The Game Fair At Ragley Hall

The Game Fair At Ragley Hall

Nick Moore | Wednesday, 17 August 2022

It was wonderful to cast with the BFCC at the game fair, and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it over the 3 days. There was a steady stream of punters that wanted to have a go, and a couple of them were very good. One chap hit 32m with the club #5 outfit, which was exceptional considering the conditions, 100’ with a #5 is very uncommon.

The first day was incredibly hot, and I eventually had to venture into the centre of the game fair to find some drinking water after exhausting the supply that I brought. I prepared my casting outfits a few days before the event, (new leaders, cleaning lines and applying line slick, putting grip tape on the rod handles etc) which took few hours, but it made a difference. So, what did I bring?

1. Sage Igniter 990-4

2. Sage Igniter 690-4

3. ST27 60’ Shooting head with shooting line

4. SA MED5 with accuracy and normal leader for distance

5. Ballistic Pro Performance #5 and #7 for fun 

After doing some #5 practice on the pontoon, it wasn’t long before the punters started to arrive, and there was a steady and constant stream right up until lunch time, and they were still coming! It was very good, as I was jumping from timing to scoring, getting tackle ready and showing them some line management skills to get the best out of the cast. Some of them had a go at all of the events, which was great to see (#5 trout distance, Accuracy, ST27 and S55). The most popular I believe was the #5 distance, but I noticed a lot of people came to watch James and Steves S55 casting (unsurprisingly.

It was also interesting to see the reaction of anglers when you tell them the specs of the SA MED5 line, and perhaps it isn’t as easy as they think, especially when they watch Tracy and how easy she makes it look. The second day was similar, but with even more people. It was much cooler with a breeze which should have made a difference to the distances, but it didn’t really as it was blowing into the bank which was far from ideal, and the air felt heavy.

The last day was very enjoyable as it was the finals, and we used the PA system to announce the casters and the results, everyone did very well, but I didn’t feel like I cast my absolute best. I’m not sure if it was my tracking, forward cast or conditions, but I think it was a combination of them all. Never the less, we all seemed to cast similar distances, so I don’t think I did too badly. I hit some decent casts in the timed events, but each time I did, the line ended up getting tangled! So how did I do?

#5 Distance (SA MED5): 35m

ST27: 46m

S55: 44m 

Accuracy: 57

I was very pleased with the accuracy, as I have never achieved this in a timed event, it must have been the competitive streak in me trying to beat James J

Naturally I went into the centre of the game fair to have a look around on the last day, and I came across Flyfish Europe that had a few scott rods outside. Not, I’ve always wanted to try the new centric, so I asked if I could try it with the MED5 on the lake, and I was very impressed. I ended up purchasing it for fishing, as well as doubling as an accuracy rod.

I enjoyed it immensely. A special thank you to Tracy for organizing some free food, this was greatly appreciated.

Tight Lines!