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This bank match was disappointing in that only 6 members attended. Never the less those that did attend largely enjoyed a good day out.

Our newcomer Peter had his first ever go at fly fishing, not a good way to start having had no teaching and the preponderance of weed at the bank edges. One needed to have a long cast to get over the weed and experience was essential. A boat match for Peter would have been a better choice. Waders were an advantage but Peter had none.

On arrival the shy was very overcast, an unexpected scene. It remained that way and furthermore the drizzle and showers soon set in, some very heavy. Although there was a chill in the air the water was very warm, too warm for Roy’s liking.

Nevertheless Roy soon struck into two fish using his Diawl Bach. Just as well as he then moved and never saw another fish all day.

Ken, on the opposite bank, phoned in with joy to say that he had caught one. It was to be Ken’s day. He ultimately caught 5 fish of which one was the heaviest of the day, caught about 10 minutes before the final whistle. He used Cormorant, Fry and booby lures.

Meanwhile Allen, who had jumped in to Roy’s vacated slot as it was not so clogged up with weeds, quickly caught two fish on buzzers and another about 20 minutes before the end.

Like so many days the fishing deteriorated as the afternoon progressed. Of the 10 boats in the morning & early pm, they started to pack-up around 3pm and at 5pm there were only 3 left. There were 3 tube floats that were manoeuvring around the lake with some success.

Unfortunately John, Frank and Peter all blanked, with john going home early unable to take the disappointment.

Results :-

Jan 10^th Cormorant

Jan 24^th Minky

Feb 14^th Cruncher

Feb 28^th Diawl Bach

This year the match was in partnership with Queen Mother FFC. A trophy was awarded to the persons in each club with the highest weight. The trophy is to be shared between the two winners for six months each.

The water had recently been stocked with some heavy fish, 5lbs or more, so some interesting weights were in the offing. Furthermore the bubbles were on although only perhaps 4 boats could anchor up in its vicinity.

The match started on an easterly (to south easterly) breeze that turned out to be chilly.

It started cloudy/misty but by lunchtime the sun had come out although the temperature still felt chilly because of the easterly wind. What they say is "when the wind is in the east the fish bite the least, when the wind is in the west the fish bite the best". And that it what it turned out to be for many of the Iver FFC members. The majority of people caught 2 or 3 fish but as always there is always someone who bucks the trend. In this case it was our Danny Peet who had travelled all the way from Sheffield to join us (well done). Using a blob booby & a minky on a Di 5 he successfully managed to manoeuvre (by drifting) over and around the bubbles and the nearby bank. He caught not only one of the large stockies but also a superb full tailed heavy-weight of 6lbs 4ozs. His total of eight fish won him the day, albeit a long day.

Most others were not so lucky, fishing mainly around the river inlet, but there was a twist in one boat :- It was also the day for Ray Simpson who caught eight fish with just a short time to spare. At that stage his partner, John Weaver, a very capable fisherman, had blanked. He borrowed Ray's rod & set-up just in case there was something special about it. ON HIS LAST TWO CASTS HE CAUGHT TWO FISH. Now there is unexpected luck for you!!!

A similar situation arose in the 'ladies boat'. Dual club member Sue Hunter only managed two fish but her partner Mary Hopper who won for Queen Mother managed seven fish for a hefty 23lbs with the heaviest fish of the day at 6lbs 12ozs. Life can be cruel sometimes!!

Overall fishing was generally hard all day and if you got a take then you had to make the most of it and not lose it as so often happens and you want to pull your hair out.

The fish were well sub surface so most anglers appeared to be using intermediate, sinking lines or heavy flies to get down to the fish. There were very few rises.

Watch this space in the Easter Newsletter

Watch this space in the Easter Newsletter.

On the day prior to the 4^th Ken Williams, Ray Simpson, Allen Dixon and Ron Lusardi had a trial run to evaluate conditions. The morning was overcast and chilly but by lunch time the sun came out and the air warmed up. There was a gentle breeze blowing straight down the water from the tunnel to the dam. There were members of the other clubs present such as Queen Mother and Bristol. Fish were few and far between and words that could be heard from our competitors’ boats were that they were struggling too. The dam was supposed to be good but was found to be somewhat limited in catches and so they retired well away from the dam in the shallower water.

The water by the pines provided a few fish but as the sun came out the ripple disappeared in this sheltered spot (The same happened on the following day!).

Against all the odds Ken had a magnificent day catching 7 fish with the other 3 catching only 4 fish between them. A small white & Coral booby on a floating or intermediate line appeared to be Ken’s fly of the day.

Would that fly and knowledge gained that day prove to be a bonus? Let’s see :-

On the next day the weather was very similar except that the sun was out from the word go, hot, not ideal for fishing. IT WAS HARD. But yet again our marvellous lads proved their metal under such harsh conditions. It is all about TEAMWORK and as a team they shone.

Ken was not to have the luck that he had had the previous day, his white/coral booby did not produce the goods. However, it is teamwork and every fish counts.

Danny found the fish and the method as can be seen from the results below. He caught two on a white/coral booby but then changed to a ‘blob’ and xxxx the line in for the rest of the day. This was HARD work.

Floating lines with boobies, cormorant and blob flies proved popular, fishing in the shallower waters away from the dam. Fish were found at various places from near the tunnel right down to the pines.

Individual catches :-

Congratulations go out yet again to Danny on a superb catch under such difficult conditions.

With Iver coming 2^nd and Bristol coming last (6^th) then Iver can NOT now be beaten and will be automatically are promoted to the next group, the 1st Group.

Well done our lads. What a club we are!!!

Positions after round 5 :-

This match was held at Grafham on September 24^th 2005.

It started off bright and sunny with a very gentle breeze, occasionally like a 'mill pond' that varied mainly from east to south but had its moments of any direction. It started very cold but it soon warmed up and off came the coats.

It was said that the fish were on the northern bank, mainly at the eastern end towards the dam. So this is where the majority of the boats headed. And that’s where the fish turned out to be. If you went anywhere else then your chances of catching fish were reduced. If on your drift you came across a shoal then you were in, otherwise you might struggle. And so it happened for our Simon. He found a shoal on his first drift and pulled out three. Clive did well too with his floating line and Dahl Bach flies.

Of the three limits two came from our great Iver fishermen, well done.

There were many that struggled and the committee back in the base expected that there would be many blanks. In the event there were only three although there were many with just a single fish. Unfortunately this included two of our Iver chaps, - Ron who at some stage was seen away from the north bank in the deep water near the dam (wrong place!!) and Danny who was later said that he had had a bad day (his words were not quite so polite!).

So onto the weigh-in. Yet again Iver won over the rest although the final winners (Iver) had already been settled in the previous round. As the retiring AMFC Secretary said on announcing the results 'Iver needed to win this round like getting a hole in the head'. Iver had outdone them all brilliantly.

The evening was finally rounded off with a dinner for all at the Grafham Lodge where the presentations took place.

Note that Iver had TWO, yes TWO of its members at the head table, Jeff Hickson and Eddie Gray. Iver are well represented in this competition, what a club!

Individual catches :-

Congratulations go out to Clive & Simon and, of course, to our Iver Club as a whole.

AMFC Final Presentation 24^th Sept 2005

And, of course, Iver go up into the first division, a challenge which based on their performance they can well handle.

Sue is our only Lady ‘Fisherwoman’, our Star as she represents England in the Ladies Team. As you can see from the write-ups above she is keen and enthusiastic. She lives with Dave Kidby who is also an Iver FF member. Not being married she can devote lots of time to the sport without having to worry about household chores. She sits on an English Ladies Committee and assists in organising 'Rivers' matches (hence the Poland venue which she attended).

Jeff Hickson, a founder member, is an enthusiastic and important member of Iver FF, and has recently moved away from the Thames Valley to Essex. He is a member of the Federation of Fly Fishers and is very keen on using traditional flies, - buzzers etc. However he now accepts that lures such as boobies have their place, especially in the colder months, and has since caught many a nice fish using this method. Jeff fishes the AMFC matches for which he provides a valuable contribution.

Clive Collier lives in Princess Risborough and manages a computer software organisation. He has featured very strongly in our AMFC matches and has recorded some excellent results. Clive also sits on a South Eastern 'River' matches committee which recently organised a SEFFF Rivers Qualifier on the river Itchen near Southampton for Oct 16^th - did you miss it?

One of our members, Ray Janes, has had the fortune to win TWO Troutmaster Badges as a result of two successful days at Theale. The first was in March and the second was in June. A look at the tails of these fish tells the quality of his catches and it must have been a heart-beating task to land them. Yet another win for the club!!

A look at the pictures tells it all!

Wives are of course welcome and expected. We look forward to seeing a full house.

Cost will be approx £xx per person the meal being a set/a la carte menu. Drinks are of course extra and ordered independently.

An after dinner speaker has been provided and I think you will be very surprised at the talk!!!!

All welcome.

Any issues that you wish to be put on the agenda must be submitted to the secretary by Tuesday November 15^th (this is a club night at the Horsemoor Centre, Langley).

These were due on Oct 1^st for the 2005/2006 season.

They are :-

Full membership £20

Concession (over 65 & disabled) £15

Juniors have a special rate, see secretary.

If you have not yet paid then please pay asap.

This year’s venue is Busheylease.

As usual it will be held on December 27^th.

Allen Dixon, Newsletter Editor, Allen_dixon@care4free.net tel 01628-541-804.