The dust has settled on this year’s Nationals, and one of our favourite stories from the prestigious events was that of 14-year-old Lauren Stevens, who finished 4th overall in the Division 2 contest.
It’d be a superb result for any angler, but for someone as young as Lauren to overcome the vast majority of a strong 360-angler field, makes it all the more impressive.
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The event took place on the Shropshire Union Canal, where she drew an end peg in Section H.
“It was an area I’d not fished before, but I knew I had a good chance of catching some bonus fish,” she told us.
“I still set up a squatt line to stick with the team plan but started on my big fish line of chopped worm at 13m, just up the far shelf to my left, to try and get off to a good start.
“I caught plenty of skimmers and big roach for most of the match so never had to target small fish, but I had an odd look on the squatt line where I’d fed Bait-Tech Pro Natural Dark and Pro Natural Bream 50/50. Alternating the two lines kept fish coming to the end.”
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Come the final whistle, Lauren knew she had a good weight and was delighted to pick up a brilliant 2 points for her team, but there was more to come.
“I was greeted and congratulated by lots of other anglers at the final presentation, and the rumour was that I might get into the top 10 individually,” she revealed.
“When the presentation started and I was called onto stage to get my medal for 4th overall, I couldn’t believe it. The cheer I got from the room is something I’ll never forget.”
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