RAY Hayward and Steve Seaborn and have become the first men to qualify for the biggest competition in match fishing - Fish‘O’Mania XVII.

Hayward, 49, triumphed at the Viaduct Fisheries in Somerset, while Seaborn, 35, finished first in the second qualifier at Tunnel Barn Farm in Warwickshire.

Both now advance to the Sky Sports-televised grand final, which will be staged on Saturday, July 17 at the Cudmore Lakes in Staffordshire.

“I have never really got on with Tunnel Barn Farm too well,” said Seaborn, who rated his victory as the best of his career. “I’ve been a little hit or miss there, mainly miss, but thankfully this time it was a hit.

“Having qualified early I might even get some practice at Cudmore before the final.”

Hayward had the shortest journey of the 130 entrants in the first of 16 qualifiers as his house virtually overlooks his favourite fishery at Viaduct and his experience showed as he was victorious.

He drew on Spring Lake peg 22, at the other end to the favoured Campbell’s Lake and was unsure whether to fish.

However, he decided to compete and received extra impetus when the angler drawn next to him did not show up to his peg.

He landed his first carp after 15 minutes, but after three hours had only caught another two carp and thought he was out of the match.

But he spotted a tail swirl on his inside line and a quick switch to the pole saw him land nine more lumpy carp, twelve in all, scaling a fantastic 136-3-0, including three carp in between 18 and 19 lb in his haul.

Keith Massheder (Langport) came second in the qualifier with 127-6-0, ahead of  Myles Levy (Basingstoke) and Brett Cooper (Eastleigh) with their third and fourth scores of 111-14-0 and 110-3-0 respectively.

This victory gives Hayward another shot at Fish‘O’Mania glory after he finished fifth in 2003 at the Hayfield Lakes in Doncaster.

Seaborn, of Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, won the second qualifier a week later at Tunnel Barn Farm in Warwickshire.

Following a touch of overnight frost, the sell-out 130 entry enjoyed the warmest day of the year so far as the sun shone fiercely.

The Tunnel Barn complex fished well throughout with an amazing weight of 56lbs 2 oz being the lowest weight to win one of the ten peg sections.

In a free-scoring event the top five again passed the 100lb mark with the best of them being match winner Steve Seaborn who clocked up 114-7-0 from peg 7 on Extension Pool.

He caught an F1 on his first putting in chopped worm and fished just 18 inches deep right to the island. He carried on catching F1s at will plus one small ghostie but they slowed right down in the second hour before fish from 8 oz to 3 lb came at regular intervals after he went even shallower, just 10 inches deep against the island.

Runner-up was professional angling coach Andy May (Ultima) who also caught F1s to 3 lb in his 108-2-0.

Defending champion Matt Hall, the only man in Fish‘O’Mania history to win the event twice, went close to qualifying again from Extension 16.

Matt also fished maggot but a lost carp, estimated at around the double figure mark scuppered his chances as he took third place with 106-0-0 again of mainly F1s.

The other two ‘tons’ were from Frank Cook with 105-1-0 from another Extension draw and Simon Medd with 101-9-0 from the Top Pool.

To purchase tickets for the Fish‘O’Mania grand final, go to www.gofishingshow.com and click on the 'buy tickets' tab on the left-hand side. Alternatively, you can call 0844 581 0739.

Advance Prices - available until 12noon Wednesday 14 July
Adult - Saturday £12.50 / Sunday £10.
Child aged 5-15 - £5.
Senior, Student, UB40 claimant - £7.50.
Family of 2 Adults & 2 Children - Saturday £30 / Sunday £25
Children under 5 years - free but need an admission ticket.
Group Bookings - 10% discount when 10+ Adult tickets are purchased. Please call our Specialised Sales team on 0800 358 0058 (open 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday) to make your booking.

Door Prices
Adult - Saturday £15 / Sunday £12.50
Child aged 5-15 - £5
Senior, Student, UB40 claimant - Saturday £9 / Sunday £7.50
Family of 2 Adults & 2 Children - Saturday £35 / Sunday £30
Venue address
Cudmore Fisheries, Pleck Lane, Whitmore, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 5HW

Date posted: April 20, 2010

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