Peter Thompson
(GOT Baits)
Peg 33 - 362lb 8oz

  "Peg 7, Golden Peg and couldn't buy a bite... Just my luck."

In the second of the 4 match special series, Peter Thompson GOT Baits drew peg 33 and never looked back. Pete took a decent Carp first put in and followed that up with a run of fish that quickly put his first ton in the nets. Fishing his left about 8m away and 1m from the bank, he presented a very soft paste via a large cup that also dispensed his feed pellet to the waiting fish. At the half way point Peter had taken an estimated 250lb+ and started to look as if he was well on the way to eclipsing the long standing UK & World Match Records.

In sharp contrast I sat on Flyer peg 7, which was also the Golden Peg, I thought all my Christmas's had come at once but soon realized that things were not quite right after an hour of struggling for bites and little or no signs of any fish. I'd had a pound bet with GOT Baits Supremo Trev Price on the Peg 6, which on reflection kept some interest in our match as we both struggled to draw any fish.

Pete continued to catch on Peg 33 as the word spread from peg to peg that Pete was on for the record. Pete could hardly hold his pole with nerves as he knew he had long passed his own PB of 260lb set only last week. Going into the last hour the GOT angler had a disastrous change of fortune as a run of bonus fish smashed his .20 direct mainline and vital time was being lost. The fish had progressively got bigger and his peg was packed with some monsters that proved the undoing of the GOT matchman. At the whistle he was physically drained and mentally in pieces. At the scales he was left wanting just 55lb for the UK record, at first look disappointing, but he had added 100lb to his PB and had the match we all dared to dream of. The record will go in the next month, that I am sure of, most of us thought it had gone today! Unlucky Pete.

On a positive note, Trev on Peg 6 had taken a double in the last hour and looked likely to rob me of my £1 wager. However, a cunning switch to meat at 7m and a run of Carp boosted my weight to 88lb to Trev's 32lb! RESULT..

Bagging machine, Pete Archer - Gold Valley & Vespe, had drawn Peg 10, the site of a recent match win for the Vespe backed angler, but even his 262lb was put into the shadows of Gary's strong finish as Pete continues to favor a shallow bait and long pole approach on the 'fringe' pegs at Rolfslake.

Paste continues to dominate in the margins. Going slow in the first half of matches but expect the pace to pick up in the final 2 hours. Don't be shy in feeding plenty of pellet at both 3 and 8m. If the paste doesn't work you can keep very busy with fish up in the water on the longer line. Any line longer that 10m may prove difficult to return more than 350lb! But I'm open for someone to prove me wrong.