Monday 20th November 2023.

This weekend saw the River Wye Pairs Championship take place over the two days on the Belmont and Tennis Courts sections of the river. The match length was split into 2 zones, A and B, with one angler from each pair fishing Zone A and the other Zone B. They then swapped sections for the second day. Thirty six pairs of anglers arrived at Hereford RFC. to find a river that had dropped significantly since the 3 day festival and a better height at 1.62m. Hopes were high that the river would again produce some bumper cacthes, but a good draw was needed by both anglers on both days as the result is decided on aggregate weight over the two days.

Day 1  Individual winner was Kev Ellaby who weighed in 76lb 10oz from permanent peg 95. His partner Andrew Thomas weighed in 14lb 10oz from peg 46 to earn them top spot on the day with a total combined weight of 91lb 4oz. Rory Jones, partnered with Dave Roberts put in another good performance to weigh in 61lb 7oz and 27lb respectively to finish with 88lb 7oz for runners up spot. Third spot went to Dan Ashington and Matt Derry who weighed in a total of 78lb 2oz with Matt claiming the runners up spot individually with a catch of 68lb 8oz from peg 93.

Day 2 The day started with the river having risen, peaking at  2.34m in the early hours but dropping to 2.1m by the start of the match. Individual top weight  today was Dan Ashington who weighed in 54lb 13oz from peg 88 on the Asda bank. Runner up was Hadrian Whittle who weighed in 51lb 2oz from peg 84. Kevin Easton claimed third spot from peg 101 on the Tennis Courts weighing in 43lb 4oz.

Overall winners of the Championship were Dan Ashington and Matt Derry who caught a total combined weight over the 2 days of 154lb 9oz. Hadrain Whittle paired with Lee Edwards finished runners up with a total weight of 149lb 14oz ahaed of third placed Rory Jones and Dave Roberts who weighed in 133lb 13oz. Another great match. Next up will be the next round of the Winter League on Sunday 3rd December. Full results below.