Simon Willsmore has qualified for the Feedermasters Final after catching nearly 20lb of roach and skimmers on the River Yare. Here’s how the England international made it to the big-money final:

There was an open match the day before the Feedermasters qualifier, which saw loads of bream caught and you needed 50lb-plus to frame. I drew one of the harder sections above the pub, however, and caught 12lb 8oz by switching between 14m and 45m feeder swims. Although I didn’t win anything I did well in my area and this put me in really good stead the next day if the bream didn’t feed.

On the actual Feedermasters qualifier I drew peg 119 and used the same tactics. After two hours I had caught about 5lb of small skimmers at 45 metres, fishing with an Acolyte Plus 12ft Feeder rod with a 40g feeder, size 14 Kamasan B560 hook to 0.148mm Double Strength.

Word on the bank was that the bream were not showing, so I switched to my short line. Here I used a softer Acolyte Ultra 11ft Feeder, with a 40g feeder, size 16 B560 and 0.128mm Double Strength. I caught small skimmers and some quality roach late to weigh 19lb 12oz. That put me 2nd in the match and 1st in my zone. Worm was the best hook bait. It did me a favour not drawing on a load of bream the day before, as I went into the match with an open mind.

Congratulations to Andrew Moss on winning the match with 21lb 4oz and Andreas for also qualifying. I must also add what a great venue the River Yare is. The matches on there are very well run, the fishing is superb, the quality of the fish is outstanding with fantastic surroundings. It’s well worth a visit if you haven’t been!