BRONZE FOR ENGLAND IN TOUGH HOME INTERNATIONAL

It was hard going for the England Youth Flyfishers after a spell of hot weather put the brakes on what was shaping up to be a great Under 18s Loch Style Home Nations Championships at Grafham Water.

With home advantage, England were hopeful of the gold medals, but it never quite happened, Ireland instead stepping up to be crowned champions, Scotland snaring silver and the hosts having to make do with bronze.

Fielding a team of skipper Michael Ewing, vice-captain Max Mockridge, James Penwright, Owen Palmer, Jack Blakey, George Clarke, Florence Ritchie, Sam Shepherd, Tom Moesel, Johnny Moesel, Seth Fiddler, Matthew Edgerton, Archie Rothwell and Jake Leake, Ollie Hutton and Will Wellman fishing the reserves event, the baking heat made seven hours afloat hard going.

“We couldn’t have asked for worse conditions,” said England coach Tim Joyce. “In the weeks before the match, anglers were catching an average of seven fish apiece, but the mini heatwave completely ruined it. We did the best we could, but that’s just fishing I’m afraid.

“People might think that hot sunny weather is great for fly fishing, but rainbow trout are non-native to the UK and used to cold ice melt water in the USA with lots of oxygen in it,” Tim continued. “The higher the water temperature, the lower the oxygen levels and the trout didn’t like it. They pushed down in the water and basically sulked.

“We had two options – either fishing small static lures that would drift through the water to find the fish or to use sinking lines to fish deeper. It had been calm in practice, and we went for option one. As soon as the wind got up on match day though, it became clear this wasn’t right. We changed things over, but it was just too late to make an impression,” Tim added.

At the final reckoning, it was the Irish who took gold with a score of 24 fish landed, Darragh Duncan leading them home with a bag of five fish. Scotland were next, tallying 21 fish, Rory Stuart being their top scorer with four trout. That left the bronze medals to be decided, England’s 15 fish seeing them well ahead of Wales on 9. Top rod for England was captain Michael Ewing with five fish, the best Welsh anglers being Aled Jones and Dan Owen on two trout apiece.

There were, however, individual awards for some of the England team, captain Michael Ewing winning the Welsh Water Authority Trophy for Heaviest Basket with his five fish haul of 10lb 4oz, James Penwright taking the Ian Jones Memorial Trophy for Heaviest Individual Fish with a 4lb 4oz trout, and Johnny Moesel the International Reserve Winners trophy.

Additionally, within the team there were plaudits for Michael who finished as England’s top rod, James for the heaviest fish and Jack Blakey who was awarded the Matt Clarke England Team Merit Award, recognition decided by the team captain for a member who has contributed the most towards the team in the lead up to the match.

* The Angling Trust would like to thank all the volunteer coaches and parents who work tirelessly to ensure the success of this event.

Fundraising for the 2025 competition in Scotland has already begun and you can find out more on the England team’s Facebook page here… https://www.facebook.com/EnglandYouthFlyFishing

Youth International 2024 – Grafham Water – Final result

1. Ireland – 24 fish – 48lb 4oz – Bob Church Trophy

2. Scotland – 21 fish – 45lb 10oz

3. England – 15 fish – 33lb 10oz

4. Wales – 9 fish – 19lb 7oz

Total fish Caught = 69

Rod Average = 1.2 fish

TOP OVERALL BAG

Michael Ewing (England Captain) – 5 fish – 10lb 4oz – Welsh Water Authority Trophy

TOP SCOTLAND ROD

Rory Stuart – 4 fish – 8lb 2oz – Sterling Council Trophy

TOP IRELAND ROD

Darragh Duncan – 5 fish – 9lb 14oz – Lough Sheelin Trophy

TOP WELSH ROD

Aled Jones – 2 fish – 5lb 9oz – Cliff Harvey Trophy

TOP ENGLAND ROD

Michael Ewing (Captain) – 5 fish – 10lb 4oz – Tom Bilson Rose Bowl

BEST FISH

James Penwright – 4lb 4oz – lan Jones Memorial Trophy

HEAVIEST FISH SCOTLAND

James Coull – 4lb – Angling Centre Stirling Trophy

HEAVIEST FISH IRELAND

Fintan Carlin (Captain) – 3lb – Lough Owel Trophy

HEAVIEST FISH WALES

Aled Jones – 4lb – Moc Morgan Trophy

HEAVIEST FISH ENGLAND

James Penwright – 4lb 4oz – Severn Trent Water Trophy