Angling Trust Competitions

13/06/2026

💥💥💥 Ryan romps to victory at windy Westwood! 💥💥💥

Ryan Lidgard will be back at Westwood Lakes: Bait and Tackle Shop for the FishOMania final next month after he took out this latest qualifier at the Lincolnshire fishery with a winning 194-4-0 net of carp.

Drawing peg 18 on the Skylark Lake, Ryan kept it simple with casters short and in the edge on a windy day, netting fish to 8lb for what turned out to be a comfortable win in the end.

Closest to him was Dan Elliott over on Falcon Lake peg 34, his level 135-0-0 of carp and F1s just giving him second spot by 11oz from Ellis Leigh, who bagged 134-5-0 of carp from Skylark Lake peg 12.

It’s the turn of Hampshire’s Gold Valley Lakes to host the next Fish O Mania qualifier this coming Wednesday (June 17th). Some tickets are still available for this match if you fancy a crack at qualifying!

12/06/2026

‼️‼️‼️‼️ FISH O MANIA QUALIFIER FLOAT FISH FARM JUNE 21ST – IMPORTANT UPDATE! ‼️‼️‼️‼️

Following advice from the fishery, we regret that the forthcoming FishOMania qualifier at Float Fish Farm Fishery on Sunday June 21st has been cancelled.

However, we have managed to book at the last-minute Tunnel Barn Farm for the final qualifier of 2026 to ensure that 30 anglers are fishing in the final. This match will take place on Wednesday July 8th.

Anglers that were booked in for the Float Fish Farm qualifier will now be offered first refusal on a ticket for Tunnel Barn Farm in July. If they cannot make that date, then of course, a full refund will be issued.

Your ticket will automatically be transferred to the Tunnel Barn Farm date. However, if you cannot make this date, you can have a refund, obtained via:
Go to www.anglingtrust.net, log in, click on ‘Your Competitions’ and cancel the ticket.
Alternatively, email - [email protected]
Include your name, the name and date of the qualifier you would like to cancel, your membership number and post code.

If we do not hear from you, we will assume that you are fishing on July 8th. As there were 70 anglers booked on for Float Fish Farm, the remaining 30 tickets for Tunnel are now on general sale. As cancellations come in, more will be released onto the site, so keep checking at https://anglingtrust.net/our_competitions/

We apologise for the inconvenience caused and hope that the new date will suit – and give someone the chance to make the final last knockings!
A huge thanks to the team at Tunnel Barn Farm for their support once again.

12/06/2026

🔜🎣 THE MERSEY BASIN SPECIES HUNT IS BACK – SIGN UP NOW!

Between 16th of June and 30th of September last year, a whopping 21 different species of fish were recorded in the first ever Mersey Basin Species Hunt. In 2026, we ask the question… Can this figure be beaten?

What’s it all about?

The Mersey Basin Species Hunt is a fun, free, league-format competition, where anglers aim to catch as many different species of fish as possible from rivers in the Mersey Catchment. As a mostly recovering river basin polluted by years of industry in urban areas, we hope to use the data gathered by this competition to give us a better understanding of how fish populations have changed over time.

How does it work?

After signing up on our website, you will be contacted to confirm your details before being sent a pack with competitor card and fish measure. It’s then simply a case of going fishing, submitting your catches, and keeping an eye on the league tables!

What can I win?

🥇 Overall League 1st - £150 tackle voucher & trophy
🥈 Overall League 2nd - £100 tackle voucher & trophy
🥉 Overall League 3rd - £75 tackle voucher & trophy
🏆 Weaver & Dane League - £75 tackle voucher & trophy
🏆 Mersey, Goyt & Tame League - £75 tackle voucher & trophy
🏆 Irwell League - £75 tackle voucher & trophy
🏅 Top Junior (U16s) - £75 tackle voucher & trophy
🧢 Custom Winners Caps
✅ Specimen Awards Certificates

Who can take part?

The competition is FREE to enter for both members and non-members of the Angling Trust! Spaces are limited and offered on a first come first served basis.

Where do I sign up?

Further details and a sign-up form can be our website here 👉 https://anglingtrust.net/our-competitions/coarse-competitions/mersey-basin-species-hunt/

You can also join our Facebook Group 👉
https://www.facebook.com/groups/merseybasinspecieshunt/

Good luck - we look forward to seeing you in the competition!

THE MERSEY BASIN SPECIES HUNT IS BACK! The Mersey Basin Species Hunt is an inclusive, free to enter competition that encourages anglers of all abilities to get out and explore their local rivers, catching as many different fish as possible along the way! Run in partnership with and supported by Mers...

11/06/2026

Jon joins the Classic Final

The Fifth round of the Free Spirit Match Boddington Classic took place on windy, cold Boddington, however, the water temp was still up and the res fished better.

Leading the pack was matrix backed Jon Arthur and after drawing a bit of room in the sanctuary on peg 96, made no mistakes catching on both; bomb and bag and on bomb over pellet short. Jon amassed 71.425kg to take the win with some rather large carp.

Second on the day was England International Steve Ringer who pushed Jon all the way next door on peg 97, Steve’s caught all his fish at range in his 64.725kg.

Rounding out the top three was Emilian Pista who was also in the sanctuary on peg 100. Emilian caught on bomb and bag and weighed 55.725kg.

A huge congratulations to all the qualifiers and a thanks to all the anglers that helped weigh. We look forward to the 6th qualifier next weekend.

10/06/2026

💥🎉💥🎉 Kieran back in the Fish O big time after Weston win! 💥🎉💥🎉

Another man with experience of the FishOMania final will be hunting the £50,000 top prize at Westwood Lakes: Bait and Tackle Shop next month after Kieran Marsden took out this latest qualifier at Weston Pools Fishery.

Runner-up in 2024, Kieran will be hoping to go one better, his 147-15-0 net of carp and F1s from peg 16 on the Weir Pool seeing him through by just over 15lb from the ever-present Andy Power, another man to have finished second in the final in the past.

Andy drew peg 15 on the Clay Pit and took a level 132-0-0, leaving Rob Swan to round off the top three with 111-5-0 from peg 18 on the Weir Pool.

The next Fish O qualifier sees the home of the final – Westwood Lakes - play host this Saturday (June 13th).

10/06/2026

Free Spirit Match Boddington Classic Qualifier 5 - Thurs 11th June

Registration: Before 08:45 no exceptions (or call ahead)
Draw: 8:45am
Fishing: 11am until 4pm
Pools: £20
Car Park: £3
Rules: both sets linked in description

Sections
X1 Dam Wall
X4 from peg 54(ish) to 109
X1 Sailing Club

The water is still high at the reservoir but platforms + waders advised for both sailing club and pegs beyond 92

Best of luck to all the anglers competing and we look forward to seeing the results over the weekend.

10/06/2026

🏆🥇🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Double gold for England’s Ladies at Fly Fishing International! 🏆🥇🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The weekend’s Ladies International Fly Fishing Championship on Rutland Water couldn’t have gone better for England as they took gold in both the team and individual stakes, seeing off the challenge of Scotland and Wales with Sue Sissons being crowned the overall champion!

Fished from boats across eight hours on the sprawling reservoir, England’s 12 angler team of Sue, skipper Lisa Isles, Vice-Captain Jane Robinson, Louise Callow, Gwyneth Mooney, Martha Leeming, Samantha Edmunds, Maggie Curtis, Claire Price, Sheena Goode, Hilary Tomlinson and Heather Lamacraft scored 1,776 points from their 41 fish against the 1,443 of Wales and 1,207 of the Scots.

Sue’s winning performance saw her take 10 fish for a personal points haul of 435, Scotland’s Morag Wallace earning silver with eight fish for 341 points, the bronze going to Welsh rod Nicola Carniege with six fish for 277 points.

“Rutland is a big place and in unofficial practice, the weather had been hot and calm, but come official practice and the match day, it blew a gale and went overcast,” said England Manager Chris Bobby. “That made the North Arm, which was sheltered, popular with 17 of the 18 boats heading there. The best approach for us was using a tip line with a Fab on the point and then two Diawl Bachs, most of the trout being caught just a few feet deep.”

“The points were worked out on total length of fish caught across the team, and once the reports from the boats filtered in at the end, we knew we’d won with a good bit to spare. A brilliant day all-round with Sue winning individually too!” Chris added.

09/06/2026

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏆🇵🇹 England Under 25 Feeder Team announced! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏆🇵🇹

The side to represent Angling Trust Team England at this year’s Under 25 World Feeder Championships in Portugal has been selected following an assessment day at Larford Lakes.

Manager Rob Brennan and his backroom team have picked Josh Derry as captain, Logun Frizzell, Charlie Walker, Charlie Drinkwater and Roame Frizzell to take on the world in October as they get to grips with the Barragem de Montargil reservoir near Lisbon.

It’ll be the team’s debut at the event, but Rob is confident that the squad he has picked will find the venue to their liking, with the target species being carp and carassio. He’ll also be backed up with a strong on the bank team of Grant Albutt, Les Thompson
Simon Jones and Ian Giddins.

“The standard of feeder fishing in the trial exceeded all of my expectations, making the selection process both challenging and rewarding,” Rob said. “I feel privileged to be supported, both during the assessment day and at the World Championships, by an outstanding group of anglers who form my backroom team.”

“In Portugal, we will be on a massive reservoir with the main species being carp and carassio, and with this in mind, we believe we have assembled a strong squad capable of challenging for a place on the podium,” he continued. “The support we have received so far has been fantastic, and we are incredibly grateful for it. Now the hard work begins. We will do everything possible to prepare thoroughly, compete to the best of our abilities, and make England proud.”

09/06/2026

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England’s Under 21 World Champs Shore team announced – with mega funding secured! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

It may be some way off yet, but Angling Trust - Team England Shore U16 & U21 Under 21s Manager Chris Sweetland has unveiled his team to travel to Italy in October – fresh off the back of an immense funding crusade that has raised enough money to send the team abroad fully-funded!

Working with dozens of companies and manufacturers over recent years, the target of £18,000 has been met, boosted in no small part by two raffles held in association with Tide Together Competitions that contributed a massive £9,331.75 to the pot.

That means the team’s travel, accommodation, entry, bait and van hire is covered for their two weeks in Italy, allowing Chris and his wingmen Joe Plumstead and Tom Bagnall to now focus firmly on the fishing.

The team sees five of last year’s side picked again – Liam Checksfield, Curtis Driver, Harvey Plumstead, Jack Reynolds and Archie Sweetland – with Chris Stokes moving up to join the team from the Under 16s, all now champing at the bit to get cracking on the venue, marks around the towns of Massa and Carrara in Tuscany.

“The impact of being fully-funded on the management, parents and anglers is colossal - this is a real game changer!” Chris said. “Six years ago, when my son Archie went on the Sea Talent Pathway, a question that was asked was ‘can you afford to go if picked for England?’ That never sat well with me, so I’ve been on a bit of a personal crusade since then to prove that it is possible to send a fully-funded team to the World Champs.”

“There’s lots of people that have donated prizes to the cause, but working with Tide Together Competitions has far exceeded my expectations,” he continued. “Our first raffle for a day on Chris Buxton’s Channel Explorer Charters boat raised £768, which was good, but the mega raffle that that finished last night pulled in over £8,500 – a staggering amount and the kind of money I never anticipated getting.”

“This will definitely raise the team’s profile, and I hope show the rest of Team England that there is hope out there for funding,” Chris explained. “We’ve done it once and there’s no reason why it can’ happen again for other teams. Steve Manley and his team at Tide have been exceptional at every level and we as a team have gone from maybe not even entering the World Champs three months ago to now going without having to watch the pennies.”

Chris wishes to thank the amazing companies listed below that donated prizes and got behind the team:
Anyfish Anywhere
Christchurch Angling Centre
PENN Fishing
Tronixpro
Angling Ambition Custom Rod House
Sakuma Fishing
Veals Mail Order
Anglex
MMS Ltd
West Coast Tackle/Angling Minehead &Watchet
S.A PRO Pumps
Reynolds Fishing uk
Channel Explorer charters