20/11/22

This weekend saw the latest Wye Pairs match take place on the match length of Belmont and Tennis Courts sections.Thirty six pairs of anglers battled it out  with one of each pair fishing Zone A and the other angler fishing Zone B. They would swap zones on Day 2 with the match being decided on the total aggregate weight caught by each pair over the two days. With the river running at 1.06m at Hereford Bridge, the river seemed to be spot on, but with the first overnight frost of the Autumn on Friday night this may have put the fish off the feed. However the fish continued to feed well and the pegs in the lower half of Zone A and below the green bridge in Zone B.

Day 1.Individual winner at the end of Day 1 was Freddie Hardcastle with a catch of 71lb 4oz from noted peg 96 just above the Old Wye Bridge.He was closely followed by in form Ross on Wye angler Hadrian Whittle who took 68lb 12oz to the scales from peg 82 on the Asda bank. Each zone was split into 6 peg sections with more than 20lb needed to win all but 2 of the sections. Leading the pack at the end of Day 1 was the duo of Freddie Hardcastle and Denzil Thorpe with an aggregate weight of 89lb 4oz, ahead of 2nd placed Scott Geens and Ed Warren with a combined weight of 76lb 2oz.

Full results for Day 1 are shown below.

Day 2. The day dawned with no overnight frost but with temperatures lower than in recent days Zone A  proved to be tough for most in the zone with only a few noted pegs and a couple on the railings managing to reach double figures. However it seems that the majority of fish have now taken up residence in the deeper water between the green bridge and the Old Wye Bridge with the Tennis Courts not managing one double figure weight. This was demonstrated in spectacular fashion with Day 2 individual winner Chris Stephens putting an incredible140lb 8oz of fish on the scales from in form peg 96 again. What a peg! Individual runner up was Martin Challenger who put together a catch of 55lb 15oz from peg 94.

Overall winners for the weekend were Chris Stephens and his partner Paul Kaye who totalled 186lb 2oz over the two days. This was ahead of runners up Dan Ashington and Matt Derry (139lb 1oz) and third placed, and Day 1 leaders, Freddie Hardcastle and Denzil Thorpe (127lb 14oz). All in all a great 2 days fishing for some but a bit of a struggle for many on Day 2. A big thanks once again to Dave Roberts and his team for organising and  running another excellent match. Full results below.