Tuesday SEPTEMBER 15TH 2026.
The 6th Mick Pritchard Memorial Match took place on Sunday signalling the start of the River Wye Match Fishing Season. Twenty six Club members took part this year across the Bartonsham and Eign.sections of the River Wye. Following the drought conditions of the last couple of months the river was now running at 0.16m following a slight rise a couple of days before. The water level was likely to increase further later in the day with an increase of nearly a metre being recorded on the Builth gauge.The day started overcast and grey with temperatures around 17C and light drizzle expected in the afternoon. Wth litlle feed going into the river due to it being closed until the 1st September, hopes were high that the fish would go on the feed to see them through the autumn and winter, with chub and barbel expected to dominate catches on both sections.
As it turned out the Bartonsham section provided the majority of the top 6 weights with eventual winner Paul Evans snaring 5 barbel and some chub from the Roast Inn peg at Bartonsham, using mainly feeder tactics, to record a top weight of 69lb 4oz. Runner up was Geoff Brierley who had won the competition twice in previous years. He was also pegged on Bartonsham, just above the withy beds and used feeder and whip tactics to catch 4 barbel and a mixture of chub and other silver fish to weigh in 52lb 8oz. Third was Adrian Griffin who weighed in 34lb 12oz of mainly chub , dace and bleak.He fished a whip and stick float from a peg on the sewer stream at Eign. Anthony Taylor finished 4th with 30lb 4oz from Bartonsham while Martynas Valentonis finished 5th with 30lb 0oz from the withy beds. Completing the frame was Martin Challenger who came 6th with 29lb 8oz from Eign.
Altogether a good match with 18 double figure weight being caught. Well done to all who took part. We must also thank our hosts Steve and Annette at The Brewers Arms in Eign Road who provided a buffet for the contestants after the match, and to Lee Pritchard-Woollett for organising the match in his dad’s memory. The next match will be the Joe Burrows Charity Match which takes place on Sunday 27th September. This match is open to all and is fished across the majority of our waters on the Wye. Anyone interested in fishing should contact Dave Roberts or see the post on the River Wye Match Fishing Page.
