The final of the National Canal Pairs Championship, takes place this weekend on the canal at Long Eaton.
The Championship has seen pairs of anglers competing at 16 regional heats on canals across the United Kingdom and 58 pairs have qualified for the grand final.
Running at the same time as the adult competition, 20 junior anglers, who are aged between 10 – 16 years old, will be competing in their own category for ‘Britain's Best Junior Canal Angler'.
John Ellis, our national fisheries & angling manager said: "The Canal Pairs Championship is one of the stand-out events on the match angling calendar and we're delighted to bring it to the East Midlands.
"The Erewash Canal has a rich angling history including the hosting of national championships and we hope that by bringing this event to the canal we'll inspire more local people, of all ages, to rediscover their local waterway.
"Canal angling is brilliant, it's cheap and readily accessible and also provides some real benefits for local communities. As the charity that cares for the canals we're keen to see more people getting involved, having a go and keeping the angling tradition alive and well."
David Kent, National Chair of Competitions at the Angling Trust, said; "As part of a whole variety of top competitions offered by Angling Trust the Canal Pairs Championship, with the collaboration of the Canal & River Trust, ensures that a high quality annual pairs event is on the calendar.
"It is particularly satisfying to me to see the final on my local Erewash Canal. It has hosted big events in the past with very consistent results and I feel sure that the competitors this time will not be disappointed. The practice event held on 14th October produced really encouraging weights throughout with the winner breaking the 20lbs barrier."
The event marks the continued recovery of the Erewash Canal following a catastrophic pollution incident which killed many thousands of fish in 2012. We have worked hard with support from the Environment Agency to restock the canal so that it is now capable of hosting the final of a major competition.
We will be hosting a Facebook Live at the event on our Angling Facebook page.
