1. Scotland (63 fish) 127-14-0

2. England (42 fish) 79-8-8

3. Wales (32 fish) 61-11-8

4. Ireland (21 fish) 42-3-8 

Best Basket: Peter Auchterlonie (Scotland) 9 fish for 20-5-0

Heaviest Trout: Richard Hooper (Wales) 3-3-0

English best basket: Roger Truscott 8 fish for 16-1-0 

Irish best basket: Francis McSharry 6 fish for 13-8-8

Scottish best basket: Peter Auchterlonie 9 fish for 20-5-0

Welsh best basket: Jason Heath 4 fish for 9-2-8

Full Results: iffa2013spring

Some practice days had seen strong winds, which did not help the fishing, but conditions improved with a moderate SSE the day before the match, which saw most teams do rather better. On match day, however, the wind swung round to a chilly NNE. Scotland nevertheless sealed a convincing victory, taking the top three individual spots. Overcast conditions saw the wind drop to a good nymphing speed, encouraging some competitors to take off the DI3 they went out on, to switch to the floater or midge-tip. Birds were active as a few areas saw heavy hatches of green midge, with fish holing up in tight pockets near the bank. Hook Straight saw the most boats, but Ferry Point and Monty’s Seat was also popular. The following represented Team England FF:

Richard Slater (captain), John Ball, Robert Barden, Paul Canning, Andy Croucher, Steve Cullen, Harry Fox, John Hardy, John Horsey, Simon Kidd, Paul Lee, Denis Symonds, Roger Truscott & John Tyzack, with Clive Collier (manager). Our congratulations to Scotland, and our thanks to Bewl Water management for providing such a fair venue, and to the Mercury Tunbridge Wells hotel, Pembury, for their hospitality.

(Images courtesy of Cliff Waters of Fishypics. Our thanks also go to photographer Alan Ward, Fieldsports Britain YouTube channel, and Andy Ford from Sky TV’s Tightlines, who also covered the event. Catch the Fieldsports Britain coverage here – from 16.13 onwards. You can catch the Tightlines broadcast as a podcast here)