** Juniors Pairs Match – Report / Results **

Wow, what a day!

Firstly, thank you to the juniors, you were the stars of the show…an excellent display of enthusiasm and good order – a superb example for the club, I’m very proud of you all. That coupled with some tenacious angling in fierce conditions, a fantastic day.

So, down to business – after some head scratching I pooled the juniors in to groups…with an adult on each of the main stretches of the lake (Main Lake). From the moment we drew pegs, it rained…and it rained…and it rained some more with ridiculous gusts of wind. Not a single moan from any of the kids, you did better than all four of us adults.

We had the following groups

Ben Bentley, with Bailey and Thomas
Jamie Bumby, with Jacob and Harvey
Terry Greenslade, with Reuben, Albie and James
Craig Whelan, with Mason, George and Lewis

We had a prize pool for individual weights, standings as follows
1st – Thomas – 2lb 14oz – £15 Conyers Voucher + Preston Innovations hookbox and tied hooks
2nd – Albie – 1lb 11oz – £10 Conyers Voucher + Preston Innovations hookbox and tied hooks
3rd – Reuben – 11oz – £5 Conyers Voucher + Preston Innovations hookbox and tied hooks

Congratulations to the three of you, superb angling to be finding those silvers in harsh conditions.

We then had a prize pool for the paired weight…which is where the big prizes were (adult weight plus the junior weight), standings as follows

1st – Thomas – 4lb 11oz – Shakespeare Agility rod and some bomb/feeder tackle
2nd – Lewis – 4lb 6oz – 4m whip, 6 rigs ready to fish and a plummet
3rd – George – 4lb 5oz – float fishing tackle (floats, shot, line, float adapter etc)

To get the pairs weights, the adults put the following nets together
1st – Craig Whelan – 4lb 0oz
2nd – Ben Bentley – 1lb 13oz
3rd – Jamie Bumby – 1lb 10oz
4th – Terry Greenslade – 1lb 0oz

We also had some surprise spot prizes too, this is where my additional thanks comes in.

Firstly, to Ian Paulley (of Sturminster and Hinton Angling Association) who organised with Drennan an EVA luggage set! We gave this prize for the largest fish caught by a junior (silvers only). This prize went to Thomas, who caught an 8oz skimmer. Well done Thomas! Massive thanks and gratitude to Ian and Drennan – an incredible prize.

Secondly, to Ben Bentley of Avoiding the Blank Angling Coaching. Ben donated two 4 hour coaching sessions. With two of our juniors unfortunately blanking, it seemed only right to give those sessions to Harvey and Bailey. Congratulations lads, this is a fantastic prize and a great opportunity to really start to refine you approach to angling. Thank you Ben, a really generous prize.

A final thanks to Jason again who hosted us, without which we couldn’t have gone ahead given the river condition right now. If you have your Blandford membership – do make use of the lakes when the rivers aren’t fishable…it’s a cracking venue that offers some great sport and really makes you think about your approach to catching lots of, or a decent stamp of, fish.

Some photos added from the day. Please be respectful of sharing etc, whilst we have gained consent for use by parents, contact from any club or organisation resharing would be appreciated just to let us know.

Any questions, concerns, enquires, please contact me directly on 07525 966 187

Thank you all!

:: Craig