I’m not sure what SMAC has done to upset the weather gods but this month’s meeting coincided with Storm Barra. This not only brought a lot of wind and rain, it also piled up the high tide causing flooding all around Langstone and Portsmouth harbours with the predictable knock-on effect on traffic. Nevertheless, the more stalwart SMAC members braved the wet and windy night to meet in the Marina Bar which had stayed open especially for us.

The Club Standings are documented below. Highlights are:

Plaice Cup: Tim Andrews leads with 1lb 8oz  – no disrespect to Tim, but that size shows just how poor the plaice season has been.

Bream Cup: Tim Andrews again, 3lb 13oz.

Bass Cup: due to the season restriction this competition has now closed, so we can announce that Kev Johnson has won the cup with his bass of 8lb 11oz. Congratulations Kev.

Cod Pool: all to play for but Lee Jackson currently leads with 8lb 7oz. With 34 people in the pool that’s a decent prize.

Fish of the Month: this was awarded to young Ben Lumsden (Junior Member) for his bass of 4lb 11oz.

The Cod Competition: what can I say. This rolls on, next stop 12th December but that’s looking dodgy. Some of us are secretly hoping for 19th December which would make a great start to the Christmas break.

Mandela Cup: This informal club competition is usually fished between Christmas and the New Year, with the rules adjusted according to the weather and hangovers. Watch the WhatsApp Group for further information.

Curry Night: probably a Saturday night in January because nobody could identify a specific Indian and I can’t remember the road name anyway. It’s lucky that this level of imprecision doesn’t extend to weighing fish for club competitions, I think we do that rather well by comparison.

Next Meeting: this will be a week later than our regular slot, it being New Year and everything, so put the date in your diaries for Tuesday 11th January 2022 at 7:30pm in the Marina Bar. See you there!

Neville Merritt