Upper Tamar Pallatrax Carp Open July 2018

Wow what a weekend – the weather was hot and dry (not ideal for carp fishing!) but the fishing was really good and a great time was had by everyone who took part.

The July competition has historically been a tight competition and fish usually well spread. The fact we had very little water at the far end of the lake made for an even more exciting event as no one could predict where would fish well. Everyone had their favourite swims but a lots of peoples choices were different.

The draw was completed after a full briefing in the Froghopper café and anglers were taken to their swims by the team. The anticipation was fantastic and everyone in high spirits.

I must admit having seen the forecast of very hot sunshine all weekend I didn’t think many fish would be caught at all and we would be looking at a winning combination of around 3-4 fish for about 45lbs. How wrong could I be!

The hooter sounded to start the event and it wasn’t long before fish were being landed. Josh Bellew and Grant Westlake fishing peg 13 on the Devon Bank (Gutbucket Bay) found fish tucked away in a bay with a lovely breeze pushing in there and they made the most of it landing three fish in the first couple of hours to take a good lead.

The first fish of the comp was landed by Adrian Morgan on peg 1 by the dam, a fish which would later see Adrian win a Pallatrax voucher for smallest of the weekend at 6lbs 5oz.

The event was being covered live by our facebok page which is called Coarse Fishing South West Lakes Trust with regular pictures, catch reports and updates.

It took 11 hours for Jason and Leanne McEvoy to bag their fisrt carp from peg 25 by the boat park but what followed was a steady procession of fish right throughout the competition. Peg 26 by the car park was being fished by Matthew Pepperell and Chris Hudson and they were keeping pace with Jason and Leanne landing fish for fish and really battling for the £2000 first place.

There were odd fish being picked off by anglers around the lake but nothing consistent and it was clear a large number of fish were holding near the pontoon area in front of pegs 25 and 26. These two pairs had pulled away from the field and the battle was for third where only 26lbs separated 7 pairs in the battle for £500. Grant Westlake and Josh Bellew’s fourth fish a 16.15 common proved to be decisive in the end.

The best fish of the weekend was landed by Greg Jones from peg 11 near the quarry, a cracking two tone 20.03 common.

Its funny that every competition we have the smaller carp are caught first as the larger ones move away from the pressure and as the weekend goes on larger fish start being caught. This couldn’t have been more evident this weekend.

Leanne McEvoy was on fire – fish after fish and they were a good stamp. Leanne landed 11 of the pairs 14 fish and she banked commons of 16.02, 16.00, 16.00, 18.08, 16.15 and 13.14 along with a mirror of 19.05. Really top angling. Partner Jason managed three fish with the largest being a 16.15 common. The pair set a new lake record with 14 fish for 178lbs – a truly fantastic effort and many congratulation to them.

With lots of pairs in with a chance of at least third right up until the hooter at 1pm it made for a really good competition which was well contested and enjoyed by everyone. The presentations were made during the free BBQ for competitors provided by Gary Vogel, warden for Tamar Lake.

In total 41 fish were caught from 15 different pegs.

It was great to have some new champions and runners up. Congratulations to Jason and Leanne and for winning and eventually lifting the crown after being runner’s up and third place finishers in the past.