The last two qualifiers have been fascinating matches – both for very different reasons.
On Saturday, I made the trek to Worcestershire for the match at Larford. There was a lot of talk of huge weights and a top class field tearing the venue to pieces.
We had the normal field of former finalists, ex-winners and top class match anglers hoping for their first taste of a Fisho final. It was bright, sunny and breezy – with a nip in the air. The added bonus for me was the chance to work with my very good mate Matt Cahill, who was my cameraman on the day. He is a total legend. His son, Siddy, took after him…..
Anyway, Matt and I plodded our way around Larford, filming the match as it progressed, expecting to see anglers catching masses of huge carp, especially on the Specimen Lake. We got some terrific footage of Kieron Rich playing and landing a big fish on Peg 14 on Specimen in the first hour. It would surely be the first on many.
But no. It wasn’t to be. For some reason, Specimen fished really badly. There was only one weight of 100lbs on the lake (James Hawkins, Peg 4). In fact, one of the sections at the top end was won with just 4lbs. Shocking!! Arena Lake fished as badly – with 20 anglers pegged on it and only four bites in the first hour.
Seeing Richie Hull walking around with his dog after half an hour was a sure sign Arena wasn’t going to be in the frame. He was pegged in what looked like a great area – but hadn’t had a single indication.
So – all the top weights would come from Match Lake. It was a great contest in the end – with the battle split between Jamie Hughes (Peg 37), Lee Kerry (Peg 27) and Gary Hick (Peg 43). Gary won it with 136lbs 3, narrowly beating Jamie, with Lee pushed into third.
Gary was supercool during the match, catching steadily from his left hand margin for most of it. He was unflappable when we stuck the camera in his face as he was landing fish. Afterwards, when he was interviewed about his brilliant win though, he was a bag of nerves! I’m sure by the end of the final at Cudmore, he’ll be used to me or someone else shoving a microphone in his face and asking a series of stupid questions…..
Gary Hick playing a margin carp from Peg 43 at Larford Lakes on his way to a match-winning weight of 136.3
So Larford fished hard on the Saturday. Bizarre really when you consider how well it fished the day after in the Maver Classic. Simon Fry (who missed out on a place in Saturday’s qualifier as a reserve by just ONE place) had a brilliant weight of over 300lbs from Match Lake the next day. There were loads of big back-up weights too, and a ton from Arena! Go figure…..maybe Phil Briscoe puts something in the water when the Fisho cameras turn up…..???
On to Monk Lakes. This is one of my favourite venues to film at. The lakes look brilliant, the fish are in stunning condition – and the access to the lakes for the camera is also very good. We can get lots of the shots we need to tell the story without getting in anyone’s way.
We had the fishery Kubota 4 wheel drive to get us around. Very necessary on a venue of this size, otherwise we’d simply never have time to get the shots we need. Weather was warm, a bit drizzly with a proper South Westerly blowing. Perfect fishing weather.
The draw put several very good anglers on several very good pegs. It was going to be a belter.
We weren’t disappointed. There were eleven weights in excess of a hundred pounds on the day – and Perry Stone qualified for the final.
Perry is simply one of the nicest blokes in match fishing. He’s also earned his place in the final through sheer determination to get there. He’s been in the final twice before of course – but not since it was held at Cudmore. I reckon every year, I see Perry in every corner of the country. He turns up, draws and fishes his heart out whether it’s in Devon, Kent, Yorkshire or Warwickshire.
He’s had probably more than his fair share of bad draws along the way – but at Monk Lakes he got a good one. Peg 5 on Bridges wasn’t where anyone wanted to be. But he made the most of it – and then some!
Perry Stone on his feet playing a Monk Lakes carp from Peg 5 of Bridges
Perry had to fish at long range on the method feeder. He was casting about 90 yards tight to an island, into a strong headwind. His fish ranged from big skimmers, to large double figure carp – and the total weight was 207lbs 14. Amazingly, he lost 11 fish in the match….had he landed them we’d have been looking at 300lbs! If I tell you one of the fish he hooked smashed him up on 0.24 line, you’ll understand what he was dealing with here!!!
Perry at close quarters doing battle with a Monk Lakes carp which weighed in at 10lbs 6oz
Tony Curd fished a fantastic match on Lake 4 , finished with 176lbs 8 for second. that was 103 fish, all caught shallow. I don’t physically think Tony could have caught his fish any faster, or caught any more.
I do feel some sympathy for Dean Lock, who was on peg 143, where the match was won from last year. Dean had 174lbs dead…and didn’t even win his section because he was in the same one as Tony Curd. Myles Levy had 152lbs 8 from Peg 78 on Lake 2 for fourth.
Full details from both qualifiers will be in Friday’s programme.
This week we are on air on Sky Sports 4 at 6pm, with Ali Hamidi in the chair, ably supported by David Seaman.
http://www1.skysports.com/watch/tv-shows/tight-lines
This weekend the road trip heads north, and The Oaks at Sessay. It’s a tough one to cover, with multiple pools in use for the match.
I’ll be giving live updates from the qualifiers via the official Sky Sports Tight Lines Twitter feed @SkyTightLines
Alternatively, do a Twitter search for #tweetomania
Cheers and Tight Lines
Fordy
The Take 
Very good right up as usuall Andy
Thanks matey.