Winter League Final
Scratching tactics see off Barnsley Blacks for glory
Exclusive report
THERE’S a new name on the hallowed Angling Trust Winter League trophy following a bonechillingly cold final at Decoy Lakes and the Fenland Drains as Maver NW/Spotted Fin beat the cream of UK team matchfishing.
Battling biting easterly winds and low temperatures, the champs put their knowledge of scratching on canals to good use on the drains and lakes. They ended the day with six anglers out of 10 in the top five of their respective sections for a six-point victory over last year’s champions Drennan/Sensas Barnsley Blacks.
Having put in plenty of practice beforehand, the Maver lads felt that in the cold weather a less attacking approach would pay dividends – especially on the drains.
“We took a walk on the drains the day before and spoke to some locals who were fishing and they’d really struggled,” said team man Peter Duffy. “That made us re-evaluate what we’d got planned, mainly cutting back on the feed and fishing multiple lines, very much how we fish on the canals back home. It was going to be a scratching match.” As ever, the draw would play a big part and Maver got a steady set of pegs out of the bag with one bad one at Decoy but the remainder giving them a chance.
“Paul Balmforth and Joe Cartwright drew well on the Horseshoe and Willows Lakes and Franek Staniuszko wasn’t far off the fish on the Six Islands Lake but Josh Turbill got a shocker at the wrong end of the Elm Lake,” Peter continued.
“The drains should have been the most consistent venues, but they went very hard and perhaps caught some teams out. On Factory Bank Drain we fed three balls of groundbait and then squatt over the top whereas
on the Old Nene at March and Benwick we fished a bread match.”
Result: 1 Maver NW/Spotted Fin, 51pts; 2 Drennan/Sensas Barnsley Blacks, 57; 3 Sensas Starlets, 73; 4 Stanjay Gold, 74 (111-165); 5 Sensas North, 74 (72-950); 6 Preston Innovations Thatcher’s, 74 (58-900); 7 Maver Midlands Dynamite Baits, 75; 8 Pip’s Tackle, 76 (88-340); 9 Quorn AS, 76 (85-120); 10 Drennan Bordon Angling, 81; 11 Daiwa Gordon League, 82; 12 Shakespeare Bait-Tech B, 85; 13 Lincs Tidechasers, 86 (79-230); 14 Preston Innovations Black Horse, 86 (75-325); 15 Daiwa Dorking, 86 (66-680); 16 Shakespeare Bait-Tech A, 86 (51-860); 17 Mosella Quaker, 87 (95-170); 18 Scunthorpe Tackle, 87 (62-245); 19 Mosella Bathampton, 90 (73-910);
Garbolino Blackmore Vale MG, 90 (67-220); 21 Browning Hot Rods, 91; 22 Ted Carter Southport, 92; 23 Matrix Dynamite Baits Trentmen, 94; 24 Drennan Oxford Blue, 95; 25 Maver Milton Keynes, 96 (85-050); 26 Preston Innovations Delcac, 96 (66-660); 27 Drennan NW, 99; 28 Matrix Dynamite Baits Leigh Tackle & Bait, 100; 29 Drennan Oxford Aqua, 104; 30 Arun MG, 108; 31 Browning SE, 112; 32 Saints, 113; 33 Mosella MGM, 124.