Elinor Fishery qualifier, Kettering – Sunday 30th March

Bruce Blackshaw reports: ‘Well that’s it for the 2025 Qualifiers for the England Bank National. 12 intrepid anglers turned up at Elinor Trout Fishery to try and secure their place at the National Final in May at Farmoor. Conditions were far from perfect, bright sunshine and brutal winds into the anglers’ faces. The first peg produced a few fish, but it was never going to be easy. Ronald Howard took an early lead, taking 3 fish off his first peg. The rest of the morning session proved tough going, with odd fish being picked up sporadically. At the lunch break 14 fish had been caught by the anglers. With the wind strengthening after lunch, it looked like it was going to be as tough, if not tougher, for the afternoon pegs, but the fish had other ideas, and fish were steadily caught. Coming to the last peg it was still all to play for, with nearly all of the anglers still having a chance to qualify. A late burst on the last peg by Ed Foster, catching 3 fish, secured him first place.’

Results:
1st Ed Foster 5 off 3 8 points
2nd Richard Haines 5 off 3 8 points
3rd Stephen Fish 4 off 4 8 points
4th Craig Compton 3 off 3 6 points

‘Many thanks to Bradley Gifford at Elinor Trout Fishery for hosting today. Let’s hope we can get a day where the wind doesn’t blow, and Elinor shows its true potential. Thank you to the anglers today, but also at all the previous heats. Congratulations to all the qualifiers from all the heats, and good luck at the final. Commiserations to all those who didn’t make it this year. I look forward to seeing you all again next year and hope we can keep the numbers competing growing.
Tight lines and wet nets for the rest of the year. Best wishes – Bruce’

All the Eliminators completed, well done to all our finalists. We will be in touch soon with your invites for the Final on May 18th at Farmoor. We should be able to let you know on which lake and in what area the Final will be fished in the next couple of weeks.

Congratulations: Jake Wenman, Mark Harrison, Tony Baldwin, Stephen Peart, James Stephenson, Tony Fox, Lee Wilkinson, Gareth Tilley, Andrew Stones, Ian Watts, Simon Clarke, Martin Crawley, Andy Taylor, Steve Cullen, Colin Fincham, Dave Morris, Connor Metcalfe, Andrew Taylor, Michael Leck, Josh Shuttleworth, Tim Joyce, Mark Rose, Gary Morris, Frank Daley, Graham Willis, Bruce Blackshaw, Derek Steel, Iain Scott, Ed Foster, Richard Haines, Stephen Fish, Craig Compton.

That’s our finalists for 2025. Best of luck to you all