Summer 2-day Festival, Woodside & Island Pools
- Woodside Fishery
- Aug 30
- 10 min read
Thirteen (13) anglers fished the third annual summer festival here at Woodside. Anglers were pegged across both main match lakes with a random draw taking place on the opening day of the competition to determine which lake anglers would start on. Day two would then see anglers rotate lakes with those placed on Woodside pool on day one moving up to the Island pool for day two and vice versa. Overall positions where determined by points with cumulative weight being used to separate anglers in the event of a tie. This year's event also saw the introduction of prizes for lake winners in addition to the usual prizes awarded to section winners resulting in a wider payout.
Conditions for this year's festival coincided with a much needed break from the drought that has blighted the country since April. Anglers had to deal with strong winds and heavy showers over both days, which brought a very welcome dip in temperatures as well as some much needed water with both match lakes approximately two feet down on normal summer levels.
DAY 1 - ISLAND POOL
'A' Section
Winner of a difficult 'A' section on Island pool was Ken Hayes. Despite an unfavourable draw on paper, which saw him placed on peg 3 (permanent peg 6) on the dam wall, Ken managed to catch early on his short line alternating maggot and corn hookbaits before switching to expanders over fishery micro pellet down his edge. Ken put in a great day one performance from a difficult peg to weigh in a superb 86-07-00 to put himself way out in front in 'A' section and record a valuable single point from an area that has seen multiple anglers before him score maximum points from.
Finishing second in section was Scott Banks, who drew peg 5 (permanent peg 11). Starting his match on a method feeder over to the island before having a look down his edge late on with paste, Scott managed a modest 34-14-00 to score two (2) points.
Third in section was Gasparo Russello from peg 4 (permanent peg 9). Unfortunately for Gasparo, the opening day of his summer festival was one to forget with just 16-00-00 of small carp and a handful of silvers taken on corn gracing his net, giving him maximum points. Still, with sections being split, all was not lost.
'B' Section
Winning the Island pool outright in 'B' section was man of the moment, Dave Bowyer. Dave's phenomenal run of form continued for the summer festival with him recording the highest weight over the two days on day one offering an impressive 150-11-00 to the scales from peg 7 (permanent peg 15). Dave caught small 'stockies' in numbers for the duration of the match down his edge on maggot and pellet to earn an all important single point as well as give himself a favourable weight advantage in the process.
Picking up two (2) points but securing the section payout (£20) was Craig Lea-Hair. Craig drew peg 1 (permanent peg 2), which is well known for producing big weights. However, section 'B' including all hot pegs on the lake in an effort to make the lake as fair as possible, so Craig had his work cut out for him with all draws in 'B' section being good draws. Fishing a method feeder down his edge with dead red maggot on the hook, Craig found a decent stamp of fish, but not in the numbers they usually show in, to weigh in a final 60-03-00.
Third in section was Ryan Walker from peg 6 (permanent peg 14). Again, a peg with notable recent form, Ryan had numerous fish infront of him for most of the match, but despite his best efforts, the resident carp would not settle over his loose feed. That, coupled with a handful of foul-hookers, saw Ryan finish day one with 29-05-00 and three (3) points.
SECTION A | ANGLER | PEG | WEIGHT | METHOD | PTS |
1st | K. Hayes | 3 (6) | 86-07-00 | Corn / maggot short & pellet in the margins | 1 |
2nd | S. Banks | 5 (11) | 34-14-00 | Method feeder & paste in the margins | 2 |
3rd | G. Russello | 4 (9) | 16-00-00 | Corn in the margins | 3 |
SECTION B | ANGLER | PEG | WEIGHT | METHOD | PTS |
1st (LAKE) | D. Bowyer | 7 (15) | 150-11-00 | Maggot & pellet in the margins | 1 |
2nd (SEC) | C. Lea-Hair | 1 (2) | 60-03-00 | Method feeder | 2 |
3rd | R. Walker | 6 (14) | 29-05-00 | Corn in the margins | 3 |
DAY 1 - WOODSIDE POOL
'C' Section
Taking the overall lake win on Woodside pool, and scoring a single point, was Jason Bird. Jason drew peg 9 (permanent peg 3) and caught quality fish on corn over fishery micro pellet to weigh in 69-07-00 to put himself among the front runners after the opening day, but would need to do more on day two if he was to remain near the top of the field with the better weights typically coming from the Island pool.
Finishing close behind in second place, but taking the section purse, was John Latham. John drew peg 11 (permanent peg 9) and fished paste down both his edges to weigh in 65-12-00 of mainly carp as well as a smattering of roach, rudd and bream to record a useful two (2) point score to keep himself in contention going into day two.
Third in section, and picking up three (3) points, was Ross Tucholski. Ross drew peg 10 (permanent peg 5), but struggled to find the fish offering just 18-02-00 to the scales.
'D' Section
Winner of 'D' section on the day, and securing a valuable single point was Ick Kull from peg 8 (permanent peg 1). Ick found the majority of his 29-06-00 on corn fished down his edge to top what proved to be a very low weight section indeed with very little being recorded from off the dam wall opposite also.
Finishing second in section scoring two (2) points was Steve Hilton. Steve drew peg 13 (permanent peg 13) and fished pellet down his edge to offer a modest 14-02-00 to the scales at the end of the five hours to finish narrowly ahead of the man pegged to his right.
Stan Taylor recorded a three (3) point score from peg 14 (permanent peg 15). Like others in the section, Stan struggled to find the fish with just two carp coming from down his edge on paste and one loan carp on the feeder long over to the island. Stan finished a difficult day one with 10-05-00.
SECTION C | ANGLER | PEG | WEIGHT | METHOD | PTS |
1st (LAKE) | J. Bird | 9 (3) | 69-07-00 | Corn in the margins | 1 |
2nd (SEC) | J. Latham | 11 (9) | 65-12-00 | Paste in the margins | 2 |
3rd | R. Tucholski | 10 (5) | 18-02-00 | Paste & corn in the margins | 3 |
SECTION D | ANGLER | PEG | WEIGHT | METHOD | PTS |
1st | I. Kull | 8 (1) | 29-06-00 | Corn in the margins | 1 |
2nd | S. Hilton | 13 (13) | 14-02-00 | Pellet in the margins | 2 |
3rd | S. Taylor | 14 (15) | 10-05-00 | Method feeder & paste in the margins | 3 |
The competition was still wide open going into day two thanks to split sections giving those anglers that experienced a tough opening day a chance to claw something back. Dave Bowyer went into the second day an obvious favourite given his recent run of form and also given the fact he carried a near 80lb weight advantage with him. However, Jason Bird, Ken Hayes and Ick Kull also went into the second day with a single point, so Dave couldn't afford to take his foot off the pedal prematurely. Craig Lea-Hair and John Latham were also not out of the picture having scored two (2) points each in their respective sections, plus both recorded decent weights on day one. Steve Hilton and Scott Banks were also still in with an outside chance pending a decent draw on day two.
DAY 2 - ISLAND POOL
'A' Section
Winner of 'A' section on day two was Stan Taylor, who drew peg 4 (permanent peg 9). Having produced very little the day before, Stan was understandably not too optimistic going to his peg. However, no two days are the same at Woodside and Stan enjoyed a decent days fishing in the end. Stan went for an all out assault on his edges catching over 10lb of silvers on corn over fishery micro pellets and over 50lb of carp on the feeder (also down his edge) with wafters on the hook to weigh in a section-winning 69-09-00.
Finishing second in 'A' section, and adding two (2) points to his total score was Tony Poulsom. Tony drew peg 3 (permanent peg 6), which had produced the section win the day before. The fish were still in the swim from the day before, but despite throwing everything he had at them, Tony ended the day with just 11-03-00. Still, with it being the hardest section on the complex, it was still good enough for a respectable score.
Third in section was Ross Tucholski. Ross drew peg peg 5 (permanent peg 11) and recorded a weight of 9-10-00 to conclude what had been a difficult weekend for him.
'B' Section
Winning the Island pool outright in 'B' section was Ick Kull from peg 6 (permanent peg 14). Ick fished pellet down his edge for most of the match after a slow start on the long pole to find small carp in numbers willing to feed. At the end of five hours, Ick offered a lake-winning 118-03-00 to the scales to secure another single point score.
Second in section, but taking the section prize on account of the lake winner also being in the same section, was Steve Hilton. Steve drew peg 1 (permanent peg 2) and fished 4mm pellet shallow and later down his edge to weigh in 104-10-00 of carp to put plenty of daylight between himself and the next best man on the day.
Third in section was Jason Bird from neighbouring peg 2 (permanent peg 3). Fishing paste over fishery micros, Jason enjoyed another good days fishing ending the match with 67-02-00 of mainly carp.
SECTION A | ANGLER | PEG | WEIGHT | METHOD | PTS |
1st | S. Taylor | 4 (9) | 69-09-00 | Corn & wafters in the margins | 1 |
2nd | T. Poulsom | 3 (6) | 11-03-00 | Pellet, corn & paste in the margins | 2 |
3rd | R. Tucholski | 5 (11) | 09-10-00 | Paste & pellet in the margins | 3 |
SECTION B | ANGLER | PEG | WEIGHT | METHOD | PTS |
1st (LAKE) | I. Kull | 6 (14) | 118-03-00 | Pellet in the margins | 1 |
2nd (SEC) | S. Hilton | 1 (2) | 104-10-00 | Pellet shallow & in the margins | 2 |
3rd | J. Bird | 2 (3) | 69-02-00 | Paste in the margins | 3 |
DAY 2 - WOODSIDE POOL
'C' Section
Recording his second section win in as many days was Ken Hayes. Ken drew peg 11 (permanent peg 9) and fished an identical match to the day before offering both corn and maggot short to begin with before going down his edge later on with expanders over fishery micro pellets. Ken ended the final day with 63-11-00 to finish narrowly ahead of next best man, Gasparo Russello.
Gasparo drew peg 10 (permanent peg 5) and fished bomb and pellet to weigh in 62-00-00 of mainly carp to just miss out on the section win by a single fish!
Third in section, and picking up three (3) points, was Craig Lea-Hair. Following a decent opening day, Craig unfortunately suffered a pretty miserable second day weighing in 07-09-00 from peg 12 (permanent peg 11). The fish simply weren't there with a little over 11lbs being caught from the same peg the day before.
'D' Section
Overall winner of Woodside pool on day two was Dave Bowyer. Dave drew peg 9 (permanent peg 3) and put in another dominant performance fishing maggot and pellet down his edge to weigh in 97-15-00 of carp to confirm an overall score of two (2) points from two lake wins in as many days.
Picking up the section purse and collecting two (2) points on the day was Scott Banks. Scott drew peg 13 (permanent peg 13) and fished pellet short for sivers before switching to his margins during the final stages of the match offering pellet and paste to find some better stamp fish for a final weight of 39-01-00.
Finishing third in section and collecting three (3) points was Ryan Walker. Ryan drew peg 14 (permanent peg 15) and stuck to his guns fishing the exact same tactics as he did during day one offering corn down his edge over fishery pellets to weigh in 10-03-00.
SECTION C | ANGLER | PEG | WEIGHT | METHOD | PTS |
1st | K. Hayes | 11 (9) | 63-11-00 | Corn / maggot short & pellet in the margins | 1 |
2nd | G. Russello | 10 (5) | 62-00-00 | Bomb & pellet | 2 |
3rd | C. Lea-Hair | 12 (11) | 07-09-00 | Maggot in the margins | 3 |
SECTION D | ANGLER | PEG | WEIGHT | METHOD | PTS |
1st (LAKE) | D. Bowyer | 9 (3) | 97-15-00 | Maggot & pellet in the margins | 1 |
2nd (SEC) | S. Banks | 13 (13) | 39-01-00 | Pellet short & pellet / paste in the margins | 2 |
3rd | R. Walker | 14 (15) | 10-03-00 | Corn in the margins | 3 |
OVERALL
POSITION | ANGLER | POINTS | CUM. WEIGHT | PRIZE |
1st | Dave Bowyer | 2 | 248-10-00 | £180 |
2nd | Ken Hayes | 2 | 150-02-00 | £125 |
3rd | Ick Kull | 2 | 147-09-00 | £130 |
4th | Jason Bird | 4 | 138-09-00 | £40 |
5th | Steve Hilton | 4 | 118-12-00 | £20 |
6th | Stan Taylor | 4 | 79-14-00 | £20 |
7th | Scott Banks | 4 | 73-15-00 | £20 |
8th | John Latham | 5 | 103-11-00 | £20 |
9th | Gasparo Russello | 5 | 78-00-00 | - |
10th | Craig Lea-Hair | 5 | 67-12-00 | £20 |
11th | Tony Poulsom | 5 | 22-11-00 | - |
12th | Ryan Walker | 6 | 39-08-00 | - |
13th | Ross Tucholski | 6 | 19-12-00 | - |
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable two days with plenty of laughs and some good sport. The weather wasn't up to much, which was typical given the conditions in the months leading up to the festival, but like a lot of venues, we are desperate for the water so no complaints here!
A massive well done to Dave Bowyer again, who is simply unbeatable here at the moment. A perfect two point score comprised of two overall lake wins in as many days and with a near 100lb winning margin. Simply awesome! Well done also to Ken Hayes and Ick Kull on making the top three finish as well as the remainder of the field for supporting the event.
We will be back again in 2026.
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