Freshwater Angling: Y2K review (July to December)

JULY and victory for Homestores selects Mark Illingworth on the Kennet and Avon Canal in The Fish O Mania heat saw him £1000 richer and with a coveted place in the £25,000 winner-takes-all final. Illingworth weighed in 22lb 12oz of bream.

Andy Hoskins won the seventh round of The Nigel Turners Sunday Series from the Match Lake at Broadlands with a thumping 67lb 13oz of carp.

Southampton-based disabled angler Godfrey Edwards again underlined his claim for a place in the Welsh Disabled Squad when winning the disabled national at Clattercote Reservoir in Oxford with 23lb 8oz of carp and bream.

Globe trotting all-rounder Dave Higgins (Marshall Rolfes Team Toyota) took three personal best carp in just an hour from a Dorset stillwater when landing fish of 16lb 1oz, 18lb and 20lb 4oz.

Hansford's Brett Cooper won the Drennan Super League heat on The Thames at Radley with 33lb 12oz, while Eastleigh's quartet of Dave Self, Bob Drew, Graham Tappenden and Paul Sears won a team of four event at Passies Pond on a raid into Sussex.

Cormorants Team Sillybaits suffered a scare in the final round of The Reelcare Cup but survived by 1lb 8oz to qualify in 3rd spot behind Eastleigh and Petersfield Gold.

AUGUST

Mark Illingworth from Homestores Selects picked up a creditable third place in the £25, 000 final of The Fish O Mania. He came away with a £1,000 pole, after catching late to weigh in 35lb.

The Christchurch Lions Charity Marathon on Hucklesbrook saw victory for Poingdestres' Pete Newman who weighed in 48lb 11oz of pole caught carp and tench.

Eastleigh's Ray Hayward and Graham Tappenden landed 100lb of carp in the last hour to deprive Poingdestres of victory in The Reelcare Cup Final on Longbridge. Eastleigh's 161lb 9oz left Poingdestres 1lb 9oz short after leading up to the dying seconds.

Reelcares Willie Skipp won a Toyota Qualifier on Broadlands with 41lb 8oz of bream and launched his revolutionary Skiptastic fish meal ground bait.

TVAC veteran match anglers Gordon Warner and Davey Jones finished second and third in the Veterans National on The Oxford Canal, while TVAC match secretary Cliff Carbis finished fifth in the Division 3 National on the River Nene out of 1,000 anglers winning his section with 16lb 8oz of bream. Homestores Selects' Graham Tappenden finished the month in style by winning a Hansfords Evening Match on Broadlands Lower Lake with 58lb 12oz of bream.

This was followed by 68lb of carp and silver fish to win the Eastleigh Club match on Shearwater.

SEPTEMBER

Homestores Selects' Mark Illingworth won the final round of the Sunday Series with a generation of small skimmers from Broadlands weighing in 21lb 12oz.

Bournemouth Lodge's Steve Hemmings won the points championship in the series after finishing in the top 12 in the eight rounds he fished to finish with 264 points.

Awesome Homestores Selects' Ray Hayward swept to victory in the final of Nigel Turner/Thompsons Financial Services event on Longbridge with 107lb 8oz of carp to collect £550 and win the event for the second year in a row.

OCTOBER

The month started with a slam for anglers in The Hants, Wilts and Dorset Winter league with a fish-packed first round on the Ringwood Pits. Little did they know six weeks later they would be fishing for ounces.

Ringwood's Ian Samson smashed the league record with a massive 92lb 14oz of roach and rudd from Ringwood's Wash Pit at Northfield, while 35lb 1oz was needed to frame.

Capital Radio Breakfast Show Presenter and stand up comedian Mike Osman caught the biggest salmon from The Test on Broadlands in 17 years with a 25lb 8oz cock fish.

Two more match records were broken in October when Carbotech's Lee Woodhouse taking a mammoth 124lb 2oz of carp from Cottage Lake on Tony Beeny's Wytherington Farm Complex, while Cormorants Team Sillybaits' Richie Yeo smashed the match record at Hordle with 126lb 12oz of carp from Bobs Lake.

Eastleigh produced a superb performance in the second round of the winter league on The Kennet and Avon Canal at Marlborough winning on the day with 102.5 points.

The month finished with Carbotechs Lee Woodhouse letting £20,000 slip through his hands in the Skol Masters Final at Whiteacres when leading till the last 30 minutes only to be piped at the post by Alex Murray.

NOVEMBER

Poingdestres won the teams of four on The Kennet and Avon Canal at Pewsey by a comfortable eight points.

Pewsey Normak continued their domination at the top of the Hants, Wilts and Dorset League with another impressive performance on the canal coming home unchallenged.

Davis Tackles veteran match angler Terry Hiscock, in the twilight of his match fishing career, won two matches in a week with a 29lb 4oz victory in the teams of four at Wytherington followed by victory at Orchard Lakes, Bashley in a Bournemouth Lodge match with 58lb 8oz of carp.

DECEMBER

The floods bought the year to a close but the mild conditions made sure the lakes still fished.

Eastleigh AC's Terry Jenkins won the first round of the Winter League Series on Longbridge with 34lb of carp. Pewsey Normark won on the canal at Pewsey for their fourth consecutive victory on the trot and went into the final round with a 66 points advantage.

The Cormorants Christmas match was won by Terry Randall with 42lb 12oz at Longbridge, while Paul White topped some good returns in the Eastleigh Christmas Match at Stoneham.

Mark Simmonds Awards of Merit for 2000.

Match angler of the year: Mark Illingworth (Homestores Select). Runner up Richie Yeo (Cormorants Team Sillybaits).

Most improved match angler: disabled angler Godfrey Edwards (Reelcare. Best all-rounder: Marshall Rolfe's globe trotting Dave Higgins. Venue of the year: Longbridge.

Achiever of the year: Pat Doyle for his superb work at Eastleigh's showcase fishery Stoneham.

Angling personality of the year: Reelcares Willie Skipp for his outstanding support of The Reelcare Cup.