SUDBURY, Suffolk angler, Glenn Carter, 39, won the 230-peg British Waterways sponsored, National Federation of Anglers, Individual Championship (Saturday, September 20) thanks to a hungry 4lb pike that snapped at a small roach being reeled in: “I expected the pike to release the roach once it spotted my landing net but it hung on to the small fish and I bagged them both!” said Carter who was fishing the Fossdyke Canal near Lincoln for the first time.
The bright sun and flat calm conditions turned the fish into fickle feeders but Carter, a flood defence operative for the Environment Agency, drew one of the favoured ‘hotspots’ (peg 73) in front of the appropriately named ‘Pike House’ on the busy A57 road upstream from Saxilby:
“I telephoned Harrison’s tackle shop in Lincoln for some advice on how to the fish the Roman canal and they were spot on. I started with an 11½-metre pole and offered a fluorescence maggot or a caster on a size 18 or 20 hook in four feet of water alongside some moored boats on the opposite bank.
“I waited 30-minutes for a bite and then I had a procession of fish including a 5lb bream and the pike that took 15-minutes to land. I netted some excellent roach on hempseed and switched to maggot at four metres to take perch to 1lb. But after 2½-hours a boat moored on the opposite bank, moved away and I was fishless for the remainder of the match,” said the Eastern Match Group angler who scored 9.500kg – worth £2,459 in prize money and pools – his best ever match win. Carter decided not to have a bet and that decision cost him £1,400.
“I’m not bothered about missing out with the bookie, this is a fantastic match win and I have a British Waterways cheque for £2003 and truthfully I won’t be upset if I never win a match again,” commented Carter.
Brilliant Lincoln DAA skipper, Alan Henry, 23, was led to believe that his ten skimmer catch (best 3½ lb) totalling 8.420kg would win the championship. Drawn at peg 135 (permanent peg 46) just upstream of the River Till Mouth, the building materials buyer landed the bulk of his catch during the first half of the match.
To reach the fish in a bay on the far bank the local ace used a 16-metre pole with chopped worm or caster loaded on a 20 hook.
“I waited 15-minutes for my first bite and then the swim was red hot for two hours. At the weigh-in everyone kept telling me I had won the event and I was gutted when I heard someone had landed a pike and weighed in 9kg plus to push me into second place, worth £910 in pools and prize money.
” If I had managed to net two fish that shed the hook perhaps I would have won but to come second in a match of this class is a great achievement and good luck to the winner,” said Henry, who had more bad news on his drive back to the match headquarters … his gear box shattered!
Third placed Mark Pollard, 40, (Essex Van Den Eynde) was drawn at the next peg downstream (peg 136) to the runner-up and he too fished at 16-metres.
His first fish, a 2½lb bream, came after 25-minutes. “By then I was two fish behind Alan and I couldn’t catch up. I had a super 4lb hybrid, two 2½lb bream and two skimmers for a total of 6.470kg taken on worm or caster on a 20 hook. It is the first time I have fished the
Barry Thomas, 49, (
“I fished at 16-metres alternating with worm, two red maggots and caster on a 16 hook,” said Thomas who was captain of the Southport Division One team who finished fourth on the Stainforth and
RESULTS:
1/ Glenn Carter, Eastern MG 9.500kg; 2/ Alan Henry, Lincoln & Dist. 8.420kg; 3/ Mark Pollard, Essex Van Den Eynde 6.470kg; 4/ Barry Thomas, Southport & Dist. 5.700kg; 5/ Steve Shepherd, Worksop DAA 4.900kg; 6/ Richard Raynham, Grimsby DAA 4.560kg; 7/ Stuart Naylor, Middy Matchman 4.280kg; 8/ Matthew Pilley,
SECTIONS:
1 TO 30 Danny Sixsmith,
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