Last weekend marked the inaugural Ultimate Feeder Championship, organised byCapital Catch Competitions as part of their ongoing campaign to host big-money matches. Unlike traditional qualifiers, participants earned their spots through a raffle system, with the aim being to open match fishing up to everyone.
The event took place at the renowned Hallcroft Fisheries in Nottinghamshire, where 20 raffle winners competed in a feeder-only match to determine the first-ever Feeder Champion. Connor Bennion emerged victorious, walking away with a £30,000 prize.
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"Having been lucky enough to enter the Ultimate Feeder competition, I decided to start fishing some of the open matches held on Sundays on Moat Pool, where the final would take place," Connor told us.
"Not only was I fortunate to be entered into this event, but a mate of mine from the same angling club, Jake Westwood from South Kirkby Colliery Angling Club, had also been entered into the final, which we both couldn’t believe."
"The regular anglers who fish the opens have been really helpful, sharing tips on the best methods to use. I soon put them into practice and had some good days catching a few fish."
"On the morning of the final, I was hoping for a decent draw—ideally, any of the early pegs at the start of the lake or the late numbers on the opposite bank. I went in and pulled out peg 4, which is permanent peg 27 on Moat, and I was really happy with that."
When Connor arrived at his peg, it was on the back of the cold wind making conditions far more comfortable than those who were in the face of it, so he was hopeful the fish were sitting at his end of the lake. The gameplan was to start across on a Method feeder, working his way back to the middle of the lake to try and catch some of the carp he had been catching in practice.
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"The 'all in' sounded, and I had my first couple of casts across without any bites. However, the next two produced two small skimmers, though it wasn't prolific," he said.
"I spent about 45 minutes on this line, with only a few more skimmers to show for it, so it was time to switch to fishing down the middle."
"I was casting regularly every four minutes and double-skinning the Method, hoping to get some bait down on the deck for when the fish arrived."
"Ten minutes into fishing this line, I had caught a few decent skimmers and got my first proper bite from a carp, which was a decent size and a great first fish to get into the net."
"A few more casts later, I caught another carp, but after that, things slowed down. At the halfway point, I had about 25lb, which was miles off the pace, as the end peg in my section was catching steadily," he added.
As Connor felt the match slipping away, he decided to make a tactical change to pull some extra fish into his peg. Using his large bait-up rod, he opted to feed heavily with 6mm and 8mm pellets, hoping to encourage some of the resident carp to start feeding.
"After the change, it took a couple of casts to hook the first carp, and then I landed four in four consecutive casts, which put me right back in it," he recalled.
"This continued steadily until the last hour when I fed another five feeder-fulls of pellets. That resulted in another flurry of action, adding five more carp to my net, which was a great finish."
"I even managed to hook one last carp just before the 'all out' sounded, so I took my time trying to land it. After five minutes of playing the fish, the hook pulled out of what felt like a decent carp—one that might have cost me the match."
Thankfully, the lost fish didn’t cost Connor the match, as his final weight of 127lb was enough to beat the next rival's 115lb, making him the Ultimate Feeder Champion.
"I can't explain how I felt—it was a mix of relief after losing that fish, shock, and elation that I had won the match. Huge thanks to everyone involved and to Lee, the owner at Hallcroft, who has been a superb help leading up to the match," Connor concluded.
SITTING COMFORTABLY? YOU WILL BE IF YOU ARE SAT ON ONE OF THE BEST FISHING SEATBOXES.
