The ninth running of the two-day Ivan Marks Memorial Event was greeted with a sell-out attendance of anglers, and many spectators to boot, fished at the fabulous Leicestershire Glebe complex of Mallory Park Fisheries, which also included the Foundation Lake situated adjacent to the famous race circuit.
The 100 anglers that fished on each day experienced different conditions, as on the Saturday it was a very chilly venue indeed and the fish thought exactly the same! Although the weights look quite impressive it was hard going for most, but the class acts shone through.
One outstanding angler who made the job look easy was Preston Innovations backed man Adam Wakelin, who came well clear of the field after leading from the start , drawn on the first peg on Glebe Pool 4 and catching steadily with the feeder to amass a weight of 154lb 4oz of mainly carp .
His nearest pursuer was Leicester angler Jarad Smith who topped the ‘ton’ with 112lb 12oz. So, the target was set for the big shoot-out on Sunday!
Different day, different conditions, as the sun was shining and even bare chests made an appearance … alas, none of the female variety! 14 competitors managed to break the ‘magic ton’ including Shimano and Dynamite Baits backed angler, Rob Wootton, who drew peg 47 on Pool 3 at The Glebe (Uglies) and went to work by fishing 17.5 metres of pole with an extra 5ft of line to swing his banded 6mm pellet bait tight to the island boards on the narrows.
Fishing shallow and feeding steadily with both 6mm and 8mm Dynamite Baits Swimstim Natural pellets by catapult, Rob put together a stunning bag of carp averaging six to seven pound, with the odd lump to 14lb thrown in for good measure (see pic). When the scales arrived, 232lb 8oz was the final tally, a truly outstanding performance and one worthy of taking the Ivan Marks Memorial Silver Cup for the third time.
Over on Glebe Pool 1and Team Marukyu star Steve Porter from Leicester put up an almost faultless performance, opting to fish up-in-the-water with krilled caster and maggot to net an impressive catch of 235lb 10oz. However, Steve fell foul of the ‘net rule’ which limits each keepnet to 100lb of carp over 2lb, and so, was given a penalty of 9lb as he had exceeded the limit in one of his nets. This mishap cost Steve Porter the coveted Ivan Marks Trophy, a decision that Steve accepted gracefully.
This year’s charities that Linda Marks has chosen to support from the proceeds of the event are ‘Get Hooked on Fishing’ and ‘The Air Ambulance’.
The ‘Net Rule’ The Mallory Park Fisheries Match Committee have pondered long and hard over the best way to enforce a net limit rule that is first and foremost designed to protect valuable fish stocks by limiting the amount of fish, by weight, that can be retained in a spacious keepnet during a match.The net limit is 100lb provided a good size net is used.
If an angler accidently goes over the 100lb limit, whatever weight is over is deducted from the 100lb figure. eg: if the net contains 110lb you finish up with 90lb.No one likes to disqualify anyone so this new rule is both fair and easy to manage. This new rule is made clear to every angler at the draw.
Results:
Saturday (Day 1)
1st Adam Wakelin (Preston Innovations) 154lb 4oz
2nd Jarad Smith (Leicester) 112lb 12oz
3rd Paul Law (Angling Direct) 100lb 12oz
Sunday (Day 2)
1st Rob Wootton (Shimano/Dynamite Baits) 232lb 8oz
2nd Steve Porter (Team Marukyu) 226lb 10oz
3rd Roger Edmunds (Team Marukyu) 167lb
