1st Annual Williams Challenge - Fly Fishing on Rutland Water - Thursday, 9 June 2011

What an absolutely fabulous weekend Jake had prepared for us! Sam drove Mum and I to Rutland, starting at 5.30 am on Saturday morning. After missing our turning for the M6 and nearly hitting Nottingham we arrived at the lake about an hour late but a very good natured trainer made us feel very welcome and soon had us casting onto grass at the lakeside. After an Italian lunch we spent the afternoon putting our training into practise and Judd caught the first catch of the day soon followed by a second. At the end of the day we checked into a plush hotel, freshened up and taxied into Oakham where some liquid refreshment was followed by an extremely nice curry.

Sunday turned out to be too windy for fly fishing so we resorted to trawling the lines behind the boats as the wind blew them across the water. However, one needs weighted lines to do this successfully and these were in short supply so innovative solutions, such as restaurant cutlery pretending to be fishing weights resulted. The catch numbered 9 (I think) and the awards of largest fish caught, highest weight of catch per boat and highest weight of catch per person went to Rob, Judd and Jake respectively. The Williams Challenge Cup, an excellent innovation from Jake, will have its virginal silver engraved with the first winner’s name, activity and venue. It will be held for one year until the Winner of the 2012 challenge emerges. Lots were drawn to reveal that Sam will be organising the 2012 challenge.

A great tradition to bring the family together an be carried on by future generations. Thanks Jake for all the effort and planning and for coming up with the idea. I’m not into fishing but was surprised at how much I enjoyed the experience