Paynter's top man again in Thurne match replay

ROY WEBSTER
25 November 2009 09:00

Tony Gibbons' indomitable faith in the Broads' tidal rivers was rewarded superbly last Saturday when massive bream catches were put on the scales following his second attempt to revive top-class match angling on the River Thurne.

The NDAA chairman decided to peg the Martham stretch despite the top catch of a solitary 5lb bream only six days earlier.

And the angler who weighed in that single fish, Kevin Paynter, of the Yarmouth Sportsmans, headed the card again, but this time with a stunning net of mainly skimmer bream totalling 50lb 7oz caught from peg number 20 at the bottom end of the match bank.

In an adjacent swim, runner-up Jason Brewster (Anglers' World) scaled 42lb 8oz and the next man on a list of nine returns over 20lb was Reg Bryanton (Deben) with 28lb 8oz.

After the previous week's grueller, following a huge flood tide and deep overnight frost, quite a number of anglers believed the fish had fled the river in their winter migration.

They were wrong and Gibbons was right. It was the prevailing conditions that put the fish off and there had been no major movements of the river stock to the dykes and boatyards.

On the strength of Saturday's results and quality midweek catches, Gibbons is staging a third open event on the Martham bank this Sunday, draw 8.30am on the boatyard car park with entry to 01603 400973.

“Because there were isolated fish caught during the first match all along the river, I suspected that the main shoals of bream were still there but off colour due to the weather conditions.

Two days later, anglers fishing these banks started to catch fish in fair numbers and, as the weather turned milder and the tides receded, I had no hesitation in pegging out the bank again,” he explained.

“Local anglers must use these tidal embankments where access has recently been made available by the Environment Agency. I am happy to say that the early signs that this is happening is most encouraging and this will lead to further bank clearance on other major river venues.”

He went on: “I am most encouraged by the news that the Broads Authority has blown the dust off the 50-year-old plan to install a tidal barrage in the Great Yarmouth estuary as well as hoping to establish special washes to combat the threat of sea surges into our rivers and Broads.

“A barrage at Yarmouth would guarantee the safety of our natural treasure for the foreseeable future and protect the freshwater habitat in the river valleys of the Ant, Bure and Thurne, which are so important, not only to local anglers and nature-lovers, but to the tourist industry as well.”

Elsewhere on the open match circuit, Cobble Acre turned up the match catch of the week for resident bailiff Bob Anderson, who won the Jimmy Randell Open with a superb mixed bag of 83lb 1oz.

Commented the Norwich-based winner: “I was delighted with this splendid bag of fish considering the weather conditions last Wednesday.”

Meanwhile, Norfolk and Suffolk Veteran club man Paul Manthorpe pulled off a brilliant treble. He won at the Cider Farm with 44lb 1oz, then at Bergh Apton with 82lb 4oz and completed his hat-trick at Colton with a 21lb 1oz winner with the Shell Club.

On the River Waveney, the Beccles Caxton club members contacted the roach shoals again, their top rod J Youngman with 42lb 7oz of specimen red fin.

On the big fish commercial lakes, the regulars appear to have turned to pike fishing on the Broads.

However, Swangey Lake relinquished 31lb of mirror carp for Martin Groves, of Dereham, and Peter Green, of Attleborough. Twenty pounders were netted by Alan Reynolds, of Attleborough, Richard Ames, of Rockland, and Stuart Howes, of Wymondham.

Cobble Acre turned up four carp on the 20lb mark for Lowestoft's Marty Drake, while Norwich father and son Chris and Danny Green shared a four-fish catch of mirrors around 20lb.

At the Lyng Kingfisher Lake, Buxton's Stu Davison had the fish of the week, a 33lb 9oz mirror carp, while, at Hall farm, Burgh Castle, Frank Rose, of Cobholm, netted 35 carp for an estimated aggregate of 175lb.

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