Thursday 13th October 2011 For immediate release.     Angling Trust Kayak Angling News BOOK NOW: NEW SAFETY COURSE DATE ANNOUNCED - BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! We are delighted to announce that due to popular demand we will be holding another kayak fishing safety course before the end of the year at Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire on November 12th. Places are limited to 12 on the day so please contact the Angling Trust immediately to book your place. Call us on 0844 77 00 616 (Option 1) during office hours and book your place today. Courses only cost £46 incl. VAT for Angling Trust members and offer great value for money. The price for non-members is £82 incl. VAT so this represents a saving of £36 for being an Angling Trust member. Here's what one happy angler said after recently completing the course; "This course is a must for the novice paddler and a good refresher for those with more experience. I found this course both fun and informing on many aspects of kayak angling from self rescue, paddle techniques, anchoring right through to fish recognition. It is a day well spent. Paul and Simon do a great job and you never know - it may save your life." CHRISTCHURCH HARBOUR GRAND SLAM PUTS KAYAKER ANGLERS' SKILLS TO THE LIMIT Good things come to those who wait - and the first Angling Trust kayak fishing Grand Slam champion will have to wait until 2012. Despite some decent fish being caught during the Grand Slam in Christchurch Harbour on September 18th no one competing managed to catch both mullet and bass, leaving the title still to be claimed. The competition is supposed to be highly challenging with around only 10 per cent achieving the Grand Slam (catching one of each target species). It relies on targeting challenging specimen fish, so what better challenge than mullet and bass. There is real kudos in achieving the Grand Slam and the Lower Stour fishery can certainly brag about specimens. In 2011 double figure mullet and high double figure bass have all been caught in this protected catch and release water. 'Big Dave' Neil receives the individual mullet trophy 'Big Dave' Neil ended up taking the individual mullet trophy with a 20.75 inch thin-lipped fish while Adrian Saunders took the bass trophy with a hard-fought 17.5 inch fish. Overall there was an average of just over two fish per entrant with Dave Neil taking five mullet and a Flounder in total while the ADB's officer in the South East, Danny Williams, had four Bass and a Chub - on the fly! Heavy rain showers and gusting force sixes didn't stop those 'non competitive' anglers from doing drift after drift and paddling against wind, rain and tide to be the first to win the coveted 'slam'. The recording and awards session saw some happy smiling, and exhausted, anglers who had really got into the spirit of the competition and given their all to get the 'Slam'. This event would not have happened had it not been for the generous support of Crazywater (assisted by Loni's Tackle) and Semcorp Bournemouth Water. Plus the team of helpers that committed all their efforts to getting this new format off the ground. Thanks go to them all. LADRAM BAY KAYAK FISHING SAFETY COURSE A SELL OUT SUCCESS Eleven happy anglers completed the Angling Trust's kayak fishing safety course at Ladram Bay in Devon on Saturday 24th of September. The Sidmouth Lifeboat gave the group an experience they'll never forget, or want to repeat for real! Novices, experienced kayak anglers and even a BCU instructor were on the course which began with everyone capsizing their kayaks in order to learn self-rescue and assisted-rescue techniques before practising their new skills in a simulated rescue when the Sidmouth Lifeboat and crew joined the group to practice their skills and give those on the course an experience they'll never forget, or want to repeat for real - being plucked from the sea by the emergency services! At one stage the Lifeboat crew managed eight anglers on the boat at once - with kayaks! Check out the video on YouTube here. Safe angling and fish handling techniques were learned on shore with course leaders Paul Fennell and Simon Everett giving out handy hints and tips on rigging your kayak, kit lists, trip planning, safety gear and much more. It was then back on the water for paddling skills and techniques, anchoring, using a drogue and much more that was covered in an enjoyable, eventful and educational day. After completing the course Steve Cowen said "Having returned from attending the Safety course at Ladram Bay I have to say it is worth every penny. Even after two years of fishing quite happily from a kayak I can say with all honesty that I am now 100 per cent more confident in my ability to paddle, self rescue, anchor and fish more safely, and deal with any unforeseen situations. Anyone thinking of doing the course is strongly recommended to do so. Even with my 11 years served as a military diver and arctic survival training, there was still plenty for me to learn. A well planned and executed course, so a massive thank you to both Paul and Simon who passed on their expertise and knowledge in a fun packed day". Course leader Paul Fennell said "The course is an evolution of the old kayak angling courses run several years ago when the sport arrived in the UK. It has now been developed to be even more UK angling specific. The feedback has been superb and as a coach, the improvements by the participants very rewarding. We look forward to developing the courses further and with the Angling Trusts help establishing the sport into the mainstream of angling". REACTION TO MASS TRESPASS PROTEST We are aware that some of our kayak angling members have had concerns over our attitude to kayaks based on the press release issued on Tuesday "Angling Trust calls on British Canoe Union to Condemn Mass Trespass Protest". We would like to make it clear that our objections are to the illegal nature of the protest taking place during a fishing match that anglers of the Avon have paid for and travelled to in order to fish. The disturbance caused by this event would mean these anglers being unfairly disadvantaged through no fault of their own. For this very reason the Angling Trust's code of conduct for freshwater kayak angling was drawn up in full consultation with our members. The code explicitly states: Never encroach on, and minimise the disturbance to, swims being fished by others. Avoid waters being used for an angling match - check with those who own the fishing rights. We are currently negotiating freshwater fishing access for our kayak angling members and will continue to do so where we can negotiate legal access with clubs, fisheries, riparian owners and other relevant authorities. In this instance neither a code of conduct nor an access agreement has been agreed and as such we stand by our decision to condemn this irresponsible behaviour that fails to respect the interests of the River Avon's bank anglers. The Angling Trust remains totally committed to the promotion of kayak angling and preserving the River Avon's reputation as a top coarse angling venue - for the good of all anglers. We are working with the Angling Development Board and our kayak angling members to promote further kayak angling access, competitions and coaching.    To forward this email to a friend or colleague click HERE. To view this email in your web browser click HERE. Notes to Editors: Press enquiries contact admin@anglingtrust.net or 01568 620 447 Website: www.anglingtrust.net Angling clubs or fishery owners wishing to join Angling Trust and individuals wishing to become members or make a donation should phone 0844 7700616 during office hours or join at www.anglingtrust.net     Click here if you wish to unsubscribe