4th All England squid championships - Brighton, UK

[fishyrob]

How time flies when you are having fun..... I cant believe it, but it is that time of year again. We have set the date for this years event, in support of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, for May 8th 2011. If the conditions are not favourable, the event will be cancelled. There will be 24 hours notice if this is to be the case. So, if you live in the UK, or are passing through, come down to fish or watch. Last years result and report can be seen on the European section...... <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[glen]

Hope you have great weather and plenty of squid!! <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[fishyrob]

[quote name='glen' timestamp='1298626279' post='21633']

Hope you have great weather and plenty of squid!! <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[/quote]



So do I Glen!! Last year we were really blessed. Got some video footage of last years event [url="http://www.sportingfish-community.co.uk/_3rd-All-England-Squid-Championships/video/1035378/148910.html"]HERE[/url]

[glen]

The videos are great!

[fishyrob]

All looking very good for the 4th All England Squid championships. The squid arrived three weeks ago, and thickened up nicely last week. I had the first of the seasons cuttlefish last Thursday. Some very good sized Forbesi around. Havent taken the lights out at night yet but I suspect it will be very good, as the temperature has been over 20 degrees for a week, and the seas are as clear as they get.

[fishyrob]

The day of the squid competition loomed, and I was more anxious than usual on approach to the marina. A friend of mine had phoned the night before, to point out that the may bloom was thick and against the wall, creating poor visibility, and he hadnt even bothered to tackle up. A peek over the wall, and although bad, it looked like it was possible that the colour would drop out on the ebb, a common occurence along there. Further out along the wall, visibility was better, although a long way from perfect. I started to worry that there wouldnt be any squid caught. I worried even more when George pointed out that 78 people had turned out for this event. A far cry from the first event where a dozen of us fished for a pink rod. Such is the pulling power of squid. And an amazing amount, which meant that the RNLI, the charity for which this event is in aid of, had already won.







I had a bit of running around and chauffeur work to do. This years event had attracted the attention of Total Sea Fishing Magazine, and angling jounalist Barney Wright was in attendance. All jobs done, I walked up the wall to begin fishing myself, as per usual after the start time. And a wee lad was all excited as he landed his first squid. Thank god, I thought to myself. At least we will have a winner.........







As it turned out, I neednt have worried. I didnt manage to catch one (My fourth squid champs blank in a row) but at the end of the day no less than 12 had been caught, plus a single cuttlefish. I cant help but think if we had fished the comp a fortnight before, when the squidding was very good, we might have seen over 100 squid with so many anglers. At one point, I looked along the wall, andf saw a magnificent sight. At least thirty floats riding the dirty water, with the sunlight over emphasising their neon colours. Quite a sight, and it has inspired another possible event with a twist. Watch this space.........







Mostly people were float fishing their jigs, but some were more adventurous, Working jigs actively. And this paid off handsomely for the eventual winner, David from Portsmouth. His two decent sized squid easily made the longest length of squid bag. There were also quite a few squid hooked and dropped at the landing stage, as it takes a while to get a feel for the steady pressure required to steer these creatures towards and over the drop net.







All too soon the big hand showed six, and the competition was at an end. And it really was a shame, as where I had been fishing came alive, three squid coming up in the last hour. Conditions had been getting better and better on the ebb, but rules are rules, and it was back to the Master Mariner for the results, and of course, a raffle.







Longest Squid caught winning a tronixpro sponsored trophy went to Simon Newman (Geordie Si).

For a 40cm squid.



3rd Overall went to Paul Cackett winning a trophy and a HART squid jig carrying case. 34cm

2nd Overall went to Simon Newman (Geordie Si) winning a trophy and a HART squid jig carrying case. 40Cm

1st Place went to Davide Thabithurai winning a trophy and a HART poizon egi rod. 62.5cm



Congratulations go to all the prize winners. (Davide was one of the only people who was not float fishing out of all the entries, coincidence? Who knows but something to think about).



The real winner on the day was the RNLI, who collected an envelope with £578 in it!



Huge thanks to everybody who took part or just came along to enjoy the day.



An extra special thanks to all the people who gave time, prizes, and any other resources to help make it such a great day. Thanks to:



http://mikedrewdesigns.com/ ,The tackle box Brighton Marina, Prime Angling worthing, The Master Mariner pub, Tronixpro, Hart, Sonik, Waterline, Fishzone.



Thanks also to the marina fishing wardens for their part in the day. Thanks to Drenai for being so unselfish with the raffle prizes!



Video of this unique event can be seen [url="http://www.sportingfish.co.uk/sportingfishtv/4th-all-england-squid-championships.html"]HERE[/url]

[glen]

Congratulations on a wonderful event!!! Thanks for sharing the pics! <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/xyxthumbs.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':th' />