207lb net sees Chertsy rod in Fisho FinalPerry Stone has booked his place in the Fish ‘O’ Mania grand final, after weighing in a massive 207lb of carp in the Monks Lake qualifier. Following the draw, Perry was said to be quite happy with his Peg B5 on Bridges Pool, and attacked it with a Method-feeder approach, and pellet hook bait casting 80 yards to the edge of an island. This will be Perry’s third appearance in the final having fished it twice at Hayfield. Early morning rain soon cleared to leave a bight windy day for the 130 anglers, who were pegged over the four match lakes, plus the Specimen Lake, Bridges Pool.
Oswestry rod books his place in Fisho Final. Gary Hick, a gas engineer from Oswestry in Shropshire, has booked his place in the Fish 'O' Mania Final, after weighing in a 133lb 4oz net of carp. As is usual for this event all three lakes were in use – Specimen, Match and Arena – but strangely the fishery staff could not predict where the winner was likely to come from. Many of the competitors fancied Specimen Lake being the favourite due to the high numbers of large carp that the water held, and if these decided to have a go then a big weight was on the cards.
Rotherham ace books place in Maver Match This Final. Ex England International Andy Oldham has won a place in the Maver Match This Grand Final, after winning the qualifier at Daiwa Hallcroft Fishery. Andy drew Peg 13 on Moat Island and finished 30lb clear of the rest of the field. The Halkon-Hunt-backed ace alternated between pellet waggler, and pellet fished shallow on the pole at 13 metres to catch 20 carp up to 9lb for a final weight of 155-02-00.
344lb net is new venue best. Garbolino ace, Simon Fry has set a new record for Maver Larford Lakes, weighing in 344lb 11oz from the Match Lake on Sunday. He explained: “It was an unbelievable session. I could see a lot of fish moving in the margins of the lake, and so I fished there pretty much from start to finish.
London-based legend Pete Vasey wins Ireland ClassicLondon's Pete Vasey has won the Ireland Classic with a weight of 87lb. The three-day, 216-angler-strong event event saw the ex-Essex County rod net a whopping £5,000 top prize, and take home the coveted crystal chalice, and a Daiwa rod-and-reel combo. After winning the match on the second day, Pete went into the final match needing a section win, and his final day catch of 10lb from the changeable Trory section was enough to capture the overall honours. In a changeable week weatherwise, anglers were faced with freezing rain on the first day of the event, and were getting sunburnt in their T-shirts by the third day!Second overall was Kevin Rowles from Devizes, whose total catch of 71lb earned him £2,000, a Crystal Trophy and a Daiwa tackle prize.
Exciting new three-day event on Oxford's River Thames. River fishing maestro Paul Glenfield is to run a three-day festival on Oxford's River Thames. Taking place on the three prolific stretches of Abingdon, Radley and Medley, the event is expected to prove extremely popular among river anglers. Paul explained: "People have been asking me for a while now if I could sort something out on the Thames, as most major river fishing circuits seem to have their own festival, yet we on the Thames haven't up until now.
Tackle giants team up with Cornish bagging venue. Garbolino has announced that it has teamed up with Bolingey Lakes in Cornwall, and will now be sponsoring the complex of lakes. Head of Garbolino’s UK operation, Darren Cox explained: “It’s a natural liaison as far as I am concerned. Bolingey Lakes has been at the forefront of commercial match fishing for as long as commercial match fishing has been around.
New internet search tool raises money for angling. Did you know that just by changing the way you search the internet, you can automatically help raise important funds to support angling projects? A new initiative lets you do just that…and it won’t cost you a penny!The Angling Trades Association (ATA) has signed a solus agreement with Global Search Solutions Ltd (GSS) to supply a bespoke angling browser page that can be used by every angler. Every time anyone uses this new page, it will activate a donation funded by a well-known internet giant. These repeated donations will be collected in the newly formed Angling Participation Fund (APF) and be used to support angling projects and allied good causes across the UK.
Harrell announces venues for big-money river competition. A brand-new competition, which will carry the biggest ever individual river competition first prize of £10,000, plus more big main list and section cash prizes in the final, gets underway in July. RiverFest 2013 is the brainchild of river expert Dave Harrell who has been working closely with the Angling Trust to put the competition in place. Twenty qualifiers of 60 anglers on various river venues around the country will see three anglers from each match qualify for a two-day weight aggregate final on the fish-rich River Wye at Hereford on the weekend of November 2nd and 3rd, 2013.
Weston Pools to host memorial for popular matchman. The date and venue has been announced for this year's memorial match for popular Midland matchman, Perry Dalgarno. Taking place at Shropshire venue, Weston Pools, tickets will sell for £20, with £5 being donated to charity. The draw time for the event will be 9.
Manic fortnight sees Teesside youngster bank over £6,000 in winnings. MAP and Marukyu-backed star James Dent has enjoyed a fortnight to remember at White Acres, winning one 180-peg festival, finishing second in another and winning a qualifying match for the £50,000 winner-takes-all Maver 'Match This' Final!He commented: “I have had what can only be described as a dream fortnight. To win the Dynamite Festival was awesome alone, but then to go on and win the Maver 'Match This' qualifier and finish second in the Milo Festival was brilliant!"I have to be honest and say that I have been drawing brilliantly, and when you are fishing every day you become very smooth, so by the end of the second week I was fishing extremely efficiently. I would class the last day of the Milo Festival as my best performance.
Close match sees UK Champ take the win. Competition was tight on the first ever sell-out Maver 'Match This' qualifier at Peterborough's Decoy Lakes, with over 15 anglers returning weights of 100lb or more!The winner on the day was the current UK Champion, Middy and Bag'Em Matchbaits rod, Marc Rodger. Marc, who is no stranger to fishing in a 'Match This' final, having qualified previously in 2011, drew Peg 23 on Beastie lake. The Grimsby rod fished a Method feeder before switching to pellet shallow later in the day to end the match with 157-03-00, putting just over 10lb between him and second-placed Martin Freeman.
Angler dies after nightclub disturbanceWhite Acres stalwart Mick Kearns has died following a disturbance outside a nightclub in the early hours of Saturday morning. The tragedy happened as Mick, 49, and other festival goers were out celebrating the end of White Acres Milo Festival at Newquay's Sailors nightclub. Initially, four security staff employed by the club were arrested on suspicion of murder, but they have since been released. In a statement issued yesterday, Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Following an assessment of the circumstances, this is now not a murder enquiry.
Win top tackle prizes and your place in the £6,000 final!
Details have been announced for this year's Matrix Junior and Intermediate Championship, on the River Avon at Evesham. Taking place on Saturday, August 17th, the event is once again heavily sponsored, with prizes provided by tackle giant Matrix. There will also be trophies – and a place in the Shakespeare Championship for the winning individual in each category. This match is regarded as one of the most prestigious on the match fishing calendar, and carries a top prize of £6,000!Event organiser Colin Townsend commented: "It's always nice to welcome junior and intermediate anglers to Evesham, and this event is a key part of the Evesham Festival.
Star-studded Stapeley spectacular on Saturday!An exciting open day is taking place this Saturday, April 27th, at Stapeley Angling Centre in Cheshire. Dozens
of star anglers are set to attend, including representatives from
Shimano, Nash, Fox, Korda, Sensas, Maver, Chub, MAP and Wychwood. Heading
up proceedings is current World Champion and Sensas rod Sean
Ashby, who will be on hand to discuss tackle, tactics and answer any
questions you may have. On top of this, Stapeley
staff have secured 50 tackle-packed goody bags, that will be awarded
to the first 50 anglers who spend over £20.
