Xmas Match  Colwyn  19th Dec

The NWSA 2004 Christmas match took place at Colwyn Bay. Weather conditions were perfect with blue sky and a light surf but a neap tide made the fish numbers low with anglers having to use all their skill to tempt the fish. Species caught on the day were whitings, flounders and dabs. 

Great prizes, most of which were donated by Ray of Victoria Pier Angling www.victoriapierangling.co.uk 

The 2004 NWSA Christmas match was also a Penn League match and was therefore also zoned which added a new angle to the whole thing. It was interesting to see which zone provided the winner etc! Each angler was only allowed to submit his single most biggest fish.

Zone 1 was Victoria Pier but it only had room for 12 anglers.

Zone 2 was the promenade from Victoria Pier to Rhos slipway.

Zone 3 was the promenade from Victoria Pier to the hump towards Tan Lan.

1st

 The overall winner was Michael Green with a 37cm whiting. He fished zone 2.

2nd

 In 2nd place was Mathew Thomas with a 36.5cm whiting. He fished zone 2.

3rd

 In 3rd place was Andy Edwards with a 36cm whiting. He also fished zone 2.

Junior Winner

 Mathew Thomas was also the junior winner. As junior winner, Mathew Thomas will get to be Wrexham FC's mascot for the day.

Flattie Winners

 Flattie winners were Jim Laven with a 32 cm dab and Alan Musgrove with a 31 cm flounder.

Zones

Overall winners (above) were not eligible for zone prizes as is the Penn League rules

Zone 1 winner

Winner of Zone 1 (pier) was Tony Laven with a 33cm whiting.

Zone 2 winner

Winner of Zone 2 was both Mr Parkins and A Brennan who both had a 33cm whiting.  

Zone 3 winner

Winner of Zone 3 was both Sean Jenkins and Dave Williams who both had a 33cm whiting.

The match rules that everyone had to abide by are below.

1/ Only your single best fish counts! All your catch measurements put on scorecard and signed by angler next to you and the longest fish on your scorecard judged against the longest ones on everyone elses scorecard. Dogfish and eel sizes to be halved. It is optional whether to keep your catch or release it.

2/ This match will be zoned. Zone 1 will be Victoria Pier. Zone 2 will be the promenade from Rhos slipway to the pier and zone 3 will be from the pier to the speed bumps towards Tan Lan. There'll be a prize for the longest fish of each zone. Overall match winner will be the best fish of all zones.

3/ No lines in the water until 2pm and all lines out by 6pm. All scorecards to be handed in by 6.30pm.

4/ Spare rods allowed but only one line per angler in the water at any one time.

5/ No bait restrictions.

6/ No wading out to cast is allowed but it is ok for retrieving fish, untangling lines etc.

7/ IMPORTANT At end of match please circle your longest fish on your scorecard to help at weigh in.

Penn League Points

The winners and runners up will be awarded official points in the Penn League which is recognised as the official angling league for the UK. Of course you do NOT have to be in the Penn League to participate in this match nor do you 'have' to use your Penn points if you don't wish to. However, if you are a winner or runner up, the Penn points given to you may, if you wish it, be used in other Penn league matches around Wales and the Northwest towards a chance of winning the Penn League. Also, if you catch a large fish in this match, you'll have a chance of winning the best fish of the Penn league as well as best fish of this match. Alternatively, if you're not interested in Penn points, you can just fish as normal and ignore your Penn points if you win the match. The Penn points do not affect the NWSA prizes, trophy and raffle etc. For more details about Penn Points CLICK HERE