Match Day
Date: 13th February 2011
Location: Cake Mill, River Ancholme, Brigg
Date: 13th February 2011
Location: Cake Mill, River Ancholme, Brigg
Weather conditions: Cool and windy, rain early afternoon
Peg: 15
Competitor name: Wayne Easter
Age: 39
Angling history: Started age 8, began matches at 18
Timetable
08.00 am – pegs drawn
08.30 am – setting up
10.30 am – start of match
12.15 pm – first fish caught
15.30 pm – end of match [several Perch and Skimmer Breem caught]
15.45 pm – weighing in
About Wayne Easter
Wayne Easter is from the town of Grimsby, a seaport 20 miles east of Brigg, famous for its fisheries.
“In the school holidays [when I was a child] I went sea fishing and to local angling spots with my mates,” explains Wayne.
“I’ve done lots of sports in my life but this is the only thing I keep coming back to. I don’t know why I like it, I just do.”
Wayne has been competing regularly for the last five years and is a member of Carr Lane Angling Club.
“On a scale of one to 10 for competitiveness I would say that I am about an 8.”
Setting up
Setting up for a match is not only about getting ready all of the equipment; it’s also about assessing the river conditions adjacent to a particular peg.
“There are different habitats under the river,” explains Wayne and, “the time of the year and the weather are also contributory factors that make species vary.”
According to Wayne bigger bait means bigger fish and if you bring some of everything [bait] then you are prepared for every eventually regardless of the peg and weather conditions.
Match days
Matches in Brigg run every weekend and every Wednesday between October and March.
Participation is not only about cash prizes for victorious anglers [usually up to £60], “it is very friendly and you chat to people on either sides,” explains Wayne, “and when somebody catches word gets down the bank.”
Unlike pleasure angling, there is no time to read a book or listen to music and great concentration is required.
“It’s surprising how fast time goes when you’re catching,” says Wayne, “there is rarely chance for lunch or event a toilet break!”
Only twice during his competitive career Wayne has left a match early when he wasn’t catching and adds that as well as being skilled it’s about being in the right place at the right time.
Matches generally take place during the winter and anglers brave snow and ice for their sport. “Fish are in need of food especially during bad weather conditions so these are often good for us. People have been feeding bread to the ducks and the fish inevitably get some of this, therefore we can often use bread as bait,” he says.
Cold conditions mean anglers must wear specialist clothing to stay warm. Wayne’s Garbolino all in one suit [made of 100% Goretex] set him back a cool £580 (worn with seemingly regular wellies).
Today’s match
Today is the third day of successive competitions for Wayne and he suggests a lazy day is ahead.
“We’re aiming for 5-8lbs today of mostly perch and tench - and I’m looking for big fish [size over quantity],” says Wayne.
Wayne starts with a 16m (45ft) pole and Dendrobaena worms as bait. He later tries maggots of varying colour to encourage other species of fish.
“Poles can break easily. They cost about £2,000 and if part of the pole or other equipment falls in the river then a local guy diver will go in to get it for us. It’s relatively cheap compared to the cost of losing the equipment,” explains Wayne.
After a very slow start he says, “When the going is hard like this anyone can win.”
He suggests that peg 15 isn’t a particularly good peg but, “anglers are not generally superstitious about peg number but there can be negative vibes if there is a peg that is never good or never wins or you’ve had several particularly bad days there - for example 13 is considered to be a bad one.”
All fish caught through the day are placed into a keep net until the end of match time. While they are in the net the fish won’t take any food (and thus put on weight!).
“We are really careful with the fish we catch. It’s possible that we catch the same fish twice [especially if pond fishing], if they have any damage of if there is some other identifying mark,” says Wayne.
Anglers are netizens
Wayne keeps abreast of angling news by reading publications such as Matching Fishing and Angling Times which have articles about issues, prosecutions, tips and matches.
Although anglers tend to be slightly older males they are definitely web savvy and frequent angling forums and use EBay to get big discounts on tackle.
Read more about the River Ancholme, issues facing anglers in Under discussion, Why Brigg? and whether to Eat or throw back.
