World Championships 2016, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 18/19th September:

The team has previously fished this venue and secured a silver medal.

At present, nobody knows the species they will be fishing for, as in the winter the venue is sometimes drained and re-stocked.

The venue is a 2,000m rowing course and with up to 40 teams competing both banks will be used.

Team England scraped home with a bronze medal last year winning the second day in Slovenia, so team managers have stuck to the same squad.

Alan Scotthorne
Will Raison
Sean Ashby
Des Shipp
Steve Hemingray
Callum Dicks

European Championships, Almere Canal, Holland, 23/24 July:

A notoriously difficult venue which saw the Russians scoop gold here in the Worlds six years ago.

Bream and roach are the predominant species, but they are not evenly spread. This year the two England managers are adopting a different approach.

The team will consist of 3 senior squad members,
Will Raison
Alan Scotthorne
Sean Ashby

Joining them will be 4 of the next generation of young England hopefuls;
Lee Kerry
Matt Godfrey
Matt Derry
Cameron Hughes

All four have a wealth of experience fishing across Europe at both Club and International level (U18s and U23s) plus all shone in last year's 4 nations event in Newry Ireland where Matt Derry and Cameron Hughes made the top 3.

Matt Godfrey was unlucky last year. He was named in the squad for the Europeans in Belarus but England ended up not travelling because of the difficult border crossings.

Lee Kerry is also included after great performances in the World Clubs events for Barnsley.

Four Nations Championships

At the moment England look like hosting the event, this team will be named once the full go-ahead for the event is given

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The funds will be matched with membership subscription income and fundraising from other sources to pay for political advocacy, campaign materials and staff time, including for a new Campaigns Officer who will support the work of our National Campaigns Coordinator Martin Salter and existing staff in the Angling Trust and Fish Legal.

This new post is being advertised this week at a salary of up to £25,000 and the closing date for applications is Tuesday, 23rd February. Applicants should be based in or around the West Midlands or London and have the ability to work from home.

The focus of the campaigns funded by the charitable trust will be in three key areas:

• Protection of marine fisheries - reform of legislation on inshore netting, new conservation measures for sea bass and to protect sensitive estuarine environments
• Reversal of decline in salmon stocks - regulatory measures to tackle agricultural pollution, removal of fish barriers (e.g. weirs and dams), restrictions on commercial netting for Atlantic salmon as part of the Save Our Salmon campaign
• Restoring natural flows of rivers - reform on water abstraction to lead to the restoration of natural flow regimes on more rivers

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust & Fish Legal, said: “We are very grateful to the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for its generous support of our work over the next two years and very excited by the opportunity to continue to extend the reach and impact of our campaigns and legal action to protect marine and freshwater fish stocks.

"This level of funding is a major vote of confidence in our organisation and will, I hope, encourage more anglers to support us with donations and membership subscriptions because they will know that their funds will be matched from a charitable trust. If we are successful with these ambitious targets, we may be able to secure further funding in the future from the Foundation and other sources.”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

In an answer to a parliamentary question this week, Fisheries Minister George Eustice confirmed proposed changes to the licence from April 2017, including "a full year rolling licence rather than a fixed single season; a licence for a maximum of three rods rather than the current two and a free junior licence for anglers under the age of 16." These will be advertised formally in the Spring.

The Angling Trust welcomes these announcements because it has received a great deal of feedback from members that the current arrangements are not fair to carp and other specimen anglers using three rods, but being charged for four.

The other issues that have been under discussion with the Agency covered the possibility of abolishing the junior licence in order to encourage more youngsters to take up fishing and introducing a 365-day rolling licence rather than the current 31st March end date. It was felt that a year's rolling licence was fairer than charging new anglers who purchase one halfway through the 'season' the full 12 month cost for just a part year.

News of the changes put forward by the Environment Agency has been welcomed by leading figures from the Angling Trust and the carp fishing community.

Martin Salter, Campaigns Chief for the Angling Trust, said:
"Carp anglers will obviously be pleased but tench and bream anglers like myself, who usually fish large pits with two rods at a time, would sometimes like to use a third rod to switch quickly to a new method or to stalk a fish showing in the margins.

"Whilst many anglers I know won't buy two separate licences at the moment, they would be happy to pay a fair price to use a third rod occasionally. We are particularly pleased that the EA have taken this forward and are prepared to forego the income from the £5 junior licence. I certainly wouldn't mind paying a bit more for my own licence if it meant that more juniors under 16 could fish for free, because anything that attracts youngsters into our sport has to be good for the future of angling."

Lee Jackson, former world carp record holder from the Tackle Box in Kent, said:
"Excellent news and not before time, too. It will be of great benefit to anglers, especially carpers, and how brilliant it is to be able to get youngsters into the sport without having to worry about a licence. Well done to the Government, the EA and the Angling Trust for applying common sense."

Sarah Chare, Head of Fisheries for the Environment Agency, said:
"Having listened to the Angling Trust and anglers’ views in our rod licence survey last year we have a number of proposals that we will be advertising this spring. These include a 365 licence, a three-rod licence and a free junior licence which we think could play an important part of getting more young people fishing and securing the future of the sport. If approved these changes will not come into effect until March 2017."

Simon Crow, Editor of Carp-Talk, added:
"The vast majority of fisheries up and down the country only allow carp anglers to use a maximum of three rods. It therefore seems a waste that we need to buy two two-rod licences to cater for this. It would be so much more user friendly if a third rod licence supplement was introduced and I'm delighted that this long overdue reform now looks like happening."

Clive Copeland, Head of Angling Development at the Angling Trust, added:
"Our research tells us that the majority of anglers start fishing when they are young. It is vitally important that we make it as easy as possible for young people to take up fishing and having a free junior licence will help us to do this. Healthy numbers of young anglers are obviously crucial to the future of our sport."

The Angling Trust first raised these issues with the Environment Agency at the beginning of last year following some initial discussions at the Carp Society Winter Show at Sandown.

Source: Canal and River Trust Fishing News

The event will see five qualifying rounds taking place on some of the Canal & River Trust’s top Stillwater fisheries. Each 50 peg qualifier will see the top two anglers in each section go through to a 50 peg final held at Boddington Reservoir on Sunday 7 August 2016.

Dates and venues for the 2016 Championships are:

• Saturday 11th June, Earlswood Lakes
• Sunday 19th June,  Blythe Waters
• Wednesday 6 July,  Boddington Reservoir
• Saturday 16th July,  Earlswood Lakes
• Saturday 23 July,  Boddington Reservoir
• Sunday 7 August, Boddington Reservoir (FINAL)

The prize pot for the final could be over £6000 (* dependent on sell out of all qualifiers subject to entries and sponsorship) with the winner also being crowned Stillwater Champion 2016.

John Ellis, national fisheries & angling manager for the Canal & River Trust said; “This match has proved really popular in previous years and is now an established fixture on the angling calendar. It’s a great opportunity to pit your wits against some of the nation’s top anglers at some of our most picturesque spots. We look forward to working again with our friends at the Angling Trust on what should be a great event, attracting people of all ages and abilities.”

David Kent, chair of competitions for the Angling Trust said; “In many ways this event is quite unique in that it caters for quite a specialised sector amongst the match fishing fraternity. That makes it an important feature in the Angling Trust event calendar and continues to strengthen the bond between our two organisations. We always listen to what the anglers say and each year introduce refinements which will hopefully ensure its popularity continues to grow.  I feel sure 2016 will see another great event.”

Entry fee per qualifier is £25.00 and everyone taking part must have individual membership of the Angling Trust.

Entry applications live to apply via the Angling Trust from 15th February 2016

Source: Canal and River Trust Fishing News

Organised by the Canal & River Trust and Angling Trust, the Championship will once again see competitors score points based on the weight of fish they catch.  Five Pairs in each heat will go through to a grand final in October which, together with a Junior Championship, will be held on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal in the Midlands.  Also all 15 local organisers will be put in a random draw for a lucky pairs ticket for the final as an appreciation for their work.

Applications to apply for tickets will be available from Monday 15th February from 9.00am via the Angling Trust at a cost of £40.00 per pair per qualifier.

Prize money in 2016 is also increasing and, subject to entry, the top four pairs could share a total Prize Fund of £15,000.

The inaugural 2015 Championship proved a great success and saw over 300 pairs (over 600 anglers) from London to Lancashire taking part.

John Ellis, national fisheries and angling manager for the Canal & River Trust comments: “The aim of the competition is to inspire anglers to experience the great fishing that can be found on their local canal.  

“In 2015 the event was a great success and proved really popular with anglers from across the country. We wanted to expand the competition in 2016 to include Wales, Scotland and Ireland and give even more people the chance to take part.

“It should be a real ding-dong battle and we hope lots of people sign up.”

David Kent, Chair of Angling Trust Competitions said; “Building on the success of the first ever Angling Trust / Canal & river Trust Canal Pairs Championship this year I am confident the 2016 event will be better than ever. 

“We have had wonderful co-operation from Local Organisers in compiling a diverse and exciting set of venues, including Wales, Scotland and Ireland.  This coupled with a potential prize fund of £15,000 awaiting the finalists I feel sure will see a massive uptake from anglers for what is already our premier canal event.”

The dates, venues and host clubs for the qualifiers and the final are listed below:

• Saturday 2nd July – Shropshire Union Canal, Hodnet Angling Club
• Sunday 17th July – Rochdale Canal, Todmorden Angling Society
• Saturday 23rd July – Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, Winget Angling Club
• Saturday 30th July - Grand Union Canal (Aylesbury Arm), Tring Anglers
• Sunday 31st July – Grand Canal, Irish Angling Development Alliance/ Edenderry Coarse Angling Club
• Sunday 7th August – New Junction Canal, Doncaster & District Angling Association
• Saturday 13th August – Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, Dams and Lock Angling Club
• Sunday 21st August – Erewash Canal, Long Eaton Victoria Angling Society
• Saturday 27th August – Forth & Clyde, Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling/Scottish Canals
• Sunday 11th September – Trent & Mersey Canal, Coors Angling Club
• Saturday 24th September – Grand Union Canal, Milton Keynes Angling Association
• Sunday 25th September – Basingstoke Canal, Basingstoke Canal Angling Association
• Saturday 1st October – Kennet & Avon Canal, Devizes Angling Association
• Saturday 8th October – Llangollen Canal
• Sunday 9th October – Leeds & Liverpool Canal, Wigan & District Angling Association

Grand Final and Junior Championship:

• Saturday 29th October – Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal, Wolverhampton Angling Association

Source: Canal and River Trust Fishing News

The popular small lake in St George’s Park in Bristol is in desperate need of repair and maintenance and is due to be drained early this year to allow this work to be carried out.

However, anglers and concerned members of the public were outraged to hear that the large population of fish in the lake were to be killed following a decision made by the council and Local Neighbourhood Partnership.

John Cheyne, the Angling Trust's National Regions Manager, quickly made contact with both the council and the neighbourhood partnership and having discussed the situation at length, Bristol City Council has now given an assurance that they will relocate healthy fish taken from the water instead of killing them.

John Cheyne said: “Common sense has prevailed and we are delighted that healthy fish will be saved. The lake is in need of work and there have been problems associated with angling in such a small and busy park, however that is no reason to simply exterminate the healthy fish.

"We have been delighted by the response from Rob Acton Campbell of the Local Neighbourhood Partnership since we approached him. We will help in every way we can with the relocating of the fish and the rejuvenation of the lake going forward."

The Angling Trust is now in negotiation to ensure fish stocks are re-established once the work on the lake is complete and will be liaising with the council to ensure angling within Bristol parks is given the priority it deserves.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

In doing this, they maintain the high quality stock which their fly fishing customers can expect.

The lakes are kept fully stocked leading up to the event (over-stocked if anything) and fully re-stocked immediately afterwards with a full range of sizes and types (Rainbow / Blue / Brown / Gold etc).

In summer, Kilnsey Park Estate run the event with fly-only sessions followed by any-method sessions. In the winter they just hold any-method sessions, as there would be a risk of bad weather disrupting fly sessions.

Any Method Event February 2016

Format

Run over three days with one session per day.

The lakes will be restocked during the event on days 2 and 3.

Dates & Times;

Monday 22nd February 2016 – 7am to 2pm
Tuesday 23rd February 2016 – 7am to 3pm
Wednesday 24th February 2016 – 7am to 3pm

Prices

£30 per ticket*

* This does not include free processing or include any loyalty card stamps.

Pay on the day

Processing

Gutting service available at 30p per fish
Filleting service available at £1 per fish

Booking

To book please email Stuart at stuart@kilnseypark.co.uk.

Any Method Rules

• Bag Limit: 25 fish, any size, any colour (brown, gold etc.)
• No fish to be returned to the water.
• No ground baiting / swim feeders etc
• Ticket holders only on the lakeside – no spectators
• Cancellations must be made at least 2 weeks prior to the event

Source: Kilnsey Park Estate

The new venues are the Warwickshire Avon at Warwick and Stratford, the Thames at Clanfield and Culham and the Tidal Trent from Laughterton to Dunham. 

“The competition just keeps evolving and I’m delighted with the response we’ve had from anglers all over the country since the first RiverFest in 2013,” said Angling Trust Ambassador and competition creator Dave Harrell.

“We’ve looked closely at all the qualifying venues and listened to what anglers have asked for in terms of new venues. I would point out though that we haven’t closed the door for the future on any venues we have used previously. We just felt it was time for a few changes.”   

As it currently stands, subject to all tickets being sold, RiverFest 2016 will see 10 main prizes in the final ranging from £500 for 10th place, up to £12,000 to the winner. Section prizes of £250 will also be paid out every six pegs on both of the final days. There will also be a teams of three competition run alongside the main event, made up of the three anglers who get through from each of the 24 qualifying matches.

Last year’s winner, Tom Lane said: “It’s the competition that all river anglers want to win and I’ll be going all out to try and become the first angler to win it twice. Hopefully, I’ll make it to the final again for starters!” 

Applications for the 60 peg qualifiers will be invited towards the end of March, with an entry period of three weeks. A computerised random draw will then be made to establish who fishes where.

The final will take place on the River Wye at Hereford over the weekend of 19th/20th November and the same venue has been booked as a reserve weekend on 26th/ 26th November.
Spectators will be welcome to watch the final, free of charge and there will be a bookmaker present on both days for competitors and public to have a flutter.

QUALIFYING DATES AND VENUES:

1. SAT JUNE 18th  - RIVER CALDER, MIRFIELD
2. SAT JUNE 25th – RIVER SWALE, MORTON
3. SUN JULY 3rd - BRISTOL AVON, NEWBRIDGE TO SALTFORD
4. SUN JULY 10th – RIVER TYNE, CORBRIDGE TO WYLAM
5. SUN JULY 24th – RIVER TRENT, LAUGHTERTON TO DUNHAM
6. SAT JULY 30th – RIVER WEAVER, NORTHWICH
7. SAT AUGUST 6th – RIVER SOAR, SUTTON BONNINGTON
8. SAT AUGUST 13th –RIVER TRENT, NEWARK DYKE
9. SUN AUGUST 14th – RIVER YARE, LANGLEY
10. SUN AUGUST 21st – RIVER TEES, BOWESFIELD TO YARM
11. SAT AUGUST 27th – RIVER DON, SPROTBOROUGH
12. SUN AUGUST 28th – RIVER NENE, ORTON
13. SAT SEPTEMBER 3rd – RIVER SEVERN, BEWDLEY
14. SAT SEPTEMBER 10th  - RIVER TRENT, HOLME MARSH
15. SUN SEPTEMBER 18th – RIVER WYE, BREINTON TO EIGN
16. SAT SEPTEMBER 24th  - RIVER SEVERN, BRIDGNORTH
17. SUN SEPTEMBER 25th – RIVER THAMES, CLANFIELD
18. SUN OCTOBER 2nd – RIVER TRENT, BURTON
19. SAT OCTOBER 8th – RIVER THAMES, CULHAM
20. SUN OCTOBER 9th – RIVER MEDWAY, BARMING
21. SUN OCTOBER 16th – WARWICKSHIRE AVON, STRATFORD  
22. SUN OCTOBER 23rd – RIVER SEVERN, SHREWSBURY 
23. SAT OCTOBER 29th - YORKS OUSE, HUNTERS LODGE TO LINTON
24. SUN OCTOBER 30th – WARWICKSHIRE AVON, WARWICK

FINAL - 19/20 NOVEMBER – RIVER WYE AT HEREFORD
RESERVE FINAL DATES - 26/27 NOVEMBER

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The U18s Youth World Championships are due to be staged at Coruche, Santa Justa, in Portugal from 6th – 7h August 2016, and a team is required to represent the Angling Trust and team sponsors, Sensas  for the under 18s.  Last year saw Sensas Team England U18s dominate their event held on the Smederevo Steelworks canal in Serbia to take team gold.

Where and when

The Angling Trust Sensas Team England youth assessment trial for the under 18s will take place on Saturday 9th April 2016 at The Willows Fishery in St Albans.  Applicants must have been under 18 years of age on 31st December 2015 to apply.

Applicants who are invited along must impress the Angling Trust Sensas U18s England Manager, Steve Sanders, who will be looking for talented anglers who have the ability to fish under pressure and to international rules.  Anglers must be proficient at big waggler fishing at 40 – 50 mtrs range, pole fishing for carp, barbel and mullet, and whip fishing for bleak.

All competitors will be fishing to full international rules. 

How to apply

Anyone wishing to apply for the assessment trial must complete an England youth assessment trial form by contacting Sandra Drew, Competitions & Events Manager at the Angling Trust.  Email: sandra.drew@anglingtrust.net, or telephone: 0115 9061 301. 

Completed forms must be returned by no later than 6th March  2016.

Application forms have automatically been sent to anyone who applied for the assessment trial last year.    

Dick Clegg, OBE, International Events Manager said:

“Because of the new age limits issued by FIPSed for the youth groups it will be the last trial for an under 18's  squad.  From 2017 we will see this category increased to under 20's which will give anglers selected for this   year’s team a chance to trial for a further two years before moving up to under the 25's. The new youth groups will become Under 15's Under 20's and Under 25's from 2017.

We should also see a slight competition rule change in 2017 with the under 20's becoming a 4 hour match and the pole limit being increased to13 mtrs provided my recommendation to the technical committee is accepted.  The rules for the other age groups to remain unchanged.”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The U18s Youth World Championships are due to be staged at Coruche, Santa Justa, in Portugal from 6th – 7h August 2016, and a team is required to represent the Angling Trust and team sponsors, Sensas  for the under 18s.  Last year saw Sensas Team England U18s dominate their event held on the Smederevo Steelworks canal in Serbia to take team gold.

Where and when

The Angling Trust Sensas Team England youth assessment trial for the under 18s will take place on Saturday 9th April 2016 at The Willows Fishery in St Albans.  Applicants must have been under 18 years of age on 31st December 2015 to apply.

Applicants who are invited along must impress the Angling Trust Sensas U18s England Manager, Steve Sanders, who will be looking for talented anglers who have the ability to fish under pressure and to international rules.  Anglers must be proficient at big waggler fishing at 40 – 50 mtrs range, pole fishing for carp, barbel and mullet, and whip fishing for bleak.

All competitors will be fishing to full international rules. 

How to apply

Anyone wishing to apply for the assessment trial must complete an England youth assessment trial form by contacting Sandra Drew, Competitions & Events Manager at the Angling Trust.  Email: sandra.drew@anglingtrust.net, or telephone: 0115 9061 301. 

Completed forms must be returned by no later than 6th March  2016.

Application forms have automatically been sent to anyone who applied for the assessment trial last year.    

Dick Clegg, OBE, International Events Manager said:

“Because of the new age limits issued by FIPSed for the youth groups it will be the last trial for an under 18's  squad.  From 2017 we will see this category increased to under 20's which will give anglers selected for this   year’s team a chance to trial for a further two years before moving up to under the 25's. The new youth groups will become Under 15's Under 20's and Under 25's from 2017.

We should also see a slight competition rule change in 2017 with the under 20's becoming a 4 hour match and the pole limit being increased to13 mtrs provided my recommendation to the technical committee is accepted.  The rules for the other age groups to remain unchanged.”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News