Supercup 2018 Semi final coverage
Meat on the deck secures the win for a team who kept an eye on the weather
ANGLING TIMES/BAIT-TECH SUPERCUP 2018 NORTHERN SEMI-FINAL (SAT) The Oaks, Ash, Beech & Sycamore Lakes (eight teams)
WATCHING the weather proved key to victory for Hooks 2 Go in this year’s Northern semi-final.
Following weeks of red-hot conditions and high pressure, cooler weather finally arrived and a big drop in pressure along with it.
As a result, the carp on the three prolific lakes stopped feeding shallow by and large, meaning fishing on the deck reigned supreme. Thoughts of the 300lb-plus nets of midweek disappeared and the winners posted a 17-point score to get the nod by two from Alliance & Leicester Liverpool.
Third went to Lakeside AC, also on 19 points, missing out on section countback. Houghton Main finished fourth on 30 points, and the final spot at Barston Lakes next month goes to Scunthorpe Pisces on 31 points. They tied with another team, Izaak Walton Leigh, but a section second nicked it for the Scunthorpe lads.
“Although we’re based around North Yorkshire, we don’t fish The Oaks that much so we put in the practice. While it was hot, shallow fishing ruled but
looking at the weather, the night before the match was set to be cooler with rain, and a drop in air pressure.
“We felt the fish might end up on the deck and, as a result, we didn’t plan on spending much time at all up in the water,” said Hooks 2 Go skipper Steve Hodson.
“What we had found in practice was that you needed a good weight to score well, and you’d only get that fishing short, so we went out at a top kit or top kit and one plus the margins.
“To a man we fished 6mm meat on the hook, feeding 10 tins each to keep the fish coming.
“By pegging our keepnets off to one side we cleared the way to fish just in front of us, throwing meat by hand. Although we’d discussed a minimum of 150lb per man, that was revised when we saw the weather,” Steve continued. “The draw was relatively good, and speaking to locals afterwards, they reckoned we had one dodgy one. Grant Walker won his section and Dave Barker took second in his on Ash Lake. I was fifth in mine on Beech Lake, while Gaz Pawlett took third. On Sycamore Lake Graham Lowery won his section with 150-3-0 while Stu Brown was fifth in 154-9-0 – it fished well on there!”
Team result (top five qualify for the final):
1 Hooks 2 Go, 17pts; 2 Alliance & Leicester Liverpool, 19 (section wins); 3 Lakeside AC, 19; 4 Houghton Main AC, 30; 5 Scunthorpe Pisces, 31 (section seconds); 6 Izaak Walton Leigh, 31; 7 Greeny’s Gobblers, 33; 8 Doncaster Fishing Centre, 36.