HOW YOU CAN WIN £12,000 IN RIVERFEST 2016
New stretches ‘will keep things fresh’ – Harrell
BRITAIN’S running-water match anglers will be rubbing their hands with glee following the announcement of the 24 qualifiers for this year’s fourth RiverFest competition.
As Angling Times exclusively revealed last week, there will be five new river stretches included as 2016 heats, with the final once again being fished on the prolific River Wye around Hereford.
“Reflecting on last year’s event I feel that the competition cannot really be improved, other than introducing new venues for qualifiers to give anglers waters to fish that they won’t be familiar with – that helps to keep things fresh,” said event creator Dave Harrell.
“We had some exciting qualifiers with big weights, and some people might say that takes the luck element out of things, but those weights grab the headlines and prove that the venues are worth fishing in the first place.
“In the main we’ve had very good feedback from those who fished last year, and the organisers do a tremendous job – without them, RiverFest would not happen,” he continued.
“The final venue yet again proved itself worthy in hard conditions. Where else could you go and still fish a match in such wild weather?
“There may also be scope to expand the competition even further, not necessarily for the final which, at 72 pegs, is about right. Instead, the qualifiers could host more pegs or even see a change to how many anglers go through from each match, thus allowing for more qualifiers.
“That’s always up for discussion, but I’m conscious that as we stand RiverFest works and the anglers who support it absolutely love the format. There’s no need to make major changes,” Dave added.
“We’ll talk to the anglers after this year’s event, give them a questionnaire and see what suggestions are put forward.
“At present, though, we’ve got a brilliant fishing event that is well supported and works perfectly. I see no reason to change that.”
“In the main we’ve had very good feedback from those who fished RiverFest last year.”