Angling to save lives
The annual World Dab Championships charity shore event attracts a huge amount of support…
The World Dab Fishing Championships, sponsored by Tronixpro and in association with Sea Angler, once again attracted plenty of anglers, all hoping to lift the coveted title.
Held on the beaches of Dungeness and Hythe, in Kent, the emphasis is not focused on serious hardcore match fishing, but more about having fun and raising cash for the RNLI.
Now in its ninth year, the charity competition has raised more than £40,000 from generous shore anglers. Organiser, and the brains behind the event, is local angler and Dungeness RNLI volunteer crew member Simon Newman.
“I originally chose the title of World Dab Championships as a bit of fun,”
says Simon, who also owns Castaways guest house in Lydd. “It’s all meant to be a lot of fun, but, secretly, I reckon it still brings out the competitive side from anglers who don’t regularly attend matches.
“The emphasis is focused on raising funds for the RNLI, with a bit of fishing thrown in. Even in some horrible weather conditions, the anglers turn out in force. Their generosity is incredible,” he added.
As well as donations from anglers, money is also raised from a raffle held on the day of the event, tea and coffee sales plus the selling of burgers and breakfasts. Sea Angler magazine also chips in with a few donations for the prize table too.
STORM ERIC
Leading up to this year’s event, Storm Eric was battering the Kent coastline and all eyes were watching the weather. At one point, it looked doubtful whether it would even go ahead. With just 24 hours to go, though, the storm swiftly moved off into the English Channel, meaning conditions became fishable and it was all systems go.
At a mark known as The Boards, anglers were finding the remnants of the storm still evident. Large waves and a crunching swell were filled with lots of floating weed, hampering some anglers who struggled to prevent their baited rigs from being dragged along the beach.
Nevertheless, as the tide slowly crept up the shingle, conditions became more manageable and plenty of fish started to show. Andy Hall, from Rainham, in Kent, used straight black lug and caught an early dab measuring 26cm.
Around the corner and close to the beached fishing boats, conditions were a lot calmer. This part of Dungeness beach also saw a lot more fish falling to a wide variety of baits, especially pieces of fish.
The sea was absolutely stuffed with food as sprats and shellfish were continually being washed on to the shingle. In years gone by, these conditions would have seen anglers landing heavyweight cod up to 20lb. Sadly, those productive winters have long gone, and not a single cod was caught throughout the day. However, plenty of whiting, flounders and dogfish were being caught, but with only dabs of 25cm and above counting, it was a bit of a slog locating them.
Local angler and England ladies shore international Becky Lee was kept busy catching lots of fish. Eventually, she brought six dabs back to the scales for a total weight of 1.14kg to win and secure her third World Dab Championship victory.
Runner-up Jeremy Stone weighed three dabs for 0.84kg and Les Chappell managed two fish for 0.54kg.
Junior winner was Aidan Bull, from Ashford, Kent, with a 26cm dab.
In total, more than £4,000 was raised with more than 60 cash and tackle prizes handed out to the 154 anglers who turned out to support the event. ■