BRIGG REMAINS POPULAR WITH ANGLERS BUT 'YORKIES' NO LONGER COME BY TRAIN

 

Angling matches are taking place regularly on the River Ancholme in Brigg - with more to come.
Matches are planned every Saturday in January and February, with others pencilled in for early March.
February will see three involving Sherpa Angling Club, and there will be a Winterton club fixture the following month.
These matches involve various pegs on what's known as the Spring's Stretch - a reference to the famous preserves factory that occupied a riverside site in Brigg for decades until the late 1970s.
On the other bank, further fixtures have been arranged on the Cake Mills stretch of the Ancholme - a reference to the former Yarborough Mills that occupied the site now taken by the Waters Edge housing estate, and the adjoining bridge carrying the A18.
Many pleasure anglers also fish the Ancholme on their own during the season.
Brigg pubs once did a roaring trade catering for anglers who came by train from Yorkshire to spend a weekend or a week's holiday fishing the Ancholme.
That was when there was still a seven days a week service from Sheffield, unlike the Saturday only timetable that's operated for the past quarter-of-a-century.
The Butchers' Arms, on Wrawby Street (now occupied by the Deli & Diner) gave the 'Yorkies' board and lodging, and the Nelthorpe Arms, on Bridge Street, also did good trade.
Closed water fishing is still available in Brigg today, with Smithy's Pond, on Island Carr, boasting its own tackle shop and Harrison's Hideaway Cafe.
Seeing a couple of anglers near the County Bridge recently, Brigg Blog thought about mentioning that large pike are rumoured to live close to the brick wall near the former Nelthorpe Arms beer garden. But we thought twice about relating what might well be a fishy story.
Remembering the famous line from Dad's Army - "Don't tell him, Pike! - we said nothing.
There ARE pike to be landed on the Spring's Stretch, though, and we have taken pictures in recent years that prove this to be so. Some fine fish have been landed and returned to the Ancholme.