The Division Two National Championship took place on Saturday with over 600 anglers arriving from all over the country to compete for the chance to win promotion to Division One.
With exceptionally windy conditions throughout the day it proved difficult for the competitors and a number of anglers had to give up fishing using pole. As soon as the whistle had been blown the heavens opened and gave the competitors an unpleasant first hour of fishing. However, it wasn’t bad for everyone with the eventual individual winner Pete Mizon claiming five fantastic bream in the first 45 minutes of fishing.
With just ten minutes gone after heavy baiting with worm and caster he caught his first bream using pole. Pete who was fishing for The Tring Anglers from Buckinghamshire didn’t stop there. Just five minutes later he landed his second fish, another bream of good size. Fishing on peg G1, which was classed as one of the favourite pegs to draw due to good performances over the last few weeks. When asked about his victory Pete the 36 year old Security Engineer stated, “I just put worm and caster underneath the bush and it did the job. I caught 14 Skimmers, 3 Roach, 2 Perch and 1 Rudd. The whole day has been great and the presentation and receiving the trophy was unbelievable.”
Within half an hour Pete had four fish under his belt and even lost what looked like a two pound bream before going on to claim victory with a winning weight of 7.380Kg. His nearest competitor in second place was Kevin Brooks fishing for Macclesfield Waltonians with a weight of 5Kg. In third place was Peter Kay from Gerrards Cross with a weight of 4.750Kg.
Fishing on the day was difficult with most of the anglers only being able to catch smaller fish including Perch, Roach and Gudgeon. With the smaller fish being the catch of the day it meant quantity was important for the teams to get maximum points. It was Team Raiders AC who followed this approach and claimed first place in the team event with 481 points with a final weight of 19.080Kg. The team captain, Keith Grieve stated, “We have had lots of practice up here and had a lot of help from Graeme Smith who has helped us learn about the canal. All of our team are accomplished anglers and our team plan was spot on with an all out squat attack to get as many small fish as possible.”
It was a great day for Team Raiders AC who fished only their second national yet achieved their second promotion in two years. They were an impressive 53 points ahead of second place Luton AC who finished with 428 points and a weight of 14.850Kg.
In third place was Slaithwaite & District with 423 points only five behind Luton AC and a final weight of 15.870Kg. With a catch between them of Roach, Perch and three good skimmers they recorded their 3rd medal in 4 years. Dean Harris of Slaithwaite & District stated, “It was a great day, fantastically run. We are all really looking forward to Division One next year.”
It was a great day overall with a number of anglers saying how well the day had gone and how fantastic the presentations were. Overall 10 teams will be promoted to Division One and there will be no demotions unless a team did not fish on the day.
Results
Position Team Classifications Points Weight (kg)
1st Team Raiders AC 481 19.080
2nd
3rd Slaithwaite & District 423 15.870
Position Individual Classifications Team Weight (kg)
1st Pete Mizon The Tring Anglers 7.380
2nd Kevin Brooks Macclesfield Waltonians 5.000
3rd Peter Kay Gerrards Cross 4.750
