To view photos of the competition click here
Pembrokeshire Fishweek is nine years old this year. Over that period of
time it has successfully grown in to a very popular tourist attraction. It was
born as a fishing competition to catch sewen in the lower reaches of the River
Cleddau and has continued to introduce various types of fishing competitions
throughout the county. This year it appears that it has been the best year for
entrants into the various competitions, including the Holgan Farm Coarse Angling
Fish Week.
The purpose of Fishweek now is to amalgamate all the relevant activities
within Fishweek with tourism throughout the county. In achieving that end it
couldn't survive without a sponsor and this year we are indebted t
o FBM Holidays, Pembrokeshire's premier self-catering agency. Because of the success of this year
FBM Holidays is to carry on with
its sponsorship of this event for the foreseeable future, and it is hoped that
with a bigger and better advertising campaign next year will be equally, if not
more successful than this year.
During the week at Holgan Farm qualifying competitions were held in the
evenings, with an end to the week of the final on the Saturday. People and
anglers came from all over the Great Britain to participate or attend this
event. From as far away as the metropolis of London, Yorkshire, Northamptonshire
and Wiltshire and other places too numerous to mention.
During the qualifiers of which there were 53 entries over the five evenings
and 22 qualifiers for the final, it seemed that Richard Baldwin from Caerphilly
was emerging as the favourite. He had won two of the qualifiers and was placed
in another two, but on the Saturday it was a relative stranger to Holgan Farm
who came through on the rails to win this prestigious event.
Rick Hogan now of Begelly Arms, Begelly who had never fished the pellet
waggler before this week fished nearly the whole match on that system. He is
normally at home fishing with a quill on the River Avon in the Bristol area from
where he hails, but he was equally at home on the tight expanses of Holgan Farm
Lakes. Snaring seven carp in total he weighed in a respectable 39lb 8oz to be
crowned Holgan Farm Fishweek Champion and pocket quite a few beer vouchers in
the process. He also gained a meal for two at The Bush Inn, Robeston Wathen,
many thanks to them for their kind donation.
In second place was the pre tournament favourite Richard Baldwin. He
started off like a train also fishing the pellet waggler but that soon dried up
for Richard and he had to be satisfied with second place, which itself carried a
few beer vouchers as a prize.
Third place went to the home grown talents of the old man himself Mr Eric
Rimmer, who also celebrated his 72nd birthday this week. He was able to lure
27lb 6oz of carp and roach into his keepnet to take home yet more beer vouchers
and keep the likes of Jim Hutton and Lewis Spink happy. They were in shares and
it seems as though its 'wear the ol' fella' out first' syndrome.
Biggest fish of the week went to Gina Melhuish from Wootton Bassett in
Wiltshire with a fine carp approaching the twelve pounds mark. With a prize of
vouchers from Brite Lites in Haverfordwest it would have been more at home in
Mel Wilkins hands as the poor girl had a nasty accident during the week when a
feeder became trapped in the lake and during the attempt at retrieval it
released itself and smacked her right in the eye. All she could see from that
point on was bright lights which would have been more apt.
Unfortunately a disqualification had to be dealt with during the week as an
angler was seen to be using an unauthorised keepnet. The lesson is there to be
learnt as all keepnets have to be approved by the owner of the fishery, or use
the fisheries own nets. It left a bad taste on the proceedings but nevertheless
the actions were justified.
1st Richard
Hogan 39lb
8oz Peg 8
2nd Richard
Baldwin 29lb
6oz Peg 22
3rd Eric
Rimmer
27lb 6oz Peg 25
4th Scott
Heaps
24lb 2oz Peg 6
5th Kevin
Roberts
20lb 2oz Peg 26
6th Keith
Moore
18lb 12oz Peg 23
7th Phil
Rogers
18lb 0oz Peg 21
Biggest fish Gina Melhuish 11lb 12oz Common Carp
A total of £850 was realised in prize money which was made up mainly of
sponsorship from
FBM Holidays. The remainder was drawn off from anglers pools
money throughout the weeks qualifiers and the final on Saturday.
After the match the prizegiving ceremony was well attended by all the
anglers and Mr David Sangster on behalf of the main sponsor
FBM Holidays
distributed the prizes. He assured everyone present that the sponsorship would
continue for next year and related that it would help all tourism in the county
which would mean more business on the letting side of the company.
Kate Morgan of
Pembrokeshire County Council was in attendance and
reiterated everything that David Sangster had said adding that it was hoped that
next year would be even bigger and better as it was to be their tenth
anniversary. She also expressed that a tiny event that started nine years
ago had increased in stature year by year could only continue to grow. Next
years event will be held week beginning Saturday 27th June 2009 and culminating
on Sunday 5th July 2009.
Many thanks to all our sponsors for this week including of course the main
sponsorship of
FBM Holidays. Other sponsors include
Brite Lites, Haverfordwest
and The Bush Inn at Robeston Wathen.
A big thanks must go to all the anglers who participated in the events and
of course the owner of the fishery Ian Heaps. A pat on the back for everybody
who gave this event the success it deserves.
Ian Heaps 'School of Angling' has to be an excellent way to take a holiday
whilst improving your angling technique and knowledge at the same time, whatever
the time of year. Ian has run the 'School of Angling' for many
years and anglers from all over the country have benefited from his teaching by
going on to become club champions whilst others have even made a name for
themselves on the tough Open circuit. Tuition is normally one to one, however groups
can be catered for. On each day anglers can learn a different technique. Each
morning session begins with a notepad and pen session with Ian showing how a
particular method works best, illustrating shotting patterns and other details
with sketches and diagrams. This is followed by Ian demonstrating the technique
at the waterside after which anglers try out the techniques for themselves.The School is open throughout the year with
the methods demonstrated varying from winter to summer to suit the conditions.
Enrolment at the School currently costs £75 per single day or £250 per week
(five days) from Monday to Friday . Most people book
Sat to Sat whereby they explore and fish at their own leisure on Sat & Sun
ready to start the five day course after a full Welsh breakfast on Monday
morning.
All Ian asks is that when booking, anglers
send a £75 deposit to secure their place at the School, supply their name,
address and contact telephone number and indicate which dates they want to
attend the School. After proving the methods here at Holgan, anglers leave
with the confidence to practice the methods on their local venues. For those of you
who prefer the independence of self catering accommodation please visit www.fbmholidays.co.uk who have
numerous cottages in the surrounding area at competitive prices.
To view photos of the competition click here
Tel: 01834 844565 Fax: 01834 844525 Email: info@fbmholidays.co.uk
