A whole host of the UK’s most talented commercial fishery anglers descended upon Willinghurst Fishery to fight it out for the coveted Fish South title, and it was Ashley Blunt that once again got his name on the silverware.
Having won it in 2022 and 2023, he was determined to record an almost unthinkable hat-trick, and he had a huge challenge on his hands with the likes of Paul Holland, Mikey Williams and Robbie Taylor among the opposition.
Decided on overall weight over two days, Ashley needed to put in a strong performance to seal the deal and Angling Times caught up with him to see how he went about winning the £10,000 top prize for the third year in a row.
NEW TO MATCHFISHING? CHECK OUT OUR BEGINNER'S GUIDE FOR ALL THE TACKLE AND TIPS YOU NEED!
“I’d wanted to draw in the back straight of the lake and when I picked out peg 2 (permanent peg 26), I was more than happy with what my drawing arm had chosen," Ashley told us.
“We’d had a lot of rain and thunderstorms in the days leading up to the weekend and I felt like the fish would be in a finicky mood. When I got to my peg and saw fish milling around close to the surface, that feeling strengthened."
“It was going to be a day of trying to nick bites here and there, and I set up a lot of kit to cover various lines, but I kicked off on maggots at 5m."
“I’d caught well on casters in practice and felt they might be starting to favour them over pellets. It didn’t produce a single bite though, and I decided not to feed a thing for a few hours. The fish were moody and bait going in when they don’t want it is a recipe for pushing them out of the swim," he explained.
“I worked with a couple of shallow rigs, one that was conventional with quite a short lash that I could slap on the surface and another with a longer length of line to swing it towards the far bank cover.
“It was a matter of trying to catch an odd fish that I’d spot, and I’d have periods where I’d catch five in as many chucks and then I’d go half an hour without a sniff!
“I fed the margins with two hours to go, putting groundbait down one side and maggots on the other. I had to cover my options as nobody was catching much and I wasn’t sure what they’d prefer. As it turned out, the fish never came in the edge and as the time ran down, the fishing got a lot tougher.
“I caught a few on a waggler chucking to the far bank and on the long lining shallow rig and by the end of the match I’d caught 30 carp that went 154lb on the scales.
“That was enough to win the match and I was delighted with that on a day when nothing really wanted to feed.
NEED A NEW POLE? CHECK OUT OUR BUYER'S GUIDE TO THE BEST FISHING POLES AVAILABLE.
Day one had gone as well as it could for Ashley, by winning his section he was going into the second day ahead of the chasing pack so it was his to lose now. However his draw, peg 2, wasn't an area he particularly fancied as it can be feast or famine, in fact, it finished last on the lake the day before.
“I started by trying to mug a few fish but once I saw a nearby angler catch on his short pole line, I had a look there myself," He said.
“It produced two quick carp before it died, but that was a good sign that there was a decent volume of fish in the area."
“Fishing shallow was the next port of call, and once again rigs with different presentation were the key to keeping the bites coming."
“Like the fish in all commercials, they’ve seen it all before and a very light 4x10 float with the shot strung out down the rig worked really well at times. I’d lay it in and if I didn’t get a bite by the time the rig had settled, I’d repeat the process and feed just a few hard 6mm pellets over the top."
YOU NEED THE BEST FISHING KEEPNETS TO SAFELY RETAIN YOUR CATCH UNTIL THE WEIGH-IN.
After a promising start catching shallow, a looming thunderstorm and heavy rainfall posed a significant challenge to Ashley's tactics. Anticipating the fish would be pushed down due to the shift in air pressure, he quickly adapted by plumbing up a line in the margins. His plan was to switch to this deeper area once the storm hit, hoping to intercept the fish as they moved to the bottom in response to the changing conditions. This adjustment ensured he stayed in with a chance of catching, even as the weather deteriorated.
“This line was plumbed up in 3ft of water. You can find shallower water, but I’d found in practice that it was the deeper spots where they really settled, and you could get clean bites," he informed us.
“The downpour came and during this period I managed seven carp. It wasn’t frantic, but it ticked over and when one did hit the net, it was 7-10lb and well worth a bit of a wait!"
“Pete Upperton had been bagging down the edge and I knew he was a serious threat, and I was unsure whether I’d make it three wins in a row.
“Pete weighed 205lb 8oz on the day to give him a 354lb 4oz total, and I then went on to put 244lb 4oz on the scales which gave me 398lb 4oz and enough for the overall victory!
“There are some seriously talented anglers involved in this series and to win it once was great. Winning it twice was incredible and to do it a third time on a trot…I’m simply lost for words!”
RESULT: 1 A Blunt, 398-4-0; 2 P Upperton, 354-4-0; 3 J Bullard, 176-8-0; 4 B Gibbons, 168-0-0; 5 R Williams, 158-0-0; 6 R Taylor, 157-4-0.
SITTING COMFORTABLY? YOU WILL BE WITH ONE OF THE BEST FISHING SEATBOXES.
