Angling Trust Team England Fly Fishing

England take Silver

Results

1. (Gold) Scotland 109-6-0
2. (Silver) England 57-13-0
3. (Bronze) Wales 40-10-0
4. Ireland 28-15-0

Country: ENGLAND
Venue: River Tees (upper)
Dates: 19th to 22nd June (incl.)
Match date: Friday 21st June
Accommodation: The George Inn, Piercebridge

AT TEFF will be represented by: Brian Lillie (captain), Peter Buckey, Paul Fairhurst, Tom Hunt, Kevin Moran, Gavin Walsh (reserve), and Paul Page (manager).

The event is being organised by Peter Scholes (AT TEFF River International Event Organiser), with the International Fly Fishing Association (IFFA).

The best of luck to everyone taking part.

WELCOME TO RIVER TEES
Raby and Strathmore Estates, High Force, Teesdale, County Durham

Angling Trust Team England Fly Fishing (AT TEFF) welcomes all officials, controllers, competitors and their guests to the 2024 International River Fly Fishing Championship.
Teesdale is world famous as a particularly scenic and interesting part of Northern England with many historic attractions to see and country pursuits to participate in.
The River Tees is one of the highlights of the valley with magnificent falls and river views. There has been a large improvement in the wild brown trout in the river over the past few years and Raby Estate continues to make improvements to ensure this trend continues to the benefit of all.
We hope your stay in County Durham is a pleasant one and we wish all teams the very best of luck.

Programme

Wednesday 19th June 2024
09:00 onwards – River Tees: Official practice competition beats.
19:30 – Dinner
21:30 – Officials & Captains meeting / peg draw.

Thursday 20th June 2024
09:15 – Official Photographs at the George Hotel
Rest the river / walk the beats
19:30 – Dinner

Friday 21st June 2024 – Championship Day
09:45-11:15 Session 1
11:15-12:45 Session 2
13:00-14:00 Lunch
14:45-16:15 Session 3
16:15-17:45 Session 4
20:45 – International Dinner

Saturday 22nd June 2024
Depart

International Fly Fishing Association – Acknowledgements

To Lord Barnard of Raby Estates and Strathmore Estates who have kindly allowed us to compete on their estate waters of the River Tees for our International Championship.
To the staff at the High Force Hotel who oversee the fishery on behalf of the Raby Estate, and their staff for their invaluable assistance.
To Angling Trust Team England Fly Fishing, Pete Scholes, and all their principal controllers for their help and assistance in the planning and organising of the International.
To each Controller for giving their time on match day to enable the competition to take place.
To the Management and Staff of The George Hotel, Piercebridge for their friendly assistance throughout the Championship.
To Paul Baker Photography for their photographic coverage of the Championship.
Our sincere thanks go out to everyone who helped in the preparation & running of the 2024 River International in any way.

Sponsors

Established in 2014 Hunt’s set out to produce the UK’s first comprehensive range of fly treatments. Hunt’s mission was not only to produce the best, but to be environmentally conscious as well.
Fast forward to today and Hunt’s products are enjoyed worldwide, with an ever-growing base of loyal customers.
Hunt’s are proud sponsors of the 2024 Rivers International and wish all competitors the best of luck. Tight Lines from everyone at Hunt’s.

Blithfield – 10th May 2024

Pitsford – 12th May 2024

Sweethope – 19th May 2024

Wimbleball – 19th May 2024

Report: A bright sun and a blustery North Easterly wind made fishing conditions tough… despite that there were some good bags of fish, Oliver Smith won with 27lb 7ozs Alex Venn second with 23lb 8oz Mike Cocks third with 22lb 7oz and Paul Lee fourth with 20lb 4oz Toby Merrigan fifth 20lb 3oz Sam Al-mukntar sixth 11lb 5oz Nigel Evans seventh 9lb 5oz Alex Jackson eighth 5lb 8ozs

Chew – 26th May 2024

Country: IRELAND
Venue: Lough Ennell
Dates: 21st to 25th May (incl.)
Match date: Friday 24th May
Accommodation: Bloomfield House Hotel, Mullingar

RESULTS

1. Scotland 13 fish 587.9cms 851pts
2. Ireland 8 fish 342.2cms 505pts
3. Wales 4 fish 172.0cms 253pts
4. England 3 fish 130.1cms 191pts

The Brown Bowl (Best Basket): Seamus O’Loughlin (Ireland) & Martin McCafferty (Scotland) – both 2 fish for 93.5cms 134pts
H. Emyr Lewis Trophy (Largest Trout): Seamus O’Loughlin (Ireland) 55.5cms

AT TEFF was represented by: Nick Dunn (captain), Lee Cartmail, Andy Cottam, Peter Eville, Ian Gaskell, Sean Gaskell, Stanley Moore, Gary Morris, John Piper, Jim Rigby, Philip Shaw-Brown, Philip Thompson, Ben Watson, Jake Wenman & Paul Angell (manager).

Keith Wallace reports: The Loch Style International was held on Friday the 24th of May in Ireland on Lough Ennell. England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales fished for the Champions place on this well known Lough. Lough Ennell is a hard place to fish if the fish are not totally switched on and unfortunately this was the case on the day. Our congratulations go out to Scotland who won the competition and all the other teams that took part.

Rožmberk nad Vltavou, Czech Republic – 19th-25th May

The 9th FIPS-Mouche Masters World Fly Fishing Championships (for competitors aged over 50) and the 3rd FIPS-Mouche Ladies World Fly Fishing Championships took place in Rožmberk nad Vltavou, Czech Republic, from 19th-25th May 2024.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS

LADIES

Australia – Czech Republic – Finland ­– France – Netherlands – Norway – South Africa – Sweden – USA

MASTERS

Australia – Belgium – Czech Republic – England – Finland – France – Ireland – Italy – Luxembourg + Sweden – Netherlands – New Zealand – Romania – Slovakia – Spain – USA

AT Team England FF was represented by: Jay Curry, Tony Fox, Bernie Maher, Baz Reece & Mark Withyman.

RESULTS

SESSION 1

Mark Withyman won his boat session on Lipno Lake with 29 fish, while Tony Fox gained a 4th place on the Vltava Vyssi Brod with 14. Elsewhere, Baz Reece was 14th fishing from the bank at Kvetonov Lake, while Bernie Maher was 15th on the Vltava Devil’s Stones, and Jay Curry was 15th on the Vltava Rozmberk. England finished the session in 11th place, with Ireland 8th. The Netherlands were leading the team rankings with 20 placing points, with the USA 2nd with 26pts and the Czech Republic 3rd with 29pts.
In the Ladies Championship the Czech Republic got off to a good start with 12 placing points, ahead of Australia in 2nd with 21pts, and Finland 3rd, also with 21pts.

SESSION 2

In the second session Mark Withyman came 10th on the Vltava Devil’s Stones, with Baz Reece 11th in the boat session on Lipno Lake. Tony Fox came 11th on the Vltava Rozmberk, Jay Curry 12th on the bank session on Kvetonov Lake, and Bernie Maher 15th on the Vltava Vyssi Brod. England dropped to 13th place overall, the same number of placing points as Finland in 14th place, but with more fish points. The USA overtook the Netherlands to currently lead the team rankings with 46 placing points to 47pts, with Italy 3rd on 53pts. Individually, Glade Gunther of the USA was in the top spot with 3 placing points, with Valerio Santi Amantini (Italy) 2nd on 4pts, and Robert Van T Voort (Netherlands) 3rd with 6pts.
In the Ladies event Australia narrowed the gap between them and the Czech Republic. They had 36 placing points, just 4pts behind the Czechs, who remained in 1st place on 32pts, with the USA moving into 3rd place with 46pts. Maria Tuominen of Finland was the Individual leader with 3 placing points.

SESSION 3

The third session saw another good performance in the boat session on Lipno Lake, this time by Jay Curry, who landed 12 fish to come 2nd. In the bank session on Kvetonov Lake Tony Fox came 8th, while on the river sections Baz Reece came 13th on the Vltava Devil’s Stones, Mark Withyman was 13th on the Vltava Vyssi Brod, with Bernie Maher also in 13th place on the Vltava Rozmberk. England moved up one place to 12th overall, while Ireland remained in 8th place. Some strong individual performances saw Italy move into 1st place, with 63 placing points, ahead of the Netherlands 2nd with 82pts and the Czech Republic 3rd and the USA 4th, both with 88pts. Individually, Valerio Santi Amantini (Italy) overtook Glade Gunther (USA) to move into 1st on 6 placing points, with Glade 2nd on 9pts, and Francois Deloup (France) 3rd with 10pts.
There was no change in the top three teams in the Ladies event, with the Czech Republic remaining in 1st with 42 placing points, Australia 2nd with 55pts, and the USA 3rd with 64pts. A second place in her session saw Maria Tuominen (Finland) remain top Individual with 5 placing points.

SESSION 4

In the boat session on Lipno Lake Tony Fox followed Jay Curry’s good performance in the previous session with eight fish for 3rd place. Jay himself gained an 8th place on the Vltava Devil’s Stones, while Mark Withyman also came 8th on the Vltava Rozmberk. Bernie Maher came 9th in the bank session on Kvetonov Lake, with Baz Reece 12th on the Vltava Vyssi Brod. England moved up another place to 11th overall, with Ireland remaining in 8th. Italy managed to stay well ahead of the field with 87 placing points, with the Czech Republic moving up into 2nd with 112pts, and Spain now 3rd with 113pts, six ahead of France in 4th place. Valerio Santi Amantini (Italy) managed to hang onto the top spot individually, thanks to another 2nd place in his session, with Francois Deloup (France) now 2nd with 11pts and Borek Kopecky (Czech Republic) in 3rd place, one of three competitors all on 13pts.
The Ladies event saw the Czech Republic consolidate their 1st position with 55 placing points, with Australia remaining 2nd with 76pts, and the USA 3rd on 89pts. The Czech ladies also did well individually, with Katerina Svagrova moving into 1st with 7 placing points, and Markova Simunkova 2nd on 8pts, ahead of Julie Quillard (France) with 10pts.

SESSION 5

In the fifth and final session Tony Fox came 10th on the Vltava Devil’s Stones, with Baz Reece also getting 10th place on the Vltava Rozmberk. Mark Withyman came 11th in the bank session on Kvetonov Lake, while Jay Curry was 15th on the Vltava Vyssi Brod, and Bernie Maher was one of six anglers to blank in the boat session on Lipno Lake. England finished the competition in 12th place, with Ireland remaining 8th. Italy held onto their lead to become the 2024 Masters Champions with 112 placing points, with Spain moving up into silver medal position with 134pts, and the Czech Republic in bronze with 140pts. Valerio Santi Amantini (Italy) added a 5th place on Kvetonov Lake to his tally of four 2nd place session performances to take the Individual gold with 13 placing points. Borek Kopecky (Czech Republic) moved up into 2nd with 16pts, with another Czech, Marek Macka, in 3rd, also with 16pts.
The Ladies Championship saw the Czech Republic take the gold medal by a convincing margin, with 69 placing points, over the 102pts scored by France in silver, and Australia in bronze. The Individual positions were a lot closer, with Markova Simunkova (Czech Republic) the Ladies Individual Champion with 10 placing points, just one point in front of Julie Quillard (France) on 11pts, with Katerina Svagrova (Czech Republic) 3rd with 12pts.

Keith Wallace, AT TEFF Marketing, Participation & Sponsorship officer, reports: Breaking News: Normanton Park Hotel is supporting Team England Fly Fishing.

After lengthy negotiations, AT TEFF can announce a new Supporter for AT Team England (see right for full Supporters list).

Located on the banks of Rutland Water, Normanton Park Hotel has agreed to offer all Team England FF teams, and anglers trying to qualify for England, a great deal on their Bed & Breakfast rates.

To obtain this deal it is necessary to book in at the hotel (https://www.normantonpark.co.uk/) with a code.

For more information on this deal, and to obtain the code, contact myself, Keith Wallace (07788 446681, via Facebook, or email kwallace.atteff@gmail.com) or Paul Angell, AT TEFF Loch-style officer, (email paul.angell1805@gmail.com).

Lee Cartmail reports: The Stillwater National Final results and a brief match report
Venue Ellerdine Lakes.
The weather is sunny & hot.
28 anglers fished today for the honour of representing Team England.
The weather conditions were far from perfect today and the lakes had been heavily fished the last 4 days
Floating lines were the best method on Meadow Lake, shuttlecock dries, buzzer and nymphs & the usual junk fished under the bung, Marsh lake has similar tactics.
99 fish caught (to be verified) giving a rod average of 3-ish, sadly two lads failed to score (full results to follow).

National Champion: Mickey Bell 8 fish 14 points
Runner up & 2024 Captain: James Stevo 7 fish 12 points
3rd: Jim Burtle 6 fish 12 points
4th: Gary Morris 7 fish 11 points
5th: Bruce Blackshaw 6 fish 11 points
6th: Tony Smith 6 fish 9 points
7th (Travelling Reserve): Tony Fox 5 fish 9 points

Congratulations lads.
Lee Cartmail

Rožmberk nad Vltavou, Czech Republic – 19th-25th May

The 9th FIPS-Mouche Masters World Fly Fishing Championships (for competitors aged over 50) and the 3rd FIPS-Mouche Ladies World Fly Fishing Championships will be held in Rožmberk nad Vltavou, Czech Republic, from 19th-25th May 2024.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS

MASTERS

Australia – Belgium – Czech Republic – England – Finland – France – Ireland – Italy – Luxembourg + Sweden – Netherlands – New Zealand – Romania – Slovakia – Spain – USA

AT Team England FF is represented by: Jay Curry, Tony Fox, Bernie Maher, Baz Reece & Mark Withyman.

LADIES

Australia – Czech Republic – Finland ­– France – Netherlands – Norway – South Africa – Sweden – USA

PROGRAMME – MASTERS

Day 1 – Sunday, May 19, 2024
12:00pm: Registration of Teams and Check-in
2:00pm: Captains’ Meeting at Hotel Zátoň
7:00pm: Opening Ceremony, Rožmberk
8:00pm: Opening Dinner at Herbertov

Day 2 – Monday May 20, 2024
9:00am: Start of Session 1
12:00pm: End of Session (on Lipno II lake session lasts till 1:00pm)
1:00pm: Lunch at Hotel
7:00pm: Dinner at Hotel

Day 3 – Tuesday May 21, 2024
9:00am: Start of Session 2
12:00pm: End of Session (on Lipno II lake session lasts till 1:00pm)
1:00pm: Lunch at Hotel
7:00pm: Dinner at Hotel

Day 4 – Wednesday May 22, 2024
9:00am: Start of Session 3
12:00pm: End of Session (on Lipno II lake session lasts till 1:00pm)
1:00pm: Lunch at Hotel
7:00pm: Dinner at Hotel
8:00pm: Conservation Symposium

Day 5 – Thursday May 23, 2024
9:00am: Start of Session 4
12:00pm: End of Session (on Lipno II lake session lasts till 1:00pm)
1:00pm: Lunch at Hotel
7:00pm: Dinner at Hotel

Day 6 – Friday May 24, 2023
9:00am: Start of Session 5 (on Lipno II lake session from 8:00am)
12:00pm: End of Session
1:00pm: Lunch at Hotel
6:00pm: Dinner at Hotel
7:30pm: Medals Ceremony, Vyšší Brod
8:30pm: Closing Banquet at Hotel Zátoň

Day 7 – Saturday May 25, 2024
Breakfast – Travel home

PROGRAMME – LADIES

Day 1 – Sunday, May 19, 2024
12:00pm: Registration of Teams and Check-in
3:30pm: Captains’ Meeting at Hotel Zátoň
7:00pm: Opening Ceremony, Rožmberk
8:00pm: Opening Dinner at Herbertov

Day 2 – Monday May 20, 2024
3:00pm: Start of Session 1
6:00pm: End of Session
7:00pm: Dinner at Hotel

Day 3 – Tuesday May 21, 2024
3:00pm: Start of Session 2
6:00pm: End of Session
7:00pm: Dinner at Hotel

Day 4 – Wednesday May 22, 2024
3:00pm: Start of Session 3
6:00pm: End of Session
7:00pm: Dinner at Hotel
8:00pm: Conservation Symposium

Day 5 – Thursday May 23, 2024
3:00pm: Start of Session 4
6:00pm: End of Session
7:00pm: Dinner at Hotel

Day 6 – Friday May 24, 2023
1:00pm: Start of Session 5
4:00pm: End of Session
6:00pm: Dinner at Hotel
7:30pm: Medals Ceremony, Vyšší Brod
8:30pm: Closing Banquet at Hotel Zátoň

Day 7 – Saturday May 25, 2024
Breakfast – Travel home

SECTORS

MASTERS

I. Lipno II reservoir (boat session)
Lipno II Reservoir is an equalization reservoir below Lipno I reservoir, the water in the reservoir is relatively cold and very clear. Reservoir hosts wild brown trout and coarse fish and it is regularly stocked with rainbow trout, however the reservoir is mainly used as carp water. The last time fly-fishing competitions took place on the reservoir was in 2014 during the World Championship, and the fishing here was very successful. Around 3,000 rainbow trout of various sizes will be stocked before the competition.

II. Vltava 29 P – River (bank session)
A beautiful piece of water between Lipno reservoir and the equalizing reservoir of Lipno 2. The flow is regulated all year-round and very stable, offering fishing for abundant native brown trout in a deep wooded valley, full of big boulders. Flyfishing here is very exacting, although the boulders are not slippery, it is necessary to ponder every step you take. The river width varies between 5–10m, depth ranges between 0.50–1.5m, but they are also pools with depths of 2m. In the lower part of the river stretch, there is also occasionally dace, grayling, brook trout and rainbow trout, but fish stock is dominated by native brown trout. We recommend to fish with a team of nymphs and carefully search every piece of water as in every pocket could be a trout. Dry fly is also important method. True competitors must show great fitness here, but even less physically fit competitors will find more accessible places to catch fish as individual pegs will be 200m long.

III. Vltava 28 P – River (bank session)
Vltava 28 is one of the best trout waters in the Czech Republic. Strict fishing rules (fly-fishing only, barbless hooks only, minimum size limit 45cm for brown trout) helps to protect the native population of brown trout which in addition is still regularly supported by stocking. The fishery is also stocked with rainbow trout (30-60cm). In slowly flowing parts and pools you can catch also coarse fish like dace, chub, roach, perch and barbell, all fish species are countable.
The stable water flow of 8m3/s will be maintained during the competition. The river flows through a mainly forested valley, it varies with a mixtures of runs and deeper pools, the river bed also varies between sandy gravel to stony reaches, often covered by water macrophytes. The width of the river varies between 20-30m, depth between 0.5-1.5m; banks are covered with tree vegetation.
Fish occurrence: brown trout (15-50cm), rainbow trout (30-60 cm), dace, chub, roach, perch and barbell, sometimes grayling and brook trout. Sector 3 will be not stocked with rainbow trout before the competition. We recommend all fly-fishing methods to cover all the water and all fish species.
The river is very popular with canoeists, we asked the main companies that operate canoeing to make their clients considerate of the competitors.

IV. Vltava 27 P – River (bank session)
The river is a little slower under Rožmberk nad Vltavou, and occurrence of coarse fish like dace, roach and chub is higher. This sector will be stocked with rainbow trout (30-60cm) before the championship, fish will be stocked from a raft and every beat will be stocked with the same number of fish. We recommend all fly-fishing methods to cover the water and all fish species.
The river is very popular with canoeists, we asked the main companies that operate canoeing to make their clients considerate of the competitors.

V. Malše 6 – Květoňov lake (bank session)
Květoňov lake is a small trout reservoir near the town of Kaplice with an area of 6.5ha. It was one of the first trout lakes in the Czech Republic and it is annually stocked with about 3 tonnes of rainbow trout. The depth of the lake close to the bank varies between 0.5 and 8m. The banks are covered with natural vegetation, but without trees. Lake will be stocked by approximately 2500 rainbow trout (30-60cm) before the competition. Other fish species include pike, carp, perch and roach, occasional brown trout, brook trout and white fish.
Masters will fish from bank, we have three fishable banks in the main body of the lake and we have registered 15 teams, therefore there will marked 5 pegs in every bank, sessions will be divided to the three parts and every competitor will fish from all banks.

LADIES

I. Lipno II reservoir (boat session)
II. Vltava 29 P – River (bank session)
III. Vltava 28 P – River (bank session
IV. Vltava 27 P – River (bank session)
V. Malše 6 – Květoňov lake (boat session)
Ladies will fish from the anchored boats, we have 9 teams, so we will prepare 5 boats and in one boat we will use dummy fisherman.

You will find more information on their website here>> and on their Facebook page here>>