The 18th Wales Air Ambulance Open Beach Fishing Competition, organised by members from Pembroke and District Angling Club and Osprey Sea Angling Club, was held on Sunday, January 12, on Amroth beach.

The weather on the day was similar to that which had been experienced locally in the run up to the competition, but less windy and drier, with just a couple of short light showers during the competition. So once again, the weather gods were quite gentle with us which meant the conditions weren’t far away from perfect with a good surf throughout.

This should have augured well for a good catch and indeed it was again better than the previous year for the second year on the trot.

The turnout and support was fantastic with 111 anglers, including three junior boys, one junior girl and four ladies and we thank them all very much indeed for their support. This bettered the last 100-plus turnout (2015) by one and was only nine below the record.

The fishing was good with 26, including one lady, weighing in 42 sizeable Flounders along with six Dabs, three Cod and one Turbot, with other undersize or lesser sized Cod, Dabs and Flounders being caught, but not weighed in.

The winning angler, who managed to land four decent sized flounder, for a winning bag of 1Kg 495gms was local Saundersfoot angler member Tony O’Neill, netting him the first prize of £200. Second was Mark Griffiths, a visiting angler from Gorseinon, with his larger Cod of 1Kg 545gms, netting him the £100 prize for the heaviest single fish. In third place was another local angler, this time from Tenby, Stuart Allen, who had three Flounder and a Dab for 1Kg 405gms, taking home a prize of £50.

The pairs competition, in which both anglers had to weigh-in, was won by Stuart and his partner Peter Taylor with one Cod, four Flounder and a Dab for 3Kg 115gms. Second with five Flounder for 1Kg 760gms were Tony and Mike Williams. Third, with four Flounder and a Dab for 1Kg 595gms, were Rob Collins and Ben Edwards, with David Midwinter winning the stewards draw.

The ladies’ section was won by another regular Alison George, who had a Flounder of 420gms; unfortunately no junior weighed in.

However, the most important result on the day was that the event raised £1179 for the Wales Air Ambulance, pushing the total raised over the 18 years this competition has been running, well in excess of £20,000, possibly closer to £25,000 and over the last three years an impressive £2,789, which was presented to Katie Macro, of the Wales Air Ambulance, on the day.

To thank for this sterling effort we must first congratulate the anglers from the organising clubs, you know who you are, together with Mr. Ian Wilkinson, of the Temple Bar Inn, who put his premises and valued support at this event’s disposal.

Lastly, we must again thank the multitude of kind and generous sponsors of the event, who donated cash, together with those donating prizes for the mega raffle which ensured continuation of the event’s great success. These were, in no particular order, Ian Wilkinson, of the Temple Bar Inn, Shane Tucker, Andrew Skeels, Osprey Sea Angling Club, John O’Connor, Denis Nicholas, Andrew and Leigh Rogers, Mike Rowe, of J & M Tackle, Pembroke Dock, Mark Bennett, The Shipwright Inn, Pembroke Dock, Peter Kraus, Tom O’Brien, Gwyan Vaughan, Jeff Horner and Pembrokeshire Building and Plumbing Supplies.

If anybody feels aggrieved that they have been missed off this list, and we hope there isn’t, we are truly sorry, but thank you, most warmly, for your continued support.

One final thing is that the whole shebang repeats itself in four weeks on Sunday, February 9, with the 13th RNLI Annual Fishing Open, in aid of the local lifeboat stations at Angle and Tenby, for which we now pray for at least the equivalent or better weather and as good a turnout and catch.