Junior carp match Braxted Reservoir 2026.
On a blustery Saturday morning thirteen young members gathered round eagerly waiting to draw a peg number for the 2026 junior carp match held on the Reservoir at Braxted complex.
The favourite peg in the far bank corner came out last but one for Phoebe, considering the winner came from that peg the last two years you could be forgiven for thinking it would be the hat-trick year. All the bailiffs who volunteered to help marshal the event all said the same, it could be another busy day up and down the bank weighing lots of fish.
With the draw done all the competitors head up to their swim to get ready for the hooter to signal the start of the match.
A brisk, warm wind blew from the top of the lake at the far end into the bottom left-hand side (peg 1) and when you looked there were lots of fish showing just a few feet from the bank, to be fair there were other fish along a lot of the margins, no need to cast far and wide today.
Ed blew the hooter and we were under way. A few fish came out straight away on the left- hand bank, but, the right-hand side was a lot slower, and the expected rush never really got going. The first hour passed and from what I could see from the far end the lower numbered pegs were doing ok. The wind continued to blow and as the water was still low everyone could fish on the lake bed, which normally would have been under several feet of water so those on the far bank had a bit of shelter from the wind, whilst those on the near bank had it blowing into their faces. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to bother anyone.
As the hours ticked by, bites dried up and only the occasional fish came out from the middle to the top end of the lake. Down in pegs 1-2 the fish came at a steady rate, with steady baiting keeping the fish in their swim and feeding. This wasn’t how we expected it to go, maybe the weather conditions, water level and the amount of anglers on the lake had a part to play, who knows what the fishing gods were thinking today.
With 3 anglers blanking on the far side, our President Mr Gary Springett went into coaching mode to help one young angler try and catch a fish or two, different rigs were tied and tried different areas baited, but alas it wasn’t to be for poor Max who tried everything in his first match, a competent angler but if the fish aren’t in your swim there`s very little you can do.
The same could be said for George who was in the middle and for what ever reason also had nothing to show for all his efforts. Hopefully they won`t be too disappointed and take part again next year.
Also on the same bank was two-time winner Ava, she too was trying different tactics, baits and areas but to no avail until the last half hour when a 12lb carp graced her net, not huge but saved a blanker.
As the afternoon progressed to the final hour or so it was getting a bit much for one young lad who was physically sick whilst playing and landing a fish, lad done well and the extra bit of ground bait going in obviously didn’t harm his swim, he was too ill to continue unfortunately but his sister stepped in for the last bit and had a couple of fish for herself.
The final hooter went at 4pm and after 7 hours of fishing the match ended and it was all back to the gazebo for the prize giving. From about halfway through it, it became apparent that pegs 1-2 were competing against each other for first place and, barring someone absolutely bagging up in the final moments the winner would come from there. In peg 7 although Rueben was catching steadily and some nice fish it wasn’t in big enough quantities.
Annoyingly, as we got back a few drops of rain were felt and the decision to finish half hour early seem to prove it was the right one, however it only lasted a couple of minutes and the presentation got under way
The final results were as follows.
1st Mathew Galea 322lb 6ozs
2nd Ellius Turner 297lb 4ozs
3rd Reuben Clark 72lb 12ozs
4th Phoebe Riley 66lb 14ozs
5th Dylan Saunders 56lb 5ozs
6th William Smith 37lb 2ozs
7th Bradley Townsend 34lb 9ozs
8th Edward Pearman 29lb 15ozs
9th Harriet Lane 19lb 12ozs
10th Ava Bolton 12lb 12ozs
11th Austin Hunt 11lb 10ozs
12th George Reworth --------------
12th Max Frayne --------------
Biggest fish 23lb 10ozs Mathew Galea
Biggest fish outside the top 3 Dylan Saunders 15lb.
As you can see, the weights were well done on previous years for some reason, though the average size of fish appears to be slightly higher this year, however, with the exception of the top two, the rest were only a fish or two from moving up the board which made it a bit more exciting. Mathew, who won, had a cracking fish of 23lb 10ozs a new PB and has only been fishing for less than a year apparently. Unfortunately for him we always award the biggest fish prize to someone outside the top 3, and it was Dylan who scooped the prize with a 15lb fish.
It was good to see the young members fishing well and enjoying themselves along with their parents, grandparents all getting involved as well. A good day was had by all.
Now for the thank-you`s
Once again thank you to all the Bailiffs who give up their time to marshal the event, without them we couldn’t run the event
Barry Davis for organising all superb the prizes, Ed Mead and Nick Pasfield for running around picking up prizes and all the bits and pieces that’s needed for the day, our President for helping out offering help where needed and presenting the prizes.
Finally, to all the fishing companies that generously supplied all the prizes for the juniors.
In these tough economic times giving away hundreds of pounds isn’t easy but on behalf of everyone it is very much appreciated by us all.
Nash Tackle, D.T Bait Developments, Gardner Tackle, Tails Up, Total Tackle. Adam Pennings Carp Acadamy,
