Knockout Cup Final 2014!

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Andy Power vs Geoff Vallance

The Final

Following six hard-fought rounds, two Preston Innovations anglers went head to head in the final for the 2nd year running. This time it was Andy Power vs Geoff Vallance. Who would end up as champion?

The Setting

The Knockout Cup is held as one of the most prestigious events in the match fishing calendar, featuring over 100 of match angling’s elite whittled down over five qualifying rounds, leaving four anglers in the two-day final. Held at the extremely scenic and fish filled, Docklow Pools, this was sure to be a great match.

Day One

The first day saw four anglers go head to head on the Match Lake. This lake is home to a number of species including some large carp and plenty of F1’s and silver fish to back it up!

Fishing with a long pole, Andy Power fed Sonubaits Natural Hemp via a Soft CAD Pot, with a worm hookbait to keep a steady stream of carp, F1’s and chub going into his net.

Meanwhile, Geoff Vallance was fishing a short line, feeding hemp and fishing with meat on the hook. Another finalist, Rob Wooton looked to be catching lots of fish, but Gary Miller had fallen behind slightly going into the last hour.

A switch to his margin line saw Andy catch five big carp to add to his tally! Andy managed to put 137lb 14oz onto the scales to book his place in the day two match. He was closely followed in 2nd place by Geoff Vallance, who weighed in with 132lb 4oz, taking the second spot in the day two match.

Day Two

The venue would change for the second day. Mickey Mouse lake would be the scene of the final day. Unlike previous years, where the two finalists would be pegged next to each other, a change would be made allowing the anglers a choice of pegs. Geoff drew peg 8, a peg that is familiar to the Knockout Cup and also the peg that sealed Micheal Buchwalder’s victory in 2013.

Andy drew peg 20. On the opposite bank to Geoff, next to the bridge. This peg could produce a big weight, but the talk on the bank was that carp would be needed to win.

Both anglers started the match by fishing with meat on the waggler. Both anglers opting for an Adjustable Dura Waggler to offer maximum bite indication. After only a few minutes Andy, with some advice from his bank runner, Lee Edwards, came off the waggler line to concentrate on the short pole.

Both Andy and Geoff decided to strat on the waggler!

With the lake holding a huge number of silverfish, Andy would target them up-in-the water using casters, in an attempt to build his weight while the carp were not feeding.

Geoff was targeting the larger fish, using bigger baits, such as meat.

Andy kept plugging away on his short pole line, his constant slapping of the 4x12 Chianti Float and caster hookbait put fish after fish into the keepnet at an alarming rate.

Geoff’s catch rate had started to fall, with only the odd fish going into the net. His decision to target only big fish wasn’t helping his efforts to catch up with Andy.

With two hours of the match left, Andy decided to have a look at his margin lines. A heavy rig tied using a PB Carp 1, 0.17mm Reflo Power and a size 12 PR 456 hook would be enough to subdue one of the large carp that reside in this lake. His F1 Corn hookbait was soon snapped up by a large carp!

This wasn’t the last of the carp to be placed in his net either. Over the next hour and 45 minutes a procession of carp came to the margin tactics. Geoff managed to put some bigger fish into his net later on during the match, but could it be enough to catch Andy’s net of carp and silvers?

When the scales arrived, Geoff was first to weigh. His mainly silver fish net tipped the scales to 33lb 9oz.

Round in peg 20 Andy was next to weigh. His two keepnets full of fish totalling 102lb 14oz was enough to take the title and be crowned 2014’s Knockout Cup Champion!

The Winners Verdict

“To win this event is a great feeling, I remember reading about it years ago as a young aspiring angler, thinking how awesome it would be to win it one day, or even be invited to fish among such quality anglers!

The pegging for day two was only decided the day before, so when I drew peg 20 I knew nothing about the form of it, but felt that as long as I could catch silver fish shallow on casters, as I did in practice, I would have a good chance. With some tasty-looking margins as a backup, I felt reasonably confident.

The match itself went to plan, with plenty of decent roach around. Although a little finicky at times, they gave me a decent lead over Geoff, which enabled me to go in search of big carp in the margins with meat, to finish off a great day.”

Andy Power; 2014 Knockout Cup Champion!