A cast of 85 anglers took part in the 5th annual Tyne Championship angling match on Sunday 17th August, 2008, and in doing so helped the Environment Agency improve knowledge of rivers fish stocks to aid management actions in the future.
The match was organised by the Environment Agency in partnership with Northumbrian Water, Tyne Anglers Alliance, and the Tyne Rivers Trust, with the help of local fishing tackle shops, angling clubs and riparian owners who donated their fishing for the event.
· Winning angler was Eddie Bridon, who fished the Riding Mill section of the main Tyne, with a bag of dace, roach and chub, totalling an impressive 60lbs 14oz. This is the second biggest weight recorded in the five-year history of the match, and gained the first prize of £500.
· Second place went to Ian Kirton who secured a prize of £400 with another mixed bag from the Hexham section just downstream of the town which weighed in at 44lb 6oz.
· The average weight landed in the match was around 13lbs per angler, with 17 competitors landing 20lbs of fish or more and an incredible 42 double-figure bags recorded. Dace were the most plentiful fish, followed by chub and roach. Other species recorded included eels and gudgeon.
Environment Agency Fisheries Technical Specialist, Phil Rippon – who himself weighed in with a creditable 32lb 10oz – said: “Once again, the Tyne Championship has proved a great success, with some fantastic fishing, and improved information on the river’s fish stocks. We had 85 anglers travelling from as far a field as Northamptonshire to participate.
“Recent heavy rain left the river in high flow, so to offer the best fishing conditions possible to anglers, the Agency arranged with Northumbrian Water for a temporary suspension of the large release from Kielder Water, which had started earlier in the week.”
Anglers gathered at the auction mart in Hexham to draw their pegs, which ran from Wark on the North Tyne down to Bywell on the main Tyne. Once the draw was completed anglers dispersed to their pegs before commencing the 5 hour match at 11:00am.
“In addition to providing a fantastic day’s sport for anglers from across the region, the information provided by the catch records, carefully recorded by Environment Agency staff as each angler weighed in, will be used to continue to improve our knowledge of the Tyne’s fish stocks, and help target effective management actions in the future.
“I’d like to thank everyone who helped in organising the match, and all those who kindly offered anglers access to their water for the event.”
