Reports 2000

Fishing Match 2008

Odds to win Comments

Matty Barker

 7/2 4 years without the title and needs to stop the rot

Justin Metherell

 9/2 Current champion should go well again

Jason Hoare

 6/1 Venue could suit his big fish tactics

Rick Barker

 7/1 4 times champion has plenty to do to win here

Bear Barker

 9/1 No victory here would mean a decade without the title

Clive Harrison

 10/1 Been bagging on the Newquay waters. Chance

Chris Barker

 14/1 The master is confident after his Angler's mail fish of the week catch

Sean Haley

 14/1 Hasn't cut it in matches yet so plenty to prove

Mark Gardener

 20/1 Interesting outsider of the field who could surprise

Richard Snell

 80/1 Monster shock if Mister Gobby takes the crown

PREVIEW

It's very hard to pick a winner this time if all the main contenders do show up. This really is wide open as Lakeview can be funny at times as the fish don't always feed all day. Here's the run down of the anglers........

Matty Barker will have gone 5 years without the title if he doesn't win this time around which would be incredible after notching 3 wins in a row from 2001-03. He's as dangerous as ever.

The venue should suit the likes of Jason Hoare [ who is badly out of form ] and last years champion Justin Metherell as the big fish do come out to play more often than not.

Chris Barker Senior is in confident mood after featuring in Angler's Mail with his monster Perch 2 weeks ago which weighed 3lb 11oz. It won fish of the week and he'll be trying to catch it again.

Rick Barker's form has been patchy in recent sessions and has his hands full this year to regain the crown he lost to Justin last season, despite shattering his PB carp record this week on the venue.

Tom Hoare, Gary Haley and Richard Tamblin are all unlikely to show up despite interest in the event. Richard Snell will have to pull out all the stops just to feature here. His friend Sean Parsons seems to have pulled out after initial enthusiasm. Last years 4th and 6th Chris Gilbert and Naomi are possible entries and wont decide until late but they know how to catch so Chris in particular is a contender.

Newcomers Clive Harrison and Mark Gardener are sure fire starters and are hoping to win at the first attempt. Clive has been bagging plenty of carp at Penvose recently so watch out for him.

Sean Haley will give it another go despite some poor results in recent seasons in matches.

 Bear Barker has it all to prove and if victory eludes him on Sunday, it will be a decade without the title. He has still yet to get his hands on the winners trophy.

Damien Childs is a big contender along with Alfie Donnelly if showing up as they have been taking carp to 40lb in France recently but it could be tougher in a match and rumour has it that Bear has beaten Damien in a match before.....all be it 11 years ago !

 So that's the preview. The rain may come Sunday as is predicted but it should be a great match as always. Will Matty or Rick regain their former titles?, can Justin defend his crown?, or will we see a new name on the trophy? All will be revealed by 4pm August 24th 2008. See you there. Spectators welcome and are free.

 HOURS 1-2

The first anglers into their stride were Matty, Rick and Bear who all started picking up lots of bits close in and tried to establish a good early advantage.

Jason, Sean, Mark, and Clive all found the first two hours tough, with only Sean bagging a few struts.

Chris Barker Senior was finding plenty of small silver fish but not at the rate of the top 3.

Justin went to the top of the leader board after 2 hours when he landed a very large carp that got all the anglers attention with the splashing.

Richard Mister Gobby Snell was still in the co-op looking for bait.

2008 peg draw in car park CB Senior draws his peg number

 

HOURS 3-4

Bear Barker had a short break from the minnow bashing and tried to force a monster to bite but gave up and carried on going for the struts. He was doing well.

Mark and Clive were still fishless and in real trouble, while Jason had taken his first fish of the day but looked in need of help as the 4th hour disappeared.

Matty was really applying the pressure in his peg as he continued to keep bagging the small stuff despite Justin catching another carp and big looking perch on the pole.

Chris Barker Senior continued to pull out fish but not at a match winning rate while Rick had abandoned his small fish plan after seeing Justin's big catches and went for a one hit wonder.

Sean Haley missed a run on his dog meat bait which he said was a huge carp.

Richard Snell arrived at last and immediately tucked into burger and chips from the Lakeview canteen with his net still empty.

Bear bags a minnow Mark Gardener

 

FINAL HOUR

Matty's constant panning of fish by some overhanging foliage was relentless and he looked to have put himself in the top 3, while Justin's big fish were already in the net and he was favourite for the win amongst anglers on the bank come the horn at the end.

Jason Hoare had a blank last hour and knew he had lost it while Rick also had no big bites on his line and he looked defeated.

Bear Barker and Chris Barker Senior continued to catch quite a few in the last hour with CB finding plenty of eels on the bottom in his peg. It was all extra weight though.

Richard Snell finally got down to some proper fishing but his titanic float could be seen for miles and the fish apparently couldn't pull it under.

Sean Haley picked up one or two bits during the last hour but little to challenge the leaders while Mark Gardener and Clive Harrison departed without even seeing the weigh in or congratulating the winners as they drew blanks on a day they will want to forget.

Most anglers knew it was between Justin and Matty for the title while Bear looked the main danger of the others.

Richard Snell aka Mister Gobby Hard fighting fishy for CB Senior

 

 

REVIEW

Lakeview sadly didn't live up to being a great match. Many good fish were expected to show up on the day but sadly it didn't happen. It was however, a match that still needed to be won....and Matty Barker worked hard and finally regained his crown after nearly 5 years away from the top.

Sean weighs in Justin weighs his fish CB Senior weighing in

  • Matty Barker - 1st- He last won in 2003 at Oakside and that seemed like donkeys years ago but Matty finally got back to winning ways after grinding out a result with a bag of small fish that many thought would not be enough to win here at Lakeview. With bigger fish hiding on match day, Matty used all his class from a peg you wouldn't have chosen above many of the others.  You can't fault his commitment to win his 4th title this year. Well done. 10/10

     

  • Justin Metherell - 2nd -  Was oozing in confidence after a great victory at FM 2007 and you have to give him credit for finding the bigger fish on the day. He beat some good anglers and he walked away with the biggest fish trophy for the 3rd time in 4 years.  He won the team title with Matty as well but didn't quite do enough to hold onto his crown as Matty slightly out fished him at Lakeview although not by much. Justin is now a real danger for the future matches. 9/10

     

  • Bear Barker - 3rd - 10 match entries without a win now. will he ever win it? The question keeps popping up year after year but he just cant seem to do it. A good effort to finish in the top 3 and stuck to his game plan. Drew a hot end peg though so some critics will say he should have done better . Maybe this could be the springboard he needs to mount a challenge for the FM 2009 title ?  7/10

     

  • Chris Barker Senior - 4th- Most anglers believe he had one of the best two pegs on the lake with overhanging trees, shade from the sun and lily pads. A great chance for him to steal the title through the back door. Despite catching pretty well for most of the match, he was never on the same pace as Matty and ended up with a peg full of eels. A respectable effort by the master but will he get a better chance to take the crown?   7/10

     

  • Rick Barker - 5th - This was a disappointing result for the 4 times former champion as he finished a long way off the pace. Was in the top 3 for the first 2 hours as he took plenty of small fish but went for carp during the last 3 hours in an all out, all or nothing tactic that would see him shit or bust. It was bust and he had to accept defeat. It wasn't the best peg on the lake to draw but that can't be used as an excuse either.  5/10

     

  • Sean Haley - 6th - Sean keeps trying but again didn't manage to make the impact on match day. Lost what he believes to be a big fish during the event but apart from that their was little for him to do except plod on. He did however beat some good anglers on the day so their are positives to be taken from the day despite being well off the lead yet again.   4/10

     

  • Jason Hoare- 7th - No one knows why the former champion has fallen so far from grace since his amazing victory back in 2004. Jason knows he had possibly the best peg on the lake and many anglers would have jumped at the chance to fish where he did. A bitter disappointment for him and he's in total disarray now. Some anglers believe he has finally cracked under the pressure. Has plenty to prove next year.  1/10

     

  • Clive Harrison - Joint 8th - Clive was expected to do much better than this at the match after some big catches in practice. He didn't seem to have  a plan B if the big fish didn't come out to play and he was destroyed. He was even spotted sleeping in the sunshine but then again, it's nice to be out there anyway. On a further note, he has only just got back into fishing and could come back next year more prepared than this time. Don't write him off.  0/10

     

  • Mark Gardener - Joint 8th - Drew the dead corner of the lake and was in full view of the sun. Never had a bite all day which was a shock. Didn't stick around to see the presentation as the day ended in disaster . Hopefully he will return next season to give it another go. 1/10

     

  • Richard Snell - Joint  8th - Awarded the first ever minus mark in fishing match history. Mr Gobby was already in trouble when he arrived 2 hours late and was in real trouble by the end as his net remained dry and empty. Will look to gather more knowledge of course fishing over the next 12 months and then return to put up a much stronger challenge.... -1/10

    CB Senior  Matty Barker and Justin Metherell  Matty Barker sprays the champers

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