A MASSIVE match to celebrate the match fishing career of Ivan Marks is to take place on the Wide Welland in September.

Anglers who fish it will be contributing to a permanent memorial for the man known in his heyday as ‘The King of the Welland’, which will be erected on the banks of the Lincolnshire waterway.

No less than 1,000 pegs have already been booked on the stretch controlled by Deeping AC and Spalding AC and, if the event sells out, it will be easily the biggest match of the year.

The September 18th event is being run by Spalding match angler Mick Parkinson with tickets being sold by tackle shop Harrisons of Lincoln (see panel). The National Federation of Anglers are also getting involved, helping out with the loan of the software they use for producing fast results for the Nationals.

“Although there’s already a memorial match being fished at The Glebe in Leicestershire in May, there was a strong feeling in match circles that there should be one on one of the big, natural waterways where Ivan made his name,” Mick said.

“The Wide Welland is perfect. Ivan had an unbelievable record in big matches there and became known as ‘The King of the Welland’.”

The two controlling clubs have agreed to keep the whole length free. The intention is to fish the match along similar lines to how they did when Ivan was in his pomp, with big sections and trophies for winning them. Anglers will be able to enter either as individuals or in teams of four, and the team title will be decided on weight, just as in Ivan’s day.

“It’s a trip down Memory Lane and I want to attract many of the anglers who used to fish these big matches, as well as the newer match fishing fraternity,” added Mick. “It’s also likely that the match will be won on waggler, which is how Ivan won so many big matches on the venue.

“Some of the entry fee will go towards having a permanent memorial to Ivan erected on the banks of the Welland. A lot of anglers will want to fish just so they can contribute to that,” he added.

Tek-Neek Trabucco, who backed Ivan in recent years, has stepped in with sponsorship for what will be known at the Tek-Neek Trabucco Ivan Marks Championship. They will be providing trophies for the section winners and the winner will walk away with a top-of-the-range Dream Team RT Carp 1 pole. The much-acclaimed 16m pole is supplied with four kits, a reversible mini-extension, holdall, clean caps, Expanda bung and tubes, and retails at £1,799.

Bill Hutchinson of Tek-Neek Trabucco said: “It’s appropriate that we should get involved in this match and we’re delighted to do so. Ivan wasn’t just a great angler but also a great man, and using the match to raise money for a permanent memorial is a fantastic idea. I’ll be talking to Roberto Trabucco about it – I know he will want to fish.”

How To Enter

Tickets for the Tek-Neek Trabucco Ivan Marks Championship cost £20 and are available from Lincoln tackle shop Harrison’s. Entrants need to send a cheque or postal order for £20 made payable to ‘Harrison’s Tackle’ to Ivan Marks Championship, Harrison’s Tackle, 55 Croft St, Lincoln, LN2 5AZ. Please include a covering note saying that it’s for the Ivan Marks match including your name and the address you want the tickets sent to. You will be sent the ticket with details of the draw and fishing times, plus the rules. You can also enter and pay online by clicking the link found at www.harrisonstackle.com . Teams of four should send a cheque for £80, including a covering note with the names of all four anglers.