Yvonne Ludkin Memorial Trophy

The Yvonne Ludkin memorial Yateley pad lake visit was here, the usual Angling legends were in attendance except the German who was getting over Covid and he had sent a special guest to fish on his behalf,the 9.00am meet at the cafe soon got to 9.30 as the mystery guest was late and Simon Mott(Slug) forgot some stuff and had to pop back home and there was a rare sight as Little Nash was on time.The draw was taking place in the Cafe and the names went in the draw when I (Draw Master) felt a crispy £10 being passed under the table and names were drawn,out first was Richard Jewell(Munch aka Angry kid),the bribe was not noticed by the others and the Germans guest came out 2nd,Little Nash 3rd,me 4 th and Simon (Slug, Resident Chef) came out last,breakfast was soon demolished and of we went to the lake.
We did our usual walk around the lake and on the causeway bank it was like a whirlpool bath, obviously fish were feeding and Munch chose to fish this area, special guest chose the point, Little Nash chose in between the pads, I chose waiting man’s and Slug felt it his duty as he looks after a kids footy team to fish next to Munch to make sure he was safe.Then the realisation hit us all the lake was very, very, w**dy and it was proving hard to find any clear spots to fish, even the master Munch couldn’t find any spots and he had to keep his blood pressure low, Simon was on the case and opened up the beers.The fist night was uneventful except from the swans that were eating everything in the lake. The next day our guest was off the mark with a 28lb 10oz mirror. Then out of nowhere my middle rod ripped of and fishing with a tight clutch I was on it only for it to bury its head in the thick w**d and was solid, Captain Munch Aka Pugwash, got the boat and with life jackets on we set sail from Yateley harbour to receive a big ball of w**d, the fish was off (Gutted). All my rods were re positioned ready for the night ahead and around midnight the middle rod was away and managed to get it through the w**d and in the net a very welcome common 17lb 1oz.
After a really cold night, which I’m sure the temperature didn’t help the fishing, the next morning was soon upon us with the sun shining we were all hoping for some fish to grace our nets but it seemed like we were only feeding the swans and there cygnets, later that day my left rod ripped of and a lovely mirror was in the net 26lb 12oz well happy with that. The fishing was still slow around the lake and the weather was different on each side of the lake Munch and Simon were sunbathing going full brokeback mountain, and Little Nash was wrapped up in thermal underwear, joggers, and fleece top trying to get warm so thought he could keep warm by feeding the swans some more bait. Going into the last night the morale was low, not many fish being caught, and the night was uneventful, morning was soon here and my right hand rod was away and after a short battle it was in the net a 21b 4oz mirror, and that was the last fish of our trip.There’s always next time and we will back again next year.
Tight Lines and wet nets.

The usual 9:00am meeting in the café for a full English breakfast and cup of tea, and more importantly, the draw for choice of swims for the next three days.

Gary "Gazza" as he was current trophy holder, picked first, he managed to to feel the extra crinkle he had placed on the crumpled piece of paper with his name on, and pulled his own name from the hat. Andy "The German", or "Dovey" as he is now known, came out second, Si "Sluggy", third, and Andy "Little Nash", last. There were only four this time as Richard "Munchkin" couldn't make it but managed to should his face for a few hours a bit later for a few beers.

Gazza chose "waiting mans", a swim that everyone wants to fish and one that produced for him last time we were here including his pb, so it was pretty much nailed on that he would choose there. Dovey chose "the point", one that he had fished once before but it hadn't produced, it commanded a lot of water and there were a few features he could find.

Sluggy confidently chose "end of pads" and next to him, Little Nash "between the pads" a pretty swim that is a little restrictive due to the close proximity of the pads and a narrow channel between.
Lil' Nash got off to a start around late afternoon when his left rod sprang into life, he soon slipped his net under a 14lber, and got back out there asap.

Dovey had a few beeps on his right hand rod around 4am, enough to get him out of his pit and stand behind his rods, slowly the bobbin rose again and he lifted into a nice 28.0lb mirror, a few self takes later, the fish returned and he was back on his spot.

6 hours later, Dovey was back in action with the same rod, it kited left and right and managed to guide it into the bay, the fish had other ideas and stormed off into the middle fo the lake, back to square one. 5 minutes later and in the bay again the net slipping under a nice mirror. Slug wound in and helped with the weighing, and had to go back to his swim to grab his scales and the fish bottomed Dovey's out. Weighing on scales that were man for the job, the dial went around to 41.14, a new UK pb for him. Elation. Slug took the photos, the obligatory water shots, and congratulations ensued. A celebratory cup of tea, a few moment to reflect, and the rod was back on the spot with the trophy, surely, in the bag.

The trophy, very quickly, fell out of the bag.
Within a hour Little Nash had managed to net an impressive beast at 43.12, Slug, once again doing the honours with the photos.

We all wound in around 1:30pm for a celebratory bbq in Gazza's swim. We let Gazza keep his rods out, as he needed all the help he could get.
Sluggy, with his chef hat on was overseeing the bbq. A few beers, some nice meat, and a bit of sun leant for a lovely afternoon regailing the stories of what had happened earlier that day.

Around 3ish we went back to our swims and got set for the evening ahead, back on the spots, setting the traps. Lil' Nash was back in the action just before dark with the a scrappy common at 17.4 and that was it for the night.

1:30pm the next day was the last of the carp to be caught, Dovey again with a mirror at 23.2

Gazza did manage to get a tench out, not the quarry he was after though.

Slug, with all the effort, the photograhy, the cooking, the everything, deserves a special mention, as, although he hasn't caught anything this time, his red letter day is coming.

Roll on September.

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