Against Croxley Hall

This was not a good day for Iver. Because of the late arrangements the only day available was Saturday 4^th Nov, a great day for fireworks. It also clashed with a fly fishing/outdoors show day. Consequently the numbers who could fish were seriously down to 8 persons, including Ken’s grandson Jake who was a novice. Croxley managed 14 persons and so 6 of their persons were to be dropped AFTER THE MATCH HAD FINISHED. In the event they dropped their 5 blanks and their top score meaning that ALL contestants caught fish. The end result was a disaster for Iver who had several blanks resulting in a defeat, the trophy going to Croxley Hall this year (Iver last year).

Otherwise it was a pleasant day. Better luck next year.

The weather had been cold the previous week with clear blue skies resulting in the temperature drop at night. This Saturday was similar, starting very cold. However, just after the start at 9.00 the temperature rose nicely and any frost disappeared. There was very little breeze during the day, just the occasional ripple on the water. As is often the case at Bushey everyone headed for the north end of the lake (the right hand half of the lake looking out from the lodge) using both the near and far banks. Is this where Iver expect to catch fish?

The Event :-

Starting at 9.00am the 8 Iver fishermen set off, dressed in warm clothes and waders. Fishing was hard and once again it got harder in the afternoon. Ron, fishing from the headland on the far bank and Stan fishing on the far bank opposite the lodge were the first to bag up with their 4 fish by about lunchtime. Stan then helped Ken’s grandson Jake with the casting and he was fortunate enough to beat his grandad!! Allen, having started on the far bank, eventually moved to fish at the very northern end of the lake and quickly caught 3 fish. However the last was very elusive and after several hours he moved back to the far bank not far from the rushes in the far corner. There he quickly caught his last finishing about 2pm. Roy and Bill started off on the far bank not far from the rushes in the corner, Roy losing a fish on his very first cast. By lunchtime Roy and Bill had caught 2 fish each but by then were moving clockwise around the lake to try to find their last 2 fish. They ended up just to the right of the lodge with about 1 hour to go. Roy, using all the skill he could muster managed to catch his last two but unfortunately Bill, fishing nearby, was not so lucky.

Commiseration go to Tim & Ken who blanked. Tim, fishing on the far bank opposite the lodge, and Ken, fishing on the jetty by the lodge hard a very hard day – wrong place, wrong time, wrong technique, unlucky??

Results were mixed from blanks to full bags. The recent cold weather resulting in a hard day produced many blanks, 5 for Croxley and 2 for Iver. The fish were generally around 3 pounds apiece although the quality of the fins was lacking. Consequently their fighting ability was somewhat limited although their weight did make up for it.

It was at the weigh-in that it was decided to drop Croxley’s blanks and their top weight.

So who fell in? Not to name names, could it be the way Italians celebrate catching a limit?

Results :-