Boyers Farlows
 A favourite of the BCAC calendar this venue traditionally opens the proceedings and is always a good one. One of the most popular day ticket waters in the Colne Valley, Farlows has a good head of fish from doubles through to upper 30s. Maggots and zigs are a popular method and the venue has produced qualifiers form every swim over the years.
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Pre-Match
A longstanding favourite of the BCAC Farlows produced some cracking fish last year and this year is fishing very well at the time of writing. The lake’s residents are growing well and a good head of 30s are now present with upper doubles and 20s the main target for the competition carpers. The lake is split into open water area swims that shoal fish favour or tighter island swims that hold the residents but require accurate casting. Weights in the region of 100lbs plus are usually required to get on the podium and for the last couple of years Carp Talks Ben and Barry O Connor have dominated here and will be trying to repeat their success again. With a good few regulars and capable anglers in the line up, plus former Farlows winner Ian Russell fishing for Korda this year with Ian MacMillan, you can bet the competition is going to be tough.
Match Report
The starting hooter at Farlows saw thunder storms and heavy rain put a dampener on proceedings but it was first out of the bag Ian Russell and Ian McMillan for Team Korda who were first to trouble the scorers fishing in the ever popular Ramp Bay swim. Their 13.10 took the lead and it looked like they could amass a good weight but a string of lost fish through Friday afternoon meant that they could not capitalize on an early lead. By tea they were on the board but off the pace as behind them in the swim known as Bodge it and Leg it, 2006 3rd overall finishers Barry Payne and Neo Ferrari were picking fish up for 44.09. Next door in Reedy Bay the Boyer bailiffs Peter Leakey and Adrian Fautley took a string of fish for 59.09 but the leaders of the pack were last years Farlows champs Ben and Barry O Connor fishing for Team Carp Talk in the un-fancied open water swim known as The Royal Box. Their zig rigs were producing fish in an otherwise barren area as the fish held tight to the islands but a string of cut offs and hook pulls from warily feeding fish meant they were only just ahead with 59.11. Another notable success out of open water was a cracking 31.03 mirror for Mark Gormer which, whilst his only fish of the match, certainly deserves a mention.
 Farlows is a lake of two halves and the fish were clearly more in the islands area than the open water and by morning it was a text book performance for Neo Ferrari and Barry Payne whose spot on casting and 100% fish landed record in put them well in the lead on 100.01. The O Connors hadn’t moved on from 59.11 despite fish losses through evening and night and Leakey / Fautley (sounds like a dodgy firm of plumbers!!) remained static on 59.09 for third. Day time is usually productive around the islands and a spate of activity whilst the BCAC review was being aired on Talk Sport put Russell / McMillan up to third at the half way stage with 69.03. The O Connors added another to their tally to stay in second on 75.05 but it was Ferrari / Payne who were racing away with 6 fish for 100.01. Charles England and Andy Jeffrey led a charge in The Den but fell short with 66.01 then the Reedy Bay kicked off and Leakey / Fautley made the most of it amassing 101.13 for second place ahead of the O Connors and indeed the rest of the field who were static in their scores. Racing away though were Ferrari / Payne who didn’t put a foot wrong and by tea on day 2 sat on 114.06 from a swim that has been out of form for a few years in the BCAC now.
The last night is critical and proved to be so as a few more fish started showing and the morning scores showed a major change. From nowhere James Blake and Anthony Bassire of Team Priors had come from a blank sheet at 6pm the previous night to 3rd place with an impressive 94.04 overnight from the Left Knuckle swim showing that in the BCAC you never, ever give up. This impressive result pushed the O Connors down and out from a qualifying slot they had held all the way through the match. It was a real race in to the close with Ben O’ Connor losing a fish a couple of rod lengths out that would surely have put them through and Russell / McMillan landed another in the closing stages but it was not quite enough to grab third so the big names ended 5th and 4th respectively.
It finished as it had started, a very exciting and close run match with 7 pairs within one fish of a qualifying slot. Ferrari / Payne with a foot perfect display of quality angling took pole on 148.13, Fautley / Leakey held second with a sigh of relief on 101.13 and it was the newcomers Blake and Bassire who wowed the crowds with their last gasp 94.04.
Qualifying in round 1 is always a bonus! |
Place |
Pairing |
Weight lb:oz |
Team |
1 |
Neo Ferrari / Barry Payne |
164.03 |
Team Prior |
2 |
Peter Leakey / Adrian Fautley |
101.13 |
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3 |
James Blake / Anthony Bassire |
94.04 |
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4 |
Ian Russell / Ian MacMillan |
79.04 |
Korda A |
5 |
Ben O Connor / Barry O Connor |
75.05 |
Carp Talk |
6 |
Charles England / Andy Jeffrey |
66.01 |
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7 |
George Avery / Andre Buda |
60.03 |
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8 |
Gareth Radley / Mark Gormer |
31.03 |
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12 |
John Tai / Gary Westcott |
DNS |
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12 |
Co Schijf / Irene Schijf |
DNS |
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12 |
Gary Weller / Paul Lowe |
DNS |
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12 |
Kevin Peet / Peter Jones |
DNS |
Tackle Box |
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