Paddy from Pallatrax rang Steve this morning on hearing the news to get the low down on his result and was greeted by an ecstatic Steve who then ran through his winning method at the Division One National on the Trent.

(Library image of Steve landing a barbel for a TCF article)

Steve commented "It was an interesting day that started with drawing a flyer peg at Collingham and then working hard to make the most of what the swim un-doubtedly held. I started with typical heavy feeder match approach but after losing 2 fish on the bounce I made the switch to Specimen Style fishing; 2lc t/c rod, 15lb Gamma line and with a mixture of pellet as feed and pellets or the WHISKER SQUABS as hookbaits.

It was then a case of spending the next few hours staring at a tip in the air and keeping the fish from the snags."

Steve also commented, "the dissapointing part of the day was the amount of barbel I caught that were trailing rigs. Leadcore, lead gripper weights and ridiculously fine main lines and hooklinks were the main items retreived. It should be pretty evident to anyone fishing that area that proper gear suited to the environment their fishing in should be used"

Steve went on to finish the match with 56020g which was some 40Kg more than the second placed angler.

Steve's tackle consisted of 2lb t/c rod, 15lb Gamma Line and either size 12 or size14 Pallatrax The Hook. Steve commented " The hooks were a major help for this match, these are not your regular 12's & 14's as you know and having confidence in giving some stick to the fish knowing they will hold firm.."

A big congratulations to Steve from all at Pallatrax.