High overnight temperatures and a warm, overcast breezy day really gave the competitors the best possible conditions to capitalise on their fishing at Woodlands View, near Droitwich on Wednesday in the fifth Fish ‘O’ Mania Qualifier.

All lakes fished pretty well and this was best illustrated in the section results where 44lbs was the lowest weight to take one of the 13 ten peg sections. In fact in excess of 67 lbs was needed to win 11 of the sections.

The top six individuals all “cracked the ton”. There was a good variety of fish caught, but weights were dominated by the large fish particularly in the most established lakes.

Overall winner going forward to the Grand Final on 17th July is Neil Mckinnon a Contract Manager from Gloucester (Shakespeare/Dynamite Baits). Neil drew peg 36 in the middle of the causeway bank of Back Deans. He caught carp to 7lbs at 5metres and fishing shallow at 14metres in a total bag weighing 131lbs 9ozs. Carl Lee-Hopps, (Fox Match Tipton VDE) from nearby Redditch went one better than the previous qualifier at Lakeview by taking second spot with an excellent 117lbs 3ozs from peg 4 on Arles. Fishing at peg 4 on Hay Pool, Darren Cox (Kamasan Starlets) amassed 37 carp to 6lbs for a total of 114lbs 10ozs.