Results – European Species Championships (Cod), Dalvik, Iceland 2026
The 2026 European Species Championships, hosted by EFSA Iceland, took place in Dalvik, North Iceland in the waters of Eyjafjörður, one of the longest fjords in Iceland, between the 27th – 29th August. 26 anglers from EFSA national sections including Iceland, Germany, Switzerland, Scotland and England, competed in the championships.
After a very early morning meet on Wednesday 26th, the England section team consisting of Gary Gailbraith, Matt Osborne, Mike Smith, Marcus Wuest and Gary Geoghegan mustered at Heathrow airport to begin their journey. After landing at Keflavik and picking up a hire vehicle, the team made the arduous 5.5 hour road journey to Dalvik in the north of Iceland. After settling into the hired property and working through some ‘challenging’ sleeping arrangements, the team began preparing for the arranged practise session the following day.
On the Thursday morning, the team awoke to drizzle and moderate wind conditions but enthusiasm and a keenness to go and catch some Cod was the driving force behind the team. Our skipper and guide for the day gave us some reasonable fishing along the West side of the fjord but as is often the case, he stayed well away from the proposed fishing marks for the competition days. After the practise, the team debriefed but there was no clear single method that stood out as the most effective big Cod (90cm plus) catcher. Most methods caught fish and it was just a matter of going through the numbers and the stock to hopefully connect with some bonus fish.
During the event, only Cod of qualifying size scored points:
50 – 74cm (1 point), 75 – 89cm (4 points) and 90cm plus (20 points)
The opening ceremony was held at the offices of the local fish processing plant that evening, where in traditional fashion, all competing nations were presented alongside their national flags.
Day One
Friday morning was like waking up in a different venue. Light winds and sunshine greeted the anglers at the harbour. Boats were loaded and they then began to head off to the fishing zone for the 6-hour match. Boats travelled down the fjord on the eastern side and then left the fjord entrance and headed east. After approximately 1.5 hours, the boats slowed and set up their drifts. Boat captains checked their crew’s readiness and each boat then started their 6 hour match. To say that the fishing was stunning would be a gross understatement. Many personal bests were broken and total bag weights for some anglers were estimated in excess of 300kg. After 6 hours of heavy, but enjoyable hauling, the boats headed back to Dalvik. Notable catches on day 1 was Mike Smith’s longest Cod of the day at 124.5cm and Gary Gailbraith’s 121cm Cod, both of which were estimated to weigh over 50lb. Results posted later in the day confirmed that England were narrowly leading in the team event.
Day Two
Saturday was another fine day in Dalvik with light winds but overcast skies. Anglers made their way again to their assigned boats and the fleet was soon enroute to the same fishing grounds. On arrival, the skippers set up their drifts and boat captains announced the start of the 6 hours. As is often the case, and on the basis that fish have fins and swim about, the start on day two was extremely slow. Boats were soon chasing around trying to locate the fish which seemed at one point to have totally disappeared. This resulted in a rather ‘scratchy’ day in comparison to the preceding day. All that aside, it was still an exceptional day’s fishing which was highlighted by Matt Osborne’s outstanding Cod of 138cm weighing 30kg.
The competition concluded with the following successes for the team:
• Team Silver Medal overall
• Gary Geoghegan winning Bronze Medal in the Over-65 category
• Matt Osborne winning Gold Medal for longest Cod
Dalvik proved to be an outstanding venue, and the event was excellently run by the EFSA Icelandic section. The gala dinner and presentation ceremony was hosted at a local restaurant, and a good night was had by all involved. From an EFSA England perspective, notable performances from Marcus Wuest (Associate EFSA England member) and Gary Geoghegan saw them achieve 5th and 6th overall respectively. The EFSA England team fished hard and the final percentage gap of 11% over the two days between Switzerland and England, showed how close the match result was with literally one 90cm Cod as the difference between the two team.
Results:
Gallery
