The England Ladies Fly Fishing National was fished from boats on Grafham Water, Cambridgeshrie last weekend. The event was slightly later in the year than usual in the hope of getting improved weather conditions, but it was hot and bright once again leading up to, and including the match day (the ladies seem to be attracting heat waves at present).
The Ladies were competing for a place in a 12 plus one reserve strong team to represent the Angling Trust Team England in Ireland, Lough Caragh in June 2013. This venue is familiar to a few of the ladies who competed in the European Championships in 2009.
Match day at Grafham saw clear skies, temperatures soar too the high 20’s and a blustery and an increasing wind which was not good conditions. From the off the boats split 3 ways: Sanctuary Bay, G Buoy and the South Side of the Dam. The wind picked up and the North side of the reservoir got increasingly inhospitable. Fish were not easy to come by with many fishing Fast Glass and Di3 on washing line methods to tempt sparse feeding fish.
Close to the end of the eight hour competition some of the boats moved towards the nature reserve where a few fish were caught late on, much to the relief of some of the competitors. Back in the Harbour it soon became obvious there were quite a few on 2 and 3 fish, with a couple on 1 fish and 3 banks. One angler stood out from the rest with 5 fish, Hilary Tomlinson from Whissendine.
Paul Sissons, Angling Trust England Ladies Fly Fishing Team Manager said, “It was far from clear cut, however, as during the weigh in it became apparent that some big fish had been caught and some people on 2 fish were weighing more than those on three and so on. Tension held until the end, and Hilary was indeed the winner.”
“I will have the honour of managing the team in 2013. We are already planning our approach to Ireland which demands some different techniques to be honed. The team are really motivated and we will really give it our best next June.”
Sandra Drew, Competitions & Events Manager for the Angling Trust said, “The Angling Trust is proud of its successful womens’ teams who have all won international medals in coarse, game and sea competitions over the year’s, and they work extremely hard at this level of competition angling. If any female anglers are interested in competing for places in the squads, details are available on the Angling Trust website at www.anglingtrust.net, or contact me at sandra.drew@anglingtrust.net.”
The Angling Trust England Ladies Fly Fishing Team for 2013 are in order of qualification:
Hilary Tomlinson
Martha Thomson
Sue Shaw
Sheena Goode
Susan Sissons
Louise Callow
Sue Irons
Elaine Sherry
Lianne Frost
Joan Russell
Jane Robinson
Lisa Isles
Kate Royce (travelling reserve)
