New canal fishing championships launched

A NEW event is being set up for canal match fans, thanks to the Angling Trust & Canal & River Trust, with plans to emulate Riverfest.

Canal fishing has got a much-needed boost with the new championships, which could become something much bigger in 2015.

Angler’s Mail can confirm a pilot Pairs Canal Championship is to be held on the Shropshire Union in the Soudley area on September 14.

With echoes of 2013’s successful roll-out of Riverfest, if all goes well then a full scale Canal Championships will be staged in 2015 with a series of regional qualifiers followed by a two-day final.

The 2014 Championship is open to anyone 16 years of age and above with an entry fee of £40 per pair, with £10 optional pools on the day per angler. Pegs will be capped at 100 pairs.

To get the event going, it is not necessary to have individual membership of the Angling Trust, or to be a Friend of Canal & River Trust.

Payouts are: 1st pair £1,250, 2nd pair £750, 3rd pair £500 (subject to entries and sponsorship).

There will also be an open junior section run in conjunction with the main event on the same day open to anyone under 17 years of age on the day of the match. This event will be free to enter, and all junior competitors must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Entry details will be announced soon.

John Ellis, National Fisheries and Angling Manager of the Canal & River Trust said “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Angling Trust and Terry Nutt, and his team from Hodnet to launch this event.

“Canals are vastly underrated and offer some fantastic catches so we hope events such as this will inspire people to give their local canal a go.”

Ben Thompson, Senior Competitions Manager at the Angling Trust said “This is great news and a sign of our ongoing commitment to anglers and match angling in England.

“It is important to us that we provide opportunities for anglers to participate in a variety of competitions and with individual and team matches well established, this pair’s format will add to our offer to match anglers.

“We look forward to building on our existing positive relationship with the Canal & River Trust and hope to establish the Canal Championships as a mainstay of the match calendar for 2015 and beyond.”

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