Chatton and Thrunton Long Crag host final of the Big One UK Fly Fishing Open Championship

Last weekend saw the two-day final of The Big One UK Fly Fishing Open Championship - and what an event it proved to be, with contrasting weather conditions on Saturday at Chatton fishery and Sunday at Thrunton Long Crag fishery.

On Saturday, the 30 finalists had warm sunshine and lakes that had a lovely ripple at times, and were flat and calm for other periods. The trout were feeding hard on the surface and small dry fly patterns attracted many fish. Well over 300 trout were brought to the anglers’ nets and many more were dropped off. The rod average was over 12 trout per rod. Carl Nixon was third, Alan McPhail came second, and Dean Appleby won the day with 24 trout.

Overnight, it rained, and anglers met at Thrunton Long Crag on Sunday in steady drizzle, with a cold easterly wind and heavy cloud cover. There was a nice ripple on Long Crag Lake with fish rising, and the swallows working the water for insects hatching.

At the end of the day, 137 trout were caught and released - a reflection of the weather conditions compared with the previous day. Third position on the day was Carl Nixon, second was Glen Appleby, and first place, with 14 trout, was Dean Appleby.

With the combined scores over the two days, Glen Appleby finished third, receiving £1,000, Carl Nixon was second and received £1,200, and the overall winner was Dean Appleby who scooped £3,000. Dean also received three fly rods - one for winning each day and a third for securing the title.