Windsor Cup 2011

The 2011 Cup was held on June 25 at the end of the longest summer in history. Unbelievably, the weather remained generally fine and the cold snap didn’t arrive until Monday morning when we had a cracker of a frost and a big zero degree start.

Most punters arrived on Friday but Gricey snuck in early on Thursday to set his traps. A good night was had in the Whare watching the Blues/Waratahs game and Steve Sanson walked up with 6lber from the Rip. Much mirth all around as that meant he would not catch a cold let alone a fish the next day (history continues to repeat). It turned into a late one and a bin full of bottles.

Saturday dawned showery but everyone was up and gone early to stake a spot upriver. The wind picked up during the morning and by lunch the westerly was fair howling in. Our youngest competitors Loek and Coen braved the spit and managed to cast right across the river into the gorse with the tailwind. They didn’t give up until mid-afternoon then grabbed a couple of garbage bags and went around the village picking up trash thrown around by the wind. That was a special effort!

Craig Shaw made it back early with a couple of 2.5lbers just so he didn’t have to do a nude lap later that evening.......big Jason Beere then appeared with a 4.4lb Rainbow Jack that set the mark and was not overtaken.

His mates came back with some grand tales but no fish and Steven will no longer fish on Friday night. Tony and Barry battled hard with Tony coming in late in the afternoon with the second placed fish. Gricey, Daryl and Lew came up empty handed and are looking for some inspiration for next year after a couple of barren efforts.

Graham Carter from Fishing & Outdoors caught a sweet little brown to save face and Doug from nzfishing.com missed out.

Presentations went ahead after dinner and Gricey opened the new ‘function centre’ to a round of applause and a debatable joke (people falling off their chairs was a good sign).

Results:

Junior Participation:  Loek and Coen Johnston                                                                                           ( Sponsored by Fishy Steve)

Ladies: Carol Black & Carrie Johnston                                                                                                                (Sponsored by Grantley’s Liquor)

Second Place: Tony King                                                                                   (Sponsored by Feather Merchants)

Lost in Space Award: Mark (remaining anonymous) (Sponsored by nzfishing.com)  Mark, remember civilisation is downstream!

Windsor Cup: Jason Beere (Sponsored by Central Plateau Fishing)

Thank you to all our sponsors/partners.....Oxford Pies, Bidvest Food Services, Fishy Steve, Feather Merchants, Tongariro River Rafting, nzfishing.com, Fishing and Outdoors AND Central Plateau Fishing!

After dinner, Didymo Dave took the floor and held it for a good half hour about his projects and passion for our outdoors. This bloke needs a medal and we can only wish that everyone in control of the fishery had as much passion and nous as does Dave. The kids were in total awe of Dave and we think he will have some helpers in the future. Well done Dave!

Doug Stevens was again eloquent in addressing the crowd about his ambitions and of his support for people like Dave who are ‘out there doing it’. We thank Doug for his wonderful support of the Lodge and Windsor Cup as he shares our passion for history and not losing our past. Thank you also to Graham for covering the event and we look forward to your article and pics (we think your Sandy took about 5000 shots that night).

Our spot prize was generously sponsored by Tongariro River Rafting this year and was valued at $700......a choice of Raft Fishing, White Water Rafting or Family Float.

Everyone had a ticket and the butts were placed in the Windsor Cup....Michelle from Westpac drew the winner and young Loek Johnston jagged the prize. This was a very popular outcome considering his efforts during the weekend.

A massive thank you to Garth from TRR and the smiles on the Johnston faces told us your contribution will be remembered.

The night continued on into Sunday as the hardy ones battled the elements inside their glasses. Lights finally out when no one could understand Cowboy any longer and his man-love got infectious.

Well done and thank you to everyone. We are all but booked out for next year so first in, first served.

Footnote: Lew Nunn brought in a 5lber on Monday morning just to rub salt in his wounds.

Next year's entertainment!!