Press Release
England Youth Flyfishing Association
Thames Water Shield Open Bank Flyfishing Competition
Sponsored by Thames Water and Masterline International
Farmoor ll Trout Fishery, Oxford. Saturday 28 April 2007
All proceeds from the competition donated to EYFA.
The Thames Water Shield is the main event held to provide vital funds for the England Youth Flyfishing Team and took place at Farmoor Trout Fishery, Oxford on Saturday 28 April 2007.
The competition attracted 48 anglers some even travelling from Scotland to support the England Youth Flyfishing Association.
Most of the 2007 England Youth team fished the competition which provided the coaches and team manager with a good insight into how the youngsters could perform in challenging conditions.
The day was wall-to-wall blue skies, but a stiff North-Easterly wind over the angler’s right shoulder made casting difficult.
Farmoor is a typical ‘concrete bowl’ reservoir, but with high water levels in the reservoir backcasting did not pose any problems for the anglers.
The local competitors had the conditions and tactics sorted out quickly, standing on top of the dam wall, they launched their shooting heads 40-plus yards well past the drop-off shelf. Using short leaders with yellow-eyed Black Boobies, locked the rod into their rod holders and waited for the rig to sink to the bottom. Then using an ultra-slow figure-of-eight retrieve eased the fly back over the drop-off shelf where the fish would take. The fish was played out and landed with a long-handled landing net without the angler leaving the dam wall!
Devastatingly simple and awesomely effective.
Sadly without the advantage of a shooting head – banned in international competitions – the England youngsters struggled to make the distance required to intercept the trout. But they all kept going and most were rewarded with fish by the end of the day, a great testament to their endurance.
Competition winner Bristol’s Malcolm Fisher weighed in 9 fish for 20lb 14oz with Andrew Beattie coming in second place with 7 fish for 15lb 14.5oz.
Top rod for the England Youth Team was David Angell with 4 fish for 6lb 6.25oz. Gary Cooper took the prize for biggest fish of the day, a cracking overwintered rainbow of 3lb 2.5oz.
Thames Water are making great strides to provide anglers with good quality fish at this fishery, and it was nice to see that - apart from some minor cormorant damage - a majority of the trout caught on the day were well silvered and in great condition.
After the fishing, a tackle auction - with tackle donated by Masterline International and parents of team members - was conducted by a welcome supporter of the England Youth Flyfishing Association, actor, Bernard Cribbins. Top auction item was a large photographic print of Rutland’s Normanton Church raising a staggering £90 for the EYFA coffers. The total raised on the day was £1,600 which will go a long way to aid the team’s success this season.
Next event for the England Youth Flyfishing Team is the England National Final - qualification for the 2008 National Team - to be held at Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire on Sunday 8 July 2007 then the International to held on the Lake of Menteith, Scotland between Sunday 22 July and Wednesday