The Middle Level could host a UK World Champs, says Ray Malle

FINDING a venue suitable to host international-standard events has been a long-standing challenge in UK match circles. 

But that could well change thanks to hard work by clubs and anglers bidding to transform one of Britain’s ‘forgotten’ match venues into one capable of welcoming the world’s best.

Cutting a swathe through the heart of the Fens in East Anglia, the Middle Level Drain was renowned for 1,000-plus-peg matches fished by stars of the calibre of Ivan Marks and Robin Harris back in the 1970s. 

Since then it has fallen out of favour – but local Norfolk club King’s Lynn AA, which controls much of this massive venue, is keen to change all that.

Arrow-straight and deep, with access behind most pegs and a massive head of fish, the drain opens itself up to feeder or float events. And with hundreds of pegs to fish, plus a willing controlling club, there seems no reason why the ‘Level’ couldn’t welcome back the big matches.

Ray Malle is the man on a mission to make it happen. The King’s Lynn AA match promoter and Sensas Mark One angler grew up fishing the Middle Level, watching the likes of Marks and Marlow learn their trade. With money available for improvements and a committee singing off the same hymn sheet, Ray believes that now is the time for England to finally welcome back international fishing!

Q) England is crying out for a venue to host the World Championships. A lot of anglers would love to see Alan Scotthorne and William Raison fishing and winning on home soil. Could this happen on the Middle Level?

Ray Malle: Why the hell not? The recent World Feeder Champs was fished by 145 anglers, and we could get them on one short section of the Middle Level. 

We could pick and choose the best sections and hold that without any issue. The same goes for a World Champs float event. We’ve got great access, as the drain is just a few minutes off the A47 trunk road and there’s loads of accommodation nearby. This drain can be fished on a slider, a feeder, a whip, the long pole, a waggler shallow, almost anything you care to name.

Q) How about a big a big National event such as FeederMasters?

RM: Absolutely. We’ve got the pegs, we’ve got the access, we’ve got the fish and we’ve got a committee who all want the best for the venue. They will help in any way to get big matches back on the Middle Level, but I think we’ll need to walk before we can run. That means perhaps getting a FeederMasters qualifier on the water to show anglers how well it can perform.

The club did a costing for holding the Ladies World Championships several years ago but the committee then were a bit backward – now we’re highly proactive and want these big events on our waters. We have the people on board who will say ‘yes’.

Let’s make it happen!

Q) Why did the Middle Level fall out of favour with anglers?

RM: The advent of commercial fisheries, easy access, and anglers wanting ‘easier’ fishing in the 1990s led to a lot of people turning their backs, not just on the Middle Level, but on rivers and drains in general. 

Carp lakes were new, offered great fishing out of the back of the car, and didn’t need a fortune spent in bait. 

Also, I think there was a perception that zander had eaten all the roach and skimmers, and that if you held a match on the drain, it would be a disaster.

Q) It appears that the drain has bounced back, and naturally too. You must be pleased about that?

RM: Very much so! I grew up 10 minutes away from the drain, fished it as a lad, and watched the likes of Ivan Marks fishing the massive matches on there. 

To see it slide in popularity was sad, but I think that Mother Nature has now re-established a balance to the ecosystem. The zander have now spread throughout the whole drains system so there’s not the concentration there was in the 1970s. 

This, in turn, has allowed the silver fish to last longer and get to a decent size. Recruitment is much better too, as nurseries for fry are now firmly established. As a result, there are more fish to catch than I can ever remember.

Q) How are thorny issues such as bankside access and swim clearing solved? Surely not every farmer or landowner is going to be accommodating?

RM: That’s true, but King’s Lynn AA has a good relationship with a lot of landowners and the Middle Level Drainage Commission. Between us, we’ve gained access where you can drive on top of the bank to park behind your peg. 

There’s still some permission to be gained to open it all up, but things are certainly miles better than they were 10 years ago, and the club works hard to cut out pegs and install platforms.

We’ve put quite a few in, and the money is there to add many more. It’s all about making the fishing comfortable, and that means parking close to pegs and a good platform to fish from.

Q) How many pegs are on offer, and is the fishing going to be eqally good on all of them?

RM: We have more than 1,000 pegs running from St Germans near King’s Lynn all the way down to Three Holes near Upwell – that’s 10 miles of bank. The fishing is obviously not going to be good everywhere, as these are wild fish that move a lot. 

The Environment Agency tagged a bream in the Middle Level near King’s Lynn and it turned up in the Old River Nene in March town centre! That’s a massive distance to cover. However, I’m adamant that you can have a day’s fishing anywhere. This might not mean a netful of bream, but this drain offers so many other fish to catch. 

Q) Such as? What other species can anglers target in addition to the drain’s shoals of bream?

RM: Well, there are a lot of roach and rudd to catch on the pole, hybrids and skimmers if the big bream aren’t feeding, and perch, eels and big tench that will take worms just over the lily pads.

Add to that big pike and zander that get caught in winter and this really is a fishery for everyone.

Part of my remit, and the desire of King’s Lynn AA, is to get more people fishing the Middle Level to make it the club’s premier fishery. 

I think people know of the place but reckon it’s not very good owing to zander and other predators. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Q) So what are the next steps?

RM: My task is to speak to the Angling Trust and the lads who organise FeederMasters and put the Middle Level forward as a potential venue to be used for a National, a qualifier or even a smaller international event.

However, it’s also available for clubs and locally we’re being proactive with a feeder-only series which has one round on the Middle Level. 

We’ll never again see the days of Marks and Marlow doing battle with the Sheffield anglers in 800-peg matches, but I’ve fished a lot of UK venues my time and I’m not being biased when I say there’s not one big enough or good enough to rival the Middle Level at present.