New angling event guarantees top prize of £5,000!

'GRAY' DAYS: Day-ticket grayling fishing at its best as the River Wharfe at Pool provides seven-year-old Keenan Pickford and water bailiff Lee Garrad with their first fish of 2020. PIC: Steve Fearnley

Though organisers are playing down any rift between the established Riverfest competition, the change of final venue from Herefordshire’s brilliant River Wye to a very ordinary River Severn at Shrewsbury looks to be the start of anglers having second thoughts.

After a number of cancellations due to flooding and safety regulations, the final eventually went ahead in December and was a real dour affair with Ian Ward taking the bumper payout with a two -ay total of under 15lb with his first day catch being just 4oz.

Couple the poor quality of sport reflected in a terrible final results sheet, with anglers loosing hundreds of pounds in lost hotel deposits and earnings due to the cancellations, rumours soon hit the bank that a more cost-effective alternative was needed for the North’s best river anglers.

It has not taken long for a number of our area’s top match organisers to format the new competition and qualifiers are provisionally set for the Rivers Swale, Nidd, Ure, Ouse, Calder and Aire with the Hull, Don and Tees also in the pipeline.

The competition will be known as the ‘Northern River Masters’. The two-day final will, in its first year be staged around Yarm on the River Tees with a guaranteed first prize of £5,000 and with a ticket price of just £25 I can see a certain sell-out.

Full competition details, rules and fees will be on the event website at the end of January. I will also give a full breakdown as it becomes available.

After its Severn problems, the original Riverfest has secured the River Trent around Burton Joyce for its final to be fished around the end of September.

It is ironic that this venue was one famous for a number of great Leeds anglers and I wonder will the two competitions go together or cause a clash between some of the country’s best running water anglers?

With the diehard Winter League anglers having suffered some of the worst conditions for years, it was nice for the river levels to be back to normal for the latest round held at Hunters and Linton on the Ouse and Ure.

John Mathers made a fancied peg pay with the best weight from the river for months, taking six bream for 23-08 all falling to a groundbait feeder and worm cocktail.

River legend and still winning at over 80 years old, Aberford’s Noel Speight took runners-up spot with an all perch catch of 14-09 with his first fish of the day weighing a river specimen size 3-05.

The Wharfe below Pool also benefitted from normal river levels with members and day-ticket anglers enjoying some cracking grayling fishing in the steadier of the streamy runs, with off the rod end stickfloat tactics and loose-fed maggot proving the most productive method.

Results

Leeds & District Sat Series Linton on Ouse: 1, D Pilgrim Jewsons 8-11; 2, A Bradley Mirfield 5-09; 3, D White Barnsley 3-07; 4, G Mathews Barlby 3-02; 5, G Brown Barlby 2-14.

Bob Co Yorkshire Winter League Hunters Lodge: 1, John Mathers 23-08; 2, Noel Speight 14-09; 3, Jon Obank 11-00; 4, Nick Chaffer 7-15; 5, Dave Pilgrim 5-09; 6, Ian Fieldhouse 5-04.

Oaks at Sessay Silverfish Only: 1, L Kerry 33.06; 2, D Armitage 24-12; 3, R Swan 23-15; 4, C Kitchen 22-12; 5, K Heptonstall 21-08; 6, T Stevenson 19-12.

Moor Monkton Pools, Sunday Winter League, All Pools: 1, Mark Jones 67-04; 2, Adrian Bolton 64-01; 3, Ollie Hewitt 61-04; 4, Ken Priestly 47-00.

Moor Monkton Pools, Wednesday Rover, All Pools: 1, Mick Green 48-09; 2, Steve Pearson 36-10; 3, Chris Baldwin 34-13; 4, Roy Worsnop 28-00; 5, Tom Bainbridge 24-13.

Moor Monkton Pools, Sunday Winter League, All Pools: 1, Chris Watson 64-05; 2, Dave Wright 47-10; 3, Stan Jeffreys 37-07; 4, Gary Miller 35-03.

Moor Monkton Pools, Wednesday Rover, All Pools:. 1, Steve Mazza 59-08; 2, Graham Twooey 47-14; 3, Mick Green 28-03; 4, Steve Holmes 21-15.

Kippax Park Fishery, Tuesday Open, Lapwing: 1, Paul Clough 41-15; 2, Tony Hewson 27-12; 3, Geoff Wilmore 12-14.

Kippax Park Fishery, Saturday Open, Lapwing: 1, Adrian Broomhead 49-02; 2, Andy Middleton 37-04; 3, John Brogden 32-04; 4, Andy Gallant 25-10.

Kippax Park Fishery, Tuesday Open, Lapwing: 1, Geoff Wilmore 21-15; 2, Steve Pearson 15-12; 3, Adrian Broomhead 13-11.

Kippax Park Fishery, Saturday Open, Lapwing: 1, Mark Rockingham 73-09; 2, Andy Middleton 46-03; 3, John Brogden 41-05; 4, Andy Gallant 19-13.

Angel Lakes, Silvers Only, Lookout, Saturday, Sunderland AC: 1, Ian Foster 44-05; 2, M Doyle 25-00; 3, Stu Pootes 22-08.

Angel Lakes, Big Waters Match, Bowes, Saturday: 1, B Lockey 191-00; 2, N Collins 131-03; 3, D Kirby 77-08.

Match Diary

Saturday

Kippax Park: Saturday Open, Lapwing or Osprey 07967000746.

Poppleton: Saturday Open, pools £15, draw cafe 10am, contact Roger 01904737279.

Birkwood Farm Fisheries: Emily’s or Oscar’s, draw 8.30am, contact 01924 892251.

Woodlands: 72 pegs, tickets £18, contact 01845 520110.

Oaks: at Sessay, 50 pegs, tickets £17, contact 01845 501321.

Langwith Lakes: 60 pegs, tickets £16, contact 01904 431874.

Moorfields Farm: 54 pegs, tickets £16, contact 07710817150.

Fleets Dam: 50 pegs, tickets £15, contact 01226 292579.

Birkwood Farm: 60 pegs, tickets £16, contact 01132 80609.

Viking: Hawk Pond, 30 pegs, tickets £16, contact 01405 860764.

Tollerton Ponds: Open Match, all ages, (Kingfisher 20 pegs, Coot 18 pegs, Heron 32 pegs), contact 01347 838115.

Kippax Park: Winter Series, Osprey Lake only contact Stan 0796700046.

Sunday

York & District: Open Matches, River Ouse, contact Mick Potter 07890870551.

Leeds & Liverpool: Kirkstall, contact Roger Movley 01132 772215.

Listerhills: Leeds & Liverpool Canal, contact Eddie Harrison 07518721051.

Woodlands: 72 pegs, tickets £18, contact 01845 520110.

Oaks: at Sessay, 50 pegs, tickets £17, contact 01845 501321.

Langwith Lakes: 60 pegs, tickets £16, contact 01904 431874.

Oak Tree Leisure: 50 pegs, tickets £15, contact 01347 810686.

Poppleton: Sunday Open, 50 pegs, draw 11am Cafe, contact 07425 146677.

Monday

Woodlands: over-50s, 30 pegs, tickets £15, contact 01845 520110.

Langwith Lakes: over-60s, 30 pegs, tickets £10, contact 01904 431874.

Tollerton Ponds: over-50s, tickets £16, contact 01347 838115.

Tuesday

Kippax Park: draw 10am, tickets £10, contact 07967000746.

Wednesday

Leeds & District: Moor Monkton Pools, draw 10am, contact 07967000746.

Birkwood Farm Fisheries: Emily’s or Oscar’s, draw 8.30am, contact 01924 892251.

Woodlands: 72 pegs, tickets £18, contact 01845 520110.

Fleets Dam: 50 pegs, tickets £15, contact 01226 292579.

Tollerton Ponds: open match, all ages, contact 01347 838115.

Thursday

Poppleton Lakes: Thursday, draw car park 5pm, pools £11, contact Roger 01904 737279.