Disappointment for England at World Lure Champs

Team Estonia have won the prestigious World Lure Boat Championships after a gruelling two-day battle on Rutland Water.

In the competition’s 11th year of running it was the first time England had hosted the championships, although wet and windy conditions brought by Storm Callum did make fishing very difficult for the 16 competing nations.

The poor weather didn’t didn’t faze Estonia however after they took the first-place position with a catch of 24 fish, including mostly perch and big pike.

Czech Republic came second with an immense 66 fish haul, whereas Latvia took third place with the captures of 17 larger fish.

With the advantage of home soil team England hoped to compete with the Eastern European nations who have dominated in recent years,  however after a valiant effort they could only muster a 14th placed-position.

James Dobie from team England told Angling Times: “We expected the zander to show in numbers, but we could only catch perch over the two days.

“Nonetheless, I think we have fished very well considering our opposition are world class anglers and the fact that we are a fairly new team.

“We’ll certainly come back fighting in next year’s championships.”

For a full report and scores of the 2018 World Lure Boat Championships, please visit the Angling Trust Competitions Facebook page.