Review of the Freshwater Angling year

January

THE YEAR started in fine style for nine-year-old Mike McKenzie from Southampton who left adult syndicate members in Wayne Little's Milton Abbas Syndicate speechless when he pulled in a whacking 23lb 4oz lake record pike to beat the previous record by 2lb.

The match year got off to a tremendous start as well when Bristol angler Kev Moulton won the Millennium Match on Longbridge with a thumping 73lb 11oz of carp and bream from peg 37.

Totton carp ace Lee Hankins took a winter haul of carp most anglers can only dream of when taking 12 fish in 24 hours to 23lb 11oz from Wayne Little's Milton Abbas Syndicate Lake.

Poingdestres skipper Clive Egerton ended 12 months of near misses at Longbridge when winning the third round of The Reelcare Winter Series on Longbridge with 50lb 14oz of carp from peg 23.

London angler Fred Ashman ended a 17-year quest to win a pike match on Broadlands when winning the Millennium event with nine pike for 30lb 17oz.

February

FEBRUARY began with the news that Poingdestres' Graham Tappenden and Cormorants' Ray Hayward had joined Homestores to team up with Mark Illingworth and Paul Sears in a four-man team to fish under the Homestores Select banner.

Poingdestres' skipper Clive Egerton had a bumper pay day when winning a 120 peg open in The Grand Union Canal with 9lb 2oz of roach and rudd worth a cool £425.

Not to be overshadowed, Hansfords' Dave Wyeth won a Polemania qualifier on Willow Park with 32lb 11oz of carp and silver fish worth £210.

Broadlands regular piker Kev Dores took 18 fish in a day for a thumping 102lb which included five doubles.

Longbridge continued its good form with Cormorants Team Sillybaits Steve Rochester taking 127 carp for 72lb 14oz from peg seven to win the latest round of The Reelcare Winter Series.

The next round of the competition was won with a similar weight by team mate Richie Yeo who put 74lb 4oz of carp from peg 40 on the canal on the scales.

Totton carp ace Lee Hankins was at it again with 16 carp over 10lb in 16 hours from Milton Abbas including three 20s topped by the Big Leather at 27lb 14oz.

March

Eastleigh AC cruised into the Angling Times Clubman Knockout Cup quarter-finals with a win at Stoneham with 406 points to 211. Eastleigh's Nick Marsh led the way taking individual honours with ten carp for 58lb 11oz.

The final round of The Reelcare Winter Series saw 1080lb of fish hit the scales with Cormorant Team Sillybaits' Dave Hambridge victorious with 76lb 10oz from peg 29.

Hordle was also in good form with a one-two for Homestores Select's Paul Sears with 63lb 3oz and Ray Hayward with 59lb 10oz in the Hordle Open.

Cormorants Team Sillybaits' Richie Yeo continued his unprecedented run when winning the first round of The Nigel Turner Sunday Series on Mike Smith's Hordle Lakes with a cracking 80lb 11ozs.

The month finished with Milton Abbas Syndicate member Dean Pickering take three pike in a day over 20lb from the Dorset venue with fish of 20lb 2oz, 21lb 13oz and 22lb 2oz.

April

APRIL and its still Cormorants Team Sillybaits Hambridge and Yeo carrying all before them.

Hambridge took 76lb 11oz of carp from unfancied peg two in the second round of Nigel Turner's Sunday Series to win unchallenged.

Eastleigh's golden peg money was up to £200 and Jeff Mason scooped the lot with a 20lb 8oz bag of tench and carp from the Bottom Lake at Stoneham.

The final of The Reelcare Winter Series on Longrbidge saw just an ounce separate Poingdestres' Steve Pomery and Cormorant's Rick Kajko after six hours of action at Longbridge with Pomery getting the verdict with 55lb 7oz.

Pomery followed up his victory in The Hansford's Teams of Four with 59lb 2oz of carp, roach and skimmers from the Match Lake.

May

MAY began with victory in the Angling Times Clubman Cup for Eastleigh who visited unknown Waterhouse Lake at Tadley to trounce Kennet Ospreys and Camrose AC by a 72lb margin.

Eastleigh's Dave Self won the match on his own for Eastleigh with 34lb 7oz of carp, more than the six-man team of runners-up Kennet Ospreys could manage between them.

Team Carbotech lined up in the first round of The Reelcare Cup on Longbridge with a team of superstars and promptly got trashed.

Mighty minnows Downston fished the match of their lives to win with a four-man team weight of 194lb 13oz.

June

victory for Andy Browne's Avon Angling who collected the £1,000 first prize in the Hansford's Teams of Four.

The squad of Andy Browne, Nick Greek, Gary Naylor and Rob Fletcher kept their cool as challengers came and went over the four rounds at Broadlands and deserved their victory.

Sillybait Sensational looked on their way out of The Reelcare Cup on Longbridge with minutes to go but a sensational 70lb of carp for Alex Murray in 40 minutes saved the day.

Reformed match angler Marshal Rolfes Dave Higgins changed waters to fish aboard Roger Bayzard's Sundance III and took pollack, cod and coalfish all over 15lb in a day.

Marshal Rolfe skipper Gary Naylor stuck to freshwater pursuits when demolishing the long standing match record on the Main Lake at Broadlands with 69lb 12oz of bream.

Another match record, this time at Greenridge Farm at Ampfield for Dave Hambridge, who took a mind-blowing 140lb 9oz of carp in five hours with individual fish to 12lb.

Poingdestres' skipper Clive Egerton overcame an arm in plaster and a swim for his pole to win the sixth round of Nigel Turners Sunday Series on Longbridge with 58lb 8oz.

* Part 2 next week