Festival season at White Acres is gearing up for another year with 85 anglers attending the five-day, Dynamite Baits festival with many of the prestigious names in match angling in attendance. Although many expected the fishing to be a little tricky with the unseasonable weather, overall winner and Guru backed, South West ace Ben Hagg had a great week of sport, weighing over 100lb almost everyday.
Fishing to his strengths, Ben caught a lot of fish using the long pole and pellets, finishing the week with a perfect 24 points, which tied with four other anglers but his section win dropper and almost 150lb weight advantage saw him take the prestigious title.
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"I’m absolutely made up, put a lot of effort into my fishing over the last few years and it’s a great feeling to finally win a festival down there after a couple of close calls," Ben said.
"The fishing has been phenomenal so fair play to Clint Elliott and the fisheries team for the work they’ve done, it’s better than ever, I can’t wait for the Guru festival now."
Ben's week kicked off with a great performance, drawing match lake 13 he fished long with pellets and worms on the bottom and shallow to weigh 174lb, with another big weight following on day two at Twin Oaks where the waggler helped him secure a lake win with 132lb of carp and f1's.
Things just got better during the festival, with weights of 140lb and an overall match win of 190lb from peg 20 on Jennies lake, where a mix of feeder and pole work helped Ben dominate the match. His lowest weight of the week came on the final day from an unfavored peg 4 on Python, but his 99lb was enough to win the section and secure his first White Acres Festival win!
Overall result: 1 B, Hagg, Guru, 24pts (740-0); 2 J, Hannam, 24 (595-5); 3 J Howarth, Guru, 24 (486-4); 4 B Sutor, 24 (607-6); 5 A, Power, Preston Innovations, 24 (625-9); 6 M Rogers, 23 (544-11).
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