18.12.14

Angling Times Match Angler Of The Year - Steve Ringer

Well what a year 2014 has been for me, with the icing on the cake being voted Angling Times Match angler of the year just this week.

Looking back, it all seems a bit surreal as at the start of every year I always aim to try and win one big event and this year, if you include the World team gold as well as the individual I’ve managed four!

So where did it start, well after a cold January and February it was off to Whiteacres at the end of March for the Bait-tech festiva,l where I managed four section wins and a second to take the win, which got me off to a great start.
From there, it was then onto Hungary in April with Team Daiwa for the highly prestigious WalterLand Masters, which features top teams from all over Europe. This was also to be my first ever experience of fishing under CIPS float fishing rules, so the nerves were jangling a little and I just hoped I could do myself justice. After a couple of days practice and a lot of help from Will Raison, I felt like I’d got a real feel for the place and how it was fishing. And so it proved, as I managed to win my zone on both days to be crowned individual champion with the team managing a highly credible second overall.

June and July were for me all geared towards the World Feeder Championships on Inniscara reservoir nr Co. Cork, Ireland. This was the 4th year of the event and its fair to say, the pressure was well and truly on us fishing so close to home. As it turned out, under manager Tommy Pickering we put an awful lot of practice in and it paid off. After day one, we were sat on just 11 points, which with a five-man team in 25 peg zones, is an unbelievable score. Mick Vials and myself had also managed section wins so there were two chances of individual medals as well. The second day is one that I will never forget as without doubt, it ranks as the highlight of my angling career so far and one that I honestly can’t see being topped. Not only did the team seal the gold medal, but I became World Champion with Mick taking the individual bronze too.

Next stop was Ireland and the World pairs in September, myself and brother Phil had finished runners up in 2013 and we were looking to go one better. Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite manage that as we repeated our runners up spot with Adam Wakelin and Rob Wootton proving worthy winners!

Well that pretty much brings things up to date, of course, there have been other matches and some good results too, but those are the ones that really standout. So what about 2015? Well, I’m off to Hungary again in April, which I’m really looking forward to. Plus, there is the big one for me in the form of the World feeder championships in July in Holland. The Dutch are exceptional at feeders fishing, so winning in their own backyard is going to be difficult to say the least. That said if we do manage it, it would make it even more special! Plus, there will be the usual Whiteacres Festivals to go at, so fingers crossed it will be another special year.


Until next time,

Steve Ringer.

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