PORTUMNA SPRING CLASSICRiver Shannon at PortumnaThe biggest decision match anglers had to make was whether to fish pole or feeder over the five days and the 2007 champion Stuart Holmes (Tight Lines Shaw) from Oldham, Lancashire, chose right and finished only ounces short of 400lb.
On four days he opted for the ‘tip’ and came up trumps with a brilliant catch weighing 339lb 4oz consisting of prime roach, hybrids and an increased number of skimmer bream. The 47-year-old plant fitter from Oldham brought his wife Lynn for a week’s holiday to this rural district of Galway and managed to more than cover expenses with his £ 650 payout. “I kept more or less the same approach for each session,” he explained. “Brown crumb was the base ingredient of my groundbait and used a variety of additives, though chopped worm, caster and crushed hemp, were the essentials.” Stuart relied on double red maggot on a 14s hook as his main weapon and his only change bait was a worm every now and again; an open ended plastic feeder was his first choice and if bites got a bit finicky he would change over to a straight bomb and give the swim a rest. Simple stuff but his approach worked well and his score sheet read well: Day one – Town waters 98lb; day two Roger’s length 57lb; day three Town waters 72 pole fishing at 12 metres; day four Salmon Run 88lb; day five Town waters 83lb. Warrington fishing tackle dealer Helen Dagnall drew the next peg to Holmes and gave a brilliant performance to finish second with 362lb, which is basically 5lb a day behind the overall winner. And that’s not bad when you take into account that many of the pegs are probably best attacked with a 14 metre to hand – the sort of tackle that could tip this 5ft-something lady into the lake after six hours fishing. “I did use the pole at times but on some pegs it was impossible because at 11 metres the float was almost touching the tip,” Helen explained. “But it was great all-round fishing with mixed catches of hybrids, a lot more skimmer bream to 1.25lb this year and stacks of big roach, with everybody catching a lot of fish from every section each day.”
Her groundbait mix revolved around black crumb with JVC Feeder and Lake, worm, caster and hemp; while maggot and worm were the main baits on 12 and 14 hooks. Catches were at their very best on the final day with a 101lb 3oz haul from Peterborough’s Darren Page who pole-fished for most of the time, getting quality roach and hybrids downstream of Portumna road bridge. While a second ‘ton’ came from Yorkshire ace Dave Brooks who worked with both pole and feeder for the same swim at 11 metres, netting 100lb 4oz of roach, hybrids and a smattering of skimmers on Roger’s stretch. Entry figures tumbled dramatically because the festival – normally part of a two-week series – had to be reduced due to a clash in dates caused by the unusual late May Day Bank Holiday, but sponsors Anglers World say the competition will be back to normal for 2008. Results: |
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