A total of 56 anglers took part in the first match of the new season, fishing across three zones — Zones A and B at Stokes Bay, and Zone C at Lee-on-the-Solent.
The match produced an excellent 410 fish, with catches including whiting, bass, dabs, dogfish, pouting, congers, and a single flounder.
🏆 Top 5 Overall Results
- Tony McDonald (Peg 45 – Zone C) – 563cm
Catch included whiting, bass, dogfish, pouting, and congers - Paul Stevens (Peg 44 – Zone C) – 481cm
- Joe Wales (Peg 40 – Zone B) – 380cm
- Pete Smith (Peg 14 – Zone A) – 378cm
- Jimmy Jenkins (Peg 34 – Zone B) – 354cm
Wiltech League Winner
The Wiltech League was won by Pete Smith (Peg 14 – Zone A) with 378cm.
Pete, one of our senior members and a hugely popular figure within the club, fished perfectly to his strengths. By finding fish early and repeatedly casting to the same productive area, his consistent approach resulted in a fish almost every cast. He finished the match with an impressive bag of 15 whiting and 1 dab.
Longest Fish Awards
- Overall Longest Fish:
58cm dogfish, jointly won by Ash Dowdeswell and Tony McDonald - Wiltech League Longest Fish:
Andy Smithson – 68cm conger
Junior League Winner
- Freddy Farrell – 262cm, an excellent performance 👏
Zone Placings
Zone A
- 1st – Pete Smith
- 2nd – Liam McGrady
- 3rd – Ash Dowdeswell
Zone B
- 1st – Joe Wales
- 2nd – Jimmy Jenkins
- 3rd – George Sell
Zone C
- 1st – Tony McDonald
- 2nd – Paul Stevens
- 3rd – Billy Potter
A strong turnout and some outstanding individual performances made this a great start to the season. Well done to everyone involved — we look forward to the next match.