Venue Record- Andy Bennett

Since Andy Bennett has been back from the prestigious Whiteacres festival, he’s managed to rack up some vital points towards the Preston matchman of the year award. Firstly managing a 4th position on Partridge Lakes, picking up two points on an 85-peg open day and then a 2nd and 3rd in a midweek open. However the weekend was when it all came together for Andy. Winning both days gave him another 8 points towards his end of year tally, which has now put him right up there in the League.

Andy runs us through his weekends success.

“My home for the Saturday was peg 105, on Partridge Lakes. It’s a new lake for the fishery, so with fresh and hungry fish recently stocked, it was hopefully going to be a productive day. I believe the average size of fish is under a pound, with the odd 1-3lb fish knocking around. So knowing the stock and with the strong winds cutting across the lake, I decided to concentrate my efforts on the short pole.

The key to my success through the day was altering between two different lines. The first being a maggot line at 5 metres and the other was simply fishing pellets down the edge. Constantly feeding both lines through the day kept the action coming thick and fast, giving me a total of 135 fish for 96lb and that all important win.

The following day I was back at Hall Lane in Wigan, for the all winners final. I have been fishing here quite a lot lately and with some success, winning on my last four visits. The weather was going to play a massive part as the wind was ripping down the lake with gusts of up to 40mph making things really difficult. With most anglers choosing to fish the long pole, it was going to be a tough day. Thankfully I drew peg 73, which fortunately for me was on a bend.
Maggots have been my choice of bait on this venue, although I was toying with the idea of trying pellets with the wind being so bad. As far as rigs were concerned I wanted to keep my options open, so I set up one for the edge, a middle line at 5 metres and long line if the weather let me do so. With the stock mainly being carp I fished slightly heavier hooklinks, 0.13 N-Gauge to size 18 LWG and 0.15 mainline. When catching large weights, it’s essential to use tackle that will do the business for the duration of the match.

Through the day I tried all three lines, however it was clear the majority of fish were down the margin. I caught steadily throughout, finishing up with 96 fish. The wind did have its advantages as it was hammering into my margin stirring up the bottom, which makes them more confident to feed.

I knew I had a big weight when it came to the weigh in, but I wasn’t expecting a total of 188lb. not only was it another match win, it also beat my previous venue record by a few pounds.

The victory was extra special being the all winners final and it gave me those all-important 8 points towards the Preston match man of the year.”


Tight Lines,
Andy.