Wilby crowned Drennan Cup Champion!

Richard Wilby, from Norfolk, has been crowned winner of the UK’s most prestigious specimen fishing competition – the Drennan Cup.

“Every time I think about it, I can’t stop smiling. It really is a dream come true,” says Richard,

who as well as getting his name engraved on the hallowed trophy also scoops a cheque for £2,000 as reward for completing the most convincing win ever recorded in the cup’s 36-year history.

Anglers submitted their specimen captures to Angling Times, and Drennan considered each one for a weekly award worth £80. Those winners were then featured in the magazine. When the season ended, a full list of the contenders was showcased to weekly Drennan Cup award-winners from the last five years, and they voted for who they thought should be crowned champion.

This involved listing their top four anglers and awarding four points to their top pick, down to one point for their fourth.

This year, Richard Wilby notched up no fewer than eight weekly Drennan awards, and a total of 166 points from his peers gave him a clear lead over his nearest rival Daniel Woolcott, on 128.

“I didn’t set myself a target number, I was just thinking of individual fish I really wanted to catch,” Richard tells us.
“Last season, I finished the competition second with five awards, so I upped my target to six this time around. To get eight was beyond my wildest dreams.
“Doing a lot of homework on tactics and location certainly helped, but luck played a huge part too. For example, I had the bream and rudd early on in the season but caught the tench and eel within the space of a week during opportunistic trips.
“With the tench, I felt it was my last chance of the season to bank a really big one, so I drove 70 miles through the night to reach a southern stillwater which I knew held some specimens. I settled into my swim at midnight and baited up lightly with casters, hemp, red maggots and groundbait before casting my worm kebab heli-rig over the top. At first light I had the all-important bite and an 11lb 11oz tench was soon netted.
“A week later I landed the big eel and by the end of July I had four awards, so those two catches were definitely the turning point for me. With a huge chunk of the season left to go I decided to pile on the pressure and catch as many big fish as I could. Luckily it paid off. I can’t thank everyone enough who voted for me.”

For runner-up Daniel Woolcott it was a brace of tench that proved to be the defining moment in his pursuit of the Drennan Cup.

Before May 2019, the angler from Kent had already won two weekly awards for a 3lb 4oz roach and a brace of eels, although tench catches of 10lb 12oz and 11lb 11oz ensured he had three under his belt before summer, autumn and winter arrived.

“I got off to a fantastic start with the roach and eels but I thought I had a really good chance of winning it when I had the tench,” he says.
“Finding out I’d come second made my day and I’ve been buzzing ever since, but I take my hat off to Richard, who deserves it with the season he’s had.”

With a total of 81 points, Hertfordshire specialist Joe Royffe was voted into a well deserved third place after ending his season with five weekly awards. He admits that his 15lb 10oz bream was the fish that inspired him to have a go at competing.

“I never dreamt about getting close to the Cup until I submitted my 3lb 2oz rudd in July,” he says.
“The turning point was when I got a second award for the bream, as I was confident I could get a third by catching a big perch in winter.
“I then had the huge dace, followed by the big roach a few weeks later. To come third is a great personal achievement, especially after such an unsuccessful winter.”

Voting saw Buckinghamshire all-rounder James Champkin take the final spot with a respectable 63 points.

Despite a couple of near-misses, James ended a sublime season with four weekly awards, and reckons it was the catch of a 3lb 2oz rudd that gave him hope.

“That fish put me on three awards by the middle of the summer and suddenly made me feel that I had a realistic chance of taking home the Cup,” he explains.
“That was my first rudd session of the season so it really felt like I was gaining momentum, and with the whole autumn and winter to look forward to I was confident of hitting a few more targets.
“After dreaming of winning the Cup for years, I’m delighted to have taken a major step forward by securing fourth and having my name etched on to the trophy among some of the all-time great big-fish anglers.”

James Champkin with a brace of 3lb-plus roach