"Glebefest 2010"

2010 Pairs Champions and Ronny Ashbrooke Trophy Winners

Jason Jones and Jeff Grantham with a 2 day total of 321.20lb (note Jeff with the cash going in his pocket and Jason left with the trophy!) took the title this year.

Day 1 (Practice Day) - Lakes 4/5

The draw was interesting with so much bait and gear being "extracted" from the WBAC cars it was impressive. All the talk was of end pegs and huge weights but the day turned out to be a scorcher with the carp largely switching off and basking in plain view but not really having it until the last hour or so.

Ian Simpson ran out the winner with 105.0lb making the most of an end peg with 3 lumps during the middle part of the match then the carp arrrived on the 5m line with 90mins to go and it was solid. Jeff Grantham took second with 70.5lb, mugging a few shallow in the middle match before again the 5m line kicked in. Billy Gore a Glebe virgin stuck to the feeder and at the wider end of the pool was on his own casting tight to the boards for his 50.3lb. Graham Aveyard was end peg on Lake 4 and produced the top weight on the lake with 48.0lb snaring a few on pole , feeder and down the margins. There were some tough areas though with 2 or 3 fish caught but 30lb was needed for all sections and the average was 27lb per man, our second best venue of the year in weight terms.

Result

1st - Ian Simpson - 105.0lb (Peg 76)
2nd - Jeff Gratham - 70.5lb (Peg 77)
3rd - Billy Gore - 50.3lb (Peg 82)
4th - Graham Aveyard - 48.0lb (Peg 66)
Sec A - Keith Williamson - 29.9lb (peg 68)
Sec B - Mick Flanagan - 39.5lb (Peg 74)
Sec C - Jason Connah - 34.7lb (Peg 79)
Sec D - Rick Keeley - 32.6lb (Peg 85)

Day 2 - Lake 1 (First day of the pairs)

All the talk was of record days and end pegs with 1 being good and 30 being the flyer of all flyers with 280lb coming off it the previous Monday. Jeff Gratham drew 30 the night before and was ecstatic, we tried to even the odds by adding wine to his alcohol list the night before but it didn't bode well when he was there for breakfast having been up early, been for a run and made some fresh rigs and done his pellets. H drew 1 and again gin and tonic was added but again he was there, albeit without the run, rigs and pellets bit! Billy and Dougie clearly decided they also had flyers and decided to make it even for us, unfortunatley we had said 12pints of corn/hemp not 12 pints of lager........slightly worse for wear the next day....I'm sure Dougie was sleep walking and Billy still dreaming of "tapping off" with a table or chair!

The weather was much kinder, dull but warm and a decent ripple into both end pegs (weird its a boomerang shape so makes sense when you think about it!). The match ensued with much banter, rods were winging and elastic stretching early doors in some pegs, even the odd shout of "horse" (Glebe speak for a carp you could saddle being caught) pierced the tranquil day until.....................Oooooooh Shiiiiiit rang out from peg 17 as Ian Brocklehurst decided to dive into one of his keepnets, the resultant tsuami nearly caught Mick Flanagan out, he is not over tall, so the quick thinking elf stood on his box and kept fishing. Brock had slipped and fell in smashing a keepnet, which would keep us entertained for the rest of the weekend. The funny thing was Dougie and Jason J on the next pegs never moved; Rick and Graham 4 pegs away had to come to his aid. To be fair though Dougie did swing his pole round and fish shallow right next to Brock in case he got a take from him as he surfaced in the margin.

After 6 hours Rick called it and we all knew it had been a good day all round. Jeff was first to weigh and we knew he'd had a good day regulary bagging decent carp down his various margin lines on his flyer! He got a bit stressed when he asked me how I had done. I told him Andy T was over 100lb next to me and it would be embaressing if he didn't win off the end peg but he might need 150lb....his face sank!! Jeff weighed a superb 127lb with no "horses" and to be fair didn't really sort it for the first 2 hours and came second. Yours truely upset Jeff with 135.7lb mainly on 5m in the last 2/3 hours with a few "horses" included having managed to steal Andy T's fish off the next peg towards the end. It did take 3 kilo's of corn, 3 pints of hemp and 3 pints of pellet to tempt them though! I deliberately weighed my two carp nets first for 102lb and Jeff thought he had done me, but 34lb of skimmers stole his mojo! Andy T got off to a flyer going to the 5m early and bagging with a few "horses" as well but a quiet spell late on cost him and he ended up with 103.2lb enough for 4th place. Jason Jones weighed a level 105.lb for 3rd despite swimmers in the next peg, must have washed Brock's fish down to him!

But the angler of the day for me and my partner as well was Sonny who drew Peg 2 and fished a blinder weighing in his best ever match catch with 60.2lb......tremendous.....and some right lumps too!!!

Overall it fished superbly with 1500lb of fish caught between 20 of us for 75lb per man. To put that in context WBAC's best ever previously was Larford with 38lb per man, so we doubled that and again at Larford 780lb top eight so we nearly doubled that too!

19.5 fished it!! (Brocky swam the other half)...sorry 20 fished!!!
4 x 100lb+ weights
7 x 80lb+ weights
17 x 50lb+ weights
Even Brock who fell in, killed his inside lines and didn't fish half the match had 34lb What a fishery!!!

Result

1st - Ian Simpson - 135.7lb (Peg 27)

2nd - Jeff Grantham - 127.0 (Peg 30)

3rd - Jason Jones - 105.0lb (Peg 18)

4th - Andy Thompson - 103.2lb (Peg 26)

Sec A - Harry Simpson - 63.7lb (Peg 1)

Sec B - Mick Flannegan - 88.8lb (Peg 8)

Sec C - Graham Aveyard - 80.6lb (Peg 21)

Sec D - John Heald - 59.0lb (Peg 29) - Treble default with 3 x 100lb weights in his section!!!

Day 3 - Lake 6+7 (2nd day of the pairs)

A few sore heads with Billy, Dougie and Pete only getting out of bed as the majority were off to the lake to rig up but the final day saw a decent ripple with cooler temperatures and some rain. A much tougher match with Lake 7 won with less than 30lb and Lake 6 fishing much better than 7.

Jason Jones rounded off a tremendous weekend with 66.4lb for the win taking carp on the long pole. Mick Flanagan continued his good "nearly man" run with 46.2lb for second having fed 13tins of corn at 5m he never had a bite, catching all his fish on pellet at 13-14m. Rick Keeley is starting to return to past form and took 3rd with 37.6lb with Dave Gentile taking 4th with a hard fought 34.0lb from the little girls end peg.

Overall it felt much worse but in reality it was coming down from the previous days highs, we still weighed 472lb and 24lb per man, which would have been the second best venue after Larford this year in the club matches.

Result

1st - Jason Jones - 66.4lb (Peg 90)

2nd - Mick Flanagan - 46.2lb (Peg 97)

3rd - Rick Keeley - 37.6lb (Peg 91)

4th - Dave Gentile 34.0lb (Peg 86)

Sec A - Ian Brocklehurst - 17.2lb (Peg 88)

Sec B - Ian Lloyd - 22.2lb (Peg 93)

Sec C - Billy Gore - 29.5lb (Peg 99)

Sec D - Graham Aveyard - 28.4lb (Peg 108)

A final word from me after a great 3 days fishing and craic to Graham, Keith and Rick for organising and to all the lads for a great laugh, there is so much I haven't time to mention: -

- Jason C being told "you have all the gear and no idea by Roy Marlow as he tried to flog him Marakuyu bait!

- Jon Heald saying I'm not fishing corn then buying 6 tins for sat to be told by Roy were's your bait for the second half of the match and Roy then going scrounging for John....."xxxx off" I'm bagging was the regular response

- "Billy the fish" and his table and chair fetish.......unreal and I can clap louder than anyone!!

- Dougie's "hills have eyes" stare when I parked in the wrong place.......he was still cabbaged!

- Brocky's guided casting as I looked on, "Brock thats 5m short", "Brock thats about still 2m short", "Brock thats in the tree son!!"

- Pete W chasing a top 3 Daiwa "float" around Lake 5 for 30mins and falling over in the rushes as it stayed 3-4inches out of reach.....thought Dougie was gonna pass out laughing!!

- A round of drinks for 20 lads at a minumim £2 a pint costing £32 - result.....how does that work!!

- Roy Marlow with Rick again, on an end peg again, resulted in a section win again. He sat on his box, binned his rig, changed his shotting, changed his hook, caught two carp in two drops and Rick was sorted - section win duly followed.

- Can I please have a draw on the Glebe thats not within 2 pegs of Jeff Gratham he is defo getting an inferiority complex - he once asked me and Jason C a long time ago (laughing I hasten to add) if we both felt overawed next to him (.......we both beat him that day at Lathom)...... Jeff its was 2 v1 at the Glebe thats not a bad result .....you had 127lb thats a cracking weight........(okay maybe not off peg 30!!!..couldnt resist it!!)

- And finally Dave Grimes as "Matman"
I'll post the rest of the photos seperately!!