Best peg in the country!
Many pegs are given the billing of the ‘best in the country’ throughout a fishing year and at present, the king of them all has to be 99 on the Snake Lake at Essex complex Puddledock Farm, scene of a string of 200lb carp weight since before Christmas and home to Tony Raymond’s 213-10-0 winner in the latest open match.
To look at it though, the swim offers nothing different to the 99 others on this sprawling lake, but the carp seem to like it for some reason and have balled up in numbers here for almost two months and are refusing to move!
Tony caught dobbing maggots along the gaps in the far bank sedges at 14m and then feeding minimally down the central track to net fish to 8lb and leave Ian Nash a distant second with 117-4-0 from next-door peg 98. With £500 golden pegs in operation at the fishery too, regulars will be hoping that 99 is put down as one of them in future opens!
“We see it every year when the carp shoal up in a few pegs and stay there all-winter,” said Puddledock boss Steve Mould.
“Pegs 100, 99 and 98 are the current epicentres and they all want to draw there but it has its own pressure when you do get it because everyone is expecting you to win and win with 200lb too!”
Another big-money final set for rivers
River anglers will have another big-money event to have a crack at in 2020. The Northern River Masters, a competition to celebrate the best that running water in the north of England has to offer, is the brainchild of several river match organisers in that area.
The series will revolve around a dozen 40-peg qualifiers on venues ranging from the River Tyne to the River Hull, all culminating in a Grand Final on the River Tees.
There, the winner is guaranteed £5,000, with pay-outs down to 10th place plus sections. To qualify, all you need to do is win your 10-peg section to make it into the 48-peg Grand Final.
The event will be seen as a bit of a reward for river anglers from the north who, for many years, have had to hit the road and head south in pursuit of big-money, big-match glory.
“A lot of anglers in the north have supported RiverFest down the years and we’re not knocking the event – but with the final always being in the Midlands on venues we’re not that familiar with, the competition has lost a bit of its gloss,”
said Northern River Masters co-organiser Chris Gowling.
“Northern River Masters will be held on rivers in Yorkshire and the North East, and we hope to have support from lads from the north Midlands as well as locals. The £5,000 prize is set in stone, and we’ve got 12 qualifiers booked and ready to go.”
It all kicks off when the season starts in June. Qualifiers will end in November before a break until the end of the season, when the Tees around Yarm and Bowesfield will host what Chris hopes will be a two-day final.
At this point, the river should be in fine form and make for a great event.
“The Tees is full of dace, roach and big perch in March alongside the bream, but for each year we will be having the final on a different venue to keep it fresh and give all anglers the chance to be in a final on their home water,” he continued.
“Tickets will be £25, with a one-off entry fee of £25 up front. Full details are going on to the event website at the end of January. “Qualifiers are set for the Rivers Nidd, Tyne, Swale, Hull, Aire, Calder, Don, Ure, Tees and Yorkshire Ouse – so there’s plenty to go at and venues that should suit everyone!”
Will the Trent measure up to a RiverFest final? - Keith Arthur
RiverFest has a new venue for the final following two years on the Severn beset by bad conditions. It has been unlucky but Shrewsbury is one of those sections where fish either are or not...and if they're not it’s going to be tough. It seems like conditions leading up to the event, even from much earlier in the year, need to be conducive to good sport.
I don’t quite understand why the Wye has been avoided again...unless it’s a question of over using the section. There are festivals, opens, leagues and all sorts on a relatively short stretch - again where huge shoals of fish migrate to – in a fairly brief timescale.
The River Trent is an interesting choice for an Autumn event. As a lowland river it is effected worse by extra water than the Wye and Severn which are both spate rivers and can be shocking if there’s no rain, clear skies and a couple of air frosts so it’s a brave choice.
It does have the advantage of a wide range of species to fish for and with chub seemingly making a comeback to add to the roach, dace, silver bream and perch potential it could be a great selection. I’ll keep my fingers crossed as the Trent has always been my favourite match river.
