It was great to see John Paton and his family friend, Tony Brown, join us for breakfast and coffee, arriving just in time to hear the highly offensive banter and jokes as a rowdy queue formed for the match draw. This year, the ‘Golden Peg,’ better known as Rick’s Peg, went to Dave Wass.
The match started off well with lots of fish being caught right from the start.
Still carrying injuries from the demanding C2C2C, Mitch Jackson turned up for his first-ever day of fishing, coached by Simon Blaydes. Before long, Mitch had forgotten his injuries and was reeling in fish after fish with a smile.
Family members and friends visited throughout the day. Alesha and Jane Blaydes brought raffle tickets, annual freshly baked treats, and refreshments.
Fourth place went to Gary Cox with 5lb 9oz, third place to Dave Wass with 9lb 10oz, second place to Tony Brown with 10lb 04oz, and the King for the Day was Phil Middleton, weighing in at 10lb 6oz.
All in all, it was very close in the top three placings, with all anglers fishing hard and catching literally hundreds of fish each.
Back at the picnic table, Alesha and Jane Blaydes’ coconut tarts were circulated, and the annual whopping great Victoria sponge cake was placed on the raffle prize table. Many thanks to John Paton for donating the box of lager.
Gary Cox announced this year’s winners, and Simon Blaydes proudly awarded Phil Middleton the prestigious trophy. Special congratulations to Tony Brown on his debut visit to the lake and to Mitch, who learned to fish competently. The real winners of the day, of course, were the charities, as £108.50 was raised. This year, the Brain Tumour Trust was accompanied by Parkinson’s UK as our nominated charities. Our thoughts were with Rick Paton and Ian Elsey and their families.
If anyone has children or elderly family members wishing to try fishing for the first time or return to this pastime, please let Gary Cox or Simon Blaydes know. The Gelder Lake is a wonderful place to spend a few hours, and everyone is guaranteed to catch at least a few fish.
