The event, which took place on Sunday 14 September at Soudley on the Shropshire Union Canal attracted over 150 anglers from across the country. The match was organised by the Canal & River Trust and Angling Trust, supported by Hodnet Angling Club, as a way of encouraging more people to fish on the nation's historic canal network.
The prestigious new pairs trophy was won by Simon Preece, sponsored by Browning and Simon Mottram, sponsored by Drennan and ABC baits, who together scored 125 points out of a possible 136. Second place went to Kevin Clarke and Dave Edgeley with 118 points and in third place were Paul Andrews and Paul Denson with 117. The top individual catch of the day went to Gary Smith with a catch of 13.6kg.
Junior angling
As well as attracting renowned senior anglers the day also included a free junior match open to 12-16 year olds. The match was won by 14 year old Yestyn Sephton with a catch of 2.6kg and Yestyn went home with the top prize of a 14 metre Sensas pole donated jointly by the chairmen of both the Canal & River Trust and Angling Trust.
Alongside the matches there were also some fun taster sessions taking place with coaches from the Angling Trust showing budding anglers of the future how to choose the right bait, cast off and reel in their catch.
John Ellis, national fisheries & angling manager for the Canal & River Trust said; “The first ever Canal Championship was a great day and hopefully everyone went home having enjoyed a good day's fishing.
“The aim was to show just how good angling on the nation's beautiful canals can be and I think, alongside our friends at the Angling Trust and Hodnet AC, we achieved that with a fantastic location and some great catches. It was great to see so many young people getting involved and having fun, either through the junior match or the taster sessions."
