Iceland Species Championships
11th and 12th May 2007
A party of 14 English anglers enjoyed the scenic beauty and fabulous fishing out of the Westman Islands off the coast of Iceland in May. It was the first time an EFSA Championship had been held in Iceland for over 30 years and it was a success in all departments. From the moment the squad picked up their five Santa Fe 4×4’s to drive from Keflavic to the ferry to take them out to the islands they were impressed with the raw beauty of the place. The return journey along the dusty coast road was another highlight as was calling in to the famous Blue Lagoon where we witnessed hundreds of people swimming in the azure thermal waters.
The fishing, as anticipated was terrific, with rods bent over from start to finish and many quality fish were landed although not all were one of the four required species. There were coalfish to over 20lbs, cod to 30lb and a few small but very welcome halibut among those that didn’t count for points. Of the targeted species the most prolific were the haddock and what super fish they were. Many anglers had their quota of 25 each day with fish running up to double figures. They hit the baits as soon as they hit bottom and fought hard in depths of between 30 to 60 metres.
There were less tusk about but when one was hooked it gave a rugged resistance and were a handful to deal with in the boat. The bonus fish were the catfish and ling as each species were worth 30 points catching all four species would almost guarantee a boat win.
Teams
Ist
Scotland ‘A’, Billy Murray, David Proudfoot, Derek Yuille, Donald Morrison and Roy Robertson.
2nd
England ‘B’ team, Kim Bowden, Bryn Roberts, Ashley Currier, Dave Clark and Jim Whippy
3rd
England ‘A’ Paul Hart, Gary Galbraith, Richard Russell, Nigel Hearn and Mike Smith, in third.
Individual
In first place was Scotsman Doug McKendrick. The Russians have only recently joined EFSA but had a great result taking the Individual silver and bronze.
England Squad results
9th, Jim Whippy, 197.99pts
15th, Derrick Hurford, 188.60
19th, Ashley Currier, 186.90
22nd, Nigel Hearn, 183.09
24th, Dave Clark, 179.51
25th, Richard Russell, 178.32
26th, Gary Galbraith, 176.92
32nd, Paul Hart, 174.16
38th, Mike Smith, 169.57
42nd, Bryn Roberts, 164.41
48th, Billy Cann, 154.76
51st, Kim Bowden, 152.28
68th, David Styles, 133.13