History was made at North Yorkshire’s Woodland Lakes as the biggest prize ever paid out in UK match angling – £100,000 – went to Surrey star Zac Brown. He triumphed in the inaugural Fishing Association Super Cup Final, a match that many reckoned to have been the best big-money final ever held!
Taking on 20 other qualifiers who battled through several round earlier in the year, Preston Innovations man Zac emerged on top with a 208-11-0 haul of carp, over 40lb in front of runner-up Chris Weeder Junior who took £8,000 for his troubles. Jamie Hughes came in third on 149-11-0.
A former UK Champion and Maver Match This winner, Crawley-based 38-year-old Zac left it late off end peg 21 on Partridge Lake which saw him struggling at the halfway point. Here, Zac explains how he made match fishing history...
Slow start after a good draw
“Drawing peg 21, the end peg on Partridge Lake, made me very happy. I’d been up with Mark Goddard the weekend before and that end of the lake had been brilliant. My plan was to fish long, either shallow or on paste, and then cast the feeder to the end bank and try to pick off a few fish before heading to the margins.
“I had some early casts on a Banjo feeder with a 6mm Banoffee Band ’Um to the end bank but although there were carp there, they weren’t feeding – I never had a bite. Going shallow and trying to mug a few didn’t work either. After an hour I’d got nothing.
“I’d been loosefeeding 4mm pellets at 14.5m to fish paste here, and first drop on this line with paste made out of sieved Thatcher’s Original groundbait saw the float sail away. I missed it! That gave me some confidence, however, and I picked off four carp on this line before it died. Back on the feeder where I’d been firing 8mm pellets to, I nicked three fish, but they were still spooky.
Leaving it late
“I’d been priming a swim on a top kit and one section in front of me for a while, feeding maggots with an XL Cad Pot, and once I saw Dale next door catch one, I knew I had to give it a go. First drop the float buried and I had a 9lb carp, and in the final 90 minutes I caught a dozen more big fish from here. There were no thoughts about winning at this stage, however – it was simply about focusing on catching that next fish.
“But I had no idea what I’d got – certainly 20-plus carp of a good size, but I couldn’t say what weight, perhaps 150lb. When Chris Weeder weighed in 160lb, I knew it was going to be tight. I’d got an even split of numbers of fish in each net and when the first two lots weighed 47lb and 53lb, I felt that I’d got it – and I had, by 40lb!
“It doesn’t feel real. Did I really win £100,000 in a fishing match? Crazy really!”
