The Angling Trust Ladies’ National Championship took place at Holly Farm Fishery in Leicestershire and after a week of wet weather it was dry but overcast on the day of the match, however, there was a cold gusting wind which made fishing tricky for some of the 47 competitors taking part on the two match pools: Gils and Trotters.
The winner on the day was Sophie Davis (West Malling Angling) who was fishing for the Starlets A.S team. Sophie drew peg 1 on Trotters Lake and caught 12 carp for a weight of 47.360kg. Most of her catch was from a margin swim in the second half of the match using cat meat as bait, but she did have an early carp on the method feeder.
The following four places were highly contested and all went to members of the Ladies’ International team. Second place was Helen Dagnall fishing peg 3 on Gils Lake with 31.760kg. Helen put in an outstanding performance to catch carp at 13 metres on pellet and worm in very windy conditions which made bait presentation very difficult. In third place was Samantha Sim on Trotters 18 with some good carp caught in the margins totalling 31.60kg, just edging out Julie Abbot on Trotters 11 with a weight of 31.100kg. Fifth place was Emma Pickering on Trotters 35 with 23.900kg.
Team wise it was a clear win for Starlets A.S. who had three of the top four individuals contributing to their team weight of 114.600kg. Runners up were Reading Angling Team Hydro with 60.740kg, whilst third place went to Warrington A.A. team Gold with 50.580 kg.
The Claire Dagnall Memorial Trophy awarded to the competitor under 21 years of age with the highest weight went to Sophie Williams (Mark 1 Sensas Ladies) with 20.660 kg and the Angling Trust note it was pleasing to see that 15 of this year’s competitors were aged under 21, a good sign for the future of the competition.
Individual Results
1) Sophie Davis Starlets A.S. Trotters peg 1 47.360kg
2) Helen Dagnall Starlets A.S. Gils peg 3 31.760kg
3) Samantha Sim Individual Trotters peg 18 31.760kg
4) Julie Abbott Starlets A.S. Trotters peg 11 31.100kg
5) Emma Pickering Reading Angling Team Hydro Trotters peg 35 23.900kg
6) Wendy Locker Warrington AA Team Gold Trotters peg 9 23.100kg
Team Results
1) Starlets A.S. 114.660kg
2) Reading Angling Team Hydro 60.740kg
3) Warrington AA Team Gold 50.580kg
4) Suffolk County Red 42.200kg
5) Mark 1 Sensas Ladies 37.460kg
6) Suffolk County Gold 26.160kg
7) Garbolino Lindholme Ladies 22.160kg
