So it is that time of year once again, not to get ready for Christmas, but for the final white acres festival of 2006. the Garbolino/Mosella silver fish festival is now in it’s third successful year and has proven to be one of our most popular festivals ever. This festival attracts some different anglers to the festival those that are not interested in the great carp hunt! Sixty anglers take to the banks of Jennys, Pollawyn, sycamore and python to fish this 5-day event.

Despite the mild Cornish climate, over the past years the weather has been mixed ranging from gales and torrential rain to snow and frost so who knew what this year had to offer us. The weekend leading up to the festival had been grim with gales and downpours one could only hope that things would improve rapidly. after a couple of days practise on the lakes the scene was set for the first day of the festival.

Day One
It rained heavily throughout the night and the temperature of the water had dropped once again, as the anglers gathered outside the fishing lodge for the draw they were caught in a down pour – was this the shape of things to come? This festival runs on the same format with the anglers fishing in five sections over five days with their best four results counting. The draw on day one is always an anxious one – would that draw bag produce a great start for the week or have them wondering why they got out of bed!! The rain had stopped by the time the draw was over and the anglers headed off to their chosen pegs. Read on to find out how day one of the festival went.

‘A’ Section - Pollawyn
A section on Pollawyn was considered to be slightly harder with the pegging on the ends of the high bank and on the fingers. This lake is prolific for carp in the main festivals so it was now time for the anglers to select the right baits as to not lure the carp into their pegs. Arthur Turner on peg 15 won the lake with 42lb 8oz, it was a great start to the festival for Arthur who caught a great net of skimmers at 9 meters on red maggot over ground bait. After the match Arthur was asked how he caught he said in the other festivals every time he tried for carp he caught skimmers so he fished for carp!! Simon Fry took second on the lake, Simon was on peg 16 and caught 13 skimmers, 2 perch and had an hour’s shallow roach fishing for a weight of 28lb. third went to Adam Wakelin on peg 7 with 20lb 7oz, Adam caught mainly perch in the margins on castor. just missing out and coming fourth with 20lb 6oz was Mark Charnell, mark was on peg 47 and caught about 165 roach a meter off the island on castor.

Section Winners
Arthur Turner 6 Points 42lb 8oz
Adam Wakelin 6 Points 20lb 7oz

‘B’ Section - Sycamore
it was a great start for the lake and proved to be the tightest section with even weights from 41lb to 20lb. Darren Cox on peg 9 took the lake win with 41lb 1oz, Darren caught about 20lbs of skimmers on the 10 meter pole with worms and 20lbs of roach shallow. Second went to Lee Edwards with 39lb 5oz, lee caught roach steadily throughout the match shallow with casters. Alex Lister took third from peg 10b; Alex caught Roach and Rudd up in the water on the long pole with castors for a weight of 38lb 8oz. grant fear had the next best weight on the lake with 36lb 7oz, grant was on peg10c and caught roach up in the water on caster.

Section Winners
Darren Cox 6 Points 41lb 1oz
Lee Edwards 6 Points 39lb 5oz

‘C’ Section - Jennys
This was the lake everyone was apprehensive about, as we had lost some skimmers and silvers in the summer heat wave, but thanks to having our own fish farm and stock ponds we were able to introduce new stocks in the lake and it fished well. Andy Dare took the lake win from peg 19 with 38lb 15oz, Andy caught at 9 meters on the pole with corn. second went to Tony Morton took second with 22lb 11oz; tony caught tench and roach on the bottom at 6 meters on casters from peg 18. Adam Rooney was third with 22lb 2oz, Adam was on peg 16 and caught most of his fish in the last hour, and his patience was worthwhile when he netted 10 f1’s caught on the long pole on corn. just missing out and coming fourth on the lake but picking up his section win was Rob Middleton, rob was on peg 5 and caught roach shallow on caster for a weight of 21lb 12oz

Section Winners
Andy Dare 6 Points 38lb 15oz
Rob Middleton 6 Points 21lb 12oz

‘D’ Section - Pollaywn
Pollawyn D section consists on the high bank and the points, would anyone be lucky to draw amongst the shoal of skimmers that cruise the lake in that area? grant albutt took the lake win from peg 22 on the point, grant had approximately 100 fish caught on worm over ground at 11 meters giving him a weight of 30lb 15oz. Paul Yates on peg 28 was second with 26lb 15oz. taking third was Steve Sanders with 26lb 6oz, Steve caught at 13 meters across to the island with casters from peg 21. on the high bank Skip Mccabe had the next best weight with 25lb 3oz, skip was on peg 25 and caught on casters shallow, he had a few skimmers but mainly roach.

Section Winners
Grant Albutt 6 Points 30lb 15oz
Paul Yates 6 Points 26lb 15oz

'E' Section - Python
Python has been the one most consistent silver lakes recently and got off to a great start today with Chris Davis taking the win with325lb 10oz, Chris was in the wide on peg 16 and caught on the long pole with corn. Tommy Pickering was second on the lake with 35lb 1oz; Tommy was on peg 36 and caught 30lb of f1’s at 14.5 meters across on corn and the rest of his smaller fish at 13 meters down the edge. Third on the lake with 32lb was John Dudley, john caught on the pole with caster from peg 9. Andy Geldart on peg 33 had the next best weight on the lake with 28lb 13oz; Andy caught roach and skimmers on the 11-meter pole with caster.

Section Winners
Chris Davis 6 Points 35lb 10oz
Tommy Pickering 6 Points 35lb 1oz

So that was day one and the majority had a great days fishing whilst others with mildly bothered by the carp, with day one in the bag everyone has an idea of how to approach the lakes and how to avoid the carp. So that’s how the top ten looks, please visit the site tomorrow to see how the leader board looks.

OVERALL TOP TEN

Day Two
Generally the lakes fished a lot harder today with some struggling with carp at their pegs. The full report on today’s action will go up tomorrow but here are the section winners and overall top ten. Day two saw a shake up on the top ten, as this is now a completely open festival!

With the lakes being exposed to the harsh winds presentation was difficult for the anglers, read on to find out about today’s top catches.

‘A’ Section - Sycamore
The weights were lower on sycamore today but still fairly even, those anglers away from the wind did better whilst others struggled against a bitter wind. Harry Billing took the lake win with 39lb 6oz; Harry was on peg 2 and caught shallow on casters. Ricky Teale on peg 4 took second with 30lb 1oz, Ricky caught on the pole with casters and the groundbait feeder. Third went to Timmy Rowe, Tim caught at 9 meters on maggot over groundbait from peg 10a for a weight of 28lb 4oz. Micky Vials on peg 5 had the next best weight with 27lb 10oz.

Section Winners
Harry Billing 6 Points 39lb 6oz
Timmy Rowe 6 Points 28lb 4oz

‘B’ Section - Jennys
Again anglers performances were hampered by the wind on Jennys but still plenty of fish were caught and the lake win today went to Anne Purchase on peg 16, Anne caught at 13 meters on the pole with maggots & corn and then switched to the feeder when the wind got up later in the match she finished with a weight of 20lb 2oz. Martin Cocks took second with 18lb 11oz, Martin caught on maggot over groundbait at 6 meters from peg 6. Third on the lake was Alex Lister with 18lb 5oz, Alex was on peg 17 and caught at 5 meters on maggot. 18lb 3oz was the next best weight on the lake and was caught by Chas Ward on peg 19, Chas caught on the pole with corn.

Section Winners
Anne Purchase 6 Points 20lb 2oz
Martin Cocks 6 Points 18lb 11oz

‘C’ Section - Pollaywn
The weights were lower on Polly today with more carp feeding and hampering the catching of silver fish. The Lake win went to Dave Lewis on peg 20 with 16lb 14oz, Dave caught on maggot over groundbait. Jim Smith was second with 16lb 4oz, Jim caught at 5 meters on casters over groundbait from peg 31. Third went to Tony Morton on peg 30 with 15lb 2oz, Tony caught at 6 meters with casters. The next best weight on the lake was Andy Dare with 14lb 15oz; Andy was on peg 25 and caught on 7 sections of the pole with maggot.

Section Winners
Dave Lewis 6 Points 16lb 14oz
Jim Smith 6 Points 16lb 4oz

‘D’ Section - Python
Even though this is one of our most sheltered lakes those that fished in the narrows struggled and the best weights came from the wides. Clive Carter took the lake win with 26lb 6oz; Clive was on peg 13 and caught at 4 meters on casters. It was a battle for second place and came down to one ounce, John Parrinder took second with 22lb 10oz, and John fished the feeder from peg 12. With 22lb 9oz Richie Hull on peg 16 was ounced into third place, Richie caught down the edge on casters. The next best weight on the lake was 20lb 1oz and this went to Steve Sanders on peg 10, Steve caught long at 14 meters with corn.

Section Winners
Clive Carter 6 Points 26lb 6oz
Paul Fillmore 6 Points 19lb

‘E’ Section - Pollawyn
This was the hardest section of the day with low weights right across the section, The lake win came from Wendy Halliday on peg 33, Wendy fished the long pole with maggots for a weight of 14lb 15oz. Keeping it in the family Stuart Halliday took second with 11lb 13oz, Stuart caught on the whip and at 13 meters from peg 35.

Section Winners
Wendy Halliday 6 Points 14lb 15oz
Simon Willsmore 6 Points 10lb 12oz

So that was day two and the results are so tight, sorry there is no full report going up today but I am in a meeting all day, normal service should be resumed tomorrow (although slightly slower as it is my birthday today and I might have a hangover!!)

OVERALL TOP TEN

Day Three

Well it was another windy day down here at White Acres and bitterly cold, again the anglers had to fight to get presentation on the lakes but overall there was an improvement on yesterday’s weights. Do we have a change in the top ten, read on to see how the day panned out and how the leader board looks.

'A' SECTION - JENNYS
Jennys is one of the more exposed lakes and the wind was blowing in the wrong direction for the anglers who struggled to hold their poles at any great length. Taking the lake win to day was the popular character of Timmy Rowe, Tim caught on peg 19 on the pole with corn for a weight of 28lb 13oz. Second on the lake went to Adam Wakelin with 19lb 9oz, Adam was on peg 3 and caught on the groundbait feeder with maggot. Third was Ricky Teale with 18lb 12oz, Ricky caught on the feeder from peg 15. The next best weight on the lake came from peg 9 where Harry Billing caught a nice bag of tench short on the pole with maggot for 17lb 13oz.

Section Winners
Timmy Rowe 6 Points 28lb 13oz
Adam Wakelin 6 Points 19lb 9oz

B SECTION POLLAWYN
The weights improved on Pollawyn today with festival sponsor Darren Cox taking the lake win with 23lb 14oz; Darren was on peg 28 and caught skimmers at 13 & 7 meters on red maggots. Second on the lake was Anne Purchase with 20lb 8oz, Anne caught at 7 meters on castors over groundbait from peg 27. Grant Fear was third on peg 24 with 18lb 7oz. The next best weight on the lake came from Roger baker on peg 18, Roger ended up with 13lb 2oz caught on maggot and worms at 7 meters.

Section Winners
Darren Cox 6 Points 23lb 14oz
Grant Fear 6 Points 18lb 7oz

C SECTION PYTHON
Once again the wides produced the best weights of the lake with the winning weight of 28lb 12oz coming from Adam Rooney on peg 10, Adam caught on maggots & casters over groundbait. Stewart Lister was second; Stewart was on peg 13 and fished on the groundbait feeder for a weight of 28lb 9oz. Third went to Rob Middleton on peg 12 with 24lb 6oz, Rob caught roach on the pole and F1’s on the feeder. Jim smith on peg 9 had the next best weight on the lake with 18lb 2oz; Jim caught skimmers on the pole at 8.5 meters on casters.

Section Winners
Adam Rooney 6 Points 28lb 12oz
Gary Hamilton 6 Points 14lb 14oz

D SECTION POLLAWYN
On this section of the lake the weights were slightly lower again but still valuable points were up for grabs. Paul Yates took the lake win with 21lb 3oz, Paul was on peg 35 and fished shallow with caster. Richie Hull (happy birthday matey) was second with 18lb 14oz, Richie fished caster on the long pole from peg 7. Third with 16lb 5oz went to Paul Fillmore on peg 16, Paul fished on the feeder and with caster down the edge. John Parrinder “one rod” had the next best weight on the lake with 12lb 12oz, John was on peg 11 and fished on the groundbait feeder.

Section Winners
Paul Yates 6 Points 21lb 3oz
Richie Hull 6 Points 18lb 14oz

E SECTION SYCAMORE
Sycamore produced most of the best weights of the day, with Simon Willsmore taking the win; Simon was on peg 9 and fished on the long pole with worm for a winning weight of 32lb 1oz. Second on peg 13 was Tommy Pickering with 30lb 5oz, Tommy had ten f1’s on the tip with maggot and 20lbs of roach on the pole. Andy Geldart was third with 29lb 1oz; Andy fished shallow and caught roach on caster from peg 5. John Dudley on peg 1 had the next best weight with 27lb 5oz.

Section Winners
Simon Willsmore 6 Points 32lb 1oz
Tommy Pickering 6 Points 30lb 5oz

So that was day three and Darren Coz has taken a slight edge away on the leader board, this was the halfway point with many hoping they have already had their important “drop” result, but we shall see, as the weather gets colder and apparently dampen can these guys stay focused and keep their pace in the top ten.

Come back tomorrow – will we see a change on the overall top positions?

OVERALL TOP TEN

Day Four

Well we are now on the penultimate day of the festival and this week has flown by. Massive amounts of silver fish have been caught and can we replicate this on day four?

The wind was fractionally less forceful today so those pegs that had been affected by the gusts and had previously struggled for the angers to get correct presentation faired better today. This still remains a very tight festival, read on to see how the fishing was today and who picked up those important points.

‘A’ SECTION - POLLAWYN 
The weights were better on the lake today with anglers catch bonus skimmers to add to their hauls. Harry Billing took the lake win from peg 18 with 27lb 6oz; Harry caught skinners on the long pole with maggot over groundbait. Our very own Clint Elliott was second on the lake with 23lb 2oz; Clint was on peg 24 and fished the groundbait feeder with double red maggot. With 23lb 1oz Arthur Turner was third, Arthur fished red maggot on the pole over groundbait from peg 28. Ricky Teale on peg 25 had the next best weight of 22lb 8oz, Ricky caught on the long pole with maggot and worm.

Section Winners 
Harry Billing                       6 Points                                27lb 6oz
Clint Elliott                           6 Points                                23lb 2oz

‘B’ SECTION - PYTHON 
The weights were better in both the wides and the narrows today but the lake win again came from the favoured side where Martin Cocks on peg 10 took the win with 38lb 11oz, Martin fished the long pole with corn. Lee Edwards was second on the lake with 35lb 13oz; Lee caught F1’s on the groundbait feeder with maggot and corn on the hook from peg 15. On peg 9 Ian Shepard was third on the lake, Ian fished chopped worm and caster for a weight of 24lb 11oz. Darren Cox won his section and had the next best weight on the lake with 21lb 13oz, Darren was on peg 30 and caught all roach on the pole tight across to the island at on the pole at 13 meters.

Section Winners 
Martin Cocks                      6 Points                                38lb 11oz
Darren Cox                         6 Points                                21lb 13oz

‘C’ SECTION – POLLAWYN
The arms fished evenly today whist the pegs on either end of the high bank produced the better weights. Dave Lewis on peg 35 took the lake win with 17lb 2oz, Dave fished caster shallow to take the victory. Adam Rooney was second on the lake with 16lb 14oz; Adam fished at 7 meters on the pole with casters and worms over groundbait. Third went to Des Southern on peg 15 with 16lb 7oz. Tony Morton had the next best weight on the lake with 15lb 15oz, Tony was on peg 14 and caught at 11.5 meters on the deck with caster over groundbait.

Section Winners 
Dave Lewis                         6 Points                                17lb 2oz
Stephen Hall                      6 Points                                14lb 3oz

‘D’ SECTION - SYCAMORE 
Sycamore produced the best weight of the festival so far this week with the winning weight coming from Grant Albutt on peg 4, Grant weighted in with a whopping 50lb 4oz of roach caught shallow at 5 meters on caster. Steve Sanders took second on the lake with 35lb 10oz; Steve caught skimmers from peg 12 at 11 meters on worm. Third went to Richie Hull on peg 1, Richie caught on his top kit down the edge with casters for a weight of 32lb 1oz. The next best weight on the lake was 24lb 7oz and this came from Paul Fillmore on peg 13, Paul caught at 13 meters on worm and casters.

Section Winners 
Grant Albutt                       6 Points                                50lb 4oz
Steve Sanders                   6 Points                                35lb 10oz

‘E’ SECTION - JENNYS 
The wind was more bearable on Jennys today and the weights were tight especially on pegs 14- 19. Andy Geldart had the lake win with 18lb 14oz; Andy was on peg 16 and caught on corn at 14 meters. Second went to Simon Willsmore on peg 19 with 18lb 2oz, Simon caught tench and F1’s on the long pole with corn and casters. Dean Cherrington caught on the pole with casters and worms and was third from peg 15 with 16lb 11oz. The next best weight on the lake came from Pete Wedgbrow on peg 3; Pete had 16lb 1oz of tench & F1’s caught on groundbait and corn

Section Winners 
Andy Geldart                     6 Points                                18lb 14oz
Pete Wedgbrow               6 Points                                16lb 1oz

So that is how the top ten looks as we head into the final day, there are also 3 other anglers on 18 points so it will be a sprint to the final to pick up valuable points. Can Darren keep his slight advantage or will someone else creep into the top spot.

The final results will be posted on Saturday at some point.

OVERALL TOP TEN

Day Five - The Final

Final Results of the Garbolino Mosella Silver Fish Festival 2006

To Follow...

FINAL TOP TEN