Gary Thorpe
(GOT Baits)
Peg 2 - 295lb 8oz

  "Easy like Sunday Morning....... "

Gary Thorpe drew peg 2, complained of a bad draw - again - and proceeded to empty the lake - again! To make things even sweeter for the GOT Baits match angler, Peg 2 had been drawn as the Golden Peg to boost the payout. If Gary keeps winning the golden peg he'll soon have enough money for the cosmetic surgery he so desperately needs! (Couldn't resist that, I'm only jealous)

Gary fished paste at 4m to take a number of big doubles. Notably, the GOT backed angler fed much heavier via an enlarged pot and fished his paste a lot harder than most, but that's how Gary fishes most of the time anyway. Over time Gary has proven himself as one of the best match Carp anglers in the country. He has more 300lb nets than any other UK match angler but failed to add to his tally by just one fish with 295lb 8oz.

Notwithstanding Gary's winning haul, the weight of the day for me was the 2nd placed 221lb 8oz taken by Neil Davis on Peg 19. Again, Pellet & Paste was the key to the bumper weight for the Crosskeys angler. Elsewhere, Russell Alexander took 202lb 8oz from peg 9 for 3rd with identical tactics.

Fishing patchy at the start of matches as the Carp take time to get their heads down of the feed. Building up the peg as the match goes on seems to be key.