 |   | |
| HOME | CONTENTS NEWSUPDATESFISHING
TIPSARTICLESPUBLICATIONSGALLERYLINKS | JOIN HERE | |||||
| ABOUT
PACREGIONSFEEDBACKEVENTS NEWS FEEDABOUT PIKESEARCH | |||||||
| FROM THE BRITISH PIKE SQUAD 2005,
International Pike Challenge - Great Britain v Ireland Following last year's International in Ireland, the British squad were going all out to try to win back the coveted International Trophy which they had lost to Ireland on their home soil around County Roscommon at the beginning of October '04. Arriving early Thursday morning, some of the British squad managed a few hours practice on a section of the river that was not being used in the match. Trying out different baits and lures in an attempt to predict which would work out best during the two days of competition. The river proved to be in fine fettle with a number of fish falling to the preferred wobbled dead bait method, with a few falling to small White rubber shad. There was a slight tinge of colour to the river with a very relaxed pace of flow. This was the Soar at it's best. The bulk of members of both squads arrived in town that afternoon, and once again many old friendships were renewed with many new ones made; especially as the Irish were introducing no fewer than 8 new debutantes to the International. Many stories and jokes were exchanged over a few pints in the bar during the evening as both sides looked forward to the morrow and a chance to have a practice on the river and hopefully some fine fishing for everyone. However, come the morning (Friday) the British weather had decided to do what it knows best and rained heavily through the night, completely changing the river conditions of the previous day. Both
squads and Stewards set off for a day's fishing at Barrow on Soar to find the
river up, coloured, rising and flowing through at an alarming pace. Because of
this, very few fish were caught on the day. This was worrying for both teams as
without the presence of feeding pike the Match was in jeopardy of being a very
low weight affair. Back in the hotel that evening both squads got together to
discuss what strategies to adopt for the first day of competition (Saturday) if
the river had not improved. The British as hosts had arranged a back up still
water venue in case of inclement water conditions, but both squads much preferred
to fish the river if at all possible Both teams were split into two groups of five, starting from either end of the match length to give everyone plenty of room to rove in search of virgin water and feeding pike, and prevent anglers from falling over each other. Early on the radios crackled into life with news of a few small pike being caught, and as the day wore on it became apparent that the local knowledge gained from bailiffs and anglers was serving the British squad well. Most competitors from both teams caught although as was suspected local knowledge provided by the local bailiffs paid off with a higher British catch rate than the Irish. The
age of technology via Team GB Manager Mike Skipper quickly confirmed that by the
end of the fist days competition, the British team had managed to each catch at
least one pike, with three of the Irish anglers blanking on the day. Day one saw
the British amass a total of 26 pike for 98lbs 02ozs, against the Irish total
of 16 pike for 64lbs 06ozs; a lead of just over 33 lbs. Top British angler on
day One was Steve Colegate with a creditable 22lbs 02ozs (6 fish). Whilst the
heaviest pike on the day at 9lbs fell to the rod of Frank Scott of Britain. The Stretch fished the following day was in complete contrast to the riffles and shallows of the first day's length, with slower deeper stretches in more evidence. However at one end of the match length there was an Island in the vicinity of a weir. This area was to produce the most fish on the day. To gain the upper hand and utilise the knowledge gained from local anglers, we decided to try to draw the Irish Teams top man away by sending Frank Scott to the lower end of the stretch away from the weir feature as we knew that Godfrey Donoghue would follow him. This worked at first, but then Godfrey left in search of the elusive pike. However, the time he spent in this area rather than at the more productive end dented his and Ireland's chance of overtaking us; so our team tactics worked. Throughout
the day most competitors managed to get a fish or two fish early on but then the
bites along the deeper lengths tailed off. The exception to this was the reeds
area opposite the pub and the weir itself, where bites continued to come at times
throughout the day. Richard Harvey, a member of the British Squad entrenched himself
on the Island near the weir and was catching steadily being the second best British
rod on the day with 6 pike for 16lbs 04ozs. Mark Groom, who had already had two
reasonable fish for 9lbs plus joined him and took the days best pike from there
at 9lbs exactly; this after a very large pike had been lost from the pool below
the weir. Eventually at 5 O'clock the final whistle sounded and after another stint on his trusty Laptop, Mike Skipper confirmed that the British Squad had again beaten the Irish on the day but this time by just 2ozs. Along with the first days total this gave the British Squad the vital win that they had wanted and set their hearts on. The trophy was coming back to British soil. The
banter at the evening presentation dinner was in full flow and much to the dismay
of John Chambers, The Chairman of the Irish Pike federation, the Cup was handed
over to and hoisted high by Wayne Gorringe the British Captain. Honours on the
match and presentations were as follows:-
A
big thank you goes out from The British and Irish Squads to all of the local advisors
and members who helped in setting up this years International. Those to mention
in particular are Colin (Toad) Telfer, Mick and Kevan Cowie, Mark Lloyd, Mike
Skipper and all the Stewards who gave up there valuable weekends to assist and
support both Teams. Without this help the event would not be able to take place. Last but not least we would also like to take this opportunity to thank Baits Direct who not only delivered the baits on time but also for supplying some top class baits. Next
Years International Match will be based in Ireland for he second time in the Roscommon
area. This was an area fished last year against the Irish and I am sure was chosen
by them to try to take some revenge. Yours
Sincerely British Pike Squad Web Address is www.british-pike-squad.co.uk. Anyone
who wishes to Sponsor the British Pike Squad please contact me on the E mail address
below. Full results of the International can be found here (rtf word file). |
| HOME | CONTENTSNEWSUPDATESFISHING
TIPSARTICLESPUBLICATIONSGALLERYLINKS | JOIN HERE | |||||
| ABOUT
PACREGIONSFEEDBACKEVENTS NEWS FEEDABOUT PIKESEARCH | |||||||