vera Carlson 75′ 9″, John Lomas 73′ 1″, Alan Cain 72′ 2″.

B100#7 – Mike Helliwell 106′ 6″, Pat Stevens 99′ 9″, Bud Budryk 96′ 10″, Louis Noble 94′, Stephen Lindley 93′ 9″, Alan Bath 93′ 3″, John Forbes 89′ 2″,Bob Carlson 87′ 4″, Tracy Thomas 84′ 4″, Nigel Rogers 82′ 4″, Alan Cain 82′ 2″, Vera Carlson 82′ 1″, John Lomas 75′ 4″. 

B100 trophy #5 plus #7 – Mike Helliwell 

#5F – James Evans 113′ 7″, Mike Heritage 107′ 1″, John Reynolds 104′, Paul Brown 103′ 6″, Mike Roden 103′ 3″.

#7F – Mike Heritage 127′ 2″, John Reynolds 123′ 2″, James Evans 114′ 8″, Mike Roden 110′ 8″, Paul Brown 104′ 8″.

#9F – James Evans 140′ 3″, Mike Heritage 134′ 1″, John Reynolds 126′ 5″, Paul Brown 122′ 4″, Bud Budryk 119′.

T38 – John Reynolds 178′, Mike Heritage 156′ 6″, Paul Brown 152′ 7″, James Evans 152′ 3″, Mike Roden 149′ 6″.

T120 – James Evans 166′, Bud Budryk 162′ 8″, Paul Brown 160′ 7″, John Reynolds 160′ 3″, Mike Roden 160′.

Congratulations are also due to the following Badge winners in less than ideal conditions: 30yds Stephen Lindley, Pat Stevens, Bud Budryk. 35yds Mike Helliwell. 50yds Paul Brown (T38).

Hoping for better weather, we can now look forward to Reading on Saturday 9 July.

The BFCC received a major boost last weekend when leading lights Mike Heritage and Roger Miles participated in The Federation of Fly Fishers meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Following rigorous testing Mike was elevated from his earlier Certified Casting Instructor – CCI, to Masters CCI and Roger achieved his CCI to add to his recent GAIA success in Wales.

This goes to show just how far our BFCC Members are, literally and metaphorically, prepared to go to obtain recognition for their practical tuition skills and written theoretical knowledge, so many congratulations to both from myself and on behalf of all our supporters.

For the first time ever we were able to have two teams representing the BFCC which is a major step forwards. On Saturday Tracy, Wendy and Alan supported coaches Mark and Mike M, then on Sunday Tracy and David supported coaches Alex, Mike H and Mike M and this arrangement worked extremely well – thanks one and all.

The weekend was well attended and the coaches were kept busy throughout and it was good to see anglers returning for further help – a sure sign that we are doing something right! It was also a pleasure to see Wendy and Tracy in action selling books, they had lots of success.

It was good to welcome new members John Green and Tim Edwards at the Event and Kim Main by post. Welcome and let’s hope we will see you soon.

In spite of less then ideal conditions Distance Badges were achieved by: Jennie Thorn – 20yds and Paris Paraskeva – 30yds. Well done both!

We were very lucky with the weather, it rained early on both days then dried up. However, teaching on Sunday was very difficult due to the very strong westerly, when a flying tent (not ours) added an element of danger to our work, but it was eventually subdued. There’s never a dull moment for the BFCC.

Sunday afternoon finished on a high because Roger returned from Wales with the news that he had achieved his GAIA Instructors qualfication – great news and very well done.

Following the invite by the Fly Dressers Guild we were welcomed with mugs of tea and delicious bacon rolls – a very good start! We being Wendy and Alan Bath, new coach Steve Yeomans, Mark Surtees, and me.

It was a very pleasant day at Eyebrook with plenty of sunshine and a light, if changeable, breeze. There was a steady flow of anglers needing tuition, which kept us busy until the 4pm closing time, and there was plenty of complimentary feedback which is always rewarding.

The BFCC’s day was made more special by being able to welcome as new Members Alan Cain, Steve Yeomans and Paul Davis of The Guild, who all enjoyed their day. However, it just got better for Alan and Paul who achieved their 25 yard badges in less than ideal distance weather conditions. Many congratulations to them both.

Finally, Andy Miller of Eyebrook must be mentioned for being so helpful, which made getting started at a new venue for us, so much easier. Many thanks Andy!

Back then, when it was cold, very cold, wet and windy. Charles Jardine asked if I would mind being filmed by Feild and Rural Life and as my mind was numb I agreed and here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/user/FieldandRuralLife#p/search/0/GXFBl74jAl8

 Please remember I was very cold.

Mike H

It has come to our notice that we (I) missed a couple of important events in my report from Newark. It transpires that the casts that Carl Malpass made in the five and seven events were class records, the J17 #5 now stands at an impressive 113′ and the J17 #7 now stands at a mighty 131′ 3”.

Well done Carl, I’m sorry we didn’t spot them sooner.

Mike H

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No. It was our gazebo….or nearly. That sums up the weather at Newark. Apart from a very cold and calm early Sunday morning it was wind, wind and rain or wind and hail, and bloody, bloody cold, and after the gazebo went for a flying lesson we were left unprotected from the elements. Did that dampen our enthusiasm? Not a bit, we carried on regardless. We are a hardy lot at the BFCC….. apart from Roger…..who made the pitiful excuse he was needed on the stand….inside…..in the warm.

 I think our first show of the year should be somewhere warm and exotic, like the Caribbean, but until that happens it will be Newark in February, the Palm Springs of the Midlands.

 Despite the weather the BFCC once again had a very successful show. We were kept busy by a constant stream of people wanting to improve their casting or those that just wanted to see what fly casting was all about. Our new B100 class proved very popular in the competition we had on Saturday. In fact Alan Bath fell only 6” short of having to join the elite casters. Carl Malpass hit a superb cast to win the seven weight and I managed to finally hook one up to pip Carl in the five. Carl will have to get out and practice more though because his father Ian can now double haul like a demon and will be catching him up soon.

 We had the annual invasion of the Walkers with Chris and Richard sucking up as much instruction as they could and father Dave didn’t break one of my rods….for a change.

 I would like to thank Mark Surtees and Steve Kemp for their unflinching efforts in the face of some very inclement weather. I would also like to thank Roger and Tracy for bringing in the punters (a special thanks to Tracy for giving a poor, cold, old man a cuddle when he needed it most) [Roger did offer, but it wouldn’t have been the same]. A big thanks to James and Tracy who have brought us into the 21st century by creating a computer program that is a whizz at the recording and placing of competitors in our competitions. Thanks also to Alan and Wendy Bath who helped organised and record the competition. It was especially nice to see Wendy looking so well after recent events. MM, as always, inspires us to keep going. Thanks to non BFCC instructors who joined in and who’s brains I shamelessly picked. Special mention for Steve Yeoman who popped in for some advice from MM and we roped in to help with the instruction.

If  I have missed anyone I’m sorry.

By the way, we were missing out official photographer, Terry Jenner, and none of us thought to take any pics. If you did take some could you email them to me for the gallery please

Mike H

Happy New Year to all fellow BFCC members. I am pleased to say that there are more of you each year. Mike Marshall was telling me the other day that our membership far exceeds that of the old BCA (British Casting Association) from back in the day (‘s that only Mike is old enough to remember). Of course back then it was word of mouth, telephone or letters. Not like today when we can catch you at your computer or iphone.

 2010 was another good year for the club. All of our events were well attended , we made new friends and reached parts other clubs can’t reach. One of the benefits of not being associated in any way with the taint of commercialism or any other group is that we are not seen as a threat to any particular group. Any and everyone are welcome to attend any of our meetings or events without the risk of being seen as one thing or another. We are an inclusive club, not an exclusive one. I honestly believe we are what we say on the tin, The Home Of Friendly Fly Casting, or, the Friendly Home Of Fly Casting, I can never remember. Our aim is to create, re-kindle or re-inforce your enthusiasm for fly casting. This should benefit the whole fly casting and fly fishing community from shops to instructors and you.

This year we will be travelling around our usual haunts (Newark, Reading, Wrexham, Brentwood) plus, we are going north of the border for the first time with our event in Glasgow. I have heard whispers that there might be other possibilities as well. More on that if Mike M’s tireless work comes to fruition.

 Once again, if any of you would like to contribute and article just send it to me (Mike Heritage) as an email. I promise the only thing I will do is put it through the spell checker ( like wot i doo for miself) before I publish it.

 We look forward to seeing you all again this year.

 MikeH

It is very good to be able to report that the BFCC is further expanding its areas of operation with a Meeting in Glasgow on Sunday 11 September 2011. However, we will not be doing it all on our own, since we have had help from several people, to which the Club’s gratitute must be expressed. However, special mention must be made of our friend, Alberto Laidlaw, who emailed to say “The Glasgow Casting Club is delighted to be working with The BFCC during their first trip north of the border. We have a committed group of guys who regularly meet to cast and who I know will benefit from the day with the BFCC, so a good turnout is anticipated”. 

He was also instrumental in directing us to Pollok Park, which is a very pleasant country environment within the City, with the Police Club and rugby pitches being good for casting. Importantly though, for any of you who may be concerned, they have promised to let us go when we finish!!!

The proceedings for the day will be like the very successful model established in Wrexham in 2010, and directions/other details are given in the CALENDAR.

I am sure all the Club Members will join with me in welcoming new friends to our Glasgow Meeting, which is an area steeped in fly fishing tradition.

Please email your interest to: mikemarshallbfcc@hotmail.com