After a mild week, competitors had to face frost and fog on the way to Moorlands Farm for this latest Fish’O’Mania Qualifier, and with a bright sun on the water the carp were soon up and cruising, but not necessarily feeding early on.
That changed in the latter half of the match when plenty of carp were caught across the complex. It was local rod Luke Webster (Milo MGM) from Droitwich, fishing his very first Fish‘O’Mania Qualifier, who made the most of his venue experience when he drew Bank Pool peg 7.
Fishing pellets shallow on the long pole, Luke stuck with it when all others around him switched to fishing the margins and this allowed him to plunder the carp in the middle of the lake on his own.
A succession of carp up to 12lb found their way into his net and he ended with a total of weight of 167lb 1oz, which sees him qualify for the final at his first attempt!
Luke commented: ‘I’m over the moon! With Moorlands being the first commercial I ever fished and qualifying on my first try, it’s like a dream come true! You never think you’re good enough to compete with international and fully sponsored anglers, but it just goes to show on the right day and with the right tactics, anybody can make these big finals!
Chris Lane (Dotemdown) took second place from Middle Pool peg 10, with 147lb 3oz of carp up to 15lb, caught fishing short on the pole and down the edges. Rounding out the top three was Darren Webster (Brownhills) who also fished short and down the edges, but on maggots this time, weighing in 115lb 12oz from Island Pool peg 14.
Results
1st Luke Webster Milo MGM 167-1
2nd Chris Lane Dotemdown 147-3
3rd Darren Webster Brownhills 115-12
4th Andrew Morrison 113-1
5th Jason Powell 106-4
6th Will Raison Daiwa Dorking 89-0
The Angling Trust would like to thank Mark, Tracey and their team at Moorlands Farm for a great day and Andre the organiser for yet another well run qualifier.
We move eastwards for the next qualifier at Viaduct fishery, however it’s already an awesome sell-out! The next bookable qualifier is at Heronbrook Fisheries on Saturday 13th April and with venues starting to sell out, make sure you visit the booking site to guarantee a ticket!
