ASF Sale Comp 3/10/2010

Well we had another excellent day out having fun and catching up with mates from interstate. I would like to thank both Eddie and Gary who made the trip over to cast with us in Sale and make the day very enjoyable as well as entertaining, more of that later.

The day started out looking like I was going to be another cold still spring day down here in Victoria, with a lot of low hanging fog blanketing the fields as we headed to Sale to meet at the McDonalds in the main street before 9.00 am. This would then allow us to go on mass to the field, after the obligatory greetings and coffee. With only one member down at the allotted time due to a neighbours party and subsequent antics we headed off to the field and advised young Dennis that we would coordinate later to get him the necessary directions.

It was a surprise that greeted us at the field with the fog starting to burn off and the place swarming with mosquitoes the size of small birds. This called for a quick dousing of any exposed skin with the bushman and Areoguard repellent, in the slim hope that this would keep the swarms at bay long enough for the sun to come through and send then little vampires back to the dark places.
In true Victorian form the sun did come though and we once again went from covered up to lighter tops and shorts so that you didn’t overheat.



( Allan setting up along with some of the other guys )

The morning session casting kicked off with the hope that the court had been laid out in line with the forecast wind once it showed up. The distances with the first few cast confirmed our fears as distances were down and then to make things worse the wind did firstly a cross court appearance and the finally switched right around and turned into a head wind.



( After the morning fog it was Shorts and T shirt - Mick getting readys for his cast with Gary pondering about what to use for the session )




( A beautiful Day but note the flag showing the cross court wind )




( Nick belting one out during the morning session )

It was at this stage that a court change was called the lunch started.
Thanks must go out to Mike Smajkic who did a top job of bringing the barbeque out and started cooking the sausages and chicken for the hungry hordes. We also had a good spread of food and drinks available to keep everyone’s energy levels up and this showed as there was nobody lagging toward the end of the day. Thanks also to Mark Johnson who with his new fishing camper van set up kept the billy boiling and people supplied with hot cups of tea and coffee.



( Dennis pulling a rod down whilst he & Murray discussed issues /tactic )

The revised court position and reasonable wind direction saw the distances improve and also the competitive nature of the attendees.
Nick and Peter were having a running battle with getting the better cast away even to the point of one of the reels dropping into gear mid cast and blowing the pinion gear. The look of determination on there faces was good to see.



( The determined face of Peter - still smiling at the end of the day )


Also PB’s by Mick Smajkic and Dennis Cottle were very good and will hold them in a good frame of mind as we head towards our next Australian Championships this coming January. Shawn and a few mates was also present and supporting Dennis with the fixed spool (Threadline) and also benefited from the discussions and assistance provided by the other guys. Murray also was casting consistently and making his TTLD and Daiwa earn there keep. Note that the clumps of grass did make it difficult for those like Muaary amd Mick Perrora doing OTG a bit difficult with the lead not clearing the clumps smoothly.
Gary, Mark and Eddie were also enjoying the day though the final results weren’t to their liking as distances were down on what they have been averaging previously. I was finally rewarded with a day of consistent distances and was quite happy with the final distances though like the rest of the guys would have liked to seen bigger numbers on the board.




( Murray also smiling after a day out )

Fully results and video will be coming shortly, with the results coming from Eddie who did a fantastic job of collating and updating the score board and keeping people informed on how they were fairing in their respective positions throughout the day.



( Eddie updating the score board with Gary looking on at the results )




( Gary reaping the rewards for his efforts with the Silver pin donated so kindly by Mick Smajkic's father )

It was a fun day even though yours truly forgot half of the equipment for scoring and measuring but we did well with everyone being happy to wait for the distances to be confirmed and recorded accordingly and helping out.
Hopefully in the future we will be able to improve on this with a new court and better range finding equipment but till then we will make do with what we have.

After the final distances had been completed and we were at the wrap up stage of the day and the sun was starting to set we were once more reminded that the little vampires the locals call mosquitoes started to make their presence felt in more ways than one. Also we had the added bonus of flying ant starting to move which made the drive back quite a feet with the wipers working overtime clearing the bugs off the windscreens.

Despite all of these minor irritations I thought that it was a brilliant day and that everyone had a good time getting out and having a go.
Hopefully for the guys who headed back down to the beach after the comp they were able to get a few fish and survive the hordes of insects that were driving this old man mad.

Roll on January and the Championships where I am looking forward to meeting back up with all of the members as well as any new people wanting to join in and have fun.


Regards

Looks and sounds like a great day was had by all, and I woulnt fancy OTG casting on that field either

Here are the full results courtesy of Eddie and the ASF.

Top Marks for Mick S, Dennis , Nick and Peter who all improved with new PB's.



Well done guys