European Shore Championship 2022, Valledoria, Sardinia
12th October 2022 was the first day of the European Shore 2022 Championship. Registration and the opening ceremony were at 1400 hours. The Zone draw was completed and a chance for any questions. Unfortunately, there were only 20 entries due to various factors, including late notification of the date, fishing times of 8 in the evening till midnight and Italian politics, which meant only one Italian fishing the event. The fishing beaches were to the North and South of north western shoreline of Sardinia aside the town of Castelsardo.
There was then a couple of hours before bait distribution, bait consisted of 2 types of worms and a wrap of razor clam. Then it was time to get on the bus at 1800 hrs, to head to the venue for the first day’s fishing. I went on the bus but that was for half the anglers, the others that had driven to Sardinia, drove their cars to the venue. On arrival at the beach there was time to set up in daylight, as the evening got dark just before the start of fishing at 2000 hrs. I say dark, there was a road along the top of the beach which had street lighting, so there was some background light.
A few fish showed early on, though it soon became clear that the size of fish was going to be an issue to score, even with the minimum length to count of 12cm. The fish caught were almost all Bream with 14cm being a big one! As the score cards came in it became apparent that many anglers had failed to catch a scoring fish and when the results were entered, 10 of the anglers, (half the field) did not score. Top was one of the ladies Ilonka Rynberg from Holland with 7 fish, Steve Lewis, Wales with 4 fish. The other 8 anglers got just 1 or 2 fish each. One zone was won with just 1 fish caught. So not a great evening’s fishing.
Day 2 and a different beach with a few more fish showing, again mainly bream. Again there was a bit of background light from the street lighting, except for my peg. There was a restaurant on the shore behind me, which looked closed, that is until just before the start of the fishing and the lights came on and four very large flood lights pointing out to sea were switched on, so I had no need of a head torch, it was like fishing in daylight! On this beach the waves were breaking quite a way offshore, so it was an advantage to be able to cast beyond that bank. I believe some managed to find fish closer in, though again size to score was tough. Despite this I managed 2 fish, one of which is pictured below a whole 32 cm long, one of the best fish over the 3 days, though not the longest as on day 1 an angler had a sting ray of 34cm and that was measured nose to tail.
After day 2 I (Kim Bowden) was lying 4th on 6 points while there were 2 anglers on a perfect score of 8, so realistically there was a possibility of Bronze for me
Day 3 and the beach was like the day before, with breaking surf a long way out. Tonight, we were fishing in the dark, so looking up we could see the stars, which was something to do between casts. The fish again were slow to show. After almost 2 hours I caught my first fish, which was a double shot, one 12cm, just in size but the other one was a whole 14cm! Not such a good night for me and with 3 fish to count, reasonable but 3rd in the zone, so just 2 points for 9 in total. So down the list I went to 7th. Paull Curtice said he caught a lot of fish but almost all undersize.
The presentation of medals was on the Saturday afternoon and the top 2 anglers both won their zone every day, gaining 12 points. After count back it was Arjan Rynberg of Holland taking the gold pin, with Steve Lewis of Wales taking the silver. On 10 points was Derek Gregory of Wales with the bronze pin. This is the 4th time Arjan has won the European Shore event.
Full results can be seen below.
There was then a short break before the Gala luncheon, and what a fine meal it was, in true Italian style. To start with were platters of pasta with sauce and sea food. Followed by platters of meat and fish, potatoes and vegetables all washed down with carafes of house wine. Sweet treats finished off the meal. It was a splendid meal to finish the Championship with. All in all, a lovely venue but poor fishing.
Report by Kim Bowden with assistance from Andy Smith
Results
Gallery
