In the end, only one fish separated the leading rods at a tense 2023 Troutmasters Senior Final
UNSEASONAL WARMTH, at times blisteringly bright skies and a faltering breeze made the going tough at the Troutmasters Senior Final at Draycote Water in October. It proved a day when few fish were caught, making the outcome uncertain until the klaxon sounded.
Some 21 anglers took part, having qualified at fisheries around the UK, from Stirling in central Scotland to Caerphilly in south Wales, and from Northumberland to Kent. Each was hoping to emulate notable former winners such as individual world champion Ian Barr and England internationals Graham Pearson and Rob Edmunds.
The competition was split into morning and afternoon sessions, fishing only from the bank, with competitors allocated either Zone A (from Swan’s Nest to Toft Bay and the Willow Tree on the nature reserve limit) or B (Lin Croft Point to Tower Corner), swapping locations after lunch. Placings and points were decided by the weight of the fish caught in each session. The first two fish caught by each angler in each session were weighed, after which it was catch-and-release — the released fish counting as 2lb.
The air temperature started at 16 deg C, rising to 23 deg C in the afternoon. The water temperature was 16 deg C.
Phil Green from Consett, Co Durham, got off to a fast start, hooking but losing a fish on a perch fry pattern in the first two minutes. It was then to and fro between him and Kent angler John Pearn, fishing a Booby Snake, and later Kasidit Leoviriyakit, from Bristol, fishing a Cat’s Whisker. All three were in the prime spot at the Swan’s Nest in Zone A.
Anglers in the larger Zone B had slightly better conditions. The light westerly drew fish upwind, along the bank. At Lin Croft, Joy Hughes, from Pontypridd, had three good pulls, converting one, while Mike Sinclair, from Evesham, opened the scoring with a strong rainbow on a white Humungus. Between casts, Mike revealed to T&S how as a child he was once given permission to fish on a beat by Robert Pashley (The Wizard of the Wye).
On the upper limit of Zone B at Tower Bank and Corner, Leigh Pond, from Bedfordshire, who this spring captained the 2023 gold medal-winning England Loch-style team at Draycote, caught two and lost two while fishing Cormorants with a slow roly-poly retrieve. Hot on his heels was Nicholas Golding, from East London.
GET AN AIRFLO LINE WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE
See page 8 for details
He had two fish on a black-and-olive lure bought in the Draycote shop.
At lunch, Joh
