Kevin Clarke and Dave Edgerley from Sam’s Tackle in Wigan have been crowned ‘Britain’s Best Canal Anglers’ at the recent National Canal Pairs Championship held along the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal in Minworth.
The final, which was organised by the Canal & River Trust, the charity that cares for 2,000 miles of waterways in England & Wales, and the Angling Trust was hosted by Dams & Locks Angling Club and saw 51 pairs of the country’s top anglers compete for the title.
Tom Clark, from West Sussex managed to catch an impressive 1.2kg of fish and took the title of ‘Britain’s Best Junior Canal Angler’ in the junior section of the competition.
Kevin Clarke and Dave Edgerley with Richard Parry
John Ellis, national fisheries & angling manager for the Canal & River Trust, said: “This year’s competition has reeled in some bumper catches and has really shown how packed with fish the canals are.
“Angling is a great sport to get into as it’s open to people of all ages and abilities and, as most people live within five miles of their local waterway, accessible to millions of people.”
David Kent, from the Angling Trust said: “Saturdays Final saw some of the country’s best canal anglers battling to win this inaugural Championship.
“It was a successful first year in many ways clearly demonstrating just how passionate many anglers are about their canal fishing and also how well the collaboration between the Canal & River Trust and Angling Trust is progressing.
“We knew there was a gap in the big match calendar for both a top flight canal-based event and a pairs event. This Championship seems to have filled that gap perfectly. Long may it continue!”
The 2016 event will feature additional qualifying heats in Wales, Scotland, Northern and Southern Ireland.
For more information and to see the full results visit www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/fishing or www.anglingtrust.net
