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Donald McLean, from Lennoxtown took the £1,000 first prize at the 2008 Broom Series Final on Sunday 21st September. He drew peg 62 on the East bank of Queensberry Water at the popular Annan venue, and beat 19 other 'A' final qualifiers on a day with little wind. He landed one carp from his feeder rod, but spent most of the day fishing with the top four sections of his pole, using worm and pellet.
Most of his fish were caught in the last two hours after he changed position to a spot on the Southern end of his swim, near the Bruce’s Acre Bridge. Donald's 10lbs 10oz bag consisted of carp and chub, plus one beautiful 2lb barbel, which gave him the best fight of the day. The cash prize and winner's trophy were presented by Haylie Boardman (12) and Kayley Crosbie (15), who were representing sponsors, Queensberry Arms Hotel of Annan.
Donald is fairly new to fishing. Two of his mates at work in Glasgow are avid anglers and asked him to accompany them one day two years ago. He was quickly hooked on the sport and became a member of the Central Scotland Coarse Angling Club.
Broom director John Wright said, "Donald was practicing here quite a lot during the fortnight before the final, and that obviously paid off for him. His outstanding performance shows that you don't have to be a lifelong angler to win big money prizes, and I hope his example will be an incentive for others to try fishing as a rewarding hobby."
Donald said “I was gobsmacked to win. This is my first major competition success, and my wife Elaine will be delighted with the prize I am taking home." Spookily, Don appears to be something of a clairvoyant too. A few weeks ago he decided to wind his mates up at work, so he wrote on the office whiteboard that he would win the Broom Series Final and that Rangers would beat Celtic 4-2 - both of his predictions came true! ![2008_winner[1] Large sep 25 08](../assets/images/2008_winner_1__Large_sep_25_08.jpg "2008_winner[1] Large sep 25 08") ![2008_josh[1] Large.jpg sept 25 08](../assets/images/2008_josh_1__Large.jpg_sept_25_08.jpg "2008_josh[1] Large.jpg sept 25 08")
The 'B' final was won by Dumfries and Galloway lad Joshua Trueman, who at the age of 14 became the youngest person to win a series final at the Broom. His prize was a £500+ state of the art Space Station Box and Shuttle, supplied by Preston Innovations, Britain's leading coarse tackle manufacturer.
Carole Lloyd, co-director of Broom Leisure Ltd, said "Josh is a regular here and it is wonderful to see such a prestigious award go to a local youngster. He fished against some very experienced anglers to win this event and we are all very proud of him. Everyone cheered when he received his prize."
Broom Series Winners:
'A' Final
1st: Don McLean - £1,000
2nd: Tony Ball - £500
3rd: Peter Brown - £300
4th: Marcus Stuart - £200
'B' Final
1st Joshua Trueman (aged 14),from New Galloway - Preston Innovations Space Station box and trolley kit
2nd: Andrew Fernie Snr- Preston Innovations Sentient Float Rod
3rd: George Yardley Jnr- Map luggage set
'C' Final
1st Douglas Garmory - Broom Tackle Box gift voucher
The Golden Peg was not won during the competition, so a draw was held at the end of the match and Stephen Hunter went home with the £256 prize money.   Leg 6 of the £7,000 Broom seriesSponsored by Preston Innovations and Annan’s Queensberry Arms Hotel, was won by Kevin Penfold, from Workington in Cumbria. In extremely windy and wet conditions Kevin started fishing soft pellets with little success. He changed to paste half way through the session and this move paid off for him, netting a bag of 25lbs 4ozs. Kevin is a well respected pole angler and a regular competitor at the Broom. His bag consisted of F1 and Mirror Carp, together with a good sized Barbel. He said “The wind made it very difficult for everyone to keep their bait on the bottom, and because of this I determined that going out any more than 7 metres would not be suitable for the conditions. Keeping close and changing to paste worked well for me.” Kevin was fishing on peg 55 on the Queensberry water at the Annan VenueOther section winners on the day were: The Square – Mark Trueman (12lbs 4ozs); The Canal – Ewan Weed (8lbs 10ozs); Bruce’s Acre – Mark Cook (10lbs 14ozs). This was the last of the qualifying heats for the final and the overall points winner of the series is Ewan Weed, who receives the £500 series prize, sponsored by Engineering Pipe Services , of Workington. Although he has qualified for the big prize “A” final on 31st August, Ewan will not be able to compete as he has been chosen to represent Scotland at the world championships in Italy that weekend. Kevin Penfold, along with 18 other anglers will be competing for the big cash prizes on Finals day. Other series anglers will be competing for a Preston Space Station seat box system and other tackle prizes in the “B” final.Full series results, rules, and format can be seen at http://www.broomfisheries.co.uk/series/2008-results.asp.  This Year’s Pudsey Event at Broom FisheriesFive children braved the cold Annan rain on Saturday to raise funds for the BBC Children in Need appeal. They took part in a junior fishing competition at Broom Fisheries and collected £200 for the national charity that helps local children. Andrew Fernie caught a good sized Tench which took him into an early lead that he was able to retain, despite pressure from Bradley Anderson who came a close second with several roach and perch. The Results:1st: Andrew Fernie (13 yrs) from Glenrothes2nd Bradley Davidson (9 yrs) from Annan3rd Thomas Woodman (12 yrs) from Annan4th Imogen Cook (8yrs) from Annan5th Ryan Anderson (7 yrs) from Annan All of the children agreed that they had a great day and were pleased to have helped their charity. If you would like to help raise funds for your charity by organising a fishing event, please contact Broom Fisheries on 01461 700209 or via the website at www.broomfisheries.co.uk, who can help you to arrange a fund raising event for anything between one person and 100 people. |
