The 11th Wales Air Ambulance Open Beach Fishing Competition, organised by members from Pembroke and District Angling Club, Osprey Sea Angling Club, Haven Angling Group and West Wales Match Anglers, was held recently on Amroth beach (writes J. O'C).

Just like the previous three years, the weather was good, with a slight easterly, rather than westerly, wind that prevailed all day. These conditions, together with the weather forecasts, were almost certainly the reason entries were the best ever at 120 anglers, which included five junior boys, six ladies and one junior lady.

Thanks go to them all for their support and, once again, mention must be made of Saundersfoot Angling Club, as they held a match within this match which helped swell the numbers.

Together with the nice weather, the sea conditions again looked nigh on perfect, with a nice low, gentle rolling surf caressing the sandy beach. Thirty-two anglers, including three ladies and three juniors, including the junior lady, weighed in 60 flounders, with more sizeable and undersized fish also being caught, with quite a few anglers not bothering to weigh-in as they had, despite what could in the past have been thought of as decent catches, no chance of making the prize table.

It was great to see Amroth once again, like the previous three years, continuing at its best and fishing like it used to fish when my son, now 30, was six or seven years old. This made for a brilliant competition, with just about every angler catching something.

The winning angler, who managed to land four decent sized flounder - remember this was the first time this was fished to the new Welsh Federation of Sea Anglers size of 30cm - for 1kg 820gms, was local angler Bernie Davies from Neyland. This netted him £200.

Second was another local angler, Gwyn Davies (no relation) from Pembroke Dock, also with four flounder for 1kg 715gms, allowing him to pick-up a prize of £100.

In third place was a Bridgend regular, Andy Young, again with four flounders for 1kg 600gms, to earn him a prize of £50.

The pool for the heaviest fish, netting him £120, went to yet another local angler, Thomas Watkins from Kilgetty, with a flounder of 905gms.

The pairs competition, in which both anglers had to weigh-in, was won by Bernie and his partner, again a local, George Hawkridge from Milford Haven, with five flounder for 2kg 620gms.

Second with six flounder for 2kg 335 gms were, father and daughter combo, Mike and Evie Williams from Tenby, and third with five for 1kg 880gms were another local pair, Martin Jones and Dai Etherington, both from Milford Haven.

The ladies' section was won by the only junior lady, the aforementioned Evie Williams, with two flounder for 745gms, and the junior section was won by Saundersfoot boy, Liam Marklew, with three flounder for 1kg 365gms.

Second lady was Sheila Mason (Milford Haven), one flounder for 505gms, and third was Keera Saykill (Saundersfoot) with a flounder of 340gms. Second junior was Daniel Tucker, also with a flounder of 340gms.

We have to thank James Lemon, of FISH4BASS, for adding to the prizes for each section winner with a free guided trip out on his boat or on shore bass fishing later this year. Thanks must also go to Leigh Rogers' wife, Angela, and her employers, Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation, as she helped run the magnificent raffle following the competition and, once again, her bosses agreed to match-fund it with a donation equivalent to the raffle takings, up to £500, which was actually exceeded this year, excellent indeed.

However, the most important result on the day was that the event, by the time all the money promised is in, will have raised £81 shy of £2,000 for the Wales Air Ambulance, pushing the total raised over the 11 years this competition has been running, to approximately £16,000.

To thank for this sterling effort we must first congratulate the anglers from the organising clubs, you know who you are, together with Roger Harris, of the Amroth Arms, who always puts his premises and valued support at this event's disposal. Also we must mention local Air Ambulance contact, Peter Kraus, who was instrumental in starting it all and who always turns up on the day. Lastly, we must again thank all the kind and generous sponsors of the event, including those already mentioned who donated cash, made collections and donated prizes for the mega raffle which ensured continuation of the event's great success.

These were, in no particular order, HSBC Bank, West Wales Match Anglers, James Lemon, of FISH4BASS, Roger Harries (Amroth Arms), Haven Angling Group, EFSA Wales, Andrew Skeels, Pembroke and District Angling Club, Pembroke Haven Motor Boat Angling Club, Osprey Sea Angling Club, John O'Connor, Robbie Scale, Ken Gainfort, Martin and Sandra Thompson, of Anglers Corner, Milford Haven, Mervyn Davies, Bart Morgan, Mark Nicholas, of West Wales Angling, Gerald Wickland, Simon Nicholas, Alex Nicholas, Grainger Tubolt, Martin Jones, Shane Tucker, Phil Lustig, Steve Davies, James Skeels, Leigh and Angela Rogers. If anyone 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.

If you want to view a lot pictures of the event, taken by Graham Roberts, whom we thank most sincerely, go to http://gradotti.co.uk/air_ambulance_wales_fishing_comp.htm">http://gradotti.co.uk/air_ambulance_wales_fishing_comp.htm