Heats 5 and 6 of the Scierra pairs and heat 7 of the Fulling Mill International saw a Manx contingent of 12 anglers travel over to Stocks reservoir to compete. On the trip were Russell Cowell, Ian Gregson, Daniel Hall, Dave Howe, Zak Hoosen, Kevin Madigan, Cassim Rassool, Chris Sharples, Geoff Thomas, Kevin Walmsley and Michael and Orrey Watterson,
After a days practice with plenty of fish caught by all, the Manx team paired up to fish the first day of the Pairs competition. Making a good start and catching well were the pairing of Kevin Walmsley and Russell Cowell. The favoured method was the Washing line, which consisted of a floating line, two small nymphs and a small booby on the point. Cowell and Walmsley fished well to finish with their 10 fish total at 13.30. This early finish gave a time bonus of 9lbs, which when added to the total weight meant that they finished in fourth place and went through to the final in August. Also doing well on day one were Kevin Madigan and Daniel Hall. They too were catching but were using a different method of Pulling Blobbs and boobies. After catching 3 fish each, Madigan soon connected into something heavier. After a good tussle a pristine Rainbow of 11lbs lay in the boat. Even if they now did not catch their 10 fish they could be almost certain to qualify for the final with the heaviest fish of the day. They did however continue to catch and had their 9th trout in the boat at 1pm. However 4 fruitless hours later they still had to catch one more. This time it was Halls rod that began to bend with something heavier. A tense fight ensued and after 20 mins a brown trout of 12 lbs lay in the net. Two double figure fish in one day!!!!. This second double sent the two anglers through to the final..
Day two saw the anglers back on the water. This time it was the pairing of Ian Gregson And Geoff Thomas who began to catch first. Changing tack from pulling to the washing line, they caught fast and had their limit by 12.45. A quick dash back to the boat dock saw them the first boat to return that day with a time bonus of 10lbs. It was however only half an hour until the next boat arrived and with that pairing having slightly heavier fish, Gregson and Thomas were pushed into second place. Even with the disappointment of finishing second, they too still qualified for the final at Rutland water later in the year.
Two days later the big competition of the week began. The Anglian water / Fulling Mill International fished by teams of six to international rules. With 8 teams fishing and many big names in the world of fly fishing taking part, the Manx teams would certainly be up against it.
With plenty of fish caught on Dry flies the day before, it was decided to stick with this method for the competition. From the off both teams began to catch fish, it was however the Herring Boys consisting of Cowell, Hall, Gregson, Madigan, Thomas and Walmsley who put the early success to good use and continued to catch throughout the day. After a tense few hours where the wind changed constantly from a flat calm to blustery the teams returned to the jetty for the weigh in. Counting up the team score the Herring boys had 45 fish between them with Cowell and Thomas both ending with 10 a piece. After a quick chat with other teams, the Manx Boys thought they had possibly done enough for victory as they had 5 more fish than their nearest rivals. As the results were announced the ecstatic Herring Boys were confirmed as the heat winners and were to progress on to the regional final in July.
To top off an excellent week of fishing, Mick Watterson hooked and landed his first double figure fish estimated at 11lbs, to give the Manx teams 3 big fish over 10 lbs for the week.
A big thank you to Ben Dobson and all his team who always make the week so enjoyable for us.
Results Fulling Mill International
1st The Herring Boys 45 fish 93lbs 15ozs
2nd Stocks Falcons 40 fish 86lbs 3ozs
3rd Ospreys 37 fish 81lbs 8ozs
4th Greys G-Tec Stocks 32 fish 66lbs 4ozs
