Matthew Greening overcame tough conditions to win the second Fish‘O’Mania XXIII qualifier and secure his place at Cudmore Fisheries in July.
The 26-year-old carpenter from Hereford drew peg 115 and fishing the bomb with banded pellet he took carp to 8lbs from the start of the match despite the overnight rain and bitterly cold wind. Using no more than half a pint of 8mm pellets during the match, Greening’s winning weight was 160lbs 11ozs.
Incomes manager Chris Porter, from Southampton, fished on the bomb to banded 6mm pellet for an all carp weight of 129lbs to finish second, less than a pound clear of local angler Byron Woodsford, who weighed in at 128llbs 2oz with the help of several large carp.
The Fish‘O’Mania XXIII finals weekend has been extended to include a Friday match where the 32 qualifying anglers will compete for 16 places in Saturday’s show piece event where the top prize has been increased to £50,000.
Finals weekend takes place at Cudmore Fisheries, Staffordshire on Friday, July 8 and Saturday, July 9. Saturday’s Grand Final will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
The 28 qualifying events take place from March to June with the next qualifier to be staged at Hayfield Lakes in Doncaster on Saturday, March 12. A full list of quailed anglers and future qualifying matches can be found here.
Viaduct Fisheries Qualifier Top Five (winning weights in lbs)
1 – M.Greening – 160.11
2 – C.Porter – 129.00
3 – B.Woodsford – 128.02
4 – P.Hardwick – 121.00
5 – T.Williams – 119.04
