Sunday 5th May 2024 will go down in history as the time the SMAC Bream Competition actually took place on the scheduled date! After weeks of very variable weather we were delighted that the weekend forecast was reasonably settled, and a total of 56 anglers set out for eight hours of intense competition. Unlike our Cod Competition where cod are hard to find, there’s no shortage of bream in May and the question is only – how big?

Bream fishing is a combination of knowing where the big ones are likely to be, and the right tackle and methods.  As the day progressed and the weather changed from sun to drizzle and back again, news of catches started to come in. We knew that the winners would have to land fish of over 3lbs.

Steve Kelly officiated at the club weighing scales and a number of good fish were weighed. The leaderboard kept changing as better and better fish were weighed in but finally we drew the line at 6:30pm and the prize table was allocated. We had 14 prizes in all, plus bonus prizes for top Lady and top Junior.

The presentation was held as usual in the Marina Bar which was by then packed with anglers, each with a pint and a distant gaze. It had been a long and tiring day. Steve brought us all to attention at 7pm and the prize-giving began. The results were as follows, and photos are in the gallery below. Weights are in pounds decimal as the margins between fish can be very small!

1st – Mark Oldfield (winning £350): 3.10lb
Top Lady – Pam Eckersall: 0.86lb
Top Junior – Toby Challinor; 1.32lb
2nd – Dan Lumsden: 3.08lb
3rd – Steve Andrews: 2.94lb
4th – John Evans: 2.60lb
5th – Pete Churchill: 2.54lb
6th – Kevin Johnson: 2.50lb
7th – Mark Argyle: 2.48lb
8th – Luke Scott: 2.44lb
9th/10th Draw – Lee and Ryan Whitcome: 2.36lb each
11th/12th Draw – Steve Tambling and Wayne Comben: 2.18lb each
13Th – Paul Brindley: 2.10lb
14th – Tony Skinner: 2.08lb

We are very grateful for the prizes donated by our sponsors: Premier Marinas, Cosham Angling, Fish-On Bait and Tackle, Baits’R’Us, Victory Heating, Southsea Marina Disabled Angling Club, Prestige Plumbing, Sportsmans Knight, British Big Game Charters, Newnham Builders, Brian van Daal and our hosts the Marina Bar.

We would also like to thank all our helpers and of course all the competitors without which these events wouldn’t be half as much fun. Plus of course whoever is organising the weather, and to top off the day we were treated to an amazing display of rainbows.

Watch out for our next SMAC Open Competition which will be the Species Hunt in the summer.