The last big match of the year at Coventry’s Coombe Abbey produced ‘the best result for 20 years’ according to organiser Malcy Brown, with a ton-up winning weight and the top 19 anglers all weighing over 40lb of bream.

Winner Joe Roberts was pegged on the unfancied public bank, peg 27, where he feeder fished worm and maggot on the hook, putting chopped worm and two pints of casters through the feeder. A little birdie tells me Joe, who took 115lb of bream from 1lb 8oz to 7lb to the scales, was fishing ‘dink dink’ style, with the hook above the feeder.

Second spot also came from the public bank, Birmingham’s Alf Wood drawing peg 27 where he weighed in 83-12-0, with Dave Everington bagging 82-11-0, also from the public bank.

“The fishing was simply brilliant,” said Malcy, who finished fifth overall with 58lb, the best weight from the more fancied Linley Bank. “We turned up to find flat calm conditions and we all thought it would be rock hard, but the bream went crazy. It’s the best match for back up weights I have seen at Coombe for 20 years!”

Although there are no more big matches in 2009, there is going to be some stunning pleasure fishing to be had over the next few weeks at the £4.75 a day water, where the match record stands at 144lb.

“The big thing if you can choose your peg if to look for gaps in the weed where you can fish the gravel – that’s where the bream want to be. If I could choose one swim for pleasure fishing it would be peg 23 in the woods, but any peg from 15-35 should be fine. When you hook a fish, bring it up quickly so you can get it over the weed.”

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