Midlands Air Ambulance Charity Fundraiser, Woodside & Island Pools

Fifteen (15) anglers attended the 2023 air ambulance charity fundraiser despite the bleak forecast on the day. The event has grown from strength to strength - so much so, that is has now become an annual event here at the fishery. Sponsored by Worcester Angling Centre and organised by Gary Hickton, this year's event saw even more anglers line the banks of both Woodside & Island pools to help raise money for a fantastic cause.

It was a grueling day weather wise and, at times, pretty grim with very heavy downpours and strong winds. That said, competing anglers got their heads down and dealt admirably with what mother nature had to throw at them with no complaints.

Although an event like this is not really about the fishing itself, sport was a mixed bag depending on where anglers were placed. The Friday before the match had seen extreme rainfall which, without question, effected the fishing on the day. Woodside was a little more consistent with the fish more evenly spread whereas Island pool saw pockets of feeding fish instead with some anglers really struggling.

WOODSIDE POOL

Winner on the day on Woodside pool was Ken Hayes. Ken drew corner peg 6 close to the pads and caught most of his fish down his edge on corn to offer 57-04-00 to the scales to finish narrowly ahead of second placed Josh Sutterby.

Josh drew end peg 16 on the dam wall and started his match on the method feeder. However, the strong winds proved to be too much of a problem midway through the match so a change of attack was needed. Switching to his edges on the pole, Josh found some quality carp to weigh in 51-13-00.

Rounding off a closely contested top three on the day was Mark Birbeck, who drew peg 5. Starting his match offering pellet up in the water, Mark was able to find carp early on before offering pellet down his edge late on to finish the day with 42-08-00.

1st K. Hayes, Peg 6, 57-04-00, Corn in the margins

2nd J. Sutterby, Peg 16, 51-13-00, Method feeder & margins

3rd M. Birbeck, Peg 5, 42-08-00, Pellet shallow & in the margins

Woodside winner Ken Hayes with part of his 57-04-00 catch

ISLAND POOL

Winner on the Island pool was Dan Hart. Dan drew peg 15 on the point of the island and started his match fishing long over to the island to find odd carp and quality roach. However, it wasn't long before carp turned up down his edges and Dan immediately capitalised on quality edge fish showing a willingness to feed in the margins early on. Offering paste over fishery micro pellet, Dan caught steadily from both left and right margins for two thirds of the match to weigh in a final 102-00-00.

Second place was Dave Bowyer on peg 11. Dave also managed to find some quality carp both on his short line and down the edge on pellet, but could not match Dan's catch rate with a few quiet spells inbetween spells of activity. Dave fished a tidy match to finish with a respectable 65-08-00.

Third place on the day was awarded to Nigel Hart on opposite peg 2. Nigel managed to catch steadily to begin with before enjoying a strong second half of the match catching carp in numbers down his edge on both pellet and paste to weigh in 39-14-00.

1st D. Hart, Peg 15, 102-00-00, Long pole & pellet and paste in the margins

2nd D. Bowyer, Peg 11, 65-08-00, Pellet in the margins

3rd N. Hart, Peg 2, 39-14-00, Pellet & paste in the margins

Dan Hart with part of his impressive 102-00-00 cacth from Island pool

Dan with the impressive winners trophy

OVERALL

A dominant performance from the ever-consistent Dan Hart saw his name on the impressive trophy with local rod Dave Bowyer taking the runner-up spot. Ken Hayes' lake win on Woodside pool saw him finish in third place overall ahead of Josh Sutterby in fourth place and Mark Birbeck in fifth.

1st D. Hart, Peg 15 (I), 102-00-00

2nd D. Bowyer, Peg 11 (I), 65-08-00

3rd K. Hayes, Peg 6 (W), 57-04-00

4th J. Sutterby, Peg 16 (W), 51-13-00

5th M. Birbeck, Peg 5 (W), 42-08-00

Congratulations to Gary Hickton on organising a superb event and thank you for giving Woodside the opportunity to host another air ambulance fundraiser. This year's event saw £268 raised on the day with more donations due after the match.

Anyone wanting to be involved with next year's event taking place on Saturday 13th July 2024 can book on NOW through Worcester Angling Centre or the fishery.