This was the information we received from Adrian Hoole, who is an Angling Trust licenced coach and also the chairman of a community association in Blackburn, Lancashire who take young people fishing to give them something to occupy their time and energies.

"It all started back in 2007 when we received a £500 grant form a small community based group to help with our aims of tackling anti social behaviour within our community and was awarded a certificate from the Home Office for our stance against anti-social behaviour.

We would take the young people fishing on the local canal but this is no longer available, over the years we have been over subscribed with the young people who became engaged, that we now have a long term lease for our own old mill lodge (the last remaining mill lodge in Blackburn).

This lodge have not been used in 15 years and has become a fly tip area and overgrown with weeds etc,

We have applied for a grant from the Peoples Millions and we are in the final today where we will appear on regional TV, (Granada). We are going into a head to head fight against another group from Cheshire and it will be up to the public to vote for who they deemed is the best cause.

We stand a chance of winning up to £50,000 so we can improve the water for ALL anglers inclusive. The work will be to create paths for people to access the lodge, a special path for disabled users, security fencing, usable platforms and an informal educational building to teach angling."

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust said:

"In 2012, Defra and the Environment Agency commissioned the Angling Trust to compile a national strategy for the future of angling participation. Fishing for Life aims to find ways of overcoming barriers to increasing the number and diversity of anglers and maximising the benefits to society from people going fishing.

This chance to secure funding from the People's Millions is something we support 100% and is a magnificent effort by the Lodge team and Adrian to stand up for angling and the benefits it can bring socially to an area. We are really pleased that this effort has paid off handsomely for them and hope other similar projects will take heart from this and put forward their own bids for funding nationwide!"

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

Season 3 Week No: 21 - 25

Weeks 21 - 25 saw a mixed bag of catches ranging from 5 carp caught to 56 carp caught, it also saw scorching heat down to a couple of frosty mornings.

• Total Anglers: 20
• Total number of Carp caught: 115
• Total Weight: 2980 lb 15 oz
• Of the 15 carp caught: 20 x 30’s & 88 x 20’s (of which 41 were upper 20’s).
• The top Carp were: 3 x 39 lb 8 oz, 2 x 36 lb 8 oz, 35 lb, 34 lb 12 oz & 34 lb 46 oz.

Week 21, after a two week break, saw the arrival of four guys from Stockton on Tees. Paul Dixon, Steven & John Beard and Ron Davidson. The guys were here to catch a few fish and also have a break and chill out, they didn’t fish during the nights and would start fishing after breakfast, usually their days fishing ended not long after dusk. The week started off sunny and by Wednesday had reached 35 degrees, not ideal for fishing just days, the weather changed late Wednesday and started to cool down, however the lake temperature stayed very warm. Between the four of them they landed just 5 carp totalling 116 lb 8 oz. They were all landed on Trigga (lake specials) topped with fake corn and the biggest weighed in at 26 lb and was landed by Steven. Advice was given on rig set ups and baiting up areas, when followed this seemed to pay off for two of the anglers. Steven Landed himself two carp, the largest being a 26 mirror. Ron landed himself three carp, the largest being a 25 lb common.

Week 22 saw the arrival of Nick Pinder and his dad David on their second visit, Chris Ayre on his third visit and Dennis Gouldthorp and his son Matthew on their first visit.

The week also saw the weather start to cool down a little and towards the end of the week we had some well needed rain.

Nick and David arrived on Friday and opted for the same swims that they had last year, Buzzard and Hawk. The fishing was slow and they both tried various set ups and had quite a few tentative takes, with a few runs where the fish were clearly picking up the boilies and dropping them without getting hooked. David ended the week with two fish, his biggest was 31 lb 8 oz which he was very pleased about as on his previous visit a 30 had eluded him. Nick ended his week with 3 carp, his biggest weighed in at 34 lb 4 oz which he caught when he cast to a showing fish.

Chris arrived on Sunday and was here on his third visit and this time he had come with Dennis and his son Matthew. Chris started his week in Owl and was off to a flying start when he was the first of the three to catch a fish, however his week slowed right down and he had missed a few runs over the week and decided to move to Kestrel for his last day. After the move he landed himself one more fish, which was a PB common for him and his biggest fish for the week weighing in at 27 lb 8 oz. Dennis and his son Matthew (13 yrs old) fished Harrier for the week, Matthew was keen to learn knots and rig tying and was often found talking to Nick or Chris getting hints and tips on fishing, unfortunately because of this he only landed one fish over the week but he was happy as it weighed in at 24 lb 8 oz, a new PB for him. Dennis had himself 3 fish over the week but none of which were actually on his rods, they all came to Matthew’s rods when he was off talking to Chris or Nick or even doing a bit of float fishing. His largest for the week weighed in at 36 lb 8 oz.

All of Dennis and Matthew’s fish were caught on Cell dumbbells topped with fake corn. All the guys had a great time and are looking to come back but probably not until 2015.

Week 23 saw the arrival of John Duncan and his wife Gail, Andy Maher, Wesley Jones and Phil Marshall. The week also saw a lot of tentative takes resulting in approximately 15 missed runs and about 5 lost fish.  John arrived Saturday with his wife Gail and their little terrier called Tess.  Gail settled herself into the Gite while John settled himself into Kestrel and Tess got to know Cookie and Leo. John has fished France a few times before and had brought his own boilies, he had Krill boilies and shellfish, crab and onion boilies.  All his fish were caught on these either on their own or topped with pink fake corn. Over the week John landed himself 12 fish totalling 302 lb 8 oz, 3 of which were 30’s and his biggest for the week weighed in at 36 lb 8 oz.

Andy and Wes came together on their first fishing trip in France, they were here for just 5 days and they both arrived with UK PB’s of around 24 lb. Andy settled in to Buzzard while Wes opted for Owl, both of them fished Trigga (lake specials)  or Rosehip topped with fake corn. Andy landed himself 5 fish totalling 123 lb 6 oz one of which was a 30 weighing it at 31 lb. Wes landed himself 6 fish totalling 142 lb 10 oz, unfortunately a 30 eluded him and his biggest was 29 lb 4 oz. Phil arrived on the same flight as Andy and Wes and was also only fishing 5 days.  Phil opted for Harrier and he tried various boilies, some he had brought with him and some he brought on site.

In front of Harrier there was a lot of activity and Phil had a lot of what he thought were line bites but he said due to his sweetcorn boilies being quite soft in the water the carp were managing to get them off without actually taking the whole rig. He ended up landing just one fish over the week which was a common and a PB for him when it weighed in at 29 lb, he caught it on Trigga (lake specials) and fake corn. All the guys had a great time and are looking to come back next year or sometime in the future.

Week 24 saw the arrival of Daniel Kelly on his third visit (second this year), Tom Mason on his second visit with his brother Ben on his first visit and Tolan Blackmore-Davey also on his first visit.

Despite being in the last week of September, this week also saw the temperature reach 35 degrees. Again there were some tentative takes which resulted in about four carp having been lost. 

Tom Mason came here last year with his girlfriend Natalie, they both slept in the bivvy last year but this year Natalie opted for the luxury of the Gite.  Tom also brought along his brother Ben on his first trip to France. Tom fished Harrier and Ben fished opposite him in Kestrel. Ben’s UK PB was around 19 lb and he was the first of the two to catch landing himself his first French carp at 22 lb, Tom followed suit and the game was on. The both fished various baits and they caught on Trigga (lake specials), monster Squid purple & and various coloured pop ups. Between the two of them they landed 12 carp. Tom landed 7 carp totalling 177 lb 14 oz, with his biggest weighing in at 34 lb 12 oz. Ben landed 5 carp totalling 128 lb 8 oz, with his biggest weighing in at 35 lb

Tolan was here on his first fishing trip to France, he opted for Owl and was looking to beat his UK PB of 27 lb. His first 3 fish arrived Sunday and two of them were bigger than his UK PB. He caught his carp on Cell pop ups or dumbells and he also caught on a Pineapple dumbell. He landed himself 5 carp over the week totalling 136 lb 14 oz, with his biggest weighing in at 32 lb 12 oz. Tolan has already booked to come back for two weeks next year with his brother.

Danny was here on his third visit and started in Hawk but moved to Buzzard after a couple of days. It seems luck was not with Danny on this visit and despite all his efforts he only managed to land 2 fish for the week with his biggest weighing in at 23 lb 8 oz.

There is no one on the lake for a week after the guys left.

Week 25 saw the arrival of Ross Clarke on his third visit and Colin Raggett and Mark Salmon on their second visit.  Ross, Colin & Mark met last year on the lake, they got on so well they decided that this year they would all come back the same week. They have also met up in the UK to go fishing. The week also saw ‘Sam’ make an appearance to every angler on the lake, she has lost a bit of weight over the summer but she is clearly back on the munch for winter. This meant each of the guys walked away with a new PB of 39 lb 8 oz. With the arrival of October the weather seemed to be perfect for fishing, a drop in temperature and quite a few overcast days with some rain. There were still a few tentative takes and between the guys they lost / missed approximately 15 carp.

Ross arrived on Saturday and set himself up in Kestrel but made a move to Hawk mid week. He had brought some Nash Monster squid purple with him but he also wanted to fish Trigga (lake specials).Last year Ross came for two weeks and set himself a target of five 30’s, but fell one short, this year he had no target for 30’s but he was targeting a specific fish, our common with the split tail. His fish over the week were mainly landed to Trigga (lake specials) topped with either fake corn or tutti fruiti mini pop ups, he also landed one on Rosehip topped with tutti fruit pop up and Monster squid topped with fake corn. Ross had to wait until his last night here before he landed his target fish, and let’s just say he was having a party in his bivvy when he caught it.  It weighed in at 34 lb 6 oz. Ross finished his week with 23 carp totalling 625 lb 8 oz, four of which were 30’s.  His biggest weighed in at 39 lb 8 oz.

After having last pick, Mark decided on Falcon for the week, he told us his tactics for the week, they were to do everything Ross did last year.

Mark was hoping to beat his biggest from last year (32 lb 12 oz) and as the week went on he also wanted to end the week with 18 carp or more, unfortunately he ended the week with 17 carp but he did manage to smash his biggest carp from last year when he landed Sam. Mark landed 17 carp totalling 439 lb 4 oz, three of which were 30’s.  His biggest weighed in at 39 lb 8 oz.

On Colin’s previous visit he had his girlfriend (Jayde) with him, Jayde had the biggest fish of the week last year so you can safely say Colin was looking to beat that this year. He started in Buzzard but things were a bit slow for a few days so he made a move to Owl and things picked up for him with his catches coming steadily right up until Saturday when he managed to almost double his catch for the week. Colin fished Trigga (lake specials) or Rosehip topped with fake corn, tutti fruiti or strawberry mini pop ups. He managed to not only beat Jayde’s biggest but also her total fish catch from last year. Colin landed 16 carp over the week totalling 410 lb 2 oz, three of which were 30’s.  His biggest weighed in at 39 lb 8 oz.

The guys enjoyed themselves over the week, constantly ribbing each other and Ross learnt not to run round corners when the grass is wet, hope. Ross is back in April next year and all three of them are back in May 2015.

If the pier is too crowded for you during the daytime, night fishing could be for you. Not only is it a more convenient option for many people, you can actually improve your chances of getting a bite by fishing at night. Some fish, like carp and catfish, are nocturnal and actively feed during the night – they could be yours for the taking.

However, you will need to take certain precautions to ensure your own safety. These top tips will help you get started.

Keeping warm

As The Independent reports, Britain is poised to experience a barrage of snow and sleet soon. These near-Arctic weather conditions don’t mean that you have to cancel your night fishing trip – you just need to be savvy with what you wear.

Wrapping up warm is essential if you plan on night fishing this winter. Base layers are a great option as these hug the body, trapping an insulating layer of air onto the skin. You’ll also need a warm coat, thick socks and a hat to help you beat the chill.

Take a look at the range of Snugpak items available from Polimil. Designed for extreme outdoor environments, their thermal products would be perfect for any fisherman.

Torch

It goes without saying that night fishing is dark. This can make baiting your line and unhooking your fish incredibly difficult tasks.

To avoid having to fish in the darkness, you should always pack a torch with you. The last thing you want when at the end of the pier is for your torch to run out of batteries. Wind up torches are an excellent option as they are kinetically powered.
Unless you’re fishing with a friend who can hold it for you, carrying a torch can be inconvenient. A great way to free up your hands is to go for a head torch. Simply strap onto your head and illuminate all you need to see, without having to juggle it with what you’re doing. This torch, also available from Polimil, would be ideal.

Pack a snack

Depending on the length of time you fish for, you may find yourself growing hungry. Eating a hearty meal before you head out will help to keep you warm, as your body generates heat as a by-product of digestion. You should always take a selection of snacks with you too. A hot flask of soup or tea would be a great option to keep you warm.

Many angling clubs are uninsured, or are paying too much for poor insurance cover. Angling Trust membership, which now includes insurance cover as a benefit of membership, is the answer...

Many angling clubs and syndicates don’t carry insurance and could face multi-million pound claims if one of their members, or a member of the public, suffered an injury on club waters.  Many other angling clubs are paying far too much for cover which is inadequate to protect the club and its officers.

Membership of the Angling Trust now includes insurance automatically with club and syndicate membership.  The standard cover includes £5 million public and £10 million employers liability to clubs, including for work parties, maintenance, coaching days and all the angling activities of their members in the UK.  This standard cover can be extended to provide £10 million public liability insurance, and other items such as contents, trophies, club houses and boats.

George Stephenson spent 25 years in Africa running safari camps before setting up a highly successful business for Roxton Bailey Robinson arranging fishing expeditions throughout the world.  He is also Chairman of the Save the Rhino Campaign and he now lives on his farm in Wiltshire which includes two miles of the River Nadder and a carp lake.  He has been a passionate all round angler since the age of 4, catching coarse, sea and game fish throughout the UK and around the world.

Among a host of notable catches in the UK and around the world, George considers the highlights to be a 23lb pike from the River Wye, a 32lb salmon from Iceland, a 96lb Nile Perch and a 30lb English Carp. Whilst he has caught many exotic species including long-tailed tuna on the fly from Kenya, sea trout from Argentina,  black marlin, sailfish and tigerfish from Africa he still enjoys targeting  brown trout, chub, grayling and bass back home in England.

The new Chairman has identified a number of priorities for the organisation over the coming years, which include:

• Accelerating the steady growth in membership of the Trust among individuals, clubs, fisheries, riparian owners, the angling trade, and charter boats.
• Increasing fundraising from private donors and corporate sponsorship to support specific campaigns and the English national angling teams.
• Continuing to develop the relationships with Sport England and in particular the Environment Agency to deliver the National Angling Strategy.
• Working more closely with the various disparate angling organisations in Wales and Scotland to create more unified representation for anglers throughout the UK.
• Recruiting new volunteers to the Angling Trust board to provide strategic direction to an organisation that turns over nearly £2.5 million a year and employs nearly 40 staff.

Mike Heylin has served as Chairman since shortly after the formation of the Trust in 2009, and announced his intention to step down at the AGM in 2012.  He will remain as a member of the Board of Directors for the time being and said: “I feel privileged to have served the angling community for the past four years and proud of what the organisation has achieved in that time.  I warmly welcome George Stephenson’s appointment to the role and feel that he has the skills and experience the organisation needs to take it forward to the next step in its development.”

New Angling Trust Chairman, George Stephenson said: “I am delighted and honoured to have this opportunity to give something back to fishing, which has been a very important part of my whole life.  Mike Heylin, Mark Lloyd and all the Directors and staff of the Angling Trust should be congratulated for the enormous progress they have made since 2009 in unifying the angling community to support a single representative organisation.  I look forward to working closely with them to develop plans to build on the success of the past four years.  It is essential that all anglers are made aware of the excellent work being done on their behalf by the Angling Trust and its partner organisation Fish Legal.”

Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon said: “I have been very impressed by the Angling Trust and all that it has achieved in the past four years.  They have robustly made the case for the protection of fish stocks and anglers’ right to fish for them and they are developing a wide range of programmes to deliver the National Angling Strategy which I launched last year.  I know of George’s work and very much welcome his appointment as Chairman – his knowledge and experience of the world of angling and fisheries will, I’m sure, be very useful to the Trust in the next stage of its development.  No doubt I will be hearing from him and his executive team often in my role as Fisheries Minister!”

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust & Fish Legal said: “On behalf of all the staff and volunteers, I would like to thank Mike Heylin for the immense amount of time, energy and enthusiasm he has given to the Angling Trust.  His dedication to angling and fisheries over forty years has culminated with a huge contribution to the formation and early development of our unified representative body.  I am very grateful to George Stephenson for volunteering to take on this role and I am looking forward very much to working alongside him and the rest of the board to build on our success so far.”

Charles Jardine, from Fishing for Schools, said: “I am utterly delighted to hear of George’s appointment and I enthusiastically endorse him as the new Chairman of the Angling Trust as the unified body for all anglers.  He is a beacon of common sense, someone who knows what the future needs - and how to get there.”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The setting for these championships was out of a picture book. Sitting between mountains on either side the river ran through a beautiful tree lined valley with a track allowing easy access to the pegs but more to the point it was crammed full of fish.  Vimba, barbel, odd carrassio and bleak were to make up the bulk of all catches with long pole being the only method worth considering except for the odd bleak weight being taken on 4/5 meter whips.

The venue had been used in previous years for the world youth team championships and a European event so some information was available in advance of the match. Even so nothing could fully prepare the team for the kind of fishing that was in store.

18 teams competed in this 20th championship and the match length stretched from near the angling club house up to the town bridge. From downstream end peg A1 to upstream end peg E18 the depth varied considerably from top 4 pole sections deep to top 6 deep. Floats used varied from 3 gr to 8 gr and hook sizes 12 to 18.

Practice went well with all the team registering at least one day when they caught 10 kilos in the allotted 4 hours. The Vimba were averaging around 200 grams with the largest pushing 500 grams making them the number one target species.

It was always going to be a difficult match to win with the strong Hungarian, Czech, Croatian, Italian and host nation Slovenian teams having spent many previous hours fishing the venue. 

After day one England were seemingly out of contention when they recorded 38 points and 8th position behind Croatia on 26 points.

Day one result.
1. Croatia 26 points
2. Hungary 30 points
3. Italy 31 points
4. Spain 31 points
5. Czech Rep 34 points
6. Germany 34 points
7. Poland 36 points
8. England 38 points

Except for an odd tweaking the management team saw no reason to change tactics for the second day and went into the match with a really positive attitude hoping to make the podium.

To make up the 12 points deficit on leaders Croatia and eventually beat them by 4 points was incredible but even more so was the fact that they demolished all the 7 teams in front of them from day one.

Day two result
1. Engand 18 points
2. Belgium 30 points
3. Italy 31 points
4. Hungary 32 points
5. Croatia 34 points
6. Czech Rep 37 points

Overall result.
1. England 56 points
2. Croatia 60 points
3. Italy 62 points
4. Hungary 62 points

Individuals.
1. Jana Gresova Czech Rep 2 points
2. Matea Minanov  Croatia 3 points weight
3. Simona Pollastri  Italy 3 points
4. Anja Groot Holland 5 points weight
5. Helen Dagnall England 5 points

England team scores. Helen Dagnall 5 points. Wendy Locker 10 points. Julie Abbott 12 points,Emma Pickering 12 points. Sam Sims 17 points.  Jeanette Halliday reserve.

Jana Gresova the Czech angler retained her championship gold medal that she won last year in Holland when once again she recorded a perfect 2 pts score over the 2 day competition.  Ex World Champions Wendy Locker of  England and Simona Pollastri of Italy have both competed in all 20 world championships since its conception in 1994.

Dick Clegg OBE International Events Manager stated  “I was proud to be there to see this magnificent winning performance that must go down as one of the best team results ever. The whole squad should be justifiably proud of what they achieved in Slovenia and I can only congratulate them and their superb management team on winning Gold. I know I am always making an issue about funding,  but surely this result will give the ladies a great boost in their search to find a sponsor.
Dave Brooks manager, Joe Roberts coach and Ed Warren did a brilliant job in organising the team and I am sure that Jeanette Halliday who was making her World Championship début will continue to be part of the squad.

I personally would like to thank all the companies who provided goods for our fund raising efforts and in particularly Sensas who once again supplied all our groundbait.”  

Coach Joe Roberts was over the moon. Joe said “Terrific venue, terrific fishing, terrific team. This was a proper fishing venue and England always seem to excel when there are loads of fish to catch.”

Manager Dave Brooks who has been in charge for the past four years, but has attended every Ladies World Championship for the past ten years was almost lost for words.  Dave is quoted as saying “ I have seen the team win Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, but this must be the best comeback on record to go from 8th to 1st and win by 4 points after being 12 points behind is unbelievable.  It's a just reward for all the effort and hard work the team put into their fund raising just to make sure that an England team could take part in the World Championships.

They are a great bunch of girls to work with and all of them are brilliant anglers and totally committed to team work. It was an honour to be able to work with them and I look forward to defending the title next year in Portugal. Thanks to everybody who helped us get there.”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

Mr Benyon was responding to strong representations from the Angling Trust, the national representative body for anglers, and fishery owners along the Kennet Valley in Wiltshire and Berkshire following last months’ devastating pollution of all invertebrate life along a 15 kms stretch of this famous chalk stream by a tiny amount of chlorpyrifos which entered the river via the combined sewerage system.

In a recent letter to Mr Benyon Angling Trust campaign chief Martin Salter wrote:

“Experience from other countries as well as the catalogue of environmental disasters caused by chlorpyrifos, of which the upper Kennet is but the latest, must surely tell us that the current controls are simply not fit for purpose. In fact the Angling Trust wants to know why a lethal chemical like chlorpyrifos is allowed to be used anywhere near a river or watercourse. Apparently the 15 kms wipeout of invertebrates between Marlborough and Hungerford may have been caused by as little as a couple of spoonfuls and was almost certainly the result of an irresponsible domestic disposal. We hope you will agree that the the sooner we follow the lead of Singapore and America and ban the domestic use of chlorpyrifos the better off our rivers will be.”

The incident on the Kennet was the latest in a series of scares involving chlorpyrifos, which is regularly used on lawns and golf courses and for treating termites, leatherjackets and frit flies. The same chemical was responsible for wiping out insect life on a large stretch of the River Roding in 1985, the River Wey in 2002 and 2003 and led to a significant number of fish being killed on the River Ouse in Sussex in 2001.

Following the incident on the Kennet, people were advised not to allow water from a stretch between Marlborough and Hungerford to come into contact with their skin.

In America the US Environment Protection Agency has placed limits on its domestic use and the chemical was banned outright in Singapore for use in termite control in 2009.

Mr Benyon, who is also the Conservative MP for Newbury, has asked officials to draw up measures to restrict its sale in Britain. He said:

"I'm firmly on the side of those who want to make sure this never happens again.
I think something as toxic as this should only be available to people with the qualifications to use it safely. I've asked Defra's chemical regulations directorate to provide me with advice and I will act upon it. We want to make sure in the medium to the long term that we are protecting rivers like this from pollution incidents, whether they come agricultural use or personal use. Somebody could have just been cleaning out their garden, trying to clean algae out of their fishpond. We don't know.”

Mr Benyon added:

“In any river such an incident would cause me great concern but I am particularly upset that this should happen in my local river. I am really angered to hear of the devastating impacts for the ecology of the Kennet. This type of pollution is totally unacceptable.”

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust, welcomed Mr Benyon’s support. He said:

“We have been pushing for much tougher controls on how this stuff is sold. This is a product that is supposed be for use by professionals only yet it can be bought on-line by any Tom, Dick or Harry who will then be in possession of an environmental time bomb. It is plain wrong that chlorpyrifos is freely available to everybody for without proper disposal methods it can cause a huge amount of damage to rivers and streams and the wildlife they support.”

He added:

“We are also calling on the government to improve the facilities for the disposal of dangerous chemicals. Up and down the country people will have bottles and tins of all manner of pesticides which, if rinsed out into the drains can be fatal to insects and the birds and fish which feed off them.”

The Angling Trust campaign has been picked up by the national media including the BBC, the Times and the Telegraph.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The internet giant had taken down the adverts when the scam was exposed on taken up by BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme, but they have since re-appeared.  Searches for “buy rod licence” or “fishing licence” on Google generate a list of results that are headed up with sponsored links to the offending sites - rodlicence.net and rodfishinglicence.com.  The only place where anglers should buy a rod licence on-line currently is from www.postoffice.co.uk or alternatively over the counter in a Post Office.

The Angling Trust, who first raised this issue back in March, is very concerned that the sites are likely to be affecting rod licence sales because unsuspecting anglers are finding that the cost of a licence has rocketed.  A government ban on all marketing by its agencies in the past three years has reversed a decade of steadily-increasing rod licence sales and as a result revenues to the Environment Agency have been decreasing each year.  Because of the marketing ban, these unscrupulous companies are able to take advantage of anglers trying to buy their rod licence on the internet, and they pay Google a fee for every angler who clicks on one of the sponsored links.

Angling Trust Chief Executive Mark Lloyd said: “surely Google make enough money without having to benefit from a scam that rips off hard working men and women who are simply seeking to comply with the law and buy a rod licence to support the work of the Environment Agency which maintains, improves and develops fisheries in England.  We urge them to do the decent thing and remove these sponsored links to these appalling sites for good.  It is suspicious that the sites were removed when Google’s spokesman was put on the spot on the radio, but then mysteriously re-appeared.”

He continued: “The Government must lift the senseless marketing ban on the Environment Agency that stops it spending any money to promote licence sales. The rod licence income is vital to funding protection of our fisheries and supporting the work of organisations in the voluntary sector helping to deliver the National Angling Strategy.  Anyone who knows anything about business will tell you that if you stop marketing a product sales will fall, and that is exactly what has happened with rod licences.  The situation is made worse by these scammers taking money from anglers to sell them a licence they could buy for £20 less via the Post Office web site or counter.”

“If you use Google search and come across these sites advertised we encourage anglers to use the quick and easy “Send feedback” option at the bottom of the screen to let Google know you are not happy to see these scammers appearing.”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The England Team (Team England Fly Fishing) comprises the top anglers from the National final fished last year at Bewl Water in Kent. The team is captained by Stafford angler Paul Angell who had this to say about the teams prospects in Scotland.

"With just over a month to go until the Autumn International at the Lake of Menteith, the anticipation and excitement are really starting to build. The England team has a good mix of new caps and experienced internationals, and a great team spirit is emerging.  We are all looking forward to pitting ourselves against the other home nations and believe we have the talent and qualities needed to produce a winning result.

All the teams are strong, but the Scots, on their home water, and with their excellent organization and recent record, will certainly start, on paper, as the favourites.  Having said that,  we are going to be fishing for stocked rainbow trout, which is something most of the teams will be very used to. Who will emerge as the winning team on the 20th September will be largely down to who has prepared best and who has been best able to adapt to the conditions on the day. Of course a little bit of luck is always important, but at this level, luck only plays a minor role.

The Lake of Menteith is a top quality fishery, with clear water, and hard fighting fish. What more could you ask for in an International venue.  At 700 acres it is big enough to provide a real challenge, but not so large as to make fish location a major problem on the practice days leading up to the competition.

Team England will be going flat out to go one better than in the Spring International where the Scots were victorious, beating us convincingly into second place, but no-one should forget that there are four teams of dedicated anglers, all at the top of their sport, all of whom will be giving their all in pursuit of victory. May the best team on the day win.  All I know is that I am immensely proud to be leading a great bunch of guys, and captaining my country at the sport which I love."

Paul Angell – Team Captain

The full team will comprise
Paul Angell (Captain), Glenn Appleby, Tom Bird, Martin Burgess, Howard Croston, Tom Davies, Paul Davison, Anthony Fox, Martin Griffiths, Gary Hedges, John Hood, Paul Kitchen, Mark Macleod and Steve Smalley.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

Add increased TV, radio and magazine coverage and you can see why the BCAC is such a great launch pad for angler's careers.

The final of this prestigious carp fishing event will be held at Broadlands in Hampshire from 13th - 15th September 2013

Another venue that has loads of history in UK carping, Broadlands is a beautiful day ticket water situated in the test valley nr Southampton. There’s a very good head of doubles and twenties in the water and it’s the venue that hosts the finals of this esteemed tournament. The eliminators are always exciting here as there is a chance of fish from all round the pond and when we are pegging the swims we look at the lake and see carp all over the place making swim choice very difficult. The 2012 final was again won from a totally different area of the lake and with some further pegging changes we are very confident that a fair final will once again be the order of the day.

Source: British Carp Angling Championships