{"id":459,"date":"2017-01-01T15:51:15","date_gmt":"2017-01-01T15:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jonarthur.co.uk\/?p=459"},"modified":"2017-01-02T09:00:59","modified_gmt":"2017-01-02T09:00:59","slug":"my-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jonarthur.co.uk\/?p=459","title":{"rendered":"My 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here are just a few\u00a0of my highlights (mostly angling-related) from an eventful 2016…<\/p>\n

National Pride<\/h4>\n

<\/a>I\u00a0hadn’t fished a\u00a0National\u00a0for years,\u00a0but that all changed\u00a0after agreeing to join Drennan Oxford and fishing the Division 2\u00a0on one of my old stomping grounds, the Birmingham-Fazeley Canal. We finished up with a very well deserved bronze medal, but were agonisingly just a single point off winning it! It was still a great feeling being on the podium with the lads and also seeing so many of my old canal mates on the day.<\/p>\n

Myself, I came 3rd in K Section and was extremely\u00a0happy with that.<\/p>\n

Alders Victory<\/h4>\n

<\/a>I’d never fished a match at Alders Farm until the inaugural Joseph James Law event we were invited to. Our\u00a0Team Drennan quintet consisted of\u00a0Grant Albutt, Joe Roberts, Dan Varney, Colin Spencer and myself and we romped to victory with\u00a053 points out of a possible 60, bagging \u00a31,000 in the process!<\/p>\n

I had an ‘almost’ great day after coming 2nd in section with 156lb. However, just 10oz more was needed to win it… which I had actually caught! However, not being fully aware of the keepnet limits and panicking that I might be go over I stupidly decided to chuck two perch back that were swimming about looking\u00a0very lonely in my ‘silvers only’ net, so I could\u00a0use that net for carp as well. Together those perch would’ve easily gone a\u00a01lb+. Luckily, there were no section prizes and it never cost the team. Phew!<\/p>\n

Glebe Masters<\/h4>\n

<\/a>Another great team effort\u00a0was winning\u00a0the 2016 Angling Trust Masters. Fourteen\u00a0teams of six battled it out\u00a0on a very windy Glebe Fishery and our Team Drennan six-man squad\u00a0smashed it with just 13 penalty\u00a0points. I had a decent day on Lake 1 coming 3rd in section. I caught\u00a0almost everything on the feeder, but the crosswind was so fierce\u00a0I had to cast 4m to the left to hit the right spot in front of me!<\/p>\n

Evesham Calling<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>My\u00a0Drennan Oxford squad also did brilliantly at Evesham. Firstly, we did the business\u00a0to qualify\u00a0for the Team Champs Final and then we came joint 4th on the big day, tying with Matrix Trentmen on points and weight, ahead of more than\u00a0a few top teams. Personally, I had a\u00a0very\u00a0average Bank Holiday\u00a0weekend\u00a0on the Avon\u00a0but I still thoroughly enjoy the whole Evesham experience.<\/p>\n

Time With The Champ<\/h4>\n

Alan Scotthorne\u00a0is\u00a0the best angler in the world and it’s a pleasure to be able to get\u00a0out on the bank with him regularly for films and articles.\u00a0<\/a>Probably\u00a0the\u00a0most memorable session\u00a0was\u00a0stick float fishing on the Tidal Trent. It was one of those days when I had to pinch myself afterwards after realising I’d just spent a day in the company of\u00a0a true master at work.<\/p>\n

As you’d expect, we chat about fishing a lot and share a lot of ideas and info, so I was really pleased when he\u00a0asked me to fish the first Pole Fishing Pairs qualifier with him at Barston Lakes. I managed to come\u00a02nd overall in the match that day with 88lb of skimmers and, more importantly, our combined weight meant we\u00a0qualified for the\u00a0big Final at our first attempt. Job done!<\/p>\n

Wingman Duties<\/h4>\n

<\/a>Another honour was being asked by\u00a0Andy Ford to be his wingman\u00a0while while\u00a0covering the World and European Champs in Bulgaria and Holland. It was pretty exhausting chipping in with a bit of\u00a0commentary while also running\/cycling up and down the bank like a madman to ensure everyone back home was kept up to date, then spending the\u00a0evenings beavering away\u00a0on a\u00a0laptop, but it was also worthwhile and satisfying as well.<\/p>\n

I’ve been inundated with feedback from all sorts of people afterwards, too, so it’s nice to see my\u00a0coverage was appreciated.\u00a0The last few years it’s only really been Fordy\u00a0and myself properly\u00a0covering these important events\u00a0for\u00a0the UK media. It’s something I take very seriously to ensure international fishing gets the coverage it\u00a0so deserves.<\/p>\n

Going Dutch<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>While covering the Euros in\u00a0Holland I was kindly invited\u00a0to stay with my good friend Maurice Prijs. The week flew by as we visited a number of Dutch commercial fisheries\u00a0and\u00a0sampled the excellent sport on offer. I even bagged a sturgeon on a margin pole!<\/p>\n

We also co-starred in an article for Beet magazine\u00a0on the North Holland Canal. The final three days were spent covering\u00a0the\u00a0two-day international. It was a great experience and I even learnt ride a bike without\u00a0any proper brakes!\u00a0Oh, I also stupidly forgot to pack\u00a0any extra socks so\u00a0Maurice was very kind to loan me some of his for the duration of my trip!<\/p>\n

School Games<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>Spending a day at Barford Lakes to help out at the Norfolk School Games was also thoroughly\u00a0rewarding. I felt\u00a0quite\u00a0honoured\u00a0to be there as their so-called ‘angling ambassador’ and really enjoyed the day. I\u00a0would have loved to have been\u00a0able to\u00a0spend even longer with every single angler,\u00a0but I came away knowing I had helped as many people as humanly possible to catch fish. There were some really happy, talented and keen anglers and helpers on the bank, too, which was great to see.<\/p>\n

Similarly, a day helping out with my good friend Dan Varney and the Severn Vale Housing Society at Hill View Lakes was equally\u00a0fulfilling. I just wish I could do more stuff like this as it’s so nice to put something back into the sport and I know I’ve got a lot to offer.<\/p>\n

Lure List<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"\"\"<\/a>My list of lure-caught species\u00a0was certainly\u00a0extended in 2016. I’ve now managed a 10lb carp on a stillwater using\u00a0a dropshot setup, a nice chub on a ned rig, a 2lb hybrid on a jig head (foul-hooked!) and, perhaps most bizarrely of all, an aluminium cooking pot, also on a jig head!<\/p>\n

I’m loving these commando-style sessions roving around with just a rod, a landing net and a bag of\u00a0lures. It makes a nice\u00a0contrast from matches, grabbing a\u00a0pleasurable\u00a0hour or so on the bank, whether you catch or not.<\/p>\n

UK Champs<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>My UK Champs title defence came pretty close to being a success as I was right up in the mix\u00a0going into Round 4. Sadly, I fell at the last hurdle after a really no-hope draw at Barston. I still made the top 10 and felt I fished reasonably well, all things considered. Looking back, I know I wasn’t on top of my game in 2016, but I’ve still done\u00a0reasonably OK I suppose.<\/p>\n

It was also nice to star in a one-off program on BT Sports all about the UK Champs. I must add that Andy Ford and Rob Hughes are doing\u00a0a great job putting fishing back on the TV where it belongs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Matrix Runner Up<\/h4>\n

Although the UK Champs was\u00a0an anticlimax, it was a great to finish runner up in my first ever Matrix Commercial Champs. This is a brilliant series run by Wayne Sharman over four different stillwaters (Barston, Packington, Makins and Meadowlands). Hopefully I can go one place better in 2017!<\/p>\n

Fisho So Close<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>I always have a few very near misses on Match This and Fisho qualifiers and the closest I came to the Fish’O’Mania Final was\u00a0the 180-peg\u00a0qualifier\u00a0at the brilliant Partridge Lakes. Ben Fisk won with 148lb and Andy May got the second qualifying spot with 117lb 8oz, thanks to a last-gasp F1 scooped in extra time. I got a consolation 3rd place with 116lb 13oz from peg 12 on Ribbon… just 11oz adrift! History shows that Andy went on to win the Final. A very well done and well deserved to him… but that\u00a0could so easily have been me!<\/p>\n

Silver Surfing<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"Catching commercial silvers and F1s is still my favourite thing to do in the wintertime, so it’s a shame there’s not enough of this style of fishing\u00a0where I actually live. Travelling down to White Acres makes it all worthwhile, though. I love the place, especially in winter.<\/p>\n

I fished two winter festivals in 2016. The first was the two-day Drennan where I managed to come 6th overall, only dropping a point to the\u00a0eventual winner, Paul Yates. My highlight had to be a lake-winning 62lb catch of carassio on the waggler on Jennys.<\/p>\n

The week-long Garbolino Festival was a bit tougher. I managed to stay in the top 10 all the way up to the final day when I tragically drew abysmally on Sycamore and it was game over. I still managed several\u00a0decent results\u00a0during the week, including a nice lake-winning 51lb on the first day. Once again, I learned quite a bit too. Mostly, you need to draw your nuts off!<\/p>\n

February Filming<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>I somehow managed to film myself during\u00a0a winter league round at Packington early in the year and the final rough n ready video<\/a>, shot entirely on my iPhone, has already had over 24,000 views!<\/p>\n

I ended up winning the lake with a really satisfying 62lb of mostly skimmers plus a few carp on the tip.\u00a0The response I’ve had off that film has been quite overwhelming for something that is deliberately not too polished. Hopefully\u00a0I’ll get a chance to do another one or two films like that this year…<\/p>\n

Quickies<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>A few quickies I have to mention are the amazing Spitfire and Hurricane fly by\u00a0I witnessed with my family. Seeing the Panopticon landmarks and a wishing tree stump while hiking around Lancashire was great. Also, meeting Robert De Niro in the local pub at the start of\u00a0(cough) April. Then there’s bonkers stand up comedian Tony Law who\u00a0insisted he had a selfie with me after a gig. I still love going to\u00a0comedy nights;\u00a0it helps me\u00a0forget the weirdos\u00a0out there who’ve had a sense of humour bypass!<\/p>\n

Onwards &\u00a0Upwards!<\/h4>\n

I think 2016 was\u00a0a really up and down year for most people. I still cannot believe how many celebrities have passed away in the last 12 months. Thankfully,\u00a0my close family\u00a0are still here and we are all soldiering on! I have fantastic\u00a0parents, a\u00a0brilliant brother and sister in law and of course an amazing wife who is undoubtedly my rock. I also have some really fantastic friends out there who I appreciate so much.\u00a0I know I’ve missed off lots of important days out with great friends, both on and off the bank.<\/p>\n

There’s already a lot going on\u00a0in my diary for 2017 and the\u00a0early signs are that it’s gonna be great.<\/p>\n

For all the happy and smiling people out there\u00a0I wish you all an amazing year! X<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are just a few\u00a0of my highlights (mostly angling-related) from an eventful 2016… National Pride I\u00a0hadn’t fished a\u00a0National\u00a0for years,\u00a0but that all changed\u00a0after agreeing to join Drennan Oxford and fishing the Division 2\u00a0on one of...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fishing-venues","category-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jonarthur.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jonarthur.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jonarthur.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jonarthur.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jonarthur.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=459"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.jonarthur.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":612,"href":"https:\/\/www.jonarthur.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459\/revisions\/612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jonarthur.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jonarthur.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jonarthur.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jonarthur.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}