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Albutt is the 10th Master

Albutt is the 10^th Master

Grant Albutt was crowned the 2009 Parkdean Master after a tense four hour battle on a Jenny's Lake that was reluctant to give up its big fish. Garbolino-backed Albutt (peg 40) finished with 78-6-0 to finish almost 10lb ahead of nearest challenger, former winner Des Shipp(peg 1) who carded 67-8-0.

Albutt found himself on the same peg that saw Adam Wakelin catch F1s shallow to win the 2008 title, so he repeated the tactics, fishing 6mm pellets on the hook with loose-fed 4mm to catch F1s to 1.5lb and a single carp.

After the all-out it was a nervous wait for Halesowen, West Midlander, as he was the last to weigh in. He had to watch as Shipp posted by far the biggest haul in a field that featured five previous Masters winners and two former World Champions. However, it was clear to the big crowd that had gathered around Albutt that after the first weigh it was going to be close. That was nearly 40lb. The second weigh was close to the first and was greeted by a massive roar, as Albutt, twice the runner up had finally secured the £25,000 winner-take-all prize.

Albutt had started the match on the Method feeder fished tight to the island to his left, but a snag made it impossible to fish closer than a metre away. This produced a skimmer in the first 20 minutes, so he switch to the pole at 13 metres in open water, where from the off he caught F1s regularly.

“ I could not see what Des was doing, but I was getting regular reports that he was catching big fish,” he said. “I kept thinking I was behind the pace,as I was only catching small fish.”

Although Shipp was catching fish to double-figures, he endured slack periods where the fish disappeared. Albutt however, continued to catch steadily and ended the match with over 60 fish.

It was the last hour that sealed it for Albutt, as while Shipp failed to add more than a few small fish to his total, Grant had 20 fish, his best period.

The speed at which Albutt was able to keep fishing was helped by the fact that he only used one or two pellets on the hook all match. To avoid having to regularly rebait, he lassoed a 6mm pellet on a hair rig and sealed it in place with superglue. The only time he needed to change baits,was if he got a tangle.

It could have been a completely different story, had Shipp not lost three big fish during the match.

He fished shallow in open water, but unlike Albutt, he had to wait for his bites, as the bigger carp drifted in and out of his peg. After a slow start he bagged two big fish, but was always playing catch-up to Albutt. There was a point in the third hour when he was catching well, but the final 90 minutes saw the big carp elude him.

The match was always going to be a two-horse race, as the rest of the field struggled on a below par lake with many failing to get double figures.

After the match, Albutt, who qualified in 23^rd place in the Preston Innovations festival the week before was ecstatic.

“I'm chuffed to bits,” he said. “It really hasn't sunk in yet. I knew my time would come one day. It was just when!”

Albutt's win also gained him a place on the Parkdean Master of Masters match, where he joined the nine other past winners for a chance to win a holiday in Las Vagas to be held the following day.

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