OUR PICK OF THE WEEK

BARFORD LAKES FOUR DAY FESTIVAL Colton, Match, Railway & Willow Lakes (52 pegs) A host of venue experts queued up to take part in this tournament, and it was Matt Wiles who eventually took the spoils. After four days of bagging action, Matt finished with six points and a 356-6-0 total. His biggest individual catch of the week came on the final day when he landed 124-1-0 from peg 11 on the Match Lake for second on the water, with a lake win on Railway on day two also proving crucial to his overall win. Second at the end of the competition was Will McCranor on seven points and 288-15-0. Result: 1 M Wiles, 6pts; 2 W McCranor, 7 (weight); 3 S Porter, 7; 4 D Hull, 8 (weight); 5 S Elmar, 8.

DIVISION TWO NATIONAL PRACTICE Birmingham/Fazeley Canal (41 pegs) Roach dominated the frame, with Tom Hobbs’s 8-15-15 the best net on show. The Drennan Oxford angler drew peg 23 and worked with squatt to get plenty of bites from small redfins.

Result: 1 T Hobbs, Drennan Oxford, 8-15-15; 2 P Turner, Wolves AA, 4-15-6; 3 I Young, Drennan Oxford, 4-6-6; 4 R Stanton, Sensas Black Country, 4-5-8; 5 S Dudley, Sensas Black Country, 4-0-4; 6 T Hobbs, Drennan Oxford, 4-0-0. DAIWA HALLCROFT FISHERY Moat Pool (39 pegs) Moat Pool has been throwing up lots of big weights, and this match was no different as Steve Clark won with 193-4-0. The Mansfield angler picked peg 71 on the outer bank out of the bag and used pellet at 8m and down the margins for 27 carp to double figures. Gordon Gibson can consider himself unlucky not to have come first, weighing in 176-3-0 on catmeat or corn over pellet from peg 39 on the island. Result: 1 S Clark, Mansfield, 193-4-0; 2 G Gibson, Leegem, 176-3-0; 3 N Stones, Barnsley, 143-12-0; 4 I Worsnop, Hallcroft, 138-5-0; 5 A Whitehouse, Scunthorpe, 108-8-0. EVESHAM BLOODWORM QUALIFIER Warks Avon, Evesham (74 pegs) It was the battle of the Preston Innovations boys, and Scott Geens just about won the arm wrestling match. Silverfish came to the net throughout the day from peg 31 to give him a 9-3-0 winning total. Lee Kerry was his team-mate who just missed out, placing 8-14-0 on the scales. Result: 1 S Geens, Preston Innovations, 9-3-0; 2 L Kerry, Preston Innovations, 8-14-0; 3 J Rafferty, Baileys of Warwick, 7-0-0; 4 S Pickering, Evesham Discount Tackle, 6-15-0; jt 5 M Downes, Starlets and M Lindsey, both 6-4-0. J Rafferty, M Derry and D Harpin LOCAL DERBY Qualifiers: MATRIX COMMERCIAL CHAMPS (FINAL RND) Barston Lakes (50 pegs) Thousands of pounds were paid out on the day and it was Adam Wakelin who walked away with the best payout after he bagged £1,500 for winning the title with a five-point score. Wayne Sharman won this particular heat after he put together a 73-14-0 bag. The Matrix-backed angler found himself on peg 123 and fished the Method at range for a mix of carp and F1s that earned him £1,000. Drennan’s Jon Arthur wasn’t too far behind, weighing in 62-14-0 of skimmers from peg 117. Result: 1 W Sharman, Matrix, 73-14-0; 2 J Arthur, Drennan, 62-14-0; 3 J Jenkins, Lane’s Bait, 62-8-0; 4 M Fox, Barston, 59-4-0. Final league: 1 A Wakelin, Preston Innovations, 5pts; 2 J Arthur, Drennan, 7 (weight); 3 W Sharman, Matrix, 7 (weight); 4 N Carless, Barston, 7. RIVER YARE Beauchamp Arms (62 pegs) The Yare is regarded by many as the best river in the land, and you can hardly argue with that statement after the results showed you needed over 30lb to be in the top six. Winner Rodney Finch managed to extract 44-11-0 from peg 114, using the groundbait feeder for bream to 4lb. Result: 1 R Finch, Deben, 44-11-0; 2 J Coote, Colman’s Bait & Tackle, 40-11-0; 3 D Pike, Daiwa Angling Direct, 40-0-0; 4 N Larkin, Nisa Feeders, 36-2-0; 5 R Hubbard, Daiwa Angling Direct, 36-0-0; 6 P Gitsham, DAD, 32-4-0. STARLETS VETS (TUES) Packington Somers, Annie’s, Gearys and Little Gearys (62 pegs) This was a relatively low-weight affair, but Derek Hartshorn still need a respectable 69-14-0 to win. The Swann Baits angler drew peg 7 on Little Gearys and used pole and paste on the pole for F1s and the odd carp. Ron Savage was once again in the

frame with 64-9-0 of pole and corn-caught carp from peg 23 on Gearys.

Result: 1 D Hartshorn, Swann Baits, 69-14-0; 2 R Savage, Packington, 64-9-0; 3 B Calcott, Packington, 57-14-0; 4 P Clark, Packington, 56-5-0. STEEL CITY OPEN Ferry Meadow, Gunwade & Overton Lakes (30 pegs) This complex near Peterborough, a favourite of Angling Times writer Steve Ringer, is a perfect example of a pair of natural lakes that easily compete with the weights on commercials, as Shane Desmond showed with a 107-7-0 winner. The Dynamite Baits angler’s haul was made up entirely of bream to 7lb, with groundbait feeder tactics scoring best off peg 109 on Overton Lake. Rob Scotting was on the next peg and also had a day to remember, banking 88-8-0 of slabs.

Result: 1 S Desmond, Dynamite Baits, 107-7-0; 2 R Scotting, Match Catch, 88-8-0; 3 R Packwood, Match Catch, 71-4-0; 4 M Smith, SPRO, 68-9-0; 5 P Wood, Match Catch, 64-13-0; 6 R Wootton, Shimano, 51-4-0. WESTWOOD LAKES Skylark Lake (36 pegs) Attacking the shallow water in his peg worked well for Mark Cree, who totalled 187-10-0. Drawn on peg 28, the Dynamite Baits angler caught on maggot over groundbait to the far bank and down the edge, putting carp, F1s and silvers into the net. Steve Lane on the next peg almost nicked it with 171-8-0.

Result: 1 M Cree, Dynamite Baits, 187-10-0; 2 S Lane, Westwood, 171-8-0; 3 S Reid, Garbolino RAF, 147-0-0; 4 J Kedzierski, Westwood, 141-6-0. WYCHAVON BLOODWORM QUALIFIER Warks Avon, Evesham (72 pegs) Two men broke into double figures and Darran Bickerton’s catch of 11-4-0 led the field home. The Kamasan Starlets man set out his stall at peg 47 and worked with bloodworm to take plenty of roach to 8oz.

Result: 1 D Bickerton, Kamasan Starlets, 11-4-0; 2 B Wilkes, 10-5-0; 3 J Ibbotson, 7-0-0; 4 M Derry, 6-8-0; 5 I Shepherd, 6-4-0.

Qualifiers: B Wilkes, D Bickerton, D Hughes & B Hawkes.