Match Rules
1. No competitor will have live or dead fish in their possession before the Championship.
2. The signal to commence and cease fishing will be given by the Senior Section Steward in each Section.
3. The duration of the match will be stated at the draw.
4. Before the starting signal no competitor must on any account ground bait or loose feed the swim but will be allowed to wet a line, plumb the depth and test the float, mix or wet ground bait, clear his/her fishing ground of weed or obstructions and position his/her equipment. On no account must a feeder be used prior to the starting signal.
5. A competitor may wade provided that the water does not extend above the knees unless he/she can touch the bank with their fingertips, in which case the water can extend above the knees. When platforms are used, the water must not come over the angler’s knees when standing on the river/lakebed.
6. Every competitor must fish from within one meter on either side of his/her designated peg. On flowing water, he/she will fish from their position in the direction of the flow as far as the next peg. On still waters he/she may fish as far as half the distance between his/her peg and the pegs on either side. Where competitors are drawn on opposite banks the limit of the swim will be the middle line between either bank. The competitor will restrict their activities completely to these boundaries, neither his/her person, tackle, bait, ground bait or hooked fish may intrude into his/her neighbor’s swim. In an extreme situation e.g., snagged tackle or a snagged fish, an angler must seek permission from his neighbor/neighbors before moving this from his/her designated peg to try and remedy the situation.
7. No competitor may leave his/her peg during the Championship other than to answer the call of nature. However, in the event of an emergency and/or severe weather conditions, a competitor may leave their peg but only with the express
permission of the Senior Section Steward. In such circumstances, the Senior Steward may decide in the best interests of the competitors that fishing
should be suspended. In the worst-case fishing may be terminated by the Senior Steward upon an instruction from the AT’s team of Championship adjudicators.
8. A competitor must not cause annoyance to, seek to interfere with another competitor during the course of the Championship. They must act in a
the sporting manner at all times.
9. A competitor shall have in use, one rod or pole, one line, and a single hook at one time, but may have other poles or rods and tackle assembled behind them where possible, providing that tackle is not baited.
10. Any bait, other than live or dead fish, Bloodworm, or Joker is allowed. No spinning baits or artificial lures.
11. Maximum length of poles permitted is 16 meters, floating poles are not allowed
12. Braid hook lengths are not permitted.
13. No competitor shall present their baited hooks into their swim by any means other than the pole or rod to which the line is attached.
14. All feed may be thrown in by hand, or by the use of one or two-handed catapults, throwing sticks, swim feeders, bait droppers, bait cups, and bait shuttles, but no other mechanical means of projecting feed is allowed. No bait shall be introduced with a pole or bait dropper attached to an extra pole or rod
whilst continuing to fish. Spodding is not permitted.
15. Competitors must strike, play and land their own fish from the confines of their own peg. (See Rule 25)
16. Competitors must retain all fish in a keepnet that complies with the relevant Environment Agency by-laws.
17. Nets must be dry when arriving to fish, dry nets are less likely to spread diseases, parasites, and nonnative species. Keep nets must be pegged out
behind the designated swim until 15 minutes before the start of the match, this may be signaled by a whistle, shout, and/or claxon.
18. All fish caught are eligible for weighing except Game Fish, Pike, and non-native species (zander and catfish), and Crustaceans.
19. Competitors must if practicable, keep all fish caught alive. If for any reason competitors cannot keep fish alive the Stewards shall have the power to weigh in during the Championship and return the fish alive to the water.
20. Competitors must cease fishing at the signal. Should a competitor still be playing a fish hooked before the signal is given, they will be permitted no more than 15 minutes after time has been called to land the fish.
21. All competitors will remain at their pegs until details of their catch have been recorded by the Steward, except for the purpose of clearing litter from their swims.
22. Competitors are responsible for ensuring their pegs are clear of litter and no competitor shall have their catch weighed in who has a litter on the banks of their swim.
23. Both the competitor and Scales Steward MUST ensure that the correct procedure for transferring fish from a keepnet to weigh net and back to the water is followed.
(a) Swim the fish from the bottom of the Keepnet to the top, ensuring that the top ring is out of the water, and gather the rings up from the bottom as the fish move up. Once the fish are between the top ring and the 2nd or 3rd ring (depending on the number of fish in the net), remove the keepnet from the water and gently slide the fish into the weigh net. Should the number of fish require more than one weighs only slide sufficient fish into the weigh net for the first weigh. Whilst the weight is taking place hold the remaining fish back in until required for weighing and repeat until all fish have been weighed.
(b) Remove the keepnet from the water collapsing the net down, until the 2nd or 3rd ring from the bottom can be reached from inside. Pull the chosen ring through the top ring and then gently slide the fish into the weigh net. Should the numbers of fish require more than one weigh, only slide sufficient fish into the weigh net for the first weigh. Whilst the weight is taking place, hold the remaining fish back in the water until required for weighing and repeat until all fish have been weighed. After each competitor has been weighed in at their peg, it will be the duty of the Scales Steward to return all the fish to the water.
24. The individual weight of each competitor will be recorded
25. Each competitor will be responsible for ensuring that the weight of his/her catch is correctly recorded by the Record Steward on the Weigh Sheet.
26. After being weighed any dead fish are to be returned to the HQ by the Scales Steward and suitably disposed of.
27. Any fish about which the Stewards have any doubt must be brought before the Management Team and the competitor’s weight will not be confirmed
until a ruling has been obtained. Even if the Steward recommends the disqualification of a competitor, they MUST weigh the fish in case their ruling is not upheld.
28. Any objections must be made in writing and lodged with a member of the Management Team or Senior Section Steward no later than one hour after the end of the match. Irregularities that are brought to notice at a later date may be dealt with only by and at the discretion of the Committee.
29. The result of the team competitions shall be determined on a points system. The top weight in each Section shall receive the same number of points as there are teams entered, the second-highest weight one point less, etc. In the event of anglers failing to catch a fish, together with absent or disqualified anglers, they shall receive “no” points. In the event of more than one competitor recording
the same weight in the same Section, those competitors will receive equal points i.e., one point less than allocated to the previous highest weight in that Section. Therefore, in a match of 50 Teams, if 3 anglers in one Section tie for 6th place,
all having equal weights, they would receive 45 points each with the 9th angler in that Section receiving 42 points and so on. In the event of more than one team having the same total points, their final positions will be decided by total weight.
51. The holders of the trophies shall, upon presentation, be allowed time for photographs to be taken and will then be required to hand the trophy back to the Officials present.
30. All competitors must conform to Environment Agency bylaws. Any
competitor reported by the Environment Agency for being unable to produce a valid license shall be deemed to be in contravention of the Rules and shall be disqualified. All pools, entry fees, etc in respect of the said competitor shall
be forfeited.
31. The use of lead, including any alloy or compound of lead, in the form of split shot or any other suitable items for weighting fishing lines is prohibited. The prohibition does not apply to weights of lead, alloy, or compound of lead, of 0.06g or less or of more than 28.35g or to weights of lead, alloy, or compound less than 28.35g if the said lead, alloy, or compound is incorporated in the construction of
swim feeders or self cocking floats.
32. If, in the opinion of the Event Management any Team or Individual is in breach of these Rules or is guilty of behaviour that is contrary to the best interests of the sport, or upon complaint being received by the Event Management Team that there has been an alleged breach of the rules, the Event Management Team shall make a decision on all available facts and that decision will be final and binding. An appeal can be made to the full managing committee to be dealt with at a later date; a copy of the appeals procedure is available from
33 Any team or competitor proved to be in contravention of these rules will be disqualified.
34. Any team or individual angler deemed to be bringing the sport into disrepute will be severely dealt with
35, In the event of any match prize as stated at the beginning of a competition not being won due to no angler weighing in. The prize will be drawn for between the eligible anglers that are still on their peg at the end of the match”.
Example 1: No fish caught in a particular section or fish are caught by a participant who frames and therefore is not eligible for the section prize the remaining anglers will draw lots for it.
Example: 2 Only one or no angler catches fish the place prizes will be drawn for and after they have been awarded the section prizes will be drawn for (excluding those who have won a place prize)
