News

Close fought battle in Soar Valley Winter LeagueAny angler who thought that the days of close fought team competitions are dead, should check out the latest result of the Soar Valley Winter League- where Matrix Dynamite Trentmen and the newly entered Leicester Sensas are having an extremely tight fought battle. After taking an early lead in the first round, defending champions Trentmen were sitting pretty at the top of the league. The second round saw a dramatic change however, as Leicester made the most of a brilliant draw to win the round with 27pts- and more importantly open up a 14 point lead over Trentmen in the overall league stakes. The third round saw Leicester further their lead, though it was a much closer result, with a moody river seeing both teams yielding some poor section scores.

Preston ace secures place in Match This Final. Preston Innovations England feeder team captain Tommy Pickering has won a place in the £50,000 Maver Match This Final, after winning the qualifier at The Oaks Lakes in North Yorkshire. Tommy drew Peg 25 on Beech Pool, and left his feeder rod in his bag – opting to fish pole and pellet shallow at just seven metres. Offering a banded 4mm pellet over 4mm feed pellets, Tommy ended the match with a winning 125-06-00 to finish a clear 20lb ahead of the rest of the field.

Drennan KO Cup, The ultimate test? There are some fantastic events in the angling calendar year on year, but what really proves to be the ultimate test of skill and bottle? We have 130 peg one day qualifiers where ultimately it’s down to who draws well and can keep their bottle for a full five hours without cracking under the pressure of the occasion. We also have events such as White Acres Festivals and the UK Champs where consistency is key against top opposition! But in my opinion Match Fishing’s own Drennan Knockout Cup is head and shoulders above any other competition in that it’s an invited field of the very best the country has to offer, held over a number of months and equally gruelling rounds across a multitude of different venues meaning a ‘one trick pony’ is most unlikely to progress very far in the competition, if at all! In recent years I’ve concentrated on Fish’O’Mania and making two finals along the way was great, but with ticket allocation becoming more and more difficult I found myself with a lot of time on my hands to dedicate to something else this year, and having never been able to give the Knockout Cup much time with regards to practise, it became the focus of my year. The first round at Lindholme Lakes will probably go down as one of my finest wins to date, I cannot think of a better 110 peg match to win, a red letter day of the highest order. But from what to me is a ‘standard’ day at a top quality commercial fishery, we was then thrust into the world of canal fishing now this to me personally was going to be a big challenge – I used to do loads of canal fishing and really enjoyed it, but with the main events being held on commercials I hadn’t visited one for a good few years.

Garbolino ace makes young anglers day. Garbolino and Bait Tech backed match ace, Steve Tucker made one young anglers day at a recent match- by giving him the rod that he had won as a prize in the competition! The young anglers family were so touched by the former Fish O Mania Finalists generosity, that they wrote to Match Fishing Magazine singing his praises. Mum, Trudie Howard explained: “My fiancee and son recently fished a weekend of matches at Revels Fishery in Dorset. The event was to celebrate the venues 25th birthday and was to be my son, thirteen year old Brenden’s first match.

Ultimate Barnsley Blacks blitz Preston World Club Classic. Ultimate Barnsley Blacks have won the fourth Preston Innovations World Club Classic, which was fished on the Great Ouse at Littleport in Cambridgeshire this weekend. The match – which is contested by the 10 highest finishers in the Division One National, gives the winning team a place in the World Club Championsip next year, and a cheque for £7,000, courtesy of the sponsors Preston Innovations. Barnsley’s team – which was made up of Alan Scotthorne, Lee Kerry, Matt Godfrey, James Dent, Sam Wildsmith and Steve Barraclough won nine sections out of a possible 12 over the two-day event – beating second-placed Daiwa Dorking by a seven-point margin.

New tackle galore as trade show season kicks into gear. It looks like 2015 is going to be a great year for fishing-tackle fanatics. Judging by what we have seen so far from various brands, this year is going to be filled with ‘must-have’ products. Highlights so far include: MAP Flexi Pots - A clever range of pots that fit centrally on your pole.

2013 may see return to historic venue. Speculation has been mounting that this years Angling Trust Winter League Final could return to Nottingham’s River Trent Embankment. Although venues for the final and semi final have not been confirmed as yet, it is almost certain that the final- which is to be held will once again be held on a natural venue. Winter League Co-Ordinator, Bob Dyer explained: “Although I am still unable to confirm anything for certain, from the meeting we had earlier in the year it was clear that teams wanted to see the final return to a natural venue.