Coors Veterans Festival 2011
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It is time for the next festival in our annual calendar and we now move on to the Coors Veterans Festival which is open to all anglers aged 55 and over. There are 63 anglers fishing the festival this year and they will have two days fishing only for silverfish and two days fishing for everything.
The lakes being used are Jennys & Pollawyn for anything goes and Pollawyn, Sycamore & Python for silvers only. This festival is growing in popularity each year which we can see this with the once again increase in numbers this year.
As well as the anglers winning cash the festival is also generously sponsored by Coors Brewery who donates £1000 toward prizes for the anglers.
For those anglers who have been brave enough to go out and practise this weekend it has been a very wet one! The rain we have been lacking over the previous 8 weeks has returned with a vengeance with now all the lakes brimming. The amount of cold water going in to the lakes has really slowed down the fishing but fingers crossed we should still see some good results.
Day One
As the numbers have increased this year rather than doing a random draw on the first day we drew the sections prior to the anglers arrival so they knew where they would be going on the first day of the festival and this speeds up the process for the first morning.
So the anglers knew what lakes they were off to and once Clint had run over the rules and format all that was left to do was draw so read on to see how the anglers faired on day one.
A Section Pollawyn
Pollawyn has been fishing quite hard recently with no clear form or favourite pegs at the moment. It was a struggle for some of the anglers but a few managed to get the bites coming to build up a reasonable weight. John Waterhouse was the lake winner with 41lb 14oz; John was on peg 29 and caught on the pole at 11 meters and in the margins with pellet and caster. Second on peg 19 was Harry Billing, Harry caught on the long pole with worm and the short pole with meat for a weight of 36lb 8oz. Robert Lockwood weighed in with 32lb 10oz to take third, Robert caught on the feeder across and on the pole at 7 meters with meat from peg 20.
Section Winners
John Waterhouse peg 29 8 points 41lb 14oz
Harry Billing peg 19 8 points 36lb 8oz
B Section Pollawyn & Sycamore
We were due to have another full section on Pollawyn but as it has been fishing quite hard and some of the pegs are a little bit slippery after the wet weather we decided to make the fishing a bit better by doing a split section on Pollawyn and Sycamore, there has been a mixed reception from the anglers that are happy that the pegging has been spread out but also a bit apprehensive as some of the anglers have never fished Sycamore before. The lake winner today on Pollawyn peg 47 was Mick Gibbs, Mick caught on the pole long and short with worms and casters for a weight of 29lb 14oz. Neil Rogerson weighed in with 28lb 19oz to take second, Neil was on Sycamore peg 13 and caught at 5 sections up on the waters with casters and had a few down the edge. Mal Proctor was on Sycamore peg 15 and weighed in with 25lb 2oz to take third, Mal caught on 2 lines on the long pole with casters and pellet.
Section Winners
Mick Gibbs peg 47(P) 8 points 29lb 14oz
Neil Rogerson peg 13(S) 8 points 28lb 10oz
C Section Jennys
Jennys has been the one lake on park that has been fishing consistently well over the past few weeks and even though for some of the anglers it was a battle to hold their pole against the wind today we have still seen some of the best results of the whole festival. Last year we used Jennys as a silverfish only lake but as the carp are still showing more than on some other lakes we decided to make it an all fish count venue. The lake was won today with 56lb 11oz and this came from David Cleaver on peg 4, David caught on the feeder with dead red maggot. Second was Tom Michaels, Tom was on peg 14 and caught on the pole at 10 meters with chopped worm and hemp for a weight of 41lb 4oz. Tony Murphy on peg 8 was third with 41lb.
Section Winners
David Cleaver peg 4 8 points 56lb 11oz
Tom Michaels peg 14 8 points 41lb 4oz
D Section Python
Python has been fishing steadily recently but it is a bit of luck of the draw, there are some favoured pegs in the bay where you will always get a good number of F1's but weights can also come from all over with no regular pattern. The winner today came from peg 14 where David Gibbs weighed in with 51lb 14oz, David caught up in the water at 12.5 meters with pellet. Mal Runacers was second, mal caught on the long pole up in the water with pellet from peg 16 for a weight of 41lb 9oz. Tony Oatley was on peg 13 and weighed in with 19lb 9oz to take third, Tony caught on the pole at 10 meters with worm.
Section Winners
David Gibbs peg 14 8 points 51lb 14oz
John Holdsworth peg 25 8 points 17lb 6oz
That was the first day of action and here is how the first set of overall results look.
Overall Top Ten
| Name | Points | Weight | |
| 1st | David Cleaver |
8 points | 56lb 11oz |
| 2nd | David Gibbs |
8 points | 51lb 14oz |
| 3rd | John Waterhouse |
8 points | 41lb 14oz |
| 4th | Tom Michaels |
8 points | 41lb 4oz |
| 5th | Harry Billing | 8 points | 36lb 8oz |
| 6th | Mick Gibbs | 8 points | 29lb 14oz |
| 7th | Neil Rogerson | 8 points | 28lb 10oz |
| 8th | John Holdsworth |
8 points | 17lb 6oz |
| 9th | Mal Runacres | 7 points | 41lb 9oz |
| 10th | Tony Murphy | 7 points | 41lb |
Now with an idea of the pegs that are producing the weights the anglers are keen to crack on with day two and it is forest to be better weather so the anglers won't need to batten down the hatches as much tomorrow. Join us for the next set of results and to find out if we have anyone on maximum points.
Day Two
On to the second day and the anglers were a bit more fortunate today as the rain held off for the day so they at least managed to keep dry.
After a promising start for some they were looking to carry on with their campaign by getting good points again and others would be looking for a better day after a tough start.
A Section Pollawyn & Sycamore
The better weights have come from Sycamore today but the weights on Pollawyn apart from a few have also been reasonable. Harry Billing on Sycamore peg 11 was the lake winner, Harry caught roach shallow on casters for a weight of 53lb 8oz. Bruce Wilcox weighed in with 53lb to take second, Bruce was on Sycamore peg 13 and caught on the method with pellet. John Waterhouse on Pollawyn peg 34 was third with 30lb 15oz, John caught on the pole with pellet, casters and meat.
Section Winners
Harry Billing peg 11 8 points 53lb 8oz
John Waterhouse peg 34 8 points 30lb 15oz
B Section Jennys
The fishing on Jennys is still going strong with reasonable weights across the board. Although this is an all fish count lake there is not a great amount of carp being caught but they are boosting the overall weights of some anglers. The lake winner today with 63lb 6oz was Trevor Pearce on peg 15; Trevor caught shallow on the pole with casters. Second was Kevin Scott, Kevin caught on the maggot feeder from peg 4 for a weight of 42lb 1oz. Ian Stevenson was third, Ian was on peg 21 and caught on the method feeder with groundbait and maggot for a weight of 31lb 2oz.
Section Winners
Trevor Pearce peg 15 8 points 63lb 6oz
Kevin Scott peg 4 8 points 42lb 1oz
C Section Python
The fishing is close on Python and although the weights are still more consistent in the wides there are still a few weights coming from the narrows. Tom Michaels won the lake today with 30lb 6oz; Tom was on peg 35 and caught on the pole with worm, casters and hemp. Second on peg 33 was David Cleaver, David caught on the long pole across with pellet and weighed in with 27lb 14oz. Third with a weight of 27lb 13oz was Joe Roberts, Joe caught in the pole with chopped worm and casters from peg 17.
Section Winners
Tom Michaels peg 35 8 points 30lb 8oz
Joe Roberts peg 17 8 points 27lb 13oz
D Section Pollawyn
Very close weights of Pollawyn today and although it is fishing quite hard the anglers are still getting quite a few bites. John Ellis was the lake winner today on peg 26, John caught up in the water and on the straight lead with pellet for a weight of 39lb 11oz. Second with 35lb 11oz was Steve Williams, Steve was on peg 25 and caught on the pole with meat and casters. Tony oatley was third; Tony was on peg 20 and caught on the pole with meat for a weight of 32lb 13oz.
Section Winners
John Ellis peg 26 8 points 39lb 11oz
Tony Oatley peg 20 8 points 32lb 13oz
Here is how today's action has affected the overall results.
Overall Top 10
| Name | Points | Weight | |
| 1st | Harry Billing |
16 points | 90lb |
| 2nd | John Waterhouse | 16 points | 72lb 13oz |
| 3rd | Tom Michaels | 16 points | 71lb 10oz |
| 4th | David Cleaver | 15 points | 84lb 9oz |
| 5th | Kevin Scott |
14 points | 63lb 9oz |
| 6th | Douglas Calvey | 14 points | 61lb 14oz |
| 7th | Joe Roberts | 14 points | 59lb 2oz |
| 8th | Neil Rogerson | 14 points | 57lb 6oz |
| 9th | Tony Oatley | 14 points | 52lb 6oz |
| 10th | Andy Partridge | 13 points | 52lb 15oz |
Three anglers on maximum points but with a better weight Harry is emerging as the early favourite. Two days left to go so we know things could all change; will we have anyone on maximum points at the end of day three?
Day Three
It was a wet and windy day for the anglers today and the forecast is not any better for the rest of the week.
By the end of today we will have a bit more of a clue as who is in the frame to make the final top ten. Read on for the action and to see if we have anyone still on maximum points.
A Section Jennys
Despite getting a battering from the wind we have once again seen some good weights on Jennys, although the overalls were not as high the back up weights were close across the two sections. Harry Billing on peg 20 won the lake today, Harry caught on the pole at 11 meters with worm and weighed in with 44lb 6oz. Second was Bruce Wilcox on peg 2 with 41lb 3oz.Third with 39lb 10 was Pat Bailey, Pat caught on the feeder with maggots from peg 8.
Section Winners
Harry Billing peg 20 8 points 44lb 6oz
Bruce Wilcox peg 2 8 points 41lb 3oz
B Section Python
It was a much better day on Python in the wides with some very close weights but although it was also close but with lower weights in the narrows a couple of the anglers had a real struggle for bites. The winning weight today was 54lb 12oz and this came from Neil Rogerson on peg 15, Neil caught on the pole shallow at 11 meters with casters. Second went to Ian Stevenson on peg 14, Ian caught on the feeder with maggot and groundbait for a weight of 37lb 14oz. Ian Turner was third with 35lb 9oz, Ian was on peg 16 and caught on the pole at 12,5 meters shallow with pellet.
Section Winners
Neil Rogerson peg 15 8 points 54lb 12oz
Mal Proctor peg 35 8 points 19lb 11oz
C Section Pollawyn
The weights were very close on Pollawyn today when it came to the all important section points; they were lower than in previous days but more consistent across the board. Dave Love was the lake winner today; Dave was on peg 23 and caught down the edge on corn for a weight of 68lb 2oz. On peg 15 Joe Roberts weighed in with 47lb 12oz to take second, Joe caught on the long pole with chopped worm and caster and maggot on the hook. Malcolm Johnson was third, Malcolm caught down the edge on worms from peg 19 for a weight of 29lb 8oz.
Section Winners
Dave Love peg 23 8 points 68lb 2oz
Rodney Caroll peg 27 8 points 20lb 13oz
D Section Pollawyn/Sycamore
It was a close day on both of these lakes for weights across the sections and so close in fact that the joint winning weight was exactly the same on each lake! Both Eric Searle and Mal Runacres weighed in with 25lb 6oz to take the joint win. Eric was on Sycamore peg 7 and caught on the feeder with maggot and Mal caught on the pole at 16 meters with worm and casters from Pollawyn peg 47. Steve Williams was third; Steve was on Pollawyn peg 36 and caught on the pole at 11 meters with chopped worm for a weight of 22lb 4oz.
Section Winners
Eric Searle peg 7 8 points 25lb 6oz
Mal Runacres peg 47 8 points 25lb 6oz
With one day left to go here is how the leader board looks.
Overall Top Ten
| Name | Points | Weight | |
| 1st | Harry Billing |
24 points | 134lb 6oz |
| 2nd | Neil Rogerson |
22 points | 112lb 2oz |
| 3rd | Joe Roberts | 21 points | 106lb 14oz |
| 4th | Bruce Wilcox |
20 points | 114lb 7oz |
| 5th | David Cleaver | 20 points | 104lb 11oz |
| 6th | Mal Runacres |
20 points | 86lb 10oz |
| 7th | Tony Oatley | 20 points | 71lb 14oz |
| 8th | John Waterhouse |
19 points | 90lb 15oz |
| 9th | Tom Michaels | 19 points | 84lb 8oz |
| 10th | John Ellis | 19 points | 70lb 8oz |
There seems to be no stopping Harry as he heads in to the final day as the only angler now on maximum points.
Will he finish his week on a perfect 4 section win? The other anglers jostling for positions in the top ten all have very close points and weights so it could go any way tomorrow.
Join us tomorrow for the final update of the Coors Veterans Festival 2011.
Day Four
The final day is upon us and just as the anglers thought they had escaped the rain the heavens opened! With the amount of cold water going into the lakes is bound to have a knock on effect on the fishing but it is the same situation for all so it is just fingers crossed for a good day.
Read on for the action from the final day and to find out who will be the White Acres Coors Veterans Champion 2011,
A Section Python
Fairly close weights on the wides today but it was the biggest struggle of the weeks for the anglers on the narrows with some of them only managing a couple of bites. Winning the lake and his 4th straight section win was Harry Billing; Harry was on peg 14 and caught on the pellet method with maggot on the hook. Robert Lockwood was second, Robert managed to land a few of the lakes bream that had been illusive previously in the week at 2 meters on pellet for a weight of 24lb 6oz.Third was John Waterhouse with 18lb 6oz, John was on peg 16 and caught on the long pole with pellet.
Section Winners
Harry Billing peg 14 8 points 53lb 8oz
Steve Warner peg 25 8 points 11lb 10oz
B Section Pollawyn
Good weights across the board today on Pollawyn with just a couple of the anglers finding the fishing a bit tougher. The lake was won today with 55lb 14oz and this came from John Pantry on peg 32, John caught on the pole at 13 meters with worm over chopped worm. Ian Turner on peg 30 was second, Ian caught on the pole at 4 meters with casters for a weight of 45lb 14oz. John Harron weighed in with 30lb 6oz to take third, John caught on his top 2 with corn from peg 23.
Section Winners
John Pantry peg 32 8 points 55lb 14oz
Jim Heasman peg 16 8 points 29lb 12oz
C Section Pollawyn/Sycamore
Both sections were evenly matched again today and in some areas were very close when it came down to points. Rodney Carroll took the lake win today; Rodney was on Sycamore peg 3 and caught on the method with dead reds for a weight of 29lb. Second with 28lb 10oz was Malcolm Johnson, Malcolm was on Sycamore peg 7 and caught on the cage feeder with worm. David Cleaver on Pollawyn peg 2 weighed in with 27lb 3oz to take third, David caught on the short pole with casters.
Section Winners
Rodney Carroll peg 3 8 points 29lb
David Cleaver peg 2 8 points 27lb 3oz
D Section Jennys
Jennys fished well once again today and although the overall weights were slightly down it was closer on weight across all the pegs. The winner today with 36lb 5oz was John Holdsworth; John was on peg 5 and caught on the method with double red maggot. Mal Runacres was second, mal had a weight of 31lb caught and caught on the feeder with maggot from peg 7. Les Moody weighed in with 30lb 12oz to take third; Les was on peg 8 and caught on the pole at ten meters with chopped worm and casters.
Section Winners
John Holdsworth peg 5 8 points 36lb 5oz
Roger Greenfield peg 16 8 points 27lb 2oz
That was the final day of this years Veterans festival and here is how the final top ten turned out.
Overall Top Ten
| Name | Points | Weight | |
| 1st | Harry Billing |
32 points | 187lb 14oz |
| 2nd | Neil Rogerson | 29 points | 137lb 6oz |
| 3rd | Joe Roberts | 28 points | 132lb 8oz |
| 4th | David Cleaver | 28 points | 131lb 14oz |
| 5th | Mal Runacres | 27 points | 117lb 10oz |
| 6th | Tony Oatley |
27 points | 98lb 14oz |
| 7th | John Waterhouse |
25 points | 109lb 5oz |
| 8th | John Holdsworth |
25 points | 97lb |
| 9th | John Pantry |
24 points | 130lb 15oz |
| 10th | Ian Turner | 24 points | 130lb 10oz |
With a perfect four section win giving him a maximum of 32 points Harry Billing takes the 2011 champions title. The top ten has seen some chopping and changing this week and it all came down to the final day to decide the overall positions and it is a very close set of results.
We would like to thank all of the anglers that have fished this week as the conditions would have put some of the most seasoned anglers off but the Veterans have given it that all this week and everyone should be proud of their performance.
As well as picking up cash prizes the top ten all walked away with prizes that were purchased by the £1000 Coors sponsorship money and on the evening Coors representative Mike White was here to hand out the prizes so a massive thank you once again to Coors and to Mike.
The date for the 2012 Veterans festival has been changed to the 20th October as previously it clashed with the half term holidays, so fingers crossed moving it a week forward we should see some better fishing and perhaps some less harsh weather.
Thank you and congratulations again to all the anglers especially our top three Harry Billing, Neil Rogerson and Joe Roberts and thank you also to those of you following the results on line.
