Loch Style

2024 National Loch-style Final, Rutland Water

Due to circumstances beyond TEFF’s control, next year’s National Loch-style Final will be on the weekend of 21st and 22nd September, not 28th and 29th as previously published. Venue to be Rutland Water.

Ian Colclough

2023 Loch-style National Final, Grafham

Venue: Grafham Water
Official Practice: Friday 22nd September
Competition: Saturday-Sunday 23rd-24th September
Entry: Through Loch-style Qualifiers held throughout year

DAY 1 – SATURDAY 23rd SEPTEMBER

Keith Wallace reports: The weather at Grafham water was good to anglers today with sunshine and a moderate Westerly breeze on the water. Fishing wasn’t easy but fish were caught using certain methods.

BOATS AWAY AFTER THE BRIEFING

WEIGH-IN

DAY 2 – SUNDAY 24th SEPTEMBER

BOATS AWAY

Ian Colclough: Press Release: The Final was held at Grafham Water over two days on 23rd and 24th September.
Practice proved that the fishing was going to be a challenge for the 100 qualifying anglers taking part.

Day 1 of the Final dawned with good conditions for fly fishing but no one told the trout. Top rod on the day was Mark Macleod with a very impressive 9 fish for 17lb 1. For this win Mark was allocated 1 place point. Mark was using a four fly set-up with two Fabs, one on the top dropper and one on the point, with a UV Cruncher and Hare’s Ear between. His line of choice was 3ft Midge-tip. He concentrated his efforts at Deep Water Point, Rectory Bay and ‘G’ Buoy Point. His fish came to the nymphs in the morning, and the coloured flies in the afternoon.

Day 2 proved even more of a challenge, with a change in weather to cloud and a gusty strong Southerly wind making fishing the North shore of the lake difficult. Despite his win on Day 1, Mark knew that he must not blank on Day 2, as a blank is awarded with 100 place points, and he would then be out of the running. He need not have worried as he caught 3 trout on the day, weighing 4lb 9ozs, giving him a further 29 points and a total of 30. This was enough to see him finish in 6th spot and gain a place in next years AT TEFF Loch-style Team.

Overall National Loch-style Champion was Ian Gaskell, who finished 7th on Day 1 and 1st on Day 2. Close behind was Ben Race, who had the same place points (8) but was pipped by Ian on overall bag weight. For the first time a father and son have made the team – well done Ian and Shaun who finished 18th!
The rod average catch over the two day final was 2.43 fish.
The anglers that will make up next years two teams are:
Simon Bird, Sean Brooks, Andy Cottam, Richard Denney, Nick Dunn, Pete Eville, Simon Gaines, Ian Gaskell, Shaun Gaskell, Gary Haskins, David Johns, Mark MacLeod, Mark Miles, Stanley Moore, Gary Morris, John Piper, Sean Porter, Ben Race, Jim Rigby, Paul Roach, Riccardo Saccone, Philip Shaw-Browne, Dom Sheratte, Richard Slater, Philip Thompson, Paul Tweddle, Ben Watson, Jake Wenman

National Loch-style Champion Ian Gaskell is presented with the trophy by Paul Angell of Team England Fly Fishing

The 28 anglers that will form the two TEFF Loch-style Teams for 2024

Press release by Ian Colclough – Team Manager

2022 Loch-style National

1. Mark Miles 7 Total Position Points
        [2022 Loch-style National Champion]
2. John Hood 17 Total Position Points
3. Jake Wenman 21 Total Position Points

Best Fish award: Tony Curtis 4-5-0 rainbow

Other qualifiers: Leigh Pond 25pts – Lloyd Pallett 27pts – Richard Denney 27pts – Ben Race 28pts – Tony Baldwin 28pts – Dave Reynolds 30pts – John Horsey 30pts – Bart Farmer 33pts – Dale Burgess 34pts – Daniel Tranter 35pts – Tony Curtis 37pts – Alex Johnstone 38pts – Graeme Bell 41pts – David Currie 43pts – Mark Mcleod 44pts – Ryan Feber 44pts – Robert Middleton 47pts – Tony Fox 49pts – David Johns 50pts – Mark Rose 53pts – Martin Burgess 53pts – Andy Cottam 54pts – Kevin Glenn 57pts – Rob Allan 58pts – Philip Thompson 59pts

Mark Miles became the Loch-style National Champion for the second time, having first achieved this at Bewl in 2015. He also landed the best fish of the competition, a 4-6-0 rainbow, so the Best Fish award went to Tony Curtis for his 4-5-0 rainbow.
The 28 top anglers will form the two England Teams for next year, and will fish at either Draycote Water in the Spring or the Lake of Menteith, Scotland in the Autumn.

Match Report: This year’s National Final was held on the weekend of 10th and 11th of September at Draycote Water.

The fishing was challenging with a two-day rod average of just four fish. Conditions on both days were good with light winds and sunshine/cloud cover, but the surface water temperature remained high after the hot summer and the trout remained reluctant to feed for long periods. Many anglers reported ‘taps’ and ‘light pulls’, or fish hooked and lost within a few seconds.

Methods varied but most fish fell to flies fished in the top 2 or 3 feet, many taking small lures or nymphs fished slowly. Dry flies also accounted for some trout.

Top rod and National Champion for the second time was South West angler Mark Miles. He will gain his eighth cap next year – a magnificent achievement.

Mark’s success came by fishing a 12ft fast tip with a size 12 Cut Throat Cat Booby with 3mm eyes on the point fly then, on the two middle droppers, a red holographic Diawl Bach and a Claret Hopper. An Orange Foam Daddy was on the top dropper. Retrieve was a fast figure of eight. In practice he found a lot of fish between M and N buoys. Mark started there on Day 1 and steadily caught all day, but Day 2 was ‘like fishing a different lake’, the fish stopped feeding and it was a grind! Mark managed four fish but was lucky to land three decent-sized fish which helped him maintain his first place finish.

TEFF would like to thank Fishery Management Ltd for their support and administration of this event. Also a huge thank you to all the volunteers who give up their time freely to run this event throughout the country. Without their time and dedication there simple would not be a Team England.

Please give your support to this event next season.

Ian Colclough
AT TEFF Loch Style Heats and National Coordinator

2022 Loch-style Rules & FAQs

The Loch-style rules and FAQs have now been updated.

Loch-style Rules 2022 – https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q6smcFtXlDCnN9vs1PjLbdDvWQMtK59dM6oojE4AgVM/edit?usp=sharing

Loch-style – FAQs 2022 – https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l4raW5f_hC2hA5wLS9PekIhSn3k8XNIAU-2raUiDjO4/edit?usp=sharing

2022 Loch-style Qualifiers

2021 Loch-style Fundraiser National – Dates now amended

QUALIFIERS – NEW DATES

Sunday 6th June 2021 – Grafham Water (max rods 60)

Sunday 20th June 2021 – Blagdon Lake (max rods 36)

Sunday 12th September 2021 – Rutland (max rods 60)

Sunday 26th September 2021 – Draycote Water (max rods 60)

There is no limit on the number of qualifiers that you can enter. 

FINAL

Sunday 10th October 2021 – Draycote Water

ALL THE ABOVE WILL BE SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENT RESTRICTIONS IN PLACE AT THE TIME.

Due to the 2021 AT TEFF Loch Style National being cancelled, and the 2019 team rolling over to 2022, there will instead be a series of Loch Style Fundraisers held this year.

The proposal is to hold a series of individual loch-style matches to raise funds for TEFF, and hence support financially all our teams going forward. These matches will be held across the country at large reservoirs, as listed below.

Each event will have cash first, second and third prizes calculated, depending upon the entry levels but will be 30% of the entry fee broken down as follows: 50% first, 30% second and 20% third. Prize money will be sent via BACS from the Angling Trust after the event – AT will be in touch the week following the event via email.

Approximately 1 in 5 anglers from each event will also be eligible to fish a ‘Final’ later in the season, with the winner again receiving a cash first prize with cash for second and third places as above. The winner of the final will be awarded the title of ‘AT-TEFF Loch-Style Champion 2021’ and will also receive an inscribed silver salver. (Not ‘National Champion’ as that title is reserved for the official Qualifier and Final process for team places and will be fished for hopefully next year.)

To achieve this, we need your full help and support. This is an ideal time to introduce some of your non-competitive friends to the joys of competitive loch-style fishing.

RULES & FORMAT

Matches will be fished to full international rules on a full catch and release basis using debarbed or barbless flies throughout. Boobies and FABS will be allowed. No roly-poly retrieve. See full rules at bottom of this section.

First 3 fish will be time-recorded by your boat partner on a card, then the remaining fish are recorded on the same card, up to a maximum of 30 fish in total. No time bonus will be applied. The winner will be the angler who catches the most fish in the 8 hour match. Ties will be decided by the time of the first, second and third fish caught.

This process was ‘trialled’ at a fundraiser at Draycote in September 2020 and went very well. All Covid-19 rules were enforced and followed to ensure the safety of all competitors and officials and fishery staff.

There is no requirement to be an AT member to enter these events.

Please give these events your full support. This is the only income stream that TEFF has. All monies raised will be using to support the teams or provide cash prizes (after admin expenses for local organisers who often do not claim). If you qualify for one of the teams in future these funds may help you financially and you may even win a cash prize at one of the matches or the final. (Cash prizes will be sent by BACS after the event).

We look forward to seeing you all on the day.

2020 Loch-style Fundraiser National

Saturday 27th September, Draycote Water

The Angling Trust Loch Style National Final will be held at Draycote Water on Sunday 27^th September. The purpose is to find this year’s National Champion. No places are being fished for in next year’s England Teams as next year’s teams will carry over from 2019.

The competition will be fished to International Rules. Copy of rules available below. Please also read the FAQs.

Entry is through the Angling Trust booking system only and is open to anglers aged 18 and over on the day of the match.

Entry link: https://anglingtrust.net/competitions/at-teff-loch-style-national-final-2020/

The entry fee is £60.00 to include fishing fee. Cash prizes will be on offer to the top 3 places. The prime ‘prize’ is to be crowned National Champion 2020. A trophy is available and will be inscribed with the winner’s name.

Initially there will be 60 places available – this may be extended subject to boat availability at the venue. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Entries open on Tuesday 11^th August 10.00am

The closing date for entries (if places are not all booked) will be 13^th September. There will be a live boat draw on the Angling Trust Competitions Facebook page on the morning of Friday 25^th September.

20% of the entry fee (after deduction of fishing and boat costs) will be allocated to prizes with the remainder going to TEFF funds to support its teams.

The Prize fund (assuming an entry of 60 anglers) will be

1^st – £200, 2^nd – £150, 3^rd – £100

HEAT DETAILS

Match Rules: International Rules
Scoring: Full catch & release to max 30 fish. First 3 fish to be time recorded.
Draw: Remote draw recorded live by Angling Trust on Friday 25th September with copies issued to anglers via email & published on AT Comps Facebook page and at the fishery.
Fishing: 10.00-18.00

Rules: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VNmB0XDQaD9862_dkkPDwaCm8RwBkvav2qUTo2dg-g4/edit

2019 Loch-style National

Saturday 28th – Sunday 29th September, Chew Valley Lake

(Official Practice Days: Thursday 26th-Friday 27th September)

Day 1 Results (provisional)

100 anglers returned a rod average of 8.3 in overcast & blustery conditions. Great angling!

The top 28 anglers will be selected to represent England in the 2020 Loch-style Home Internationals, with the Spring event being held on Lough Melvin, Ireland, and the Autumn event taking place at Llyn Trawsfynydd, Wales.

2 day Event – 100 rods – Entry by Qualification & Invitation Only
Registration from: 08:30 & Closes 09:00
Briefing Day 1 only: 09.15
Match: 10:00 – 18:00
Organiser: Peter Hartley

Peter Hartley & Bristol Water staff will hold the draw for both days in the lodge at Chew at 6.15pm on Friday. All competitors are welcome to attend.

Ticket price: £99.00, to include hog roast after Day 2.

It is the responsibility of the competitor to ensure they are familiar with the rules of the competition and fishery. Any questions should be raised at the briefing.

• First 3 fish to be killed (to include one brown trout) and then catch & release with each fish released counting as 2lbs.
• Any extra brown trout caught in the first 3 will be counted as catch & release fish to be recorded on the scorecard.
• Barbless or debarbed flies to be used throughout the match. Boobies and FABs allowed.
• Once on catch & release any bleeding fish to be dispatched, kept in a separate bag, and handed to fishery staff at the weigh-in.
• Your boat partner will be responsible for monitoring your catch return, and they must sign your match card prior to the weigh-in.
• You must weigh in with your boat partner – no exceptions.

Event Information: https://www.anglingtrustevents.net/e/185/2019-national-final

AT TEFF: Statement surrounding issues raised prior to the 2019 Loch-style Final

Role of volunteers / organisers

Angling Trust Team England Fly Fishing (AT-TEFF) is empowered by Angling Trust in association with volunteers drawn from the competitive game fishing community, to administer the Team England Loch Style Qualification process. All volunteer roles were advertised and the persons appointed following an interview process. Vacancies are advertised on the AT website – there are currently several available. If you feel you can make a contribution to helping run our events please get in touch with the ATTEFF Secretary.

Venues

Venues for the final have rotated around the major fisheries that have the boat capacity. This rotation has varied based on the International venue for the following year. In 2019 Chew was the chosen venue for the final in order to support Bristol Water after their recent issues. Other venues have been Rutland, Grafham and Bewl. ATTEFF, in an effort to keep angler cost to a minimum, have been proactive in negotiating the best rates for its competitors at these venues. With this in mind ATTEFF will be using Draycote Water for its final in 2020 (with the international being held there in 2021). This venue offers a ‘no kill’ possibility with some fish being measured and recorded prior to release. This alternative has been trialled over the last 2 years and has proven to be popular and a success. Bewl Water has, for now, been discounted, simply because of its move to methods, other than fly fishing. This is under constant review.

Entry fees

ATTEFF uses all its entry fees to support all its teams. There is no sponsorship and for 2020 the Competition budget is based solely on the revenue accrued from those fees. From this budget AT-TEFF have calculated how much each individual angler can receive in support of him / her representing England. Entry fees for loch style have remained at £30 per heat for several years. From 2020 this will have to rise to £35. Entry to the repechage will increase to £20.

Traditionally there has never been an entry fee for the final. This cost has been calculated based on fishing and boat costs plus an element to cover a meal on day 2 and any other overheads including covering for the attendance by the officials and any extra help required from fishery staff. This has for many years been a fixed fee of £99. In an effort to increase revenue to help our teams, ATTEFF negotiates with fisheries to obtain the best deal possible. This may result in part of the final fee going to the general fund to help our teams. For 2020 a fixed entry fee for the final of £35 plus Fishing/Admin/Subsistence costs is being considered. However, this will, depending on the negotiations with the fisheries, result in a total fishing fee above £99. Every penny raised from entry fees goes to support all the teams.

Catch and release and catch limits

ATTEFF is aware that images of large numbers of dead fish following some matches are no longer acceptable. There is a strong move away from totally kill in all matches to some sort of catch and release or total release. Fisheries are more inclined to offer better price ‘deals’ if less fish are killed. For the 2019 final at Chew negotiation on the catch rules was undertaken commencing around April. The fishery were in agreement that this could be an eight fish kill or C&R of some type. The price agreed for these two options was stated. This was discussed between the Qualifier and National Co-ordinator and the match organiser. He was of the opinion that an 8 fish kill would be better, in that it would be more difficult, though not impossible, for two like-minded anglers to collude and falsify their catch return cards (one of them having possibly caught 8 fish).

Survey

The final decision on catch limits was taken back to Angling Trust and they suggested angler involvement and issued a short survey. It was also felt that this would give a good indication, through the numbers making a reply, how many wished to make their input known. As it turned out around 77% replied which was a good result. AT undertook analysis of the results and declared that, by a majority, the favoured catch / kill was to be 3 fish killed then C&R all day. This opened up discussions, on social media only, around the possibility of some anglers colluding to falsify their catch cards.

Cheating

In reality it is thought the likelihood of any anglers cheating in this manner is very low, however, it is accepted that it is a possibility. The fact that the final is held over 2 days means that any anglers contemplating cheating will more than likely only be able to do this on one of the days anyway. Many options to make cheating impossible have been discussed but it is felt that the only method open to ATTEFF is to have boatmen in every boat. (Though other options will be investigated including the use of technology in future). The use of boatmen in future would add additional costs to the entry fees unless volunteers could be found from amongst unsuccessful anglers from earlier heats. Currently Boatmen in the Internationals are offered £25 per day so entry fees would probably have to rise significantly to cover this.

At this year’s final all efforts will / were made to make constant checks on anglers and their bags throughout the two days.

Hooks

With a move to C&R it is even more important to use de barbed or barbless flies. Anglers were concerned that they would not have enough time to buy or tie a selection of flies on barbless hooks. It is accepted that this is not an option so the organiser will accept flies that have been de barbed or had their barbs flattened. In future it may be worth building up a stock of flies that are tied on barbless hooks. However, we are surprised by the response on this as there are other Competitions that are fished to C&R rules and require barbless or de-barred hooks!

Social Media

ATTEFF are aware that some anglers engage with social media on a regular basis, however these anglers are in the minority but do hold huge influence in the community. ATTEFF as an organisation does not normally reply to social media posts. This does not mean it is not aware of these posts and does take on board what is being said. If anglers have specific concerns, ATTEFF would like to hear from you through normal channels ie email direct to the ATTEFF secretary. Through this channel you will receive a formal reply.

Ideas for 2020

Many suggestions as to how ATTEFF can run heats / nationals in future have been put forward through social media. These range from anglers taking images of fish caught using their mobile phones to the use of boatmen. There are difficulties with both these ideas. The use of boatmen would have to be funded unless 50 volunteers can be found for the final. It would also mean a one day final as it would be totally out of the question to expect boatmen to be around for 2 days. If ATTEFF pay the boatmen then that charge would have to be added to the entry costs and shared by all entrants. Another option would be to make it a condition of entry that those not getting to the final have to become boatmen (a draw being undertaken with a threat that if they do not turn up then they would be prevented from entering the following year). Not something that ATTEFF would wish to do. The use of technology is one option that may be worth pursuing. However, looking at the practicalities – for example it is a wet windy day and the angler has to get his phone out, take a picture of a fish with time stamp using wet slimy hands and then put fish back and phone away. ATTEFF does not see this being a favoured option and not everyone will have a phone with a camera. The images then have to be seen by the officials and analysed  at the weigh-in before the results are made know. This will take more time and delay the results being announced.

If you feel you wish to contribute to any discussions around the points above please email or write to the ATTEFF Secretary – details on the TEFF website.

Sept 2019    

Document: Statement – National final issues

2019 Loch-style National – Final Results

Full Results: TEFF National Loch Style 2019 – checked and corrected (1)

(NB: These results have now been checked and ratified, and some minor place changes have occurred, but these do not affect the top 28 places.)

Congratulations to Pablo Mullings the 2019 National Loch-style Champion.

The two day national final was held this weekend at Chew Valley Lake. 100 anglers competed for their place in either the spring or autumn international teams in 2020.
Despite the weather Chew fished well with a rod average of over 8 fish per angler on the Saturday and 3.7 fish per angler on the Sunday.

The top 28 anglers over the two days who now form the teams for next year are: Pablo Mullings, John Horsey, John Hardy, Paddy Mounter, Tony Baldwin, Graham Currie, Martin Burgess, Paul Calvert, John Pearn, Neil Hodgson, Ben Race, Andy Cottam, Mark Miles, Si Gaines, Peter Crowe, Mark Rose, Tim Wellman, Craig Barr, Sam Bailey, Kim Green, John Hood, Ashley Davis, David Currie, Alex Johnstone, Bart Farmer, Ryan Feber, Paul Sweatman and Terry Phillips.

Congratulations!

Many thanks to the staff at Chew Valley, Peter Hartley and Chris Bobby for running the two days and undertaking the results and all those anglers who competed.

The Angling Trust reports: The weekend of the 28^th/29^th September saw 100 anglers take part in the two-day AT TEFF National Loch-Style final at Chew Valley Lake. The anglers were fishing to be part of the two England teams for 2020 having qualified from regional heats and the repêchage earlier in the season. The match was fished over two days on a three fish kill and unlimited catch and release with anglers marking returned fish on their score cards. The final results were based on place points from both days to find the most consistent anglers to form the teams for the Spring and Autumn Internationals in 2020. Therefore, the angler with the lowest place points over the two days would be the National Champion. Those in the top 28 would form the two teams of fourteen anglers for 2020 Internationals.

Chew had been in exceptional form in the week leading up to the national with both the recent stock fish and the fin-perfect residents Chew is famous for willing to feed. The trout were high in the water and fast and slow glass intermediates, floaters and tips being the preferred choice of lines during practice. Denny Island, the North Shore and the mouth of Herons Green were the hot spots.

On day one of the final the boats split at the start with half the fleet heading to Denny Island the other half to Moreton Bank and Herons Green. It soon became clear that Denny Island and the North Shore were the place to be with anglers catching good numbers of fish in these areas. Fast and slow glass lines along with the Di3 and pulling tactics with Blobs and Cormorants were the most successful tactics. In total 811 fish were caught for a superb rod average of just over eight with the biggest fish to the scales a superb 5lb 3oz fish. Pablo Mullings took first spot with 23 trout followed by local anglers Mark Miles and Tim Wellman with 22 and 19 fish respectively. It was all to fish for on day two.

With winds of 40mph forecast for the afternoon of day two anglers were briefed before setting out that restrictions may be put in place for health and safety reasons. At the 10am start the majority of the boats headed to Denny Island and the North Shore which had been so productive on day one. It soon became clear that these fish had switched off and anglers started to search the water for fresh fish. The wind picked up and a restriction was put in place keeping the boats on the south side of the lake. The overnight rain had also affected the fishing and many anglers struggled to catch. However, there were anglers who managed to find catchable fish with some taking eight or nine fish. The rod average on day two was 3.7 showing how tricky the fishing had been in comparison to day one.

The 2019 National Champion was Pablo Mullings who caught 32 fish over the two days finishing first on day one and second on day two giving him three place points. Runner-up was local angler John Horsey who again displayed why he is one of the best loch-style anglers in England. John had 23 fish for 16 place points. Third place was taken by John Hardy who caught 21 fish for 19 place points.

The top twenty eight anglers who will now represent England in the Spring or Autumn Home Internationals are: Pablo Mullings, John Horsey, John Hardy, Paddy Mounter, Tony Baldwin, Graham Currie, Martin Burgess, Paul Calvert, John Pearn, Neil Hodgson, Ben Race, Andy Cottam, Mark Miles, Si Gaines, Peter Crowe, Mark Rose, Tim Wellman, Craig Barr, Sam Bailey, Kim Green, John Hood, Ashley Davis, David Currie, Alex Johnstone, Bart Farmer, Ryan Feber, Paul Sweatman and Terry Phillips.

Pablo Mullings, 2019 National Loch Style Champion said: “I am surprised, and also delighted, to have won this year’s national, especially due to the last-minute rule change which nearly impacted on my participation in the competition. Nevertheless, it is a great honour to be fishing for England in next year’s international. This result was made possible by the hard and unconditional work of my team mates, John Hardy, Mark Rose and honorary team member Sean Hanlon. A kind word to Bristol Water for producing a great few days fishing. Tight lines to all, see you next year!”

John Harris, Recreations & Fisheries Manager Bristol Water said: “It was a privilege to be able to host the English National at Chew Valley Lake recently, highlighting the national importance of this water to the competition loch-style fishing scene. Despite challenging conditions, the fishing was superb with some rather special fish being caught over the two days. We are incredibly proud of the quality of the fish we produce and strongly believe they are the best fish in the country. Famous for top of the water sport, seeing fish caught on dries and a number of other methods was fantastic! Reports of fish being caught in a variety of areas also goes to demonstrate just how well spread the fish have been this season. We wish the qualifiers the best of luck when representing England in 2020 and look forward to welcoming anglers back in coming seasons.”

Andy Taylor, Competitions Support Officer said: “Chew Valley was on fine form over the two day National with some superb fishing for quality resident and recently stocked fish. The rod average of over eight fish on day one shows how well the lake fished. The AT TEFF would like to thank John Harris and staff at Chew Valley for hosting the event, Peter Hartley for running the final on behalf of AT TEFF, Chris and Lianne Bobby for collating the results and all the volunteers and fisheries who have helped run the qualifiers over the last 12 months. Well done to all those who took part and good luck to the top 28 who will represent England in the Home International next year.”

2018 Loch-style National

Saturday 15th – Sunday 16th September, Grafham Water

100 competitors, who had pre-qualified through the Loch-style Qualifiers and the Repechage, fished the two-day 2018 Loch-style National at Grafham Water on Saturday – Sunday 15th-16th September.

The top 28 anglers were selected to represent England in the 2019 Loch-style Home Internationals, with the Spring event being held at Grafham Water, and the Autumn event taking place at the Lake of Menteith, Scotland.

Day 1

233 fish were caught on the Saturday in challenging conditions, with new England World Team Manager John Horsey finishing top rod for the day with 7 fish for 14lb 8oz. Team England member Mark Harrison and Tony Curtis finished 2nd and 3rd respectively, also with 7 fish each for 14lb 5oz. All to play for tomorrow, the forecast was predicting blustery winds but plenty of cloud cover. The very best of luck to each and every one of the anglers out there on Sunday!

2017 Loch-style National

Saturday 2nd – Sunday 3rd September, Rutland Water

Results:

1st: Tom Davis – 9 total position points

  (2017 National Loch-Style Champion) 

2nd: Iain Barr – 17 total position points

3rd: John Horsey – 23 total position points

Other qualifiers:

4th: Malcom Hunt 28pts – 5th: John Hardy 31pts – 6th: Martin Burgess 35pts – 7th: Ron Gent 38pts – 8th: Ashley Davis 41pts – 9th: Philip Thompson 41pts – 10th: Edward Mitchell 41pts – 11th: Tim Joyce 42pts – 12th: Mark Thomas 42pts – 13th: Rob Allan 49pts – 14th: Ben Race 50pts – 15th: Leigh Pond 51pts – 16th: Paul Golding 52pts – 17th: Mike Lightfoot 52pts – 18th: Paul Runec 55pts – 19th: Martin Introna 55pts – 20th: Robert Toptalo 56pts – 21st: Mark Mathieson 57pts – 22nd: David Bromley 59pts – 23rd: Mark Withyman 59pts – 24th: Charlie Abrahams 60pts – 25th: Graham Willis 60pts – 26th: Paul Haskey 61pts – 27th: Samuel Bailey 64pts – 28th: Stephen Peart 64pts

Full Results: National Results 20176 temp day 1 final v1  ATTEFF ENGLISH NATIONAL FINAL RESULT FOR AG 2017

Congratulations to all the AT Team England qualifiers, especially the first-time caps. They will make up the two teams to fish next year’s Spring and Autumn Home Loch-style Internationals on Lough Mask, Ireland and Llyn Brenig, Wales.

AT Team England FF Loch-style Team Manager Paul Angell reports: On Saturday 2^nd September, the 122 anglers who had qualified for this year’s National Championship to select the Loch-Style teams for 2018, congregated in front of the lodge at Rutland Water to hear the briefing by match organiser Peter Hartley.  The match was to be held over 2 days with the top 28 anglers being selected to represent England at Lough Mask in Ireland or Llyn Brenig in Wales.

Saturday’s weather was less than ideal with bright sunny spells and little wind for much of the day. The bulk of the fleet opted to fish the main basin and, to start with at least, few rods were to be seen bending. As the day progressed a light breeze developed and as the boats were able to cover more water the catch rate, for some at least, improved. By the end of the first day, six anglers had managed to catch their 8 fish limit, with a number of others on 6 or 7. Charlie Abrahams was also well up with the leading group despite having only landed two fish. A magnificent brown trout of over 7lb together with a rainbow of around 4lb saw him finish the day in 25^th place. Overall the rod average on a very tough day was an impressive 3.64 – a testament to the quality of anglers afloat in these championships.

Sunday saw very different conditions with overcast skies and a steady breeze. Again the bulk of the boats headed for the main basin. Some got into fish early which proved important as boat pressure resulted in areas which had produced the previous day, becoming much harder as the morning progressed. In the search for fresh fish a small number of boats headed back towards the Normanton shore around W buoy and the blue pipes where they found a big shoal of stockies. Quickly these first boats bagged up and started to make their way back to the dock with the first boat back at around 3pm. This was noticed by others and boats started moving onto the fresh stockies with lots of rods bending as they made the most of the plethora of fish. By the end of the match at 6pm, 39 anglers had completed their 8 fish limit, with many having come from the Normanton side of the reservoir. This was to have a considerable impact on the results from the previous day with almost half those occupying to 30 placings after day one, dropping down the field.

After the weigh in, a computer glitch meant a lengthy delay before the results were announced. The Day 2 rod average was 5.6, giving an average over the whole 2 days of 6.5 fish per angler.  Finally Tom Davis was announced as National Champion, and making a family occasion to remember, father Ashley Davis was also announced as qualifying for his first international cap.  Past World Champion Iain Barr was runner up, with England’s most capped angler John Horsey in third. Congratulations to all those qualifying anglers and a special thank you to Anglian Water and the staff at Rutland for all their help and two days fishing to remember. Thanks also go to Ian Colclough for all his work in planning and organising the event.

Report: National report 2017

2016 Loch-style National Final

The 2016 Loch-style National Final was fished at Chew Valley Lake on 10th & 11th September.

Top 10 places + Qualifiers for 2017 Home International Loch-style Teams: 

1. Mike Dixon (14 pts) – 2016 National Loch-style Champion 
2. Mark Miles (19 pts)
3. Tom Gott (26 pts)
4. Mark Haycock (27 pts)
5. Nikki Long (34 pts)
6. Mark Rooney (35 pts)
7. Phil Shaw-Browne (35 pts)
8. Thomas Bird (38 pts)
9. Iain Barr (38 pts)
10. Antony Donnelly (42 pts)

Other qualifiers: John Braithwaite, David Bromley, Roger Truscott, Ed Foster, Andy Cottam, Dave Summers, Mark Tremain-Coker, Tony Fox, Alex Johnstone, Steve Smalley, Mark Rose, Ed Smith, Tom Speake, Nick Dunn, Ryan Feber, Craig Barr, Andy Taylor & Matt Kingdom.

Full Results here

Congratulations to all the qualifiers for doing well over what was a tough two days!

Loch-style Co-ordinator Ian Colclough reports: This final was again held over two days with 102 anglers from all parts of England competing. Anglers had reached this stage having qualified through various heats around the country throughout the year.

Practice days were extremely challenging with bright sun and strong winds making the fishing difficult. Day One of the Final saw a change to overcast skies and near calm conditions. However this did not make the fishing any easier and many experienced anglers struggled to catch. Day Two was relatively calm but the sun reappeared and the fishing became even more difficult. Many large trout also came to the scales and some anglers were fortunate to latch in to one or two of these. The results were tight and anglers who prospered on Day One found that they slipped out of the top slots on Day Two, while others crept up to take an England cap.

Many methods were employed, from dry fly fishing to pulling lures and nymphs. 

The 28 top anglers will form the two England Teams for next year, and will fish at either Chew in the Spring or Menteith, Scotland in the Autumn.

Press Release: press-release

The Angling Trust reports: Mike Dixon has been crowned this year’s Angling Trust Team England Fly Fishing National Loch-Style champion after a challenging two-day final held at Chew Valley Lake.

Mike’s splendid performance over both days saw him land eight fish to 3lb 10oz to pip last year’s champion Mark Miles.

Over 100 anglers had qualified for the ATTEFF final through a series of heats held all over the country but found catching tough right from the start of practice days when they were greeted with bright sunshine and strong winds.

Day one of the final saw a change in the weather with overcast skies and near calm conditions but the fishing remained tough with many experienced anglers struggling to catch. With the sun returning for day two, the fishing didn’t get any easier.

It resulted in a tight competition which saw a number of anglers who prospered on day one slipping out of the top spots by the end, including overnight leader John Hardy who failed to add to his tally of six fish on day one.

Eventual winner Mike Dixon, however, maintained his form over both days. His five fish on day one put him in eighth spot with a total weight of 10lb 9oz, and on day two he finished sixth on the day and first overall after landing a further three fish with a total weight of 8lb 7oz.

Runner-up Mark Miles followed up his three fish on day one – the best weighing 4lb 3oz – with seven on day two, while third place went to Tom Gott who found five fish on day one and three on day two, the best on both days weighing 2lb 12oz.

Biggest fish on day one was landed by Matt Kingdom at 6lb 3oz while Andy Haskins took the honours on day two with a fish of 4lb 14oz.

There were 189 fish caught on day one with 135 on day two. With the conditions proving challenging, many anglers resorted to a variety of methods from dry fly fishing to pulling lures and nymphs.

The 28 top anglers will form the two Angling Trust Team England Fly Fishing teams for next year and will fish at either Chew in the spring or Menteith, Scotland, in the autumn.

2015 Loch-style National Final

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

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.

Timetable

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.

Loch-style Qualifiers – Results

Northern Federation – Stocks – 19th April – Organiser Paul Page reports that, with the weather worsening, this turned out to be a tough competition, however some good bags were recorded, and everyone was OK with the day – Results: Stocks 190415 Results

Peninsula Federation – Blagdon – 26th April – Results: Blagdon result

Midlands Federation – Grafham – 1st May – Results: Grafham result

South East Federation – Bewl – First Leg – 1st June – Results: 150601 SEFF First Leg

Loch-Style National Final 2014

Rutland Water, Friday-Saturday 19th-20th September

Top 4

1st John Horsey – 5 place points

2nd Rob Barden – 18 place points

3rd Martin Burgess – 25 place points

4th Mark Withyman – 27 place points

Autumn Loch-style Manager, Paul Angell reports: Over two days of exceptional fishing at Rutland Water, John Horsey emerged as the clear National Champion with a brilliant display of consistent angling, taking first place on Friday and fourth on Saturday, giving him a total of 5 place points, 13 ahead of second placed Rob Barden from Kent who finished with 18 place points, finishing eighth on Friday and tenth on Saturday.

John fished dries across Manton bay to take his eight fish limit by 1.35pm on Friday, and 3.08pm on Saturday. Overall the anglers found the fishing tougher on the second day, with 37 anglers reaching their 8 fish limit on the Friday, but only 10 managing it on the following day.

As well as John and Rob, the other anglers qualifying to fish for Team England in next year’s Spring and Autumn Internationals were: Martin Burgess, Mark Withyman, Gary Haskins, Mike Heritage, Tony Baldwin, Frank Sumnall, Pete Kempton, Richard Wood, Craig Smith, James Atkinson, Chris Bobby, Joel Beeney, Gary Morris, Carl Malpass, Brad Gifford, Paul Davison, Lee Bartlett, Kim Green, Lloyd Pallett, Steve Cullen, Ian Colclough, Mark Glass, John Hardy, Richard Slater, Paul Golding and Mark Stevens 

Loch-Style National Final 2013

Grafham Water, Saturday 14th September 

Pre-match practice had identified two main areas – Sanctuary Bay and Gaynes Cove. On match day the wind swung round to more NW and with Sanctuary Bay not living up to expectations, many of the boats here moved to join those already in the Gaynes Cove-Dam area. Overcast conditions meant that fish were generally high in the water, and as the wind dropped in the afternoon nymphing tactics appeared to win out over the pulling that had taken earlier fish. There was a great range in the size of fish taken, with the top specimen a magnificent 7-13-12 brown to Phil Dixon, the second time he has taken the Loch-style Championship. The 28 qualifiers will be representing Team England in the 2014 Home Internationals at Lough Owel in Ireland, and Llyn Brenig in Wales.

TEFF Team Qualifiers 

1. Philip Dixon (Severn Trent) – 8 fish – 22-13 7/8

2. Philip Longstaff (Severn Trent) – 7 fish – 22-8

3. Tony Baldwin (Peninsula) 8 fish – 22-4 1/2

4. Tony Curtis (Anglia) 8 fish – 22-1 5/8

5. Clive Perkins (Southern) 7 fish – 21-15 5/8

6. Dave Currie (Severn Trent) 8 fish – 20-5 5/8

7. Ryan Feber (Northern) 7 fish – 20-3 7/8

8. Andre Gysler (Southern) 8 fish – 19-14 1/2

9. Lee Bartlett (East Anglia) 8 fish – 19-14

10. Leigh Pond (East Anglia) 8 fish – 19-11 

11. Mark Rose (Army) 7 fish – 19-7 1/2

12. Paul Bebb (Northern) 8 fish – 18-14 5/8

13. Gary Morris (East Anglia) 8 fish – 18-13 5/8

14. Joel Beeney (South East) 8 fish – 18-5 1/2 

15. Bill Rankin (Southern) 6 fish – 18-1

16. Simon Robinson (Northern) 8 fish – 17-15 1/8

17. John Pearn (Southern) 8 fish – 17-10 3/4

18. John Hood (Northern) 7 fish – 17-10 5/8

19. Vince Brooks (South East) 7 fish – 16-15 1/8

20. Mark Withyman (Southern) 7 fish – 16-7 1/8

21. Mike Laycock (Severn Trent) 7 fish – 15-7 1/2

22. Gary Owen (Severn Trent) 8 fish – 15-4 5/8

23. Tim Joyce (East Anglia) 7 fish – 15-3 3/4

24. John Humphry (Southern) 4 fish – 14-11 5/8

25. John Bowen (Southern) 6 fish – 14-1 7/8

26. James Atkinson (Northern) 6 fish – 14-1 1/2

27. Dave Johns (Southern) 5 fish – 13-8

28. Peter Elliott (Severn Trent) 6 fish – 13-1 3/4

Full Results: 2013 Loch-style National

National Qualifier Information

Invitations have been sent out to all qualifiers to the Team England FF 2013 Loch-style National. Cheques for £60 (covering costs of boats, fishing, food and administration for the day) must be sent to organiser John Mees no later than Monday 5th August.

Commemorative Greys shirts are also available at £30 for qualifiers and officials from John Ball. All boats have been reserved for the official practice days on the 12th and 13th of September. There will be enough places for everyone who books before Friday 30th August (after this date spare boats may be allocated to other anglers). Also, on each practice day, if any booked boats are not manned by 10.00am, they may be re-allocated by Grafham lodge staff to other anglers.

To book a practice boat or to ask for information on local accommodation, telephone 01480 810531. Note: Both you and your boat partner must have qualified for the 2013 National. If you do not already have a boat partner who has qualified, then you will be allocated a place in a boat with another qualifier by fishery staff on the morning of that particular day’s practice.

Loch-Style National Final 2012

Venue : Bewl Water

Date : 21st September 2012

The top 28 qualifiers are:

1. Steve Cullen             8 fish    17lbs 61/2ozs 
2. Tony Fox                  8 fish    16lbs 9ozs
3. Harry Fox                7 fish    14lbs 31/2ozs
4. John Tyzack             6 fish    12lbs 81/2ozs
5. John Hardy              6 fish    12lbs 2ozs
6. Paul Canning           5 fish    11lbs 12ozs
7. Tom Bird                  6 fish    11lbs 81/2ozs
8. Martin Griffiths      6 fish    11lbs 8ozs
9. John Ball                  6 fish    11lbs 71/2ozs
10. Gary Hedges          5 fish    10lbs 1ozs
11. Martin Burgess      4 fish    9lbs 15ozs 
12. Andrew Croucher  5 fish    9lbs 9ozs
13. Howard Croston    5 fish    9lbs 7ozs
14. Mark MacLeod      5 fish    9lbs 41/2ozs
15. Paul Davison          4 fish    8lbs 9ozs
16. Paul Lee                  4 fish    8lbs 8ozs
17. John Hood              5 fish    8bs 51/2ozs
18. Richard Slater       3 fish    8lbs 51/2ozs
19. Paul Kitchen          5 fish    8lbs 3ozs
20. Thomas Davis       4 fish    8lbs 21/2ozs
21. Steve Smalley        5 fish    8lbs 1ozs
22. Roger Truscott     4 fish    7lbs 14ozs
23. Simon Kidd           4 fish    7lbs 7ozs
24. Denis Symonds     3 fish    7lbs 5ozs 
25. Paul Angel             3 fish    7lbs 4ozs
26. Glen Appleby        4 fish    7lbs 2ozs
27. John Horsey          3 fish    7lbs 01/2ozs
28. Rob Barden           3 fish    6lbs 15ozs

(Results & images courtesy of Cliff Waters, Fishypics)

Full results: England National 2012(3)

These will represent Team England FF at the Home Loch-style Internationals for 2013, which will be the Spring International at Bewl Water, and the Autumn International at the Lake of Menteith in Scotland. 

Martin Introna, Team England FF Boat Manager, adds, “Many congratulations to everyone who qualified for next year’s teams. It was a very difficult and frustrating day for many anglers who just couldn’t get that single take/fish that may have seen them in the top 28 places. Bewl is a wonderful water but can be rather ‘moody’…If I can for the moment single out one particular angler, Steve Cullen, this man is on fire claiming the top English bag at the recent Autumn International held at Llyn Brenig and now National Champion. To all the other qualifiers, I look forward to working with you next year, we have a very strong squad.”

Loch-Style National Final 2011

Venue : Grafham Water

Date : 3rd September 2011

Visit Grafham Water website

Even though Grafham’s fishing had been ‘challenging’ in recent weeks, pre-match practice had thrown up good bags for some, and also suggested that fish were well spread out. Sure enough, at the gun 14 boats headed for the North shore, 25 to G Buoy and the rest to an area stretching from The Seat, to Gaynes Cove and the South end of the Dam.

Ideal conditions prevailed for much of the morning, with a good overcast sky and moderate winds. With fish high in the water, lines varied from floaters to DI3s, with some pulling on DI5s and DI7s.

First to finish was Kim Green, RAF federation, who took his 8 fish by 12.14pm drifting onto Deep Water Point. Having seen the numbers heading for G Buoy, he chose to pick a drift where they would be the only boat. Landing 7 in the first hour on floating line and nymphs, he found sport slowed noticeably as other boats joined in the drift and it took him an hour and a quarter to get that last fish. Even so, he still finished almost 90 minutes ahead of anyone else, and took the National Champion title with 23lbs 11 5/8ozs.

Second place went to Ron Gent who landed a 20lbs+ bag of fish just after 3.00pm, with third place going to David Drake with another spectacular 21-7-6 bag at 4.40pm. In a match that saw many four pound specimens, the best fish was caught by Denis Symonds, Peninsula federation, at 5-2-14.

The top 28, who will form the two England Teams to fish the Home Internationals at Lough Sheelin and Llyn Brenig in 2012, are: Kim Green, Ron Gent, David Drake, Paul Shaw, Fred Bainbridge, Alistair Beaumont, Andy Croucher, Richard Slater,  Brad Gifford, Steve Cullen, Rob Sosbe, Ian Donaldson, Dave Morris, Nick Dunn, Lloyd Pallett, Mark Howard, Colin Martin, Bill Rankin, Martin Greatbatch, Paul Angell, Mark MacLeod, John Stevenson, Steve Collins, Chris Micallef, Peter Appleby, Steve Ellerbeck, Mark Withyman and Sean Brooks.

Full results Loch-style National 2011

(Images courtesy of Cliff Waters Fishypics)