Preston Innovations
Parkdean Pairs Festival 2011
Fishing Information call 01726 862519
It is once again that time of year for one of the newer festivals on your events calendar with the annual pair's festival which is generously sponsored by Preston Innovations.
There are a few more entrants this year and we have 36 anglers consisting of 18 pairs fishing this year. The anglers will be split into 9 peg sections and will be fishing on the two lakes at Twin Oaks & Trewaters.
To shake things up a bit there will be a random draw on day one and day two of the festival with the hope that not the same 9 anglers will be fishing against each other all week which should open up the festival results.
Day One
The anglers in their pairs today have the choice whether they start their festival on Twin Oaks or Trewaters and this is decided as they draw, the anglers will be back in this section on day three but on day two there will be another random draw.
With the pegs for the day drawn we were ready for the off. The weekend leading up to the festival was very mixed with it bright on Saturday but torrential rain all day Sunday. It was a cold and damp start to Monday and the anglers looked like they were in for a soggy day! Fortunately it brightened up throughout the day and the anglers remained dry for the rest of the match - lets only hope that was not the case for their nets!
A Section Twin Oaks pegs 1 - 18
It was a cooler day over on Twin Oaks and after a day of heavy rain this didn't bode well for the match but we still saw some decent catches but for the anglers where there was no movement on the lake it was more of a struggle. Harry Billing was the match winner today with 113lb 8oz; Harry was on peg 10 and had 1 lump down the edge but caught all the rest of his fish on the method feeder with micros and 6 mil pellets on the hook. Second on peg 18 was Russ Peck, Russ caught on the pole at 5 meters with meat and weighed in with 82lb 13oz. Ben Lord on peg 16 weighed in with 76lb 13oz to take third, Ben caught on the method with micros.
B Section Trewaters pegs 19 - 36
It was a close day on this lake, there was one stand out weight but the rest of the back up weights were tight across the board with only a couple of pounds and in some cases mere ounces separating the anglers for the vital points. Daniel Simper won the match today from peg 27, Daniel caught on the method across and down the edge short on paste for a total weight of 74lb 2oz. Second with 45lb 14oz was Mike Shuttleworth on peg 23, Mike caught on the method feeder with groundbait and maggot on the hook. Third went to Andy Patterson who had a weight of 45lb 13oz, Andy caught on the pole short with meat and on the method with groundbait and maggot from peg 25.
C Section Twin Oaks pegs 19 - 36
A reasonable day for the anglers over on this lake today but once again for those that had drawn out of the wind and didn't have and lake movement in front of them it was a struggle and in some areas the carp simply didn't want to know. The lake winner today with 68lb 7oz was Neil Jellis; Neil was on peg 27 and caught on the method with groundbait and pellet. Second was Barry James, Barry was on peg 21 and caught on the pellet waggler and the bomb & pellet for a total weight of 64lb 4oz. Third with 56lb 5oz was Peter Garratt, Peter caught on the method, pellet waggler and in the margins on corn from peg 23.
D Section Trewaters pegs 37 - 54
A mixed day for the anglers here with half the section managing a respectable weight but the other half not fairing as well, this was the hardest lake of the 4 sections today but was very cold in the valley and after yesterday's heavy rain it was to be expected slightly harder. Jim Boyle took the lake win today with 63lb 6oz; Jim was on peg 53 and caught on the pole with paste and the method. Second with 55lb 14oz was Martin Allen, Martin caught on the method with meat from peg 45. Darren Oakley had a weight of 48lb 12oz to take third; Darren was on peg 51 and caught on the method feeder with groundbait & the pellet feeder.
Here is how the top 6 pairs look after the first day of the festival.
Overall Top Five Pairs
| Name | Points | Weight | |
| 1st | Daniel Simper & Peter Garratt |
16 points | 130lb 7oz |
| 2nd | Stewart Lister & Harry Billing | 15 points | 156lb 8oz |
| 3rd | Russell Peck & Adrian Clarke | 14 points | 123lb 6oz |
| 4th | Martin Allen & Darren Jackson | 14 points | 122lb 2oz |
| 5th | Mike Shuttleworth & Tania Shuttleworth | 13 points | 81lb 15oz |
| 6th | Ivan Lord & Ben Lord | 12 points | 118lb 15oz |
Day Two
After a good start to the festival the anglers seem keen to get back to the action today. Although the anglers know which group of lakes they will be fishing today they are not aware of which side as we are doing another random draw today to try and stir it up so all the anglers get a chance to fish against different people.
The rain had held off over night and the wind was blowing in a different direction today so we shall see how this affects how the lakes fish.
A Section Twin Oaks 1 - 18
It was a much better day on Twin Oaks today with the weights spread right out, although there was not loads of big weights the wind had really shook things up with fair weights coming from all pegs. The lake winner today with 113lb 14oz was Darren Oakley; Darren was on peg 14 and caught on the method with pellet. Stewart Lister weighed in with 106lb 3oz to take third; Stewart was on peg 12 and caught all his fish on the method. Martin Allen was second; Martin was on peg 10 and caught on the method with pellet for a weight of 78lb 12oz.
B Section Trewaters 19 - 36
Good weights today with all bar a couple of anglers producing a great result. The lake win today with 110lb 1oz went to Harry Billing; Harry was on peg 27 and caught all his fish on the method with pellet. Second on peg 23 was Nathan Fox, Nathan caught on the method with pellet and weighed in with 85lb 4oz. Ben Lord was third with 65lb 4oz, Ben caught on the method with micros from peg 31.
C Section Twin Oaks 19 - 36
It was a harder day on this lake today, all the weights except for the top weight were very close which made for a fair section but is was a struggle for some with the anglers that had a fair few silvers on top of the odd carp doing better points wise. The lake winner today with an impressive 103lb 9oz was Daniel Simper on peg 31; Daniel caught on the method and had a few short on the pole. On peg 19 Jonathan Smith weighed in with 56lb 12oz to take second, Jonathan caught on the method with pellets. David Fabian caught on the pole with paste and the method to take third, David was on peg 27 and had a total weight of 49lb 14oz.
D Section Trewaters 36 - 54
Reasonable weights from across the lake today with some areas fishing better than others but it was close for points across the board. Taking the lake win today was Ian Ridgeway, Ian was on peg 37 and caught on paste under his feet and meat to the left of him for an overall weight of 78lb 11oz. Tom Cole weighed in with 75lb 15oz to take second, Tom caught on the method with pellet from peg 39. Third went to Darren Jackson, Darren caught on the method from peg 49 for a weight of 68lb 11oz.
That was day two and here is how the overall top 6 pairs look.
Overall Top Six Pairs
| Name | Points | Weight | |
| 1st | Stewart Lister & Harry Billing |
32 points | 372lb 12oz |
| 2nd | Martin Allen & Darren Jackson | 28 points | 269lb 9oz |
| 3rd | Daniel Simper & Peter Garratt |
28 points | 260lb 6oz |
| 4th | Ian Ridgeway & Andy Patterson | 22 points | 199lb 2oz |
| 5th | Jonathan Smith & Neil Jellis | 22 points | 180lb 13oz |
| 6th | Russell Peck & Adrian Clarke | 21 points | 190lb 6oz |
High scoring points and good weights in the top spots at the moment so it seems as if we are in for a close result.
With the two random draws completed the anglers know exactly where they will be fishing for the last two days of the festival. We are due some heavy rain once again over the next couple of days so lets just keep our fingers crossed that this does not have a bad affect on the fishing.
Join us tomorrow for the latest update from the White Acres Preston Innovations Pairs Festival.
Day Three
This is turning out to be a very wet week indeed, in past years the anglers have been basking in glorious sunshine but no such luck this year. There was substantial rainfall over night with a lot of cold water going in to the lakes; we have woken up to a wet and showery morning with heavier rain forecast for later in the day.Fortunately any major rainfall held off for the time being but it was still a damp and chilly day and very windy in places
A Section Twin Oaks 1 - 18
It was a struggle for a couple of anglers on this section today and the back up weights were not that brilliant but they were close with just a couple of pounds making the difference when it came to the section points. Neil Jellis on peg 16 was today's lake winner, Neil caught mainly on the method but also had 2 carp on the pellet waggler for a total weight of 141lb 2oz. Dan Hardy weighed in with 52lb 9oz to take second, Dan was on peg 8 and caught at 7 meters on the pole with paste and had a few across on the method. Third was Tom Cole, Tom was on peg 2 and weighed in with 49lb 13oz which he caught on the method with pellet.
B Section Trewaters 19 - 36
Another close day on this lake, the anglers are certainly getting plenty of bites with reasonable weights coming from different areas of the lakes. Martin Allen took the lake win today with 67lb 9oz; Martin was on peg 27 and caught all his fish on the method. Jonathan Smith was on peg 29 and weighed in with 62lb 8oz to take second, Jonathan caught on the method with meat on the hook. Third was Darren Jackson, Darren caught on the method with 6 mil pellets from peg 19 for a weight of 57lb 11oz.
C Section Twin Oaks 19 - 36
This lake fished a lot better today with the top weights coming from across the lake and also a lot better back up weights. Today's win went to Harry Billing with 151lb 6oz; Harry was on peg 29 and caught on the method. Ben Lord on peg 35 took second with 93lb 1oz, Ben Caught on the method with micros and pellet on the hook. Third was Russ Peck, Russ caught mainly on the pellet waggler but also had a couple on the method from peg 23 for a total weight of 78lb
D Section Trewaters 37 - 54
A mixed day for the anglers with half weighing in with over 47lbs and the other half all weighing in with weights in the 20lbs. 62lb 11oz was the winning weight today and this came from Daniel Simper on peg 39, Daniel caught on the method and the short pole with paste. Second was Andy Patterson, Andy was on peg 53 and caught in the short pole with paste and down the edge on meat. Mike Shuttleworth on peg 51 was third, Mike caught on the method feeder with groundbait for a weight of 53lb 2oz.
Here is how the over all pairs as we go into the final day of the festival.
Overall Top Five Pairs
| Name | Points | Weight | |
| 1st | Harry Billing & Stewart Lister |
47 points | 571lb 14oz |
| 2nd | Martin Allen & Darren Jackson | 43 points | 406lb 2oz |
| 3rd | Daniel Simper & Peter Garratt | 40 points | 355lb 6oz |
| 4th | Jonathan Smith & Neil Jellis | 39 points | 384lb 7oz |
| 5th | Ian Ridgeway & Andy Patterson | 34 points | 308lb 3oz |
| Mike Shuttleworth & Tania Shuttleworth | 33 points | 272lb 10oz |
Harry & Stewart now have clear 4 point lead, will anyone be able to catch them up if they have a blow out on the last day or is it a for gone conclusion that they will take this years win?
The points are quite tight in the rest of the top positions with the pairs jostling for the top spots so we shall have to see what the final day brings.The last day of the festival is set to be a very wet one and all of the pairs deserve a big pat on the back for fishing this week in these far from ideal conditions.
Day Four
Well it is not the best possible day to end the festival on as yet again we have had heavy rain over night, throughout the morning and we are not really due any let up throughout the day so the anglers are in for a wet day!
A Section Twin Oaks Pegs 1 - 18
A reasonable day today with it being very wet and windy on the lake this seems so have really spread the fish out across the lake a bit more. Today's lake win with 119lb 12oz went to Daniel Simper; Daniel was on peg 6 and caught on the method with pellet and on the short pole with meat. Jonathan Smith on peg 12 was second, Jonathan caught on the method with meat on the hook for a weight of 76lb 13oz. Ivan Lord weighed in with 62lb 7oz to take third, Ivan was on peg 16 and mainly caught on the method with pellet.
B Section Trewaters Pegs 19 -36
It was a close day on this lake today with the weights spread out across all the pegs. The winning weight today was 55lb 7oz and this came from Darren Jackson on peg 33, Darren caught on the method feeder with meat on the hook. Second was Bob Wack, Bob was on peg 29 and caught on the method with pellet for a weight of 54lb 2oz. Ian Ridgeway was third, Ian caught on the pole short with paste for a weight of 43lb 6oz from peg 23.
C Section Twin Oaks Pegs 19 - 36
These higher numbers fished well today with the total weights from the 9 anglers being easily more than those on the lower numbers. The carp were showing in a few more numbers today which gave everyone a boost to their weight. Stewart Lister took the lake win with 91lb 5oz; Stewart was on peg 25 and caught all his fish on the method. Second on peg 35 was Mike Shuttleworth, Mike caught on the method with micros tight across to the far side and had a weight of 74lb 9oz. Martin Allen weighed in with 69lb 2oz to take third, Martin caught on the method from peg 29.
D Section Trewaters Pegs 37 - 54
This lake had the better overall weights down at Trewaters today and the back up weights were also close across the pegs. Harry Billing was the lake winner today with 92lb 3oz; Harry caught all his fish on the method and was on peg 53. Second went to Austin Williams on peg 43, Austin caught on the short pole down the edge with pellet for a weight of 73lb 14oz. Dan Hardy weighed in 60lb 10oz to take third, Dan was on peg 51 and caught mainly on the feeder but also had a few short on the pole with paste.
So that was the final match of the festival and here is how the overall results look.
| Name | Points | Weight | |
| 1st | Stewart Lister & Harry Billing |
65 points | 755lb 6oz |
| 2nd | Martin Allen & Darren Jackson | 59 points | 530lb 11oz |
| 3rd | Jonathan Smith & Neil Jellis |
53 points | 512lb 7oz |
| 4th | Daniel Simper & Peter Garratt |
53 points | 506lb 15oz |
| 5th | Ian Ridgeway & Andy Patterson | 47 points | 420lb 9oz |
| 6th | Dan Hardy & David Fabian | 44 points | 359lb 8oz |
| 7th | Ben Lord & Ivan Lord | 42 points | 419lb 4oz |
| 8th | Mike Shuttleworth & Tania Shuttleworth | 42 points | 367lb 13oz |
| 9th | Mick Kearns & Austin Williams | 37 points | 362lb 5oz |
| 10th | Jim Boyle & Noel Wright | 37 points | 340lb 4oz |
| 11th | Nathan Fox & Daryl Faletto |
36 points | 377lb 12oz |
| 12th | Russell Peck & Adrian Clark | 35 points | 353lb 10oz |
| 13th | Adrian Perrins & Darren Oakley | 33 points | 358lb 1oz |
| 14th | Clive Cole & Tom Cole | 32 points | 351lb 15oz |
| 15th | Bob Wack & Richie Lines | 32 points | 273lb 7oz |
| 16th | James Lewis & David Lewis | 27 points | 255lb 2oz |
| 17th | Barry James & Nigel Groom | 26 points | 266lb 11oz |
| 18th | Eric Searle & Albert Williams | 21 points | 197lb |
There has been no stopping Harry & Stewart this week who took the win with a comfortable 6 points ahead of the pack and a phenomenal overall weight from over the four days. Martin & Darren put in a strong finish to cement their place in second and from then on the results were close for the remaining top spots as you can see from above.
Despite the appalling weather all the anglers seem to have enjoyed their week and we have seen some top results. After the anglers had has a chance to dry out a bit it was back up to the pub for the overall festival presentation.
A massive thank you so Preston Innovations for once again sponsoring the festival and providing prizes for the top 5 overall pairs who received the following; 5th keep nets, 4th tool bars, 3rd pole supports, 2nd flat pole rollers and 1st pro roost kits. So thank you once again to Preston from the fishery team at White Acres and all the anglers that have fished the festival this week.
Thank you also once again to all the anglers that have fished this week, the date for the 2012 festival has been confirmed for week commencing 9th June. Over half of the pairs have already confirmed their bookings for next years festival but there are still places available as we will be upping the numbers slightly so if anyone is interested they just need to give me a ring on 01726 862 526 and it is just a £40 deposit to confirm your booking and place on the festival.
Thanks once again to Preston Innovation, the anglers that have fished this week and to those that have been following the reports.
Cheers, Kirsty