July, where to start! Although the month hasn’t brought us many dry sunny spells with all its rain, we have had some great weights and catches across the banks along with seeing so many families and juniors!
Let’s jump into what happened throughout July on the banks!
To kick start the month off we saw some great catches caught over on Willow, catching Chub and F1’s. We also had the pleasure to read a fantastic review of the fishery from a father and daughter duo who said:
“This place is amazing. I’ve been here before some time ago, and now the last 2 weekends on the bounce teaching my daughter (10) how to fish. She and I love the place. The staff are all very friendly and helpful with both of us, the lakes are stocked very well. My daughter took her own peg (next to mine) the second time as the confidence she got from the 1st session, catching 20+ fish. We spent the whole day here both times. The facilities are second to none and have zero complaints about anything. Worth the extra distance travel to come to this venue, can’t wait to get here again.”
We love hearing how your day went on the banks and what you caught!
We introduced a new facility to the fishery after the first week of the month, which was our new vending machine just outside the café! Perfect for anglers who don’t want to wait too long to grab something small to eat and drink or for those coming after hours when the café shuts! As mentioned, it is located just outside the café hut as you come up to Willow lake.
On the 18th of July we had the Environment Agency’s Fisheries Marketing & Communications Team out with the Angling Trust for part of their “Get Fishing” event out on Willow Lake! It was all about getting a hands-on experience partnered with some team building! Whilst working hard behind the scenes in the offices, this department had the chance to get involved with the practical side of fishing to enhance their knowledge in a unique learning environment, and they all had a great time catching lots of fish despite the rain!
As we entered the later part of the month, we announced our Winter League dates for this year and going into next! The dates went down a hoot and we’ve had anglers booking already which is great to see. You can book on through the match section of the website now. The dates are as follows:
❄️ The Saturday Teams of 4 W/L will begin on the 28th October 2023 till 17th February 2024
❄️ The Sunday Teams of 4 W/L will begin on the 5th November 20223 till 25th February 2024
❄️ The Individual W/L will being on the 7th January 2024 till 17th March 2024
A few peg repairs and rebuilds were made throughout the month and it’s always really great to see how hard the boys work around keeping the grounds in tip top shape! The grass always grows so fast, and especially with all this rain, so it’s always appreciated to see how great the lakes look!
As we neared the end of the month, we found a gem of a photo from the archives, looking back at the start of the fishery! It was great to reminisce with all the anglers over the photo and see all their stories about fishing a few years back. It all began back in 1996, with just the Gold Lake and then we added a couple of small stock ponds where Tweed Lake is now, Marsh canal, Ribbon and Piper!
The boys went over to the Coveys on the 24th July to ensure the lakes were in top condition for the Masters & Veterans National Championship to be held the following day! We were so excited and honoured to hold this event as a venue for all the attendees and the Angling Trust!
The next day was a great turn out and everyone had high spirits with some top weights coming out from our very own Chris Weeder Snr! The results were as follows:
Angling Trust Veterans & Masters National Championship Results!!
Huge well done to everyone who came and fished, what a turn out! 127 on across Covey 1 – 6, Spey, Marsh, Willow, Pine, Ribbon!
Veterans Match Results – 79 total
Overall 3 winners
1. Chris Weeder Snr – C5, peg 123 – 93.300 kg
2. Kelvin Emlyn – C5, peg 119 – 77.500 kg
3. Phil Barwell – C3, peg 54 – 63.775 kg
Section lake winners
1. Steven Lomax – C1, peg 20 – 22.925 kg
2. Alan Tunney – C2, peg 25 – 36.700 kg
3. Stephen Holden – C3, peg 60 – 32.450 kg
4. David Peszel – C4, peg 96 – 33.600 kg
5. Martin Austin – C5, peg 109 – 34.650 kg
6. Eddie Batt – C6, peg 149 – 61.775 kg
7. Roy Bradburne – C6, peg 159 – 39.300 kg
Masters Match Results – 48 total.
Overall 3 winners
1. Steve Openshaw – Ribbon, peg 10 – 60.950 kg
2. Dave Brown Snr – Willow, peg 4 – 54.425 kg
3. Mike Astbury – Pine, peg 11 – 53.700 kg
Section lake winners
1. Stephen Millward – Spey, peg 2 – 25.425 kg
2. Paul Logan – Marsh, peg 4 – 38.325 kg
3. Alan Naylor – Willow, peg 2 – 41.775 kg
4. Ian Hurst – Ribbon, peg 4 – 34.825 kg
5. Jen Paveley – Pine, peg 1 – 50.675 kg
KG are a first in many years weighing in for us here at Partridge so for each KG its 2.2 lbs which may make it easier for you converting your weight 😂
As we approached August, we started the beginning of our Junior League we hold every year with Guru! Top weights came out of the first round and so nice to see both returning juniors and new faces to the event!
Friday 28.07.23 Junior League Round 1 Match Results:
Youth Category held on Covey 1 and Junior Category held on Covey 2 & 4.
Youth Category
Overall Winner
1. Alex Glover – Covey 1, peg 8 – 99.10 lbs
Section Winners:
1. Jamie Regan – Covey 1, peg 1 – 89.02 lbs
2. Joe Farley – Covey 1, peg 18 – 64.03 lbs
Junior Category
Overall Winners
1. Charlie Aspin – Covey 4, peg 94 – 44.10 lbs
2. Thomas Boyes – Covey 4, peg 100 – 33.13 lbs
3. Sam Jones – Covey 2, peg 38 – 33.03 lbs
Section Winners
1. Dan Boyes – Covey 2, peg 31 – 32.02 lbs
2. Hugo Bardsley – Covey 2, peg 40 – 25.09 lbs
3. Osian Fitzjohn – Covey 4, peg 85 – 21.15 lbs
4. Ethan Wexler – Covey 4, peg 92 – 30.09 lbs
Throughout the next few days, we saw top catches from so many families across the banks and this time of year is always a favourite for us because of how many kids get started in fishing and grow their existing skills. We had the pleasure of starting coaching with Angling Trust member – Chris Yates! Taking on bookings for set days, Chris helped several kids to start up their interest in fishing and help others enhance their current skills for better and bigger catches!
During August so far, we have seen at least a little more sun and still those top catches that we love every year! Can’t wait to see the upcoming events and what the rest of August brings for us all here at Partridge!