With the new year just around the corner, we thought we’d get a few dates lined up in the calendar for next year’s Angling Trust RiverFest 2019. We’ve carefully selected some of the best river stretches in the country and done our best to avoid clashes wherever possible. We must thank Dave Harrell Angling for […]

The Angling Trust RiverFest 2018 had its first year on new final location, The River Severn at Shrewsbury, with the Quarry and County Ground sections being used. Conditions on the two-day final were unseasonably warm and this saw a lot of silverfish being caught, especially in the county ground section. Day one saw a few […]

A cold morning met the 38 contenders for the last two qualifying spot for the RiverFest 2018 Final. This meant that weights were down on the river, but this made for an incredulously close affair! Ian Exley took top honours from peg 283 in B section with 12lb 15oz. Roach and chublets made most of […]

This eighteenth round of RiverFest qualification fished really well at Straford Upon Avon, with good weights of chub, roach and dace all along the length. Leigh Gardner took top spot with an outstanding weight of 29-11-0. His catch came from just below Seven Meadows weir at peg 6, in the faster water on waggler fished maggots […]

The latest RiverFest qualifier held on Saturday 22nd September on the River Severn at Bridgnorth was fished with the level starting at around 4ft 6″ in spate and rising steadily throughout the match.  As a result it was a poor match and only 28 out of the 60 entry weighed in.  Pete Sturmey won the […]

A sixty strong field took part in the latest RiverFest qualifier on the tidal Trent. With the recent temperature drop and crystal-clear river, there were concerns of how the river would fish. Although with a large 8.9m tide due to top just as the match commenced, the hope was that some colour would come with […]

A peg to peg battle between Browning Ossett team mates, Chris Greensides and Ben Taylor eventually saw Chris edge in front by just 10oz and book his place in the big money November final on the Severn at Shrewsbury. The two anglers were pegged on the Viaducts section and both pole fished with maggots over […]

Forty-eight anglers fished Sundays’ RiverFest Qualifier on the River Yare. With a big tide forecast and big weights of bream being caught during the festival leading up to the event, most were resting their hopes on the feeder. A Zone winner was Gary Fuller, who drew peg 67 on the Boards section and caught bream […]

The River Soar at Loughborough hosted Sunday’s round of RiverFest 2018. The match was fished in baking hot conditions and with the river running clear, it was feared that weights could be low for everyone. Thankfully, no one told the fish and some excellent weights were recorded! The three swims below the weir in A […]

The River Thames at Clanfield hosted the latest round of the RiverFest 2018 and proved a tough nut to crack for many of the competitors. However, weights were incredibly close and several anglers missed out by ounces. Match and C Zone winner was Dan Squire who pole fished his way to an 8-14-0 winning haul, […]

An outstanding bream weight of 153-12-0, caught by Hereford angler Deron Harper was the highlight of the latest AT RiverFest qualifier on the Bristol Avon. Drawn at peg 59 in B Zone, Deron feeder fished with casters and worms for the 41 fish catch, which put more than 30lb on the previous best qualifying weight! […]

RiverFest 2018’s third qualifier was held on River Weaver at Northwich. The river was running low, with the slightest of colour in the deeper sections. This made for a match that was dominated by skimmers and some familiar faces found a way to keep them coming. None more so than overall winner, England U25 Manager, […]

The fourth round of RiverFest made its way eastwards to the North Bank of the River Nene. Conditions on Sunday were bright, and anglers also had to contend with a very clear river, this made it bream or bust with regards to the overall. However, the beauty with RiverFest is that qualifiers are sectioned and […]

The Angling Trust’s RiverFest 2018 hosted its second qualifier of the season on the impeccable River Swale. Kidderminster angler Matt Maginnis stamped his authority on yet another big match and took the honours on the day. In four previous visits, Matt has qualified twice, and the hat trick was completed this time with a waggler […]