This year we have made some exciting changes on the festival, firstly by making it a 4 –day festival and secondly by changing the venues.
The ladies will be fishing on Twin Oaks for 2 days (fishing both lakes) and on Python for 2 days (in the wides and narrows)
There will be a random draw on Monday where all the pegs for Python will go into the bag and they will draw to see what section they will fish on say one, either the wides or the narrows and then the will fish the opposite section to this on Thursday. There will be another random draw on Tuesday for Twin Oaks and it will work the same way as what ever side of Twin Oaks they fish on Tuesday they will fish the opposite on Wednesday.
We have done it this way to try and make it as fair as possible and to try and make it so that the ladies are not fishing against the same people on all 4 days.
There are 18 ladies fishing the festival this year, many whom have fished it before but there are also some new comers to the festival which is always nice to see.
Last year the weather was atrocious for the festival so fingers crossed it will be better for them this year.
Day One – Python
With the first draw done the ladies knew where they were off to and who they would be fishing against. I think the ladies seem to be a bit jinxed when it comes to this festival as after a glorious last week, the weather has taken a turn for the worse and the heavens have opened and it is blowing a gale on Python, let’s hope it improves throughout the week.
A Section – The Wides
This section fished well despite the wind ripping down the lake, this area of the lakes is where the bigger weights are expected from but the ladies struggled fishing the long pole in the bay to make the most of their pegs. Winning this bank with a weight of 41lb 3oz was Gaynor Mills on peg 14; Gaynor fished pellet and paste on the pole. Charlene Stevens was second, Charlene was on peg 12 and caught on the feeder and in the margins on the pole with meat for a weight of 27lb 13oz. Third with 24lb 11oz was Helen Dagnall, Helen was on peg 7 and caught on the pole at 5 meters with pellet. The next best weight on the lake was 22lb 7oz and this came from Denise Hudgell on peg 3, Denise fished on the pole with pellet and paste.
Section Winners
Gaynor Mills 5 points 41lb 3oz
Helen Dagnall 5 points 24lb 11oz
B Section – The Narrows
This side is the less popular side of the lake and tends not to produce as well but since the winter restocking it has fished well and although the average weights were lower across the section it still fished well, again despite the wind & rain. Wendy Locker was the overall winner with 41lb 6oz, Wendy was on peg 30 and her net was made up from mostly skimmers with a few F1’s caught on the pole at 5 & 11 meters with pellet. Second on peg 36 was Heather Dewey, Heather caught on the top 4 of her pole for a weight of 27lb 1oz. Val Hiller was third with 22lb 3oz from peg 22, Val caught mainly bream down the middle with pellet & corn. On peg 20 Sophie Hill had the next best weight, Sophie caught on catser shallow and weighed in with 16lb 9oz
Section Winners
Wendy Locker 5 points 41lb 6oz
Val Hillier 5 points 22lb 3oz
Overall Top Ten
1st Wendy Locker 5 points 41lb 6oz
2nd Gaynor Mills 5 points 41lb 3oz
3rd Helen Dagnall 5 points 24lb 11oz
4th Val Hillier 5 points 22lb 3oz
5th Charlene Stevens 4 points 27lb 13oz
6th Heather Dewey 4 points 27lb 1oz
7th Denise Hudgell 4 points 22lb 7oz
8th Sophie Hill 4 points 16lb 9oz
9th Jenny Drew 3 points 18lb 7oz
10th Sue Arkell 3 points 15lb 13oz
That was day one from the Ladies festival, it is on to Twin Oaks tomorrow, the forecast is looking a bit brighter so things should be on the up for the ladies. The sections are jumbled up tomorrow; we could see all change in the overall results so watch this space!
White Acres Solero Ladies Festival
Day Two
The festival got off to a great start and now it was on to Twin Oaks for 2 days for the ladies. Despite a damp start the weather cleared up nicely and the ladies were fishing in sunshine for the first time in three years! With the sections broken down into groups they are fishing for a maximum of 5 points so this is likely to make the final results closer.
A Section Twin Oaks 1 – 18
If the ladies want to make up some big weights this is the lake to do it on. The fishing today was steady with the weights reasonable across the section but also with two cracking results. Tracey Holland was today’s lake winner with a whopping 104lb 12oz; Tracy was on peg 18 and caught all carp on the method feeder with pellet. Next door on peg 16 was Sue Arkell, Sue missed out on the win by one fish so took second with 103lb 7oz, Sue also caught on the method with pellet. Elizabeth Prince was third, Elizabeth caught on the method feeder with pellet from peg 10 for a weight of 38lb 13oz. Melanie Bates had the next best weight on the lake with 38lb 9oz, Melanie caught on the pole in the margins with pellet from peg 14.
Section Winners
Tracy Holland 5 points 104lb 12oz
Helen Dagnall 5 points 31lb 3oz
B Section Twin Oaks 19 – 36
It was a steady day on the high numbers with the weights being close across the board. Heather Dewey was today’s lake winner with 31lb 8oz, Heather caught on the method with pellet from peg 31. Second was Sandra Maney, Sandra was on peg 19 and caught on the method with pellet for a weight of 24lb 3oz. Nuala Gray was third on peg 27 with 22lb 4oz, Nuala caught on the method with pellet. The next best weight on the lake was 19lb 1oz and this came from Sophie Hill on peg 21, Sophie caught on the pole in the margins with meat.
Section Winners
Heather Dewey 5 points 31lb 8oz
Sandra Maney 5 points 24lb 3oz
Overall Top Ten
1st Helen Dagnall 10 points 55lb 14oz
2nd Heather Dewey 9 points 58lb 9oz
3rd Wendy Locker 8 points 56lb 1oz
4th Charlene Stevens 8 points 48lb 15oz
5th Sue Arkell 7 points 119lb 4oz
6th Tracy Holland 7 points 108lb 5oz
7th Gaynor Mills 7 points 49lb 11oz
8th Sophie Hill 7 points 35lb 10oz
9th Jenny Drew 7 points 34lb 5oz
10th Sandra Maney 7 points 30lb
That was the action from day two and with 2 section wins Helen Dagnall takes the lead. The points are tight across the top ten so the win could still go to anyone. Join us tomorrow for the action from day three and find out how the match action has affected the results.
White Acres Solero Ladies Festival
Day Three
Back to Twin Oaks again today for the ladies and it was another fine day, yesterday we saw some good weights and hopefully today we will see some more great results. Going into the day Helen is the only one on maximum points; can she keep this up today? Read on for the action from day three.
A Section Twin Oaks 19 – 36
The weights were virtually the same as yesterday on this lake today, although the top weights weren’t as big there was more consistency across all the pegs. Sue Arkell was the lake winner today on peg 29, Sue weighed in with 28lb 10oz caught on the method with pellet. Second was Helen Dagnall with 26lb 6oz, Helen was on peg 25 and caught on the pellet waggler and on the pole with worm & caster. Melanie Bates caught on the pole with pellet in the margins to take third, Melanie was on peg 21 and had a weight of 25lb 12oz. Elizabeth Prince was on peg 31 and had the next best weight with 21lb 6oz, Elizabeth caught on the method feeder with hair rigged 8 mil pellets on the hook.
Section Winners
Sue Arkell 5 points 28lb 10oz
Helen Dagnall 5 points 26lb 6oz
B Section Twin Oaks 1 – 18
The low numbers fished well today, the winning weights were not as high but there was a general increase across lake. Sophie Hill was the lake winner today with 77lb 11oz; Sophie was on peg 16 and caught on the pellet waggler. Second was Heather Dewey on peg 18, Heather caught on the method with pellet for a weight of 75lb 7oz. On peg 12 Wendy Locker weighed in with 58lb 11oz to take third, Wendy caught on the method with pellet. The next best weight on the lake came from Denise Hudgell; Denise was on peg 4 and weighed in with 52lb 12oz caught on the method & waggler with pellet.
Section Winners
Sophie Hill 5 points 77lb 11oz
Denise Hudgell 5 points 52lb 12oz
That was the pen-ultimate day of action and her is how the top ten looks.
Overall Top Ten
1st Helen Dagnall 15 points 82lb 4oz
2nd Heather Dewey 13 points 133lb 13oz
3rd Sue Arkell 12 points 147lb 14oz
4th Sophie Hill 12 points 113lb 5oz
5th Wendy Locker 11 points 114lb 12oz
6th Denise Hudgell 11 points 85lb 5oz
7th Tracy Holland` 10 points 122lb 8oz
8th Elizabeth Prince 10 points 74lb 11oz
9th Charlene Stevens 10 points 62lb 1oz
10th Gaynor Mills 10 pointa 61lb 11oz
So with another straight section win Helen has extended her festival lead. Tomorrow the ladies are back on Python for the final match of the week, has Helen done enough to concrete her win or will someone sneak up and steal the victory? Come back tomorrow for the final festival results.
White Acres Solero Ladies Festival
Final Day
The festival week has flown by and we have reached the final day already. It seems as if Helen nearly has the festival in the bag so the battle has really stepped up for rest of the anglers in the top ten to see who takes the next winning places. It was back on to Python for the ladies today and once again it was a mild and sunny, their was a great atmosphere at the draw, the pegs were drawn and they were off. Read on for the final match action and to find out who will be crowned White Acres Ladies Solero Champion 2009.
A Section Python – Narrows
It was a harder day for the ladies here today but at least it gave those that were more suited to pole fishing a chance to shine. Helen Dagnall was the lake winner today with 45lb 8oz, Helen was on peg 34 and caught long and short on the pole with paste and with her fourth straight section win this gives her a maximum of 20 points and seals her place at the top of the results making her ladies champion 2009. Denise Hudgell was second on the lake, Denise was on peg 30 and caught short on the pole with paste for a weight of 24lb 12oz. Third was Gaynor Mills, Gaynor caught down the middle on paste for a weight of 17lb 2oz from peg 28. The next best weight on the lake came from Sharon White on peg 26, Sharon weighed in with 15lb 2oz caught on the pole at 10 meters with 6 mil banded pellets.
Section Winners
Helen Dagnall 5 points 45lb 8oz
Sharon White 5 points 15lb 2oz
B Section Python – Wides
The wides fished well today with all but one angler weighing in with double figures. With Helen winning her section on one side it was on this side where the battle for the remaining places was taking part as the points and weights were incredibly close. The lake winner was Wendy Locker with 39lb 5oz; Wendy was on peg 12 and caught on the pole with pellet at 5 meters. Second was Sue Arkell, Sue caught on the cage feeder with pellet from peg 12 and weighed in with 26lb 14oz. Sophie Hill was third, Sophie weighed in with 25lb 9oz caught on the pole up in the water with caster from peg 9. The next best weight on the lake was 24lb 13oz and this came from Heather Dewey on peg 17, Heather caught on the method with pellet.
Section Winners
Wendy Locker 5 points 39lb 5oz
Sophie Hill 5 points 25lb 9oz
That was the final match action from the festival and here is how the final results look.
Final Results
1st Helen Dagnall 20 points 127lb 12oz
2nd Sophie Hill 17 points 138lb 14oz
3rd Sue Arkell 16 points 174lb 12oz
4th Heather Dewey 16 points 158lb 10oz
5th Wendy Locker 16 points 154lb 1oz
6th Denise Hudgell 15 points 110lb 1oz
7th Tracy Holland 14 points 130lb 12oz
8th Melanie Bates 13 points 95lb 2oz
9th Gaynor Mills 13 points 78lb 13oz
10th Elizabeth Prince 12 points 79lb 7oz
11th Charlene Stevens 12 points 75lb 1oz
12th Jenny Drew 12 points 45lb 4oz
13th Sandra Maney 11 points 86lb 4oz
14th Sharron White 11 points 48lb 13oz
15th Nuala Gray 10 points 101lb 14oz
16th Val Hillier 9 points 73lb 5oz
17th Debbie Clarkson 7 points 49lb 13oz
18th Debbie Stevens 6 points 18lb 2oz
With a maximum 20 points Helen Dagnall is our 2009 White Acres Walls Solero ladies champion, this is the first time Helen has won the event so congratulations Helen. This has been one of the most successful ladies festivals we have held and all the ladies have agreed it has been the best format so far for the festival so we shall be keeping it the same for next year. Thank you to all the ladies that fished and congratulations to everyone especially our top three Helen Dagnall (Tricast Cheshire Angling) Sophie Hill (Westmallin Angling) and Sue Arkell (Reading Angling Centre Team Hydro). We hope to see everyone again next year, the date has been confirmed as week commencing 3rd July, this festival is open to all female anglers so if anyone is interested please contact me.
Day two of the ladies festival