Dave Harrell reports from the RiverFest qualifier on the Swale
A bad draw for me in Swale RiverFest qualifier, but my mate Matt’s in the final… again!
THE annual pilgrimage to the River Swale for the second RiverFest qualifier of the season saw a large contingent of Midland anglers competing against local knowledge, and with the river carrying an extra foot of coloured water, hopes were high for some good weights.
I drew peg 44 and was told that I ‘might catch a few but I really needed to be two swims further downstream.’ I wasn’t in the least bit surprised to learn that one of my travelling companions, Matt Maginnis, had drawn it!
Matt’s record on this qualifier is quite phenomenal. Before this match he’d qualified three times and also done well on the two other matches. The big question was, could he do it yet again?
My match certainly didn’t go to plan. Using 3AAA and 4AAA No2 Speci Wagglers, I managed to snare five small chub and then a very battered-looking 3lb fish.
A quick walk downstream after three hours revealed that Matt was doing the business again. As I arrived he was battling with a big chub and was well in contention.
Bit by bit, the grapevine revealed that my other travelling companion, Chris Jones, was also doing well on peg 30. Chris Gowling was also right up there on peg 39 and it looked like the match was turning into a three horse race to win B Zone.
In A Zone, things were a lot more difficult but again, word on the bank was that three of four anglers were all in contention. Eventually local star Freddie Hardcastle pulled away from the field on peg 8 to win the zone with 23-12-0.
As the B Zone weigh-in began, Matt put 17 chub on the scales for a whopping 70-12-0, followed home by Chris Jones on 68-6-0 and Chris Gowling on 66-12-0.
If you can’t win yourself, you want your close friends to get through and I was delighted for Matt. It’s one thing drawing a good peg but the fish don’t just jump into the net.
To qualify four times on the
Swale is an incredible feat.
Next up is the start of the River Severn Float Championship at Bewdley, followed by the three day Barford Festival on the Warwickshire Avon. My next RiverFest qualifier is on the River Trent at Fiskerton. Wish me luck!