ESSEX County aces Chris Vandervleit and Gary Miller enjoyed the”biggest victory” of their angling careers to collect the £6,000first prize in the final of the £21,000 Embassy Challenge – theworld’s biggest angling pairs event – at the Riba roja Reservoir inSpain last Wednesday, May 16.
This was the most star-studded line-up in the 25 year history ofthe Embassy Challenge and Vandervleit and Miller, who both competefor the top-rated Essex County Van Den Eynde squad, edged home byjust ONE point in the exciting two day final.
Miller, a 32-year-old fume extraction engineer from Broxbourne,Herts, and Vandervleit, 37, and a vehicle technician from Abridge,Essex, were one of three pairs in second place overnight, four pointsbehind the father and son pairing of Geoff and Steve Ringer who hadachieved the “perfect” first day score of 40 points.
Trailing by four points, Miller and Vandervleit produced a greatsecond day’s performance and grabbed one of the most prestigioustitles in the sport of angling with a two day total of 73 points -just one point clear of the Ringers!
In scorching hot conditions as the temperatures soared well above80F, the 40 pairs of finalists fished two sections on the Riba rojaReservoir and two sections on the River Ebro below the reservoir darnon these carp-filled waters.
Vandervleit, on the river on day two, finished second in hissection with 24 580 kg – though he lost more than 30 carp at the net,in snags and in the weed. Miller was third in his section with 14,480kg and that was enough to give them the title for the first time.
“I thought I had blown it when I lost so many fish and I had toendure the coach drive back to the hotel, not knowing how Gary haddone on the other section,” said Vandervleit. “This is the mostimportant title we have won – it’s a competition that everyone wantsto qualify for as just getting to the final is so difficult,” said adelighted Miller.
And Miller came close to landing a £2,000 bonus for thehighest individual one-day weight over the two days as he weighed inan impressive 60.860 kg on day one But that wasn’t enough to beat the61.960 kg carp haul of Andy Renton, a 33-year-old bottle maker fromHatfield, nr Doncaster who fishes for Daiwa Goldthorpe It was asuperb performance from Renton who landed 46 carp to 2.5 kg on thepole, fishing sweetcorn on a size 12 hook Renton said ‘It was abrilliant day’s fishing and was easily my biggest match weight”
Renton and his partner Craig Lealand, a 38-year-old fork liftdriver from South ElmsaIl, Yorkshire, were joint second overnight butfinally had to settle for 13th place with 50 points.
Unfortunately for the Ringers, they could not maintain theirchallenge and collected £3,000 for finishing runners-up. Geoff,who won the £25,000 first prize in last year’s Fish’O’Maniafinal, was third on the river with 39.780 kg but Steve could onlymanage seventh place on the reservoir with 500 kg.
“Before we came to Spain we would have been delighted to havefinished runners-up but to be in front and then lose it has left ustotally disappointed. Steve didn’t get a good draw on day two butgood luck to the winners,” said Geoff.
In third place were Jon Jowett. a 25-year-old painter anddecorator from Ramsbottom., Lancs, and Daz Shaw, 26, and a rooferfrom Bury, who, remarkably, were competing in their sixth Embassyfinial in eight years. Overnight they were down in joint 11th placebut both fished superbly on day 2 as they won their sections withJowett weighing in 25.180 kg and Shaw recording a weight of 18.640 kgto score 68 points and collect £2,000. Jowett said: “We alwayshave a great time at the Embassy final and now we have achieved ourbest position, beating our fourth place in 1997.” They both fish forBury & District AS.
Fourth place and £1,500 went to Mick Hatchard, a 39-year-oldcontract manager from Walsall Wood, Walsall, and Glenn Law, 49, and acourier from Willenhall, West Midlands. They were in eighth placeafter day one but Hatchard produced the second biggest weight on daytwo of 46.220 while Law was third in his section with 12.600 kg tofollow his second place on day one.
As some of the higher ranked pairs faltered on day two, DavidBrettell, a 38-year-old painter from ark. and Reg Fearn, 52, and awelder from Kirksandall, nr Doncaster, moved up one place to fifth topick up £1,000 with 65 points.
Last year, Paul Clark, a 44-year-old delivery office manager fromBirkenshaw, Bradford. and Steve Raper, 43, and a carpet fitter fromLeeds, missed out on sixth place when they were level points butmissed out on overall weight. This time the roles were reversed andClark and Raper took the £750 cheque after finishing level on 64points with Berkshire pair Ernie Malyon and Steve Palmer, This timeClark and Raper enjoyed the biggest weight – 85.840 kg to 82.560
For the first time in the 25-year history of the event there weretwo lady anglers in the final -Wendy Locker, a former Ladies Worldchampion and Claire Dagnall, the Ladies National champion at 16 in1981.
Wendy and her boyfriend, Simon, from Hook, near Chester, were 12thwith 51 points while Claire and husband Mike from Studley,Warwickshire, were equal 39th. However, Claire 36, landed atremendous 6.100 kg carp on the pole on day two.
More than 4,000 anglers entered the Qualifying Rounds of theEmbassy and, to make every finalist feel extra-special, Embassy,angling’s longest-running sponsor, chartered its own exclusiveaircraft to take the 80 finalists, the management team of theNational Federation of Anglers and the angling press to and fromSpain.
The Embassy Eagle, a Boeing 737 – 200, flew from Stansted, Essex,to Reus Airport in Spain, and the party stayed at the superb fourstar Hotel Imperial Tarraco in the old Roman part of Tarragonaoverlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
Peter Manzi, the Marketing Manager for Imperial Tobacco, said: “Itwas a great trip to a brand new venue. Once again, all the anglerswere a credit to their sport.”
Tom Pckering, a former world champion, who had qualified for theEmbassy final for the fifth time in eight years, said: “Embassy arethe best sponsor that angling has ever had and everybody in our sportmust be extremely grateful for everything they have done for us overmany, many years.”
INDIVIDUALS
OVERALL (BEST ONE DAY WEIGHT)
IAndy Renton (Hatfield nr Doncaster)61.960 kg (£2,000)
2Gary Miller (Broxbourne, Herts)60.860 kg
3Martin Booth (Rawmarsh, Rotherham)53.240 kg
4Phil Austin (Stanley, Wakefield. Yorks)47.240 kg
5Mick Hatchard (Walsall Wood, Walsall)46.220 kg
6Steve Ringer (Moulton Leys, Northants)44.280 kg
DAY ONE
1Andy Renton (Hatfield nr Doncaster)61.960 kg
2Gary Miller (Broxbourne, Herts)60.860 kg
3Phil Austin (Stanley, Wakefield, Yorks)47.240 kg
4Steve Ringer (Moulton Leys, Northants)44.280 kg
SJohn Sanderson (Munsbrough, nr Rotherham)44.240 kg
6Gary Walters (Wigston, Leicester)40.740 kg
DAY TWO
IMartin Booth (Rawmarsh, Rotherham)53.240 kg
2Mick Hatchard (Walsall Wood, Walsall)46.220 kg
3Geoff Ringer (Ravensthorpe, Northants)39.780 kg
4Klaus Fix (Nuneaton, Warwicks)36.040 kg
5Paul Clark (Birkenshaw, Bradford)35.260 kg
6Steve Hemingray (Great Glen, Leicester)31.100 kg
