POLICE officer Adrian Innes landed the Individual trophy in the Embassy Division Three National Angling Championship on the River Trent on Saturday (July 5) after the closest head-to-head title tussle in the 98-year history of National competitions.
And, in a thrilling battle for the Team title, local aces Team Daiwa Trentmen netted £882 as they came out on top with 375 points - just ONE point clear of runners-up, Gas Club AC, who went home to West Yorkshire with £630.

Close pegs... close weights
Adrian, a 41-year-old from Gloucestershire, and second-placed, Chris Buckley, 56, and a crane driver from Crewe, Cheshire, were pegged next to each other on Pegs C8 and C9 on a non-Tidal stretch of the Trent at well-known local landmark, Crankley Point.

And what a fantastic match it turned out to be as Adrian netted 23 bream for a staggering weight of 50.930kg while Chris was so close with a terrific 25 bream and one perch haul of 48.730kg. And, to complete a perfect day, Adrian's team, South Cerney AC, gained promotion by finishing in seventh place with 314 points.
And, as Adrian and Chris netted bream for bream throughout the match, it was a magnificent 3.940kg bream, Adrian's biggest-ever, he hooked 15 minutes from the end that went a long way to clinching the title and his best-ever pay day of £1,084.

Knotty scores double win!
Unfortunately, neither angler had a bet which made angling bookmaker Billy Knott a very happy man!
For both anglers, it was their biggest-ever match weight - Adrian beating his previous best of 32.65kg when he won the Police National at Makin's Fishery in 2001 and Chris topping his record of 25.40kg set 10 years ago!

Above: WHAT A CATCH - Individual winner Adrian Innes with part of his magnificent catch of 50.930kg.

Wish I had his...
It really was a titanic struggle and, yet, Adrian didn't fancy his peg as he arrived at the water, saying: "I really liked the look of the next two pegs down, including the one that Chris was in."
...well maybe not!
But, 15 minutes into the match, Adrian changed his mind as the first bream picked up the two red maggots that he had presented 35 yards out on a size 16 hook to 4lb main line and a 4+lb hooklength with a groundbait feeder. He used two kilos of groundbait and two pints of casters as the bream stayed in his swim throughout the match!
"I didn't fancy a bet but I'm not bothered - it's the greatest day I've had in 30 years of fishing, I am a National champion and I've enjoyed my biggest pay day, easily beating my previous best of £130. What more could I ask for?," said a shell-shocked Adrian who was fishing his fourth National and his third on the Trent.
"Our team tactics were simple - 'don't blank, get a fish in the net.'" But, once that "fish" was in the net, Adrian just couldn't stop catching. He added: "I was worn out at the end but to win a National is amazing. I must say 'Well done' to Chris - it was quite a battle between us."

Rockin 'n' Rollin from the off for Chris
Unlike Adrian, runner-up Chris, who fishes for Crewe Amalgamated and won £930, liked the look of his peg as he said: "There were bream rolling in front of me at the start, it looked good." Chris also fished a groundbait feeder, starting on worm and then, when he had had a quiet spell, he changed to red maggots. He fished a size 16 hook switching to a size 14 hook later in the match. Chris had fished 20 previous Nationals and he said: "This is easily my best performance, I was exhausted at the end. Before the start, I would have settled for one bream, let alone a netful. I can't remember having a better day's fishing." His biggest bream scaled more than 3kg.

Above: ON HIS WAY TO VICTORY - winner Adrian Innes, fishing for South Cerney AC, lands a late bream.

Below: Runner-up Chris Buckley with a fine bream that formed part of his excellent haul of 48.730kg.

Above: Chris Buckley prepares to net a bream which was part of his catch of 48.730 kg from Peg C9 at Crankley Point. Right: BARGING THROUGH - Chris plays a bream as a canal barge goes through his swim.

Bit of a mixed bag secures bronze for Shaun!
The bronze medal went to Shaun Dicker, a 46-year-old who works in desktop publishing from Cricklewood, north west London, who weighed in 26.950kg from the noted first peg (F1) below Cromwell Weir. It was Shaun's biggest match weight in the UK and he fishes for Barnet & District AC.
Fishing a groundbait feeder at 40 yards, Shaun alternated between three red maggots, three casters and worm and caster to land nine bream to 2.75kg, five barbel up to 2kg, two perch and some hybrids. He said: "I had never seen this stretch of water before but obviously I knew it was a good peg. I caught the bream early on and then the barbel moved in later. I lost two bream and two barbel." Unlike the top two, Shaun did have a £5 each way bet but he didn't enter the Individual pools, eventually picking up £317 from his bet and his Section pay out.

Above: IN THE NET - Shaun Dicker, fishing for Barnet & District AC, lands a bream on his way to coming third with 26.950kg.

Below: A GREAT CATCH - third-placed Shaun Dicker holds a fine barbel as he displays part of his catch of 26.950kg.

Left: A BEAUT' OF A BREAM - Fishing for Bungay Cherry Tree and pegged on C7 at Crankley Point is fourth-placed Dave Gladwell with part of his catch of 14.970kg.

So near, yet so far away!
Fourth placed Dave Gladwell, a 65-year-old retired trade union official from Ellingham, near Bungay, Suffolk, was pegged next to the winner on C7, landing 10 bream for a weight of 14.970kg. Most anglers benefited from the double pegging but Dave might have weighed in even more if he had been one peg closer to the eventual champ! One of the NFA's original coaches, Dave fished an open-end feeder and used his home-bred gozzers and worms on a size 16 hook. In fact, by entering all the Pools and investing in a £10 bet, Dave, a member of Cherry Tree Bungay, pocketed £1.095 - more than any of the top three!

Homegrown heros clinch title by a whisker
Team champs, Midlands-based Team Daiwa Trentmen, (below), once again opted for a "no plan and no practice" approach - and completed their full set of Team medals after winning the Team silver on the Oxford Canal in Division Five in 2000 and the Team bronze in Division Four on the Grand Union Canal last year.
They knew they were the title favourites and Trentmen manager Andy Dare, a 43-year-old retired miner from South Normanton, Derbys, said: "We just fished the match on the day - the same as we did when we won the silver and bronze medals. We have a vast knowledge of the water and we have a good all-round squad. We didn't practise and we didn't really have a team plan. In the end, it was a tremendous team performance and we can't wait to fish in Division Two."
Skipper Dare certainly led the way as he won A Section and came 19th in the Individual with 5.200kg while Nottingham's Derek Hornet was fourth in E Section with 4.440kg, Steve Clark (Mansfield) was third in G Section and 16th overall with 5.590kg and Neil Parkinson (Spalding) was second in J Section with 3.970kg to complete a great team display.

Going, going, going up for the third year running
Team-runners up, Gas Club AC, (below) gained promotion for the third successive year after they won the Team bronze in Division Five in 2001 and finished fifth in Division Four on the Grand Union Canal last season.
Many of their anglers come from in and around the Mirfield area of West Yorkshire and skipper Geoff Scollick, a 68-year-old retired fishing tackle shop owner from Thornton, near Bradford, said: "We are a team of river anglers who learnt our skills on the River Calder - we enjoy float fishing and we were looking for 2kg a man. Each member of the squad practised at least three times and we did really well on the float during those practice sessions. But on the day, there was extra water in the river because of the recent rain and the feeder seemed to be a better bet. So, many of our anglers switched over to the feeder as the match progressed.
"We are delighted to have won a silver medal to go with the bronze from two years ago. We are dead chuffed to have gained promotion for the third year running and to get within one point of the local team shows what a great performance we produced." Mirfield's Tony Webster was their top points scorer as he came second in M Section with 2.500kg while Ian Bates (Mirfield) was third in D Section with 3.940kg, Ricky Bonas (Mirfield) was third in F Section with 4.940kg and Paul Clark (Leeds) was fourth in J Section with 3.170kg.

Another close run thing!
The bronze medals and £504 went to Bourne AS, (below) who followed up their gold medal performance in Division Four last season with another solid all-round team display.
And there was a big smile on the face of Phil Chesterton, a 35-year-old paint sprayer from Grantham, Lincs, as he only took over as skipper TEN days before the match. Bourne totalled 337 points - ONE point ahead of fourth-placed Yarm AA.
"We fished two matches and had one team practice on the water and the plan was to get a fish in the net - whatever the size - and avoid a dreaded dry net. We just hoped we could gain promotion and, to finish third after claiming the gold medal and getting promotion from Division Five in 2001, has made it a great three years for the club," said a delighted Chesterton who was also fifth Individual in 2002.
Bourne had two anglers in fourth place in their Sections - Spalding's Gary Boxhall (A Section with 2.550kg) and Market Harborough's Malc Payne (B Section with 2.680kg) while captain Chesterton was fifth in E Section with 3.800kg.

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