Big dace on the mag feeder
TARGETING an overhanging tree on the far bank, Matt Atkins landed a fin-perfect 1lb Hampshire Avon dace.
The Bedfordshire angler enjoyed bite-a-chuck action on a maggot feeder, adding roach to 2lb 2oz to his bag.
“The big dace was only my second ever over the 1lb mark,” Matt said.
Matt Atkins 1lb Hampshire Avon dace
Ringer brothers win pairs final with Hybrid feeder masterclass
The Ringer Baits Boddington Reservoir Pairs series began with a bang for brothers Phil and Steve Ringer, who made it two wins out of two at the sprawling Northamptonshire water to pocket the £500 prize.
Fishing against 27 other pairs, the two England Feeder men cast in excess of 70m to keep in touch with Boddy’s famed big carp. Scoring two section wins, Phil and Steve triumphed over Jason and Graham Morris who also won their sections.
Finishing first and third individually, it didn’t take long to work out who had topped the shop, the 205-9-0 of the winners easily eclipsing the Morris’ 136-9-0. Phil, top man on the day, had 109-1-0 from peg 10 on the sailing club bank to make the win sweeter.
“After taking second overall last week, I fancied going one better,” Phil said.
“The mild weather means there are still carp to be caught off every peg. I set myself a target of seven or eight fish, which average 10lb apiece, and finished with eleven.”
In the clear water, Phil relied on a washed out yellow 8mm wafter, casting a Hybrid feeder 60m and only going out to 75m when bites stopped. A blank opening hour gave way to much better sport, four carp in four casts getting him off the mark in hour two.
“Cast times were 10 to 15 minutes max as the fish were feeding well, some pulling the rod round within a minute of the feeder settling,” he continued.
“Even though there were carp topping all over, it was important to keep casting to the same spot except in the last hour when the bites ceased.
“I also found that by leaving the wafter just showing on top of the pellets in the feeder, I could get a bite that much quicker.”
The Hybrid feeder was vital to Phil’s win
How the feeder won Steve Ringer £10,000 - NuFish Feeder King Final 2020
Taking a gamble is always a risk, but it worked for Steve Ringer in this year’s NuFish Feeder King Final at Southfield Reservoirs, winning him the match and the £10,000 top prize that goes with it.
A happy Steve Ringer with the 2020 Nufish trophy
Fished on the East Yorkshire venue in atrocious conditions, the Guru-backed AT columnist looked to be heading nowhere, with only the section to try and win at the halfway point. Deciding to risk it and go for bigger bream, he added more feed to the peg, and it worked a treat to see him home with 15-10-0, almost 5lb clear of runner-up Graham Lewis, Brett Clarke taking third.
“I’ve fished Southfield in the qualifiers for Feeder King through the summer, but always felt that I struggled to get to grips with it,” Steve said.
“After practising the Thursday before the match, I finally felt like I’d got my head around things. Even so, after three hours I wasn’t in the race.”
Drawing peg 53 in pouring rain and strong winds, Steve put in two feeder lines at 62m and 42m, but after two hours with just 3lb in the net, he was fishing for his section at best. Then an angler in his section caught two bream in two casts.
Bream were vital to Steve’s success
“I knew I had to fish for bream,” said Steve.
“More groundbait with lots of chopped worm and dead maggot went in at 62m and I followed it in with a window feeder, a bigger hook and three dead red maggots. After 12 minutes I caught a 2lb bream and then one of 1lb 8oz. I switched to a rocket cage feeder and nobbled two fish in two casts.”
One more fish followed before Steve changed to his 42m line and snared a big skimmer. Ten minutes remained when he took the decision to fish a bigger feeder, and he landed a 2lb bream. It was job done!
Bigger feeders helped Steve Ringer to £10,000
Feedermasters tickets sell out in record time!
THE SOARING popularity of feeder-based match angling was underlined this month when tickets for Feedermasters sold out in a record-breaking 45 minutes.
At 10am on January 15 thousands of super-keen matchmen descended on the event’s Facebook page to book their place on one or more of the 20 qualifiers available, but after just 15 minutes three-quarters of the tickets had been snapped up!
“It was unbelievable to witness,”
said Feedermasters organiser and 2019 champion, Lee Kerry.
“After just 30 seconds some qualifiers had sold out and at one stage around 300 people were trying to buy tickets for just a single event. In the end it took around 45 minutes for the full 1,200 to sell out!
“Part of the success can be attributed to the fact that we didn’t want to be too greedy, so offered just 60 spaces per qualifying event. We pride ourselves on offering balanced fishing matches which give every competing angler a chance to qualify.
“It’s an incredible feeling to see how popular this competition has become, and it certainly proves that there is a massive demand for feeder-based matchfishing.”
To many, the uncomplicated nature of feeder fishing is the reason behind the competition’s overwhelming success, with anglers requiring minimal tackle to be able to compete on an equal footing.
Angling Times Match Editor Richard Grange said:
“It’s no surprise to me that feeder fishing matches are so incredibly popular, and becoming even more so. When you compare Feedermasters to say, Match This or Fish O’Mania, the difference is substantial.
“Firstly, you only have to win your zone to qualify, not the whole match, so you have more chance at the draw.
“Secondly, the amount of tackle required and setting-up time are both drastically reduced, and thirdly, fishing the feeder is so much easier than slapping and tapping at 16m for carp, for example.
“Finally, there is less choice for the feeder angler when it comes to big events to fish, so anglers tend to go for the ‘biggie’ and that’s Feedermasters.”
