11/06/17 H.O.F.C 1st Leg Xuereb Installations League 2017 held at Valletta 'Fossa'
oday the much awaited Hooked On Fishing Club Xuereb Installations League 2017 kicked off. This was held at Valletta Fossa. It was a very nice morning & the weather was favourable with North Westerly breeze. It was agreed to meet at 05:30 to commence at 06:30 to have it wrapped up by 10:30 to avoid the Anglers to sit in the sun through the latter stages of the match. This had to be changed to a 06:45 start & 10:45 finish as it took a little longer to settle everyone in.
As this was the first Match of the League the Anglers did not know whom was going to be in their section so this made it a little nerve wrecking as to see whom was going to be competing against in their group. As usual you could see everyone discussing what techniques they will be looking to try out & mentioning lessons learnt from this venue from past experiences. The Anglers definitely did not lack much knowledge as most all of them fished this venue previously.
The signal sounded to start ground baiting just 5 minutes prior to the actual start signal. When the start signal sounded you could hear the sounds of the poles & lines being casted by all anglers.
It straight away seemed that it was going to be a difficult match as the fish were shy to bite at the early stages of the Match. As the morning progressed there was a few anglers started to catch some bottom fish like Painted wrasse ‘ Gharusa’ , painted Comber ‘Burqax’ , Five Spotted Wrasse ‘Tird’ , Various sea bream ‘Sparli’ & ‘Xirgħien’ also Parrot Fish ‘ Marzpan’ there was a couple of nice sized ones caught on the day. In some areas there was the presence of the Boxlip mullet ‘Bobin’ which was quite shy & kept swimming away & returning every now & then. You could see various techniques being applied by Anglers too make the most of the time allocated of the match to ensure they caught as much fish possible.
Important to note that All fish caught were released back into the sea to fight another day & the areas that could not rig up a keep net ensured they had a decent size bucket over 15 ltrs & ensured water changes completed frequently to avoid harm to fish. The club always ensures that the minimum damage is done to the fish to ensure the fish are released back to their environment safely without too much impact.
Everyone gathered for the results of the first Leg of this League sponsored by Xuereb Installations As usual everyone discussing what went on during the day and what they could of done better whilst enjoying the refreshments which were supplied by General Soft drinks.
The winners of the day were presented with vouchers sponsored by 'Fishin Fever tar Rabat' importer of the Major Ground-bait Brand Ellevi.. In 1st Place was John Cardona , in second place Alexander Spiteri & in third place Dorian Formosa.
Section Winners Noel Baldacchino , Ninu Zhara & Adrian Nelson
The HOFC Jackpot was won by John Cardona this time round which had accumulated to €119. The raffle Prize which was sponsored by Tubertini was a reel & won by Carmel Spiteri. There was no biggest fish weighed in in this Match for the biggest fish Trophy sponsored by Tubertini Malta.
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