Tuesday Evening Fishing League 2025
Hi everyone,
Just thought I’d send out a note concerning next year’s Tuesday Evening boat league at Grafham.
After organising these evenings for a number of years, Paul Stevens will be stepping down for a well deserved break so I’ll be picking up the reins and looking for a few volunteers to help run some of the evenings through the year but more on that later.
There will be one or two changes next year due to AW wanting to align arrangements between Grafham and Rutland. There will be 14 sessions in 2025 starting on Tuesday 6th May with the final session being 5th August. Meet at the lodge on the day and register as previously, in time for the draw for boat partners at 5.15. An important change to note is that the shop at the lodge will be closing at 2.00pm so boats will need to be booked and paid for in advance on the website. The prices and capability for booking half a boat are still TBC.
AW will kindly grant us an additional 30 mins fishing to whatever the official finish times are on that night. To assist with this, they have requested that boats are returned to the harbour on time and that drogues, anchor chains, oars and nets are stowed away.
Afterwards the plan will be to announce the night’s winner, share all the hard luck stories whilst sharing a pint and some chips and sandwiches at the Mermaid pub.
There will be no free boat vouchers donated from AW next year but they will be looking at a prize/prizes depending on the numbers taking part.
Rules for the competition will probably be the same as last year, all c&r, 6 fish to count and best 10 scores from the 14. This will be confirmed beforehand.
Once I get confirmation of boat prices and any other amendments, I’ll send out updates. I’ll also be communicating this via the Invicta website. If any Invicta members haven’t yet joined us on a Tuesday evening, please give it a go. It’s great fun.
Regards,
Tim
Annual Dinner Friday 28th February 2025
Dear Invicta members. A date to save for your calendar.
Our annual dinner and prize-giving evening will be held on Friday 28th February 2025 at Grafham Sailing Club.
Menu options and more details to follow in due course.
If you haven’t been before please come along if you can, they are always very enjoyable evenings with good food and great company!
Steve Harding
Blackdyke – Limited Re-opening
Due to the high number of enquiries about how the lake is doing, here is an update. The lake is now consistently maintaining its current level which is around 12 to 14 ft deep. The original issue of casting seems to have been remedied as there is now a good level of clearance for casting with the lake at this level. We did a RESTOCK on Thursday the 17th of October due high demand of many regulars reaching out saying they would like to come back and try fishing with the lake as it is. Dean has built 19 new small platforms for standing and casting meaning you can avoid the clay and still enjoy the sport. This is a soft opening to see how it goes as it is but as always the choice is yours.
If you like to come and fish, please contact Dean on 07525730447.
Best regards,
Niki and Dean
Summer Evening Buffet, 2024
Our usual summer evening buffet will be at the Sailing Club again this year. It will be held on Friday evening 16th August and is free for members and partners.
Time 7pm for 7.30. FOC for Members and Partners.
There will be a raffle.
Steve Harding is organising, If you wish to come please let Steve know by Friday August 9th
Tony Smith and Dave Currie were successful in qualifying on Blithfield Reservoir for the Loch Style National later this year and here is their story
I recently fished an Angling Trust Team England loch style qualifier @ Blithfield & David Moore asked that I draft a brief report for the invicta website.
I had fished Rutland for the previous 2 days in a EFFA v Scots Select team match so was unable to practice – far from ideal! Conversely, my boat partner Stevie (an enthusiastic angler & very sociable chap) had practised for 3 days at Blithfield, having parked up his motorhome next to the fishing lodge, so I readily deferred to his preferences of likely fishing spots.
Stevie had caught well during practice on an inter line with a booby & nymphs so that was his starting point. I opted for a floating line & fab/ daiwl bach combination as I thought that the fish would be higher in the water despite the sunshine, blue skies & little breeze.
Over 2 hours later, we had just 3 fish to the boat & the chosen locations/methods were not delivering as planned! Time for a change. I suggested to Stevie that we tried the sailing club & dam wall areas & I changed my approach to dries. Stevie had a few fish on daiwl bachs & blobs & apart from one swirl at my hawthorn pattern, my efforts were fruitless in the full-on sunshine. Based on my previous experience of fishing qualifiers at Blithfield, I decided to try pulling 2 blobs & I had a frantic 25 minutes, landing 4 fish & losing 4. Stevie duly changed his approach & we both then caught steadily throughout the afternoon. I finished with 14 fish & should have bagged up (16 fish) by mid-afternoon having lost 10 fish in play. Stevie ended with 11 & I ended up taking the 4th qualifying spot out of 5 with fellow Invicta member Dave Currie taking 5th qualifying spot with 13 fish. A great result for the only 2 Invicta members taking part.👍
Dave had persevered with black hopper patterns & struggled in the bright sunshine on dries until the cloud cover arrived in the afternoon when fish started to show on the surface. Greater perseverance. 👏 Apparently he also lost a good number of fish in play.
My friend, & Dave’s boat partner Martin Smith (no relation!), took 1st place, having bagged up before the finishing time. I was elated for Martin as this was his first year of fishing the qualifiers What a fantastic debut & I look forward to seeing Martin & Dave at the final at Rutland, later in the year.
I would encourage any Invicta members to consider fishing the AT England qualifiers. Apart from learning skills & new techniques from others & making new friends in the fly fishing fraternity, you may attain the highest honour of representing your country 🏴. Like newcomer Martin Smith, you may surprise yourself & exceed your expectations. Give it a go!!!
Tony Smith
..I was asked to add my two pence worth Tony’s excellent sum-up. Here’s my view:
- I fished it 5 days before and they were ‘on’ straight away, this day they didn’t get going until early afternoon – that surprised me a lot!
- I lost an extraordinary number of fish, and not sure why apart from ….
- I’m going to buy a lighter boat net, one that I can swish through the water a lot quicker than my current Shakespeare boat net – I lost maybe half a dozen at the net rim
- Finally, this happens at Blith more than anywhere else – if you see more than one fish near each other, cast out and hang on, as you will get one (or two) 90% of the time. The ‘competition induced’ take accounts for loads of my fish at Blithfield.
Dave Currie
Letter from Mark Searle
To all Invicta members
I would like to thank all involved in the organization of the Invicta annual dinner, it was a very enjoyable evening with plenty of good food and friendly company, which we saw some new faces and a good number of the regular faces.
I would like to congratulate all the trophy winners on the night, it was good to see some new faces winning trophies, one of which was Matt Collerson who unfortunately missed out on being presented his trophy due to a moved name card.
I was delighted to be awarded the Invicta trophy it is a great honour . I feel I am suffering from a bit of imposter syndrome, as there are many Invicta members that are more than worthy of this trophy and far too many for me to risk trying to name.
I have been a member of the Invicta committee for more years than I would care to remember, I have enjoyed my time on the committee and seeing how the club has grown and how it has gained reconnection with other clubs and the fact we now look like a smart and proud fishing club and not just bunch of guys going fishing. Also over the years the club has encouraged youth and lady anglers to take up fly fishing, which I’m sure will continue.
There comes a time when you realise it’s time to move on and let some new blood take the reins. I was very pleased when Neil Potts showed interest in taken on the roll of booking officer which he is proving to be outstanding and enthusiastic and his partner in crime Steve Harding between them they have done an amazing job in setting up Club Mate for the club, along with Andy Trafakowski who has taken on the website and is also doing a great job.
Invicta has a very pro active committee which is forward thinking and is occasionally looking for new members, so if you feel you would like to help shape the way the club is run or have some ideas you feel would help the club in anyway put yourself forward when a vacancy comes up, it is a great way to get to know the club members and make new friends.
I am still prepared help the club out when and where needed and hopefully I will now be able to concentrate on my fishing a little bit more.
I wish the committee and the members all the very best for the new season.
Tight lines to all
Mark Searle
Passing of Jim Donnelly
Older members will remember Jim Donnelly, a forthright Scottish ex Invicta member, who sadly has recently died. Jim joined in 1980, was a keen angler and committee member. He fished for many years in the Benson & Hedges team ( forerunner of AMFC). He resigned from the Club in 2001 when he moved back to Scotland.
Changes within Invicta FFC Organisation
The committee of Invicta work hard to ensure the smooth running of the club and unlike some committees every member has a specific job within the club; no one is just ‘on the committee’. To ensure the continued success and growth of our club it is important and correct that new blood comes in from time to time to take over from the previous incumbent, this often brings along with it new ideas and keeps the club healthy.
At the end of this season three long standing members will be standing down and the process of replacing their roles has already started to ensure a seamless handover.
After nearly 10 years of managing our club website and building it into one of the best fly fishing clubs websites, Paul Heavens is handing over to Andy Trafankowski. Andy is a very active member of Invicta and has wide IT experience; he took over from Paul following the committee’s October meeting.
Mark Searle has been an incredibly hard working bookings officer for many years and during this season has gradually been passing on his accumulated knowledge to Neil Potts. Neil has already organised some of our monthly outings and matches and is proving to be both competent and proactive in the role.
Finally the clubs long serving treasurer Alan Prevost has decided to retire from this most important position at the 2024 AGM. Alan is our longest ever serving treasurer and will be difficult to replace. He is currently being assisted by Steve Harding but currently no firm decision has been made on his replacement.
Mark, Paul and Alan remain on the committee until the AGM in February when they formally end their term of office, until then, Neil and Andy are co-opted members at which point they will be proposed as new members.
A Great win for Invicta Pair
Congratulations to Tony Smith and Simon Peck on winning the Carsington Autumn Pairs Match on Saturday 7th October.
A great performance and Tony also won the John Wilson Trophy for the largest fish.
INVICTA FFC MEMBERSHIP OFFER
Join Invicta anytime before the end of the year and it will automatically include all of 2024.
Invicta Member’s WhatsApp Group
In addition to this website and our Facebook page, Invicta has a member’s only WhatsApp group which you can join by contacting David Moore or Paul Heavens; include your mobile phone number. You will need to have WhatsApp installed on your phone to be able to join the group.
Once you have been accepted you can post to the group such things as requests for boat partners, requests for items of tackle wanted or for sale, details of how venues are fishing etc. The group should not be used for jokes, non fishing or other unhelpful content.
We also endeavour to post last minute information such as if the Grafham Evening Fishing (or other events) are cancelled at short notice due to weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances.
Remember, if you don’t want lots of pings every time a new item is posted, you can silence notifications on your device. If you require any more information please contact David or Paul.
Membership Subscription 2024
I hope everyone has enjoyed a great Christmas break and has a Happy New Year ahead!
As you know, January is membership renewal time for the club so please see below the usual payment options and details. A membership application form for new members or anybody whose contact details may have changed and need updating can be found on the Membership/Contacts page. If your details haven’t changed, there is no need to fill in the form.
As usual, please use your name as reference when using bank transfer and if you could confirm either to myself or Alan Prevost when you have paid, it would be much appreciated and makes it easier for us to keep track as payments often come in together.
Individual membership this year remains at £20.00, family membership £35.00 and junior membership for those under 18, or in full time education remains free.
Bank transfer –
Invicta Fly Fishing Club
Account Number: 70514004
Sort code: 20-43-63
By cheque – Payable to Invicta Fly Fishing Club
Post to –
Steve Harding
51 Harrow Road
Leighton Buzzard
Beds
LU7 4UF
Tight lines for 2023
Steve Harding (Mob – 07877 313 516)
Invicta Committee Meetings
Your Committee meet four or five times a year to manage the club and its events. We are always happy to discuss any issues or ideas that members may have, it’s your club after all!
If you ever have any matters that you would like the committee to discuss please feel free to raise it with one of the members or contact our secretary Paul Stevens who will ensure that it is put on the agenda.
Our next meeting is on the 6th February 2024
‘Team Invicta’ Caps
Has your old Invicta cap become faded and tatty, or perhaps you have not had one before?
The club now has a new stock of the ‘Team Invicta’ cap for sale. These distinctive ‘one size fits all’ caps are available from Alan Prevost at the bargain price of £8.
Drop Alan an email or give him a call (01954 230678) and he will make sure you get one.
email: Alan Prevost
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Invicta Beanie Hats
Why not treat yourself to one of our top quality ‘Beanie’ Hats. Ideal for those cold winter days. Excellent value at only £6.
We have a limited quantity so if you would like one, contact David Moore.
David
If you have any questions, please email me: Click here
Invicta on Facebook
The Invicta FFC Facebook page can be accessed by clicking on the Facebook symbol at the bottom right hand side of the footer on every page or the ‘Find us on Facebook’ symbol on the left.
The page is hosted by David Moore and Paul Heavens and gives those joining it the opportunity to read comments left by other members and post messages of their own. So for example if you have visited a fishery that impressed you; know that a particular event is happening or just have some thoughts you wish to air, why not share it with others.
Usual rules of common sense apply i.e. nothing offensive or libellous.
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