It's a dream come true as Whincupnets £70,000 prize

We had struggled for years to get a team together to take on the likes of the all-conquering Oundle, and then Keenet Central, and Jon Whincup was the young blood we needed to push us all up a notch.

And it worked a treat. With Whincup on board we went on to have several years of success.

Unfortunately for us, but great for him, Whincup had to move on to bigger and better things such was his talent. He fished for the mighty Essex County and they won just about every team event going.

Then he switched to the growing band of anglers fishing commercial waters and became a regular winner at Decoy Lakes.

Even that was not enough though and over the past few years he has been concentrating on the elite side of our sport.

And that’s where he came good on Saturday taking the honours in the big Maver Match This final at Hayfield Fishery and scooping a massive £70,000 winner’s cheque.

Yes, you read it correctly, £70,000 - the biggest individual payout in angling history so I am led to believe.

I spoke to Whincup after the match and he said: “In actual fact I had a nice simple match, exactly how I wanted it.

”I started short soft potting a few 6mm pellets with an 8mm on the hook and never had a bite for 10 minutes while everyone around me seemed to catch straight away

“I had my first fish after 10 minutes and stayed on the same line all day. I caught steady for four hours but the last hour was a nightmare,

“Jamie Hughes at the next peg came short after being on the feeder all day and my peg went all funny.

“Jamie had seven fish to my one in this spell and I thought I had blown my chance,

“I did, however, have a 10lb carp on the whistle and I thought that was the fish to win it. As it turned out I was 12kg clear so I didn’t need it but the weigh-in was ridiculous, the most nervous I’ve ever felt in fishing.

“I finally weighed 105kg and the title was mine.

“I would like to thank my sponsors Frenzee and Bait Tech for their continued support and also my partner, the long-suffering Ivy, because without her I wouldn’t be where I am today. It’s just mad really, a dream come true”

RESULT

1 Jon Whincup (Frenzee) 105.75kg £70,000

2 Jamie Hughes (MAP) 93.92kg £5,000

3 Simon Skelton (Maver UK) 81.95kg £3,000

4 Des Shipp (Preston Innov) 65.30kg £1,000

5 David Shires 60.24kg £1,000

6 Andy Power (Preston Innov) 59.42kg £1,000

7 Rob Brennan (Garbolino) 57.55kg £1,000

ANGLING FOR HEROES

The big Angling For Heroes charity match fished at Ferry Meadows raised over £700 for two cancer charities, MacMillan and the Princess Alice Hospice.

Rob Fryer put a 65lb 5oz net of bream to the scales from peg one on the Overton Pool to take first place.

Chris Hill came in second with 53lb 12oz, followed by young Harry Murphy with 40lb 4oz.

KING OF THE FENS

Round three of the King of the Fens took place on the Middle Level on Sunday and with several teams still in with a chance of the league title it was always going to be close.

On the individual front it was Paul Cowern leading the way. He caught a mixed bag of roach and skimmers with a bonus tench to push him well clear of the chasing pack weighing in 15lb 10oz.

Second was Sensas Mark One rod John Price with 12lb 4oz, followed by Duncan Ray with 12lb.

The all-important team scores saw Browning Hot Rods put in an impressive 30 total scorecard which was very good indeed. Runners-up were Top Guns with 24 points followed by Sensas Mark One Black on 23.

With just one round to go it’s still all up for grabs. Sensas Mark One Black lead a three-horse race for the title on six points with Browning Hotrods on seven and Top Guns with eight.