Dean Barlow won the first round of the Rushmore Winter League at the weekend with 10 carp for a match winning 93lb 4oz.

On a tough day with clear water and no wind, the England international made no mistakes off noted peg 118 on Syndicate Lake at Gold Valley to top the 60-strong field.

“The lakes were all very clear, so I only set a bomb rod up at the start. I had two carp on a boilie, chucking to a tuft of grass in the first two hours. I then spotted Paul ‘Tommy’ Hiller catching one on the waggler, so I quickly got a float rod out of the bag!

“A slightly rusty display of pellet wag fishing resulted in another eight carp to 10lb to win the match and a few quid. The Farnborough AS team I was guesting for also won on the day, so there was double cause to celebrate.”

For float fishing, Dean used a 12ft Acolyte Carp Waggler to cast a 14g XL Pellet Waggler to the catching zone, which was some 50 yards away. Main line was 6lb Feeder & Method Mono to a 0.19mm Supplex Fluorocarbon hooklength and size 12 prototype hook with a hair-rigged semi-buoyant pellet.