107 anglers competed in the 2008 Maver Classic final, held at the prolific Larford lakes on Sunday 4th and Monday 5th May.
Changeable weather and atmospheric conditions made the fishing difficult (by normal Larford standards) with many fish preparing to spawn. This did not, however, stop some monstrous weights being recorded over the two day event. A total weight of 11,425lbs was recorded, which equates to over 106lbs per man. With a line-up that read like a ‘who’s who’ of UK match fishing, the final result was always going to be close, as was born out with three anglers recording perfect two point scores.
Sunday started with heavy rain as the anglers made their draw and began the match. The sport on both the Match and Arena lakes was prolific and the average weight on the Arena was over 130lbs per man. Maver Barnsley Blacks star Andy Oldham recording the top weight with a massive 195lbs 6oz, just short of the lake record. On the match lake Pemb Wrighting put 191lbs 7oz on the scales from peg 40 opposite the island to win his section. Both men catching shallow on the pole consistently throughout the day.
Over on the Specimen lake it was Steve Ringer leading the way. Drawn on end peg 4 on the Burr bank, Steve utilised his space to catch in the margins, recording 121lbs 3oz to comfortably win his section and the lake. Will Raison, drawn on fancied peg 80, fished the splasher waggler and groundbait to put 99lbs 12oz onto the scales for a section win.
Monday’s weather was much better, but the flat calm conditions posed their own problems. With Will Raison drawn on peg 40 of the Match lake, and fellow England star Des Shipp drawn on peg 20 of the same lake, they quickly became the favourites to win the event.
With the difficult conditions it was hard to gauge who was actually going to win, as both Des and Will appeared to be struggling in their sections. Over on the Speci lake day one section winners Pemb Wrighting and Darren Cox had been drawn in the same section, and it was Darren who was leading for the majority of the match, until the last hour and a half where Pemb caught 8 carp down the edge to take the section and ultimately the whole event with a superb 131lbs 11oz giving him a perfect 2 point score and a massive 323lbs 2oz overall weight.
In very tight fought sections on the Match lake Will Raison narrowly beat Mark Eaves on the next peg by less than 4lbs to take B section with 116lbs 15oz giving him another perfect 2 point score and an overall weight of 216lbs 8oz, putting him second in the final standings.
In A section Richie Hull put in a late charge, catching a better stamp of fish in the margins on meat, but it was Des Shipp who took the section with 107lbs 12oz, giving him a perfect 2 point score, and an overall weight of 187lbs 11oz putting him in third position overall.
Three anglers were also tied on 3 points meaning the remaining two main frame positions would also be decided on weight.
Fourth place went to Darren Cox, whose combined weight of 198lbs 13oz was enough to put Jamie Masson into fifth place with a combined weight of 187lbs 13oz. Meaning it was Steve Ringer who narrowly missed out on the main prize money with a total weight of 182lbs 14oz.
Day 1 Results
Match/Arena Lake Winner
Andy Oldham (Maver Barnsley Blacks) Arena peg 36 195lbs 6oz
Match and Arena Lake Section Winners
Match A – Danny Hallam (Pickerings) peg 12 118lbs 14oz
Match B – Pemb Wrighting (Milo Bordon) peg 40 191lbs 7oz
Match C – Nick Speed peg 56 88lbs 10oz
Match D – Darren Cox (Garbolino) peg 77 135lbs 2oz
Arena E – Andrew Murphy (Shimano Wales) peg 32 188lbs 3oz (by default)
Specimen Lake Winner
Steve Ringer (Shimano) peg 4 121lbs 3oz
Specimen Lake Section Winners
Speci A – Dave Roberts peg 16 85lbs 4oz (by default)
Speci B – Craig Ebrell (Garbolino) peg 32 61lbs 15oz
Speci C – Des Shipp (Preston) peg 58 79lbs 15oz
Speci D – Paul Holland (Daiwa Dorking) peg 67 88lbs 8oz
Speci E – Will Raison (Daiwa) pg 80 99lbs 12oz
Day 2 Results
Match/Arena Lake Winner
Jamie Masson (Maver) Arena peg 21 145lbs 13oz
Match and Arena Lake Section Winners
Match A – Des Shipp (Preston) peg 20 107lbs 12oz
Match B – Will Raison (Daiwa) peg 40 116lbs 12oz
Match C – Ben Leach (Daiwa) peg 56 103lbs 5oz
Match D – Mark Warne (Maver Veals) peg 69 40lbs 14oz
Arena E – Les Thompson (Preston) peg 36 144lbs 7oz (by default)
Specimen Lake Winner
Pemb Wrighting (Milo Bordon) peg 44 131lbs 11oz
Specimen Lake Section Winners
Speci A – Ed Warren (Maver Midlands) peg 19 65lbs 11oz
Speci B – Dave Rudman peg 31 76lbs 11oz
Speci C – Darren Cox (Garbolino) peg 47 63lbs 11oz (by default)
Speci D – Paul Hubbard (Maver Midlands) peg 61 56lbs 8oz
Speci E – Simon Willsmore (Milo) peg 78 33lbs 12oz
Overall Results
1st Pemb Wrighting (Milo Bordon) 2 points 323lbs 2oz – winning £3000 plus trophy and a Competition 401 pole
2nd Will Raison (Daiwa) 2 points 216lbs 8oz – winning £2000 plus trophy and a Competition 271 pole
3rd Des Shipp (Preston) 2 points 187lbs 11oz – winning £1000 plus trophy and a Competition Margin pole
4th Darren Cox (Garbolino) 3 points 198lbs 13oz – winning £750 plus trophy
5th Jamie Masson (Maver) 3 points 187lbs 13oz – winning £500 plus trophy
