The Scottish Qualifier for the 2018 AT & CRT Canal Pairs Championships took place on the Forth & Clyde Canal at the Stables Pub, Kirkintilloch on Saturday 21st July 2018. This is always a very popular and busy stretch of the towpath, but unbeknownst to the organisers, there was also a national charity walk along the canal. Between this and the heavy weed, it made for a very challenging day for many of the competitors.
The Forth & Clyde Canal is never an easy venue as it’s very clear, weedy and has an abundance of natural food. That said, with match weights exclusively made up of roach and perch, it is a relatively even venue with the odd better roach being the bonus fish to target.
In A Section to the west of the Stables Pub, Marc Ellement got off to an excellent start on chopped worm amongst the lilies at 4 meters to take several net perch, after a run of small roach on the punch. On his left, Gus Brindle alternated between two left and right lines just past the lilies at 4meters with punch and then squatt to take a steady run of small roach. Both anglers kept short runs of fish coming throughout the day with the odd slight better one, but Gus (2lb 14oz 4dr) was unable to close the gap on Marc (3lb 12oz 12dr) who fished an excellent match.
In B Section a similar situation evolved with Gus’ partner Chris Paton (2lb 3oz 8dr) taking full advantage of his end peg to win the section. Two pegs away Marc’s partner Richard Yates (1lb 9oz 8dr) pushed him hard all day, coming third having been narrowly beaten by Mark Lyons (1lb 10oz 8dr).
This year, very little weed cutting has taken place on the canal and we would like to thank the organisers and volunteers for their hard work in cutting out pegs and raking weed from the swims to make them fishable in the lead up to the match. The organisers would also like to thank Dynamite baits for the bait and bucket prizes for the winning pair, GBMS Scotland and Colmic who provided goody bags for every angler. Final thanks to Nigel Faulds at JB Angling Centre, Kirkintilloch for allowing the draw to take place in the shop and to Gus Brindle on a well organised match.
Anglers are reminded that there are still plenty of tickets for the contest available HERE.
Overall Results
1) Gus Brindle & Chris Paton – 3 points
2) Marc Ellement & Richard Yates – 4 points
3) Mark Trueman & Josh Trueman – 7 points (superior weight)
