OUR PICK OF THE WEEK

ANGLING TRUST RIVERFEST QUALIFIER River Soar (51 pegs) England international Sean Ashby gave a masterclass display as he secured his place in the final with a highly impressive 41-8-0 netful. Peg 2 on The Deeps was home to a very hungry shoal of skimmers, and the Sensas backed angler made no mistake in extracting them at regular intervals on long pole and worm tactics. Shimano’s Rob Wootton was second on the day, but failed to qualify for the final as he was in the same section as Sean.

Result: 1 S Ashby, Sensas, 41-8-0; 2 R Wootton, Shimano, 27-14-0; 3 S Merry, Shakespeare, 27-11-0; 4 G Powell, 21-8-0; 5 M Perkins, 21-5-0.

Qualifiers: A– S Hemingray; B– S Ashby; C– G Powell. DAIWA HALLCROFT FISHERY Moat Pool (37 pegs) Venue expert Paul Elliott once again showed his class at the complex with a 129-8-0 winner. Peg 73 on the island stuck to his hand at the draw and from there he worked with long pole and pellet shallow and the bomb and pellet for 21 carp to double figures. Jason Skipper fished on the deck with 8mm banded pellet from peg 56 on the outer bank and found 12 carp and a few skimmers for 90-13-0.

Result: 1 P Elliott, Leegem, 129-8-0; 2 J Skipper, Gainsborough, 90-13-0; 3 M Brownell, Hallcroft, 86-9-0; 4 D Newman, Leegem, 85-14-0; 5 S Wain, Roundhill, AC, 75-11-0. DAMS & LOCK SUMMER LEAGUE (RND 3) Birmingham/Fazeley Canal, Minworth (84 pegs) Bonus fish were vital in the individual battle and it was a shoal of bream that Nigel Clayton had to thank for his 32-14-8 haul. The Browning Lifestyle Blue angler drew peg 28 on the straight cable and used long pole and caster to put together 15 quality slabs. Merv Rogers had the same number of fish from peg K7 on the Kingsley Cables but they were smaller and he took second with 28-4-0. Sensas Dams & Lock Blue are in unstoppable form and currently sit top of the league on 67 points, 30 points clear of nearest chasers Shakespeare Superteam Bait-Tech.

Result: 1 N Clayton, Browning Lifestyle Blue, 32-14-8; 2 M Rogers, Sensas Black Country Gold, 28-4-0; 3 S Broome, Sensas Dams & Lock Blue, 22-14-0; 4 T Boyce, Sensas MAS Black, 18-0-0; 5 J Tarplee, Sensas MAS Black, 16-9-0; 6 R Scales, Measham Youth, 16-7-12.

Teams: 1 Sensas Strike Gold, 24pts; 2 Measham Youth, 26; 3 Sensas Black Country Gold, 27; 4 Measham AC, 28.

League: 1 Sensas Dams & Lock Blue, 67pts; 2 Shakespeare Superteam Bait-Tech, 97; 3 Browning West Midlands Red, 101; 4 Sensas Dams & Lock Red, 102. EVESHAM QUALIFIER (SUN) Warks Avon, Evesham (53 pegs) Nick Ewer took a big gamble and sat it out for big fish, but it worked a treat as he stole the show with 10-4-0. The Ferryman angler, on peg 46, sat it out on worm for a tench, a bream and a few eels. Daiwa Gordon League’s Mark Gaylord was second overall with 9-3-0 from peg 1.

Result: 1 N Ewer, Ferryman, 10-4-0; 2 M Gaylord, DGL, 9-3-0, peg 1; 3 R McKenzie, Gloucester, 8-7-0; 4 G Warren, Preston Innovations, 7-14-0; 5 D Jones, Matrix Trentmen, 7-1-0. Qualifiers: M Gaylord, A Murphy and M Buchwalder KEITH FORD MEMORIAL River Yare, Beauchamp Arms (67 pegs) Nick Larkin knows the Yare inside out and used his superior knowledge to top the pile with a 60-15-0 total. A simple yet effective groundbait feeder and worm attack saw him attract skimmers and bream to 4lb at regular intervals on both days. Several local charities benefited from the event, with over £700 being raised by the competitors.

Day One Result: 1 N Larkin, Nisa Feeders 41-14-0; 2 K Paynter, PW Angling, 39-1-0; 3 R Finch, Deben, 38-8-0; 4 J Taylor, Sensas Mark One, 36-5-0; 5 B Weavers, Sportsman’s, 33-0-0; 6 J Coote, Colman’s Bait & Tackle, 29-14-0.

Day Two Result: 1 D Bottley, DAD, 24-1-; 2 K Dyer, Maver Cardinals, 20-2-0; 3 T Gibbons, Norwich & Dist, 20-1-0; 4 J Coote, Colman’s Bait & Tackle, 19-12-0; 5 M Runacres, Deben, 19-8-0; 6 N Larkin, Nisa Feeders, 19-1-0.

Overall: 1 N Larkin, 60-15-0; 2 J Taylor, 51-5-0; 3 R Finch, 51-1-0; 4 K Paynter, 50-5-0; 5 J Coote, 49-9-0; 6 B Weavers, 46-6-0. LARFORD LAKES FIVE-DAY FESTIVAL Match & Specimen Lakes (46 pegs) The fishery showed it has put its recent troubles with KHV behind it as almost 18,000lb of fish were brought to the scales. Former Fish O’Mania champion Neil McKinnon added yet another title to his trophy cabinet after he recorded a nine-point score. The Preston Innovations-backed star walked away with £1,350 in winnings, bagging more than 600lb of fish during the event. In second place, fellow Preston rod Andy Power ended up on 10 points, netting £750 for his efforts.

Result: 1 N McKinnon, Preston Innovations, 9pts; 2 A Power, Preston Innovations, 10 (weight); 3 S Forster, Kiveton Hall, 10; 4 A Kinder, Maver, 11; 5 P Cook, Larford, 12; 6 P Hillier, Daiwa Dorking, 13. PACKINGTON SOMERS Geary’s Pool (30 pegs) Geary’s is the moodiest pool here, but Lee Richards proved it is packed with fish with his 102-12-0 result. Chucking the bomb and pellet just 30yds out for the big carp in peg 30, fish over 15lb fell for the attack. Mick Bull, way off the pace, sneaked into second with 58-0-0.

Result: 1 L Richards, Packington, 102-12-0; 2 M Bull, Frenzee, 58-0-0; 3 M Higgott, Team Makins, 55-0-0; 4 R Durrant, Tornadoes AC, 44-11-0; 5 I Keywood, Solihull Angling Centre, 44-4-0; 6 R Taylor, Alvechurch, 41-4-0. STARLETS NORTHFIELD VETERANS AS (TUES) Moorlands Farm, Meadow & Moors Pools (34 pegs) Bomb and corn is usually seen

as a winter approach, but Terry Stanley showed it can work when the sun is high in the sky. Using the tactic from peg 51 on Meadow Pool, the Hollywood angler saw the tip fly around regularly as carp to 8lb responded. Boz Simmonds was second with 98-9-0. Result: 1 T Stanley, Hollywood, 110-0-0; 2 B Simmonds, Northfield, 98-9-0; 3 J Pendry, King’s Norton, 81-14-0. STEEL CITY OPEN Ferry Meadows, Gunwade & Overton Lakes (40 pegs) The bream fishing at this natural venue is arguably the best in the country right now, as Adam Wakelin showed with a 118-14-0 winning bag. Drawn on peg 112 on Overton Lake, the Preston Innovations angler used groundbait feeder with

worm and caster for slabs to 7lb. Shane Desmond, on the next peg, weighed in 96-3-0.

Result: 1 A Wakelin, Preston Innovations, 118-14-0; 2 S Desmond, Ferry Meadows, 96-3-0; 3 M Hucknall, Cambridge, 85-5-0; 4 S Taylor, Manchester, 59-7-0; 5 M Eves, Drennan Bordon, 48-10-0; 6 P Irvine, Steel City, 43-15-0. TUNNEL BARN FARM VETS (THURS) Extension, House & New Pools (65 pegs) New Pool produced the leading two weights, with Steve Stokes the front runner on the day. Pellet and maggot short on the pole did the trick, with F1s to 3lb dominating in his winning 93-11-0 catch. Over on peg 44, Ken Turner made second place his own with 82-1-0. Result: 1 S Stokes, TBF Vets, 93-11-0; 2 K Turner, TBF Vets, 82-1-0; 3 J Merchant, TBF Vets, 80-5-0; 4 G Mills, TBF Vets, 79-1-0; 5 T McGuire, TBF Vets, 78-6-0; 6 c Constable, TBF Vets, 76-2-0.