The West Yorkshire Police 15th annual fishing match for under18s took place on Saturday 2nd August on the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Wakefield. This match is entirely open and designed to welcome anglers at all levels of expertise making them feel comfortable taking part.
On walking the bank I was pleased to see most young anglers catching fish. For the very inexperienced anglers the stewards were on hand to offer advice and encouragement. I was also gratified to see some of the more experienced young anglers from thriving Junior sections of clubs such as Barnsley, Leeds and Wakefield also offering to loan their terminal tackle and even share their bait with those who were less accomplished than themselves.. This behaviour reflects the true spirit of the match and the values I have tried to promote through this match and can only serve to make the sport more attractive to new anglers.
Use of this stretch of canal was kindly donated by Wakefield Angling Club as in previous years (www.wakefieldac.co.uk) and Harry Lodge, President of the club, was the senior adjudicator. Volunteers from West Yorkshire Police and Dewsbury, Thornhill and Wakefield Angling Clubs acted as stewards for the match and ensured a smooth running match on the canal and an efficient weigh-in.
Whilst there are prizes for those who have the heaviest catches this is balanced by a lucky peg draw where even those who have not caught a fish can still win a quality prize. In this way, all the young anglers who attended the presentation left with a prize.
Thanks are owed to all who helped organise on the day, and also to our sponsors, without whom the competition could not take place.
Results:
Under 8s Winner
Mason Cowling (Age 5) 1lb 2ozs Peg 51
Presented with the Harry Lodge Trophy and a Browning Border Extractor pole, by Harry Lodge, President of Wakefield Angling Club.
Under 15s Winner
Jamie Cowling (Age 14) 3lbs 9ozs Peg 58
Presented with the Wakefield MDC Trophy and a Browning Carp Man pole, by the Major of Wakefield, Cllr Jackie Williams.
Under 18s Winner
Ben Taylor (Age 15) 3lbs 15ozs Peg 137
Presented with the Browning Trophy and a Browning Carp Man pole, by Chief Inspector Pete Griffiths of West Yorkshire Police.
Under 15s Runner Up
James Walker (Age 13) 2lbs 5.5ozs Peg 70
Presented with the OIT Eurocopy Trophy and a Browning Margin Maestro pole.
Under 18s Runner Up
Cory
Hawksworth (Age 16) 3lbs 2ozs Peg 167
Presented with the Dynamite Baits Trophy and a Browning Margin Maestro pole.
The winner and runner up in the under 15s and under 18s sections also win a day’s fishing with Bob Nudd MBE.
Junior Section Winners
Under 8s
McKenna Cowling 1lb 0zs Peg47
Under 15s
Nathan Murray 2lbs 2ozs Peg 56
Ryan Hutt 2lbs 3ozs Peg 61
Adam Thorn 1lb 2.5ozs Peg 66
Matthew Mee 1lb 2ozs Peg 72
Luke Butterworth 1lb 14 ozs Peg 82
Luke Wrzosek 1lb 12ozs Peg 86
Aiden Donald 0lb 7.25 ozs Peg 92
Kurtis Greenwood 1lb 2.25ozs Peg 100
Thomas Brown 0lb 1oz Peg 106
Presented with the British Waterways Trophy and a Browning Ambition Pro pole, by Robert Broadbent of British Waterways.
Under 18s Section Winners
Reece Nicholson 2lbs 9ozs Peg 124
Joe Sanson 2lbs 1oz Peg 134
Thomas McGrath 1lb 11ozs Peg 147
Joel Whiteley 2lbs 2ozs Peg 153
Tom Sharp 2lbs 5ozs Peg161
Presented with the Wakefield Angling Club Trophy and a Browning Ambition Pro pole, by Harry Lodge, President of Wakefield Angling Club.
Photograph – L to R Back Row: Mayor of Wakefield Cllr Jackie Williams, Jamie Cowling, James Walker, Ben Taylor, Cory Hawksworth, Chief Inspector Pete Griffiths WYP: Front Row: Mason Cowling.
