Elite Performance Programmme

AT TEFF Elite Performance Programme 2024

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE DATES & VENUES ANNOUNCED BELOW ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. COVID GUIDANCE WILL ULTIMATELY DRIVE WHETHER SOME OR ALL OF THESE EVENTS CAN GO AHEAD.

Eligible anglers must declare their intention to join the programme by completing the following application form and returning it to ffnscott@gmail.com

NOTE: CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES – THURSDAY 29TH FEBRUARY 2024

Download the EPP 2024 Application Form from the page on the AT website: https://anglingtrust.net/our-competitions/team-england/team-england-game/team-england-fly-fishing-2/at-teff-elite-performance-programme/

All anglers must be a current member of the Angling Trust to participate.
Please see below for the confirmed dates & venues for 2024.

Event 1
Venue: River Tees,
Date: 4th & 5th May 2024
Hours: 7:30am briefing (fishing 08:30am > 18.30pm)
Fishing Fee: TBC (payable to organiser)
Practise cutoff date: 3rd May on designated practice water. 20th April on Match stretch.
Event organiser: Scott Nellins

Event 2
Venue: Farleton View, Lancs
Date: 6th May 2024
Hours: 8am briefing (fishing 09.00am > 16.00pm)
Fishing Fee: TBC (payable to the fishery)
Practise cutoff date: 22nd April
Event organiser: Scott Nellins

Event 3
Venue: River Dee
Date: 27th & 28th July 2024
Hours: 7:30am briefing (fishing 08:30am > 18:30pm)
Fishing Fee: £40 (payable to the organiser)
Practise cutoff date: 26th July on designated practice water. 13th July on Match stretch.
Event organiser: Scott Nellins

Event 4
Venue: Llyn Clywedog
Date: 29th July
Hours: 8am briefing (fishing 09.00am > 16.00pm)
Fishing Fee: £TBC (payable to the organiser)
Practise cutoff date: 15th July
Event organiser: Scott Nellins

EPP Factsheet

AT TEFF Elite Performance Programme 2023 – Final Results

AT TEFF seeks Co-ordinator for new Elite Performance Programme (EPP) Division 2

As there is believed to be increased interest from new and returning competitors in the Elite Performance Programme (EPP) for 2024, it is proposed to set up an EPP Division 2, in the hope that having two leagues, with promotion and relegation between the two, will improve the abilities of all involved.
Accordingly, AT TEFF are seeking a Co-ordinator for this EPP Division 2 (see job description below)

AT TEFF Elite Performance Programme 2023

The EPP is the Elite Performance Programme, which is a competitive fly fishing programme established in 2018 in order to develop elite anglers and provide a framework for selections teams to represent England in World, European and now 5 Nation Championships. Entry by application only. NB: Application process for EPP 2023 is now closed.

Event 1
Venue: Bessy Beck
Date: 12th May 2023
Hours: 8.30am briefing (fishing 9am > 4pm)
Fishing Fee: £20 (payable to fishery)
Practise cut off date: 12th April on fishery.
Event organiser: Scott Nellins

Event 2
Venue: River Tees, Raby Estate
Date: 13th & 14th May 2023
Hours: Online briefing (fishing 08.30am > 18.30pm)
Fishing Fee: £24 (payable to the organiser)
Practise cut off date: 13th April
Event organiser: Scott Nellins

Event 3
Venue: River Dee
Date: 20th & 21st July 2023
Hours: online briefing (fishing 08:30am > 18:30pm)
Fishing Fee: £40 (payable to the organiser)
Practise cut off date: 19th July on designated practice water. 20th June on Match stretch.
Event organiser: Scott Nellins

Event 4
Venue: River Dee
Date: 22nd & 23rd July 2023
Hours: online briefing (fishing 08:30am > 18:30pm)
Fishing Fee: £40 (payable to the organiser)
Practise cut off date: 19th July on designated practice water. 22nd June on Match stretch.
Event organiser: Scott Nellins

AT TEFF Elite Performance Programme 2022 – Final Results

Elite Performance Programme 2022 Fact Sheet

What is the EPP?

The EPP is the Elite Performance Programme, which is a competitive fly fishing programme established in 2018 in order to develop elite anglers and provide a framework for selections teams to represent England in World, European and now 5 Nation Championships.

Who runs the EPP?

For the 2022 programme the official is Scott Nellins, however assistance is requested to peg river sections.

The programme is supported by staff at the Angling Trust (AT) and Team England Fly Fishers (TEFF).

What is the timeframe for EPP?

The Elite Performance Programme will run between June 2022 and September 2022, running over 7 days (2 x 2 days and 1 x 3 day).

What is the format of the EPP?

The programme will have 16 places available and is based on 4 events

Rivers: 3 x 2-day events
Lake: 1 x 1-day event

For more information open the document below:

EPP Update

Due to the disruption to the usual team schedule, the 2022 EPP will have a different qualifying structure, with places 1-5 making up the team for the World Championships 2023 in Slovakia and places 6-9 and 10-13 making up the two teams for the 2023 5 Nations Championships, which are on course to be held in Northern England.

Venues and dates for the 2022 EPP will be announced in January 2022 and will be focused on being as similar as reasonably possible to the venues in Slovakia. These venues will contain coarse fish, particularly chub, so two of the 2022 EPP venues which have been confirmed are the Ure and Swale which both hold a head of chub, and therefore these fish will count in EPP heats.

If you are interested in entering the 2022 EPP and have not done so before, please email Scott Nellins at ffnscott@gmail.com and you will be notified of when entries will go live. The league will hold a max of 16 anglers, with the top 10 from EPP 2021 being given priority entrance. The remaining 6 places will be available on a points basis judged on number of previous caps in various disciplines as it was for 2021 EPP entrants.

The entry fee for EPP 2022 is set at £110.00, or £27.50 per event. Fishery fees are required on top of this. Full details will be published once the remaining two venues are confirmed, but they will be made up of one more river venue and one loch-style venue.

5NFFC/EPP Team Selection Update

After reviewing the progress of the proposed 2021 5N League, the selection of individuals to form future England 5N Teams will be incorporated into the Elite Performance Programme (EPP).

The impact of COVID restrictions has inevitably disrupted the normal timetables for selection and representation of World and European teams. We now need to bring these back in synch and incorporate the 5NFFC team selection.

For 2022 Teams:

World – selected from recent 2021 EPP

European – carried over from 2019 EPP selection

5NFFC – selection options being considered by ATTEFF exec

For 2023 Teams:

World – to be selected from 2022 EPP

European – selected from the recent 2021 EPP

5NFFC – 1 or 2 teams to be selected from 2022 EPP

For 2024, all team selections will be made from the 2023 EPP.

Elite Performance Programme (EPP) 2021 – Event 4, River Annan (River)

EPP Event 4 brought the anglers up to Dumfries (Scotland) to fish on the River Annan. Harry Fox was unable to make the event and was replaced by Peter Clark.

The river was low but holding a little colour, as is often the case with freestone rivers. Good numbers of fish were caught from the off, with Del Spry taking an early lead catching 17 fish across his four morning session pegs. The fishing was trickier in the afternoon, Gillaum Vermeulen being the only angler to catch in every one of his sessions.

The fishing was expected to get increasingly tougher on Day 2, however Howard Croston and Scott Nellins both caught good numbers of fish from pegs 2 and 6 early in the day to keep themselves in contention.

It was over to the afternoon anglers, with those now acting as controllers trying to figure out where they’d finished and if they’d done enough to make one of the teams. Del Spry continued his Day 1 form to win Group A, just ahead of Mark Withyman who was the only angler to catch on every peg. Howard Croston had done enough to win Group B and take the overall Event 4 victory.

The fishing went right down to the wire, and one more fish caught in the last few seconds of the match would have changed the anglers qualifying in both the World and European teams.

177 fish were caught and released by the anglers over the two days. Tactics largely focused on nymph fishing and dry fly.

The results from event 4 are below:

2021 EPP League – Final Positions

Event 4 brought the 2021 EPP to a close, the final league positions are as below. As you can see, the results were incredibly close, with only 1 point separating anglers from 4th to 8th. The fishing really did go down to the wire for qualification places.

The anglers finishing in positions 1-5 are eligible to fish in the World Fly Fishing Championships in Spain 2022. The anglers finishing in positions 6-10 are eligible to represent England at the 2023 European Fly Fishing Championships (Venue TBC).

Congratulations to James Atkinson on becoming the 2021 EPP champion, winning the event at his first attempt with solid performances across each of the venues.

The 2022 EPP is currently being scoped, full details to follow. Due to Covid forcing the European Championships to be pushed back an additional year, there is currently a misalignment in the Team England qualification process. Therefore, it is expected that the 2022 EPP will be used as a vehicle to select only one team which will represent England at the 2023 World Fly Fishing Championships.

Report: Terry Phillips

Images: Terry Phillips & AT TEFF Press Officer

Elite Performance Programme (EPP) 2021 – Event 3, River Tees (River)

EPP Event 3 saw the anglers head to Teesdale to fish on the spectacular River Tees. Harry Fox was unable to make the event and was replaced by Tom Gott.

The River Tees is one of the hardest rivers to wade in the UK, the boulder-ridden riverbed resulting in several of the anglers getting wetter than they had expected. It is the rocky nature of this river which makes it such a prolific breeding ground for predatory wild trout.

Scott Nellins took an early lead in the match, picking up good numbers of fish on a Duo set-up, with James Atkinson and Gillaum Vermeulen using dries and nymphs to also catch good numbers of fish.

In the afternoon session Terry Phillips caught steadily on all his pegs to challenge for the overall lead. Terry continued in the same vein on Day 2, catching throughout the morning session, and one of the afternoon anglers would need to catch on every peg if they were to take the victory.

As the day drew on, the fishing pressure took its toll and more and more blank sessions were being recorded. Terry Phillips finished as the only angler to catch on all the pegs and took the event victory.

The results from Event 3 are below:

EPP league standings (after three events):

Report: Scott Nellins

Images: Terry Phillips & AT TEFF Press Officer

Elite Performance Programme (EPP) 2021 – Event 2, River Ebbw (River)

For this event the anglers were split into two groups, with each angler fishing the same eight pegs as everyone else over two days. All fish over 20cm in length counted. The match was fully catch & release, with each fish safely measured and returned to the water.

The river had been high in the weeks leading up to the event, but cleared and dropped just in time to allow the competition to go ahead safely.

Only Del, Howard and Mark managed fish in the first session

After Session One it was clear that the fishing was going to be difficult in the cold-water temperatures. Only three out of the eight anglers fishing Session One managed to register fish on the scorecard, with Del Spry having three, current World Champion Howard Croston landing two, and Mark Withyman one. The fish quickly became aware of the anglers, and headed for the safety of deeper water and underneath structures on the riverbed. Therefore, it was inevitable that nymphs and streamers were the main methods deployed by the anglers. Each session became increasingly more difficult, as is often the case with wild trout competitions, and by the end of Day One Howard Croston was the only angler to catch in all of his sessions, and built up a commanding lead.

Howard Croston was the only one to catch in every session in Day 1

Harry Fox led the way in the morning of Day 2

The overnight rest brought the fish back out from their hiding spots, with the morning session on Day Two producing twelve fish across all the match beats. Harry Fox led the way, catching seven of them, including the biggest fish of the match at 39.5cm, to put himself into contention. In the afternoon session only three anglers managed to add to their overnight tally (Mark Withyman, Howard Croston, and Andy Taylor) meaning that Howard Croston took a well-deserved victory.

Mark Withyman, Howard Croston, and Andy Taylor added to their tally in the afternoon of Day 2, with Howard taking a well-deserved victory

Islwyn and District Anglers offers some incredible value fly fishing

Over the two days the local anglers from Islwyn and District Anglers popped along to welcome the EPP anglers and ensure there were no issues. It was great to see these guys, who have a very well-run fishing club on their doorstep, offering some incredible value fly fishing. Thanks to everyone who helped.

The results from Event 2 are below:

Current league standings (after two events):

Report: Terry Phillips

Images: Simon Clarke & Danny Williams, Angling Trust

Elite Performance Programme (EPP) 2021 – Event 1, Garnffrwd (Lake Bank)

For this event the anglers were split into two groups, with each angler fishing the same eight pegs as every other angler in their group. Each session lasted 60 mins, with anglers moving along two pegs at the end of each session. The match was fully catch & release, with each angler controlling for the angler on the peg next to them. Some adjustments were made to accommodate Covid safety.

James Atkinson and Andy Taylor got off to a flying start

The 2021 EPP got off to a flying start, with fish moving on the surface fish right across the lake. Anglers targeted the rising fish with dry flies, lures, and nymphs in the early sessions with some good results. New EPP anglers James Atkinson and Andy Taylor got off to a flying start with five fish each on their 1st peg of the day, James on dries and Andy mixing tactics up regularly (a method he used to good effect throughout the day).

Sam Bailey covered the water well

In session 2 the anglers started to settle into their stride, many using the first session to try out methods that had been productive during practise. Tony Baldwin followed up a solid four fish in session 1 with a further three in session 2, taking an early lead in the match. New to the EPP Sam Bailey covered the water well, switching between tactics and was also rewarded with three fish which followed his three from session 1.

Phil Shaw-Browne picked up fish on every peg

Current England World team members Scott Nellins and Harry Fox dominated in session 3 as the fish started to become hook shy with four & three fish respectively. Unfortunately, Tony Baldwin’s luck took a turn for the worse on peg 3, breaking not just one but two of the rods he had set up to use, most anglers having between three to six different rods set-ups, ready to quickly switch between tactics. Quietly working away in the background, picking up fish on every peg was Phil Shaw-Browne. The key to these events is to catch fish in every session, and avoid receiving the maximum points awarded for a blank session.

By Session 7 Terry Phillips was one of four to avoid a blank

Fishing became gradually tougher during the day because of angling pressure, but the anglers were still being rewarded with chances on each peg. By the time session 7 was reached, four anglers had managed to catch in every session (Joel Beeney, Phil Shaw-Browne, Scott Nellins and Terry Phillips), and the last two sessions would decide who would come out on top. Only Phil and Joel managed to complete the set, catching in every session, and surely one of them had done enough to take the event victory.

Phil Shaw-Browne took victory with 19 session points

A late night tallying up the scores, checking and double-checking, and the results were announced on Facebook (in true Covid fashion). Phil Shaw-Browne taking the victory with a very impressive 19 session points. Four out of the top 5 spots were taken by anglers new to the EPP, fishing in their first match to FIPS-Mouche rules. Defending champion Harry Fox put in a strong start to his defence, finishing in 4th place overall.

Fish were caught on every peg around the lake

All of the anglers were brilliantly looked after on match day and during practise sessions by Jamie and the rest of the team at Garnffrwd fishery, fish were caught on every peg around the lake. I heard so many positive comments about this venue from the anglers over the last couple of months, it’s a venue well worth a visit! Thanks from us all.

The results from Event 1 are below:

Report: Terry Phillips

Images: Danny Williams, Angling Trust

2021 Elite Performance Programme

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE DATES & VENUES ANNOUNCED BELOW ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. COVID GUIDANCE WILL ULTIMATELY DRIVE WHETHER SOME OR ALL OF THESE EVENTS CAN GO AHEAD

2019 Elite Performance Programme Invite List

Eligible Anglers: Fred Bainbridge, John Ball, Tony Baldwin, Ben Bangham, Iain Barr, Lee Bartlett, Alex Bobba, Dennis Buck, Andy Cliffe, Richard Cobbledick, Stuart Crofts, Andy Croucher, Howard Croston, Steve Cullen, Tony Curtis, Paul Davison, Andrew Dixon, Mike Dixon, Phil Dixon, Oliver Edwards, John Emerson, Harry Fox, Simon Gawsworth, Andrew Gooding, David Grove, Mark Harrison, Lewis Hendrie, Mike Heritage, Jeremy Herrmann, John Horsey, Chris Howitt, Simon Kidd, Paul Lee, John Lindsey, Jeremy Lucas, Bernie Maher, Keith McAdam, Bill McHarg, Scott Nellins, Carl Nixon, Davey Parker, Terry Phillips, Baz Reece, Simon Robinson, Andrew Scott, Brian Thomas, Mike Tinnion, John Tyzack & Gilliaum Vermeulen. 

Full List: 2019 Elite Performance Programme Invite List

Eligible anglers must declare their intention to join the programme before Sunday 16^th December 2018 via email to kirsty.marshall@anglingtrust.net. Anyone not adhering to this deadline will not be accepted onto the programme.

Anglers must be a current member of the Angling Trust to participate.

Once all anglers have declared their interest an invitation will be issued to book your ticket via the events booking system: www.anglingtrustevents.net/game.

Entries open 7^th January 2019 10:00am & close 8^th February 2019 23:59pm. Entries will not be accepted after this date. Entry fee is £150.00 per angler.

Please see below for the confirmed dates, venues & costs for 2019. Event 3 price still tbc & Event 5 date & price tbc but will be announced as soon as we have them confirmed.

Event 1: River Dee, Llangollen – 1st & 2nd March 2019 – £15.00 per day (Free for members of Llangollen Maelor Angling. Reciprocal tickets & Hand Hotel complimentary tickets are not allowed to be used for matches.)
Event 2: Ellerdine Lakes – 3rd March 2019 – £20.00 per day
Event 3: River Ure, Bolton Hall – 26th & 27th April 2019 – £30 per rod for the two days
Event 4: Stocks Fly Fishery – 28th April 2019 – £30.00 per day
Event 5: River Annan, Hoddom – 18th & 19th May 2019 – £12 per day (dependent on 20 anglers participating, so may vary slightly)

Fishing fees payable on day 1 of each event

6 sets of results
3 x river events: Dee, Ure & Annan
1 x bank: Ellerdine
2 x boat: Stocks (2 x 3 hour sessions)

The top 10 anglers will qualify for selection to World or European teams for 2020, please view the Selection Policy for clarity on how teams are selected before entering the programme.

Full details here: https://www.anglingtrustevents.net/e/235/epp-2019

2018 Elite Performance Programme – Final Results

A full report will follow but for now here are the Final Results of this year’s AT TEFF Elite Performance Programme, run to select the ten anglers who will represent AT Team England in the 2019 World and European Championships.

Full Results: AT TEFF Elite Performance Programme 2018 Results