MedSAC – FULL HOUSE AT SOUTH MOLE WITNESS WORLD RECORD

The Mediterranean Shore Angling Club held its third outing of the 2006 season at the South Mole on Sunday 26 March. What a competition it turned out to be! By 8.00 a.m., a record forty-two anglers had gathered outside the South Mole entrance ready for the drawing of the pegs. Forty-two is the exact number of available pegs, as demarcated by GFSA. The Club’s committee had been kept busy earlier on drawing up contingency plans in the event that the number of anglers eventually turning up would have exceeded that amount. This was not the case and thus the full pegs quota, including some from which fishing is extremely demanding in the absence of extension jetties, was fully taken up.

The weather was very mild, for the first time this season. The early morning mist eventually gave way to fine sunny conditions with light easterly winds - not the ideal conditions for the float-fishermen in search of the White Bream. Choppy waters are much preferred for this type of fishing but the calmer conditions suited the distance casters better. Early on, James Tilbury was in the limelight with no less than three Gilthead Bream landed at Peg 7, the heaviest weighing 1.410 kg. Mario Martinez next to him managed to land a slighter heavier Gilthead Bream that won the heaviest fish of the day with a weight of 1.430 kg.

Notwithstanding these excellent catches, man of the match went to Terry Deeley. Terry stole the show with a Stargazer weighing in at 1.370 kg establishing, once officially confirmed, a new Club, local, European and World Record for the species. All the necessary arrangements are now in place to have the record confirmed by the relevant fishing authorities.

The Stargazer is a member of the Weever family and rarely weighs over 1kg. Ironically, the previous World Record was held by MedSAC Chairman Albert Ward with a specimen that weighed 0.940 kg and was caught in 1995. The World Record thus changes hands but stays within the Club!

A total of 7 fish caught weighed over the 1kg mark. In addition to the four Gilthead Bream and the Stargazer, Mark Beltran landed a 1.040 kg Common Sea Bream and Christian Asquez a 1.250 kg Grey Mullet. 10 Common Sea Bream and 19 White Bream were brought to the scales by the competitors. Arthur Asquez obtained the highest points aggregate with a total catch of 37 fish, including 14 White, Black and Two-Banded Bream securing an excellent points tally of 450. 331 fish were presented at the weigh-in notwithstanding the fact that a few had been lost when an unexpected large wave struck the rocks sweeping buckets, fish and virtually all in its wake!

All in all, an excellent days fishing. The Committee wishes to take this opportunity to thank the membership for their steadfast and ever-growing support that has led to unprecedented levels of attendance at Club Outings. A note of thanks must also go to Medsea Tackle Trading for their unwavering support as Club sponsors over the past six years.

The competition results were as follows:

1st Heaviest Fish: M. Martinez Gilthead Bream 1.430 kg

2nd Heaviest Fish: J. Tilbury Gilthead Bream 1.410 kg

1st Points Aggregate: A. Asquez 450 points

2nd Points Aggregate: J. Tilbury 358 points

MEDSEA TACKLE TRADING LEAGUE

		Angler		Points
1.		A. Asquez		938
2.		L. Sisarello		908
3.		M. Asquez		646
4.		J. Tilbury		568
5.		T. Deeley		449
6.		A. Lopez		440
7.		M. Vella		435
8.		R. Chichon		432
9.		A. Ratali		391
10.		J. Asquez		389
11.		A. Gonzalez		380
12.		C. Asquez		367
13.		J. Piñero		351
14.		M. Hernandez		337
15.		W. Alecio		320

MEDSEA TACKLE TRADING HEAVIEST FISH OF THE SEASON

1st Heaviest Fish M. Martinez Gilthead Bream 1.430 kg

2nd Heaviest Fish A. Asquez Common Sea Bream 1.410 kg

2nd Heaviest Fish J. Tilbury Common Sea Bream 1.410

MEDSEA TRADING TACKLE HEAVIEST SPECIES OF THE SEASON

Black Bream		J. Asquez	0.560 kg
Common Sea Bream		A. Asquez	1.410 kg
Conger		-	-
Gilthead Bream		M. Martinez	1.430 kg
Grey Mullet		C. Asquez	1.250 kg
Pandora Bream		A. Asquez	0.660 kg
Saddle Bream		C. Asquez	0.340 kg
Scorpion Fish		M. Asquez	0.440 kg
Sea Bass		R. Galliano	0.410 kg
Two-Banded Bream		L. Sisarello	0.610 kg
White Bream		J. Piñero	0.770 kg
Wrasse		R. Chichon	0.750 kg

TOTAL FISH CAUGHT IN THE SEASON (first fifteen positions

1.	L. Sisarello	63
2.	M. Asquez	59
3.	A. Asquez	56
4.	C. Asquez	42
5.	R. Chichon	41
6.	E. Couper	36
7.	J. Piñero	33
8.	W. Alecio	31
8.	H. Viñales	31
10.	J. Asquez	26
10.	B. Garcia	26
12.	K. Fortunato	23
12.	A. Ratali	23
12.	A. Parody	23
15.	K. Gonzalez	22

I'm sure you will all join SportGibraltar in congratulating Terry Deeley in achieving the world record.

Clcik here: to read more about the venomous Stargazer

MedSAC – SECOND OUTING OF THE SEASON

The Mediterranean Shore Angling Club held its second outing of the 2006 season at the Detached Mole on Sunday 26 February. The number of anglers turning up for the event was exceptional – a total of 36 braving the wet, cold and windy conditions of the day. The extremely strong northerly wind picked up towards mid-day as the rain ceased and detracted from what otherwise might have been an enjoyable day’s fishing. A total of 215 fish were brought to the scales.

Two-Banded Bream were present in unusually high numbers with twenty-three meeting the 22cms minimum requirement from head to tip of the tail. This apart, 10 Common Sea Bream and 11 White Bream were also landed in what turned out to be a largely disappointing day’s fishing.

The highlight of the day was arguably the landing by Billy Turnbull of a Hurta Bream which, although satisfying the Club’s minimum requirement of 32 cms, he felt should live to grow and fight another day. The fish was consequently returned alive to the sea and not presented at the weigh-in. Notwithstanding this, the Weigh Master and his officials agreed to award Billy the 100 points in respect of his catch, relevant to the species, for his unselfish act of conservation. The fish could have achieved the heaviest fish of the day award.

In any event, the competition results were as follows:

1st Heaviest Fish:	C. Asquez	Grey Mullet	0.810 kg
1st Points Aggregate:	L. Sisarello	240 points
2nd Points Aggregate:	A. Gonzalez	210 points
3rd Points Aggregate:	J. Asquez	159 points

MEDSEA TACKLE TRADING LEAGUE

		Angler		Points
1.		L. Sisarello		563
2.		A. Asquez		463
3.		M. Asquez		396
4.		A. Gonzalez		330
5.		M. Vella		285
6.		A. Ratali		269
7.		R. Chichon		250
8.		J. Piñero		234
9.		A. Lopez		230
10.		R. Galliano		227
11.		J. Galliano		219
12.		K. Gonzalez		191
13.		D. Lopez		190
14.		P. Dyer		187
15.		J. Asquez		184

MEDSEA TACKLE TRADING HEAVIEST FISH OF THE SEASON

1st Heaviest Fish A. Asquez Common Sea Bream 1.410 kg

2nd Heaviest Fish M. Vella Sheepshead Bream 0.980 kg

3rd Heaviest Fish A. Lopez Common Sea Bream 0.970 kg

MEDSEA TRADING TACKLE HEAVIEST SPECIES OF THE SEASON

Black Bream		D. Graffione	0.370 kg
Common Sea Bream		A. Asquez	1.410 kg
Conger		-	-
Gilthead Bream		D. Lopez	0.640 kg
Grey Mullet		C. Asquez	0.810 kg
Pandora Bream		A. Asquez	0.660 kg
Saddle Bream		C. Asquez	0.340 kg
Scorpion Fish		M. Asquez	0.440 kg
Sea Bass		R. Galliano	0.410 kg
Two-Banded Bream		L. Sisarello	0.610 kg
White Bream		J. Piñero	0.770 kg
Wrasse		M. Asquez	0.680 kg

TOTAL FISH CAUGHT IN THE SEASON (first fifteen positions)

1.	L. Sisarello	52
2.	M. Asquez	44
3.	R. Chichon	28
4.	E. Couper	25
5.	W. Alecio	21
5.	J. Piñero	21
7.	H. Viñales	20
8.	A. Asquez	19
9.	P. Dyer	17
9.	A. Parody	17
11.	C. Asquez	16
12.	K. Gonzalez	14
12.	J. Asquez	14
12.	A. Ratali	14
15.	N. Celecia	11
15.	C. Couper	11
15.	A. Gonzalez	11