A wet and windy week made for challenging fishing conditions and it was the first time in the events history that the competition took place in such adverse conditions. Despite the blustery conditions there was still some great fishing to be had over the week and by the end, Andy Everill was crowned the Cofton Cup champion for the second consecutive event.
After winning last Septembers Cofton Cup V, Andy took the accolade of champion as well as the trophy and top prize of £500 with a total weight of 63.02 from peg 25.
This is Andy’s third Cofton Cup title after previously winning Cofton Cup II and Cofton Cup V.
Runner up Steve Bond caught a total of 49.04 from peg 22 to win him £250 and Bob Rand finished third to net himself £150 with a catch of 43.10 from peg 10.
More good news came for champion Andy as he also walked away with the prize of heaviest fish of the week. During his qualifying heat on day 3, Andy landed a carp weighing in at 11.03 to earn him the £50 prize.
The Plate Final was a closely contest affair that saw Nigel Stanley’s haul of 39.06 from peg 14 enough to see him end the day as the plate winner. Dave Walton finished as runner up with 35.00 from peg 26 and Craig Smith rounded out the top 3 of the Plate final with a catch of 32.03 from peg 25.
The competition started out in some truly testing conditions as rain and gale force winds whipped around the Match lake. But despite the harshest conditions coming during the first qualifying heat, it was Geoff Boardman who posted the highest total weight of the week with 72.12 from peg 15.
During the final it was Andy Everill’s strategy that ultimately led to him being crowned champion with a final catch break down of 29.10 of carp and 32.08 of Bream. Early on Andy realised that the carp in the lake were not feeding as heavily and so instead targeted the bream to ensure that he was always adding to his net. This change of strategy saw Andy catch an increased quantity of Bream to set him apart from the other anglers.
