The Angling Trust and Canal and River Trust Canal Pairs Final took place in unseasonably warm and bright conditions across the Staffs and Worcester Canal and the Trent and Mersey Canal. There was talk of several hot areas at the draw and none more so was the Marina in A section, where previous match winning weights of bream had shown and once more it played a crucial part!
David Gough made the most of this Marina mouth draw in A section, just outside the crossover from the Stafford Boat Club and recorded the highest weight of the match with 7kg 370grams. David caught three quality bream along with around 3kg of silvers, which consisted of perch, roach and few skimmers. Most of David’s bonus fish came across the canal at 13m meters. However, one good draw was never going to be enough and it was his partner Paul Middleton that backed him up superbly on the Trent and Mersey. Paul put together a hard-earned 3.930kg from peg 25 consisting of mainly small roach and perch.
Second pair on the day by weight countback were Paul Murrin and Dave McCall, who amassed a tying 14 points, but took the second spot on weight countback with a superior 9kg 190grams. This is no small part was down to cracking performance by Paul Murrin who kept the overall winner honest with 6.020kg from adjacent peg 24, also on the marina mouth. Paul also netted two quality 3lb bream and backed this up with a good net of silvers. Dave McCall did the hard work on B section, where 3.170kg gave him 12th in section and grabbed the pair the second spot.
Conversely third pair on the day got most of their points from B section Trent and Mersey, where Pete Edwards amassed an impressive 4.120Kg from peg 26 giving him five section points. Over on Staffs and Worcester, Bob Yeomans had put together a tidy net of silvers, which included some decent perch for his 2.710kg and 9 section points.
The Angling Trust would like to thank both their partnering organiser Canal & River Trust Angling and the competitions sponsor Dynamite Baits. A huge thanks to Alan Round and his team from Isaak Walton Angling club for all the preparation and bookings. Finally, and most importantly the biggest thanks to all the organisers and anglers who have fished the heats, we hope to see you again next year!
2019 Qualifier dates will be launched before Christmas, so watch this space for further details!
Results
1. David Gough and Paul Middleton 8 points (11.300kg)
2. Paul Murrin and Dave McCall 14 points (9.190kg)
3. Bob Yeomans and Pete Edwards 14 points (6.830kg)
4. Simon Preece and Simon Mottram Fishing 17 points (6.610kg)
For a full list of results visit Angling Trust Competitions on Facebook
