Spud Sparkles In Superteam Success

IF the Evesham Angling Festival did Man of the Match awards, Andrew Murphy would have another piece of silverware in his trophy cabinet.

The Welsh maestro – known far and wide as ‘Spud’ – was the undisputed star of 2019’s August Bank Holiday weekend event, on the Warwickshire Avon.

After a meagre 1 lb 5 oz struggle in Saturday’s Wychavon Championships opener, Spud delivered dazzling back-to-back individual wins in Sunday and Monday’s Individual and Team contests.

It gave the 54-year-old manufacturing engineer a happy homeward journey to Ebbw Vale, with £4,500 in winnings and trophies and medals on board.

A handsome £3,500 Individual champ’s cheque formed the lion’s share of his wad, earned with 75 roach and perch for 11 lb from peg 8.

“It’s my third win in the past eight years, which I’m sure sets a new record,” Bait-Techsponsored Spud told Angler’s Mail.

“I know that Dave Harrell won it twice, I think Jeff Perrin did, too? Other anglers have won both Wychavon and Evesham individual events, and I’d love to add the Wychavon title one day.”

Spud kicked off his Sunday glory day by feeding a 14.5 m pole line with joker in eight big balls of molehill soil and BaitTech Pro Natural Fine Lake Dark groundbait, mixed 75/25.

“It’s more soil than groundbait, to prevent the joker getting crushed. You need it alive and dancing around for maximum attraction,” continued Spud, who cupped in small top-up balls of neat or double leamed joker throughout the match.

With double bloodwormbaited size 20 Kamasan B511 hooks to 0.08 mm line at the business end, Spud alternated 0.4, 0.6 and 1 g rigs to keep fish coming.

“I’d catch smaller fish running through, but the bigger roach came to the 1 g rig held back. And I used exactly the same three rigs to win again the next day.”