Reports 2000

Fishing Match 2010

Odds to win Comments

Matty Barker

 5/4 Winner 5 times including last 2 matches

Mark Gardener

 5/2 Knows the venue like the back of his hand

Rick Barker

 7/2 4 times a winner, runner up last year

Clive Harrison

 4/1 Good venue form

Chris Barker Senior

 8/1 Good last year and bagging in practice

MATCH AT MAWGAN PORTH SPECIMEN POOL ON SUNDAY 29TH AUGUST 2010

PREVIEW

Mark Gardener and Clive Harrison return for FM2010 after missing out in 2009. They both finished blank in 2008, but with Mawgan Porth being their "home" water, they feel they can get involved better this time.

Matty Barker had a 5 year run without the title in the mid noughties, but is now going for a hat trick of titles [ his 6th overall ] He has to be favourite after such good form recently.

Justin Metherell has personal problems and will jib the match. Danny Mellor should make the starting line up but be warned...he is very unreliable and probably won't show.

Rick Barker has 4 titles to his name, his last coming in 2006. He is always knocking on the door and should be right in their.

Jason Hoare sadly cant be with us this year due to work commitments abroad. I know he was disappointed to be missing from the line up...only the 2nd match he has ever missed. He was the 2004 champion. Hopefully he will return for 2011.

Chris Barker Senior is hoping to settle in to this carp venue and prove his doubters wrong.

Bear Barker looks washed up and misses the Fishing Match for the first time ever since it began back in 1999. He has never won the title in 11 attempts and will go down as a laughing stock if he chooses to retire now.

 

Matty Barker bags a carp Chris Barker Senior in action at Fishing Match 2010

 

HOURS 1-3

Matty Barker suffered a horrific first hour as he struggled to locate any fish on pole from an average looking peg. He eventually started to find the fish when changing tactics.

 Chris Barker Senior also had a tough start, losing over 7 carp when bringing them to the net. He then started picking up some smaller bits.

Rick Barker didnt fare much better early doors as he struggled to net fish off the island peg before finding success with some floating bread which got him back in contention.

Clive Harrison seemed to be surrounded by carp under a tree as they splashed absolutely everywhere. Despite this, his paste tactics were slow going and he only netted a couple of fish in the first half of the match.

Mark Gardener seemed to be having the most success as he pulled out plenty of fish up to the 3 hour point.

The weather up to this point was absolutely fantastic.

 

Fish attacking some floating bread during the match Mark Gardener baiting up during Fishing Match 2010

THE FINAL 2 HOURS

Chris Barker Senior had a lot of fish, but possibly not enough weight in the net by the end. He had a good catch though.

Matty Barker put himself firmly in contention with lots of small pasties in the final 2 hours. There was a sense of disappointment though as he had a good fish leap from his keep net to freedom after he had caught it. Would that be the fish that cost him dear?

Rick Barker bagged a big carp on bread which certainly added plenty of weight, and he nearly dropped it back in once on the bank as it made a big jump for freedom. Rick lost a big fish on the whistle that snapped him in the reeds...possibly, a crucial loss.

Clive Harrison bagged 2 more carp in the final 2 hours and although his catch rate was slow, all his fish seemed to be good specimens in with a chance of winning the biggest fish award.

Mark Gardener was already using a 2nd keep net well before the end as he didn't relent with his catching. He was definitely in with a good chance of glory.

 

The weigh in Fishing Match 2010 Clive Harrison enjoys a drink after a good day's fishing

 

 

THE WEIGH IN

A real nice lake to fish in, most of the anglers could see their rivals but no-one really knew who had won it..it was going to be tight.

REVIEW

No-one could have predicted such a close finish, the closest ever in FM history. Mark Gardener had taken the title by just 2oz...yes...basically a small roach. Matty's leaping carp that escaped cost him dear and Rick's lost fish in the final minute would have been the match winner had he not lost it. Wow!

Rick Barker with biggest fish at Fishing Match 2010 Fishing Match 2010 Champion Mark Gardener

  • Mark Gardner- 1st- Mark takes his first FM title by the narrowest of margins. He won this match in the first hour when his good catch rate gave him a good head start on the other anglers who were struggling. Others caught him up during the run in but he had a very good net of fish worthy of the victory. Fishing Match 2010 jibbers Danny Mellor, Bear Barker and Justin Metherell would have been no where near this weight so congratulations to Mark. Can he defend it next year? 8/10

  • Matty Barker - 2nd - To be fair, he probably had the least favoured peg of the 5 anglers but still came within a whisker of glory. Oh how he must be kicking himself after he had an already captured carp, jump out of his keep net mid match. That fish cost him a 6th title and a famous hat trick. Matty will always be a danger in any match and was unlucky this time. 8/10

  • Rick Barker  - 3rd -  Rick has drawn the end peg in 4 of the last 6 matches and he had plenty of features to go at. He usually starts slow and then plays catch up. Today was no different, a blank first hour proved costly and some lost fish also hitting him hard. His final hour again proved him to be a fighter as he landed 4 or 5 good fish while losing a monster 3 minutes before the end. Won the biggest fish title for the 2nd year running, and he's never done that before. 7/10

  • Clive Harrison - 4th-  Clive has plenty of experience at this venue and he seemed confident going into the match. He tried hard all afternoon and gave it his best shot pulling out only 4 fish, but 4 of the best fish of the afternoon. He narrowly missed out on the biggest fish title to Rick and officially had the same weight as CB Senior, but his biggest fish puts him 4th. A good day out you have to say.  6/10

  • Chris Barker Senior- 5th - Came here with plenty of good form, but he's yet to prove he can handle the carp waters in the modern era. He knows he lost the match in the first 2 hours when missing so many bites and it's difficult to make a comeback unless big specimens then appear. Despite finishing way off the lead, he is still in better form than some of the FM2010 jibbers who we've already mentioned.   5/10

    PEGS WERE DRAWN OUT BY JANET [ THE MAWGAN PORTH OWNER ] FOR JUSTIN METHERELL AND DANNY MELLOR WHO WERE DUE TO TURN UP...BUT BOTH FAILED TO SHOW UP AND DIDN'T INFORM ANYONE BEFORE THE MATCH STARTED.

     

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