RiverFest 2013 is the brainchild of river expert Dave Harrell who has been working closely with the Angling Trust to put the competition in place. Twenty qualifiers of 60 anglers on various river venues around the country will see three anglers from each match qualify for a two-day weight aggregate final on the fish rich River Wye at Hereford on the weekend of November 02 and 03 2013.
Dave Harrell said:
“While it’s been great to see some big money events created on commercial fisheries over the past few years, natural fishing has been largely ignored. This new competition is an idea I’ve been thinking about for a while and it’s now going to happen thanks to the involvement of the Angling Trust.
The response to date has been fantastic as river match organisers from all over the country have come forward, keen to get involved with the competition. We’ve got 20 qualifying matches this year and it is the Trust’s intention to make the competition even bigger in the years to come.
We gave a lot of consideration to the choice of venue for the final and eventually settled on the River Wye as it’s a place that lends itself to various skills and methods. We felt this was important, as we didn’t want to alienate anyone who qualified by putting him or her on a venue where they had little or no chance of competing.
With a two-day total weight final as well this will make it much fairer for everyone to compete. The main target species in the final will be chub, barbel, roach, dace and perch and approaches will include both float and feeder tactics depending where you draw.
We are now actively looking for a sponsor for the competition as we have a lot to offer in terms of company, or product exposure and promotion. Any interested party is invited to get in touch with me through my email address at: info@daveharrellangling.com in the first instance.”
Mark Lloyd, chief executive of the Angling Trust said:
“We’re all very grateful to Dave for spearheading the launch of this new competition and for helping us launch it so rapidly. It’s an exciting new addition to our match calendar and we hope it will recruit some new members to the Angling Trust to support our work fighting to protect fish and fishing and recruiting the anglers of the future.”
From Tuesday 14 May entry forms to apply for the qualifying matches will be available from the Angling Trust, and a coupon will also be available in the two weekly angling publications. There will also be further details and entry details available on the Angling Trust website
Qualifying Dates and Venues
• July 20 – River Yare
• July 21 – Great Ouse, Littleport
• July 28 – River Calder, Mirfield
• August 04 – Bristol Avon, Newbridge and Saltford
• August 10 – River Trent, Torksey, North and South Clifton
• August 17 – River Swale, Morton
• August 18 – River Ure, Ripon
• August 18 – River Trent, Burton
• August 31 – River Tees, Bowesfield
• September 01 – River Derwent, Borrowash and Derby
• September 14 – River Severn, Bridgnorth
• September 15 – River Severn, Bewdley
• September 21– River Calder, Altofts
• September 21– River Severn, Upton upon Severn
• September 22 – Warwickshire Avon, Evesham
• September 28 – River Trent, Burton
• September 29 – River Thames, Medley
• October 05 – River Severn, Shrewsbury
• October 06 – River Trent, Laughterton, North Clifton
• October 12 – Warwickshire Avon, Evesham
For further information contact Dave Harrell on 07971 557 340 or Sandra Drew, Competitions and Events Manager of the Angling Trust, on 0115 9061 301 or 07808 779470.
