Meet the eight anglers in the frame for the top prize
The past 11 months have seen over 600 anglers compete in the fantastic Mainline Carp Angler of the Year competition. It comes to a close at the end of February with the top three anglers announced in Carp-Talk and awarded their prizes at the Carpin’ On Show at Five Lakes on Sunday 18th March.
This week, the Mainline and Carp-Talk offices have been in discussion about the shortlist of contenders, and after much deliberation, the eight anglers in the running have been named as follows:
George Loughlin: Captor of numerous big fish including a brace of forties in August and a 43½lb mirror in October. Most of George’s fish were banked from RK Leisure’s Kingsmead One, with plenty of thirties backing them up.
Levente Onodi: A very constant angler throughout the year. No huge fish but consistency was Levente’s friend in 2017. He did particularly well on the Todber Manor complex in Dorset.
Chris Cox: One of the most successful anglers on Horton Church Lake. He caught the jewel in the crown, Fingers at 50lb 6oz before moving onto Kingsmead 1 where he banked numerous thirties plus the Posh Sutton at 43¾lb.
Greg Ellis: Captor of Kingsmead Island Lake’s largest resident, Roids at 54lb 6oz. He then moved onto the notorious North Met Pit where he banked Baby Basil at 47lb along with several other back up thirty-pounders. His year’s highlight was the capture of the Most Wanted Hendrix from Cleverley Mere, a fish he’d been after for several years.
Duncan Arandale: Lots of good fish from Gloucestershire’s Farriers Lake. He topped off numerous twenties and thirties with the capture of a stunning 44¼lb common in July.
Callum Boyle: From the north to the south, Callum has had an excellent year. Along with several thirties, he has banked three forties topped by a 47-pounder in April. Most of Callum’s fish came from Eric’s Willows, however Linear Fisheries’ Small Plated also fell to his rods at 42lb in August.
Darren Willeatts: Another angler who enjoyed plenty of success on the Horton complex. Darren banked numerous twenties and thirties from the venue, as well as a couple of forties. November saw him bank a new personal best from Church Lake, in the form of Scar at 50lb 6oz.
Joseph Watson: The only junior in the short list. The young lad has had an excellent year, banking numerous doubles and twenties from his local waters. His catches were topped with a 32lb common.
Keep your eyes on Carp-Talk, where the top three winners will be announced in issue 1217 in mid-March.
