England Win Gold at IFFA Spring Loch-Style International

Draycote Water, near Rugby in Warwickshire hosted the IFFA Spring Loch-Style International from 16th to 19th May 2023 which resulted in a comprehensive victory for the English team, with Scotland in second place, followed by Ireland and Wales.

Conditions in practice had varied between chill winds to warm conditions with a flat calm, but match day dawned with a steady breeze and light cloud. The fleet split from the start as fish had been found in practice all over the reservoir, with good concentrations in Toft, Biggin Bay, around the tower, and in Rainbow Corner, The English team had found that the fish definitely preferred flies fished static with 3 methods all showing good results. Buzzers and egg flies fished under a bung, a tip line with a washing line of a FAB on the point, with 2 size 10 buzzers and a Nemo on the top dropper, again fished static and allowed to drift slowly through the layers, and  dry flies  fished in the surface film and cast to moving fish or fished “blind”.

Using all 3 methods, the English team build a substantial bag of fish, with each fish being measured and returned. Each fish landed counted 20 points with 1 further point per cm length measured nose to tip of tail.  As the match finished and the boats returned to the dock at 6pm it quickly became obvious that England had built up a considerable bag of fish, with new caps Kevin Glenn and Jake Wenman having both boated 14 fish each. The rest of the team provided great support resulting in a team bag of 139 fish.

Kevin narrowly pipped team mate Jake to the Grafham Trophy which is awarded to the heaviest Team England bag by 887 points to 866.

The Brown Bowl for the best individual bag went to Welsh rod, Richard Hooper with 15 fish for 948 points, narrowly beating the English pair. He fished dries all day around A and B buoys

Thanks must go to the management and staff of Fishery Management UK Ltd who provided us with a superb week of fishing and made the organisation and running of this event go so smoothly. Finally many thanks go to the boatmen who gave up their time to support the anglers. Without you the event could not go ahead.

Personal Statement from Manager:  Paul Angell, the England Loch-Style Manager stated that it had been an outstanding performance with every member of the team contributing in both the development of the final match strategy through practice, and in their performance in the match itself. Led by Leigh Pond, the group had a mixture of experience and youth, and had quickly developed into a very efficient and effective team, sharing information and supporting each other during practice and developing communication strategies that proved invaluable on match day. The difference in scores between the winning team and the rest of the field is a testament to the commitment and skill shown by this team to which I am very proud to be associated.

Thank Message you to any sponsors:

The team would like to thank Layher Scaffolding, Nemac Construction and Garrick Eckard for their financial contribution to team funds, and also Fulling Mill, Guide Fly Fishing, Snowbee UK  and Craghoppers for their continued support

Results:

Top 4 Team Results:

1^st England – 139 fish, 8796 points

2^nd Scotland – 94 fish, 5966 points

3^rd Ireland – 63 fish, 3990 points

4^th Wales – 54 fish, 3446 points

Top 4 Individual Results:

1^st Richard Hooper- Wales, 15 fish, 948 points

2^nd Kevin Glenn – England, 14 fish, 887 points

3^rd Jake Wenman- England, 14 fish, 866 points

4^th Mark Rose – England, 13 fish, 830 points