Breaking the ice

Photo: Chris Gleave

WINTER WARMER... Lee Humphries is all set for a session at Chadderton Mill Lodge.

Anglers defy weather — with a bit of hard graft
ANGLING: THE cold snap claimed most outdoor sports at the weekend, but two hours of graft ensured angling wasn’t one of them.

Lee Humphries and 11 other competitors spent that time breaking the ice at Chadderton Mill Lodge, so a match could go ahead.

They attached chains and weights to 16-metre ropes, which are thrown in to the frozen water and pulled out, with the chain cutting a line in the ice.

Lee explained: “This is something we have to do every year, but it has never taken two hours before.

“It was pretty tiring and I felt like stopping every five minutes to have a breather.

“We were all armed with one ice-breaker each, but we help each other. Once you’re finished with one patch, you move on to help your mate on another.

“The thing is, even though it was so cold out, it was such hard work we couldn’t do it in all our thick angling gear — at one point I was wearing my T-shirt while breaking the ice!”

As for the competition itself Lee (GTI Matchman) finished second, behind Mick Tighe (Gilders).

Lee added: “It was a good match. Mike caught at least 40 fish, which is great considering the conditions.”

While Lee and co. might have to break the ice again at the same this weekend, it shouldn’t take them quite as long.

“The hard work we have just put in will give us a head start, so it certainly shouldn’t take two hours this time,” he added.