Spanish gold
Iberian Masters report
PRESTON Innovations pair Will Freeman and Lee Kerry made their Spanish foray to fish the big Iberian Masters event a profitable one, taking second and third overall in the threeday competition on the River Jugar near Valencia.
Will led the way with a sevenpoint tally, the same as Spanish winner Miguel Rosello, only losing out on total weight as Lee finished a point further back.
Fished by top internationals from around Europe and South Africa, the match involves a feeder-only and a float-only event running side by side.
Eight English anglers, including Will, Lee and fellow Feeder team men Rob Wootton, Phil Ringer, Jamie Harrison and boss Tommy Pickering, were in action on the feeder match.
Carp were the main targets, but with the weather being unseasonally cold, the fishing was a lot harder, and most fish were caught by casting tight to far-bank rocks. Six fish a day was good going, and that meant a lost carp here or there made a big difference to the final results.
“You went from being bored one minute to hanging on for dear life the next,” Lee said.
Stickymag feeders were the order of the day, fishing maggot on the hook, and Will and Lee geared up with 0.19mm hooklinks and size 12 hooks. Both men had a second line down the middle of the river using groundbait and chopped worm to try to nick the odd better fish.
“You really had to make the most of every bite – one lost carp across the week made the difference between finishing in the top six and not,” Lee said. “Will was one carp away from
winning. If I’d lost any of my fish I wouldn’t have been third.”
Will opened up with a section win with 15-062 on day one, backed up with a second on day two with 10-711 before a slower final day gave him four points
with 6-954. Lee began with a four-pointer on 8-266, then had two section seconds, weighing in 11-884 and 11-057, respectively.
Result: 1 M Rosello, Spain, 7pts (34-173); 2 W Freeman, Preston Innovations, 7 (32-727); 3 L Kerry, Preston Innovations, 8; 4 A Barberan, Spain, 10 (45-132); 5 C Barberan, Spain, 10 (30-749); 6 L Daussaint, Belgium, 11.