Seven members of Braintree Sea Angling Club braved the rain , sleet and strong winds to fish the last match of the year after Christmas on Walton pier.  Fortunately the wind was off the land so there was some protection for the anglers. Fishing was slow until the tide turned with the occasional whiting and dab being caught.  The wind dropped as the rain went out to sea and the tide turned and the whiting began to come of-n the feed providing most of the anglers with plenty of whiting for the last hour and a half.  Paul Drake was victorious with 35 whiting and 3 dabs for 411 fish points winning him a bottle of whiskey. In second place was Robin Joy with 299 points from his catch of 22 whiting, 1 dab and a pout.  Third spot went to Chris Leonard with 23 whiting and 269 points.  The prize for the longest fish went to Barrie Senior a whiting of 34cm.  Paul’s win consolidated his position at the top of the leader board as best match man over the year with 156 match points.  Runner up was Chris Leonard with 98 match points closely followed by Robin Joy with 94 points.

A frozen beach greeted Braintree Sea Angling Club members when they arrived for their latest match at Holland-on-Sea.  Fishing was slow with a few whiting and the occasional dab and small bass taking the mainly lugworm baits.  Although the day eventually warmed slightly it only brought rain no improvement in the fishing.  At the end of the day it was close with Barrie Senior securing a win with a catch of 20 whiting and 3 dabs for 262 points.  Paul Drake had 24 whiting and a dab for 255 points. In third spot was Graham Nash with 106 points from his catch of 6 whiting, 2 bass, 3 rockling and a dab.  Wednesday 27^th at Walton pier will be the last match of the year.

The last Club boat match of the year was held mid-week fishing out from West Mersea on the charter boat Enterprise.  Whiting were the main catch with some dogfish, thornback rays and pout, no cod. Barrie Senior won the match with 51 points.  Second was Graham Nash with 41 points and third spot went to Paul Hart with 28 points. Third place together with his wins from the previous boat matches was enough to secure Paul the Bolduc Cup for best boat angler.

Five of Braintree Sea Angling Club members made the annual pilgrimage north to fish the EFSA Wales Cod Championship in the river Mersey estuary.  On day one the anglers were plagued by whiting and only few cod were caught.  Barrie Senior managed a couple which put him into third place.  Day two unfortunately was cancelled due to bad weather so Barrie’s third place was not challenged and gave him the bronze pin.