Messingham Sands accounted for another impressive qualifier with 90 anglers making their way to Scunthorpe to compete for a place in the £50,000 Fish ‘O’ Mania final. With a heatwave sweeping the country the carp were up on the surface prior to the match which led to some great sport.

Leading the field and qualifying for the final was former champion Steve Cooke who broke the magical 200lb barrier with 205lb 15oz. Steve drew peg 22 on Hollywood Lake and caught nearly all his fish shallow, long lining luncheon meat with carp up to 12lb. This will be Steve’s eighth trip to the final having won Fish ‘O’ Mania in 1999.

In second place was the ever consistent Raymond King who ran Steve close with 194lb 4oz. Ray also drew on Hollywood Lake this time peg 7. Ray travelled on spec on the day to try and bag his place in the final and similarly caught his carp shallow, this time on 8mm pellet.

Rounding off the top three was Jamie Wilde who drew peg 25 on Tripp Lake. Jamie amassed 179lb 8oz in the five hours and switched between method feeder and long pole to the far margin to make up his weight.

Taking fourth spot was Andy May from peg 62 on Islands Lake with 162lb 3oz and Dave Haywood took fifth with 157lb 14oz from peg 30 on Hollywood Lake.

Our thanks to Kevin Johnson and his team at Messingham Sands for allowing plenty of space for competing anglers across the five lakes.

Fish ’O’ Mania’s next qualifier is at Colemans Cottage on 27th May. As usual there may be some tickets available on the day for Angling Trust members, so please make yourself known to Mick Turner on the morning.

Results:
1st Steve Cooke 205lb 15oz
2nd Raymond King 194lb 4oz
3rd Jamie Wilde 179lbs 8oz
4th Andy May 162lb 3oz
5th Dave Haywood 157lb 14oz