SEASON 2024 – 2025
Sunday 3 November 2024
The second Winter Points Match took place at Steart and Big Ham, split venues were again used to reduce the walks for the 17 anglers taking part. Despite ideal conditions, fine, still and with the river in good shape, the fishing was less than we had hoped. In fact, if perch hadn’t showed, it would have been extremely poor with the better roach just not showing.
There were two Sections at Steart, the upper one being won by John Taylor with 7lbs 9ozs which included three good perch, the best one going 2 – 02. Second was Jeff Sibley with 6 – 06 and he was on his own in getting the roach to feed in the last hour of the match. The downstream Steart section contained the overall winner, Jack Stamp, who had 12lbs 4ozs of perch on worm over chopped worm. Section winner by default was Jamie Bumby with 3 – 09 and Paul Newton was greatly surprised that his 1 – 14 gave him the runner up prize.
The High Ham Section was won by Mick Haskell with 4lbs 12ozs which included a number of chublets taken on the waggler over loose fed maggot. Dean Walters was runner up in that section with 3 – 0 of small perch.
The method almost everyone used was worm or red maggot over chopped worm, fed in groundbait or with a bait dropper.
Sunday 21 September – Air Ambulance Charity Match
We held our annual charity match to raise funds for the Dorset and Wilts Air Ambulance Service on Saturday 21 September 2024 on all of our waters from Wood Lane to Fiddleford.
The winner was Steve Kedge with 15lbs3ozs consisting of three big tench plus perch and roach on worm hookbait from a swim above the old railway bridge at Colber Farm. Second was Mike Withey on a peg just above Sturminster Mill with 14lbs8ozs, catching roach on maggot and caster before switching to worm and landing 4 tench.
The very top swim of the match produced 12lbs10ozs for Mike Hunt who landed perch to 1.5lbs and a late bonus bream, all on worm.
4th was Tony Scott was fishing downstream of Stur Mill where he had an excellent bag of roach on hemp and caster, plus a bream for a total weight of 11 – 14.
The top weights were very close with 5th place going to Sean O’Neil with 11 – 05 and Ian Dunlop completed the frame in 6th with 10 – 02.
The event has raised in excess of £2200 for this very worthy cause, of which £725 was contributed by Mike Cullen from sales of tackle contributed to the Club by a wide variety of anglers, former anglers and relatives of same when no longer required. The organiser was Ian Paulley and everyone who was involved in the organisation and administration of the event deserves great credit.
Sunday 9 September 2024
The final match of the Summer Points Series, incorporating the Singles Cup, took place today at Colber Farm on a day that started in heavy showers and finished in sunshine. 20 anglers competed on a river that was full and coloured after several days of rain. It was obvious from the off that bream would be the target and so it proved with the top 7 weights all featuring that species. For everyone it was a case of flat float or feeder unless there was slack water on the inside where small fish were sheltering.
Top weight on the day was 17lbs 12ozs caught by Adie Damon from the third peg below the top of the broken bridge field. He had five bream on the feeder with worm hook bait. On a roll after his success in the last Club match, Paul Newton was second with 14lbs 4ozs which included 3 good bream plus some roach and perch, all caught on worm on the feeder. Paul’s peg was about halfway along the same field as the winner. Dean Walters was third with 10lbs 14ozs of 3 big skimmers, some perch and roach, again caught on feeder fed worm.
The Upstream Section was won by Craig Fletcher with 1 – 11 of small fish caught on a shallow waggler. The middle section by Jeff Sibley with 8 -14 and downstream by Tony Cairns with 7 – 7.
Reminder that the Air Ambulance Charity Match will be held on Saturday 21 Sept. and the following waters will be closed to all non-competing anglers:- Upper Colber, Colber Farm, Durrant, Steart, Hamgate Farm (Big Ham, Little Ham and Sowley). Names to Ian Paulley if you want to enter.
Sunday 28 August 2024
Apologies but this report got lost in the ether and no amount of searching can find it. The bare bones are that it was fished at Upper Colber and 25 anglers fished.
The winner was Paul Newton with 20lbs10ozs, 2nd. Richard Chave with 12-04 & third was Nicky Collins with 11-10.
Bream again featured in all the top weights.
Sunday 11 August 2024
Umbrellas were out in force for reasons different to the usual rain on one of the hottest days of the year when bait and skin needed protection.
The fourth Summer Points Match saw 26 anglers brave the conditions at Colber Farm when the competition was also for the annual Pairs Cup.
Ben Dukes was pegged just upstream of the White Bridge and took first place with 9lbs 10ozs which included a good tench. Nicky Collins also found a tench and a skimmer in his bag of 7lbs 13ozs from the straight just above the Broken Bridge. Both anglers had their bonus fish on worm. The final place in the frame came from Edwin’s Boathouse where Martin Barrett had 7lbs 6ozs of roach on caster and hemp.
There were 5 Section Prizes – upstream to downstream order….
Richard Chave 6 – 05
Des Shipp 6 – 10
Simon Dennis 4 – 13
Jamie Bumby 6 – 08
Paul Wyatt 6 – 06
The Pairs Cup was won by Ben Dukes and Bill Hanson with a combined weight of 14lbs 06ozs.
NB. To avoid clashes with the Sturminster Cheese Festival and our annual Air Ambulance Charity Match, the next Summer Points match has been brought forward to Sunday 25 August 2024. Please spread the word to those who may miss the News Pages and this entry.
SUNDAY 28 JULY 2024
Match 3 in the Summer Points series took place at Hamgate farm using the whole stretch as 27 anglers competed for the Read trophy. It was a hot day and fished hard with only five weights over four pounds.
Winner on the day was Mike Bernstein on the first peg in Big Ham. Mike had two skimmers in his weight of 8lbs 5ozs. Third, and pegged next to Mike, was Jeff Sibley with an all roach catch of 7 – 10 which was good to see as all previous matches have relied on bonus fish. Second place, at the end downstream peg on Sowley, was Richard Chave with 7 – 15. The general tactic was maggot and pinkie over ground bait but worm sorted out the better fish.
There were three sections and first & second in each were rewarded for their efforts. Big Ham went to Des Shipp with 4 – 12, Mick Haskell runner up with 3 – 00, Little Ham saw Charlie Way net 3 – 06 and Jamie Bumby 3 – 00, Sowley was won by Nicky Collins with 6 – 02 and Simon Dennis had 3 – 15.
Pairs Match 13 & 14 July 2024
Due to the demise of the South West Super League, the booking for this weekend was taken up by Mark Harper who organised a very interesting two day pairs match using Colber and Hamgate. The 25 pairs were split between each venue on Saturday and Sunday.
The final results were
Day 1.
1st Graham Tappenden 10lb 4oz
2nd Bill Hanson 7lb 14oz
3rd Andrew Cranston 7lb 13oz
4th Mick Hurst and Rob Randall 7lb 12oz
Day 2
1st Liam Braddell 9lb 2oz
2nd Mark Harper 8lb 9 1/2oz
3rd Shaun Bryan 8lb 9oz
4th M.Haskell and John Taylor 7lb 14oz
Overall result
1st Andrew Cranston and Darren Scott 9pts
2nd Craig Fletcher and John Gatehouse 9.5pts
3rd Bill Hanson and Mic Hurst 10.5 pts
4th Richard Chave and Gary Etheridge 12pts.
5th James Carty and Paul Rigby 13.5prs 19lb 14oz.
6th Rob Fletcher and Andy Miller 13.5pts 19lb 3oz.
It was a very well supported and interesting weekend given that the effect of consecutive match days was totally unknown. In fairness, most pairs needed bonus fish to get onto the leaderboard but there was some high quality fishing on show and it was pleasing to see a high proportion of our Club anglers competing successfully with the cream of South West river anglers.
SUNDAY 7 JULY 2024
The second match in the summer series took place at Upper Colber on day of very heavy showers and uncomfortable conditions, the river having risen overnight. 26 anglers took part and the winner was Stu Burdekin with 15lbs 14ozs of roach on caster and maggot over ground bait. Simon Dennis was second with 9lbs 13ozs of mainly roach and perch but supported by a big skimmer. Third was Ian Paulley with 7lbs 10ozs, again it was small roach on maggot and pinkie supported by a good skimmer. Final place in the frame was Liam Bradley with 7lbs 8ozs of roach caught using rod and line tactics in the unusual summer conditions of flow on the river.
Of the three sections, the top field was won by John Cattell with 6 – 2 and Lee Woodhouse was second with 5 – 13. The middle section was won with 5 – 14 by Mic Hurst and Charlie Way was second with 5 – 11. The downstream section was won by Ian Dunlop with 3 – 5 and Mick Haskell was runner up with 3 – 2
SUNDAY 23 JUNE 2024
The first match of the new season took place today at Hamgate Farm, using the entire length of Big Ham, Little Ham and Sowley and 29 anglers competed.
First with 9lbs 12ozs was Sreve Kedge, Richard Chave was second with9 – 02 and Paul Wyatt completed the Fram with 6 – 13. All fished a combination of caster/ maggot and pinkie over ground bait but bonus fish ruled. the day with tench and bream being caught on the worm line.
There were 4 Section Prizes:- Jeff Sibley with 4 – 01:John Taylor with 6 – 02:Simon Dennis had 6 – 04 and Mick Haskell 4 – 03
SEASON 2023 – 2024
Sunday 4 February 2024
The fourth match in the Winter Series was held at Steart and Streeters and 14 anglers participated on a day when the water looked good, not too coloured and for the first time in weeks was not very cold. The obstacle to good presentation was a strong and gusty downstream wind that made holding the float back a very difficult proposition.
However, one angler made double figures; Ady Damon had 10lbs 5ozs from the upstream end peg which was mainly roach caught on the running line, stick float and caster doing the trick. A few small perch supported his bag of roach.
Steve Harvey continued his good run at this venue with his ability to find perch a very useful asset. He had one of 2lbs 10ozs to go with his net of roach and small perch to weigh in 7lbs exactly. Steve caught on maggot but the perch came to worm.
John Taylor filled the final frame place with 5lbs7ozs of roach and perch on pinkie and maggot fished over groundbait.
Jeff Sibley won the top section with 5lbs 5ozs: Bill Hanson the middle section with 4lbs 14ozs and the bottom section went to Rob Fletcher with 4lbs 8 ozs.
Sunday 21 January 2024
After the floods and the ice, there was every expectation that the river would start fishing again, unfortunately no one told the rain gods and it tipped down for the best part of two days prior to this, the third in the Winter Series.
Dean Walters won it with 7lbs 11ozs of small perch from the high bank at Steart taken on worm and red maggot fished over chopped worm. Second was John Taylor in the next peg with 5lbs 2ozs of slightly bigger perch but fewer of them. He caught in exactly the same way as Dean. There were 3 Sections, Mickey Haskell fished the top peg on rod and line for 4lbs 9ozs of small chub loose feeding maggot and caster, using the same on the hook. The middle section went to Ady Damon with 2lbs 11ozs and Rob Fletcher won the bottom section with 4 small chub for 3lbs 3ozs.
The
Sunday 14 January 2024
The first match of the New Year was held today at Colber Farm, either side of the White Bridge. It was also the second one in the Winter Series due to many postponements because of the high water levels throughout December.
On a very cold morning, few of the 14 hardy souls competing were overly confident. Although there was a frost, the fields were still very wet and walking to the pegs was a good work out. The river looked to be in good shape, decent colour and a manageable flow.
Roly Williams gave a masterclass in fishing bread punch over liquidised, taking an all roach bag of 13lbs 10 ozs. He favoured rod tactics over the pole finding, like most, that the fish could not be held in one place and were sometimes right down the swim.
John Taylor was second with 11lbs 11ozs targeting perch with worm and it was a good decision, taking some quality fish, the best being 2lbs 11ozs . Dean Walters was the final framer with10lbs 8ozs of perch, using the same tactics as John of worm over chopped worm, Dean had two fish well over the pound mark.
There were two Section prizes; upstream went to Ian Paulley with 8lbs 15ozs of roach on the punch and the downstream section went to Mick Haskell who had small chub and roach on maggot and bread to catch 5lbs 10ozs.
Members are asked to keep an eye on the Club fixture list as we are having to squeeze in Winter Points matches due to those we lost with the weather conditions.
Sunday 22 October 2023
The first Winter Points match took place a Hamgate Farm, with 3 Sections – Big Ham, Little Ham and Sowley – on a swollen and very coloured River Stour. Given the conditions, it was a static bait attack as everyone went out for bonus fish and the two end pegs were the most successful.
Jeff Sibley was at the downstream end of the venue and found seven skimmer bream and some perch for 18lbs 2ozs caught on feeder fished worm.
Ian Paulley was at the other end, the top of Big Ham, and caught 3 good skimmers, a couple of perch and a decent eel, all on the flat float. There were 3 eels caught in the course of the match which is a rare occurrence nowadays, especially as they were established fish of a good size.
Third was Craig Fletcher with 4lbs 3ozs on maggot or worm, fished close in on a groundbait feeder.
The sections were won by Simon Dennis with 3lbs 8 ozs at Sowley: Paul Wyatt with 1lb 15ozs at Little Ham and John Perry with 1lb 1oz from Big Ham.
Sunday 8 October 2023
The final match in the Club Summer Series was fished at Colber on a pleasant day but the river was still coloured with little flow and the fishing was very hard.
Tony Cairns was first on the day from the upstream end peg with a bag of roach and perch to finish with 7lbs 9ozs. Steve Harvey was second with 6lbs 13ozs which secured his place as winner of the Summer Series and he had a lovely perch at over two pounds. John Cattell was third only 3 ounces behind.
There was no stand out method, those in the frame caught on maggot and worm over groundbait and/or chopped worm
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The annual Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance took place on Saturday 16 Sept.2023.
With little flow and still some colour in the water, conditions were good for fishing although there was a blustery wind.
The six indivual prizes were extended to seven due to a tie on place 6 between Mark Harper and John Taylor on 9lbs 6ozs, however, the winner, Ian Dunlop managed to total 15lbs 2ozs. He was pegged halfway along the field upstream of the old railway bridge and had two big bream, some skimmers, perch and roach to back them up. His tactic was fishing worm and caster over groundbait.
Second, with 12lbs 4ozs, was John Moody who was on a favoured peg, the first one above the island at Durrant. He also caught two big bream with a similar back up to the winner
Simon Dennis was third with 10lbs 13ozs from the upstream end of Durrant where he found 3 biggish skimmers and some good perch, rudd and roach on the long pole line, again the tactic was worm over groundbait.
Fourth placed weight was 10lbs 1ozs by Nicky Collins who bucked the bonus fish trend and caught mainly roach on caster from the downstream end of Big Ham at Hamgate farm. Dean Walters was pegged in the same area and was 5th with 9lbs 8ozs.
Mark Harper was pegged at Little Ham and John Taylor was in the downstream field at Upper Colber. John had a 5 pound chub in his bag and lost four others which were also large fish, he fished hemp and caster, loose feeding to hook his fish mid-water.
Sunday 13 August 2023
The Pairs Cup took place today on the Club Water at Colber Farm and 24 anglers took part on a very windy day, making presentation quite difficult. In addition there was hardly any flow but a surprising amount of colour in the water considering we have not had too much rain in the previous few days.
As has so often been the case this season, it has been big, bonus fish that have dominated the prize list, Rob Fletcher being the winner with four bream totalling 16lbs 3ozs. He was pegged in the middle of the field on the upstream side of the demolished railway bridge and caught his fish on worm over groundbait, a tactic used by all those in the frame.
Second was John Taylor who had two big bream and a skimmer from Edwin’s Boathouse swim, together with a few small fish, weighing in 13lbs 4ozs. Third, and pegged next to the winner, was Martin Barrett with two big bream and a skimmer to take 12lbs 9ozs to the scales.
The Section winners were Ian Dunlop in the top section with 5lbs 15ozs, Jamie Bumby and Jack Stamp tied on 5lbs 8ozs in the middle length and John Cattell won the downstream section with 5lbs 10ozs.
The next match will be on Sunday 27 August, 2023 and the venue will be published on the website.
Please note that the Stour Cup, scheduled for 3 September has been postponed to 24/9/23.
The Air Ambulance Charity Match will take place on Saturday 16 September and members should note that all water from Wood Lane to Fiddleford Mill will be pegged and closed to pleasure anglers that day.
Sunday 30 July 2023
The Reid Trophy included the third summer points match at Hamgate Farm using Big Ham, Little Ham and the upstream pegs of Sowley. The river still held some colour after the recent rain but conditions were far from ideal with most of the 23 competitors coping with a strong downstream wind which, for many, was also in the face. Given the incessant drizzle plus the odd pulse of heavier rain, it made for a pretty miserable day.
Weights inevitably suffered unless you could find one or more bonus fish and Steve Harvey on the upstream end peg had 5 decent skimmers in the last hour to top the frame with 11lbs 4ozs. Second was John Taylor who managed 8lbs 6ozs of mainly perch, but with a back up of small chub, dace and roach
John Moody was third from a peg at the bottom end of Big Ham with 6lbs 11ozs which included a 5 pounds plus tench. The final framing weight was Rob Fletcher with 6lbs 3ozs which also included a bonus tench
The three section prizes were Tony Cairns 3lbs 5ozs in Big Ham, Jamie Bumby with 3lbs 12ozs from Little Ham and Lee Woodhouse with 3lbs 14ozs in the downstream section at Sowley.
No tactic proved decisive on the day and most anglers fished maggot and pinkie over groundbait or worm over chopped worm.
Sunday 16 July 2023
26 Anglers fished the White Hart trophy (Second summer points match) at Upper Colber on a very blustery day and with the river level up a few inches after heavy rain two days previously.
With a bit of colour in the water there was an expectation that the bream would feed but, with the exception of the last 2 downstream pegs, this proved not to be the case. Ian Paulley drew the last swim on Upper Colber and Neil Sims, the first one on the Colber Farm stretch.
Ian fished a flat float over groundbait with worm on the hook to catch 2 five pound plus bream and some quality roach for a weight of 18lbs 3ozs. Neil fished a heavy float, held back over his groundbait line to catch 3 big skimmers and some roach to bring his weight up to 9lbs 5ozs.
At the opposite end, from first peg on the match stretch, John Taylor had 14lbs 10 ozs, he started to catch perch on his worm line on the inside before switching to fish hemp and tares long. This tactic accounted for a lovely bag of roach which gave him second place on the day.
The section winners were, pegs 1-9, Andy Miller with 4lbs 15ozs: 10-19, Jeff Sibley with 4lbs 6ozs and 20 – 27, was Steve Harvey with 5lbs 13oz. so, with the exception of the 3 individual winners, the weights were very consistent.
Sunday 25 June 2023
The first match in the Summer Series was fished at Upper Colber and 27 anglers took part on a hot, sunny day when the fish weren’t particularly interested in feeding. Despite that, Des Shipp showed his class from the first peg downstream of Dunn’s Mouth with 12lbs 3ozs of small roach and chublets caught on maggot and then hemp.
Andy Miller was second from Peg 1 at the upstream end of the venue with 7lbs 11ozs of small fish caught on pinkie over groundbait. Mic Hurst was third from a peg three up from the downstream end of the match. His weight of 7lbs 3ozs included a big skimmer and two good perch, all caught on worm fished over chopped worm together with a decent number of small fish caught on pinkie.
The three Section prizes were won by Richard Chave with 6lbs 10ozs in the top field, Jeff Sibley with 6lbs 0ozs in the middle section and Dean Walters with 5lbs 11ozs in the downstream section. All the section winners caught small fish, roach, rudd and chublets on a variety of baits – maggot, pinkie and caster.
Members are reminded that there is a midweek Open on Weds. 28/6 and the South West Supper League is holding two matches on our waters on 2 and 9 July. Details of the venues, which will be closed to Club Members are to be found on the fixture list.
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Sunday 26 February 2023
The final round of the Winter Series took place at Colber in very bright conditions, a hard frost and a NE wind. However, 14 anglers braved the conditions to fish 7 pegs above the white bridge and 7 below. The cold deterred the roach from feeding freely in most swims and perch became then target fish. Simon Dennis had 11lbs 3ozs starting off with about 3lbs of roach on maggot and pinkie before switching to the inside line with worm on the hook over chopped worm. There was a tie for second place on 8lbs 14 ozs between John Cattel and Mick Haskell who fished very different methods. John fished maggot over groundbait for roach but that line died and he then moved across the river and bagged up with chunky little rudd caught shallow on maggot. Mick was upstream of the old railway bridge and went traditional. He caught on the long rod and a Bolo float fishing and loose feeding maggot and pinkie right across to the far bank features.
There were 3 sections, the upstream one was won by Bill Hanson with 8lbs 1oz of roach caught on the bread punch, the middle section went to Steve Kedge with 5lbs 11ozs of small roach and the downstream section was won by Jack Stamp who caught perch long and short on worm finishing with 8lbs 9ozs.
Thanks to Jeff Sibley and his team for the arrangements, pegging and running the admin and looking forward to the Summer Series now!
Sunday 19 February 2023.
On a bright day with a moderate wind and clear water, expectations were not at their highest for the 12 anglers who fished the fifth round of the Club Winter series at Colber. However, it fished extremely well considering the conditions, including four double figure weights.
First on the day was Jeff Sibley pegged opposite Edwin’s Boathouse who fished the 7metre whip with maggot and pinkie over small nuggets of groundbait and finished with 14lbs 3ozs of small roach and rudd. Second, from the peg above Jeff was Simon Dennis who fished the usual tactics of full depth rig with maggot and pinkie over groundbait but found a 4lbs tench to boost his weight to 12lbs 5ozs. There were two section prizes, above the white bridge went to Dean Walters with a mixed bag of roach, skimmers and perch for 8lbs 6ozs and below was Bill Hanson’s 10lbs 8ozs of roach with two small skimmers.
The final round (weather permitting) will be at Colber on Sunday 26 Feb.
Sunday 12 February 2023
Round 4 of the Club Winter Series was held on the river at Colber and 12 anglers took part. The river was very clear but it fished extremely well.
Steve Harvey was pegged on the bend above Edwin’s Boathouse and was immediately into fish after putting groundbait in on the 13 metre line. A run of skimmers to just over a pound came from fishing double maggot over the feed and he caught roach consistently from then on finishing up with 19lbs 7ozs. Jack Stamp was between the white bridge and the railway and put together a mixed bag of roach, rudd and perch. The perch were caught on worm over chopped worm on the inside and made up the majority of his 18lbs 14ozs total weight. There were 3 section prizes, the one upstream of the railway bridge went to Neil McPhillemy with 11lbs of waggler caught roach; in the middle section Simon Dennis had 14lbs of mainly perch fishing the same way as Jack. The lower end section went to Dean Walters with a weight of 17lbs 3ozs, approximately half of which was rudd caught shallow, the remainder being standard method of maggot/pinkie over groundbait.
The next match will be on the 19th. February, again at Colber.
Sunday 5 Feb 2023
It’s been a long wait to resume the Winter Points series but we managed it at last.
8 anglers fished Steart stretch on a fine day after a ground frost with an easterly wind and clear water conditions, most pegs produced a decent amount of fish. Dean Walters won it with 12lbs 5ozs of small fish, roach and rudd, the latter making up about a third of his total weight. Dean caught on maggot and pinkie over groundbait followed up by loose feeding. Second was Ian Williams who went the traditional way and fished bread over liquidised on …. the for a weight of 10lbs 6ozs. Bill Hanson was third with 10lbs 3ozs fishing maggot and pinkie on the pole over groundbait. He found four small skimmers soon after the all in but they went and his net of mainly roach came by loose feeding on the rod and line.
Only two anglers caught less than 4lbs and Dennis Cory had two roach in his net of 8lbs one of which broke the pound and one very close. Good to see some stamp fish on that section.
Add new match result
Sunday 5 Feb 2023
It’s been a long wait to resume the Winter Points series but we managed it at last.
8 anglers fished Steart stretch on a fine day after a ground frost with an easterly wind and clear water conditions, most pegs produced a decent amount of fish. Dean Walters won it with 12lbs 5ozs of small fish, roach and rudd, the latter making up about a third of his total weight. Dean caught on maggot and pinkie over groundbait followed up by loose feeding. Second was Ian Williams who went the traditional way and fished bread over liquidised on …. the for a weight of 10lbs 6ozs. Bill Hanson was third with 10lbs 3ozs fishing maggot and pinkie on the pole over groundbait. He found four small skimmers soon after the all in but they went and his net of mainly roach came by loose feeding on the rod and line.
Only two anglers caught less than 4lbs and Dennis Cory had two roach in his net of 8lbs one of which broke the pound and one very close. Good to see some stamp fish on that section.
Sunday 4 December 2023
After two cancellations for flooded and dangerous conditions, we eventually managed to get on the river and ten anglers were given plenty of room between Steart and the Creamery. As it turned out, only Steart fished well with the top four weights coming from that field.
Mic Hurst was the winner with 14lbs 6ozs of roach from the last swim on the high bank. He started on the pole, fishing maggot and pinkie over groundbait but changed to a Bolo float on the rod and line as the fish backed off. Steve Harvey was on the upstream end peg on the high bank and had a net of 12lbs 2ozs on the pole fishing maggot over grounbait and catching roach with the odd rudd but a change to chopped worm with worm on the hook proved an inspired choice as he caught four big perch from the inside. Jeff Sibley was the last peg in that field and had exactly 8lbs of roach and rudd on the whip after changing from a stick float approach.
The weights on Streeters and the Creamery were disappointing by comparison with Ian Paulley and Jamie Bumby tying on 2lbs 12ozs for that Section.
The Christmas match for this coming Sunday at Revells is now cancelled
Sunday 23 October 2022
19 Competitors took part in the second Winter Points Match which was held at Colber Farm. Heavy rain over the previous two days had resulted in the river being up and coloured, a situation that most interpreted as a bream day. That certainly proved the case for the winner and runner up.
Jeff Sibley fished the feeder with worm, maggot and groundbait in a swim midway along the field above the bridges and found nine big skimmers for 13lbs3ozs. Paul Wyatt fished in the same way but had a 5lbs+ bream and a good back up of roach and rudd for a total of 10-5.
Dennis Corry bucked the trend by fishing the pole and catching roach with some very nice specimens up to ten ounces on maggot and pinkie over groundbait. His third place came with a weight of 7lbs11ozs.
The match was split into three sections and prizes went to Mic Hurst at the upstream end peg with 5lbs1oz: Andy Miller above the bridges with 3lbs3ozs and the bottom section by Steve Kedge who was pegged just above the White Bridge, with 5lbs11ozs.
17 September 2022
For the third year running, Sturminster & Hinton Angling Assocn held an Open Competition in aid of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance on Saturday 17th. The competition was supported by Sonubaits who supplied prizes of groundbait and mixing buckets. The day started with the first frost of this season which did not auger well for the fishing but most people had a busy day catching in phases but at least there were fish to be caught in every swim.
72 anglers competed on the club stretches of the River Stour between Upper Colber and Fiddleford and an expected sum in excess of £1200 was raised.
Special thanks to the Chairman, Ian Paulley who worked so hard in arranging the match that he didn’t have time to compete, and to Mike Cullen who raised £280 from an auction of tackle gifts.
The winner was Gary Taylor who was pegged at Durrant, first peg above the island with 42lbs 12oz which comprised of 6 big bream and about 8lbs of silvers caught on worm and caster. Second weight came from Sowley where Nick Ewers weighed in 13lbs 8oz including two bonus fish, a bream and a tench, chopped worm being his successful tactic. Durrant again featured when Andy Miller had 11lbs 12oz of roach and skimmers on caster, maggot and pinkie from the straight below the Recreation Ground. Fourth was Mick Jepson who had a mixed bag of small fish at 11lbs 6oz caught on the whip with maggot from Upper Colber stretch. Nicky Collins continued his fine run of form with exactly 10lbs including a 4lbs tench from the downstream end of Sowley.
The match was divided into 8 sections of 9; No.1 section, pegs 1 – 9 being the Upper Colber end.
This was won by Richard Chave with 9lbs 3oz: Section 2 by John Gatehouse with 5lbs 12oz: 3 by Des Shipp 5lbs 12oz: 4 by Bill Hanson with 8lbs 15oz: 5 by Gary Cross with 8lbs 9oz: 6 by Ricky Searle with 7lbs 12oz: 7 by Martin Barrett with 7lbs 11oz and Section 8 by Dennis Cory with 7lbs 10oz.
Thanks to all who took part, to the organisers and to the farmers and landowners who allowed competitors to drive to their pegs.
The Chairman will formally present the funds to the Air Ambulance in the near future.
On Sunday 4 September 2022 the final Summer Points Club Match was held at Sowley when 13 anglers took part. It was a blustery day but dry after a wet draw, the river remains low and clear with duckweed as an added problem.
However, the top three all managed double figure weights and more than half the field broke the 4lb barrier. Top on the day was John Cattell who had 17lbs 6ozs with a 6lbs bream in his mixed bag of roach, perch and skimmers, all caught on red maggot or worm over groundbait. Nicky Collins was second with 11lbs 7ozs of roach and perch from the upstream end peg at Big Ham on caster. Third came from the top end of Little Ham where John Taylor had one ounce less than Nicky of roach, perch and skimmers on maggot and caster.
The two Section prizes went to Mike Cullen with 7lbs 7ozs and Simon Dennis with 7lbs 2ozs.
The next match will be the Charity Match in aid of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance on Saturday 17 September when it is hoped that many will support this very worthy cause. Entry should be made through Ian Paulley whose number is on the website.
Sunday 21 August 2022.
The annual Pairs Cup was held on the lower fields of Colber Farm. The weather was fine and dry, overcast for much of the match but the lack of rain and flow has led to duckweed building up in many of the swims, making fishing difficult for many competitors.
The winners on the day with a combined weight of 22lbs 9ozs, were Tony Cairns and Charlie Way. Tony was also the individual winner with 19lbs 9 ozs, coming from a peg just upstream of the old railway bridge. He had a mixed bag of roach, perch and skimmer bream on a variety of baits over groundbait. Second was Steve Harvey from the penultimate upstream peg with 10 decent skimmers and a back up of perch on worm over groundbait then chopped worm. Simon Dennis was third with 10lbs 3ozs of roach, rudd and perch, again fishing a variety of baits over groundbait.
There were four sections, the upstream end being peg 1. Pegs 1 – 6 winner was Kev Bennett who had 5lbs 7ozs of very small fish fishing pinkie shallow. Ian Dunlop won Pegs 7 – 12 with 7lbs 6ozs. The third section went to Paul Wilding with 4lbs 10ozs and the bottom section to Neil Sims with 5lbs 7ozs.
The Club Match on Sunday 7 August 2022 was for the Read Trophy and 21 anglers fished at Little Ham and Sowley, Hamgate farm. The weather continues fine and sunny with the river being low, clear and with little flow. Despite these conditions a few fish decided to feed but the top weights all contained bonus fish. John Taylor was pegged at the top end of Sowley and won with 11lbs 11 ozs which included a two and half pound chub caught on sweetcorn! He also had three skimmers and some back up perch caught on red maggot and worm. Andy Miller continues his excellent run of results, coming second with 8lbs 6ozs, three decent skimmers and some roach caught on caster and pinkie. Nicky Collins was 3rd from the last peg in Little Ham weighing in 8lbs 5ozs which included at bonus bream.
The top section (Little Ham) was split between Charlie Way and Neil Sims who both had 3lbs 8ozs, the middle section (top of Sowley) saw Simon Dennis taking 4lbs 10ozs and the downstream section was won by Mic Hurst with 5lbs 3ozs.
The method for most was to fish the groundbait line until bites ceased and then loose feed, fishing shallow. There were more roach caught this week so maybe they are starting to feed during the day. Let’s hope so and see what the next match throws up on 21/7/22, venue to be found on the website.
On Sunday 24 July, the Club Match at Colber saw an impressive turn out of 28 anglers. The river continues to be low and clear with most anglers being happy that the perch and rudd were feeding. Roach proved very elusive for most.
The best pegs proved to be around and below the white bridge but the winner came from the very top peg with 17lbs 11ozs. weighed in by Jeff Sibley with perch and skimmers on red maggot and worm. Second was Richard Chave with 16lbs 4ozs from the peg immediately below the white bridge, lots of small rudd and roach plus a tench. Third was Liam Baddell from the swim on the bend above Edwin’s boathouse with 12lbs 1oz which included a monster tench, not weighed individually but estimated at over 6lbs. John Moody was 4th from the first peg above the white bridge with 8lbs 14ozs, again mainly perch.
The section winners were, pegs 1 – 7 Jamie Bumby with 3lbs: pegs 8 – 14 Nicky Collins 5lbs 9ozs: pegs 15 – 21 Andy Miller 7lbs 12ozs and 22 – 28 was Tony Cairns with 7lbs 2ozs.
The next match will be Sunday 7 August and the venue will be posted on the Club website in the week prior.
On Sunday 10 July 2022, the Club Match was fished for the Pearson Trophy at Colber Farm.
18 anglers fished on a particularly hot and bright day with no breeze. Fishing was very hard and congratulations to the winner, Andy Miller who managed a mixed bag of 8lbs 5ozs, roach, rudd, skimmers and chublets on maggot and pinkie after an initial feed of groundbait. Andy was drawn just above the footbridge at Colber. Second was Simon Dennis who managed to find a bonus tench on worm to supplement his smaller fish and weigh 7lbs 15ozs. Third was Kev Bennett with 6lbs 6ozs from the swim opposite the boathouse who had a net of small rudd and roach caught up in the water over loose feed.
There were 3 Section prizes, on the top pegs, John Taylor took 5lbs 2ozs; Jamie Bumby had 5lbs 9ozs from the middle Section which included a nice bream and Steve Harvey had 3lbs 9ozs from the last peg before the island.
The next match is on 24 July and the venue will be shown in the fixture list once it is decided.
On Sunday, 26 June, an Open match was held prior to a heat of the South West Super League at Colber, Durrant and Sowley and 63 anglers took part. The top weights all came from Colber where John Cattell won from the end downstream peg, catching 40lbs 3ozs with 7 big bream, some rudd, roach and small chub. Second was the first peg at the top of that section where Dave Jarman had 16lbs4ozs, mainly roach, third was Kev Bennett with 16lbs2ozs, Lee Trevitt was fourth with 16lbs1oz so it was very tight. Durrant Section was won by Dennis Corry with 11lbs14ozs and Paul Newton was top weight at Sowley with 6lbs6ozs.
Sunday 19th June 2022
The first match of the 2022-3 season took place at Upper Colber with 23 anglers participating.
It was overcast with a few rain spots later in the day but the river was clear and slow and sport was not terrific given those conditions. The fact that the fish had been unused to bait and groundbait for three months and the amount of disturbance on the banks, the results were probably up to expectations.
Top weight on the day came to Kevin Bennett who was fishing the first swim downstream from Dunne’s Mouth (R. Divelish entry to the Stour) who had a mixed bag of chub, bream, roach and perch to put 15lbs12ozs on the scales. Second was Andy Miller with 6lbs0ozs from the middle field, a net of small fish and third, in the same field was John Taylor with 5lbs11ozs which included a decent chub. All used similar tactics of maggot and pinkie over groundbait but then changing to loose feed when the groundbait line didn’t produce.
The Section winners were Neil Sims with 4lbs14ozs: Mick Haskell – 3lbs2ozs: Mic Hurst 3lbs9ozs and Bill Hanson 4lbs9ozs. The baits and tactics were similar to the individual winners.
There will be an Open Match on Sunday 26 June, to be followed by the use of our waters by the South West Super League the Sunday after. Members should check the fixture list for details of closed waters and for entry details for the Open.
