Adam Rooney qualifies for the UK Champs

With heavy work commitments in 2014, Adam didn’t fish the event last year so he had to enter the qualifying phase.

But that didn’t stop him from bagging 75lb for third place in a recent qualifier at Barston Lakes and a spot in the final – one of the most prestigious events in the match calendar.

Speaking after the event, Adam said: “After drawing peg 37 on the end of the island, I knew that I had to catch carp and F1s as it’s not a great area for pole fishing tactics.

“I chose to fish my trusty Method feeder with ground down Mainline Cell boilies and 2mm micro pellets, alternating hook baits between boilie and pellet.

“I started level with the island but just to the right hand side, about 10ft off in slightly deeper water. It was a slow start; after two hours I only had two fish in the net.

“At this stage, I knew I had to make changes so I opted for the larger Guru Method feeder so I could get more bait in the swim. I also changed my casting pastern to re-casting every two minutes to build up my swim as nobody else was fishing the feeder.

“After a nervous half hour of no bites, I was rewarded with a double-figure carp and a run of F1s, putting me back in the game. The rest of the match went like clockwork with runs of F1s and carp, to total 75lb in an area where nobody else broke 20lb.

“Qualifying for the event was much more rewarding than coming third in the match and I can’t wait to start the four-round UK Champs in May, starting on Lindholme Lakes.

“My highlight of the day was seeing my apprentice, Ted, having his picture taken with the best fish of the day – a nice 12lb mirror carp!”