Results from the big final
Fish O’ and Match This ‘bridesmaid’ finally tops the frame
GOLDEN REEL ANGLING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2018 FINAL (SAT) Colmic/Bag ‘Em Baits Larford Lakes, Match Lake (24 pegs)
AFTER a series of near-misses since his 2011 Match This triumph, Andy Power could have been forgiven for thinking that he’d blown his chance of winning another big-money final.
But it finally came good for the Preston Innovations-backed former UK Champion as he laid his hands on 2018’s Golden Reel crown and the £50,000 winner’s cheque into the bargain.
Weighing in 77-000 from peg 6 on the grass bank of the Match Lake, Wells, Somerset-based Andy finished the five hours with plenty in hand over runner-up Jake King. Off next-door peg 5, Jake replied with 52-500 to win £5,000 in what turned out to be a close thing for the minor placings.
Jack Danby, on peg 16 of the Burr Bank, toook third and £3,000 with 51-925.
Since his win in 2011, Andy has been second in the Fish O’Mania final twice and second and third in Match This finals. That led many to call him the unluckiest angler around in big-money finals, but he can finally lay that ghost to rest. He turned in a fine display of tip and margin fishing to lead with a couple of hours gone, an advantage he never looked like relinquishing.
“I guess you could say it’s about time, as I’ve fished dozens of big finals and only ever won the one!” 30-year-old Andy said.
“At the draw the night before I would have taken pegs 4, 5, 6 or 7, so to get 6 was a great boost. I’ve fished Larford a fair bit this summer and knew roughly where was fishing best. As long as end peg 12 past the island didn’t fish its head off, I felt my draw would give me a good chance.”
With water levels well down, peg 6 offered Andy a maximum of 2ft 6ins to go at, so he set his stall out to fish pellet short at 6m, bomb to the middle of the lake and the margins – although he also had a Method feeder set up to cast on to the long pole line. This is a common ploy at Larford if the pole at 16m is hampered by wind, which Andy felt was the case on the day.
“I kicked off at 16m with hard 6mm pellet on the hook and caught a few stockie carp and one decent one, but this soon died off. I moved on to the bomb cast just short of halfway with 8mm pellet and loosefed the same quite aggressively over the top,” he explained. “This got me a good hour with a run of carp, but I then went 40 minutes without a bite. This was when the Method under-armed on to the pole line came into play, and I picked off three big carp.”
By this point many on the bank thought Andy had overtaken early pace-setter Les Marshall, and a few more fish on the bomb kept things ticking over before the margins came into the equation. Andy had a big edge to his right, but he focused on the other side, fishing between two large lily beds in 18ins of water.
“I’d fed the edge from the start with micro pellets, but not too many, as that would have been a disaster with line bites,” he revealed.
“I had a look with just over two hours to go and lost my first few fish as I was using too light an elastic, but when I stepped up a grade I started to motor.
“It was hit and hold stuff, guiding the fish away from the pads into open water, and I felt that as long as I kept on putting a carp in the net, I’d be doing enough to keep in front.”
Rather than using pellet on the hook, Andy went for an 8mm cube of hair-rigged meat to offer the fish a highly visible bait. While others only caught sporadically from their margins, he was landing fish regularly – although he wasn’t necessarily aware of what was going on around him.
“My bank runner Neil McKinnon couldn’t really call it, as there seemed to be a lot of fish being caught late on, but he did feel I was in front and that Jack Danby seemed to be my biggest threat,” Andy said.
“I finished with 34 good carp and four stockies, so I was set for a good weight and everyone reckoned I’d done it. To add this title to the Match This, Parkdean Masters and UK Champs is another great moment – Larford seems to like me when it’s a big match!” Runner-up Jake King, on peg 5,
and in contrast to most fishing, went down a one-tactic route, fishing bomb and pellet close to and beyond an aerator in his peg. After a slow start, he was the model of consistency, the Trabucco/Bag ‘Em Baits man landing carp regularly to keep people guessing.
Although he couldn’t match the champion, his weight was the best of eight that ended the day within three kilos of each other. Result: 1 A Power, Preston Innovations, 77-000; 2 J King, Trabucco/Bag ‘Em Baits, 52-500; 3 J Danby, Dynamite Baits/Matchman Supplies, 51-925; 4 A Bennett, Tri-Cast/Guru, 51-375; 5 P Wrighting, Guru/Mainline Match, 50-900; 6 M Williams, Guru/Mainline Match, 49-500; 7 D Hull, Dynamite Baits, 49-400; 8 R Harold, Matrix, 49-425; 9 L Marshall, Dynamite Baits, 49-150; 10 R Bond, Tri-Cast/Van Den Eynde, 45-900; 11 D Shepherd, Maver, 41-650; 12 A Major, Matrix Wensum Valley Angling, 38-925; 13 J Hughes, MAP/Bag ‘Em Baits, 32-725; 14 M Bull, Frenzee, 32-005; 15 C Weeder Jnr, Maver NW/ Spotted Fin, 31-850; 16 D Roberts, Tri-Cast/BaitTech, 25-150; 17 D Bache, Bag ‘Em Baits, 24-725; 18 M Godfrey, Guru/Mainline Match, 24-220; 19 D White, Garbolino/Spotted Fin, 18-160; 20 A Stepney, Grantham, 17-250; 21 J Brown, Maver Midlands, 16-525; 22 M Griffiths, Guru/ Mainline Match, 11-675; 23 P Morris, Barnstaple, 10-300; 24 I Wood, Larford Lakes, DNW.
“I finished with 34 good carp and four stockies. Larford seems to like me”