Cofton Cup Fishing Competition crowns first ever winner
The inaugural Cofton Cup Fishing Competition took place from the 18th – 20th May and saw an experience field of anglers battle it out on Mamhead Match Lake, one of five lakes that make Cofton Holidays an ideal destination for any angling fan!
With a total prize pot of £1000 up for grabs, the competition was fierce, but with the sun beaming down and a steady breeze keeping the temperature cool, it was almost perfect angling conditions.
Like all of our fishing lakes, Mamhead has been the recipient of restocking thanks to the huge investment Cofton has made in the fishing lakes over the past 12 months. Carp, bream, roach, perch and tench has made Mamhead a prolific location for our match fishing.
This event saw two qualifiers take place over Friday and Saturday, culminating in Sunday’s grand final! In the 1st qualifier Kevin Wells led the way from Peg 10 with a bag of 53lb 80z. Peter Hall (Peg 13 – 32lb 7oz) and Bob Rand (Peg 5 – 31lb 9oz) gave a good account of themselves also. In Saturday’s qualifier, Lee Prophet stormed ahead with the biggest bag of the weekend from Peg 12, 66lb 12oz was the weight that took him to the final. Sam Johnson showed his Cup pedigree from Peg 8by turning in a bag weighing 64lb 12oz. Kurt Stuck proved his capabilities with an honourable 26lb 8oz net from Peg 25.
There were a few names to look out for heading into Sunday’s finale, and a few recognisable names managed to secure the money places.
Bob Rand took 4th position with a 39lb 5oz net from Peg 22. Lee Prophet was in the money in 3rd, with his 45lb 10oz net off Peg 15. Bream featured significantly in the winning nets, with overall winner Sam Johnson contributing a 17lb net of Bream towards his winning total of 65lb 8oz from Peg 10. He nudged ahead of runner-up Paul Bland, whose total haul of 65lb from Peg 8 was made up of a Silver net weighing in at almost 30lb of Bream!
A relaxed atmosphere and stunning weather contributed to an epic inaugural Cofton Cup competition.
We’re thrilled to announce that the competition will return with, Cofton Cup II – Fishing Festival, from the 17th – 21st September. A new weekday format will hopefully help to accommodate more anglers who weren’t able to take part in this competition.
Our fisheries manager, Luke Broderick, was thrilled with the Cofton Cup; “I’d like to thank all of the competitors and their families for a cracking Cofton Cup, they all contributed towards an enjoyable weekend! Well done to the winners, and notably Sam Johnson, who worked exceptionally hard and was rewarded with top prize. We’re pleased to announce that the Cofton Cup will return in September (17th – 21st), and we’ll be looking to improve the competition each time we hold it.”
Find out more about taking your next fishing holiday in Devon!
