Competitions
10 March 2026
Drennan Extend Major Sponsorship Deal with Angling Trust England Feeder Team
The Angling Trust are delighted to confirm that Drennan International has extended its sponsorship of the World Champs-winning England Feeder team for a further four years.
The new deal will see Dean Barlow’s squad receive major backing right through to April 2031 and follows an incredibly successful three seasons together.
In 2025, the England Feeder squad dominated the World Championships in Lithuania, winning team gold in one of their toughest tests ever on the massive Skirvyte River.
They followed it up a few months later with an unbelievable performance at the European Feeder Cup in Belgium where they not only won the team event by a massive margin but finished with four anglers in the top six too, including an individual gold for Steve Ringer and silver for Adam Wakelin.
“Drennan International is pleased to announce the extension of our sponsorship of the England Feeder Team for a further four years,” said Drennan’s Gary Barclay.
“We are proud to support a team of exceptionally talented anglers expertly managed by Dean Barlow. The team is preparing to compete at the World Championships in Italy this April, and we will be there to capture all the action. While the venue presents its challenges, with the team currently ranked number one in the world, we are confident of another strong performance.”
This year the team are heading to Italy’s Ostellato Canal in mid-April where bream, carp, and carassio are the main targets. With hardly any movement and at 90 yards wide, it’s a big water that the team will fancy winning a medal from, having won bronze there in 2018.
Dean has confirmed his squad for the 2026 event too, with Steve Ringer again earning the captain’s armband and leading out Will Freeman, Lee Kerry, Mac Stephens, Adam Wakelin, and Rob Wootton.
The management team supporting Dean is Graham West, Scott Smith, Tom Noton, and Gareth Lambert.
“I’ve picked a strong experienced squad who can all cast the distances required, are superb big water anglers and who have one aim – to retain the title,” Dean said. “With Drennan’s brilliant support we’re leaving no stone unturned, but it’ll be very different to 2018 with completely different fish. That means going back to square one with tactics and it’ll also be three days of fishing this year, not two as in previous years after four practice days. That won’t matter to these lads though.”
And skipper Steve Ringer revealed they’re well into their preparations, including planning around a major change to this year’s FIPSed event which will see the competition extended from two match days to three.
“I’ve made enquiries with anglers I know in Italy and it’s looking like it’ll be a big fish match,” Steve revealed. “The carp and carassio are around 1lb apiece plus an odd big bream. That sounds like needing a patient trap-setting match where we might be fishing for six or eight bites with multiple lines. I’m also happy to have three match days, as there’s more chance of mounting a comeback but also it allows us to experiment on day one – we don’t want to blow out but trying things and ruling them out or in quickly can be a big advantage for days two and three.”
You might also like
10 July 2026
Marine heatwave: what it means for sea anglers
A marine heatwave developing around parts of the UK could reach “extreme” levels this summer, with s…
Read more
10 July 2026
Bluefin Tuna Catch-and-Release Recreational Fishery 2026
The 2026 bluefin tuna catch-and-release season opens on Monday 13th July 2026 around the coast of En…
Read more
10 July 2026
Rays of Tope: New project to unlock the secrets…
The Angling Trust is proud to be a partner in an exciting new three-year research project that will…
Read more
10 July 2026
New ICES advice highlights mixed picture for key recreational…
The latest scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) pa…
Read more
10 July 2026
Angling Trust welcomes UK ratification of landmark High Seas…
The Angling Trust has welcomed the UK Government’s ratification of the landmark UN High Seas T…
Read more
08 July 2026
UK Government Pours Cold Water on Urgent Reforms to…
On Monday, the UK Government published its response to the Environmental Audit Committee’s (EAC) PFA…
Read more
07 July 2026
Anglers’ Data Stands Up to Scientific Scrutiny
One of the biggest questions about the Sea Angling Diary Project has always been a fair one: can dat…
Read more
23 June 2026
Team England Fly Fishing on the Hunt for Medals…
30th Fips-Mouche European Fly Fishing Championships MOSTAR BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA 2026 Team Manag…
Read more
18 June 2026
Benjamin’s Comber confirmed as new British record
The British Record (rod-caught) Fish Committee (BRFC) would like to announce the ratification of a n…
Read more
11 June 2026
New British Carp Record
The British Record (rod-caught) Fish Committee (BRFC) would like to announce the ratification of a n…
Read more
03 June 2026
IFFA Spring Loch Style Fly Fishing International at Llyn…
The international is fished from free drifting boats with anglers from England, Ireland, Scotland an…
Read more
28 May 2026
Angling Trust Calls for Recreational Sea Fishing to Be…
The Angling Trust has submitted detailed evidence to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fis…
Read more