Leeds & Liverpool National - 1982 Division Four

National Federation of Anglers President – "Last year saw the fishing of the first ever senior National Championship on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, the 1981 Division Two event. It was quickly followed the next month by the Division Three match on the Oxford Canal. Both were landmarks. They were the first championships to be fished on a canal since 1963 and, in both instances, they thoroughly justified the belief long held by some of our members that canals were being neglected as venues for the match."

After some teams had blatantly dragged their swims on the 1981 Division Two Leeds & Liverpool Canal National prior to the start of the match, National Federation of Anglers stalwart Harry Lodge raised issues about weed clearing to attract tench. Allowed under the rules this swim clearance was perceived as 'bending' regulations to gain an advantage.

The possibility of plumbing the depth beforehand and pre-baiting, similar to the world championships, had an airing as did team runners and the use of walkie-talkies (no mobile phones then) to pass on information. However, the revised November 1982 NFA rules revealed no changes on the issues raised by Harry.

So, the 1982 Division Four National also took place on the Leeds Liverpool Canal at the height of a British summer on Saturday 24 July. This competition saw the first repeat of Jim Bazleys’ two All England titles, in 1909 and 1927.

This feat was emulated to a point by Eddie Townsin of Cambridge Fish Preservation Society in 1967 and now here in 1982 fishing for Ely Sugar. Eddie won the individual 1967 National Championship on Norfolk’s Relief Channel storming home to a magnificent win with a 40-6-8 catch of bream taken on gozzers on a size 18 hook.

The 1982 event did not produce weights of that calibre so Eddie won the Division Four with a very modest 8-13-0 of tench, roach, perch and the odd crucian carp. Interestingly he took these canal fish on just a single gozzer to a size 20 hook. Eddie featured in the Angling Times ‘Where the Money Is’ special supplement by the Angling Times for his 1967 win but this was not repeated in 1982.

Some 78 teams competed with 13 promotions but of course no relegations were in place as the inaugural Division Five was first fished in 1985 three years later. They say end pegs are worth extra weight/points and so it proved when Congleton (almost a home side) drew peg one. They breezed home to a win with 741 points followed by Leyland off peg 49 with 730 points and then Northern Anglers Blackburn Centre with 685 points. The final promotion place was taken by Billericay on 593 points from peg eight. In fact, the teams who drew pegs seven, eight and nine all finished in the top thirteen.

Billy Knott of Penzance ran the book on this National where only two pounds separated the top twelve individual places. There were no anglers' names in the slim NFA programme, but official NFA results show Crosby with two section winners. A name well known for successes with the ‘Firm’ in the 1970’s was bloodworm expert Graham Joynt, now fishing for Lansil, who won K section with 6-13-8 off peg 60 but he just failed to make the top twelve.

The match encompassed the canal from the Saracens Head on the Southport Road all the way back towards St Oswald’s Lane. Weights were recorded in imperial pounds as opposed to metric kilograms.