2017 Shark Angling Club of Great Britain Festival

The Shark Angling Club of Great Britain was founded in 1953 so this year is the 64th time that club members have competed for what is possibly one of the largest trophy cabinets in angling.

The main competitive event in the SACGB diary is the annual 3 day festival fished out of Looe, the headquarters of the club. This year it was held on the 12th, 13th and 14th July.

Preparing for the 2017 Shark Festival

Despite the challenging conditions of day two, the festival anglers caught and released a total of 64 sharks over the three days.

The joint winners for the largest shark were Terry Field and Bob Woodman with fish of 118 points. With there being two joint winners there was no runner up. John Lock took third place with a fish of 115 points.

The angler with most sharks was Jake Jackson with 5 fish.

The Skippers prizes were won by Dave Bond (Mystique ll) for the most sharks over three days with 12 fish. Andre Theoret (Top Cat) and Murray Collings (Swallow ll) shared the prize for the largest shark.

2017 shark festival winners

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In accordance with SACGB policy of catch and release, all fish were measured and returned safely.

Day one saw 24 fish caught and released and got the competition off to a good start. As we woke up on day two it was evident the forecast was correct and with very little wind the boats sat in their own rubby dubby with floats having a mind of their own. Despite these challenging conditions the team caught and released 15 sharks.

Day three delivered similar conditions to day one and gave us 25 sharks which were all safely released.

Throughout the event the other side of angling was enjoyed to the full as many caught up again, sometimes for the first time since last years festival. Stories were told and re-told, and past events remembered. Lots of debate and discussion and even mild disagreement about “how best to…..”, but as with all SACGB anglers, the thing we have in common is our love for the sport, and our commitment to our policy of catch and release to support the conservation of the fish we seek and respect … The Shark.

Ducan Goldsmith
I’ve fished for over 40 years, concentrating particularly on saltwater or game species on fly and lure tackle. In the UK my favourite sport is chasing the amazing blue and porbeagle sharks with a fly rod, and previously held the record for the largest fish in the UK caught on fly tackle along with the first porbeagle on a fly rod. In recent years I have literally been bitten by the bug in pursuit of tarpon. Other interests include cooking and property refurbishment.

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