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This is the 6th year we have been running this festival now and we could hardly believe it ourselves, every year the festival has been a huge success and we still have 17 original “virgins” fishing this week that fished that fished the very first festival back in 2003. The festival has had a few sponsors over the years and White Acres has always supported the event with extra sponsorship but when Daiwa pulled out of the event we were worried that the event would suffer but thanks to the massive influence we have as being part of Parkdean Holidays we were able to secure extra sponsorship from Gaymers Cider Company who have generously donated £1000 to the event.
The matches as in previous years are once again being fished on Twin Oaks, Acorn & Canal. There are 72 anglers that are split into 4 sections that will fish all of the lakes in rotation over the 4 days. On the lead up to the festival the fishing has been patchy, as it has been for a while, as we have had unsettled periods of weather and prolonged spawning on the lakes. Despite this the lads (and ladies for the first time ever this year) are chomping at the bit to get going. The weather forecast for this week is mostly mild and sunny so all in all it should be a cracking festival.
Day One
Although all the anglers have had a set of rules and a format Clint spends a while at the draw outlining the rules as this year if anyone is found to have over their bait allowances they will be disqualified from the festival. Also another key rule is the drying of the nets, this is currently top on our priority with the rules to prevent the spread of any disease into the lakes. So the pegs have been drawn and there was only one thing left to do – Fish! Lets see how the anglers did on the first day of the 2008 White Acres Gaymers festival.
'A' Section Twin Oaks 1-18
So the festival was off and A section started their festival campaign on the low numbers of Twin Oaks. The lake winner was Ian Carley on peg 5; Ian caught tight over to the far bank on the bomb with pellet and also caught bream on the pole at 5 meters with chopped worm giving him a total weight of 53lb 5oz. Gary Walker was second on the lake with 51lb, Gary was on peg 16 and caught on the pellet waggler. Third on peg 8 was Melvin Hodgson, Mel caught on the bomb and pellet for a weight of 46lb 2oz. The next best weight came from Alex Cockburn on peg 1 with 42lb 3oz; Alex caught tight over to the far bank on the bomb and pellet and also finished his day with a dip in the lake!!
Section Winners
Ian Carley peg 5 9 points 53lb 5oz
Gary Walker peg 16 9 points 51lb
'B' Section Twin Oaks 19-36
Phil Thornly was day one’s lake winner with 79lb 6oz; Phil was on peg 29 and caught on the bomb & pellet and on the pellet waggler. Second was Kevin Wingfield, Kev was on peg 36 and caught on the pole shallow with casters for a weight of 65lb 5oz. Third on peg 24 was Andy Forbes, Andy had a weight of 51lb 7oz caught on the pellet waggler and the bomb & pellet. The next best weight on the lake came from Danny Edwards on peg 25, Danny caught mainly on the pellet waggler for a weight of 49lb.
Section Winners
Phil Thornley peg 29 9 points 79lb 6oz
Andy Forbes peg 24 9 points 51lb 7oz
'C' Section Acorn
Alan Hall was the lake winner on Acorn today with 34lb; Alan was on peg 17 and caught on the meat feeder and worm down the edge. Simon Brown was on peg 13 and weighed in with 32lb 13oz to take second, Simon caught on the meat feeder. Third on the lake was Chris Ellaway, Chris had a weight of 23lb 8oz caught on banded pellet and corn down the edge from peg 14. The next best weight was 22lb 8oz and this came from Nigel Lale on peg 18, Nigel caught on corn down the edge.
Section Winners
Alan Hall peg 17 9 points 34lb
Jon Cook(L) peg 8 9 points 16lb 2oz
'D' Section Canal
Dave Silman was the lake winner on Canal with 25lb 5oz; Dave was on peg 19 and caught tight over on the pole with pellet. Second was Chris Szakacs, Chris was on peg 11 and caught shallow on the pole fishing maggot and feeding pellet for a weight of 21lb 1oz. Ricky Lale took third with 19lb 10oz, Ricky fished the long pole with corn and pellet from peg 2. Barry Frankland has the next best weight on the lake; Barry was on peg 4 and caught on pellet and paste at 16 meters for a weight of 15lb 1oz.
Section Winners
Dave Silman peg 19 9 points 25lb 5oz
Ricky Lale peg 2 9 points 19lb 10oz
Overall Top Twenty
| |
Name |
Weight |
Points |
| 1st |
Phil Thornley |
79lb 6oz |
9 points |
| 2nd |
Ian Carley |
53lb 5oz |
9 points |
| 3rd |
Andy Forbes |
51lb 7oz |
9 points |
| 4th |
Gary Walker |
51lb |
9 points |
| 5th |
Alan Hall |
34lb |
9 points |
| 6th |
Dave Silman |
25lb 5oz |
9 points |
| 7th |
Ricky Lale |
19lb 10oz |
9 points |
| 8th |
Jon Cook (L) |
16lb 2oz |
9 points |
| 9th |
Kevin Wingfield |
65lb 5oz |
8 points |
| 10th |
Danny Edwards |
49lb |
8 points |
| 11th |
Melvin Hodgson |
46lb 2oz |
8 points |
| 12th |
Gary Page |
36lb 3oz |
8 points |
| 13th |
Simon Brown |
32lb 13oz |
8 points |
| 14th |
Chris Szakacs |
21lb 1oz |
8 points |
| 15th |
Barry Frankland |
15lb 1oz |
8 points |
| 16th |
Dave Palmer |
10lb 13oz |
8 points |
| 17th |
Adam Baker |
43lb 11oz |
7 points |
| 18th |
Michael Gibbs |
43lb 10oz |
7 points |
| 19th |
Ray Bazeley |
35lb 7oz |
7 points |
| 20th |
Duncan Rogers |
34lb |
7 points |
So that was day one and here is how the top twenty looks after day one of the festival.
Day Two
Day one got off to a good start but day two was looking like it was going to be a bit of a wet one! The anglers now know what to expect from the fishing and each lake so those that had a good first day need to try and keep on top of things and those who didn’t have quite the start they wanted need to up their game to clinch those all important points, as this is only a four day festival we do not use a dropped result so all the anglers need to have consistent score to be in with a chance of picking up an overall placing.
A Section Twin Oaks 19 – 36
The weights increased today and perhaps this is due to some rain going into the lakes. Gary page was the lake winner today with 57lb 2oz; Gary was on peg 28 and fished the bomb and pellet tight over to the far bank. It was close up the top weight wise and Ian Carley missed out on the top spot but took second with 52lb, Ian also caught on the bomb tight to the far bank with maggot and pellet from peg 29. Third on the lake with 44lb 3oz was Melvin Hodgson, Melvin was on peg 27 and caught on the bomb & pellet to the far bank. The next best weight on the lake was 41lb 1oz and this came from John Price on peg 21, John caught on the bomb & pellet and also on the pole at 7 meters with paste.
Section winners
Gary Page peg 28 9 points 57lb 2oz
Melvin Hodgson peg 27 9 points 44lb 3oz
B Section Acorn
Fairy consistent weights on Acorn today with Danny Edwards on peg 8 taking the lake win; Danny had a weight of 49lb 3oz and caught on the pole down the edge with meat. Second with 48lb 1oz was Ian Turner, Ian was on peg 18 and caught in the margins with meat. Duncan Rogers was third on the lake with 38lb 3oz, Duncan caught in the margins with corn from peg 12. Claire Hollis, one of our two lady anglers fishing the festival had the next best weight on the lake, Claire was on peg 15 and had a weight of 37lb 14oz.
Section winners
Danny Edwards peg 8 9 points 49lb 3oz
Ian Turner peg 18 9 points 48lb 1oz
C Section Canal
Good weights from Canal today the lake winner was Alan Hall on peg 17 (demonstration today that don’t necessarily need to be on an end peg to win in this section) Alan has a weight of 41lb 7oz caught on the pole at 16 meters with chopped worm and caster. Mark Read was second on the lake with 33lb 9oz, Mark was on peg 19 and caught at 13 meters on the deck with meat and shallow at 14.5 meters with pellet. Third on peg 18 was Andy Leamon, Andy caught on the pole with worm at 8 meters on the bottom for a weight of 27lb 3oz. John Cain was on peg 8 and had the next best weight on the lake with 24lb 6oz, John caught on the long pole to the far bank with worm.
Section winners
Alan Hall peg 17 9 points 41lb 7oz
John Cain peg 8 9 points 24lb 6oz
D Section Twin Oaks 1 – 18
The results on the low numbers of Twin Oaks were really tight today and despite the torrential rain fished well. Steven Baker on peg 18 was the lake winner today with 66lb 11oz, Steven caught on the bomb & pellet and the pellet waggler. Second with 60lb 7oz was Dave Silman, Dave caught on the maggot feeder to the far bank from peg 1. Phil Morris took third with 52lb 4oz, Phil caught on the bomb and pellet from peg 7. Paul Hardman had the next best weight on the lake; Paul was on peg 12 and caught across to the far bank with bomb & pellet for a weight of 46lb 12oz
Section winners
Stephen Baker peg 18 9 points 66lb 11oz
Dave Silman peg 1 9 points 60lb 7oz
Day Two Overall Top Twenty
| |
Name |
Weight |
Points |
| 1st |
Dave Silman
|
85lb 12oz |
18 points |
| 2nd |
Alan Hall |
75lb 7oz |
18 points |
| 3rd |
Phil Thornley
|
111lb 3oz |
17 points |
| 4th |
Ian Carley |
105lb 5oz |
17 points |
| 5th |
Danny Edwards
|
98lb 3oz |
17 points |
| 6th |
Gary Page
|
93lb 5oz |
17 points |
| 7th |
Melvin Hodgson |
90lb 5oz |
17 points |
| 8th |
Jon Cook (L)
|
39lb 5oz |
17 points |
| 9th |
Stephen Baker
|
80lb |
16 points |
| 10th |
Ian Turner |
84lb 2oz |
15 points |
| 11th |
Duncan Rogers |
72lb 3oz |
15 points |
| 12th |
Chris Szakacs |
67lb 10oz |
15 points |
| 13th |
Mark Read
|
44lb 4oz |
15 points |
| 14th |
Andy Forbes |
85lb 13oz |
14 points |
| 15th |
Michael Gibbs |
78lb 4oz |
14 points |
| 16th |
John Cain |
45lb 10oz |
14 points |
| 17th |
Kevin Wingfield |
85lb 9oz |
13 points |
| 18th |
John Price |
79lb 11oz |
13 points |
| 19th |
Adam Baker |
70lb 5oz |
13 points |
| 20th |
Ray Bazeley |
62lb 5oz |
13 points |
So that is how the top twenty looks after 2 days, can Alan or Dave hold on to their perfect result? Read on to find out...
Day Three
So far it has been a very close festival, and despite two anglers on perfect points it is very close on points and one mistake could mean the difference between top 3 and no-where, all the anglers will have to pull out all the stops to make sure there positions are safe, read on for all the match action from day three.
A Section Acorn
Some good weights on Acorn today but also some struggled, the unsettled weather has affected the fishing recently and this has once again been the case today. Ian Carley was the lake winner with 33lb 15oz; Ian was on peg 4 and caught up in the water with casters at 11 meters. Second on the lake was Brandan Turner, Brandan caught down the edge with meat and hemp from peg 19 for a weight of 29lb 2oz. Ian Millan was on peg 8 and weighed in with 27lb 7oz to take third, Ian caught down the edge on corn. The next best weight on the lake came from Gary Page on peg 17, Gary had a weight of 22lb 2oz caught on the pole at 8 meters with paste.
Section winners
Ian Carley peg 4 9 points 33lb 15oz
Brendan Turner peg 19 9 points 29lb 2oz
B Section Canal
With the exception of one or two the weights were better today, Kevin Wingfeld was the lake winner with 29lb 14oz, Kev was on peg 14 and caught on chopped worm and caster. Second on the lake was David Gibbs on peg 8, David caught on worm over chopped worm and caster at 7 meters for a weight of 25lb 12oz. Derek Hope was on peg 19 and caught on corn over to the far bank to take third with 21lb 8oz. The next best weight on the lake came from Tony Taylor on peg 5 who caught on the long pole with pellet for a weight of 17lb 1oz.
Section Winners
Kevin Wingfield peg 14 9 points 29lb 14oz
David Gibbs peg 8 9 points 25lb 12oz
C Section Twin Oaks 1 –18
Today we saw some cracking weights, the best of the week so far. Alan Hall was today’s lake winner with 111lb 12oz; Alan was on peg 16 and caught on the meat feeder. Second went to John Cain who weighed in with 82lb 11oz, John caught on the pellet waggler from peg 7. Jon Cook (London) was third, John was on peg 14 and caught on the bomb & worm down the edge for a weight of 76lb 6oz. Lee Baker had the next best weight with 63lb 14oz, Lee was on peg 18 and caught on the long pole to the far bank with pellet.
Section winners
Alan Hall peg 16 9 points 111lb 12oz
John Cain peg 7 9 points 82lb 11oz
D Section Twin Oaks 19 – 36
A real variety of weights from this lake today with some really good weights and some really not so good!! Paul Haines was today’s lake winner with 72lb 15oz; Paul was on peg 35 and fished the straight lead. Second was Ricky Lale, Ricky caught on the pellet waggler for a weight of 70lb 12oz from peg 29. Pete Eden was on peg 36 and took third with 38lb, Pete caught down the edge with chopped worm and caster. Phil Morris had the next best weight on the lake, Phil caught on the bomb and pellet from peg 19 for a weight of 34lb 1oz
Section winners
Paul Haines peg 35 9 points 72lb 15oz
Phil Morris peg 19 9 points 34lb 1oz
Overall Top Twenty
| |
Name |
Weight |
Points |
| 1st |
Alan Hall
|
187lb 3oz |
27 points |
| 2nd |
Ian Carley |
139lb 4oz |
26 points |
| 3rd |
Jon Cook (L) |
115lb 11oz |
25 points |
| 4th |
Gary Page |
115lb 7oz |
25 points |
| 5th |
Danny Edwards |
113lb 7oz |
24 points |
| 6th |
Stephen Baker |
111lb 12oz |
24 points |
| 7th |
Dave Silman |
101lb 8oz |
24 points |
| 8th |
John Cain
|
128lb 5oz |
23 points |
| 9th |
Phil Thornley
|
126lb |
23 points |
| 10th |
Kevin Wingfield |
115lb 7oz |
22 points |
| 11th |
Ian Turner |
100lb 2oz |
21 points |
| 12th |
Mark Read |
83lb 14oz |
21 points |
| 13th |
Tony Taylor |
67lb 14oz |
21 points |
| 14th |
Ricky Lale |
123lb 11oz |
20 points |
| 15th |
Michael Gibbs
|
97lb 6oz |
20 points |
| 16th |
Adam Baker |
86lb 15oz |
20 points |
| 17th |
Chris Szakacs |
83lb 1oz |
20 points |
| 18th |
Paul Haines |
124lb 2oz |
19 points |
| 19th |
Andy Forbes |
101lb 1oz |
19 points |
| 20th |
Melvin Hodgson |
98lb 13oz |
19 points |
So we now only have one angler on maximum points and the action is really hotting up, can Alan manage four unblemished performances or will a bad final day see him drop off the radar. Anyone of these anglers in the top ten could take the victory with the results as tight as they are. Come back tomorrow and we shall announce the winner of the White Acres Gaymers festival 2008.
Day Four
Well we have reached the final day of the festival and at the moment it is too close to call, if Alan wins his section today he has it in the bag but if he hits a stumbling block the are a number of names that could be in the frame. We feel this festival has been better than in pervious years and despite it fishing quite hard with every peg in we have seen some great results and the majority of feedback has been really positive. White Acres would like to thank Gaymers for their additional sponsorship that allowed us to provide prizes for the top 8 anglers as well as their cash prizes. Read on for the final day of festival action.
A Section Canal
Today’s results on Canal have been the best of the week and even though every peg on the lake has been in, it as not fished (understandable) as well as when ever other peg is used but we have still seen consistent weights. Alan Symonds was the lake winner today with 34lb 11oz; Alan was on peg 19 and caught ¾ of the way over on the feeder with red maggots. Gary Page was second on peg 10, Gary caught on pellet up in the water and maggot down the edge for a weight of 22lb 1oz. Third with 20lb 13oz was Melvin Hodgson, Melvin was on peg 7 and caught on chopped worm and caster at 14.5 meters. The next best weights came from Joe Bailey and Ian Millan both with 19lb 9oz, Ian was on peg 16 and Joe was on peg 3 and he caught on the pole at 8 meters with chopped worm and caster.
Section winners
Alan Symonds peg 19 9 points 34lb 11oz
Gary Page peg 10 9 points 22lb 1oz
B Section Twin Oaks 1-18
Some top weights today with the middle pegs of the lake really dominating. Today’s lake winner was Phil Thornly with 78lb 13oz; Phil was on peg 10 and caught on the pellet waggler and the bomb tight over to the far bank. Second on peg 16 was Ian Turner, Ian caught on the pellet waggler tight over for a weight of 62lb 14oz. Peter Goode was third on peg 13 with 55lb 1oz and the next best weight on the lake came from Duncan Rogers who weighed in with 53lb 12oz caught on the pellet waggler from peg 12.
Section winners
Phil Thornley peg 10 9 points 78lb 13oz
Adam Baker peg 9 9 points 53lb 3oz
C Section Twin Oaks 19-36
The lake winner and taking his fourth straight section win toady was Alan Hall, Alan caught tight over on the meat feeder from peg 20 with a weight of 45lb 9oz. Second with 42lb 1oz was John Cain, John was on peg 29 and caught on the pellet waggler tight over. Jon Cook (L) was third, Jon was on peg 33 and caught on the bomb and pellet tight over for a weight of 35lb 15oz, Jon Cook (G) had the next best weight with 32lb, Jon was on peg 36 and caught on the bomb and feeder.
Section winners
Alan Hall peg 20 9 points 45lb 9oz
John Cain peg 29 9 points 42lb 1oz
D Section Acorn
The weights on Acorn have been getting progressively better over the four days and we saw some top weights today. Pete Eden on peg 5 was today’s lake winner, Pete caught down the side on chopped worm and caster for a weight of 70lb 6oz. Second was Ricky Lale with 51lb 2oz, Ricky caught down the edge on pellet and chopped worm from peg 19. Chris Szakacs was third on peg 17 with 40lb 7oz and the next best weight came from peg 10 where Paul Hardman weighed in with 35lb 13oz.
Section winners
Pete Eden peg 5 9 points 70lb 6oz
Ricky Lale peg 9 9 points 51lb 2oz
So that was our Gaymers Festival 2008 and here is how our final top twenty looks.
Overall Top Twenty
| |
Name |
Weight |
Points |
| 1st |
Alan Hall
|
232lb 12oz |
36 points |
| 2nd |
Gary Page |
137lb 8oz |
34 points |
| 3rd |
Jon Cook(L) |
151lb 10oz |
33 points |
| 4th |
Phil Thornley |
204lb 13oz |
32 points |
| 5th |
John Cain |
170lb 6oz |
32 points |
| 6th |
Ian Carley |
151lb 2oz |
31 points |
| 7th |
Stephen Baker |
136lb 4oz |
30 points |
| 8th |
Ricky Lale
|
174lb 13oz |
29 points |
| 9th |
Ian Turner
|
163lb |
29 points |
| 10th |
Adam Baker |
140lb 2oz |
29 points |
| 11th |
Danny Edwards
|
158lb 7oz |
28 points |
| 12th |
Chris Szakacs |
123lb 8oz |
28 points |
| 13th |
Tony Taylor |
92lb 3oz |
28 points |
| 14th |
Melvin Hodgson |
119lb 10oz |
27 points |
| 15th |
Kevin Wingfield |
127lb 2oz |
26 points |
| 16th |
Dave Silman |
115lb 14oz |
26 points |
| 17th |
Michael Gibbs |
110lb 8oz |
26 points |
| 18th |
Lee Baker |
114lb 8oz |
25 points |
| 19th |
Phillip Morris |
113lb 15oz |
25 points |
| 20th |
Nigel Lale |
88lb 7oz |
25 points |
So Alan Hall is our 2008 festival winner with a perfect 36 points, the bad news is Alan can no longer fish this festival but the good news is he is already looking forward to taking up his invitation to the Preston Innovations Festival in October.
It has been enjoyable week for us and despite the grotty weather everyone seems to have enjoyed it, especially those fishing it for the first time. The date for the 2009 festival has been set and most of the pack have already pre-booked for then already!
Thank you all to the anglers for making the festival work and we shall see you all next year for the 2009 White Acres Gaymers Cider.
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