North East win National Angling Championships
21 August 2006by Paul Rushton
The listing was posted by WheelPower - British Wheelchair Sport - News
The inaugural National Federation of Anglers National Championship for Anglers with Disabilities Team Event was won by the North East Region with a total of 60 points at Marsh Farm, Surrey on 19th August 2006.
For the first time the disabled championships became a team event with one team from each region of the country competing. Each team was made up of 10 anglers, each of whom had progressed through a regional qualifier to book their place in their regions team.
On a day which produced some difficult conditions for the competitors with strong winds and showers it was the team from the North East who took the national title. Through feeding casters and pellet into three areas of their pegs the North East managed to claim victory in five of the sections with an overall weight of 26,110kg.
The West Midlands finished in second place with 51 points and a weight of 24.300kg and the London & SE Region were third with 44 points and a final weight of 19.020kg.
Individually it was Neil Jackson fishing for the West Midlands Region who took the title with a fantastic net of 10 Crucians to 2lb and a 3lb Tench to record 11.300kg at the scales. Neil fished over chopped worm at 8 metres from peg 5 which proved to be a lucrative J section on the railway bank of Harris Lake. Neil who caught steadily for the first 3 hours commented on his victory,
“I was choked up when I won, it was absolutely fantastic! Everything went really well on the day, the whole event had been brilliantly organised. I still can’t get over it; it was the best match I have ever fished”.
In second place was David Gaukroger representing the Southern Region who managed to put 8.640kg into his net after adopting a similar approach to Neil Jackson of chopped worm at 7 metres which produced 5 Crucians to 1-8-0 and 2 Tench to 3-8-0. In third place was Raymond Ross from the North East Region who landed a personal best Crucian of 1.240kg in his 6.910kg bag together with 5 other Crucians on paste over pellet fished at 8 metres.