Thanks to the wonderfully effective Sonu Tigerfish groundbait I've secured a place in the final of the Drennan Knockout Cup.

The semi-final was fished at Larford on the Specimen Lake where I drew peg 13 on the Burr Bank. I decided to ball in 10 balls of Sonu Tigerfish on a line about 15 metres from the bank, where I aimed to try to catch some skimmers once they settled on it. First of all though, I went out 50 metres with a Method feeder covered in Sonu Tigerfish. It was a slow start and that was the case for all of the four anglers on this crunch match.
After a while an odd skimmer started to come to the net and it gradually got better. But I also knew that carp would need to figure in any winning game plan, so with less than two hours to go I decided to attack a margin swin to my left, finding two feet of water, which I believe is the best depth when fishing for big carp.

And so in the next 100 minutes I had a hectic time, landing 15 carp for a match-winning weight of 150lb.

Down the edge I stuck with my Sonu Tigerfish mix, adding some Sonu Hemp and Sweetcorn, using two grains of corn on a size 12 Preston Innovations PR456.

The Preston GiS 14 pole had a Preston 17H Hollo elastic rigged up through a Preston Innovations Pulla Kit and the float pattern was a Preston Durafloat Plus 6. A very positive rig with 0.21mm Preston Powerline as main line and a 0.19mm Preston Powerline hooklength.

And so I am through to the final, at Docklow Pools, in Herefordshire, on October 26 and 27. The public are more than welcome to attend to watch and there are plenty of facilities at the complex including a restaurant. Why not come along top watch what should be a memorable event?