Drennan Team England. (Top L-R) Will Raison, Simon Willsmore, Lee Kerry, Sean Ashby, Mark Downes. (Bottom L-R) Alan Scotthorne, Mark Addy, Callum Dicks.
Pic: www.drennantackle.com
Drennan Team England have managed to win the European Championship after a nail biting last hour on the Hensies-Pommeroeul Canal in Belgium. Twenty-four teams competed on a tough venue dominated by slider fishing.
With tiny perch and bullheads the only small fish to be caught, they knew they had to target the venue’s difficult bream population for good section points.
All five anglers achieved that on Day Two… but only just! The team had well rehearsed skills with catapulted balls of soil/groundbait and a strong belief in their tactics.
Will Raison and Sean Ashby left it until the last half an hour to catch their vital bream, but their patience paid off and it jettisoned them both up to 3rd in section. Callum’s three bream for 5kg also earned a 3rd, while Alan managed two bream for 6th in C Section and Simon Willsmore’s four fish for 2.8kg from A Section was 8th.
That gave the team a hard-earned 23 points, only bettered by Russia’s 21 points on the day.
Overall, however, this gave England a 59-point two-day total and team gold, just a single point in front of Russia, with Italy filling the bronze medal position.
Well done to Will Raison, Alan Scotthorne, Sean Ashby, Simon Willsmore, Lee Kerry and Callum Dicks, plus managers Mark Addy and Mark Downes, plus all the bank runners. A solid team effort. Next stop, the World Championship in Croatia!
Teams:
1st England 59pts 2nd Russia 60 3rd Italy 67 4th Netherlands 71 5th Czech Republic 85 6th Belgium 90.5
Individuals
1st Mike Thinnes (Luxembourg) 3pts 2nd Diego Da Silva (France) 4 3rd Roman Pokorny Jnr (Czech Republic) 4 4th Yury Sipstov (Russia) 5 5th Jozsef Varga (Hungary) 5 6th Will Raison (England) 5
