Jamie Hughes has booked his place in the Fish ‘O’ Mania final following a day of appalling conditions at Woodland View Fisheries.
Torrential rain, violent winds and low temperatures made the qualifier for the prestigious event a tough day’s fishing for all the anglers at the Worcestershire venue. But it was Jamie who came in victorious after posting a total of 118lb 1oz at the weigh in.
Jamie drew on the fishery’s Barley pool, and fished a pellet feeder to the far bank to amass the bag.
“It was so windy that I only unpacked two 10ft feeder rods all day. The pole was a complete no go!” Jamie told Match Fishing. “It was freezing, too, but the fishing was still good. I managed to catch about 70lb in the first hour before it died off and then I had little spells of one or two fish at a time.
“I just can’t wait to fish the final now!’ he added.
In total, Jamie weighed in 23 carp, two smaller fish with the rest being between 5lb and 8lb.
“I was surprised by the top weights, as before it started I thought 70 or 80lb would have been enough to win it in the conditions,” said Woodlands owner Mike Mason. “It was very hard weather to fish in and never let up, but Jamie did very well.”
Agonisingly short of the victory spot was Match Fishing's group editor Jon Arthur with 101lb 15oz. Despite an unfancied draw on Arles he caught a dozen quality carp to 10lb plus F1s and skimmers on pellets, fished shallow and on the deck. Jon commented: “I'm gutted to have missed out, but congratulations to Jamie. I cannot think of another angler that's more in form than he is at present and he'll easily be one of the favourites in the final.”
Maver Midlands and Bag ‘em Matchbaits-backed Jamie is the fourth angler to go through to the highly anticipated Fish ‘O’ Mania Grand Final being held on July 14th at Cudmore Fisheries.
Results Top 5
1 Jamie Hughes, Barley, Peg 5 – 118lb 1oz
2 Jon Arthur, Arles, Peg 4 – 101lb 15oz
3 Steve Rothery, Arles, Peg 8 – 90lb
4 Craig O’Brien, Barley 15 – 86lb 15oz
5 Pete Goodwin, Ghost, peg 22 – 82lb 11oz
