The Northern Fly Fishing Federation (CEFF) River Eliminator has now been arranged for Sunday July 10th on the Reeth & District Angling Clubs waters of the River Swale.

Last year there were only 9 people taking part. This is a very poor turnout compared with other regions considering the wealth of river fishing in the area and the number of fishermen.

The organization of the event has been criticised in the past and cited as one reason for this. I've discussed this with federation officials and I'm working with them to overcome this. Last year there were a lot of concerns that recent stocking led to results not being representative. The event has now been moved to later in the year when stocked fish will have been 'naturalised'. We are also working on other aspects of the organisation.

Other regions also encourage participation by organising practice sessions, overnight socials and other supporting events. I'm already running monthly events on a small scale and hope to develop this in the new trout season as a feeder into the eliminator. I'm also planning a practice weekend on the competition water a couple of weeks beforehand. I hope to provide some advice, coaching and training from very skilled and experienced anglers for anyone new to the eliminator.

However, In the end the event will only survive if people take part. Who would be interested in participating within this kind of framework? If you're not interested then please tell me why so I can understand what the problem is and see what I can do about it.

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'If you're doing things the way you've always done them then you're probably doing them wrong'