2014 - LOUGHBOROUGH CANAL MASTERS WINTER LEAGUE ROUND 1 - December 14th

A cold morning greeted the 60 plus eager competitors for the first round of this new league devised and co-ordinated by the highly respected Joff Woodgett and the ever present Brian Hull. The venue was a new one with the Carillion Hockey club and sports complex offering to feed and refresh the hardy anglers.
I met with fellow MAS anglers Director Vince Callaghan and young star John Kilby and we were pleasantly surprised with the inside of the club house as son as we entered we were offered breakfast and it turned out to be really good and a massive improvement on the previous Soar public house , the Anchor at Hathern. The breakfast was full monty and the sausages were edible and the coffee and tea were hot . If you didn't require a plate full then soft buns with sausage and bacon with tomato dip were easily snapped up.

The breakfast team taking a hard earn coffee break from their stirling efforts in the kitchen.

Draw time and peg 27 stuck to my hand

    To my left good friend Tom Pringle

To my right was co-director Vince Callaghan

Kit ready !

The good stuff all separated ready for its introduction

Sunday lunch was varied but what will score better ?

Rigs were all SENSAS and MAURIZIO SCHIEPATTI  mostly at 0.2 to 0.4 gram on 0.09/0.06 line to SENSAS 22/24'S

Tom on Peg 26 took a bonus Perch and Roach 

The Master Marlow Roger  waiting for the scales , a ground bait man on the day !?

Back in the club house and the girls were preparing cheese and onion cobs and chilli and chips - bloody awesome ! 

 A yes from John for a great cheese and onion cob

kitchen people were so good morning and evening - so glad we are coming here over the next several matches .

 The drink was beginning to tell as fellow team members started to embrace - must be something in the beer ?

The Joff-miester started the presentations for the winners

 Job well done Joff

Darun Bickstoneton a bloke from Nottingham wanted to look at the results

Great match today even though for some it was rock ard! . Its still a great skill to get the best out of your peg on a venue like this but as the series progresses the methods will change and the technicality also . Todays match saw the canal colour up overnight and that may have caused a drop in weights but next weekend on the 21 st should see the canal drop its colour then the real blood worm fishing will begin however worm , i believe will dominate but there will be pegs where the roach will shoal and caster could dominate …..we will see ….great match and great organisation by Joff and brian .