FORMER World Champion Tommy Pickering (Daiwa) produced top form to win the 170-angler White Acres Milo Keenets Spring Festival worth £2000 plus tackle prizes after a flawless five day maximum score.Tommy was one of three anglers to bag over 400 lb while another four netted over 300 lb during the five days of intense competition and he needed that weight advantage. Six anglers scored the four day maximum score bringing the fifth discarded result into play and with fellow Doncaster rod Martin Leck also ending on five section wins it was Tommy’s heavy hauling that decided the result his 441-1-0 too much for Martin’s 367-4-0. Entering the final day Tommy was leading on weight from Sensas Bawtry’s Martin Leck with respective visits to Gwinear and Pollawyn to come. Tommy pulled 54 in the big hitting banjo and island section with several
known haulers on the better pegs in section. However the full time angler pulled off a superb display of crumb feeder
carping despite very windy conditions to win the section, lake and festival with 138-2-0 including 30 lb of commons and 108 lb of mirrors. While Tommy was bagging at Gwinear JCB demonstrator Martin, was doing likewise at Pollawyn peg 47 winning his lake with 73-5-0 of mostly skimmers and tench plus some carp under the spare pallet to his right on chopped worm and caster.
Tommy’s first day at peg 84 on Porth was the scene of his first section win and lake second with a level 17-0-0 of skimmers on the groundbait feeder baiting Van den Eynde Superlake and World Champion with worm or maggot for £150.Drawing Bolingey 36 for the second week running Tommy made no mistakes this week with 65-0-0 of carp mostly to a Sillybait loaded crumb feeder and maggot combination also worth £150 for another section win and lake second. Pollawyn’s peg 20 held no fears as his pal Kieron Rich broke the match record there the previous week and Tommy rattled up 157-4-0 of carp on meat shallow for a comfortable lake win pocketing another £250. Then Python’s off form peg 36 had Tommy concerned but regardless he turned in a section winning 63-11-0 of carp and tench after presenting poled chopped worm across to the island for his fourth section win and a lake second for another £150.The final Gwinear victory added another £250 taking the Pickering pools plunder to £950, plus £600 from the bookie to round off the weeks earnings at £3550.
‘I love White Acres I’ve been coming seven years and I thought I was destined to never win a festival,’ said Tommy who has had seconds, thirds, and fourths and is always in the top ten. ‘But you know this week I felt my name was on it, I can’t tell you how much this means to me’ said Tommy who addressed the packed club house after the
presentation ceremony. He then paid tribute to the runner up Martin Leck: ‘Martin, well done mate
you’ve fished brilliantly this week, you're a young lad and you’ll go far ‘.
Tommy is a veteran of the Cornish festival scene but
28-year-old Martin was attempting only his second ever festival at White
Acres and again proved that the big boys can be beaten with a classy display
starting at Trelawney’s peg 27.His decision to fish cat meat back to back at
8 metres was sound and saw him bag carp from the off ending with 66-0-0 of
carp for a £220 lake win. Then to Gwinear peg 17 where Martin motored to
150-0-0 of carp for a lake second adding £150 after presenting poled
luncheon meat shallow.Moving to Porth reservoir Martin again won the lake
and £220 from peg 39 with three to the pound skimmers on crumb feeder at 20
metres totalling 22-2-0.Martin’s fourth section win came from Bolingey 47
where he dared to be different going in from the off with a margin chopped
worm assault for 55-7-0 of carp. That set him up for the last day lake win
which added another £220 taking him onto a weeks total of £835 plus a runner
up cheque for £900. incredibly he’d won three lakes and came second on his
lake once settling the other day for a mere section win!
Local ace Clive Carter Mosella Southwest filled third thanks to four section
wins and a fifth section second earning a cheque for £800.
Tackle prizes including landing and keepnets,
platforms, umbrellas and landing net handles worth a total of £1600 were
provided by sponsors Keenets Milo for the top 20 anglers and the firm also
donated a £600 Milo pole in a free prize draw won by Malcolm Fowler who had
finished in 88th place.The company's UK sales manager Liam Braddell said:
‘This is the 10th year we have sponsored this event and the total prize fund
this year was £3200, it is our company’s first year under new owners Sharpes
Holdings and we are as committed to sponsoring this event as we ever have
been’. Mosella also gave £1700 of their new Matrix groundbait to each
entrant. The heaviest individual one day match haul worth an additional £100
went to the fantastic 216-15-0 Gwinear carp bag put together by England star
Will Raison who blitzed the field at Gwinear on day four with on the
crumb feeder and maggot combination. Will ended in fourth place overall
catching a staggering 482 lb over the five days. Biggest fish of the week
worth £50 was Mancunian bait man Mark Harris’ 13-1-0 Bolingey carp,
while the mystery weight prize of £100 fell to Mark Hayes with 129-4-0. Bill
Knott’s man of the match was clubman Paul Sprye-Phare from Exeter who won
two sections during the week.
MILO KEENETS SPRING FESTIVAL 2002 TOP TEN
1st Tom Pickering (Daiwa) 36 dropping 9 441-1-0 £2000;
2nd Martin Leck (Sensas Bawtry) 36 dropping 9, 367-4-0, £900;
3rd Clive Carter (Mosella SW) 36 dropping 8, £800;
4th Will Raison (Daiwa) 36 dropping 7, 482-3-0, £700;
5th Dean Barlow (Van Den eynde Essex County) 36 dropping 7, 258-13-0, £600;
6th David Schofield (Springlakes) 36 dropping 4, £500.
7th Harry Billing (Keenets Northwest) 35 dropping, 7, 348-5-0 £400;
8th Alex Murray (Team Sillybait) 35 dropping 6 £300;
9th Gary webber (Mosella SW) 34, dropping 5 £250;
10th Andy Parker (Sensas Midlands) 33, dropping 2 £200.
Full List of Daily Lake Winners:
MONDAY Pollawyn Sean Ashby (Preston
Innovations) 96-10-0 peg 30; Python and Trelawney Martin Leck (Sensas Bawtry)
66-6-0 T27; Gwinear Anthony Wild (Springlakes) 125-4-0 peg 27; Porth Adrian
Marshall (Fox Match Banstead ) 18-1-0 peg 72; Bolingey Will Raison (Daiwa)
111-12-0 peg 26.
TUESDAY Pollawyn David Lawrence (Polegate)
133-7-0 peg 20; Python and Trelawney Paul Spry-Phare (Exeter) 55-15-0 T26;
Gwinear Rob Brennan (MAP Garbolino Starlets) 168-1-0 peg 28; Porth Kieron
Rich (Tricast) 28-4-0 peg 35; Bolingey Steve Gardener (Milo Mosella) 90-2-0
peg 21.
WEDNESDAY Pollawyn Tom Pickering (Daiwa)
157-4-0 peg 20; Python and Trelawney Will Raison (Daiwa) 88-13-0 T26;
Gwinear Stu Killen (Maver Barnsley Blacks) 162-8-0 peg 28; Porth Martin Leck
(Sensas Bawtry) 22-2-0 peg 39; Bolingey
Harry Billing (Keenets Northwest) 111-12-0 peg 45.
THURSDAY Pollawyn Kian Wardle (MAP Garbolino
Starlets) 110-14-0 peg 19; Python and Trelawney Adrian Marshall (Fox Match
Banstead) 73-2-0 T26; Gwinear Will Raison (Daiwa) 216-15-0 peg 39; Porth
Mark Lucas (Cheshire) 24-12-0 peg
89; Bolingey Dean Barlow (Essex County VDE) 113-9-0 23.
FRIDAY Pollawyn Martin Leck (Sensas Bawtry)
73-5-0 peg 47; Python and Trelawney Dave Hambidge (Team Sillybait) 73-6-0
T24; Gwinear Tom Pickering (Daiwa) 138-2-0 peg 54; Porth Mark Warren
(Shakespeare) 21-12-0 peg 36; Bolingey Adam Rooney (MAP Garbolino Starlets)
89-5-0 peg 23.
25K SKOL MASTERS QUALIFIERS
WITH several of the top 50 anglers in the Milo Keenets festival already
through to the Skol masters from the earlier festivals or as seeded from
last years final 12 anglers down to Dave Hambidge in 75th made the cut.
Don’t worry if you haven’t joined them yet - if you holiday at White Acres
between now and October you can qualify by winning a weekly residents match
so there are still plenty of places up for grabs.
Skol Masters Qualifiers from the Milo keenets
Festival:
*Tom Pickering, Martin Leck, Clive Carter, Will Raison, *Dean Barlow, David
Schofield, *Harry Billing, *Alex Murray, *Gary webber, Andy Parker, *Simon
Willsmore, *Stu Killen, *Neil MCkinnon, Steve Gardener, Rob Brennan, *Kieron
Rich, Paul Hiller, *Paul Yates, Barry Gannon, *Adam Rooney, Dave Merrett,
Darren Walters, *Richie Hull, Bill Knott, *Mark Warren, Danny McGuire, Steve
Jackson, Darren Cox, Andrew Dare, Graham Tappenden, Jack Harness, Geoff
Salisbury, Mark Illingworth, Sean Ashby, Mark Lucas (Cheshire), *Gary
Stanley, *Steve Sanders, *Lee Woodhouse, Mark Harris, *Tim Rowe, Martin
Cocks, Peter Randle, *Kian Wardle, Dave Harpin, Paul Spry-Phare, Simon
Hambidge, Gary Pook, *Grant Albutt, John Howard, Terry Winter,*Graham Ford,
Barry Cook, Emma Pickering, David Lawrence, *Adrian Marshall, *Simon Gould,
Calvin Lemon, Neil Tappin, Colin Massey, Andrew Lloyd, Barry James, *Gary
Powell, Chris Jenkinson, Clive Hancock, Paul Filmore, Lewis Nightingale,
*Tony Wynnick, Paul Garratt, Ray Hayward, Steve Collins, Jim Dodkins, Mick
Wells, *Dave Lewis, Bill Price, Dave Hambidge.
NB: * denotes already seeded to the 2002 Skol masters Festival week from
previous final appearance or qualification from the Sensas festival 2002.
Tommy, Tommy and Emma Tommy on his way to a good haul The winning trio and compare.