There's no doubting the popularity of big-carp match fishing, and the winners of this years’ Team of the Year title are the perfect proof of that. The 2023 British Carp Angling Championships victors Ashley Izzard and Tony Reynolds won the vote at a canter!
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Competing for the £20,000 prize against 11 other qualifying pairs on a red-hot Broadlands Fishery last summer, Ashley and Tony didn’t just win the match – they absolutely destroyed it, finishing over 350lb in front of runners-up Colin Scott and Andy Mundy.
Totalling a mighty 566lb 2oz across the three days, the pair took the weather into account and changed their initial plan of fishing bottom baits to surface tactics. The rest is history.
“It was the dream match, in many ways,” Ashley recalled.
“A crazy spell of hot weather before the match led to a change of plan, so we stocked up with floater fishing kit and on day one, after firing out some mixers, it wasn’t long before fish were taking confidently. By the end of that day, we were around 250lb ahead. As it turned out, that would have been enough to win, but we carried on the following day, adding an additional 300lb.”
“We did have to be careful not to get too carried away, and were cautious to leave the fish a ‘safe’ area to back into by a big bed of lilies, so they didn’t desert us completely,” he explained.
“The plan paid off, and we ended up setting a new match record for the venue. I’m so pleased to win.
“Loads of effort and expense went into it, and looking over at my dad when the final whistle went was emotional – we both had tears in our eyes!”
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HIGHLY COMMENDED - ENGLAND UNDER 20s
Portugal's River Sorraia has been a happy hunting ground for England teams down the years, and the Under 20’s side ensured that continued with a host of medals from this year’s World Championships on the famed Coruche section.
In searing heat, Josh Duffy was crowned individual champ, with Billy Kirk taking silver. But, as ever on these events, it was all about the team – and boy did they pull out all the stops!
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Taking gold with 21.5 points, the squad of Josh and Billy, plus Alfie Nicholls, Louis Morris, Callum Jennings and George McHugh, ended the weekend well clear of runners-up Hungary, scoring 10.5 points on day one and 11 on day two under the watchful eye of manager Jason Kirk and his backroom team.
“This was an unbelievable result! The lads fished brilliantly all week, and worked every day towards this medal since the squad was announced in May,” said Jason. “Tactics through the week revolved around pole and slider fishingat long range, but we discovered a trick in practice that led to us ditching the waggler in favour of a pole-only attack for barbel and carassio.”
HOW YOU VOTED...
Ashley Izzard & Tony Reynolds
77.6% of you voted
Dominant is the best word to describe this dynamic duo’s win in this summer’s British Carp Angling Champs final at Broadlands Lakes, the pair ending the three-day event over 350lb clear of their closest rivals. That earned Ashley and Tony £20,000, their decision to fish surface tactics in the hot weather paying handsome dividends.
England Under 20s
15.7% of you voted
Medal-laden is not the phrase to describe the Under 20’s trip to Portugal for this year’s World Champs! Team members Josh Duffy and Billy Kirk took individual gold and silver, the team, made up of Josh and Billy plus Alfie Nicholls, Louis Morris, Callum Jennings and George McHugh, winning what they came for – team gold – by an impressive 12.5-point margin from Hungary.
Drennan Barnsley Blacks
5% of you voted
Who can stop Barnsley? Nobody it would appear after another dominant year on the domestic team front! Led by skipper Lee Kerry, the South Yorkshire side won the Angling Trust Winter League, Commercial National and Division One trophies along with the special international rules event on the Gloucester Canal. The only thing missing was the World Club Champs, but they’ll be there next year – and who would bet against them?
Drennan England Feeder
1.2% of you voted
After leading on day one of this year’s Feeder World Champs in Serbia, England’s chances of gold looked good, but despite slipping on day two, the team of Steve Ringer, Adam Wakelin, Lee Kerry, Rob Wootton, Mick Vials and Will Freeman, still returned with a bronze medal. That turned to gold a few months later as the team dominated the inaugural European Feeder Challenge at Barston Lakes.
Team England Float
1% of you voted
There have been some stirring comebacks in fishing down the years, and England’s storming performance on day two of the World Champs on Spain’s mighty River Ebro will surely rank alongside those! Ending up seventh on day one, the team of James Dent, Matt Godfrey, Sean Ashby, William Raison, Steve Hemingray and Cam Hughes put things right to storm back and claim silver.
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