Round 2 of the Tees Valley Summer League saw anglers head to the ever-popular Arc Lake at Redwood Park, where conditions looked decent on paper, but the fishing told a very different story!
The day was shaped by typical spring conditions, with cool temperatures around 10–13°C, a stiff westerly wind, and plenty of cloud cover keeping things unsettled . While it stayed mostly dry, the breeze made presentation tricky and definitely didn’t help the sport.
In fact, for large parts of the match, bites were at a premium. It wasn’t long before talk on the bank turned to renaming the venue from Redwood… to Deadwood, as many struggled to get any consistency going. That said, a few anglers managed to unlock it and put together some quality nets.
Leading the way, and making it back-to-back wins was Ian Hutchinson, who continued his fine form with a brilliant 36lb 11oz. A superb effort in tough conditions and enough to secure his second victory on the bounce.
Pushing him all the way was Jonny Richards, who fell just short with a strong 33lb 15oz for second place, while Alan Gladders took third with 28lb 4oz, rounding off the top three.
Section Winners:
- Jack Jones
- Neil Devine
- Rob Urry
- Neil Gwatkin
Overall, it was a proper test of patience and watercraft, with just a handful of anglers managing to piece together a couple of fish and make it count.
Attention now turns to Round 3, which takes place in two weeks’ time at Forest Lane on the Don and Arena Lakes. As always, names to Jack via WhatsApp once booking opens.
Tight lines and let’s hope for a few more bites next time! 🎣
Full results below
