The 2015 Loch-style National Final was fished at Bewl Water on 19th & 20th October. 

2015 National Champion Mark Miles with Loch-style Manager Paul Angell

Top 10 places + Qualifiers for 2016 Home International Loch-style teams: 

1. Mark Miles (10 pts) – 2015 National Loch-style Champion 
2. Dale Burgess (13 pts)
3. Richard Slater (14 pts)
4. Ian Colclough (22 pts)
5. John Horsey (23 pts)
6. Craig Barr (27 pts)
7. Bob Fitzpatrick (28 pts)
8. Peter Elliott (33 pts)
9. Ian Donaldson (33 pts)
10. Ben Dobson (36 pts)
    

    2nd: Dale Burgess

    

    3rd: Richard Slater

Other qualifiers: John Hardy, Phil Thompson, Graham Willis, Nick Dunn, John Pearn, Tony Curtis, Gary Haskins, Paul Wild, Tom Gott, Bill Rankin, Carl Nixon, Charlie Abrahams, Brad Gifford, Harry Fox, Tony Donnelly, Mark Rooney, Mark Withyman & Gilliaum Vermeulen 

Full Results: 151020 England National

Congratulations to all qualifiers, and especially to the first-time England caps!

The Angling Trust reports: Mark Miles won the 2015 Angling Trust Team England Fly Fishing (AT TEFF) Loch Style National at Bewl Water on 19th & 20th October 2015. The two day event was fished by one hundred anglers who had qualified for the final from the nine qualifiers which began in April 2015.

The top 28 anglers from the final qualify to represent England in the International Fly Fishing Association 2016 Spring and Autumn Loch Style Home International matches which will be hosted by Ireland and Wales respectively.

The two day final was fished in difficult conditions with cool northerly breezes on day one and bright sun with light breezes on day two. The trout were, despite a lack of natural food, high in the water column. Odd fish were seen on the surface and those that stuck at fishing dry fly tactics scored reasonably well. It was felt that the trout were shoaled together in small ‘pods’ and if you were able to get a fly to them they would take. Some chose to fish with wet flies and mini lures but again not deep with the best lines being midge tips or slow sinkers. Tactics varied but it seemed the trout wanted a semi buoyant fly with boobies and small foam tailed Fabs catching well. Retrieves had to be slow or static to entice the trout.

The two day final is designed to ensure that the most consistent anglers over those days qualify for next years two England Teams. Stringing together consistent back to back performances over two days was crucial to angler’s efforts to make the 2016 England squad. A number of anglers were successful in finding the method and the fish on day one, bagging up to eight fish to put them in a strong position going into the final day two but then found the going tougher on day two and ultimately missed out on qualifying for the 2016 team.

Mark Miles, Dale Burgess and Richard Slater turned in superb performances over both days to finish with 10, 13 and 14 points to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively with Ian Colclough on 22 points and John Horsey with 23 points in 4th and 5th place. Dale Burgess will win his 1st England cap while Mark Miles will win his 5th, Richard Slater winning his 6th and Ian Colclough will win his 7th, his 6th came as captain of his country in 2015 while England regular John Horsey will collect his 11th England cap.

England will head to Lough Leane in Ireland at the end of May 2016 before heading to Wales to fish Llandegfedd Reservoir in the autumn. Scotland dominated 2015 with victories at Lake of Menteith and Rutland Water while England finished a close second in both internationals with Ireland 3rd and Wales 4th in each of the events. 

Angling Trust Team England Fly Fishing would like to thank all those involved in running both the qualifiers and the National Final, the fisheries hosting qualifiers and Bewl Fishery for their support for the final.