Angling Trust Team England Fly Fishing

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.

Scotland win a close contest

1. Scotland – 14 fish – 133 place pts – 15140 fish pts
2. England – 13 fish – 152 place pts – 13180 fish pts
3. Ireland – 12 fish – 163 place pts – 11760 fish pts
4. Wales – 5 fish – 235 place pts – 5060 fish pts 

Top Individual: James Stephenson (England) 4 fish – 5 place pts – 4400 fish pts

The 2015 Bank Home International was fished at Woodford Fly Fishery, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, N. Ireland between Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales on Wednesday 14th October.

This event was hosted by the Trout Anglers Federation of Ireland (TAFI), with support from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), Stena Line, and the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.

Programme

Sunday 11th October – Arrival and Registration of Teams at The Loughshore Hotel, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim

Monday 12th October –  Official Morning & Afternoon Practice Sessions

Tuesday 13th October – Official Morning Practice Session

Wednesday 14th October – Morning Session (3 hours) + Afternoon Session (3 hours), followed by International Dinner & Presentations

Match Booklet 20150928 2015_Bank_International_Final

L-R: (Back row) Paul Page (official), Alan Jenkins (manager), Phil Dixon, James Stephenson, Simon Robinson – Front Row: Ed Foster, Craig Barr, Conor Metcalfe, Richard slater

AT Team England FF was represented by Simon Robinson (Captain), Craig Barr, Phil Dixon, Conor Metcalf, James Stephenson, Richard Slater, Ed Foster (Reserve) & Alan Jenkins (Manager).

Manager Alan Jenkins reports: England got off to a fast start in the afternoon, with eventual individual winner James Stevenson, into 2 fish quickly. It was going to be tight with every fish so valuable. However Ireland had a better afternoon but the morning lead was enough to see Scotland home. The results were announced after what seemed a long wait and then it was official, Scotland first with 14 fish, England 13 fish, Ireland 12 fish and Wales 5 fish. John Brown had longest fish at 57.1 cms, top individual was James Stephenson followed by Alan Hill and Phil Dixon England. Fewer blanks and a superb size of fish helped Scotland achieve its 3rd Gold medal in 6 years at these Championships. Team plan of sticking to flies in the team box ensured all team members contributed to result. Next year we go back to Garnffrwd Fishery in South Wales. 

Team England would like to thank our sponser John Grantz www. Grantz .co.uk for providing the team clothing.

Full Match Report by Alan Jenkins: Angling Trust Report template for Competitions

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

Fishing Times: 9.30am-5.30pm

(Official practice days 17th & 18th October)

Click here to see a list of finalists.

Note: It is a condition of fishing the National Final that every finalist must have current Angling Trust membership when they fish on 19th & 20th October. Finalists will be asked by organiser John Mees to show their current membership card when they come to sign up on the first day.

Breakfast will be available in the Woodpecker Restaurant in the Visitor Centre at Bewl Water on the 17th, 18th, 19th & 20th October. Open at 7.30am.

A Full English + Toast & Tea or Coffee £8.00. Bacon Rolls etc are also available.

Anglers MUST book in advance. This can be done through the Fishing Lodge on 01892 890352, or email to janet.beeney@bewl.co.uk before 2.00pm on the day before. Cancellations must be paid for.

25 Key Areas where Angling Trust & Fish Legal are working for fish and fishing

The Angling Trust and Fish Legal continue to make great progress on behalf of anglers. The work they do benefits everyone who goes fishing or works in the angling industry, but they need more members so that they can do even more to fight for fish and fishing.

The Angling Trust has recently been successful in securing a major contract, funded by the Environment Agency rod licence, to continue to expand the work it does, but all their campaigns and Fish Legal’s work depend on membership revenue alone.

In this new document they list 25 of the areas in which they are working and highlight some of the successes they’ve had recently:

Expanded_Ambassador_Staff_and_Volunteer_Briefing_October_2015-FINAL1

Please use these as reasons to persuade as many people as possible to sign up at www.anglingtrust.net for just £25 a year or £2.50 a month and support the organisation that is dedicated to helping the sport we all love.

Sign up for the FREE fortnightly e-newsletter from the Angling Trust and Fish Legal to get news from the world of fishing, top tips and special offers at www.anglingtrust.net/subscribe

The 2015 FIPS-Mouche European Fly Fishing is being held on the 21st-27th September in Trentino, Italy, on the Sarca river and the Lake of Nembia. 

Programme:

21st Sept – Parade and Opening Ceremony

22nd Sept – Official Practice Sessions 1 & 2

23rd Sept – Competition Sessions 1 & 2

24th Sept – Competition Session 3

25th Sept – Competition Sessions 4 & 5

26th Sept – Closing Ceremony & Gala Dinner

Official Programme: PROGRAMM-DEPLIANT_EN

You will also find more information at the official website here, and on their Facebook page here. John Horsey is also covering this event on his Facebook page here, as is Ben Bangham here.

Team England FF is represented by John Horsey, Lewis Hendrie, Howard Croston, Tony Baldwin, Mike Dixon, Ben Bangham (reserve) and Ian Greenwood (captain/manager).

Session One

After the first session England were in 6th place, with the Czech Republic 1st, Italy 2nd, Finland 3rd, France 5th and Poland 6th. Howard Croston came 3rd in his session on Sector 4 on the Sarca river with 49 fish, while Lewis Hendrie came 4th with 3 fish in Sector 5 on Lake Nembia, just two fish behind the 1st place in this sector. Team Results after Session One: Session_1_Team_Results_provisional Individual Results after Session One: Session_1_Indiv_Results_Provisional

Session Two

After the second session England moved down to 7th place, with the Czech Republic 1st, Finland 2nd and France 3rd and Poland 4th. Team_results_after_session_2 Mike Dixon came 4th and Tony Baldwin 5th in their sessions on the Sarca river, while Howard Croston came 5th on Lake Nembia. Sebastian Delcor of France is currently the top individual, ahead of Roman Heimlich of the Czech Republic. Howard Croston is currently 15th and Mike Dixon 26th. Individual_results_after_session_2

Session Three

England were lying in 8th place after the third session, with the Czech Republic still in 1st, in front of France who moved into 2nd, ahead of Poland in 3rd, while Finland dropped to 4th. Team_results_after_session_3 John Horsey won his session on Lake Nembia, the only angler to catch four fish. Individually, Sebastian Delcor of France is still in 1st place, ahead of Roman Heimlich of the Czech Republic, with both anglers scoring three 1st places in their three sessions. Individual_results_after_session_3

Session Four

Following some good individual performances, England recovered to 7th place after the fourth session. The Czech Republic are still 1st with 61 points, ahead of France in 2nd with 84 points and Poland 3rd with 92 points. Team_results_after_session_4 Lewis Hendrie won his session on Sector 3 of the Sarca River with 26 fish, 15 more than the Czech competitor in second place, while Howard Croston got 2nd on Sector 2, also on the Sarca River. Individually, Sebastian Delcor of France is still in 1st place on 6 points, with three 1sts and a 3rd, ahead of Roman Heimlich of the Czech Republic on 7 points, with three 1sts and a 4th place. Individual_results_after_session_4

Session Five

England finished the Championships in 7th place. The Czech Republic are the new European Champions, with 74 placing points, some distance ahead of France in 2nd place with 102 points, and Poland 3rd with 112 points. TRENTINOEFFC_Team_results_after_session_5

Individually, Roman Heimlich of the Czech Republic is the European Champion, winning his last session on the Sarca River, with Sebastian Delcor of France taking the Silver after coming 3rd in session five. Bronze medallist was Tomas Adam of the Czech Republic. TRENTINOEFFC_Individual_results_after_session_5

Competition Sectors:

Sector One: Sarca River, Val Genova

Sector Two: Sarca River, Caderzone – Pinzolo

Sector Three: Sarca River, Tione

Sector Four: Sarca River, Terme di Comano

Sector Five: Lake Nembia

Videos

Scotland take Gold in a tight contest

Results:

1st Scotland (91 fish) 207lbs 9ozs

2nd England (92 fish) 201lbs 0.6ozs

3rd Ireland (84 fish) 182lbs 10ozs

4th Wales (63 fish) 139lbs 8.2ozs

Brown Bowl for biggest bag: Craig Smith (England) 14 fish for 30lbs 0.2ozs

Full Results: iffa2015autumn

AT TEFF Chairman Clive Collier commented, “We knew this was going to be a tight match, and as the day progressed it seemed as though the eventual result would be very difficult to call. Congratulations to Brown Bowl winner Craig Smith of England, and to Scotland for coming out top in a very close contest”. 

AT Team England FF was represented by: Ian Colclough (capt), James Atkinson, Rob Barden, Chris Bobby, Martin Burgess, Mark Glass, Kim Green, Paul Golding, Gary Haskins, Mike Heritage, Carl Malpass, Craig Smith, Mark Stevens, Mark Withyman & Paul Angell (manager).

The Angling Trust reports: “After four days practice in a variety of conditions England knew that there were fish to be caught in most areas of the lake. Tactics and areas to be fished would be dependent on the weather conditions on match day. Friday saw bright sunshine with very light breezes which would make the fishing challenging. As expected the start saw the fleet split evenly with around half the boats turning left out of the harbour and heading towards Lochend, with the rest going to Gateside Bay. Tactics would be to use a washing line, with buzzers between various boobies and fabs, and to vary the line according to conditions. The retrieve would be either to fish static, or a figure of 8 retrieve, with dries becoming a major tactic during the afternoon, especially if cloud cover came in. The rules for the day were to kill your first 3 fish, then fish catch and release, with each subsequent fish counting as 2lb.

The warm and bright and almost still conditions meant that boats had to search out fish. Eventual Brown Bowl winner, Craig Smith, winning his first cap for England, fished Otter bay and Kate’s Brae for the first 5 hours, taking 8 fish, before moving to Gateside Bay where he took the remainder of his 14 fish final tally. A superb result when the rod average for the day was just under 6.

At the weigh in, it was obvious that the result would be a closely run thing. Scotland with 90 fish just eased ahead of England, who caught 91, on the weight of a couple of large fish. Ireland finished with the bronze, with Wales in fourth place.

Paul Angell, Autumn Loch-Style Team Manager stated “It was a great team performance, based on the sharing of knowledge and ideas to develop a strategy that very nearly produced another gold medal and an outstanding performance to take the individual top position by new cap Craig Smith. The team wish to thank all the sponsors of Team England Fly Fishing for their help and support, and particularly Craghoppers for supplying the team clothing for the event and we look forward to 2016.”

This was fished on Llangollen/Maelor AA water of the River Dee, Llangollen. 

1st. Andrew Scott – Total Fish 24 – Total Fish Points 1125 – Total Placing Points 4

(2015 National Rivers Champion)

2nd. Simon Robinson – Total Fish 20 – Total Fish Points 945 – Total Placing Points 5

3rd. Phil Dixon – Total Fish 25 – Total Fish Points 1228 – Total Placing Points 10

4th. Chris Richardson – Total Fish 15 – Total Fish Points 748 – Total Placing Points 10

5th. Lewis Hendrie – Total Fish 21 – Total Fish Points 956 – Total Placing Points 11

6th. Andy Cliffe – Total Fish 20 – Total Fish Points 930 – Total Placing Points 12

(Reserve)

AT Team England FF finished 4th in the ‘5 Nations Competition’, behind Belgium 1, Ireland 3, and Scotland 1. This event was held at Ballyvourney, Ireland, from 13th to 18th July 2015. 

1. Scotland 1  (115 trout) 53 Team placings 65720 Team points

2. Ireland 3 (104 trout) 70 Team placings 59540 Team points

3. Belgium 1 (85 trout) 73 Team placings 49640 Team points

4. England (86 fish) 75 Team placings 49040 Team points

Individual Gold – Ben Bangham (England) 34 trout 7 Placings 18700 Points 

The Team representing Team England was:

Ben Bangham

Martin Burgess

Andy Cliffe

Jay Curry

Stuart Wardle (Development Coach and Manager) 

The competition was fished to FIPS Mouche rules over 4 sessions on the following venues:

Loch Lein (Boat – 2 sessions)

Gouganebarra Lake (Bank – 1 session)

River Allow (River – 1 session)

Congratulations to Scotland, Ben and the rest of AT Team England. 

Team Manager Stuart Wardle commented: ‘What a great venue. TAFI provided fantastic hospitality, great venues and great fishing to make this a really fantastic competition. AT Team England use the 5 Nations as a development opportunity for developing International anglers and the Team worked hard together to produce a very credible performance finishing only 2 placing points off a podium place. The icing on the cake was Individual Gold for Ben Bangham of Team England, with only 7 placing points it illustrates a very consistent performance from Ben and a credit that is shared amongst all the team and brings some reward back to England.’

‘A BIG thank you goes to the Trout Anglers Federation of Ireland (TAFI) for the organisation, the controllers, the clubs and venues and hosts, and also to the Mills Inn for looking after us all so well.’  

Full Report: 5 Nations 2015 Report template for Competitions

AT Team England FF take silver, one point ahead of Wales

1. Ireland  (71 fish) 3199 points 43 placings

2. England (54 fish) 2432 points 49 placings

3. Wales (61 fish) 2760 points 50 placings

4. Scotland (32 fish) 1430 points 67 placings

Individual Winner – Peter Doherty (Ireland) 4 placings Moc Morgan Trophy

Biggest Fish – Rob Bending (Wales) 39.5cms Mike Childs Trophy

Full Results: iffarivers2015

AT Team England was represented by Howard Croston, Mike Dixon, Mike Heritage, Simon Robinson, Andrew Scott and Lewis Hendrie (reserve), with Mike Tinnion (Manager).

England Manager Mike Tinnion reports: Ireland’s River Liffey was the venue for this year’s IFFA Rivers International, and with very little rain for the previous eight weeks, it was going to be a real test of the anglers’ skills. Practice over the preceding days confirmed this with loads of trout visible, but not feeding.

The match day loomed with most teams settling on a mix of French nymphing, duo, and dry fly. Early rain cooled the morning and there were more fish rising than had been seen all week, by dinner time this had burned off and it was HOT!

The first two 90-minute sessions saw Ireland get their noses in front, with England a few points behind, then Wales and Scotland. The third session saw England gain a point on the Irish with Wales joining them. The fourth and final session saw low water, bright sunshine and water that had been fished three times before. Ireland surged again, helped in no small way by a superb effort by Peter Docherty, who gained four 1st places and the Moc Morgan trophy.

So gold for Ireland, England held on for silver, just pipping Wales, with Scotland fourth. For the full results please go to www.iffa.net.

It is a testament to fishing on the Liffey that 218 trout were caught, measured and safely returned on a hot summer’s day and with very low water. Thanks must go to John Higgins and his team of Assistants for a superbly run competition, once again fished in a manner that should make anybody present proud to have participated.

So the event moves on next year to the Aberdeenshire Don, another great river, to host what must be the closest fought annual match. 

Results Day Three Sixth Session

After a strong final session Team England finish 9th

England Individual Placings

Simon Robinson 24th

Phil Dixon 30th

Andrew Scott 47th

John Tyzack 71st

Scott Nellins 88th