Fifty entrants competed for places in this year’s national final to be held at Bewl Water in September.

Fishing had been challenging for several days prior to this event with plenty of fish showing on top but proving difficult to catch. Trout had been feeding hard on needle fry but a well-presented fly that landed in their path, would tempt them to take. After days of windy cool weather match day saw a complete change to sunshine and flat calm making it harder to get close enough to the moving fish. Top rod on the day was Stafford angler and England International Paul Angell who took 7 trout for a total weight of 16lb 13ozs. Also catching 7 trout and finishing second was David Currie from Wilmslow in Cheshire. His fish weighed in at 15lb 5ozs.

Best fish on the day fell to Peterborough angler Leon Smith who landed a specimen of 5lb 9ozs.

Thanks should go to the staff at Blithfield for hosting this event and providing contestants with a buffet afterwards.

The rod average on the day was 2.43 and the average weight of the trout was 2lb 4ozs.

The first 14 have qualified for the National Final.

Full Results