The penultimate qualifier for The Golden Reel tournament turned out to be a big weight blockbuster, with winner Dan Bennet bagging a colossal haul to seal his place in the final.
Drawn on fancied peg 12 on the outer bank of Moat Pool at Nottinghamshire’s Hallcroft Fishery, the Shimano product development manager knew he was in with a shot from the off.
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Long pole and pellets presented shallow at 14m was his opening gambit, with Dan confident he had put over 200lb in his keepnets in the first four hours alone.
With the margins primed for a late assault, he kept an eye on them for signs of life and with just over an hour remaining, he made the switch.
Rotating between corn and expander pellet hookbaits over groundbait helped him get a bite almost every chuck from big carp until the end, with another 27 lumps to double figures bagged during that hectic period.
The scales revealed he had accumulated an enormous 406lb 13oz to easily take his spot in the Larford Lakes showdown next weekend.
Second on the day went to Jamie Hughes who used similar tactics to Dan from peg 5 on the outer bank on Bridge to land 228lb 7oz.
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