RA13 Devon to restart

RA13 is starting up again with joint RO's Ian Nadin and Dominic Garnett

http://devonpac.blogspot.com/

First meeting will be sometime in January at the Barge Inn in Halberton

Graham Slater to give talk in Yorkshire

PAC General Secretary Graham Slater is to give a talk and slide-show for the Yorkshire Regions on Friday December 11th. The talk will be held at the Redoubt Rugby Club, Broadway, Wakefield, WF2 8AA. The show starts at 8pm, and entry costs just £3 per person.
Further information from Pete Green on 01924 782705.

RA 31 - Mark Barrett Talk

Mark Barrett will be the guest speaker at Region 31 Lancashire on Wednesday 2nd December. The venue will be the Caledonian Public House, Bolton Road, Ashton-In-Makerfield, Near Wigan. Meet in the upstairs function room from 8pm onwards. There is a Free buffet, and a Prize raffle.
Entry is £4 for non Region Members, and £2 for Members. All are welcome to attend.

PAC Forum

Due to technical problems caused by server issues outside of our control, the PAC forum has been un-available since yesterday (25th November). It is sincerely hoped that these problems will be resolved as soon as possible, and that we will have the forum back up and running as quickly as is possible.
Thank You.

Barrie Rickards funeral

The funeral is arranged for Monday 23rd November at 2pm in the Chapel of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. The service will be followed by a reception/wake in the college.

A cremation will follow at Cambridge Crematorium for family and close friends.

Flowers and/or donations via Richard Stebbings Funeral Service, Kendall House, Cambridge Road, Impington, Cambridge CB24 9NU

Donations to St Johns Ambulance or Cancer Research UK.

There is very little parking in the centre of Cambridge and what there is, is expensive!

Those travelling from out of the city are advised to use one of the 5 park and ride sites. These are situated on Milton Rd, Madingley Road, Trumpington Rd, Newmarket Road and Babraham Road.

Buses run every 10 – 15 minutes and stop directly outside Emmanuel College.

Link to map of Emmanuel College
http://www.cam.ac.uk/map/v4/drawmap.cgi?mp=main;xx=2075;yy=910;mt=c;ms=180;tl=Em...

Park & Ride map Site Map
http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/around/parkandride/

Thanks to Colin Brett for the details.

Chew Valley Lake - pike research

The PAC were made aware of the research that Bristol Water are carrying out by the use of catch and release means with regards to the diet of the pike, trout and other fish prior to the Angling Times’ limited expose of the facts.

The research will be carried out over three years and the PAC have been assured by Bristol Water staff that any decision as to the fishery’s future will be made after the scientific data and options available have been carefully analysed.

The PAC will be in further contact with fishery management to see if we can provide any information which could help.Trout fishing returns have apparently been poor this year from others of the major low land reservoirs.

Whether this is as a result of a downturn in angler numbers due to a lack of finances, the last summer’s weather conditions or other factors, remains to be seen.

The Club welcomes the fact that Bristol Water have not had a 'knee jerk' reaction to the figures and that they value the pike in their waters. The PAC looks forward to seeing the results of this long term study as it can only help to get a better understanding of our misunderstood quarry.

NACA and an evening with Mark Barrett and Denis Moules

A bit of regional news - a great talk and well worth seeing.

The Norfolk Anglers Conservation Association (NACA) are please to present

‘An Evening With’

Mark Barrett and Denis Moules on the history of Fenland Pike Fishing

Thursday 19th November 2009
Bawburgh Village Hall
Stocks Hill
Norfolk
7:30pm start

NACA members £3.00 Non members £4.50

A bar will be available plus a fund raising raffle

Mentieth anchor rules

A quick reminder for those fishing Mentieth this year; only certain types of anchor are allowed.

Allowed
Suitable anchors are Bruce and Danforth style with a maximum weight for this type of “front” anchor of 7kg or 16lb. alternatively the use of clump or mud anchors will still be allowed however they must also conform to certain standards. The preferred option by the fishery is to use CLEAN 5 Litre containers filled with concrete. However large dense weights or buckets that are completely filled level with concrete will be allowed. There will be no weight restrictions on these and the denser and smaller the better they will work.

Not Allowed
The Fisherman, Grapnel and Plough style
Anglers must provide their own anchors, the fishery will not.

Mick Crisp becomes new events organiser

The PAC are delighted to announce that Mick Crisp has become the new events organiser.

Mick said of his appointment "I am pleased , honored and somewhat surprised to be invited to join the PAC committee and more than a little nervous!I am a 54 year old ex-Firefighter turned kitchen fitter.

I was taught the ' Art of Angling ' by my father and caught my first pike at the age of 8 from the Golden Gate Lake on Wynyard Estate , in the North East of England where I was born.I am grateful for this opportunity to put something back into the hobby, passion, call it what you will which has over the years given me so much pleasure."

Guy Micklewright steps down from the role due to work constraints. He will however continue to advise the PAC on all things legal-profession related.

The passing of Barrie Rickards

The PAC committee were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Barrie Rickards and would like to send their condolences to family and friends.

Pike Angling and the Angling world will be a much poorer place and will be forever in his debt.

Colin Goodge, PAC chairman said of Barrie

"Barrie had been a great friend, our friendship went back to the sixties I feel very privileged to have been a friend, his inspiration to me personally and to others through his books and many talks will always live on, to have been chairman of such a great club started by such a great man has truly been an honour, thank you Barrie RIP, a true friend to all Pike Anglers."

EA Consultation results

The Environment Agency (EA) have published their consultation findings and their proposals for new national byelaws regarding the taking of fish by rod and line.



During the summer of 2009, the EA consulted with various organisations and the wider public via a questionnaire about the future of taking coarse fish by rod and line. The results of this consultation have been published online.



http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/fishing/112102.aspx



The EA have also published their proposed byelaws following this consultation.



http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Business/A1_Byelaw_Consultation_Feedback_-_Removals(2).pdf



The main sections within this document that affect pike anglers are:



STILLWATERS

"We propose a byelaw that prohibits the removal of coarse fish from stillwaters, except with written permission of the fishery owner/occupier. "



This effectively sets a zero limit on the taking of all coarse fish from stillwaters without permission.



RIVER FISH
"Allows a limited number of small (maximum size limit) fish for bait, possibly of listed species;"



This effectively allows livebaiting to continue.



"allows a limited number of pike up to a maximum size; "



The size limit would be put in place to protect large pike and the important fisheries these support.



There is further discussion taking place with the Angling Trust amongst others, so this is not necessary the final byelaw. The final words, including sizes and limits will be available in December this year. We will keep you informed as soon as we know more.

PRESS OFFICER

A hard act to follow, that’s how this committee always described Chris Bishop as Press Officer. Chris was single handedly responsible for making the role his own and developing it from scratch, utilising both his journalistic experience and seemingly endless list of contacts. What a tremendous job he did too.

From publicising the conference to exposing such things as the plans for the Cambridgeshire Lodes. He dealt with them in all with equal thoroughness and tenacity. I’m not sure I’d have wanted to be a wrongdoer with Chris on my case! All good things come to an end however and, as with any committee role, at the end of the three and a half year term he opted to step down and handover the reins. I have expressed my thanks for a job well done in private but, on behalf of the committee, I do so again here in public.

Cometh the hour cometh the man as the saying goes, and that’s certainly what happened in our case with the arrival of one Andrew Stagg on the scene who very generously offered to fill the void and take on the role of Press Officer. For those of you not familiar with Andrew then a little background may help.

Based in Bristol Andrew currently runs a photography business as well as owning half of a PR company, although he comes from a background in sales and marketing in both the UK Australia and Russia. As well as fishing Andrew is a passionate wildlife enthusiast and is fortunate that the area he currently resides in affords the opportunity to combine both.

Andrew tells me he is looking forward to getting his teeth into not just strengthening the voice of the PAC in our crowded media but also promoting the aims, aspirations and above all enjoyment that we gain from the sport.

The committee are delighted to welcome Andrew on board and are confident that we have succeeded beyond our wildest hopes in finding the right man for the job, please join us in welcoming him to the post.

Graham Slater
General Secretary

18th International Pike Championships

The 18th International Pike Championship’s between Great Britain and Ireland took place recently on the fish rich waters of the Somerset Levels.

The two day event saw Ireland come out as victors after a superior effort on day 1 left the British some 70 lbs behind. A great deal of effort on the Sunday saw the British start to strongly pull back on the Irish lead, but after the initial first few hours of hectic action, the bites dried up and Ireland hung on for the victory with a winning margin of 44 lbs 11 ozs.

A total of 191 pike with an average weight of just over 4 ½ lbs were caught during this two day 1-rod roving event, with the largest pike of 13 lbs 07 ozs falling to the rod of Mike Skipper (PAC Webmaster and British Team Manager). Two Bream of between 5 & 6 lbs in weight were also caught, one on wobbled smelt and the other taking a Mepps Ondex spinner.

Next years International will take place in October 2010, possibly on the Rivers Suck and Shannon around the Ballinasloe area. Anyone interested in taking part in the next British Pike Selection Final, then please contact the Team Manager Mike Skipper on 07525 828296 or via email at britpikeskip@googlemail.com

Exclusive new leatherbound PAC30

For a limited period, the PAC are pleased to announce that a small run of leather bound copies of PAC 30 will shortly be made available. On a strictly first come first served basis these books will be available at just £190.00 Email products@pacgb.com to reserve your copy.

Menteith draw results...

Here is a link to the Menteith draw results drawn at the convention.
Apologies it is only in PDF format at the moment. It will be formatted and posted here for all to see as soon as possible.

Menteith Draw

FINAL REMINDER

Just a short note to remind you that if you want advance tickets to PIKING 2009, please get your cheques (payable to PACGB) in the post to:

Ben Thomas
23 Metford Grove
Redland
Bristol
BS6 7LG

Monday (21st) is the cut off date so get them in the post today or tomorrow.

Don't forget to include a 1st class stamped self-addressed envelope with your cheque!

Membership competitions

Membership competitions for ’09-‘10

There will be two competitions revolving around memberships running through ’09 and into ’10.

The first will be based upon the special 3 year deal that is being offered until it’s conclusion on 31st April ’10.

ALL members taking up the scheme will be entered into a draw for a chance to win 2 prizes, both prizes consist of a PAIR of FREE SPIRIT pike rods picked from their range.

FREE SPIRIT rods are superb bits of kit and very much at the top of the tree.

The FREE SPIRIT competition shall be drawn in MAY 2010

(All those who have already taken up the scheme will be entered)

The second is our “Win a day with” competition, which is always a firm favourite (this years with Dave Kelbrick was a huge success).

This year we have the one and only Eddie Turner stepping up to show the lucky winner a good time and hopefully a few fish.To enter this competition you simply have to recommend a new member to join the PAC and ensure that your details (memb. No. and name are also on the form)

The list will then be drawn in MAY/JUNE ’10 but fished at a time to suit Eddie.

For those recommending a new member, you can be entered into the draw up to a maximum of three times but please recommend as many people as you can to join.

THIS COMPETITION IS FOR A SINGLE WINNER.

Piking 2009

Convention time

It is that time again, the piking masses will once again descend on Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire for a one-day bonanza comprising all that makes piking great.

Speakers this year are:

Graham Booth, one of Norfolk’s finest giving his first ever talk, over 30 years of experience and Graham’s wit are sure to make this one memorable session.

Mike Green, from deadbait to lure and on into fly fishing, the gentleman of the sport brings his humour and knowledge to an exciting talk.

Ian Weatherall, the quiet man at the PAC, Ian will entertain and impart skills and secrets best known only to him and his close friends – one not to miss.

Mark Barrett & Denis Moules, definitely not the quiet type, ex PAC secretary and all round superstar Mark combined with truly accomplished fenland piker Denis reveal a comprehensive look at fenland piking.

There are some great new products on show, from the likes of Chico’s lures, Greys Prowla launch as well as Waterwolf, together with the usual crowd, Neville Fickling, the Friendly Fisherman, ET and others.

So make sure that date – Saturday 26th September is in your diary, and remember those of you that drink Guinness in the bar (and you know who you are), it is Guinness’ 250th birthday too!
Bring a friend, neighbour, fishing colleague and let’s make the 2009 PAC convention better than ever.

Tickets are available on the door £12.00 for members, £14.00 for non-members and under 14’s go free.

Norfolk's Nar spared marina plan

SPARED: A view of Norfolk's River Nar

It might not be in the Premier League of rivers, where pike fishing's concerned.

But Norfolk's humble River Nar could be spared plans for a marina which would see it diverted through the middle of a nature reserve.

West Norfolk council wanted to change the course of the river so a marina could be built on the outskirts of King's Lynn.

Now officials want to mothball the scheme because of the credit crunch.

That means the Nar, which holds a head of pike and also supports a dwindling run of sea trout, will be left in peace for now.

New pumps to protect the Fens

This picture shows the incredible size of the biggest pumping station ever built in Britain - that's a skip in the bottom left of the image.

It's being built on the Middle Level Drain at St Germans, near King's Lynn, to protect half the Fens from rising sea levels and increasingly-frequent storm surges.

When it becomes operational next February, it will be able to shift 1000 tonnes of water a minute.

The Middle Level Drain is fed by a system of drains stretching miles inland, including the Sixteen Foot, Forty Foot, Old Nene and Popham's Eau.

It protects tens of thousands of homes and thousands of hectares of low-lying farmland, much of it below sea level, from flooding.

When the drainers reclaimed the Fens, they created mile upon mile of waterways which centuries later have become a Mecca for pike anglers.

But they didn't realise the peaty soil would shrink as it dried out. And parts of the area are now 20ft below mean high tide levels.