Match 10 The Lillies 26th June 2022

Match ReportSeven of our regular contestants turned out to face the red hot heat of competition at The Lilies, our own club venue.Nine West Lake swims were fishable on the day, of these two were reserved for Pete (priority angler) and Julie who were expected to arrive a little later than usual. A draw therefore went ahead for the remaining seven swims, Mick, Andy and Steve having done well in the draw, scurried off to their chosen swims. That left Mike and John to ponder over the remaining choice of vacant pickings, where for a variety of reasons, each of these swims was in less than pristine condition.Soon after the whistle, Steve after missing a bite, was off to a quick start with an attractively scaled Mirror Carp of 10 lb 8 ozs, this fish had scale damage on one side which was quickly treated with a dose of anti-bacterial spray.A quiet spell then ensued until Andy had a Carp bite that took him in to the lilies for a broken hooklength.Another quiet spell then, Andy was in to another Carp bite, but again thwarted, this time by his reel throwing a wobbly hissy fit to produce a huge bird’s nest of tangled line and another escaped Carp!Mick, having tried using feeder tactics for Carp, but wisely gave up and reverted to using the float in successful pursuit of 16 Rudd and a 1 lb Eel.Then it was John’s turn for a surprise on landing an 8 ozs Eel that did not have the courtesy to register even the slightest of bites at the rod tip.Pete and Julie spent most of the match probing their swims in an effort to find a fish … any fish, but to no avail.Mike’s swim was heavily contaminated with Blanket Weed that seemed to grow more dense as the day wore on, this caused the hook bait to become covered in a silky weed on almost every cast, leading to not getting a single bite throughout the whole match. Priority Update – Blanket Weed on West LakeOn match day 26th June, the lake was suffering from substantial growth of both ‘Floating Blanket Weed’ and ‘Submerged Blanket Weed’, at present the weather conditions seem to be promoting the growth of this weed. Unfortunately, a worrying characteristic of blanket weed is that it consumes large quantities of oxygen which it takes from the water thus creating a harmful environment for plants and aquatic life. Having discussed this on site after the match, both the Bailiff and Match Organiser feel there is a need for urgent action to remove this Blanket Weed before it has a detrimental effect on the currently healthy fish stock. This will be fully discussed by the committee, the likely outcome will be a call for volunteers to assist in Work Party activity to remove the weed as best we can, this is a labour intensive activity where all club members might be in a position to assist by either ‘lifting and shifting’ the weed or as ‘eyes on the ground’ looking around the lake and in to the water to spot patches of floating and submerged weed for removal. Match Results     Mike WaiteMatch Organiser, Horizon Angling Club for the disabledTel: (01243) 771373Mob: 07581062628Sent from Samsung Mobile on O2