A mainly overcast day day with a few sunny spells greeted our Juniors for their third match of the season. The changeable conditions had coats going on and off all day, but the fish were primed and ready to turn this into a great day.
I have never personally fished or even seen the Top Lake before, so it was going to be a voyage of discovery for me too.
The draw saw Jake on peg one, Faith on two, Sophia would have been on three if she didn't have something better to do (Coaches wrath engaged!), Noah had four, Joseph on Five and Max drew peg six.
The match got underway with and most participants caught from the off....except Max. Poor old Max was having the worst day. I think he had everyone's quota for tangles for the whole day in the first hour! Faith and Jake were catching steadily to his right, so the pressure was starting to build on the unfortunate Max. Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Noah was content with steady stream of small Carp on the pole. He had to use the pole because the dopey lead coach had forgotten to bring the rods that have been set aside for Noah from the Re-gen program....Sorry little fella...
Joseph had a battle with a Carp that, unfortunately won this time...
Faith, pictured right with Dad, Mike, was putting together a few Carp on the feeder on the end of the island. Being new, little Faith needed some help from her Dad to land some of the fish. Mike can be seen helping out whilst simultaneously sending a subliminal message to the photographer!
The fish were mostly small but very feisty. Most of them put up a good scrap...
By now, even laid back Max was getting twitchy. He could see fish in his swim, but because of trees, brambles and grass, getting to them was proving difficult. To his credit, Max tried to winkle them out with a long pole. But lack of experience just added to the frustrations of the day and the pole was abandoned.
Jake managed an impressive tally of tree hook ups on the feeder, with more than a little help from his Dad, Glenn. So much so, that he was almost turning it into an artform. Despite 'help' from Glenn, Jake was actually managing to put together a nice bag of fish that was going to rival Faith on peg two.
Joseph had dropped back on the whip and was finding the odd fish. You have to give it to him, the lad tries to get fish feeding on baits from the far side of the bait tray. Sausage meat was on todays menu. He made it work too, with a few hungry fish finding his unique bait choices irresistible.
Rather than displaying justified despair, Max refocused himself and, with some instruction, found some form and was catching some better sized fish. Lisa, max's mum, was relieved that she had not become a bad omen for young Max, by attending her first Junior session!
The weigh in was going to be interesting to say the least...
So, on to the weigh in and everyone was gathered to see where their days work had left them.
First on the scales was Jake with a very respectable 14-9-4.
Faith was next with a superb 14-2-12.
An empty peg 3 meant that Noah was next and put 46 fish in the bag for a decent 7-7-12.
Round to the bait wizard, Joseph, who managed to squeak in with 7-13-8.
Lastly, Mr Struggle, Max had a good recovery with 10-0-0...
First time winner and the 25 points go to Jake Taylor 2nd in her first ever match was Faith Stone
3rd with a good recovery was Max Faulkner.
Very well done to all participants...
Whitemoor is a class fishery and manager Tom is always very welcoming when we come to visit. A big thanks to Tom and Whitemoor for hosting us today.
At the risk of this post turning into the Jake Taylor show, we need to recognise the efforts of Jake that have earned him a Level One certificate and badge for passing the entry level of our coaching program. Well done Jake, what a day you had!!!
Part of our new equipment had it's first run out today too. Featuring todays match winner, Jake, I observed a number of people having a good look at our new banner and one or two even stopped to take it in properly and look across to where our Juniors were battling hard.
If this is an indication of the effect of just one banner, then it is job done in my opinion.
It only remains for me to say a huge thanks to the residence of Whitemoor for showing up to make the day special.
Thank you to Jon Bass and Jerry Bracey for their expert help and continued support, and to our wonderful parents and Juniors for making my job so rewarding...
Graham Howard
Junior Secretary.