Preston Innovations Black Horse are the Angling Trust Winter League champions for 2024 after a super consistent performance across the Decoy Lakes complex and Fen drains saw them return a 51-point score to be crowned champions!
And the win is a reward after near misses in recent years that’s seen Black Horse finish second and third, the lads finally getting their hands on the silverware with eight points to spare over runners-up Wakefield.
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Battling against 29 other teams, the 10-man side recorded a fine 24 points from Decoy, which can be notoriously tricky to master, along with 27 points off the drains, Andy Rayment, Alan Oakes and Alfie Nicholls leading them home with section seconds.
Bolstering that was Dan Theakstone with a third, Richard Farrow and Grant Howie with fourths, a fifth from Dan Webb, seven points off Rob Dizalak, nine from Gary Thorpe and 13 from Ady Stokes.
On the individual front, Decoy was topped by Sensas Hot Rods man Zak Worby-Smith with 81-150 of carp from corner peg 12 on the Elm Lake, where he had a brilliant start with 30 fish in the first few hours dobbing to the end bank. The peg slowed down a bit, but Zak had done the damage to finish well clear of runner-up Chris Jones, who bagged 64-050 off the Oak Lake.
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Pegs around the health centre bridge on the Old River Nene in March were fancied to win the drains match and so it proved, although not from the peg most thought would have top weight.
Instead, it was one next door to the famed ‘mist on the water’ swim occupied by Drennan Barnsley Blacks’ Nicky Crooks that produced.
He worked with long pole to the back of the boat to take hundreds of rudd on maggot for a fine 26-525, old hand Pete Vasey on the other side of the bridge taking second with 23-525 of rudd on the waggler, and of all things on the hook, corn!
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Team result: 1 Preston Innovations Black Horse, 51pts; 2 Wakefield, 59; 3 Mosella Quaker, 61 (section countback); 4 Drennan Oxford, 61; 5 Daiwa Tackle & Bates, 62 (section countback); 6 NuFish/SonuBaits Ossett, 62; 7 Sensas Starlets, 64; 8 Drennan Barnsley Blacks, 66; 9 Daiwa Dorking, 67; 10 Sensas Hot Rods, 69; 11 Matrix Dynamite Baits Image, 69; 12 Matrix Leigh Tackle & Bait Bait-Tech, 71 (section countback); 13 Colmic Dynamite Baits Trentmen, 71 (section countback); 14 Colmic Target Fish UK Sussex, 71; 15 Preston Innovations NW, 72; 16 Team Netbuster, 76; 17 Drennan NW, 81; 18 Cadence Bait-Tech Superteam, 83; 19 Daiwa Gordon League, 85 (section countback); 20 Maver Midlands, 85; 21 Preston Innovations Delcac, 89; 22 Drennan Bordon Angling, 91; 23 Drennan RAF, 92; 24 Team Wickford, 97 (section countback); 25 Adlington Angling Centre, 97; 26 Sensas Devizes, 99; 27 Darlington Angling Centre, 104; 28 Maver Milton Keynes, 106; 29 Colmic A4, 114; 30 Nytro Team Central, 118.
Decoy Lakes individual result: 1 Z Worby-Smith, Sensas Hot Rods, 81-150; 2 C Jones, Sensas Starlets, 64-050; 3 K Jones, Drennan NW, 62-675; 4 J Arthur, Drennan Oxford, 58-050; 5 A Dyson, Matrix Leigh Tackle & Bait Bait-Tech, 56-875; 6 S Milne, Preston Innovations NW, 52-325.
Drains individual result: 1 N Crooks, Drennan Barnsley Blacks, 26-525; 2 P Vasey, Matrix Dynamite Baits Image, 23-525; 3 C Oakman, Sensas Hot Rods, 22-300; 4 A Dargue, Mosella Quaker, 21-575; 5 A Donnelly, Daiwa Dorking, 20-150; 6 B Kirk, Colmic Target Fish UK Sussex, 18-750.
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