This fully catch & release team competition took place at Draycote Water, and was fished to three daily sessions:
Day 1 Saturday 15th June
Session Times
Briefing: 08.00 held at Draycote
Session 1: 09.00-12.00
Session 2: 12.30-15.30
Session 3: 16.00-19.00
Day 2 Sunday 16th June
Session Times
Session 1: 09.00-12.00
Session 2: 12.30-15.30
Session 3: 16.00-19.00
Presentation: 20.00-20.30 at Draycote Lodge
Practice sessions from Wednesday indicated that Draycote might have switched on in the cooler conditions, making for perfect fly fishing weather, with many rods getting into double figures.
Here are the results after Session 1 on Sunday. Plenty of 50cms and 60cms fish were being landed, so with two sessions remaining, it was still very tight with all to play for, and so it proved!
The final results are on the right. With 775 fish caught for a rod average of 12.1 fish over the two days, Draycote reported a great couple of days. Congratulations to 2019 AT Team Champions Fulling Mill FNF Nymphomaniacs with 70 fish for 3211 pts, ahead of Flash Attack Reservoir Dogs in 2nd with 66 fish for 3143 ipts, and Pitsford Pirates 3rd with 70 fish for 3140 pts.
More information on the Draycote Water Facebook page here
The Angling Trust is pleased to announce the appointment of Andy Taylor as its new Competition Support Officer. Andy brings a wealth of experience gained within angling and the fishery management sector having lectured in fishery management for twenty years and assisted in the management of his parent’s commercial trout fishery for thirty years. Andy was the editor of Total FlyFisher magazine and is now the editor of the quarterly Today’s FlyFisher magazine, he is a qualified game angling instructor and currently part of the Wychwood ProTeam.
Andy is a familiar face on the Game angling competition circuit and has represented England at both Loch Style and Bank disciplines along with competing in the national river’s final. Andy is the current English National Bank Champion and will form part of the England team in the Home International in Ireland late this year, his wealth of competition experience will be a huge asset to the Angling Trust.
Andy said “I have been involved in competition fly fishing since the Benson and Hedges team competition and the Fly Dressers Guild John Watts boat matches and have enjoyed pitting my fishing skills against some of the best UK anglers. During this time, I have learnt so much, made some great friends and fished at some exceptional fisheries. I feel now is the time to give something back to an area of angling that I am passionate about. I’m looking forward to working with the many anglers, volunteers and the small team with the competitions department of the Angling Trust to develop competition fishing at all levels. It is important that we have a thriving competition scene in all disciplines, a vibrant and successful youth provision, and gold medal winning National, European and World teams.”
Senior Competitions Officer Ben Thompson said “We are delighted to have Andy join the team. His knowledge and experience of the competition scene will add significant value to the department and his appointment will enable us to develop existing and new competitions over the coming year. I am sure he will be a success in the role, and I look forward to working with him.”
Andy will be working with the Angling Trust for eighteen and a half hours per week. He will initially focus on the game angling competitions in England, working closely with Team England Fly Fishing, England Youth, the Elite Performance Programme and England Ladies.
The final lot of the Loch-style Qualifiers are now live on the booking site:
Carsington Water – 23rd June 2019 (tickets close 16th June 23:59)
Stocks 2 – 30th June 2019 (tickets close 23rd June 23:59)
Rutland Water – 7th July 2019 (tickets close 1st July 23:59)
Enter via the Angling Trust’s dedicated entry site at:
Would all entrants please be aware that they can only enter one heat at a time up to a maximum of 3 entries. This means you can only enter a second heat after fishing the first and not qualifying, or a third heat after not qualifying at heats 1 or 2.
Stocks – 21st April – Results: 1. Ben Race 2. Neil Hodgson 3. Andy Campbell 4. Mark Howard 5. Ian Gaskell 6. Derek Moore 7. Peter Crowe (through to National Final) 8. John Brown 9. Stan Moore 10. Matt Nuttall 11. Paul Runec 12. Ben Fox 13. Robert Shaw 14. Stephen Smalley (invited to Repechage) 28 competed 291 fish 10.39 average
Blagdon – 21st April – Results: 1. Gary Morris 2. Dave Reynolds 3. Mark Miles 4. Tony Baldwin 5. Mark Haycock 6. David Bromley 7. Niki Long 8. Nicholas Tompkins 9. Terry Phillips 10. John Pearn 11. Martin Barrett 12. Paul Sweatman (through to National Final) 13. Andrew Haskins 14. Gary Haskins 15. Mark Withyman 16. Paul Roach 17. Julian Curry 18. Malcom Hunt 19. Paddy Mounter 20. Mark Stevens 21. Yousef Dar 22. David Minall 23. Julian Weddle 24. Vince Howley (invited to Repechage)
Grafham – 3rd May – Results: 1. Mark Thomas 2. Kim Green 3. Pablo Mullings 4. Tony Curtis 5. Lloyd Thompson 6. Tim Joyce 7. Frank Sumnall 8. Peter Elliott 9. Edward Foster 10. Mark Rose 11. Anthony Meadows 12. Richard Slater 13. Sean Hanlon (through to National Final) 14. Eric Caisley 15. David Eames 16. Gary How 17. Thomas Davis 18. Paul Tweddle 19. Leigh Pond 20. Richard Denney 21. Ryan Feber 22. Sam Bailey 23. John Hardy 24. Graham Willis 25. John Hancock 26. Andrew Taylor (invited to Repechage)
Eyebrook – 19th May – Results: 1. Ed Smith 2. Steven Cullen 3. Martin Introna (through to National Final) 4. Charlie Abrahams 5. Jonathan Wood 6. Alexander Urquhart (invited to Repechage)
Chew – 19th May – Results: 1. John Horsey 2. Tim Wellman 3. Malcom Hunt 4. Paul Roach 5. Andrew Haskins 6. Gary Haskins 7. Rob Allen (through to National Final) 8. Graham Currie 9. Mark Withyman 10. Martin Burgess 11. Matt Kingdon 12. Alan Williams 13. Mark Stevens 14. John Gumbleton (invited to Repechage)
Blithfield – 24th May – Results: 1. Craig Barr 2. Jay Curry 3. Andy G Taylor 4. David Currie 5. Alexander Johnstone 6. David Johns 7. Robert Wheeldon 8. Paul Angell 9. John Piper (through to National Final) 10. Gary Wright 11. Tony Smith 12. Simon Caddy 13. Tim Gilchrist 14. Sam Bailey 15. Ian Colclough 16. Bill Rankin 17. Nicholas Tompkins 18. John Hood (invited to Repechage)
Bewl – 9th June – Results: 1. Joel Beeney 2. John Hancock 3. Philip Thompson 4. Ian Watts (through to National Final) 5. Simon Bosher 6. Paul Canning 7. Michael Heritage 8. Baz Reece (invited to Repechage)
The Angling Trust has announced a change of leadership for Team England Fly Fishing’s squad that will compete in the 39th FIPS Mouche World Championships which will be held in Tasmania in November.
One of England’s most recognised and successful anglers, John Horsey was appointed as manager in September 2018 was expected to lead England into the competition. Due to unforeseen personal circumstances John has resigned from the role with immediate effect. Angling Trust moved swiftly to find a replacement and are delighted to appoint another one of England’s most successful and experienced anglers in Howard Croston. Howard will combine his role as a team member with that of the manager and will be assisted by fellow team member Lee Bartlett.
Photo: Howard Croston
Croston, 42 from Manchester has extensive experience at the highest level having represented England on 21 occasions. His resume includes caps in bank, boat and river Home Internationals and in addition he has 3 European and 12 World caps to his name. He was part of the gold medal team of 2009 and bronze medal team of 2014 while his best individual performance was in Slovenia 2012 when he finished 4th, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal.
Howard said“I have always been very proud to represent England as a competitor and am relishing the challenge of also taking on the role of fishing captain/manager for Tasmania, as with any WFFC it will be fiercely contested and down to the finest of margins. The host nation has made exceptional progress over the last few years in all aspects and will be favourites on their home waters along with the likely suspects of the top European teams and the constantly improving USA.”
“That being said England’s strengths lie in boat fishing and this year’s format should suit our skill set well. We have a motivated team of skilled anglers, all bringing something different to the table that should hopefully let us push for a medal at this event.”
Ben Thompson of the Angling Trust said“The loss of John as manager is undoubtedly a blow, his knowledge and experience of the FIPS Mouche events and in particular Tasmania would certainly have given England an advantage going into the event however, we understand circumstances change and we wish John all the very best in the future. We are delighted to have appointed someone of the calibre of Howard Croston, Howard brings a wealth of experience and we have no doubt that the team are in the best possible hands. We have high hopes that under Howard’s leadership the team can head to Tasmania and compete for medals and we wish Howard, Lee and the squad the very best of luck.”
The World Championships will take place in Tasmania from the 30th November and conclude on the 8th December 2019. The host nation have a dedicated website for the event which can be found at www.wffc2019.com
The competition is open to both AT member clubs/groups and non members from the UK and abroad. AT member clubs will receive priority access and a discounted entry fee. The all in entry fee includes fishing permits, boat hire and competition entry fee for 2 days. The 2 day event will take place on 15th & 16th June 2019 at Draycote Fishery with a maximum of 24 team places available offered on a first come first served basis.
Six anglers will form a team, each team will be split into two sub teams of three on both days.
A briefing will be held at Draycote on Day 1 and the presentation held at the fishery at the end of day 2.
The match will be fished to international rules and full catch, measure and release. Boats must return to the jetty in time for the end of each session where score cards will be submitted to organisers. The combined team length in cm over two days will determine the overall result and winning team.
The match will consist of three 3 hour sessions each day. During each session, one angler from each sub team of three will act as a boat steward for another team while the fishing pair will fish together in the same boat with a boat steward from another team. Every angler must act as a boat steward for one session each day, each angler will fish for 6 hours each day and act as a boat steward for 3 hours.
48 Boats for practice on Thursday 13th & Friday 14th June have been reserved at Draycote. Should you wish to book a boat please contact the fishing lodge to book your boats before Friday 7th June. Boats for practice must be paid for direct with the fishery and are not included in the competition entry fees. We may have to limit the number of boats available for practice to 2 per team. This is still to be confirmed however if the number of entries increase as we hope, then there will only be 48 boats available and this restriction would ensure each team has equal opportunity to practice.
Clubs/groups can join the Angling Trust from £60 per year join here
**Guaranteed Prize Pool**
£6,500 total
1st – £3,500
2nd – £1,500
3rd – £1,000
4th – £500
*subject to minimum of 15 teams entering, prize fund will increase with an additional cash prize in event the competition is fully sold out. This will be confirmed after the entry closing date.
Ticket Information
Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th June 2019
Minimum 15 teams of 6 anglers
Maximum 24 teams of 6 anglers
AT member clubs: £450 entry fee 10:00 on 12th November 2018
Non AT member clubs: £550 entry fee 10:00 on 14th January 2019 All in entry fee covers fishing permits, boat hire, admin costs and prize pot
Multiple teams from the same club or organisation may enter but ensure angler names are not duplicated in your other team
International rules apply and scored on full Catch, Measure & Release basis
Day 1
Session Times
Briefing: 08.00 held at Draycote
Session 1: 09.00-12.00
Session 2: 12.30-15.30
Session 3: 16.00-19.00
Day 2
Session Times
Session 1: 09.00-12.00
Session 2: 12.30-15.30
Session 3: 16.00-19.00
Presentation: 20.00-20.30 at Draycote Fishing Lodge
Entry closes at 23.59 on June 2nd 2019
Before progressing with your booking please have to hand
Angling Trust club membership number (if purchasing Members ticket)
All team member names, dates of birth, email addresses, contact numbers, post codes & Rod Licence numbers
48 Boats for practice on Thursday 13th & Friday 14th June have been reserved at Draycote. Should you wish to book a boat please contact the fishing lodge to book your boats. Please note: boats for practice must be paid for direct with the fishery and are not included in the competition entry fee.
The European Fly Fishing Championship will be held in Montenegro on 1st-7th July 2019 and based at Plav. The Championship will be held over 5 sessions fished on the Lim & Ljula Rivers, and Lake Plav.
The squad will be led by Paul Page as Captain and Manager with Team Members; – Mark Harrison, Terry Phillips, Ben Bangham, Simon Kidd, Harry Fox and Bernie Maher as reserve. The European squad are expected to fly out to Montenegro a week before the Championship for practice and tactical development.
Paul Page, Mark Harrison, Terry Phillips, Ben Bangham, Simon Kidd, Harry Fox & Bernie Maher
European Team Captain and Manager Paul Page stated: “Montenegro is a newcomer to Fips Mouche Fly Fishing Championships and this is the first time they have hosted a European Championship. This is uncharted territory for most competing nations and gives the England team a great opportunity to use their varied skill sets at a new venue and to be among the medal winners”
You will find more information at the Championship website here, and on the Facebook page here
Programme
Monday 1 July – Arrival of teams, Registration, Captains’ Meeting for Practice, Opening Ceremony, Banquet.
Best Basket: Alan Banwell (Wales) 17 fish 33 lbs 10 ozs
Heaviest Trout: Kevin McCabe (Scotland) 5 lbs 3 ozs
AT Team England FF were represented by: Stephen Peart (manager), Brad Gifford (captain), Sean Brooks, Andy Campbell, Andy Cottam, Tony Curtis, John Hardy, Mark Harrison, John Horsey, Kim Green, Paul Jones, Tim Joyce, Dom Sherrate, Frank Sumnall & Paul Wild.
Well done guys – an absolutely brilliant result to be proud of !
Congratulations & well done to all those who fished in the AT TEFF Bank National Final on Sunday 5th May. The 24 had to work hard making it through the qualifiers and the eliminators to achieve a spot in the final! The top 7 anglers were selected to represent England in the Bank Home International in Ireland:
Andy Taylor David Neilson Phil Shaw-Browne
Gareth Tilley
Graham Willis
Andrew Taylor
Gary Morris
Best of luck in Ireland guys!
Thank you to Lee Cartmail who does all the hard work running all the matches & does all the organising & results – it’s much appreciated and it wouldn’t run without you! Thank you also to Ed & Jane Upton at Ellerdine Lakes for hosting the match.
Full Results (see table right for fish caught & points):
🏆 Champion – Andy Taylor
2. David Neilson
3. Phil Shaw-Browne
4. Gareth Tilley
5. Graham Willis
6. Andrew Taylor
7. Gary Morris
8. James Stephenson
9. Mark Harrison
10. Craig Barr
11. Colin Fitzjohn
12. Joel Bilner
13. Sean Brooks
14. Dave Johns
15. Graham Watts
16. Steve Cullen
17. Leigh Pond
18. Mark Haycock
19. Andrew Scott
20. Jim Burtle
21. Brian Lillie
22. Alec Harvey
23. Colin Harris
24. Ian Watts
The Angling Trust has announced the England team to compete in the 2019 5N (5 Nations) competition. Scotland will host the event for the second time as teams from Scotland, England, Ireland, France and, for the first time, Norway will compete in the event. The competition will take place between 10th-15th June, and will be held on Carron Valley, Lintrathen Loch and Ledyatt Trout Fishery.
Following England’s successful campaign in 2018 which resulted in a silver medal, Mark Withyman will once again lead England as player/manager. The experienced Lee Bartlett will captain the team, and they will be joined by Gilliaum Vermeulen and the up and coming Sean Brooks.
Our right to fish is under serious threat. Little by little our right is being eroded. What are you going to do when you can no longer go fishing, play Tiddlywinks?
Individual Membership is £25 per year, which is less than 50 pence a week, not a lot to protect your right to fish and ensure there are fish to catch!
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