Entries are now being taken for the England Youth Flyfishing Association National Championships to be fished at Grafham Water on 4 July and open to everyone aged 12 to 17. The competition is fished to International Loch-style rules and the top 10 weights will form the national squad for next year’s International Youth Championships in Scotland.

The EYFA wants to raise its profile this year and attract more young fly-fishers into the competition scene, new chairman Chris McLeod explains, ‘’We had a great year last year winning gold medals in the International in Wales under new Team Manager Rob Edmunds. We have another strong team this year, captained by Matthew Kidd and are hosts for the International on Grafham Water at the end of July. This is a great opportunity to grow our membership and we have recently joined the Angling Trust to strengthen our links with the wider angling community.

The EYFA had its first development day of the year at Grafham Water last weekend with twenty young anglers working on their fishing techniques and boat handling skills assisted by coaches and experienced anglers. Among those attending was last year’s Loch-style National Champion and team captain, Josh Fenton, who has just qualified as a Level 1 angling coach and he was presented with his certificate by Angling Development Board chairman David Moore.

Details of the EYFA activities, and competition entry form can be seen on on the link below.