Angling in Focus

The NFA and Pentax are launching a new four month digital photography competition for anglers to send in their favourite wildlife and angling landscape pictures and be in with a chance of winning some top of the range camera equipment from the NFA Division One sponsor, Pentax.

The competition will be open from the beginning of June to the end of September with the best picture from each month winning a Pentax E50 compact camera. The angler who takes the best overall picture over the course of the competition will be the lucky recipient of a top of the range K10D Digital SLR camera courtesy of Pentax.
To help anglers select which of their favourite digital photographs to submit, the competition will have an angling wildlife and landscape theme. This is the ideal opportunity for anglers to get out there and go fishing and whilst sitting on the bank, capture an image of their surroundings and win a top quality camera.
Anglers are encouraged to visit the NFA website where they will be able to pick up some hints and tips on how to take the best pictures from Pentax ambassador and keen angler, Tony Wharton. Tony will also be judging the competition and be naming the monthly and overall winners on the Pentax section of the website each month.
The competition begins from the 1st June and ends on 31st September and at the end of the month the winning picture will be named on www.nfadirect.com/pentax. All pictures that the NFA receive will be published on the website, so even if you don’t win you have a chance to get thousands of people viewing your favourite angling photographs.

Anglers wishing to enter the competition should email their pictures and their full name, address, email address and contact telephone number to focus@nfadirect.com. All pictures must be submitted in digital format and in as high resolution as possible. The organizers (NFA and Pentax) reserve the right not to publish any pictures which they deem unsuitable and their decision is final. Full details can be found on www.nfadirect.com/pentax.
Tom Goldspink, Marketing & Communications Manager at the NFA commented, “This is a great idea to help anglers look at the fantastic scenery in which they go fishing and provides a great chance to win some top of the range camera equipment from sponsors of the Division One National, Pentax”.

The Managing Director of Pentax UK Ltd, David Moore added "Anglers have a unique opportunity to experience the natural beauty of the riverbank which is why we wanted to set up this photography competition to encourage them to capture and keep those experiences. We're really looking forward to sharing those experiences when we start to see the entries come in."

The Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, Andy Burnham and the Minister for Sport, Gerry Sutcliffe and Sport England have given a boost for angling through a new strategy for the next four years.

In their recent joint announcements at Lords Cricket Ground the Ministers included angling among 46 sports which are being invited to bid for government funding from 2009 to 2011. The themes of growing and sustaining participation, reducing the fall-off among teenagers and developing talented performers will be key objectives for the future of sport.

The governing bodies for angling and other sports now have to submit plans featuring priorities including club and coaching development, encouraging women and those with disabilities to take part and better links with schools, all issues which angling is addressing.

Chairman of the Angling Development Board (ADB), David Moore, explained: ‘This is a great opportunity for angling following on from the recent funding which Sport England has awarded the ADB until next year.

We have already started putting together our new plan to contribute to Sport England’s objectives and will be involving key angling organisations and the Environment Agency who are working to develop our sport.’

‘The Minister has personally recognised the benefits which angling brings to the community in a new ADB booklet entitled ‘Be inspired’ and this is being released to coincide with the launch of Sport England’s strategy.’

A new partnership between the Angling Development Board (ADB)1, British Waterways (BW) and the Environment Agency (EA) has been formed to provide exciting opportunities for angling clubs in the North.

The ADB aims to achieve maximum impact across all angling disciplines through establishing a framework of nine development regions within England. As a result, the ADB has been able to employ a Regional Implementation Officer in the North of England whose role will be to work with angling clubs to increase their membership numbers, to improve their facilities, to develop more coaches and to access external funding for their development schemes.

Primarily, the initial focus will be on existing clubs, with fisheries on or near BW canals, that have the determination to follow the example of those clubs that have trail-blazed the process of becoming Clubmark accredited clubs with a growing membership, increased subscription income and additional funding from various local and regional sources.

To take the project forward the Board is also looking to help individuals or small groups with the vision to take on and manage stretches of canal running through urban areas where the angling facility has become neglected.

This is a big opportunity for clubs that have experienced a steady decline in membership numbers and income, or for individuals and groups who can see the potential in their local canal but need help to make their vision a reality. However, the capacity of the Regional Implementation Officer is not endless. Therefore, those that hang back to see how others fair first before ‘putting their toe in the water’, may find themselves left behind.

Darren Birch, the ADB Implementation Officer for this project says “angling has long been one of this country’s most popular participation sports and we are extremely excited about this new opportunity that will allow us to work with clubs and local communities to encourage even more people to enjoy the sport along their local waterway”.

So if you are interested in being part of this project, don’t delay, contact Darren Birch, ADB Implementation Officer (North) a.s.a.p. at darren.birch@anglingdevelopmentboard.org.uk

1 The Angling Development Board is the development arm of the three angling governing bodies in England, the National Federation of Anglers, the National Federation of Sea Anglers and the Salmon & Trout Association. The Regional Implementation Officer post is also support by Sport England.

Reigning UK Champion Jon Arthur got that winning feeling at Browning Cudmore last weekend as he qualified for the final of PartyPoker.com Fish ‘O’ Mania, and will be hoping to replicate his performance at the same venue in July.

All the main match pools were being used on the day, however the Arena pool which will be used to host the PartyPoker.com Fish ‘O’ Mania final was given a rest in preparation for the summer. Following the form of previous qualifier Barston Lakes, again the venue slightly underperformed due to the carp still in spawning mode, however it didn’t detract from the excitement as barely 10lbs separated the top four anglers and the match was won right on the hooter.

It was Drumble Pool which was the locals’ favourite to fish well, however once again the fish proved notoriously difficult to catch and it was the old faithfuls New Pool One and Two and Suez which were the places to draw, producing the top six placed anglers between them.

Eventual winner Jon Arthur won the battle for top spot with a last gasp 2lb mirror carp which helped Jon take 72lbs 12ozs to the scales pushing him past the previous leader Steve Ringer. Jon was fishing on Pool Two from peg number 59 and although Jon set out to fish pellet upon local recommendations, he quickly recognised that on this day the fish were far better suited to meat, and that this was the wiser tact to take.

The change of tactics proved justified as he caught around 25 carp in all, fishing three lines at 6m down the edge, 7m on the bottom and 14.5m up in the water. Although admitting to only 50lbs to 60lbs worth of fish, Jon ended with 72lbs 12ozs, however it wasn’t until the final weigh in that his victory was confirmed. With second placed Fish ‘O’ Mania legend Steve Ringer finishing with 72lbs, Jon had beaten him with just 12ozs to spare.

Jon who fished in the final two years ago and also had a fourth place finish at Woodlands Lakes at Thirsk in 2007, commented, “Getting back to the Fisho Final has been a major goal of mine ever since I was there two years ago. I just missed out on a place last year and still can’t believe I’ve actually done it! To be honest, I never thought I was ever in the running to win so I just fished a tidy match, picking off fish all day. It was only while I followed the scales that I realised I had a very realistic chance of doing it! I had a wander around Arena Pool straight after being interviewed and it certainly looks the part for the Final. With a central island about 25 metres away it looks like I'm going to have to polish my very rusty casting techniques!"

Second placed angler Steve Ringer was fishing on Pool One, peg 32 and caught carp up to 6lbs and a few F1’s on meat fished at 5m. In third place was Gareth Malham who many thought would be the winner as he had fished well throughout the match. However, in the end he just missed out finishing with 68lbs 8ozs of carp caught on pellet and meat down the margin.

In fourth place was Mark Benson of Runcorn who weighed in 62lbs 6ozs and in fifth spot was Lee Riley who ended with 51lbs 2ozs.

Matt Hall’s in a Big Catch

Fish ‘O’ Mania 2003 Champion, Matthew Hall sneaked into the final of PartyPoker.com Fish ‘O’ Mania at Woodlands Lakes near Thirsk this weekend, in a bid to go where no man has gone before winning the biggest crown in angling for the second time.

With bright, sunny and warm weather being forecast for the day, no one could predict where the winner would come from as the match was won by a margin of only 10ozs. It would have only taken two of Woodland’s renowned carp to have placed any of the top five anglers on one of this years Grand Final pegs on the 19th July.

It was not until the final weights had been checked that third time finalist Matt Hall was confirmed as this rounds qualifier for the final. Fishing from peg 17 on Partridge Lake, Matt took full advantage of his end peg to finish the match with a total weight of 120lbs 9ozs with his biggest fish being a 10lb + common.

Matt alternated between the pellet waggler, and closer in on the pole with pellet to catch his winning weight which included 23 carp. Talking to Matt after the match he commented, “When I drew, I knew there was a chance and I just kept catching here and there, chopping and changing my technique. I was surprised to find someone so close to me at the end as I thought Phil Ringer was my nearest rival on 107lbs. It is a huge target of mine to be the first person to win this competition twice and I will be practicing hard to win it at Browning Cudmore in July”.

The angler who pushed the previous winner of the competition all the way was Jamie Moore from Hemsworth, West Yorkshire who was fishing only his second PartyPoker.com Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifier. Jamie who drew end peg 17 on Kestrel Lake was fishing two lines with one at 8 metres down the shelf and his main line fished out towards the boards at the end of the lake. It was this that brought in a steady stream of carp on pellet up in the water helping him finish with 119lbs 15ozs. It is a shame for Jamie as he was only 10ozs behind Matt, however talking to him after the match he was convinced his two fish lost at the net had cost him his place, but was determined to make it back next year.”

The third and fourth spots were also closely fought with again only 10ozs separating last years Woodlands qualifier Phil Ringer and Keith Pentland. It was Keith who won this battle finishing third by fishing pellet up in the water for 107lbs 12ozs. Phil Ringer came in fourth taking carp on pellet up in the water for a final weight of 107lbs 2ozs.